Positive and negative ion chemistry of the anesthetic halothane (1-bromo-1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane) in air plasma at atmospheric pressure

The ion chemistry of 1-bromo-1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (the common anesthetic halothane) in air plasma at atmospheric pressure was investigated by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (APCI-MS). The major positive ion observed at low declustering (API interface) energies is the ionized dimer, M(+.)M, an unexpectedly abundant species which possibly is stabilized by two H-bonding interactions. At higher energies [M--HF](+.) and [M--Br](+) prevail; the former, corresponding to ionized olefin [ClBrC=CF(2)](+.), appears to originate from M(+.)M and is quite stable towards fragmentation. The latter fragment ion ([M--Br](+)) and its analogue, [M--Cl](+), which is also observed though at much lower abundance, are originally ethyl cations (+)CHX--CF(3) (X = Br, Cl) which, upon collisional activation, rearrange and fragment to CHFX(+) via elimination of CF(2). All of the above described ions are also observed in humid air: in addition, the oxygenated ion [ClBrC=CFOH](+.) also forms in humid air via water addition to [ClBrC=CF(2)](+.) and HF elimination, as observed earlier for ionized trichloroethene. In contrast with similar chloro- and fluoro-substituted ethanes, halothane does not react with H(3)O(+) in the APCI plasma, a result confirmed by selected ion APCI triple-quadrupole (TQ) experiments. Major negative ions formed from halothane in the air plasma are Br(-) and, to a lesser extent, Cl(-), and their complexes with neutral halothane. APCI-TQ experiments indicated that Br(-) and Cl(-) are formed via reaction of halothane with O(2) (-.), O(2) (-.)(H(2)O) and O(3) (-.), possibly via dissociative electron transfer or nucleophilic substitution. Competing proton transfer was also observed in the reaction with O(2) (-.) and, at high halothane pressure, also with O(2) (-.)(H(2)O); at lower pressures the molecular anion M(-.) was observed instead. The other minor anions of the air plasma, NO(2) (-), N(2)O(2) (-.) and NO(3) (-), were found to be unreactive towards halothane.     

Novel CFCs-substitutes recommended by EPA (hydrofluorocarbon-245fa and hydrofluoroether-7100): Ion chemistry in air plasma and reactions with atmospheric ions

The ion chemistry of the title compounds, a nonafluorobutyl methyl ether and a hydrofluoropropane, is elucidated by a combination of studies using atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry and triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. In the positive ion mode, the hydrofluoroether readily forms an [M - F]+ ion, attributable to hydronium ion induced dehydrofluorination, the product of which can be further hydrated to give a protonated hydrofluoroester. By contrast, the hydrofluoropropane does not react with the hydronium ion but rather gives hydrofluoroalkenylium cations via H atom and F atom abstraction by the dioxygen radical cation. In the negative ion mode, the fluorobutyl methyl ether undergoes dissociative electron capture with O2-*, O2-*(H2O), O3-*, and NO2- to generate the fluorobutoxy anion, which can dissociate by CF2[doublebond]O loss to give the perfluorocarbanion when the precursor ions are internally excited. The hydrofluoropropane reacts readily with common atmospheric anions to form molecular complexes with F-, O2-*, and O3-* and the strongly H-bonded species, O2-*(HF) and F-(HF). Interestingly, isomeric pentafluoropropanes form in the reaction with O2-*, either O2-*(HF) or F-(HF), depending on the specific pattern of the fluoro substitution.     

Monocyclopentadienylhydride derivatives of ruthenium: stereoselective proton transfer and proton-hydride exchange in an extremely short dihydrogen bond

Diastereomerically pure complexes of formula CpRuCl(PP) and CpRuH(PP) with chiral ferrocenyl diphosphines were prepared and the selectivity of proton-transfer processes over the monohydride compounds with different acids was studied. With 1 equiv of HBF(4) the cis-dihydrogen and trans-dihydride complexes were formed while with 3 equiv of CF(3)CO(2)H the trans-dihydride derivative was the only product. However, the use of 1 equiv of CF(3)CO(2)H led to a dihydrogen bonded complex with an extremely short RuH...HO(2)CF(3) interaction that exhibits proton-hydride exchange. Using the labeled acid CF(3)CO(2)D, a stereoselective transference of the deuteron was demonstrated that implies the previous epimerization of the monohydride and the subsequent attack of the acid in the position previously occupied by the hydride.     

