Separation of enantiomers by packed capillary electrochromatography on a cellulose-based stationary phase

Separation of enantiomers was performed by applying packed capillary electrochromatography (CEC). Fused-silica capillaries of different lengths with an inner diameter of 100 microm were packed with a cellulose derivative immobilized onto macroporous silica gel. Parameters such as content of modifier in the mobile phase, concentration and pH of the buffer were varied for a set of test capillaries to determine their influence on enantioselectivity. In packed CEC the highest influence on resolution of the test racemates was found by changing the acetonitrile content, while variation of the buffer concentration mostly affects the electroosmotic velocity. The performance of packed CEC and nano-LC was also compared. Packed CEC showed much better column efficiency and enantioselectivity under similar flow/electroosmotic velocity.     

Solid-phase synthesis and structural characterization of highly substituted hydroxyproline-based 2,5-diketopiperazines

Two general solid-phase methods for the synthesis of a new class of 2,5-diketopiperazines (DKPs) containing the trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline amino acid residue (Hyp) have been developed. An N-protected hydroxyproline methyl ester was linked through the hydroxyl function to the Ellman resin. The synthesis procedures were conceived to enable a sequence of Hyp alkylation, Hyp N-acylation, cyclization, and amide bond alkylation. Up to three different centers of molecular diversity were introduced around the DKP scaffold. Highly functionalized bicyclic compounds were obtained in good yield and purity. The alkylation of hydroxyproline alpha CH was performed without control of the diastereoselectivity. During the final alkylation of the backbone, amide bond epimerization at the alpha-carbon atoms of the two amino acid residues was observed. The structures of representative DKPs were elucidated with multidimensional NMR experiments. The described reaction pathways can be applied to the identification of heterocyclic molecule inhibitors to diverse enzyme targets.     

Experimental and theoretical study of QED corrections in the ground state of heliumlike iron

The energy of the Lyβ and Lyγ lines of heliumlike iron has been measured with a precision of 25 ppm. The study of these transitions involving levels of high principal quantum number (n=3 andn=4) provides us with informations on the ground state 1¹ S ₀ of the ion. The experimental values are compared to MCDF calculations including QED two-body corrections.     

Self-assembled monolayers of peptide nucleic acids on gold surfaces: a spectroscopic study

We have characterized self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiol-derivatized peptide nucleic acid (PNA) chains adsorbed on gold surfaces by using reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. We have found that the molecular orientation of PNAs strongly depends on surface coverage. At low coverage, PNA chains lie flat on the surface, while at high coverage, PNA molecules realign their molecular axes with the surface normal and form SAMs without the need of co-immobilization of spacers or other adjuvant molecules. The change in the molecular orientation has been studied by infrared spectroscopy and it has been confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). PNA immobilization has been followed by analyzing the N(1s) XPS core-level peak. We show that the fine line shape of the N(1s) core-level peak at optimal concentration for biosensing is due to a chemical shift. A combination of the above-mentioned techniques allow us to affirm that the structure of the SAMs is stabilized by molecule-molecule interactions through noncomplementary adjacent nucleic bases.     

Development of a dual luciferase reporter screening assay for the detection of synthetic glucocorticoids in animal tissues

Synthetic glucocorticoids belong to the most frequently administered drugs in livestock production. These synthetic hormones are employed for therapeutic purposes against inflammatory reactions, disorders of the musculoskeletal system, bovine ketosis and many other diseases of farm animals. A widespread illegal use of synthetic glucocorticoids to improve feed intake and weight gain has also been observed. To enforce the residue limits imposed on glucocorticoid drugs and preclude their illicit administration as growth promoters, it is necessary to establish high throughput analytical methods that can be applied to the screening of animal tissues. Here, we developed a dual luciferase reporter assay that detects residues or contaminants with glucocorticoid activity. This screening assay is performed by transfection of human cell lines with two reporter constructs followed by the measurement of two distinct luminescence signals, one of which serves as internal control to correct for assay variabilities and unspecific matrix effects. The limit of detection (1.25 microg for dexamethasone in liver) depends on the biological potency of each synthetic glucocorticoid but, with all drugs tested, the maximal response reaches a 20 to 30 fold induction of luciferase activity. In combination with an appropriate sample clean-up method (recovery of 82%), this luciferase assay has been applied to the analysis of liver samples from calves treated with a single therapeutic injection of either dexamethasone or flumethasone. Thus, the dual luciferase reporter assay provides a new screening tool to detect unwanted glucocorticoid activities in animal tissues or other crude biological samples without knowledge of the precise chemical entity of the parent compounds or their metabolites.     

