Simultaneous Determination of Glyphosate,Glufosinate, and Aminomethylphosphonic Acid by Capillary Electrophoresis After 9‐Fluorenylmethyl Chloroformate Derivatization

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) with UV absorption detection method is described for the simultaneous determination of glufosinate, glyphosate, and aminomethylphosphoric acid. The 9‐fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC‐Cl) was used for precolumn derivatization of the non‐absorbing herbicides. The three analytes were separated by CE in 9 min with 25 mM borate buffer at pH 9, followed by detection with a UV detector at 260 nm. We demonstrate how the detection limit can be enhanced by using acetonitrile‐salt mixtures. With acetonitrile‐salt mixtures, the limit of detection (LOD) was in the 10^?7 M range. Linearity of more than two orders of magnitude was generally obtained. Precisions of migration times and peak areas were less than 0.9% and 7.5%, respectively. The applicabilities of the method for the analysis of ground water and lake water were examined.     

Self-organized glycoclusters along DNA: effect of the spatial arrangement of galactoside residues on cooperative lectin recognition

We describe herein the relationship between the spatial arrangement of self-organized galactose clusters and lectin recognition. beta-Galactose-modified deoxyuridine phosphoramidite was synthesized and applied to solid-phase synthesis to provide 18-, 20-, and 22-mers of site-specifically galactosylated oligodeoxynucleotides (Gal-ODNs). These Gal-ODNs were self-organized through hybridization with the corresponding 18-, 20-, and 22-mers of half-sliding complementary ODNs (hsc-ODNs) to give periodic galactoside clusters. The self-organization of ODNs was confirmed by size exclusion chromatography and gel electrophoresis. The binding of the Gal-clusters to the FITC-labeled RCA(120) lectin was analyzed by monitoring the change in fluorescence intensity. The assembly of 20-mer Gal-ODN with the 20-mer hsc-ODN was strongly and cooperatively recognized by the lectin. The 18-mer assembly was bound more weakly and less cooperatively, and the 22-mer assembly was minimally bound to the lectin. RCA(120) lectin recognized not only the density of galactoside residues, but also the spatial arrangement. The size of the Gal cluster was estimated from the association constant of Gal-ODN with hsc-ODN. The relationship between lectin-recognition and Gal-cluster size is also discussed.     

Selective Detection of Dopamine and Its Metabolite,DOPAC, in the Presence of Ascorbic Acid Using Diamond Electrode Modified by the Polymer Film

The surface of boron‐doped diamond (BDD) electrode is modified by the polymer film for the first time. The cationic polymer film of N,N‐dimethylaniline (DMA) is electrochemically deposited on BDD electrode surface. This polymer (PDMA) film‐coated BDD electrode is used as a sensor which selectively detect dopamine (DA) in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA). This electrode also can detect both DA and its metabolite, 3,4‐dihydroxy phenyl acetic acid (DOPAC) in the presence of AA in the range of the physiological concentrations of these species. Favorable ionic interaction (i.e., electrostatic attraction) between the PDMA film and AA or DOPAC lowers their oxidation potentials and enhances the current response for AA and DOPAC compared to that at the bare electrode. The PDMA film also shows a hydrophobic interaction with DA and DOPAC. In cyclic voltammetric measurements, the PDMA film‐coated electrode can successfully separate the oxidation potentials for AA and DA coexisting in the same solution and the separation is about 200 mV. AA oxidizes at more negative potential than DA. In square‐wave voltammetry, the sensitivity of the PDMA film‐coated BDD electrode for DA in the presence of higher concentration of AA is higher than that of the PDMA film‐coated glassy carbon electrode. The hydrodynamic amperometric experiments confirm that the oxidation of AA is not affected by the oxidized product of DA and vice versa. So, unlike the bare electrode the catalytic oxidation of AA by the oxidized DA is eliminated at the PDMA film‐coated BDD electrode. The sensitivities of the modified electrode for AA, DA and DOPAC, which are present in the same solution with their physiological concentration ratios, are calculated to be 0.070, 0.363 and 0.084 μA μM^?1, respectively. The modified electrode exhibits a stable and sensitive response to DA.     

