Detection of arsenic, antimony and tin in forensic toxicology by paper chromatography

Summary A paper chromatographic technique for the detection of arsenic, antimony and tin as applied to toxicological analysis has been described.     

Dioxygenase-catalysed oxidation of disubstituted benzene substrates: benzylic monohydroxylation versus aryl cis-dihydroxylation and the meta effect

Biotransformations of a series of ortho-, meta- and para-substituted ethylbenzene and propylbenzene substrates have been carried out, using Pseudomonas putida UV4, a source of toluene dioxygenase (TDO). The ortho- and para-substituted alkylbenzene substrates yielded, exclusively, the corresponding enantiopure cis-dihydrodiols of the same absolute configuration. However, the meta isomers, generally, gave benzylic alcohol bioproducts, in addition to the cis-dihydrodiols (the meta effect). The benzylic alcohols were of identical (R) absolute configuration but enantiomeric excess values were variable. The similar (2R) absolute configurations of the cis-dihydrodiols are consistent with both the ethyl and propyl groups having dominant stereodirecting effects over the other substituents. The model used earlier, to predict the regio- and stereo-chemistry of cis-dihydrodiol bioproducts derived from substituted benzene substrates has been refined, to take account of non-symmetric substituents like ethyl or propyl groups. The formation of benzylic hydroxylation products, from meta-substituted benzene substrates, without further cis-dihydroxylation to yield triols provides a further example of the meta effect during toluene dioxygenase-catalysed oxidations.     

Space- and time-like electromagnetic pion form factors in light-cone pQCD

We present a combined analysis of the space- and time-like electromagnetic pion form factors in light-cone perturbative QCD with transverse momentum dependence and Sudakov suppression. Including the genuine non-perturbative “soft” QCD and the power suppressed twist-3 corrections to the standard twist-2 perturbative QCD result, the experimental form factor data available at moderate energies/momentum transfers can be explained reasonably well. To this end, the bulk of the existing discrepancy between the space- and time-like experimental data is ostensibly reconciled.     

Isospin-breaking corrections in the pion–deuteron scattering length

It is shown that isospin-breaking corrections to the pion–deuteron scattering length can be very large, because of the vanishing of the isospin-symmetric contribution to this scattering length at leading order in chiral perturbation theory. We further demonstrate that these corrections can explain the bulk of the discrepancy between the recent experimental data on pionic hydrogen and pionic deuterium. We also give the first determination of the electromagnetic low-energy constant f₁$f_1$.     

Spectroscopic Studies of a Less Abundant Flavone,Genkwanin

A rare flavone, Genkwanin, was isolated by column and preparative thin layer chromatography of a chloroform extract of the leaves of Vernonia fasciculata Michx. Spectral studies (NMR, IR, UV and MS) and a comparison with data for closely related compounds has been made.     

Polyvalent display of heme on hepatitis B virus capsid protein through coordination to hexahistidine tags

The addition of a hexahistidine tag to the N terminus of the hepatitis B capsid protein gives rise to a self-assembled particle with 80 sites of high local density of histidine side chains. Iron protoporphyrin IX has been found to bind tightly at each of these sites, making a polyvalent system of well-defined spacing between metalloporphyrin complexes. The spectroscopic and redox properties of the resulting particle are consistent with the presence of 80 site-isolated bis(histidine)-bound heme centers, comprising a polyvalent b-type cytochrome mimic.