Interaction of glucose oxidase with alkyl-substituted sepharose 4B

Glucose oxidase (GOD) is often used in immobilized forms for determination of glucose. To examine the possibility of its adsorption by hydrophobic interactions, palmityl-substituted Sepharose 4B (Sepharoselipid) was employed as an adsorptive matrix. Various conditions were used in tests to improve the limited immobilization of the enzyme observed under normal (native) conditions, including use of high concentrations of denaturing agents. Of the denaturants used, only the cationic detergent dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide was effective in denaturing the protein and exposing its hydrophobic sites for interaction with alkyl residues on the support. This, followed by the process of renaturation, provided catalytically active immobilized preparations. The apoenzyme, prepared by treatment of the holoenzyme with acidified (NH4)2SO4 or thermal denaturation, was totally immobilized on the support. Furthermore, it was shown that either flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) or the alkyl residues, not both, may interact with the nucleotide site at any given time. Results are discussed in terms of high rigidity of GOD molecule and limited exposure of hydrophobic sites in its native structure. The observations are in accord with suggestions in the literature that the FAD pocket is a very narrow channel of hydrophobic properties, adapted to accept its natural coenzyme.     

A di-μ-oxomolybdenum(V) complex of 6-acetonylisoxanthopterin,undergoing oxygen atom transfer with dimethyl sulphoxide

The new compound, Na[(Mo₂ ^VO₄)(pte)(OMe)(MeOH)₂] (pte = anion of 6-acetonylisoxanthopterin), has been prepared using the redox non-innocent title ligand in MeOH–H₂O, and characterized by elemental analysis and physico-chemical methods including e.s.m.s., i.r., u.v.–vis. and ¹H-n.m.r. spectra. Rate constants data (1.4 × 10^–3 s^–1 at 300 K) for its oxygen atom transfer with dimethyl sulphoxide tally with those of synthetic analogue systems reported earlier by different authors. The negative activation entropy (–206.3 J mol^–1 deg^–1) is consistent with an associative mechanism for this reaction.     

SnCl4 and SbCl5 promoted aromatization of enamines

Aromatic amines have been synthesized efficiently from enamines using SnCl₄ and SbCl₅ in CH₂Cl₂ at room temperature.     

Insecticidal Activity and Free Radical Scavenging Properties of Isolated Phytoconstituents from the Saudi Plant Nuxia oppositifolia (Hochst.)

Chromatographic purification of the alcoholic extract from the aerial parts of the Saudi plant Nuxia oppositifolia (Hochst.), Benth., resulted in five isolated phenolic compounds. Two flavones, hispidulin (1) and jaceosidin (2), and the phenylethanoid glycosides, verbascoside (3), isoverbascoside (4), and conandroside (5), were identified and their chemical structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses. The insecticidal activity of compounds 1 and 2, in addition to 11 compounds isolated in a previous research (6–16), was evaluated against the Yellow Fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Four compounds displayed adulticidal activity with LD₅₀ values of 2–2.3 μg/mosquito. Free radical scavenging properties of the plant extracts and compounds (1–5) were evaluated by measuring the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate radical cation (ABTS^•+) scavenging activity. All compounds exhibited notable activity, compared with the positive control, l-Ascorbic acid. This study suggests that N. oppositifolia could be a promising source of secondary metabolites, some with lethal adulticidal effect against Ae. aegypti.     

Large-volume stacking in capillary electrophoresis using pH hysteresis of the electroosmotic flow in a bare fused-silica capillary

For large-volume stacking with the electroosmotic flow pump (LVSEP) in capillary electrophoresis of anionic analytes it is required that the electroosmotic mobility (EOM) should be smaller than the magnitudes of the effective mobilities of the analytes. When a fused-silica capillary is treated with an acidic solution, the silanoate group on the silica surface is neutralized to silanol and the EOM is suppressed. Due to the slow deprotonation equilibrium of the silanol group at an intermediate pH, this reduced EOM can be retained during a number of electrophoresis runs. Using a bare fused-silica capillary preconditioned with 0.01 M HCl, successful LVSEP at pH 6.0 was achieved for weakly acidic compounds with two orders of magnitude enhancements in the concentration sensitivity. The repeatability in migration times of ten analytes stacked by LVSEP in a single day was excellent with the relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 1% (n = 6). The day-to-day repeatability was also excellent with RSD less than 3% (n = 3 x 6) when the capillary was preconditioned each day.     

