6-(Hetero)arylindolizino[1,2-c]quinolines as highly fluorescent chemical space: Synthesis and photophysical properties

A highly fluorescent indolizino[1,2-c]quinoline with a substituent at the C6 position was designed and synthesized as a new indolizine-quinoline hybrid structure via a tetracyclic lactam. Various (hetero)aryl groups were introduced at the C6 site of this basic skeleton to display intriguing photophysical properties.     

Reduced dimensionality (3,2)D NMR experiments and their automated analysis: implications to high‐throughput structural studies on proteins

Protein NMR spectroscopy has expanded dramatically over the last decade into a powerful tool for the study of their structure, dynamics, and interactions. The primary requirement for all such investigations is sequence‐specific resonance assignment. The demand now is to obtain this information as rapidly as possible and in all types of protein systems, stable/unstable, soluble/insoluble, small/big, structured/unstructured, and so on. In this context, we introduce here two reduced dimensionality experiments – (3,2)D‐hNCO canH and (3,2)D‐hN coCA nH – which enhance the previously described 2D NMR‐based assignment methods quite significantly. Both the experiments can be recorded in just about 2–3 h each and hence would be of immense value for high‐throughput structural proteomics and drug discovery research. The applicability of the method has been demonstrated using alpha‐helical bovine apo calbindin‐D9k P43M mutant (75 aa) protein. Automated assignment of this data using AUTOBA has been presented, which enhances the utility of these experiments. The backbone resonance assignments so derived are utilized to estimate secondary structures and the backbone fold using Web‐based algorithms. Taken together, we believe that the method and the protocol proposed here can be used for routine high‐throughput structural studies of proteins. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of clonidine with LLOQ of 10 pg/mL in human plasma

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of clonidine in human plasma. Following liquid-liquid extraction, the analytes were separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reverse-phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H](+) ions, m/z 230 to 44 for clonidine and m/z 254 to 44 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 10-2000 pg/mL for clonidine in human plasma. The lower limit of quantification was 10 pg/mL with a relative standard deviation of less than 6.8%. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. A run time of 2.5 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 250 human plasma samples per day. The validated method was successfully used to analyze human plasma samples for application in pharmacokinetic studies. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid and simple liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of zidovudine in rat plasma

A high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of zidovudine in rat plasma. Following solid-phase extraction, the analytes were separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reverse phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M+H]+ ions, m/z 268/127 for zidovudine and m/z 230/112 for the internal standard. The method exhibited a linear dynamic range of 5-500 ng/mL for zidovudine in rat plasma. The lower limit of quantification was 5 ng/mL with a relative standard deviation of less than 8%. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. A run time of 1.5 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 400 plasma samples per day. The validated method was applied for pharmacokinetic studies of the novel drug delivery systems of zidovudine in rats.     

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of amisulpride with LLOQ of 100 pg/mL using 100 microL of plasma

A sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatography-positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of amisulpride in 100 microL of human plasma. Following liquid-liquid extraction, the analytes were separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reverse-phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective (M + H)(+) ions, m/z 370-242 for amisulpride and m/z 341-112 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range with a lower range of 0.1-100 ng/mL and a higher range of 1-500 ng/mL of amisulpride in human plasma. The lower limit of quantification was 0.1 ng/mL with a relative standard deviation of less than 10%. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for both linearity ranges. A run time of 2.0 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 275 human plasma samples per day. The validated method has been successfully used to analyze plasma samples for application in pharmacokinetic studies.     

Total synthesis of the originally proposed and revised structures of palmerolide A and isomers thereof

Palmerolide A is a recently disclosed marine natural product possessing striking biological properties, including potent and selective activity against the melanoma cancer cell line UACC-62. The total syntheses of five palmerolide A stereoisomers, including the originally proposed (1) and the revised [ent-(19-epi-20-epi-1)] structures, have been accomplished. The highly convergent and flexible strategy developed for these syntheses involved the construction of key building blocks 2, 19-epi-2, 20-epi-2, ent-2, 3, ent-3, 4, and ent-4, and their assembly and elaboration to the target compounds. For the union of the building blocks, the Stille coupling reaction, Yamaguchi esterification, Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination, and ring-closing metathesis reaction were employed, the latter being crucial for the stereoselective formation of the macrocycle of the palmerolide structure. The Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination and the Yamaguchi lactonization were also investigated and found successful as a means to construct the palmerolide macrocycle. The syntheses were completed by attachment of the enamide moiety through a copper-catalyzed coupling process.     

