Poly[dimethyldiphenylphosphonium [di‐μ4‐iodido‐tetra‐μ3‐iodido‐pentacopper(I)]]

The title compound, {(C₁₄H₁₆P)[Cu₅I₆]}_n, prepared from the reaction between copper powder, iodine and dimethyldiphenylphosphonium iodide in hydroxyacetone, features an anion that consists of a continuous two‐dimensional Cu–I sheet [Cu—I = 2.5960 (14)–2.6994 (13) Å and Cu—I—Cu = 63.28 (5)–114.25 (5)°]. The cation, which lies on a mirror plane, is a typical dimethyldiphenylphosphonium ion. The structure shows a strong tendency towards segregation of the inorganic and organic parts of the structure into separate subspaces. The two‐dimensional Cu–I sheet displays a pronounced subcell with pseudo‐tetragonal symmetry that is broken by ordered vacancies on the Cu position. The symmetry is further reduced by the orientation of the interleaved organic counter‐ion that is inclined with respect to the pseudo‐mirror planes defined by the Cu–I sheet normal, perpendicular to the b axis.     

Rapid multi-residue method for the quantitative determination and confirmation of glucocorticosteroids in bovine milk using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry

Dexamethasone, betamethasone and prednisolone are synthetic glucocorticosteroids authorised for therapeutic use in bovine animals within the European Union. Dexamethasone and betamethasone are used mainly for the treatment of metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Prednisolone is used to treat bovine mastitis. Maximum residue limits (MRLs) of 0.3 μg kg⁻¹ for both dexamethasone and betamethasone and 6.0 μg kg⁻¹ for prednisolone in bovine milk have been established. 6α-Methylprednisolone and flumethasone are not authorised for use in bovine animals and are completely banned in bovine milk. The proposed method is based on deprotenisation of milk using 20% (w/v) trichloroacetic acid. Samples are filtered using glass microfibre filters and subject to clean-up using OASIS HLB solid phase extraction. Separation was achieved on a Hypercarb 100 mm × 2.1 mm × 5 μm column. Mobile phase was: 90/10 acetonitrile/0.1% formic acid in water; flow rate was 600 μL min⁻¹. The method allowed the rapid identification and confirmation of the five glucocorticosteroids according to the criteria laid down in Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Matrix calibration curves for all compounds were linear in the interval 0.0 MRL to 2.0 MRL with a correlation coefficient (r²) higher than 0.96. Relative recoveries ranged from 97% for betamethasone to 111% for prednisolone. Precision at the MRL ranged from 3.8% for prednisolone to 13.8% for betamethasone. Decision limits, CCα, and detection capability, CCβ have been calculated for all compounds.     

Temporal Control of Membrane Fusion through Photolabile PEGylation of Liposome Membranes

Membrane fusion results in the transport and mixing of (bio)molecules across otherwise impermeable barriers. In this communication, we describe the temporal control of targeted liposome–liposome membrane fusion and contents mixing using light as an external trigger. Our method relies on steric shielding and rapid, photoinduced deshielding of complementary fusogenic peptides tethered to opposing liposomal membranes. In an analogous approach, we were also able to demonstrate precise spatiotemporal control of liposome accumulation at cellular membranes in vitro.     

A novel method for serum lipoprotein profiling using high performance capillary isotachophoresis

A new capillary isotachophoresis (cITP) method for lipoprotein profiling with superior lipoprotein coverage compared to previous methods has been developed, resolving twice as many lipoprotein species (18 peaks/fractions) in serum or plasma in less than 9.5 min. For this, a novel mixture of 24 spacers, including amino acids, dipeptides and sulfonic acids, was developed and fine-tuned, using predictive software (PeakMaster) and testing of spiked serum samples. Lipoprotein peaks were identified by serum-spiking with reference lipoproteins. Compatibility with common lipophilic stains for selective lipoprotein detection with either UV/Vis or laser-induced fluorescence was demonstrated. A special new capillary with a neutral coating (combining water-compatible OV1701-OH deactivation and methylation) was used for the first time for electrodriven separations, allowing very stable separations in a pH 8.8–9.4 gradient system, being functional for more than 100 injections. Excellent reproducibility was achieved, with coefficients of variation lower than 2.6% for absolute migration times. Comparison was performed with human plasma samples analyzed by NMR, leading to similar results with cITP after multivariate statistics, regarding group-clustering and lipoprotein species correlation. The new cITP method was applied to the analysis of serum samples from a LDL receptor knock-out mice model fed either a normal diet or a western-type diet. Differences in the lipoprotein levels and in the sublipoprotein types were detected, showing a shift to more atherogenic particles due to the high cholesterol diet. In summary, this novel method will allow more detailed and informative profiling of lipoprotein particle subtypes for cardiovascular disease research.     

