Liquid chromatographic/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric study of the phenolic composition of cocoa (Theobroma cacao)

Liquid chromatography coupled with ionspray mass spectrometry in the tandem mode (LC/MS/MS) with negative ion detection was used for the identification of a variety of phenolic compounds in a cocoa sample. Gradient elution with water and acetonitrile, both containing 0.1% HCOOH, was used. Standard solutions of 31 phenolic compounds, including benzoic and cinnamic acids and flavonoid compounds, were studied in the negative ion mode using MS/MS product ion scans. At low collisional activation, the deprotonated molecule [M - H](-) was observed for all the compounds studied. For cinnamic and benzoic acids, losses of CO(2) or formation of [M - CH(3)](-*) in the case of methoxylated compounds were observed. However, for flavonol and flavone glycosides, the spectra present both the deprotonated molecule [M - H](-) of the glycoside and the ion corresponding to the deprotonated aglycone [A - H](-). The latter ion is formed by loss of the rhamnose, glucose, galactose or arabinose residue from the glycosides. Different fragmentation patterns were observed in MS/MS experiments for flavone-C-glycosides which showed fragmentation in the sugar part. Fragmentation of aglycones provided characteristic ions for each family of flavonoids. The optimum LC/MS/MS conditions were applied to the characterization of a cocoa sample that had been subjected to an extraction/clean-up procedure which involved chromatography on Sephadex LH20 and thin-layer chromatographic monitoring. In addition to compounds described in the literature, such as epicatechin and catechin, quercetin, isoquercitrin (quercetin-3-O-glucoside) and quercetin-3-O-arabinose, other compounds were identified for the first time in cocoa samples, such as hyperoside (quercetin-3-O-galactoside), naringenin, luteolin, apigenin and some O-glucosides and C-glucosides of these compounds.     

Early-late heterobimetallic alkoxides as model systems for late-transition-metal catalysts supported on titania

Titanium complexes with chelating alkoxide ligands [TiCp*(O(2)Bz)(OBzOH)] (1) and [TiCp*(Me)((OCH(2))(2)Py)] (2) were synthesised by reaction of [TiCp*Me(3)] (Cp*=eta(5)-C(5)Me(5)) with 2-hydroxybenzyl alcohol ((HO)(2)Bz) and 2,6-pyridinedimethanol ((HOCH(2))(2)Py), respectively. Complex 1 reacts with [(M(mu-OH)(cod))(2)] (M=Rh, Ir) to yield the early-late heterobimetallic complexes [TiCp*(O(2)Bz)(2)M(cod)] [M=Rh (3), Ir (4)]. Carbon monoxide readily replaces the COD ligand in 3 to give the rhodium dicarbonyl derivative [TiCp*(O(2)Bz)(2)Rh(CO)(2)] (5). Compound 2 reacts with [(M(mu-OH)(cod))(2)] (M=Rh, Ir) with protonolysis of a Tibond;Me bond to give [TiCp*((OCH(2))(2)Py)(mu-O)M(cod)] [M=Rh (6), Ir (7)]. The molecular structures of complexes 3, 5 and 7 were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies.     

Two isomeric butadiene–N‐(acetoxy­phenyl)maleimide Diels–Alder adducts: supramolecular structure directed by C—H⋯X (X = O and π) hydrogen bonds and perpendicular dipole carbonyl–carbonyl inter­actions

The mol­ecular and supramolecular structures of 2‐(1,3‐dioxo‐2,3,3a,4,7,7a‐hexa­hydro‐1H‐isoindol‐2‐yl)phenyl acetate, C₁₆‐H₁₅NO₄, (I), and its para isomer, 4‐(1,3‐dioxo‐2,3,3a,4,7,7a‐hexa­hydro‐1H‐isoindol‐2‐yl)phenyl acetate, (II), are reported. The torsion angle between the succinimide and benzene rings depends on the position of the acet­oxy substitution [89.7 (1) and 61.9 (1)° for (I) and (II), respectively]. The twist of the acet­oxy group relative to the mean plane of the benzene ring is almost independent of the acet­oxy position [66.0 (1) and 70.0 (1)°]. Packing inter­actions for both compounds include soft C—H⋯X (X = O and Ph) inter­actions, forming chains of centrosymmetric dimers and inter­linked chains for (I) and (II), respectively. In addition, three perpendicular dipole C=O⋯C=O inter­actions contribute to the supramolecular structure of (II).     

Density functional theory of solvation and its relation to implicit solvent models

We describe a density functional theory approach to solvation in molecular solvents. The solvation free energy of a complex solute can be obtained by direct minimization of a density functional, instead of the thermodynamic integration scheme necessary when using atomistic simulations. In the homogeneous reference fluid approximation, the expression of the free-energy functional relies on the knowledge of the direct correlation function of the pure solvent. After discussing general molecular solvents, we present a generic density functional describing a dipolar solvent and we show how it can be reduced to the conventional implicit solvent models when the solvent microscopic structure is neglected. With respect to those models, the functional includes additional effects such as the microscopic structure of the solvent, the dipolar saturation effect, and the nonlocal character of the dielectric constant. We also show how this functional can be minimized numerically on a three-dimensional grid around a solute of complex shape to provide, in a single shot, both the average solvent structure and the absolute solvation free energy.     

