A novel phosphoramidite method for automated synthesis of oligonucleotides on glass supports for biosensor development

Two protocols for functionalization of glass supports with hexaethylene glycol (HEG)-linked oligonucleotides were developed. The first method (standard amidite protocol) made use of the 2-cyanoethyl-phosphoramidite derivative of 4,4′-dimethoxytrityl-protected HEG. This was first coupled to the support by standard solid-phase phosphoramidite chemistry followed by extension with a thymidylic acid icosanucleotide. Stepwise addition of the linker phosphoramidite graduated at 1% (relative to the total sites available) perstep at 50°C resulted in an optimal yield of immobilized oligonucleotides at a density of 2.24 × 10¹⁰ strands/mm². This observed loading maximum lies well below the theoretical maximum loading owing to nonspecific adsorption of HEG on the glass and subsequent blocking of reactive sites. Surface loadings as high as 3.73 × 10¹⁰/mm² and of excellent sequence quality were achieved with a reverse amidite protocol. The support was first modified into a 2-cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropylphosphoramidite analog followed by coupling with 4,4′-dimethoxytrityl-protected HEG. This protocol is conveniently available when using a conventional DNA synthesizer. The reverse amidite protocol allowed for control of the surface loading at values suitable for subsequent analytical applications that make use of immobilized oligonucleotides as probes for selective hybridization of sample nucleic acids of unknown sequence and concentration.     

Chiral methylbenzylammonium salts of aryldithiophosphonic acids containing glucofuranose,allofuranose, and galactopyranose diacetonide scaffolds

Abstract

New chiral methylbenzylammonium salts of aryldithiophosphonic acids containing glucofuranose, allofuranose, and galactopyranose diacetonide substituents were obtained using (S)-(–)-α-methylbenzylamine, (R)-(+)-α-methylbenzylamine, and (R,S)-(±)-α-methylbenzylamine. Salts obtained possess antimicrobial activity.     

A new convenient synthesis of N-acyl-2-(dimethoxyphosphoryl)glycinates

Easily accessible N-acyl-2-triphenylphosphonioglycinate tetrafluoroborates react smoothly with trimethylphosphite in the presence of methyltriphenylphosphonium iodide to give N-acyl-2-(dimethoxyphosphoryl)glycinates in good or very good yields. The dimethoxyphosphorylglycinates may be isolated by column chromatography, or used directly for the Wadsworth-Emmons synthesis of α,β-dehydro-α-amino acids in a one-pot procedure without purification.     

Characterization of the Surface Electrode Reaction in the Presence of Uniform Interaction: The Case of Mo(VI) Reduction in the Presence of Phenanthroline and an Excess of Fulvic Acids

Surface electrode reactions involving lateral uniform interactions between adsorbed species is studied by means of square‐wave voltammetry (SWV). Interactions are represented by the interaction product aΘ, were a is the Frumkin interaction parameter (a is positive for attraction and negative for repulsion forces) and Θ is the surface coverage. The properties of the SW voltammetric response enable detection of interactions and recognition of the type of interaction forces by a simple procedure. The influence of the interactions on the apparent electrochemical reversibility of the surface electrode reaction is studied in detail. Utilizing “quasireversible maximum” the simple methodology for estimation of the standard redox rate constant without knowing the exact value of the interaction product aΘ is developed. Theoretical predictions are illustrated and confirmed by experiments with Mo(VI) in the presence of phenantroline and an excess of fulvic acids.     

Ion chromatographic separation of alkylsulphonic acids with conductivity detection

Summary An ion chromatographic (IC) method has been developed for the separation of alkylsulphonic acid. Two different stationary phases, silica-based and polymer-based ion-exchange resins, were studied using pure ion exchange and/or hydrophobic interaction mechanisms. Correlations between analyte hydrophobicity and eluent polarity were made in order to investigate the possibility of changing the dominant separation mechanism by varying the eluent composition. The alkyl chain lengths of the sulphonic acids analysed ranged from C₁ to C₉. Detection limits in the submicromolar range were obtained by suppressed conductivity detection.     

