New Approach to Synthesis of 6,7—Dimethoxyisatin

A new approach to synthesis of 6,7-dimethoxyisatin is reported.2-nitro-3,4-dimethoxy mandelonitrile in glacial acetic acid was treated with the solution of stannous chloride in hydrochloric acid to give 6,7-dimethoxyisatin in a high yield.     

Determination of Phenolic Glucosides in Gentiana piasezkii by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoretic method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of five phenolic glucosides, 6′-O-vanilloylarbutin (VA), 7-O-feruloylorientin (FE), lutonarin (LN), isoorient (IO) and luteolin (LL), in Gentiana piasezkii with UV detection at 270 nm. 7-O-β-D-glucosyl-coumarin was selected as the internal standard. The applied voltage was 15 kV and the capillary temperature was kept constant at 25 °C. The effect of pH, the concentration of methanol and boric acid on migration were studied systematically. Optimum separation was achieved with 200 mM boric acid buffer at pH 9.50 containing 10% (v/v) methanol. Regression equations revealed good linear relationship between the peak area ratio of each compound and internal standard and its concentration. The correlation coefficients were 0.9975, 0.9997, 0.9998, 0.9998 and 0.9988 for VA, FE, LN, IO and LL, respectively. The relative standard deviations of migration time and the peak area ratio of each analyte and internal standard were <1.78% and 4.93%, respectively. The contents of the five compounds in Gentiana piasezkii were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery.     

羧酸铜与单螺旋吡啶胺配体自组装的两种新型超分子配合物

Two novel supramolecular complexes [Cu（bpapa）（dhbd）]·CHaOH （1） and [Cu（bpapa）（ma）]·ma （2） （bpapa= bis[6-（2-pyridylamino）pyrid-2-yl]amine, dhbd=2,3-dihydroxybutanedioate dianion, ma=a-methacrylate） were rationally designed, synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, IR, electronic spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyses. Complex 1 was the first oligo-a-pyfidylamino complex based on hydroxypolycarboxylate and self-assembled into a 3D honeycomb configuration network with open channels and tubes containing 1D ladder-shaped double chains formed by hydrogen bonds and aromatic π-π stacking interactions. Complex 2 constructed a 2D supramolecular network extended by 1D chains from dimeric supramolecular synthon through noncovalent supramolecular interactions. In the two complexes, the chelating monohelical ligand adopted all-anti configuration. Density functional theory calculations were applied to 1 and 2.     

Influence of drying procedure on the mesoporosity and surface fractal dimensions of silica xerogels prepared with different agitation methods

Silica xerogels were prepared by thermal drying wet gels in an electric oven (70 degrees C) after certain duration of ambient drying, and the relevant effect is investigated on the mesopore structures and surface fractal dimensions of the resultant xerogels. The silica gels were derived from a hydrochloric acid-catalyzed TEOS (tetraethylorthaosilicate) system, and both magnetic stirring and ultrasonic vibration were adopted during sol preparation. The percentage mesoporosity and surface fractal dimensions are evaluated using image analysis methods, based on FE-SEM (field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy) images. The results show that the mesoporosity of the resultant xerogels decreases with the duration of ambient drying for samples prepared using magnetic stirring and low-intensity ultrasonic vibration, while samples subjected to high-intensity ultrasound show a somewhat reverse trend. Samples prepared with magnetic stirring have almost constant surface fractal dimensions (nearly 3), irrespective of the ambient drying before thermal drying. The surface fractal dimensions of samples prepared using ultrasound increase with the duration of ambient drying.     

Luminescent heteronuclear Au(I)5Ag(I)8 complexes of [1,2,3-C6(C6H4R-4)3]3- (R = H, CH3, But) by cyclotrimerization of arylacetylides

Unusual AuI-AgI heterometallic complexes [Au5Ag8(mu-dppm)4{1,2,3-C6(C6H4R-4)3}(CCC6H4R-4)7]3+ (R = H 1, CH3 2, But 3) were isolated by reactions of polymeric silver arylacetylides (AgCCC6H4R-4)n with binuclear gold component [Au2(mu-dppm)2(MeCN)2]2+ (dppm = bis(diphenylphosphino)methane), in which cyclotrimerization of arylacetylide -CCC6H4R-4 affords trianion {1,2,3-C6(C6H4R-4)3}3- with an unprecedented mu5-bonding mode. Compounds 1(SbF6)3-3(SbF6)3 exhibit intense photoluminescence derived from an MLCT (Au5Ag8 --> CCC6H4R-4) transition, mixed with a metal cluster-centered excited states.     

