On the exceptional reactivity of the norbornene double bond

The anomalous reactivity of the bicyclo [2.2.1] heptene double bond is interpreted in terms of hyperconjugative effects, leading to an exceptionally low endo out-of-plane deformation potential.     

Nonlinear desingularization in certain free-boundary problems

We consider a nonlinear, elliptic, free-boundary problem involving an initially unknown setA that represents, for example, the cross-section of a steady vortex ring or of a confined plasma in equilibrium. The solutions are characterized by a variational principle which allows us to describe their behaviour under a limiting process such that the diameter ofA tends to zero, while the solutions degenerate to the solution of a related linear problem. This limiting solution is the sum of the Green function of the linear operator and of a smooth function satisfying the boundary conditions. Mathematically speaking, this limiting process, that we call nonlinear desingularization, is a novel kind of bifurcation phenomenon since the nonlinear effect here involves smoothing the singularity of the associated linear problem.Research partially supported by A FOSR and NSF grants     

Cooperative effects in binuclear zirconocenes: Their synthesis and use as catalyst in propene polymerization

The mono- and bis-cyclopentadienyl compounds 1-(Cp″)-4-(CH₃)C₆H₄ (1) and 1, 4-(Cp″)₂C₆H₄ (2) (Cp″ = 3,4-dimethylcyclopenta-1,3-diene-1-yl) have been synthesized. The reactions of the lithium salts of 1 and 2 with CpZrCl₃ · dme (dme = dimethoxyethane) and Cp*ZrCl₃(CP* = C₅(CH₃)₅) yielded the mono- and bi-nuclear bridged zirconocenes 1-(Cp″ZrCpCl₂)-4-(CH₃)C₆H₄ (3), 1,4-(Cp″ZrCpCl₂)₂C₆H₄ (4) and 1,4-(Cp″ZrCp*Cl₂)₂C₆H₄ (5). When activated with methylaluminoxane (MAO), the mono- and bi-nuclear zirconocenes 3 and 4 catalyse the polymerization of propene. The influence of the catalyst composition on the polymerization kinetics and molecular weight is discussed.     

A Short Synthesis of (−)-Carbovir

(–)-Carbovir ((–)- 1 ) was synthesized via the cyclic carbonate 2 in four steps starting from enantiomerically enriched (–)-(S)-(cyclopent-2-enyl)methanol ((–)- 3 ).     

Simultaneous determination of ondansetron and tropisetron in human plasma using HPLC with UV detection

A rapid and sensitive HPLC method for the simultaneous quantitation of ondansetron and tropisetron, two serotonin (5-HT) receptor antagonists frequently used in treatment and prevention of nausea and emesis, is described. The procedure involves liquid-liquid extraction of human plasma with dichloromethane coupled with reversed-phase HPLC and UV detection. The lower limits of quantification (LOQ) were 0.62 ng/mL for ondansetron and 1.25 ng/mL or tropisetron. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation ranged from 1.5 to 7.5% and 5.3 to 13.7%, respectively. The sensitivity and precision were sufficient for determination of plasma concentrations after therapeutic administration of both drugs and the method can be used for the estimation of pharmacokinetic parameters.     

Propene polymerization using homogeneous MAO-activated metallocene catalysts: Me2Si(Benz[e]Indenyl)2ZrCl2/MAO vs. Me2Si(2-Me-Benz[e]Indenyl)2ZrCl2/MAO

Propene was polymerized at 40°C and 2-bar propene in toluene using methylalumoxane (MAO) activated rac-Me₂Si(Benz[e]Indenyl)₂ZrCl₂ ( BI ) and rac-Me₂Si(2-Me-Benz[e]Indenyl)₂ZrCl₂ ( MBI ). Catalyst BI /MAO polymerizes propene with high activity to afford low molecular weight polypropylene, whereas MBI /MAO is less active and produces high molecular weight polypropylene. Variation of reaction conditions such as propene concentration, temperature, concentration of catalyst components, and addition of hydrogen reveals that the lower molecular weight polypropylene produced with BI /MAO results from chain transfer to propene monomer following a 2,1-insertion. A large fraction of both metallocene catalyst systems is deactivated upon 2,1-insertion. Such dormant sites can be reactivated by H₂-addition, which affords active metallocene hydrides. This effect of H₂-addition is reflected by a decreasing content of head-to-head enchainment and the formation of polypropylene with n-butyl end groups. Both catalysts show a strong dependence of activity on propene concentration that indicates a formal reaction order of 1.7 with respect to propene. MBI /MAO shows a much higher dependence of the activity on temperature than BI /MAO. At elevated temperatures, MBI /MAO polymerizes propene faster than BI /MAO. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Rapid determination of microorganisms using a flow-injection system

