Synthesis and transformations of metallacycles. 30. Aluminacyclopentanes in the synthesis of secondary and tertiary alcohols

A method for the synthesis of secondary and tertiary alcohols was developed. The method is based on cycloalumination of olefins with trialkylalanes in the presence of Zr-containing catalysts followed by the CuCl-catalyzed in situ reaction of the corresponding aluminacyclopentanes with aldehydes or ketones.     

Oxidation of thiol compounds by molecular oxygen in aqueous solutions

Side self-oxidation of thiols was studied. It was found that these reactions in neutral and alkaline solutions are induced by impurities of variable-valence metals. The ability of transition metals to catalyze oxidation of thiols changes in the order Cu > Mn > Fe > Ni Co. The plot of the self-oxidation rate vs. pH passes through a maximum whose position on the pH scale depends on both the nature of metal and the structure of the thiol oxidized. For thiols having different structures, the kinetic orders in reactions catalyzed by copper ions differently vary with pH, which is apparently associated with the formation of complexes possessing different catalytic activity.     

Isoperichoric focusing field-flow fractionation and thin layer isoperichoric focusing based on coupling of gradient generated by primary field with secondary field action: general principles and performances

The primary field forces can generate spatially oriented gradient of the effective property of a continuum or pseudo-continuum fluid (carrier liquid). When this gradient is coupled with the action of a secondary field of identical or different nature the isoperichoric focused zones of the dispersed species can appear. Consequently, they can be separated according to differences responding to the property gradient of the carrier liquid. This concept can be applied under static (non-flow) conditions in thin layer focusing as well as under dynamic conditions with the elution due to the carrier liquid flow in focusing field-flow fractionation. The gradient established by the action of the primary field and the concentration distribution of the isoperichoric focused zone formed by the coupled effect of the gradient and of the primary or secondary field are described theoretically. The rigorous relationship describing the shape of the focused zone is compared with the approximate solutions. The performances of the proposed principle were evaluated by model calculations. Potential experimental configurations considering the implementation of the static and dynamic conditions are discussed. The generalized isoperichoric focusing theory can be applied to describe the particular processes operating in analytical and preparative focusing separations of the particles of various, but especially of biological origin.     

Active nickel-based reduction of organic compounds

The reducing system NiCl₂·2H₂O—Li—arene_cat (cat is catalyst) was proposed for use to reduce a wide range of organic compounds, including alkenes, alkynes, carbonyl compounds, imines, halogenated derivatives, sulfonates, aromatic compounds, hydrazines, azo and azoxy compounds, N-oxides, and nitrones. The degree of reduction can be controlled for some substrates. Deuterium can be incorporated in the reaction products using nickel chloride deuteriohydrate. Nitrones, N-alkoxyamides, and acyl azides are also reduced with the Li—arene_cat system containing no nickel salt.     

Acid-catalyzed attack of the dinitrogen ligand in thecis-(Me2PhP)4Mo(N2)2 andtrans-(Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2W(N2)2 complexes by nitronium and nitrosonium cations with the formation of nitrogen oxides

The interaction of labeled dinitrogen complexescis-(Me₂PhP)₄Mo(¹⁵N₂)₂ andtrans-(dppe)₂W(¹⁵N₂)₂ with non-labeled nitronium and nitrosonium fluoroborates,¹⁴NO₂BF₄ and¹⁴NOBF₄, in sulfolane at room temperature in the presence of H₂SO₄ results in rapid formation of labeled nitrous and nitric oxides (¹⁵N¹⁴NO,¹⁵NO), as well as¹⁵N¹⁴N. The yield of the products depends on the reagent ratio and reaches 10–20 mol. % per mole of a complex under optimum conditions. The mechanism of the reactions found is proposed. It involves the step of protonation of the dinitrogen ligand to form the corresponding hydrazido(2–) derivatives, which are then attacked by nitronium or nitrosonium cations. In accordance with the mechanism proposed, it was established that the hydrazido(2–) complexes, (Me₂PhP)₃Mo(¹⁵N₂H₂)Cl₂ and (dppe)₂W(¹⁵N₂H₂)Cl₂, are capable of forming¹⁵N¹⁴NO,¹⁵NO, and¹⁵N¹⁴N under the action of¹⁴NO₂BF₄ and¹⁴NOBF₄ in the absence of an acid.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 13–13, July, 1995.     

Protein secondary structure and stability determined by combining exoproteolysis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

In the post-genomic era, several projects focused on the massive experimental resolution of the three-dimensional structures of all the proteins of different organisms have been initiated. Simultaneously, significant progress has been made in the ab initio prediction of protein three-dimensional structure. One of the keys to the success of such a prediction is the use of local information (i.e. secondary structure). Here we describe a new limited proteolysis methodology, based on the use of unspecific exoproteases coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), to map quickly secondary structure elements of a protein from both ends, the N- and C-termini. We show that the proteolytic patterns (mass spectra series) obtained can be interpreted in the light of the conformation and local stability of the analyzed proteins, a direct correlation being observed between the predicted and the experimentally derived protein secondary structure. Further, this methodology can be easily applied to check rapidly the folding state of a protein and characterize mutational effects on protein conformation and stability. Moreover, given global stability information, this methodology allows one to locate the protein regions of increased or decreased conformational stability. All of this can be done with a small fraction of the amount of protein required by most of the other methods for conformational analysis. Thus limited exoproteolysis, together with MALDI-TOF MS, can be a useful tool to achieve quickly the elucidation of protein structure and stability.     

