Synergies between micropreparative high-performance liquid chromatography and an instrumental optical biosensor

The recent development of an automated surface plasmon resonance technology for the measurement of biomolecular interactions (Pharmacia BIAcore) has provided new opportunities for the detection and analysis of protein-protein interactions. In the BIAcore, detection is based on changes in surface plasmon resonance which are monitored optically. Changes in surface plasmon resonance correspond to changes in surface concentration of macromolecules and can be monitored in real time.

We have found that the detection sensitivity obtainable with this technology (ng/ml concentrations of specific ligands are readily detectable for many applications) is complementary “in a bidirectional manner” to micropreparative HPLC. Thus micropreparative HPLC may be used to purify and characterise reagents for the biosensor, whilst the biosensor may be used to define chromatographic parameters such as elution conditions for affinity chromatography or serve as an affinity detector for fractions obtained during chromatographic purification.

Examples of such applications, including the potential of the biosensor to search for and monitor the purification of unknown ligands for which the target molecule has been identified, are shown. In particular, the use of the biosensor to monitor the purification of soluble epidermal growth factor receptor from A431 cell conditioned media is demonstrated.     

IsoméRisation avant la perte d'eau des ions aldéhydes et cétones protonés en spectrométrie de masse

Isomerization of Protonated Aldehyde and Ketone Ions in the Mass-Spectrography Before the Loss of Water In mass spectrometry, protonated aldehyde and ketone ions isomerize before the loss of a molecule of water. In order to specify this process, the spectra of deuterium labelled protonated aldehydes and ketones have been compared to the spectra of the corresponding isomer ions.     

Dioxo-2,5 pipérazines. 1. La synthèse des carboxythiazolo dioxo-2,5 pipérazines

A new and general synthesis of 2,5-dioxopiperazine condensed with the thiazolidine ring is described. The synthesis involves the use of N-ethoxy carbonyl-2-ethoxy-1-2-dihydroquinoleine (EEDQ) as activating agent to form the 2,5-diketopiperazine (EEDQ) as activating agent to form the 2,5-diketopiperazine ring. By this method 9-carbobutoxy-7,7-dimethyl-2,5-dioxo-8-this-1,4-diazabicyclo[4.3.0] nonane (6) and 9-carboxy-8,8 dimethyl-2,5-dioxo-7-thia-1,4-diazabicy clo [4.3.0] nonane (8) were obtained, with near quantitative yield, from 4-carboxy-2-carbobutoxy-5,5 dimethylthiazolidine (4). The former was transformed into acid 7 by hydrolysis with barium bydroxyde and the latter was esterified with diazornethane thus producing a methylester 9. The use of the ethy lester of N-(2-cabobutoxy-4-carboxy-5,5-dimethyl-thiazolidine)glycine (10) for synthesis of 6 was also successful. The spectromethric data were interpreted and confirm the proposed structure of the new compounds.     

The lowest-energy ligand to metal charge-transfer absorption band of trans-[OsO2(malonate)2]2-

The resolved structure of the lowest-energy oxo to osmium charge-transfer absorption band of trans-[OsO2(malonate)2]2- is analyzed on the basis of the exact molecular Ci symmetry determined from the structure of a crystal used for spectroscopy. The multiple progressions observed in the polarized spectra are rationalized in terms of the deviations from idealized D4h point group symmetry and compared to the spectra observed for complexes with D2h symmetry such as trans-[OsO2(oxalate)2]2- that show only a single dominant progression for this transition.     

A Chemical Study of Burley Tobacco Flavour (Nicotiana tabacum L.). I. Volatile to medium-volatile constituents (b.p. ≦ 84°/0.001 Torr

The fraction b.p. ≦ 84° (0.001 Torr) from Burley tobacco condensate was carefully investigated using fractional distillation and preparative column and gas liquid chromatography aided by GLC/MS coupling. Among the 193 compounds thus separated and characterized by their spectral data, 81 were newly identified tobacco constituents. Most of the compounds isolated in the course of this work display flavouring properties which make them highly suitable for improving the flavour and aroma of tobacco and tobacco smoke.     

