Quality assurance in daily practice

 A report based on the workshop on "Quality Assurance in Daily Practice", organised by the study group "Quality Assurance and Accreditation" from the Division of Analytical Chemistry of the Federation of European Chemical Societies (SGQAA/DAC/FECS) held at the EUROANALYSIS-10 conference in Basle, 6–11 September 1998.     

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Gives Evidence for the Presence of Type 1 Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor (GnRH-R) in Subdomains of Lipid Rafts

This study investigated the effect of type 1 gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor (GnRH-R) localization within lipid rafts on the properties of plasma membrane (PM) nanodomain structure. Confocal microscopy revealed colocalization of PM-localized GnRH-R with GM₁-enriched raft-like PM subdomains. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) of a membrane-partitioned spin probe was then used to study PM fluidity of immortalized pituitary gonadotrope cell line αT3-1 and HEK-293 cells stably expressing GnRH-R and compared it with their corresponding controls (αT4 and HEK-293 cells). Computer-assisted interpretation of EPR spectra revealed three modes of spin probe movement reflecting the properties of three types of PM nanodomains. Domains with an intermediate order parameter (domain 2) were the most affected by the presence of the GnRH-Rs, which increased PM ordering (order parameter (S)) and rotational mobility of PM lipids (decreased rotational correlation time (τc)). Depletion of cholesterol by methyl-β-cyclodextrin (methyl-β-CD) inhibited agonist-induced GnRH-R internalization and intracellular Ca²⁺ activity and resulted in an overall reduction in PM order; an observation further supported by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of model membrane systems. This study provides evidence that GnRH-R PM localization may be related to a subdomain of lipid rafts that has lower PM ordering, suggesting lateral heterogeneity within lipid raft domains.     

Attractive surface force in the presence of dissolved gas: a molecular approach

Despite widespread evidence of the influence of dissolved air on hydrophobic interaction, the mechanisms of observed effects are still unknown. Although some experiments indicate that adsorbed gases can modify the structure of water next to hydrophobic surfaces, gas effects on measured forces have been observed only at large surface separations. Gas-specific depletion of water at a hydrophobic surface has been detected but was not reproduced in subsequent measurements. We use computer simulations to study short-ranged hydrophobic attraction in the absence and presence of dissolved gas and monitor gas adsorption at molecular resolution inaccessible in experiments. Although we observe a significant accumulation of dissolved gases at hydrophobic surfaces, even in supersaturated gas solutions surface concentrations remain too low to induce any significant change in the local structure of water and short-range surface forces. We present direct calculations of the hydrophobic force between model hydrocarbon plates at separations between 1.5 and 4 nm. Although stronger, the calculated solvation force has a similar decay rate as deduced from recent surface force apparatus measurements at a somewhat lower contact angle. Within the statistical uncertainty, short-range attraction is not affected by the presence of dissolved nitrogen, even in supersaturated solution with a gas fugacity as high as 30 atm. Comparisons of the adsorption behavior of N2, O2, CO2, and Ar reveal similar features in contrast to the peculiar suppression of water depletion reported for an Ar solution in a neutron reflectivity experiment. Our calculations reveal a notable difference between pathways to the capillary evaporation of pure water and gas-phase nucleation in confined supersaturated gas solutions.     

2‐Amino­thia­zole and 2‐amino­thiazolinone derivatives

The reaction of different substituted α‐cyano­oxiranes with thio­urea resulted in the formation of the 2‐amino­thia­zolinone derivative 2‐amino‐5‐(2,5‐di­methoxy­phenyl)‐1,3‐thia­zol‐4(5H)‐one, C₁₁H₁₂N₂O₃S, (I), and the 2‐amino­thia­zole derivative ethyl 2‐amino‐5‐(2,5‐di­methoxy­phenyl)‐1,3‐thia­zole‐4‐carboxyl­ate, C₁₄H₁₆N₂O₄S, (II). The geometries of the two crystallographically independent mol­ecules in (II) are nearly identical but mirror related. The crystal structures of both compounds contain two types of intermolecular hydrogen bonds.     