Detection and assessment of citrus tristeza virus antigens by computer-aided scanning densitometry

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) extracted from Etrog citron (C.medica L.) was immunoprecipitated. The immunoprecipitate was fractionated by SDS-PAGE and western blotted onto nitrocellulose. The CTV antigens were determined by immunoblot analysis using rabbit anti-CTV IgG, and the protein-band pattern exhibited on the nitrocellulose was assessed by soft-laser scanning densitometry. The densitometric tracing revealed the presence of bands that were not visible to the naked eye. Using the superimposition mode of the instrument, it was also revealed that the protein-band patterns of different CTV samples were not identical. Computer-aided soft-laser scanning densitometry proved to be a powerful approach in the detection and assessment of protein bands revealed on nitrocellulose immunoblots, which we were previously unable to do employing conventional methods.     

Microgel-based engineered nanostructures and their applicability with template-directed layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte assembly in protein encapsulation

A novel strategy for the fabrication of microcapsules is elaborated by employing biomacromolecules and a dissolvable template. Calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)) microparticles were used as sacrificial templates for the two-step deposition of polyelectrolyte coatings by surface controlled precipitation (SCP) followed by the layer-by-layer (LbL) adsorption technique to form capsule shells. When sodium alginate was used for inner shell assembly, template decomposition with an acid resulted in simultaneous formation of microgel-like structures due to calcium ion-induced gelation. An extraction of the calcium after further LbL treatment resulted in microcapsules filled with the biopolymer. The hollow as well as the polymer-filled polyelectrolyte capsules were characterized using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and scanning force microscopy (SFM). The results demonstrated multiple functionalities of the CaCO(3) core - as supporting template, porous core for increased polymer accommodation/immobilization, and as a source of shell-hardening material. The LbL treatment of the core-inner shell assembly resulted in further surface stabilization of the capsule wall and supplementation of a nanostructured diffusion barrier for encapsulated material. The polymer forming the inner shell governs the chemistry of the capsule interior and could be engineered to obtain a matrix for protein/drug encapsulation or immobilization. The outer shell could be used to precisely tune the properties of the capsule wall and exterior. [Diagram: see text] Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) image of microcapsules (insert is after treating with rhodamine 6G to stain the capsule wall).     

超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱法测定血浆和尿液中马桑亭和马桑宁

建立了超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱联用技术测定血浆和尿液中马桑中毒标志物马桑亭和马桑宁的方法。血浆和尿液样品经固相支持液液萃取法提取净化后，溶于15%（v/v）甲醇水溶液中，以Cortecs C₁₈色谱柱（100 mm×2.1 mm，1.6 μm）作为分析柱进行分离，电喷雾负离子多反应监测（MRM）模式下检测，以氟苯尼考作为内标物，基质工作曲线内标法定量。血浆和尿液中马桑亭和马桑宁的平均加标回收率为86.2%~110%，相对标准偏差为5.1%~14.6%（n=6），血浆中马桑亭和马桑宁的检出限（S/N=3）分别为0.01 μg/L和0.1 μg/L，尿液中马桑亭和马桑宁的检出限分别为0.03 μg/L和0.3 μg/L。本法简单、灵敏、准确，可用于血浆和尿液中马桑亭和马桑宁的中毒检测。     

Counterpoise-corrected potential energy surfaces of simple H-bonded systems

Geometries and stabilization energies of various simple H-bonded complexes (water dimer, hydrogen fluoride dimer, formamide dimer, formic acid dimer) have been determined by a gradient optimization that eliminates the basis set superposition error (BSSE) by the counterpoise (CP) method in each gradient cycle as well as by the standard gradient optimization. Both optimization methods lead to different potential energy surfaces (PES). The difference depends on the theoretical level used and is larger if correlation energy is considered. Intermolecular distances from the CP-corrected PES are consistently longer, and this difference might be significant (∼0.1 ?); also angular characteristics determined from both surfaces differ significantly. Different geometries were obtained even when passing to larger basis sets (aug-cc-pVDZ). The standard optimization procedure can result in a completely wrong structure. For example, the “quasi-linear” structure of the (HF)₂ (global minimum) does not exist at the standard MP2/ 6-31G** PES (where only cyclic structure was detected) and is found only at the CP-corrected PES. Stabilization energies obtained from the CP-corrected PES are always larger than these from the standard PES where the BSSE is added only a posteriori for the final optimized structure; both energies converge only when passing to a larger basis set (aug-cc-pVDZ). Received: 11 March 1998 / Accepted: 19 June 1998 / Published online: 4 September 1998 RID=" ID=" <E6>Acknowledgements.</E6> The project was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (Grant No. 203/98/1166). RID=" ID=" <E5>Correspondence to</E5>: P. Hobza