HPLC of antibiotics. 1. Streptolydigin and related compounds

Two new acyltetramic acids related to streptolydigin have been isolated from fermentations of Streptomyces lydicus. The principal members of this complex were resolved by TLC on silica gel. However, the methods of detection, permanganate spray or bioautography, were not suitable for both crude fermentation broths and purified extracts. Gas chromatography is unsuitable for the detection of either underivatized or silylated streptolydigins. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) particularly on triethylaminoethyl cellulose is rapid and sensitive and is the method of choice for the analysis of both crude and purified samples. Using high performance liquid chromatography, two components were detected in the complex, which are not observed using any of the other chromatographic procedures.     

New Temperature Integral Approximate Formula for Non-isothermal Kinetic Analysis

A new approximate formula for temperature integral is proposed. The linear dependence of the new fomula on x has been established. Combining this linear dependence and integration-by-parts, new equation for the evaluation of kinetic parameters has been obtained from the above dependence. The validity of this equation has been tested with data from numerical calculating. And its deviation from the values calculated by Simpson's numerical integrating was discussed. Compared with several published approximate formulae, this new one is much superior to all other approximations and is the most suitable solution for the evaluation of kinetic parameters from TG experiments. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dynamics of the formation of two-dimensional ordered structures

The growth of ordered domains in lattice gas models, which occurs after the system is quenched from infinite temperature to a state below the critical temperatureT _c, is studied by Monte Carlo simulation. For a square lattice with repulsion between nearest and next-nearest neighbors, which in equilibrium exhibits fourfold degenerate (2×1) superstructures, the time-dependent energy E(t), domain size L(t), and structure functionS(q, t) are obtained, both for Glauber dynamics (no conservation law) and the case with conserved density (Kawasaki dynamics). At late times the energy excess and halfwidth of the structure factor decrease proportional tot ^–x, whileL(t) t ^x, where the exponent x=1/2 for Glauber dynamics and x1/3 for Kawasaki dynamics. In addition, the structure factor satisfies a scaling lawS(k,t)=t ^2xS(kt^x). The smaller exponent for the conserved density case is traced back to the excess density contained in the walls between ordered domains which must be redistributed during growth. Quenches toT>T _c, T=T_c (where we estimate dynamic critical exponents) andT=0 are also considered. In the latter case, the system becomes frozen in a glasslike domain pattern far from equilibrium when using Kawasaki dynamics. The generalization of our results to other lattices and structures also is briefly discussed.     

Direct electrochemical assay of glucose using boron-doped diamond electrodes

We report linear sweep and square wave voltammetric studies on glucose oxidation at boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes in an alkaline medium in efforts to evaluate the techniques for electrochemically assaying glucose. The bare BDD electrode showed good linear responses to glucose oxidation for a concentration range from 0.5 to 10 mM glucose, which well encompasses the physiological range of 3-8 mM. The BDD electrodes did not experience interferences from ascorbic acid or uric acid during glucose detection. This method, when applied to real blood samples, gave results similar to those obtained by a commercial glucose monitor.     

Conformational changes of the amyloid beta-peptide (1-40) adsorbed on solid surfaces

The conformational change of the 39-43 residues of the amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) toward a beta-sheet enriched state promotes self-aggregation of the peptide molecules and constitutes the major peptide component of the amyloid plaques in Alzheimer patients. The crucial question behind the self-aggregation of Abeta is related to the different pathways the peptide may take after cleavage from the amyloid precursor proteins at cellular membranes. This work is aiming at determining the conformation of the Abeta (1-40) adsorbed on hydrophobic Teflon and hydrophilic silica particles, as model sorbent surfaces mimicking the apolar transmembrane environment and the polar, charged membrane surface, respectively. The mechanism by which the Abeta interacts with solid surfaces strongly depends on the hydrophobic/hydrophilic character of the particles. Hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions contribute differently in each case, causing a completely different conformational change of the adsorbed molecules on the two surfaces. When hydrophobic interactions between the peptide and the sorbent prevail, the adsorbed Abeta (1-40) mainly adopts an alpha-helix conformation due to H-bonding in the apolar part of the peptide that is oriented towards the surface. On the other hand, when the peptide adsorbs by electrostatic interactions beta-sheet formation is promoted due to intermolecular association between the apolar parts of the adsorbed peptide. Irrespective of the characteristics of the solid sorbent, crowding the surface results in intermolecular association between adsorbed molecules leading to a strong aggregation tendency of the Abeta (1-40). [Diagram: see text] CD spectra of Abeta (1-40) at pH 7: A) in solution ([Abeta]=0.2 mg.ml(-1)) freshly prepared (line) and after overnight incubation (symbols);B) on Teflon (Gamma=0.5 mg.m(-2)).     

Synthesis and structure of a new tetranuclear macrocyclic antimony(v) complex

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Multiple factor analysis in environmental chemistry

In environmental chemistry studies, it may be necessary to analyze data sets constituted by different blocks of variables, possibly of different types, measured on the same samples. Multiple factor analysis (MFA) is presented as a tool for exploring such data. The most important features of MFA are shown on a real environmental data set, consisting of two blocks of data, namely heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, measured for sediment samples. They are discussed and compared to principal component analysis (PCA). The usefulness of the weighting scheme used in MFA as a preprocessing step for other chemometric methods, such as clustering, is also highlighted.     

A case study in conformation design: learning by doing

Efforts are described to design simple, fully flexible but conformationally preorganised omega-hydroxy-nonanoic acids that could serve as the conformation controlling unit in analogues of the potent protein-kinase C activator aplysiatoxin. Such analogues are macrodilactones incorporating the designed omega-hydroxy-nonanoic acid and 3,4-dihydroxy-pentanoic acid, which contains the pharmacophoric groups. The design process (replacement of CH(2) groups by an oxygen atom, annelation of a six-membered ring and placement of alkyl substituents) of the omega-hydroxy-nonanoic acids was monitored by force-field calculations. In the end of this process simple analogues of aplysiatoxin are proposed in which the proper disposition of the pharmacophoric groups is secured by a conformationally flexible but preorganised template structure as part of the macrodilactone ring.     

Critical Comparison of Four Simple Adaptors for Flow Amperometric and Stripping Voltammetry with Mercury Drop Electrodes in Batch Cells

Electrochemical batch cells with mercury drop electrodes, MDEs, are readily available from a number of producers and widely used in electroanalysis for polarography, voltammetry and stripping voltammetry. To increase sample throughput and reduce reagent and sample consumption, the tendency is to couple the MDE with flow analysis systems (e.g., FIA, SIA or BIA). Many special flow cells for MDEs are described in the literature, but it is easier to convert existing commercial batch cells to flow operation. To assess the performance of such flow adaptors, four models were chosen because they are directly fitted to the glass capillary of any MDE, light enough not to impair the mechanical drop knocker and can be effortlessly built in the laboratory. They were all found adequate for flow amperometry and stripping voltammetry, with differences in sensitivity, flow rate dependence, response time, drop stability, tolerance to bubbles, uncompensated resistance and recontamination of disposed analyte from the electrolytic bath. Two of them, a simple L‐shaped PTFE tube and an upstream nozzle holder made from a disposable pipette tip, gather a larger set of desirable features.