Alkaline‐Earth‐Catalysed Cross‐Dehydrocoupling of Amines and Hydrosilanes: Reactivity Trends,Scope and Mechanism

Alkaline‐earth (Ae=Ca, Sr, Ba) complexes are shown to catalyse the chemoselective cross‐dehydrocoupling (CDC) of amines and hydrosilanes. Key trends were delineated in the benchmark couplings of Ph₃SiH with pyrrolidine or tBuNH₂. Ae{E(SiMe₃)₂}₂ ? (THF)_x (E=N, CH; x=2–3) are more efficient than {N^N}Ae{E(SiMe₃)₂} ? (THF)_n (E=N, CH; n=1–2) complexes (where {N^N}^?={ArN(o‐C₆H₄)C(H)=NAr}^? with Ar=2,6‐iPr₂‐C₆H₃) bearing an iminoanilide ligand, and alkyl precatalysts are better than amido analogues. Turnover frequencies (TOFs) increase in the order Ca<Sr<Ba. Ba{CH(SiMe₃)₂}₂ ? (THF)₃ displays the best performance (TOF up to 3600 h^?1). The substrate scope (>30 products) includes diamines and di(hydrosilane)s. Kinetic analysis of the Ba‐promoted CDC of pyrrolidine and Ph₃SiH shows that 1) the kinetic law is rate=k[Ba]¹[amine]⁰[hydrosilane]¹, 2) electron‐withdrawing p‐substituents on the arylhydrosilane improve the reaction rate and 3) a maximal kinetic isotopic effect (k_SiH/k_SiD=4.7) is seen for Ph₃SiX (X=H, D). DFT calculations identified the prevailing mechanism; instead of an inaccessible σ‐bond‐breaking metathesis pathway, the CDC appears to follow a stepwise reaction path with N?Si bond‐forming nucleophilic attack of the catalytically competent Ba pyrrolide onto the incoming silane, followed by rate limiting hydrogen‐atom transfer to barium. The participation of a Ba silyl species is prevented energetically. The reactivity trend Ca<Sr<Ba results from greater accessibility of the metal centre and decreasing Ae?N_amide bond strength upon descending Group 2.     

Irreversible Collapse of Poly(vinyl stearate) Monolayers at the Air-Water Interface

The collapse of Langmuir monolayers of poly(vinyl stearate) (PVS) at the air-water interface has been investigated by combined measurements of the surface pressure-area isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to gain out-of-plane structural information on collapsed films transferred onto a solid substrate by a modified version of the inverse Langmuir-Schaefer deposition method. At high areas per monomer repeat unit, BAM imaging revealed that the films are heterogeneous, with large solidlike domains (25-200 mum in diameter) coexisting with liquidlike domains. Upon film compression, the domains coalesced to form a homogeneous monolayer before the film collapsed at constant pressure, forming irreversible three-dimensional (3D) structures. BAM images showed that two 3D structures coexisted: buckles of varying width extending across the surface and perpendicular to the direction of the compression and dotted islandlike structures. Upon expansion, the film fractured and both 3D protrusions persisted, explaining the marked hysteresis recorded in the Langmuir isotherms. Experiments with AFM confirmed the 3D nature of both protrusions and revealed that many buckles contain substructures corresponding to narrow buckles whose heights are a multiple of a single bilayer. Additionally, many multilayer islands with diameters spanning from 0.2 mum to over 3.5 mum were characterized by varying heights between 2 nm and up to over 50 nm. The key to the formation of the irreversible 3D structures is the presence of large inhomogeneities in the PVS monolayer, and a generalized phenomenological model is proposed to explain the collapse observed.