New antimalarial drugs

Approximately 40% of the world population live in areas with the risk of malaria. Each year, 300-500 million people suffer from acute malaria, and 0.5-2.5 million die from the disease. Although malaria has been widely eradicated in many parts of the world, the global number of cases continues to rise. The most important reason for this alarming situation is the rapid spread of malaria parasites that are resistant to antimalarial drugs, especially chloroquine, which is by far the most frequently used. The development of new antimalarial drugs has been neglected since the 1970s owing to the end colonialism, changes in the areas of military engagement, and the restricted market potential. Only in recent years, in part supported by public funding programs, has interest in the development of antimalarial drugs been renewed. New data available from the recently sequenced genome of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and the application of methods of modern drug design promise to bring significant development in the fight against this disease.     

Cooled internal reflection element for infrared chemical sensing of volatile to semi-volatile organic compounds in the headspace of aqueous solutions

In this study, the cooling effect was applied to an evanescent wave type infrared (IR) chemical sensing method to effectively trap volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have been absorbed in the hydrophobic film coated around the internal reflection element (IRE). The detection of VOCs in aqueous solutions was taken in the headspace of the aqueous solution. This method eliminates the long-term instability of hydrophobic film soaked in an aqueous solution and the potential spectral interference caused by the matrix of the aqueous solution. Thermal energy has been applied to the aqueous solution to assist in the evaporation of VOCs out of the aqueous matrix. By applying a cooling system to the IRE, the excess thermal energy can be removed leading to more stable IR signals. After examination of organic compounds with vapour pressure (P_v) ranging from 0.017 to 150 Torr, significant differences were found between IR signals from cooled and un-cooled systems. Because the thermal conductivity of the IRE used in IR detection is typically low; the efficiency in removing the thermal energy is limited. By heating the aqueous solutions to different temperatures, the IR signals showed that the sample temperature was limited to around 80 °C. The IR signal determination results for five different volatility organic compounds indicated that the optimal heating temperature was not necessary to match with the volatilities of organic compounds in cooling system. The linear regression coefficient (R²) of the standard curve for sample concentrations in the range 5-200 μg ml⁻¹ was generally higher than 0.991 and the detection limit was around a few hundred ng ml⁻¹, which was two to three times lower than that of un-cooled system.     

Ionic Mobility, Phase Transitions, and Superionic Conduction in Solid Solutions (100 ? x)PbF2-xZrF4 and Crystals K2ZrF6, (NH4)2ZrF6, KSnZrF7, and M(NH4)6Zr4F23 (M = Li, Na)

Methods of (¹⁹F, ¹H) NMR and impedance spectroscopy are used to investigate the internal mobility and ionic conduction in solid solutions arising in the system PbF₂-ZrF₄ and polycrystals KSnZrF₇, Li(Na)(NH₄)₆Zr₄F₂₃, and M₂ZrF₆ (M = K, NH₄). Factors responsible for the form of ionic motions and their energetics at 170–550 K are considered. It is established that the phase transitions in these compounds are connected with the crystal transition to a superionic state and that the high ionic (superionic) conductivity of beta phases is due to the diffusion of fluoride ions, ammonium cations, and possibly alkali metal cations. The obtained data testify to a substantial role of chainlike aggregation of anionic groupings and a variableness of structural mechanisms of formation of such chains in fluorozirconates for the development of translational diffusion in these compounds.__________Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 5, 2005, pp. 573–582.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Kavun, Uvarov, Slobodyuk, Goncharuk, Kotenkov, Tkachenko, Gerasimenko, Sergienko.     

Solid-phase synthesis of lipidated peptides

A new flexible and efficient methodology for the solid-phase synthesis of lipidated peptides has been developed. The approach is based on the use of previously synthesized building blocks and overcomes the limitations of previously reported methods, since long doubly lipidated peptides can be synthesized by using this route. Furthermore, it was thus possible to prepare a large number of N- and H-Ras peptides bearing a wide range of reporter and/or linking groups--efficient tools for the investigation of biological processes. In terms of efficiency and flexibility this solid-phase method is superior to the solution-phase synthesis. It gives pure peptides in multimilligram amounts within a much shorter time and with superior overall yield.     

蒙脱土表面键合配位体固相萃取填料的制备及其对重金属离子的吸附性能

通过酸洗、硅烷偶联剂表面活化、键合苯甲酰异硫氰酸酯对蒙脱土进行改性,制得新型固相萃取(SPE)材料。 采用红外光谱、扫描电子显微镜、X射线光电子能谱表征了改性蒙脱土的结构和形貌。 考察了制备的SPE填料对水中As³⁺、Bi³⁺、Cu²⁺、Sb³⁺、Sn²⁺和Pb²⁺的吸附性能,确定了最佳固相萃取条件,对6种金属离子吸附容量分别为10.83、11.92、12.67、10.43、10.01及10.54 mg/g。 通过SPE与电感耦合等离子体质谱联用测定了样品中As³⁺、Bi³⁺、Cu²⁺、Sb³⁺、Sn²⁺和Pb²⁺ 6种重金属离子的含量,检出限分别为0.024、0.013、0.075、0.037、0.011和0.064 μg/L。     