An automated method for the rapid determination of microorganisms using a flow-injection system is presented. Electrochemical measurement of a mediator reduced by microbial metabolism allowed the determination of fungi and bacteria in a few minutes. The lowest detection limit was 5 × 10⁶ colony-forming units (cfu) ml^?1 for Escherichia coli. Correlation between the flow-injection method and standard microbiological methods was excellent (r = 0.997, n = 4 for Beauveria bassiana; r = 0.997, n = 7 for E. coli). The flow-injection system was applied to the on-line control of an E. coli cultivation.     

Organometallic complex compounds,part 6(1). Property-specific ligand control of stability and reactivity of (1,3-dimethyl-η3-allyl)methylnickel-ligand complexes. Separation of electronic and steric effects

Summary The property-specific ligand control of 28 ligands on the decomposition temperatures in solution, measured by d.t.a. of a four-coordinate nickel(II)-complex is reported. A quantitative separation of electronic and steric effects by a multilinear regression analysis (75% electronic and 25% steric influence for the chosen ligands) is presented. The controlling effect of the selectivity on the decomposition (fraction of the C-C-linked product) (25 P-ligands) leads to an electronic: steric ratio of the property-specific ligand control of 5545 for the chosen ligands. An increase in the relative acceptor character of the P-ligands relatively destabilizes the complexes and thereby favours formation of a C-C-bond. An increase in steric hindrance also favours C-C-bond formation. A method for revising the steric parameter of P-ligands is presented and is used to correct the -value of (PhCH₂)₃P is corrected to 135°. SCCC-MO-calculations for testing the chemical reasoning of the separated electronic and steric ligand property control are shown.     

Analysis of proteins from a glioma cell line by using micro-scale solution isoelectric focusing in combination with liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

In this study we have investigated whether micro-solution isoelectric focusing (microsol-IEF) can be used as a pre-fractionation step prior to liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and if extensive sample purification of the different fractions is required. We found that, in spite of the high concentrations of buffer and detergents, no clean up of the digested microsol-IEF fractions was necessary before analysis by LC/MS/MS. We also concluded that it is possible to identify at least twice as many proteins in a glioma cell lysate with the combination of microsol-IEF and LC/MS/MS than with LC/MS/MS alone. Furthermore, most of the proteins that were identified from one microsol-IEF fraction by using analytical narrow-range two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and peptide mass fingerprinting with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) were also identified by LC/MS/MS. Finally, we used the combination of microsol-IEF and LC/MS/MS to compare two sample preparation methods for glioma cells and found that several nuclear, mitochondria, and endoplasmic reticulum proteins were only present in the sample that had been subjected to lipid extraction by incubating the homogenized cells in chloroform/methanol/water.     

Characterization of structural transitions in the SLS/decanol/water system

The ternary system sodium-dodecylsulphate (SLS)/decanol/water has been investigated at three different water contents and varying ratios of cosurfactant to surfactant by means of polarized optical microscopy,²H-NMR quadrupole splittings and small angle x-ray scattering. Upon addition of decanol a hexagonal phase transforms into a lamellar phase. For the highest water content of 0.65 no intermediate two-phase regions are detected but nematic phases are formed between. The lamellar phase at low cosurfactant content is very sensitive to changes of temperature and seems to be a so-called defective one with curved interfaces. From the scaling behavior it is concluded that the building units seem to be ribbons of increasing width on addition of cosurfactant or amphiphilic substance. By reaching a decanol mole fraction of 0.4 a classical lamellar phase with well-known behavior is formed. During these transformations the position of the first diffraction maximum changes gradually irrespective of phase transitions. The maximum mole fraction of cosurfactant the lamellar phase of our system can incorporate is 0.77.