LC Method for the Determination of the Stability of Levetiracetam Drug Substance under Stressing Conditions

Levetiracetam is used in combination with other medications to treat certain types of seizures in people with epilepsy. Levetiracetam is in a class of medications called anticonvulsants and it works by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. A chromatographic separation was achieved on a YMC pack ODS AQ, 250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm column using diluted phosphoric acid and acetonitrile in the ratio 85:15 v/v. Forced degradation studies were performed on the levetiracetam drug substance. The drug substance was degraded to Imp-B during acid and base hydrolysis. When the stress samples were assayed, the mass balance was matching. The sample solution and mobile phase was found to be stable up to 48 h at 25 °C. The developed method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness.     

Topological Polymer Chemistry Enters Surface Science: Linear versus Cyclic Polymer Brushes

The cyclic polymer topology strongly alters the interfacial, physico‐chemical properties of polymer brushes, when compared to the linear counterparts. In this study, we especially concentrated on poly‐2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline (PEOXA) cyclic and linear grafts assembled on titanium oxide surfaces by the “grafting‐to” technique. The smaller hydrodynamic radius of ring PEOXAs favors the formation of denser brushes with respect to linear analogs. Denser and more compact cyclic brushes generate a steric barrier that surpasses the typical entropic shield by a linear brush. This phenomenon, translates into an improved resistance towards biological contamination from different protein mixtures. Moreover, the enhancement of steric stabilization coupled to the intrinsic absence of chain ends by cyclic brushes, produce surfaces displaying a super‐lubricating character when they are sheared against each other. All these topological effects pave the way for the application of cyclic brushes for surface functionalization, enabling the modulation of physico‐chemical properties that could be just marginally tuned by applying linear grafts.     

Ultrafast Photogenerated Hole Extraction/Transport Behavior in a CH3NH3PbI3/Carbon Nanocomposite and Its Application in a Metal‐Electrode‐Free Solar Cell

Aligned and flexible electrospun carbon nanomaterials are used to synthesize carbon/perovskite nanocomposites. The free‐electron diffusion length in the CH₃NH₃PbI₃ phase of the CH₃NH₃PbI₃/carbon nanocomposite is almost twice that of bare CH₃NH₃PbI₃, and nearly 95 % of the photogenerated free holes can be injected from the CH₃NH₃PbI₃ phase into the carbon nanomaterial. The exciton binding energy of the composite is estimated to be 23 meV by utilizing temperature‐dependent optical absorption spectroscopy. The calculated free carriers increase with increasing total photoexcitation density, and this broadens the potential of this material for a broad range of optoelectronics applications. A metal‐electrode‐free perovskite solar cell (power conversion efficiency: 13.0 %) is fabricated with this perovskite/carbon composite, which shows great potential for the fabrication of efficient, large‐scale, low‐cost, and metal‐electrode‐free perovskite solar cells.     

Novel strategies for the synthesis of anthrapyran antibiotics: discovery of a new antitumor agent and total synthesis of (S)-espicufolin

Two high-yielding strategies for the synthesis of 4H-anthra[1,2-b]pyran antibiotics have been developed giving access to novel antitumor agent (ED(50) 1.5 microm) and to (S)-espicufolin (3). A key step for the assembly of the tetracyclic 4H-anthra[1,2-b]pyran-4,7,12-trione skeleton is the nucleophilic addition of an aryl lithium species onto an aldehyde which allows the introduction of either an ynone or 1,3-diketo side chain, serving as precursors for an acid-catalysed cyclisation.