Synthèse des (±)-loliolide, (±)-actinidiolide, (±)-dihydroactinidiolide et dérivés à partir d'acide homosafranique. Photooxygénation sensibilisée de I'homosafranate de méthyle

We have synthesized (±)-loliolide ( 7 a ), (±)-actinidiolide ( 11 a ), (±)-dihydroactinidiolide ( 16 ), and (±)-isodihydroactinidiolide ( 18 ) through various reaction paths starting from homosafranic acid ( 4 a ). Thus, (±)-actinidiolide has been synthesized for the first time, and this result allows to discard the alternative formula 11 b for that compound [2]. By investigation of the sensitized photooxygenation of methyl homosafranate ( 4 b ), this reaction is shown to lead to an interesting spiro-peroxylactone 25 , beside the expected endo-peroxide 23 . Specific oxygenation of the tetrasubstituted double bond of methyl homosafranate, and cyclisation of the hydroperoxide 24 thus produced, are believed to account for the formation of such a particular compound. The base-catalysed rearrangement of the endo-peroxide 23 gives rise to two compounds, one being the expected keto-hydroxy-ester 26 . The other - to which is assigned the glycidic ester structure 27 - obviously results from an internal displacement reaction on oxygen in 23 . It is note-worthy that the sensitized photooxygenation of methyl homosafranate proceeds directly to the same glycidic ester when it is carried out in an alcaline solution.     

A remark on analytic Fredholm alternative

We apply a recent result of Borichev–Golinskii–Kupin on the Blaschke-type conditions for zeros of analytic functions on the complex plane with a cut along the positive semi-axis to the problem of the eigenvalues distribution of the Fredholm-type analytic operator-valued functions.     

Local atomic and electronic structure in the LiVPO4(F,O) tavorite-type materials from solid-state NMR combined with DFT calculations

⁷Li, ³¹P, and ¹⁹F solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to investigate the local arrangement of oxygen and fluorine in LiVPO₄F_1-yO_y materials, interesting as positive electrode materials for Li-ion batteries. From the evolution of the 1D spectra versus y, 2D ⁷Li radiofrequency-driven recoupling (RFDR) experiments combined, and a tentative signal assignment based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations, it appears that F and O are not randomly dispersed on the bridging X position between two X–VO₄–X octahedra (X = O or F) but tend to segregate at a local scale. Using DFT calculations, we analyzed the impact of the different local environments on the local electronic structure. Depending on the nature of the VO₄X₂ environments, vanadium ions are either in the +III or in the +IV oxidation state and can exhibit different distributions of their unpaired electron(s) on the d orbitals. Based on those different local electronic structures and on the computed Fermi contact shifts, we discuss the impact on the spin transfer mechanism on adjacent nuclei and propose tentative signal assignments. The O/F clustering tendency is discussed in relation with the formation of short V^IVO vanadyl bonds with a very specific electronic structure and possible cooperative effect along the chain.     

Fast reproducible identification and large-scale databasing of individual functional cognitive networks

Background  

Although cognitive processes such as reading and calculation are associated with reproducible cerebral networks, inter-individual variability is considerable. Understanding the origins of this variability will require the elaboration of large multimodal databases compiling behavioral, anatomical, genetic and functional neuroimaging data over hundreds of subjects. With this goal in mind, we designed a simple and fast acquisition procedure based on a 5-minute functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sequence that can be run as easily and as systematically as an anatomical scan, and is therefore used in every subject undergoing fMRI in our laboratory. This protocol captures the cerebral bases of auditory and visual perception, motor actions, reading, language comprehension and mental calculation at an individual level.     

A Modica-Mortola Approximation for Branched Transport and Applications

The M ^α energy which is usually minimized in branched transport problems among singular one-dimensional rectifiable vector measures is approximated by means of a sequence of elliptic energies defined on more regular vector fields. The procedure recalls the one of Modica-Mortola related to the approximation of the perimeter. In our context, the double-well potential is replaced by a concave term. The paper contains a proof of Γ−convergence and numerical simulations of optimal networks based on that previous result.