Copper and iron interactions with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. A study by fast-atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry

Fast atom bombardment, combined with high-energy collision-induced tandem mass spectrometry, has been used to investigate gas-phase metal-ion interactions with captopril, enalaprilat and lisinopril, all angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors.Suggestions for the location of metal-binding sites are presented. For captopril, metal binding occurs most likely at both the sulphur and the nitrogen atom. For enalaprilat and lisinopril, binding preferably occurs at the amine nitrogen. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design and construction of an quasi-adiabatic dissolution calorimeter with a novel dosing apparatus and a low heat capacity

A quasi-adiabatic calorimeter for determining the molar solution enthalpies (Δ_sol H) of non-volatile solids was constructed. The design of the instrument was adjusted to allow the determination of solution enthalpies of small amounts of solids. For that purpose, the novel apparatus for sample dosage with virtually negligible “blank heat” was built. The rather low heat capacity of the calorimeter was achieved by reducing the volume of the reaction cell (20 mL), the dosing unit, and electric elements (the thermistor and the heater). Good thermal isolation of the reaction cell from the surroundings was accomplished by placing the cell into an evacuated polypropylene vessel. A computer program for processing the calorimetric data according to modified Regnault–Pfaundler method was written. The performance of the calorimeter was tested by determining the heats of the reactions serving as thermochemical standards at 25 °C (the dissolution of KCl and NaCl in water and the dissolution of tris(hydroxymethyl)-aminomethane in 0.1 mol dm^?3 HCl(aq)). The obtained data were in very good agreement with the literature values.     

Optimization Condition for Thin-Layer Identification of Bronzes after Anodic Sampling

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Qualitative identification of Cu, Sn, Pb, Ni, and Fe in Cu-alloys is presented. The method involves anodic sampling of alloys,...     

Construction of a New Class of Tetracycline Lead Structures with Potent Antibacterial Activity through Biosynthetic Engineering

Antimicrobial resistance and the shortage of novel antibiotics have led to an urgent need for new antibacterial drug leads. Several existing natural product scaffolds (including chelocardins) have not been developed because their suboptimal pharmacological properties could not be addressed at the time. It is demonstrated here that reviving such compounds through the application of biosynthetic engineering can deliver novel drug candidates. Through a rational approach, the carboxamido moiety of tetracyclines (an important structural feature for their bioactivity) was introduced into the chelocardins, which are atypical tetracyclines with an unknown mode of action. A broad‐spectrum antibiotic lead was generated with significantly improved activity, including against all Gram‐negative pathogens of the ESKAPE panel. Since the lead structure is also amenable to further chemical modification, it is a platform for further development through medicinal chemistry and genetic engineering.     

The μ-dependence of the effective weak Hamiltonian andK→2π amplitudes in chiral-bag model

This paper studies the μ-dependence of the operator matrix elements. Although the μ-dependence must in principle cancel as illustrated in the paper by using a simple pedagogical model, in practice the choice of μ markedly influences the theoretical predictions forK→2π decays.     

Entanglement in holographic dark energy models

We study a process of equilibration of holographic dark energy (HDE) with the cosmic horizon around the dark-energy dominated epoch. This process is characterized by a huge amount of information conveyed across the horizon, filling thereby a large gap in entropy between the system on the brink of experiencing a sudden collapse to a black hole and the black hole itself. At the same time, even in the absence of interaction between dark matter and dark energy, such a process marks a strong jump in the entanglement entropy, measuring the quantum-mechanical correlations between the horizon and its interior. Although the effective quantum field theory (QFT) with a peculiar relationship between the UV and IR cutoffs, a framework underlying all HDE models, may formally account for such a huge shift in the number of distinct quantum states, we show that the scope of such a framework becomes tremendously restricted, devoid virtually any application in other cosmological epochs or particle-physics phenomena. The problem of negative entropies for the non-phantom stuff is also discussed.     

Certification of trace and major elements and methylmercury concentrations in a macroalgae (Fucus sp.) reference material, IAEA-140

A marine reference material, IAEA-140, prepared with a macroalgae (Fucus sp.) was recently produced by the International Atomic Energy Agency and certified for trace and major elements and for methylmercury (MeHg). Certification of this material was achieved as an outcome of an international analytical intercomparison study which resulted in 116 independent sets of results reported by participants from 54 countries. The statistical evaluation of the collected data and the criteria used for assignment of the mean and uncertainty values are described. The analysis of data allowed to certify concentration values for 24 elements and MeHg, and to provide information values for another 10 elements. Regarding the elements which could be given certified values, between two and eight different instrumental methods were used to measure metal concentrations, and four independent analytical procedures were used to measure MeHg concentrations. In order to assess the results of the certification procedure, a comparison was made between the certified values obtained from the world-wide intercomparison results and the values obtained from a small subgroup of well-qualified laboratories. The means and 95% confidence intervals for reference values obtained by the two methods are similar for most elements showing that the usual method of certification used by the IAEA, based on large groups of participants, is indeed pertinent.     

Anodic Sampling and TLC Identification of Dental Alloys

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Knowledge of the composition of an incorporated alloy is a precondition for avoiding polymetallism in subsequent prosthetic...     

Cyclic ions in the mass spectra of trimethylsilyl derivatives of substituted o-dihydroxybenzenes

The mass spectra of trimethylsilyl (TMS) ethers/methyl esters of phenolic acids containing o-dihydroxybenzene groups have base peaks at [M?119]⁺ instead of the usual [M?15]⁺ and [M?31]⁺ that are characteristic of TMS/methyl esters of monohydroxyphenolic acids. These ions, formed by the loss of 31+88 u from the parent ion, possess a cyclic moiety as proven by substitution of deuterium atoms for hydrogen atoms in the TMS groups of the methyl esters of 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic (gallic), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic (protocatechuic) and β-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)propenoic (caffeic) acids. Although these cyclic ions are the base peaks in TMS-derivatized o-dihydroxyphenolic acid esters, similar ions represent intense peaks but not necessarily the base peak in other derivatized compounds such as 1,2-dihydroxybenzene, 1,2-dihydroxy-3-methyl- and 1,2-dihydroxy-4-methyl-benzenes and flavan-3-ols that possess o-dihydroxybenzene groups. Compounds possession m- or p-dihydroxybenzene groups do not form these cyclic ions; therefore, this procedure for derivatization and interpretation of mass spectra is valuable for the identification of compounds containing o-dihydroxybenzene groups in complex mixtures of isomeric compounds.