Synthesis and preliminary biological evaluation of 5-fluoro-5,8-dideazaisoaminopterin

The new folate antagonist, 5-fluoro-5,8-dideazaisoaminopterin was synthesized in four steps beginning with 2,4-diamino-5-fluoroquinazoline. It was found to be a potent inhibitor of human dihydrofolate reductase. Against L1210 leukemia in mice, 5-fluoro-5,8-dideazaisoaminopterin was equiactive with methotrexate at approximately one half of the total dose employed.     

Synthesis of some novel halogenated 2,4-diaminoquinazolines

Three new 2,4-diaminoquinazolines, the 5,6-difluoro, 6,7-difluoro and 7,8-difluoro isomers were prepared by the reaction of the requisite trifluorobenzonitrile and guanidine carbonate. Surprisingly, 2,3,6-trifluorobenzonitriles gave 2,4-diamino-5,6-difluoroquinazoline exclusively as determined by high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. On the other hand, 3-amino-2,6-difluorobenzonitrile on reaction with guanidine carbonate yielded only 5-fluoro-2,4,8-triaminoquinazoline. This compound was subsequently converted to 8-chloro-2,4-diamino-5-fluoroquinazoline using the Sandmeyer procedure. The nitration of 2,4-diamino-8-fluoroquinazoline occurred exclusively at position six yielding 2,4-diamino-8-fluoro-6-nitroquinazoline, which upon reduction with stannous chloride afforded 8-fluoro-2,4,6-triaminoquinazoline. In a similar fashion 7-fluoro-2,4-diaminoquinazoline underwent nitration at position six and was then reduced to give 7-fluoro-2,4,6-triaminoquinazoline. Finally, both of these triaminoquinazolines were converted to the 6-chloro derivatives under Sandmeyer conditions to yield 6-chloro-2,4-diamino-8-fluoroquinazoline and 6-chloro-2,4-diamino-7-fluoroquinazoline, respectively.     

Influence of different initiators on methyl methacrylate polymerization,studied by differential scanning calorimetry

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to measure the decomposition rates of four commercially used initiators, 2,2′-azobis(isobutyronitrile) 2,2′-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile), dilauroyl peroxide and bis(4-t-butylcyclohexyl)peroxydicarbonate, in dynamic mode, while the courses of methyl methacrylate polymerization with the listed initiators at 65, 75 and 85°C were measured isothermally. From the DSC curves, the polymerization enthalpies, the overall reaction rate constants and the activation energies for the initial steady-state polymerization were calculated. It was found that the polymerization enthalpy and the kinetic parameters depended on the type of the initiator. An initiator with a shorter decomposition half-lifetime shifted the onset of the gel effect to a higher conversion, intensified it and decreased the average molar mass of the polymer.     

Dynamics of capillary drying in water

We use atomistic simulations to address the question when capillary evaporation of water confined in a hydrocarbonlike slit is kinetically viable. Activation barriers and absolute rates of evaporation are estimated using open ensemble Monte Carlo-umbrella sampling and molecular dynamics simulations. At ambient conditions, the evaporation rate in a water film four molecular diameters thick is found to be of the order 10(5)(nm(2) s)(-1), meaning that water readily evaporates. Films more than a few nanometers thick will persist in a metastable liquid state. Dissolved atmospheric gas molecules do not significantly decrease the activation barrier.     

13C N.M.R. and 14N N.Q.R. in ferroelectric liquid crystals Polar versus quadrupolar ordering

¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance and ¹⁴N nuclear quadrupole resonance spectra of ferroelectric smectic C*liquid crystals and their non-chiral analogues allow for a microscopic determination of the polar and quadrupolar (or bipolar) biasing of rotation around the long molecular axis as well as for a determination of the anisotropy in the fluctuations of this axis. The results show that the microscopic origin of the biquadratic coupling between the polarization and the tilt, which has been recently introduced into the extended Landau model of the S_A-S*_C transition, is the quadrupolar (or bipolar) rotational bias induced by the anisotropy in the fluctuations of the long molecular axis. The tilt induced anisotropy in the fluctuations is practically identical in chiral and non-chiral smectic C phases.