Rapid and sensitive method for determining free amino acids in honey by gas chromatography with flame ionization or mass spectrometric detection

This paper describes a rapid, sensitive and specific method for determination of free amino acids in honey involving a new reaction of derivatization and gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization (FID) and mass spectrometric (MS) detection. The method allows the determination of 22 free amino acids in honey samples in a short time: 8 and 5 min for GC-FID and GC-MS, respectively. Quantitation was performed using Norvaline as internal standard, with detection limits ranging between 0.112 and 1.795 mg/L by GC-FID and between 0.001 and 0.291 mg/L by GC-MS in the selected-ion monitoring mode. The method was validated and applied to a set of 74 honey samples belonging to four different botanical origins: eucaliptus, rosemary, orange and heather. The statistical treatment of data shows a correct classification of different origins over 90%.     

Performance of throughout in-capillary derivatization capillary electrophoresis employing an on-line sample and run buffer loading device

We report on the effect on performance of varying the length of the capillary during throughout in-capillary derivatization (TICD) capillary electrophoresis (CE). Performance was evaluated by on-line coupling with a sample and CE runbuffer loading device that was newly introduced for this study. The device was assembled with a low cost using two 5 mm inner diameter (ID) disposable polyethylene syringes. First, a sequence was manually formed consisting of a 200 microL run buffer solution plug, a 100 microL sample plug and another 200 microL run buffer solution plug. Each plug was separated from its neighbor by a 100 microL air plug. When each plug reached the injection point where both a platinum-wire anode and the end of the separation capillary tube were located, 340 V/cm separation voltage (electrophoresis voltage) and 34 V/cm injection voltage were applied to the capillary for 3 s. Then the analytes were derivatized during migration in 50 microm ID capillaries filled with 2 mM o-phthalaldehyde (OPA)/N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in a 20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10), followed by separating and detecting of OPA derivatives by absorbance of 340 nm. Derivatization, separation, and detection were performed systematically using capillaries which varied in length from 5 to 80 cm. In the case of TICD-CE of a mixture containing 1 mM aspartic acid (Asp) and 20 mM m-nitorophenol (MNP) as a test solution, it was determined that peak area and peak width ratios of Asp to MNP did not depend on capillary length. Enantiomeric separations of DL-alanine (Ala) and Asp were examined using a run buffer consisting of a 45 microM beta-cyclodextrin (CD)-2 mM OPA/NAC-20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10). Even though the resolution of these enantiomeric pairs decreased with decreasing capillary length, as expected, the peaks corresponding to both enantiomeric amino acids were identified even when a 5 cm capillary was used. An 8-component amino acid mixture was also tested with 5 cm and 10 cm capillaries.     

β‐Peptidic Secondary Structures Fortified and Enforced by Zn2+ Complexation – On the Way to β‐Peptidic Zinc Fingers?

The correlation between β²‐, β³‐, and β^2,3‐amino acid‐residue configuration and stability of helix and hairpin‐turn secondary structures of peptides consisting of homologated proteinogenic amino acids is analyzed (Figs. 1–3). To test the power of Zn²⁺ ions in fortifying and/or enforcing secondary structures of β‐peptides, a β‐decapeptide, 1 , four β‐octapeptides, 2 – 5 , and a β‐hexadecapeptide, 10 , have been devised and synthesized. The design was such that the peptides would a) fold to a 14‐helix ( 1 and 3 ) or a hairpin turn ( 2 and 4 ), or form neither of these two secondary structures (i.e., 5 ), and b) carry the side chains of cysteine and histidine in positions, which will allow Zn²⁺ ions to use their extraordinary affinity for RS^? and the imidazole N‐atoms for stabilizing or destabilizing the intrinsic secondary structures of the peptides. The β‐hexadecapeptide 10 was designed to a) fold to a turn, to which a 14‐helical structure is attached through a β‐dipeptide spacer, and b) contain two cysteine and two histidine side chains for Zn complexation, in order to possibly mimic a Zn‐finger motif. While CD spectra (Figs. 6–8 and 17) and ESI mass spectra (Figs. 9 and 18) are compatible with the expected effects of Zn²⁺ ions in all cases, it was shown by detailed NMR analyses of three of the peptides, i.e., 2, 3, 5 , in the absence and presence of ZnCl₂, that i) β‐peptide 2 forms a hairpin turn in H₂O, even without Zn complexation to the terminal β³hHis and β³hCys side chains (Fig. 11), ii) β‐peptide 3 , which is present as a 14‐helix in MeOH, is forced to a hairpin‐turn structure by Zn complexation in H₂O (Fig. 12), and iii) β‐peptide 5 is poorly ordered in CD₃OH (Fig. 13) and in H₂O (Fig. 14), with far‐remote β³hCys and β³hHis residues, and has a distorted turn structure in the presence of Zn²⁺ ions in H₂O, with proximate terminal Cys and His side chains (Fig. 15).     

