Redox Active Dipyrromethene?Cu(II) Monolayer for Oriented Immobilization of His‐Tagged RAGE Domains – the Base of Electrochemical Biosensor for Determination of Aβ16–23′

The new system which consists of the thiol derivative of dipyrromethene–Cu(II) complex created on the surface of a gold electrode was applied for the first time for oriented immobilization of selected His‐tagged domains of a receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE). Cyclic voltammetry (CV), Osteryoung square‐wave voltammetry (OSWV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used for characterization of the redox active sensing layer. The biosensor proposed was applied for determination of Aβ_16–23′ peptide. In its presence, a decrease of the maximum Cu(II) redox current was observed. These values correlated linearly with the Aβ_16–23′ concentration in the range 0.001–1.000 µM. The presence of diluted human plasma has no influence on the sensor responses.     

Reaction of Tricoordinate Phosphorus Compounds with Pseudohalogens. Scope and Mechanism

Abstract

The selectivity of sulphur, selenium and oxygen removal from pseudohalogens: phosphorus disulphides 1 and 2, diselenides 3 and oxophosphoranesulphenyl chlorides 4 has been investigated. A mechanistic rationalization is proposed to account for sulphur (selenium)/oxygen extrusion variation as a function of substrates structure and reaction conditions.     

Synthesis of Some Novel N-Substituted Phthalazinone and Pyridopyridazinone Derivatives

Phthalazinone and pyridopyridazinone derivatives 3, 5, and 9 were prepared via reaction ofappropriate lactams 2 and 8 with 2-bromoethylphthalimide, N-tosylaziridine, and N,O-ditosyl derivatives of N-methylethanolamine in a two-step process in the presence of MeONa/MeOH or NaH/dimethylformamide (DMF). Starting compounds 2 and 8 were obtained by reaction of hydrazine hydrate with isoindolinones 1 or azaisoindolinones 6. Selected N-(2-phthalimidoethyl)-phthalazinones were converted into corresponding 2-[2-(methylamino) ethyl]- derivatives in satisfactory yields by treatment with hydrazine.     

Application of 2,4,6-trioxo-pyrimidin-5-ylidene alditols in the synthesis of pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines containing a sugar moiety by hetero-Diels–Alder reactions and by conjugate Michael addition–cyclizations

A convenient and efficient procedure for the preparation of 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran derivatives containing a sugar moiety is described. The reaction sequence is: Knoevenagel condensation of unprotected sugars and CH acids, acetylation of C-glycosides and hetero-Diels–Alder reaction. O-Acetylated 1,3-dimethyl-2,4,6-trioxo-pyrimidin-5-ylidene derivatives were used as new heterodienes in the synthesis of fused uracils—pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines with a sugar moiety. Solvent-free hetero-Diels–Alder cycloadditions of O-acetylated pyrimidin-5-ylidene alditols with enol ethers and cyclic enol ether were investigated at room temperature. New, enantiomerically pure cis and trans diastereoisomers of pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines and cis–cis, trans–cis diastereoisomers of pyrano[3′,2′:5,6]pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines with alditol moiety were obtained. The same pyrimidin-5-ylidene alditols underwent conjugate Michael addition–cyclizations with malononitrile at room temperature to afford optically active diastereoisomers of pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidine-6-carbonitriles with a sugar moiety.     