Characterization of antithrombin III from human plasma by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and capillary electrophoretic methods

The isoforms distribution of the glycoprotein antithrombin III (ATIII) derived from human plasma was investigated by means of isoelectric focusing (IEF) in polyacrylamide gels with immobilized pH gradients (IPG) and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) as well as capillary electrophoretic methods. It turned out that the presence of high concentrations of chaotropics (urea, thiourea) and zwitterionic detergents (3-[(3-cholamidepropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS)) was decisive for attaining good resolution of the protein isoforms. Resolution by IPG-IEF was obtained with excellent reproducibility and pI differences down to 0.01 pH units could be distinguished. ATIII-alpha and ATIII-beta-fractions preseparated by heparin affinity chromatography showed an analogous but shifted spot pattern consisting each of one major and three minor isoforms. The main isoforms of ATIII-alpha and ATIII-beta exhibit pI values of 5.18 and 5.32, respectively, both values determined in the presence of high concentrations of urea. The pI difference of 0.14 pH units correspond to the effect of two sialic acids absent in ATIII-beta. The formation and occurrence of ATIII dimers and trimers turned out to be dependent on the sample preparation. The results obtained by 2-DE were compared with those of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and capillary IEF (CIEF). Quantitative analysis regarding the CZE separated isoforms of plasma derived ATIII yielded a content of about 70% ATIII-alpha main isoform and about 6.6% of ATIII-beta. The pI values of ATIII determined by CIEF with internal calibration were in fair agreement with the pI values of the main isoforms achieved with 2-DE.     

The Efficient Synthesis of the Optically Active β‐Hydroxyl‐γ‐Butyrolactone Derivatives

The optically active β‐hydroxyl‐γ‐butyrolactones were synthesized from nonchiral starting material by employing reductive cleavage reaction, sharpless asymmetric epoxidation and dihydroxylation, and Lewis acid‐catalysed cyclization as key steps. This strategy can be used to prepare many chiral β‐hydroxyl‐γ‐butyrolactone analogues.     

Phase-transfer agents as catalysts for a nucleophilic substitution reaction in microemulsions

The reaction between 4-tert-butylbenzyl bromide and potassium iodide was carried out in microemulsions based on different nonionic surfactants, and the reaction rates were compared with those obtained in two-phase systems with added phase-transfer agent, either a quaternary ammonium salt or a crown ether. The reactions were relatively fast in the microemulsions and extremely sluggish in the two-phase systems without additional phase-transfer agent. Addition of a phase-transfer agent did not accelerate the reaction when a hydrocarbon was used as organic solvent, neither in the two-phase system nor in the microemulsion. When a chlorinated hydrocarbon was used as solvent, phase-transfer catalysis became effective and the rate obtained in the two-phase system with an equimolar amount of phase-transfer agent added was higher than that obtained in the microemulsion. When a catalytic amount of phase-transfer agent was used, the rate in the two-phase system was about the same as the rate obtained in the microemulsion without the phase-transfer agent. The combined approach, that is, use of a microemulsion as the reaction medium and addition of a phase-transfer agent, gave the highest reaction rate. The quaternary ammonium salt (tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate) was a more efficient catalyst in the microemulsion system than the crown ether ([18]crown-6).     

Aggregation of [Cu(II)4] building blocks into [Cu(II)8] clusters or a [Cu(II)4]infinity chain through subtle chemical control

Coordination complexes of the ligand H3L [1,3-bis(3-oxo-3-phenylpropionyl)-2-hydroxy-5-methylbenzene] with Cu(II) are reported. Clusters showing various nuclearities or modes of supramolecular organization have been prepared by slightly changing the reaction conditions and have been crystallographically characterized. The reaction of H3L with one equivalent of Cu(OAc)2 in DMF yields the dinuclear complex [Cu2(HL)2(dmf)2] (1). Reaction in MeOH of H3L with an increased amount of metal, in the form of Cu(NO3)2, and excess strong base (nBu4NOH) affords the cluster [Cu8(L)2(OMe)8(NO3)2] (2). Complex 2 is a dimer of two linear [Cu4] arrays bridged by methoxide ligands, where the polynucleating ligand is fully deprotonated. The [Cu4]2 clusters are linked to each other by NO3- bridges to form one-dimensional coordination polymers. The link between [Cu8] units and their relative spatial positioning can be modified by changing the anion of the Cu(II) salt, as demonstrated by the synthesis of the cluster polymers [Cu8(L)2(OMe)8Cl2] (3) and [Cu8(L)(OMe)7.86Br2.14] (4), where only NO3- has been replaced by Cl- or Br-, respectively. Similarly, when ClO4- is used, compound [Cu8(L)2(OMe)8(ClO4)2(MeOH)4] (5) can be isolated. It contains independent [Cu8] units. A slight change in the stoichiometry of the reaction leading to 2 affords the related complex catena-[Cu4(L)(OMe)3(NO3)2(H2O)0.36] (6). This polymer contains essentially the same [Cu4] moiety as 2, albeit organized in a completely different arrangement. Each [Cu4] unit in 6 is linked by OMe- ligands to two such equivalent groups to form an infinite chain. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal weak antiferromagnetic exchange between Cu(II) centers in 1 (J = -0.73 cm(-1)) and strong antiferromagnetic coupling within [Cu4] chains in 2, 5, and 6 (most negative J values of -113.8 and -177.3 cm(-1) for 2 and 6, respectively).     