Ammonia chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry in structural determination of alkaloids. II. Tetraponerines from pseudomyrmecine ants

Chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (CI-MS/MS) of alkaloids with ammonia reagent gas and collision-activated dissociation as well as EI-MS/MS were applied to the tetraponerine alkaloids in extracts from six pseudomyrmecine ants of the genus Tetraponera. The MS/MS techniques along with gas chromatography Fourier transform infrared (GC/FTIR) spectra allowed identification in two extracts of seven of the eight known tetraponerines. The EI-MS/MS fragmentations proved diagnostic for the ring system and the CI-MS/MS patterns for the C-8 or C-9 substitution, while the Bohlmann bands in FTIR spectra were diagnostic for the C-8 or C-9 configurations. An Indian ant (T. allaborans) had T-2, T-4 and T-8, while a Chinese ant (T. binghami) had T-5, T-6, T-7 and T-8. Four other ants, T. rufonigra (India), T. penzigi (Africa), T. clypeata (Africa) and T. sp. cf. emeryi (Africa), had no tetraponerines.     

Organosilicon compounds : LI. Further studies of the base-catalysed solvolysis of N-(triorganosilyl)anilines

Relative rates of solvolysis of some N-triorganosilylanilines in mixtures of ethanol and aqueous potassium hydroxide have been determined, with results as follows. (i) For XC₆H₄NHSiEt₃ compounds in MeOH (5 vol) + aq. alkali (2 vol) at 50°: (X =) H, 1.0;p-Me, 0.80;p-OMe, 0.83;m-Me, 0.90; o-Me, 0.87; p-SMe, 1.90; p-F, 1.7; p-Cl, 2.8; o-Cl, 14; m-Cl, 4.2; m-NO₂, 18; p-CN, ca. 43; p-NO₂, ca. 120. (ii) For PhNHSi(C₆H₄Y)₃ compounds in MeOH (10 vol) + aq. alkali (1 vol) at 50°: (Y =) H, 1.0; p-OMe, 0.12; p-Cl, ca. 32; m-Cl, ca. 84. (iii) For PhNHSiR₃ compounds in MeOH (5 vol) + aq. alkali (2 vol) : (R₃ =) Et₃, 1.0; Et₂Me, 18 (at 30°); Me₂-i-Pr, 8 (at 30°);Me₂-t-Bu, 0.012 (at 50°);i-Pr₃, 0.006 (at 50°). In series (i) the relative rates correlate with σ, or where appropriate σ^?-constants, with a ? value of 1.6. It is suggested that in the transition state of the rate-determining step the OSi bond is fully formed, or almost so, the SiN bond approximately 20—50% broken, and the bond between the nitrogen atom and a proton from the solvent ca. 10—30% formed.     

The use of Nafion-H® as an efficient catalyst for the direct conversion of primary and secondary trimethylsilyl ethers to their corresponding ethers under mild and heterogeneous conditions

Primary and secondary trimethylsilyl ethers were converted to their corresponding ethers in the presence Nafion-H® with good to excellent yields under mild and heterogeneous conditions.     

A study of the formation of silica-supported mixed magnesium-manganese spinel oxides from multicomponent gels

The effects of thermal treatment on composite materials prepared by the gelation of sols comprising large concentrations of metal oxide precursor salts have been investigated, in order to determine the compositional and thermal requirements for forming spinel magnesium manganates in such systems. The preparative technique has been found to give rise to derived gel materials in which the metal oxide phase, in the form of regular spherical particles, is dispersed throughout a continuous silica matrix. Silica-supported mixed magnesium and manganese spinel oxide phases were obtained for systems comprising at least 30 wt% metal nitrate after heating to temperatures between 700 and 850°C, but not without concomitant formation of Mn₂O₃ and modification of the silica network by magnesium.