Rhenium(I)-induced cyclization of thiosemicarbazones derived from beta-keto esters

The reactions of methylacetoacetate and ethyl 2-methylacetoacetate thiosemicarbazones (H(2)L(A) and H(2)L(B), respectively) with [ReX(CO)(5)] and [ReX(CO)(3)(CH(3)CN)(2)] (X = Cl, Br) were explored under various experimental conditions. Besides the adducts fac-[ReX(CO)(3)(H(2)L)], in which the rhenium is coordinated to three carbonyl groups, the X anion, and the N,S-bidentate thiosemicarbazone ligand, the following complexes were also isolated: fac-[ReBr(CO)(3)(Hpyz(B))], the tetrameric complexes fac-[Re(pyz(A))(CO)(3)](4) and fac-[Re(pyz(B))(CO)(3)](4), and fac-[Re(pyz(B))(CO)(3)(H(2)O)] (where Hpyz(A) and Hpyz(B) are pyrazolones derived by cyclization of H(2)L(A) and H(2)L(B), respectively). The cyclization reactions were monitored by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and the complexes isolated were identified by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, IR and (1)H NMR spectroscopy, and in some cases by X-ray diffractometry. The isolation and the full structural identification of the rather unusual fac-[ReBr(CO)(3)(Hpyz(B))], which contains the enol form of the pyrazolone ligand, affords new insight into the cyclization of thiosemicarbazones derived from beta-keto esters.     

Diels-Alder reaction of optically active (E)-γ-keto-α,β-unsaturated p-tolylsulfoxides with cyclopentadiene

The Diels-Alder reaction of enantiomerically pure (E)-γ-keto-α,β-unsaturated p-tolylsulphoxides 3 with cyclopentadiene give four easily separable diastereomers. The effect of several Lewis acids on the reaction was studied, finding a high endo selectivity with respect to the carbonyl group and moderate π-diastereoselectivity using BF₃·Et₂O as catalyst. The reactivity of compounds 3 as well as their endo selectivity are both higher than those observed for the corresponding (E)-3-sulfinylacrylates.     

Analysis of nickel-niobium alloys by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was applied to the analysis of major and minor elements of Ni-Nb alloys obtained by aluminothermic reduction process. Digestion of samples was made using a mixture of HF+HNO₃. Minor and trace elements were determined without matrix separation. The precision for all constituents was <3%. Recoveries for the analyte-spiked samples were 95%.     

Biogenetically inspired enantioselective approach to Indolo[2,3-a]- and benzo[a]quinolizidine alkaloids from a synthetic equivalent of secologanin

[reaction: see text] Racemic oxodiester 1 undergoes stereoselective cyclocondensation with (S)-tryptophanol, (S)-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)alaninol, or the corresponding amino acids, in a process involving a tandem dynamic kinetic resolution/desymmetrization of diastereotopic groups, to give bicyclic lactams, which are cyclized to substituted indolo[2,3-a]- and benzo[a]quinolizidines.     

Environmental effects on a prion's helix II domain: copper(II) and membrane interactions with PrP180-193 and its analogues

An abnormal interaction between copper and the prion protein is believed to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of prion diseases. Copper binding has been mainly attributed to the N-terminal domain of the prion protein, but this hypothesis has recently been challenged in some papers which suggest that the C-terminal domain might also compete for metal anchoring. In particular, the segment corresponding to the helix II region of the prion protein, namely PrP180-193, has been shown both to bind copper and to exhibit a copper-enhanced cytotoxicity, as well as to interact with artificial membranes. The present work is aimed at extending these results by choosing the most representative model of this domain and by determining its copper affinity. With this aim, the different role played by the electrostatic properties of the C- and N-termini of PrP180-193 (VNITIKQHTVTTTT) in determining its conformational behaviour, copper coordination and ability to perturb model membranes was investigated. Owing to the low solubility of PrP180-193, its copper affinity was evaluated by using the shorter PrPAc184-188NH2 (IKQHT) analogue as a model. ESI-MS, ESR, UV/Vis, and CD measurements were carried out on the copper(II)/PrPAc184-188NH2 and copper(II)/PrP180-193NH2 systems, and showed that PrPAc184-188NH2 is a reliable model for the metal interaction with the helix II domain. The affinity of copper(II) for the helix II fragment is higher than that for the octarepeat and PrP106-126 peptides. Finally, the different ability of PrP180-193 analogues to perturb the DPPC model membrane was assessed by DSC measurements. The possible biological consequences of these findings are also discussed briefly.     

Incorporation conditions guiding the aggregation of a glycosylphosphatidyl inositol (GPI)-anchored protein in Langmuir monolayers

This work investigates the process of incorporation of a glycosylphosphatidyl inositol (GPI)-anchored alkaline phosphatase into Langmuir monolayers of dimyristoyl phosphatidic acid (DMPA). Three different methods of protein incorporation were assayed. When the protein solution was injected below the air–water interface after formation of the lipid monolayer a micro-heterogeneous distribution of alkaline phosphatase throughout the interface was observed. Adsorption kinetics studied by fluorescence microscopy, associated with surface pressure measurements, led to the proposition of a model in which the protein penetration is modulated by the surface packing of the monolayer and intermolecular interactions occurring between the phospholipid and the protein. At initial surface pressures higher than 20 mN m⁻¹, the protein is quickly adsorbed on the interface and the lateral diffusion drives the alkyl chains to turn towards the air phase while the polypeptide moiety faces the aqueous subphase.