Age-Related Carbonylation of Fibrocartilage Structural Proteins Drives Tissue Degenerative Modification

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A Raman microspectroscopic study of organic inclusions in “watermelon” tourmaline from the Paprok mine (Nuristan, Afghanistan)

An exceptional mineral specimen, particularly interesting for collectors and researchers, is “watermelon” tourmaline, mined in the Paprok region in Nuristan, Afghanistan. A pale pink core (zone III) is surrounded by a thin, colorless zone (zone II), and a green outer zone (zone I). Differences between zones are clearly seen in the SEM picture, i.e., diversity in the size of constituent forms, and also the presence of inclusions of alien mineral phases which range from a few dozen to a few μm. In the line mapping experiment the Raman spectra were collected from the inner core towards the outer rim. There are observed typical for tourmaline (elbaite) groups of bands: at ca. 3600, 1100, 700, 400 and 250 cm⁻¹. Raman measurements determine the differences in the local chemical composition of particular zones. Interestingly, there is a new band emerging in the outer zone at ca. 840 cm⁻¹, and it could be due to the SiO₄ stretching vibrational modes predisposed by the Fe ion presence in the mineral. The organic inclusions are present in the whole volume of the investigated gem. Organic inclusion content appears to be versatile. Raman spectra confirm the presence of hydrogen sulphide (2610 cm⁻¹), methane (2912 cm⁻¹), ethane (2950 cm⁻¹), and propane (2895 cm⁻¹). In the corresponding bending vibrations region apart from CH₂, CH₃ vibrations and C–O stretching (CO₂) at (1280, 1390 cm⁻¹), characteristic bands are also observed at ca. 1340, 1600 and 1660 cm⁻¹. The last ones possibly mark the evolution of graphitization process occurring from fluid saturated inclusions within condensed ring aromatics (1660 cm⁻¹ band), towards slightly more organized, although still amorphous forms of carbonaceous matter (1340 and 1600 cm⁻¹).     

Freeze vs. Spray Drying for Dry Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.) Extract Formulations: The Impact of Gelatin as a Coating Material

Freeze drying was compared with spray drying regarding feasibility to process wild thyme drugs in order to obtain dry formulations at laboratory scale starting from liquid extracts produced by different extraction methods: maceration and heat-, ultrasound-, and microwave-assisted extractions. Higher total powder yield (based on the dry weight prior to extraction) was achieved by freeze than spray drying and lower loss of total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) due to the drying process. Gelatin as a coating agent (5% w/w) provided better TPC recovery by 70% in case of lyophilization and higher total powder yield in case of spray drying by diminishing material deposition on the wall of the drying chamber. The resulting gelatin-free and gelatin-containing powders carried polyphenols in amount ~190 and 53–75 mg gallic acid equivalents GAE/g of powder, respectively. Microwave-assisted extract formulation was distinguished from the others by a higher content of polyphenols, proteins and sugars, higher bulk density and lower solubility. The type of the drying process mainly affected the position of the gelatin-derived -OH and amide bands in FTIR spectra. Spray-dried formulations compared to freeze-dried expressed higher thermal stability as confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry analysis and a higher diffusion coefficient; the last feature can be associated with the lower specific surface area of irregularly shaped freeze-dried particles (151–223 µm) compared to small microspheres (~8 µm) in spray-dried powder.     

Effect of substituents on redox, spectroscopic and structural properties of conjugated diaryltetrazines--a combined experimental and theoretical study

Two series of new soluble conjugated compounds containing tetrazine central ring have been synthesized. The three-ring compounds have been synthesized by the reaction of aryl cyanide (where aryl = thienyl, alkylthienyl, phenyl or pyridyl) with hydrazine followed by oxidation of the intermediate product with diethyl azodicarboxylate. The five-ring compounds have been prepared using two pathways: (i) reaction of 5-cyano-2,2'-bithiophene (or its alkyl derivative) with hydrazine; (ii) via Suzuki or Stille coupling of 3,6-bis(5-bromo-2-thienyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine with a stannyl or boronate derivative of alkylthiophene. UV-vis spectroscopic properties of the synthesized compounds are strongly dependent on the nature of the aryl group, the position of the solubilizing substituent and the length of the molecule, showing the highest bathochromic shift (λ(max) > 440 nm) for five-ring compounds with alkyl groups attached to C(α) carbon in the terminal thienyl ring. An excellent linear correlation has been found for spectroscopically determined and theoretically calculated (TD-B3LYP/6-31G*) excitation energies. With the exception of dipyridyl derivative, the calculated lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level of the investigated molecules changes within a narrow range (from -2.63 to -2.41 eV), in line with the electrochemical data, which show a reversible reduction process with the redox potential varying from -1.23 V to -1.33 V (vs. Fc/Fc(+)). The electrochemically determined positions of the LUMO levels are consistently lower by 0.9 to 1.2 eV with respect to the calculated ones. All molecules readily crystallize. Single crystal studies of 3,6-bis(2,2'-bithien-5-yl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine show that it crystallizes in a P2(1)/c space group whose structural arrangement is not very favorable to the charge carriers flow within the crystal. Powder diffraction studies of other derivatives have shown that their structural organization is sensitive to the position of the solubilizing substituent. In particular, the presence of alkyl groups attached to C(α) carbon in the terminal thienyl ring promotes the formation of a lamellar-type supramolecular organization.     