Development, validation and transfer of a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric method for the analysis of the tobacco-specific nitrosamine metabolite NNAL in human plasma at low picogram per milliliter concentrations

A highly sensitive bioanalytical method based on a simple liquid/liquid extraction and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC/MS/MS) analysis has been developed, validated and transferred for the determination of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), a tobacco-specific nitrosamine metabolite. Deuterated NNAL (NNAL-d(4)) was synthesized and used as the internal standard. This method can be used for the analysis of free and total NNAL (free NNAL plus NNAL-gluc) in K(3)-EDTA human plasma. Free NNAL and NNAL-d(4) are extracted from human plasma by liquid/liquid extraction. To analyze for total NNAL and the internal standard, a separate aliquot of the K(3)-EDTA human plasma is treated with beta-glucuronidase to deconjugate the NNAL-gluc; the total NNAL and internal standard are then extracted using liquid/liquid extraction. After drying down under nitrogen, the residue is reconstituted with acetonitrile and analyzed using positive ion electrospray and HILIC/MS/MS at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The chromatographic run time is 1.0 min per injection, with retention time for both NNAL and NNAL-d(4) of 0.75 min with a capacity factor (k') of 2. The standard curve range for this assay is from 5.00-1000 pg/mL for both free and total NNAL, using a total plasma sample volume of 1.0 mL. The interday precision and accuracy of the quality control (QC) samples demonstrated <7.6% relative standard deviation (RSD) and <3.3% relative error (RE) for free NNAL. For total NNAL, the interday precision and accuracy of the QC samples demonstrated <11.7% RSD and <2.8% RE. Optimization of enzyme hydrolysis of NNAL-gluc is discussed in detail. The overall recoveries for free and total NNAL and IS were 68.2 and 71.5% (free) and 70.7 and 65.5% (total). No adverse matrix effects were noticed for this assay.     

Synthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles with mesoporous anatase wall and high photocatalytic activity

Mesoporous titanium dioxide nanosized powder with high specific surface area and anatase wall was synthesized via hydrothermal process by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant-directing agent and pore-forming agent. The resulting materials were characterized by XRD, nitrogen adsorption, FESEM, TEM, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The as-synthesized mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles have mean diameter of 17.6 nm with mean pore size of 2.1 nm. The specific surface area of the as-synthesized mesoporous nanosized TiO2 exceeded 430 m2/g and that of the samples after calcination at 600 degrees C still have 221.9 m2/g. The mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles show significant activities on the oxidation of Rhodamine B (RB). The large surface area, small crystalline size, and well-crystallized anatase mesostructure can explain the high photocatalytic activity of mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles calcined at 400 degrees C.     

Unexpectedly fast cis/trans isomerization of Xaa-Pro peptide bonds in disulfide-constrained cyclic peptides

Acyclic dithiol and cyclic disulfide forms of the peptides Ac-Cys-Pro-Xaa-Cys-NH2 (Xaa = Phe, His, Tyr, Gly, and Thr) and Ac-Cys-Gly-Pro-Cys-NH2 and the peptide Ac-Ala-Gly-Pro-Ala-NH2 were synthesized and characterized by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. Rate constants kct and ktc for cis-to-trans and trans-to-cis isomerization, respectively, across the Cys-Pro or Gly-Pro peptide bonds were determined by magnetization transfer NMR techniques over a range of temperatures, and activation parameters were derived from the temperature dependence of the rate constants. It was found that constraints imposed by the disulfide bond confer an unexpected rate enhancement for cis/trans isomerization, ranging from a factor of 2 to 13. It is proposed that the rate enhancements are a result of an intramolecular catalysis mechanism in which the NH proton of the Pro-Xaa peptide bond hydrogen bonds to the proline nitrogen in the transition state. The peptides Ac-Cys-Pro-Xaa-Cys-NH2 and Ac-Cys-Gly-Pro-Cys-NH2 are model compounds for proline-containing active sites of the thioredoxin superfamily of oxidoreductase enzymes; the results suggest that the backbones of the active sites of the oxidized form of these enzymes may have unusual conformational flexibility.