Flow‐Injection Amperometric Detection with Solvent Polymeric Membrane Ion Sensors

An amperometric detector for hydrophobic ions based on a plasticized poly(vinyl) chloride (PVC) membrane incorporated in a flow‐injection system was developed. A four‐electrode potentiostat with ohmic drop compensation was used, while a flow‐through cell incorporated the four electrodes and the membrane, which contained tetrabutylammonium tetraphenylborate. When the influence of the applied potential and of the flow‐injection variables on the determination of tetrabutylammonium was studied, a linear relationship was observed between current peak height and ion concentration over a range of 5×10^?6–6×10^?5 M tetrabutylammonium. Good repeatability and between‐day reproducibility and high sample frequency were obtained. The effect of other ions was studied. Two different amperometric methods, indirect and direct, were also developed for the determination of dodecylsulfate in the concentration range 3×10^?5–9×10^?4 M.     

Fluoropolyethers end‐capped by polar functional groups. IV. A novel approach to the evaluation of reactivities of hydroxy‐terminated ethoxylated fluoropolyethers in the tin(IV)‐catalyzed reactions with isophorone diisocyanate

The effect of catalyst dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL) on the kinetics of urethane formation reactions of α,ω‐bis(hydroxy)‐terminated fluoropolyethers Fomblin® Z‐DOL TXs (FPEs) of various molecular weights and poly(oxyethylene) glycol PEG‐400 with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) in hexafluoroxylene (HFX) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 40 °C and NCO:OH = 2:1 have been studied in a broad range of catalyst (0.10–9.00) ×10^?4 M and total reagents (10.0–60.1 wt %) concentrations. The rate of tin‐catalyzed second‐order reactions (with respect to diol and diisocyanate) was found to be proportional to the square root of catalyst concentration [DBTDL]^0.5 both in low polar (HFX) and polar (THF) solvents. Effect of catalyst saturation was revealed for all the reaction systems at higher DBTDL concentrations as well as the appearance of the limiting catalyst concentrations C_lim below which the rates of reaction were close to zero. Based on these findings new effective rate coefficients have been derived k = k_cat/(C ? C) that are independent of the total reagent concentration in the range of 10.0–60.1 wt % ([OH] = 0.10–0.91 equiv/L). This new approach highlights that the rate of the tin‐catalyzed urethane formation reactions of α,ω‐bis(hydroxy)‐terminated fluoropolyethers Z‐DOL TXs with IPDI in HFX at 40 °C and NCO:OH = 2:1 increases significantly with increasing MW of FPE from 776 up to 3405. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5354–5371, 2004     

Methylation of Chitosan with Iodomethane: Effect of Reaction Conditions on Chemoselectivity and Degree of Substitution

N,N,N‐trimethylchitosan (TMC) was prepared by reacting purified chitosan with iodomethane, in the presence of sodium hydroxide, water and sodium iodide, at room temperature. The reaction medium was N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone. Different samples of TMC were obtained by adding to the reaction medium a fixed volume (5.5 mL) of aqueous NaOH solutions at different concentrations (15, 20, 30 and 40 wt.‐%) and carrying out the reactions for 9 or 24 h. The features observed in the ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of these chitosan derivatives, in respect of the chemical shift, number and relative intensity of the signals, depended strongly on the excess of NaOH and H₃CI added to the reaction medium, but when the lowest excess was employed, the characteristics of the derivative were not affected by the reaction time to the same extent. The average degree of quaternization of these N‐methylated derivatives of chitosan ranged from 10.5% to 44.8%, according to the reaction conditions. Increasing the excess of NaOH, in reactions carried out for 9 h, resulted in TMC samples with progressively higher content of trimethylated sites however, the reaction yields were correspondingly lower and O‐alkylation was favored in these cases.

¹H NMR spectrum of sample [A_X]^24h dissolved in D₂O (C_p = 10 g/L).