Development of a rapid resolution HPLC method for the separation and determination of 17 phenolic compounds in crude plant extracts

Rapid Resolution HPLC/DAD method, on a 1.8 μm, 4.6×50 mm column, was developed to enable a rapid separation of a mixture of 17 compounds, which consisted of hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavones, flavonols, flavanone, flavonol-glycoside and antraquinone, in a single run, within 22 minutes. The developed method is precise, accurate and sensitive enough for simultaneous quantitative evaluation of major compounds in crude and hydrolyzed extracts of parsley, buckthorn, mint, caraway and birch. In order to overcome the inability to quantify all the phenolic compounds present in the samples caused by lack of external standards, HPLC approaches for the total phenolic content estimation based on sum of all integrated peak areas were made. These results were compared with the total phenolic content determined by Folin-Cioacalteu method. Although the correlation between the series of data was not significant (p<0.05), the difference between the results of total phenolic content obtained spectrophotometrically and by HPLC was not high in the case of parsley, buckthorn and mint extract. Regarding the obtained results, the HPLC approach could serve as an excellent tool for total phenolic content estimation, without the need for complete identification of the individual compounds.      

Elemental Characterization of Ciders and Other Low-Percentage Alcoholic Beverages Available on the Polish Market

Seventy-three samples of alcoholic beverages and juices that were purchased on the Polish market and home-made were analyzed for their elemental profiles. The levels of 23 metals were determined by ICP-MS (Ag, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr and Tl), ICP-OES (Al, B, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Ti and Zn) and CVAAS (Hg) techniques in twenty-five samples of ciders widely available on the Polish market; six samples of home-made ciders; two samples of juices used in the production of these ciders; and forty samples of low-percentage, flavored alcoholic beverages based on beer. The gathered analytical data confirmed that the final elemental fingerprint of a product is affected by the elemental fingerprint of the ingredients used (apple variety) as well as the technology and equipment used by the producer, and in the case of commercial ciders, also the impact of type of the packaging used was proven. These factors are specific to each producer and the influence of the mentioned above parameters was revealed as a result of the performed analysis. Additionally, the inclusion of the home-made ciders in the data set helped us to understand the potential origin of some elements, from the raw materials to the final products. The applied statistical tests revealed (Kruskal–Wallis and ANOVA) the existence of statistically significant differences in the concentration of the following metals: Ag, Al, B, Bi, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Na, Ni, Ti and Zn in terms of the type of cider origin (commercial and home-made). In turn, for different packaging (can or bottle) within one brand of commercial cider, the existence of statistically significant differences for Cu, Mn and Na was proved. The concentrations of all determined elements in the commercial cider from the Polish market and home-made cider samples can be considered as nontoxic, because the measured levels of elements indicated in the regulations were lower than the allowable limits. Moreover, the obtained results can be treated as preliminary for the potential authentication of products in order to distinguish the home-made (fake) from the authentic products, especially for premium-class alcoholic beverages.