Effect of the Electrode Potential on the Oxygen Reaction Rate in the Electrode System O2, Au/La0.88Sr0.12Ga0.82Mg0.18O2.85

The polarization dependences of a porous gold electrode in contact with a solid electrolyte of the composition La_0.88Sr_0.12Ga_0.82Mg_0.18O_2.85 are studied at 600–800°C and oxygen pressures of 2 × 10⁻²-1 atm. It is shown that the rate of cathodic reduction of oxygen out of the gas phase depends on the preliminary treatment of the sample. The activation energy is equal to 110–135 kJ mol⁻¹ at a low polarization. After increasing the polarization, the activation energy for the cathodic reduction of oxygen equals 75–85 kJ mol⁻¹ and depends on the oxygen pressure as a power function with a power index of 1/4. The rate of the anodic evolution of oxygen is dependent neither on the preliminary treatment of the sample nor on the oxygen pressure in the gas phase and the polarization curve has a characteristic segment, which corresponds to a limiting overvoltage.__________Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 8, 2005, pp. 954–962.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Shkerin, Sokolova, Beresnev.     

ZrO_2/S_2O_8~(2-)固体超强酸高效催化合成二芳砜化合物

报道了以ZrO_2／S_2O_8～(2-)固体超强酸为催化剂，在无溶剂条件下，依照 傅一克反应的原理，由芳香磺酰氯与芳香化合物作用合成了一系列二芳砜化合物， 收率为79％～93％．此方法具有操作简便，催化剂价廉易得、活性高、对环境友好 、可回收重复使用等优点．     

Determination of didanosine in human serum by on-line solid-phase extraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric detection: application to a bioequivalence study

A method based on solid-phase extraction coupled to liquid chromatography with positive ion electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometric detection was developed for the determination of didanosine in human serum, using lamivudine as internal standard. The acquisition was performed in the multiple reaction monitoring mode, monitoring the transitions m/z 237 --> 136.7 for didanosine and m/z 230 --> 111.7 for lamivudine. The method was linear over the range studied (10-1500 ng ml(-1)), with r(2) > 0.98, and the run time was 5 min. The intra- and inter-assay precisions were < or =10% and the intra- and inter-assay accuracies were >95%. The absolute recoveries were 99.8% (10 ng ml(-1)), 98.4% (30 ng ml(-1)), 91.5% (700 ng ml(-1)) and 94.7% (1200 ng ml(-1)). The limits of detection and quantitation were 5 and 10 ng ml(-1), respectively. The method was applied to a bioequivalence study, in which 24 healthy adult volunteers (12 men) received single oral doses (200 mg) of reference and test didanosine formulations (buffered powder for oral solutions), in an open, two-way, randomized, crossover protocol. The 90% confidence interval of the individual ratios (test formulation/reference formulation) for C(max) (peak serum concentration) and AUC(0-inf) (area under the serum concentration versus time curve from time zero to infinity) were within the range 80-125%, which supports the conclusion that the two formulations are bioequivalent regarding the rate and extent of didanosine absorption.     

Visual observation of contact-induced intercrystalline migration of aromatic species adsorbed in zeolites by fluorescence microscopy.

Intercrystalline migration and a migration-assisted chemical reaction of adsorbed aromatic species between zeolite particles in physical contact were visualized by fluorescence microscopy coupled with a particle manipulation technique. The luminescence color characteristics of particular zeolite particles originating from the specific photochemistry of adsorbed species was exploited to follow the migration of the molecules. Two examples are shown that are relevant to the visualization of the time-dependent migration process: A one guest-two sets of zeolite crystals system: chrysene (Chry)-loaded zeolite Na+ -X (the sodium form of zeolite X) crystals were placed in contact with unloaded Tl+ -X (thallium-exchanged X) crystals and allowed to stand at room temperature. Initially, the blue fluorescence of Chry was detected only from the Na+ -X particles, but later, the development of green phosphorescence emission was discernible from the Tl+ -X which suggests that Chry migrated from the Na+ -X to the Tl+ -X crystals. A two guest-species systems: Electron-donating Chry-loaded Na+ -X crystals were placed in contact with electron-accepting 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene (TCNB)-loaded Na+ -X or Na+ -Y crystals. With time, the former system (Chry/Na+ -X and TCNB/Na+ -X) gave rise to the emission of Chry-TCNB charge-transfer complexes resulting mainly from the migration of Chry while the latter system (Chry/Na+ -X and TCNB/Na+ -Y) afforded the same emission resulting largely from the migration of TCNB. The present investigation reveals that there is a certain direction for guest migration depending on the zeolite host and the nature of host-guest or guest-guest interaction.     

一种新的滤纸基质固体表面低温荧光(燐光)测定装置

对自行研制的铜制滤纸基质低温荧光（燐光）测定的样品支架，进行了滤纸基质固体表面低温荧光测定的可行性研究。与同类冷冻装置和室温装置比较，本装置用于滤纸基质固体表面低温荧光（燐光）测定具有以下优点；样品的分析周期大大地缩短，由45min缩短为5-6min；装置简单、便宜耐用；操作简便，简化了室温测定时的滤纸干燥程序，应用范围广，方法的重现性好，检样分析结果的相对标准偏差RSD%小于10%，荧光（燐光）分析灵敏度高，检出限低，线性范围宽。