Synthesis of PI3K inhibitor GDC-0077 via a stereocontrolled N-arylation of α-amino acids

An efficient synthesis of PI3K inhibitor GDC-0077, featuring two consecutive Cu-catalyzed CN coupling reactions, is reported. The described synthetic route involves a chemoselective Ullmann-type coupling of a chiral difluoromethyl-substituted oxazolidinone, a Cu-catalyzed N-arylation of l-alanine with high stereochemical integrity, and a high-yielding final amide bond formation step to produce GDC-0077 in >99.5 area % HPLC purity.     

The role of achiral sorbent matrix in chiral recognition of amino acid enantiomers in ligand-exchange chromatography

Summary As an alternative to the known three-point interaction model describing recognition of optical isomers by a chiral resolving agent, a new concept has been developed stating that two interaction points between the resolving agent and the enantiomers are also sufficient for achieving chiral recognition of the latter, provided that the diastereomeric adducts formed by the resolving agent with the enantiomers additionally interact with a non-chiral chromatographic sorbent. This concept is based on the results of ligand-exchange chromatography of -amino acid enantiomers with copper(II) complexes of chiral bifunctional ligands as the resolving agents in chromatographic systems.     

Coelectroosmotic capillary electrophoresis of phenolic acids and derivatized amino acids using N,N-dimethylacrylamide-ethylpyrrolidine methacrylate physically coated capillaries

Two different families of compounds, i.e., phenolic and amino acids have been separated by capillary electrophoresis using a physically adsorbed polymer as capillary coating. The polymer used was N,N-dimethylacrylamide-ethylpyrrolidine methacrylate (DMA-EpyM) and it provided an stable coating by only flushing the capillary with a DMA-EpyM aqueous solution for 2 min between runs. The usefulness of this procedure has been demonstrated through the fast analysis of different families of solutes. Two different detection systems, diode-array detector and laser-induced fluorescence, have been used to determine phenolic acids and derivatized amino acids with fluorescein isothiocyanate, respectively. The main factors affecting reversal of electroosmotic flow (EOF) such as pH, type and concentration of buffer, and concentration and influence of organic solvents, as well as all the instrumental conditions were studied and optimized for both families of compounds.     

Ring opening of 2-(cyanomethyl)aziridines by acid chlorides: synthesis of novel 4-amino-2-butenenitrile derivatives through intermediate aziridinium salts

1-Arylmethyl-2-(cyanomethyl)aziridines were transformed into novel N-arylmethyl-N-(2-chloro-3-cyanopropyl)amides as the major reaction products upon treatment with acid chlorides in CH₂Cl₂ through the ring opening of intermediate aziridinium salts. Subsequently, N-arylmethyl-N-(2-chloro-3-cyanopropyl)amides were converted into stable N-arylmethyl-N-(3-cyano-2-propenyl)amides for the first time by means of a dehydrochlorination mediated by Et₃N in CH₂Cl₂.     

Effects of amino acids on crystal growth of CaC2O4 in reverse microemulsion

Crystal growth of calcium oxalate (CaC2O4) in bulk aqueous solution, reverse microemulsion of p-octyl polyethylene glycol phenylether (OP)/iso-octyl alcohol (IOA)/cydohexane/water and above microemulsions containing different kinds of amino acids, such as aspartic acid (Asp), tyrosine (Tyr) and tryptophan (Trp) were studied. The results indicated that different crystallization types of the crystals, which were calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM), calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) and calcium oxalate trihydrate (COT), existed in bulk aqueous solution. But CaC2O4 growth mainly paralleled with (1 01) plane of COM in reverse microemulsion because of the induction of surfactant at water/oil interface. After adding amino acids into microemulsions, the growth of CaC2O4 crystals mainly influenced by the varieties of amino acids and the pH values of the amino acid aqueous solution. When pH values of the solutions was higher than isoelectric points of amino acids, CaC2O4 crystal paralleled with (1 01) plane of COM more easily with the addition of Trp, Tyr, Asp in turn; however, when pH of the solutions was lower than isoelectric points of Trp, CaC2O4 crystal growth paralleled with (020) face of COM. It is obviously that amino acids, pH values of the solutions and surfactant played important roles in the process of crystal growth of CaC2O4 in the microemulsions. The formation mechanism of CaC2O4 was also discussed in different microemulsions at last.     

A novel synthesis of amino acid derivatives of phospholene oxides

A convenient synthetic approach is established to prepare a new class of 1-l-α-amino acid derivatives of phospholene oxides by amination of (±)-1-chloro-2-phospholene-1-oxides with several optically pure l-α-amino acid esters. All compounds obtained as a diastereomeric mixture in good to high yields. The two diastereomers were successfully separated by column chromatography and structurally identified by their spectral analyses.     

Synthesis of （2R,4R）—2—N—tert—Butyloxycarbonyl Amino—4,5—epoxido—valeric Acid Methyl Ester

The stereoselective synthesis of (2R,4R)-2-N-tert-butyloxycarbonyl amino-4,5-epoxido-valeric acid methyl ester 8,which is the key intermediate for the synthesis of (2′S,2R)-3-trans-nitrocyclopropyl-alanine,was first accomplished.