Accurate pKa determination for a heterogeneous group of organic molecules.

Single-molecule studies that allow to compute pKa values, proton affinities (gas-phase acidity/basicity) and the electrostatic energy of solvation have been performed for a heterogeneous set of 26 organic compounds. Quantum mechanical density functional theory (DFT) using the Becke-half&half and B3LYP functionals on optimized molecular geometries have been carried out to investigate the energetics of gas-phase protonation. The electrostatic contribution to the solvation energies of protonated and deprotonated compounds were calculated by solving the Poisson equation using atomic charges generated by fitting the electrostatic potential derived from the molecular wave functions in vacuum. The combination of gas-phase and electrostatic solvation energies by means of the thermodynamic cycle enabled us to compute pKa values for the 26 compounds, which cover six distinct chemical groups (carboxylic acids, benzoic acids, phenols, imides, pyridines and imidazoles). The computational procedure for determining pKa values is accurate and transferable with a root-mean-square deviation of 0.53 and 0.57 pKa units and a maximum error of 1.0 pKa and 1.3 pKa units for Becke-half&half and B3LYP DFT functionals, respectively.     

Unnatural multidentate metal ligating α-amino acids

A family of penta- and hexadentate metal ligating α-amino acids, suitably protected for Fmoc solid-phase chemistry, has been prepared. These residues incorporate the mono-amides of ethanolaminetriacetic acid, ethylenediaminetriacetic acid, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as side chains. Side chains are tethered varying distances (n) from the Cα-carbon to allow metal binding events to occur at distinct distances from the peptide backbone. These residues are designed to allow the facile installation of metal chelates along a peptide backbone.     

Behavior of Humic Acid as a Micellar Phase in Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography (MEKC)

The possibility of humic acids acting as micellar phase in micellar electrokinetic chromatography was evaluated. We investigated the separation of naphthalene in capillary electrophoresis using various samples of humic acids as micellar phase under different pH conditions, concentrations of humic acid, and temperature. The humic acid samples studied were from different origins including peat, vermicompost and a commercial sample acquired from Aldrich. Methanol was used as a marker for the electroosmotic flow. The results indicate that the formation of micelle depends on the number and nature of the hydrophobic association sites in an aqueous humic acid solution and on the origin and concentration of the humic acid at a defined pH. At lower pH values, the possibility of the humic acid molecule forming pseudomicelles increases due to a combination of neutralized and dissociated charged sites.     

51VNMR研究磷钼钒系杂多酸的热稳定性

用NMR及IR、TG-DTA等手段研究具有Keggin结构的磷钼钒系杂多酸在空气中的热稳定性。实验结果表明:合成的杂多酸在各个Keggin单元中具有不同的钒含量。样品的热稳定性与其钒含量有关.随着钒含量的增加,keggin结构的热稳定性逐渐降低,但H_4PMo_(11)V_1O_(40)具有比H_3PMo_(12)O_(40)还要高的热稳定性。由于钒的取代,钼钒磷酸的热分解过程不同于钼磷酸。失去结构水使Keggin结构遭到破坏,但在室温下与水重新作用可使钼钒磷酸的Keggin结构恢复。     

Chemical composition of “AKD vapour” and its implication to AKD vapour sizing

Alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) sizing of paper involves the redistribution of the wax over the fibre surface upon heating. The two major mechanisms widely studied so far are the spreading of an autophobic precursor of molten AKD and AKD vapour transport and re-deposition on the fibre surface. All previous work assumed that the transport of AKD vapour could be expressed by the change of water contact angle with substrates that were exposed to the vapour. Information regarding the chemical composition of the vapour phase above the AKD wax has not been found in the literature. In this work, a simple method for analysing the chemical composition of the vapour is established. Our preliminary results indicated that the chemical composition of AKD vapour in the temperature range of 75–80 °C is dominantly fatty acids. This suggests that the sizing effect by actual AKD molecules via the vapour deposition mechanism is likely to be insignificant in this temperature range. This also implies that fatty acids play a positive role in AKD sizing. The chemical stability of AKD in this temperature range is also studied.