Efficient synthesis of (S)-4-phthalimido-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-8-(2,6-dichlorobenzyloxy)- 3-oxo-2H-2-benzazepin-2-acetic acid (PHt-Hba(2,6-Cl2-Bn)-Gly-OH)

4-Amino-2-benzazepin-3-ones have proven very useful for studying the biologically active conformations of peptides. The synthesis of Pht-Aba-Xaa-OH by reaction of the corresponding 1,3-oxazolidin-5-one with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFMSA) has been reported in the literature. However, when this procedure was applied to the preparation of Pht-Hba(Bn)-Gly-OH 8, many byproducts were formed and the yield of the desired aminobenzazepinones 7 and 8 was very low. We report in this paper an efficient methodology for the synthesis of Pht-Hba(2,6-Cl2-Bn)-Gly-OH 17 starting from the commercially available tyrosine. In our procedure, the dipeptide Pht-Tyr(2,6-Cl2-Bn)-Gly-OH 15 is converted to the 1,3-oxazolidin-5-one 16 which then undergoes Friedel-Crafts cyclization in the presence of tin tetrachloride to afford the desired 4-phthalimido-1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-8-(2,6-dichlorobenzyloxy)-2-be nzazepin-3-one 17 in excellent yield.     

Experimental and theoretical investigations of lithium and magnesium derivatives of bis(tert-butylamido)cyclodiphosph(III/V)- and (V/V)azane mono- and ditellurides

Deprotonation of bis(tert-butylamido)cyclophosph(III/III)azane with organolithium or organomagnesium reagents followed by oxidation with elemental tellurium is a viable approach to the preparation of metal cyclodiphosphazane mono- and ditellurides. The reaction of the cyclodiphosph(III)azane [tBu(H)NP(mu-NtBu)2PN(H)tBu] (1) with elemental tellurium in boiling toluene affords the monotelluride [tBu(H)N(Te)P(mu-NtBu)2PN(H)tBu] (9). A similar reaction involving the magnesium salt Mg[tBuNP(mu-NtBu)2PNtBu](THF)2 (2) also yields a monotelluride Mg[tBuN(Te)P(mu-NtBu)2PNtBu]-(THF)2 (10). By contrast, reaction of the lithium salt Li2[tBuNP(mu-NtBu)2PNtBu](THF)2 (3) with tellurium results in double oxidation and the formation of the ditellurides Li2[tBuN(Te)P(mu-NtBu)2P(Te)NtBu](THF)4 (11) and Li2-[tBuN(Te)P(mu-NtBu)2P(Te)NtBu](tmeda)2 (12). Compounds 9-12 have been characterized by multinuclear (1H, 7Li, 13C, 31P, and 125Te) NMR, while 9, 10, and 12 have also been characterized by X-ray crystallography. The structure of 9 reveals a typical cis/endo, exo arrangement, with no intermolecular contacts to tellurium. The seco-heterocubic structure, observed in 2, is retained in 10, with the ligand chelating magnesium in an N,N',N"-manner. Unique coordination behavior is exhibited by the ditelluride 12, in which the dianionic ligand is attached to the two lithium centers in both Te,Te' and Te,N bonding modes. Multinuclear NMR data are consistent with retention of the solid-state structures of 9-12 in solution at low temperatures. The reactivity of cyclodiphosph(III/III)azanes toward chalcogens is rationalized by using theoretical calculations (semiempirical PM3 level of theory), which show an inverse correlation between the charge at the phosphorus center and the ease of oxidation.     

BSDEs with stochastic Lipschitz condition and quadratic PDEs in Hilbert spaces

This paper is devoted to real valued backward stochastic differential equations (BSDEs for short) with generators which satisfy a stochastic Lipschitz condition involving BMO martingales. This framework arises naturally when looking at the BSDE satisfied by the gradient of the solution to a BSDE with quadratic growth in Z$Z$. We first prove an existence and uniqueness result from which we deduce the differentiability with respect to parameters of solutions to quadratic BSDEs. Finally, we apply these results to prove the existence and uniqueness of a mild solution to a parabolic partial differential equation in Hilbert space with nonlinearity having quadratic growth in the gradient of the solution.     

{7-[Bis(carboxymethyl)amino]coumarin-4-yl}methoxycarbonyl derivatives for photorelease of carboxylic acids, alcohols/phenols, thioalcohols/thiophenols, and amines

Light-induced release of biomolecules from inactive precursor molecules represents a powerful method to study cellular processes with high temporal and spatial resolution. Here we report the synthesis and photochemistry of a series of {7-[bis(carboxymethyl)amino]coumarin-4-yl}methyl carboxylates, carbonates, carbamates, and thiocarbonates as potential phototriggers for compounds with COOH, OH, NH(2), and SH functions. The compounds are soluble in aqueous buffer, show low fluorescence, and are efficiently photolysed by irradiation with UV/Vis or IR light to release carboxylates, alcohols, phenols, amines, thioalcohols, or thiophenols.