The non-isothermal devitrification of lithium germanate glasses

The non-isothermal devitrification of lithium germanate glasses, examined by DTA and XRD, is reported and discussed. The glass compositions are expressed by the general formula:xLi₂O(1?x)GeO₂ withx=0.050, 0.125, 0.167, 0.200 and 0.250. All the glasses studied, unlike GeO₂ glass, exhibit internal crystal nucleation without the addition of any nucleating agent. The devitrification processes occur in one or more steps. Phases which crystallized at each step are identified and crystallization mechanisms proposed. These crystallization mechanisms are related to structures of the crystallizing phases. Activation energy values as well as those for glass transition temperatures, do not vary linearly with increase in Li₂O content but pass through a maximum atx=0.200.     

Alkynylcyclohexadienyl tricarbonyliron complexes: A new directing effect for organoiron-mediated synthesis

The first example of an alkyne-substituted tricarbonyl(η⁵-cyclohexadienyl)iron(1+) complex has been prepared and the ω directing effect of the phenylethynyl substituent has been demonstrated in nucleophile addition reactions. Addition of NC⁻ also occurs at the a position to form an unusual η¹, η³-structure.     

Nucleation and crystal growth in Na2O · 2 CaO · 3 SiO2 glass: a DTA study

The non-isothermal devitrification of Na₂O · 2 CaO · 3 SiO₂ glass has been studied by differential thermal analysis in order to evaluate, from DTA curves, the temperature of maximum nucleation rate, T_m, and the activation energy values, E_c, for crystal growth.The temperature, T_m=580°C, is very close to the glass transition temperature, T_g=570°C, and the value of E_c=78 Kcal mole^?1 for the surface crystal growth is nearly the same as the value E_c=89 kcal mole^?1 for the bulk crystal growth; both are consistent with the activation energy for viscous flow. It is also pointed out that the nucleation rate—temperature curve and the crystallization rate—temperature curve are partially overlapped.     

Surface and bulk crystallization in non-isothermal devitrification of glasses

The surface and bulk crystallization of Li₂O · 2 SiO₂ glass has been studied by differential thermal analysis and the influence of the specific surface area of the sample and the nucleation heat treatment on the crystallization kinetics is pointed out. The kinetic parameters were also evaluated from the DTA curves and related to the crystallization mechanism. The results agree well with the isothermal data reported in the literature.     

Preparation of RCM substrates for azepinoindole synthesis: reductive amination versus tetrahydro-γ-carboline formation

Treatment of N-(phenylsulfonyl)-2-vinyl-3-indolecarbaldehydes with primary aliphatic amines under mild reductive amination conditions leads to tetrahydro-γ-carbolines in high yield. The process can be suppressed by changing the protecting group at the indole nitrogen for a methoxymethyl group, thus allowing the preparation of RCM substrates for azepinoindole synthesis.     

Improved protein identification efficiency by mass spectrometry using N-terminal chemical derivatization of peptides from Angiostrongylus costaricensis, a nematode with unknown genome

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI), Peptide Mass Fingerprinting (PMF) and MALDI-MS/MS ion search (using MASCOT) have become the preferred methods for high-throughput identification of proteins. Unfortunately, PMF can be ambiguous, mainly when the genome of the organism under investigation is unknown and the quality of spectra generated is poor and does not allow confident identification. The post-source decay (PSD) fragmentation of singly charged tryptic peptide ions generated by MALDI-TOF/TOF typically results in low fragmentation efficiency and/or complex spectra, including backbone fragmentation ions (series b and y), internal fragmentation etc. Interpreting these data either manually and/or using de novo sequencing software can frequently be a challenge. To overcome this limitation when studying the proteome of adult Angiostrongylus costaricensis, a nematode with unknown genome, we have used chemical N-terminal derivatization of the tryptic peptides with 4-sulfophenyl isothiocyanate (SPITC) prior to MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. This methodology has recently been reported to enhance the quality of MALDI-TOF/TOF-PSD data, allowing the obtainment of complete sequence of most of the peptides and thus facilitating de novo peptide sequencing. Our approach, consisting of SPITC derivatization along with manual spectra interpretation and Blast analysis, was able to positively identify 76% of analyzed samples, whereas MASCOT analysis of derivatized samples, MASCOT analysis of nonderivatized samples and PMF of nonderivatized samples yielded only 35, 41 and 12% positive identifications, respectively. Moreover, de novo sequencing of SPITC modified peptides resulted in protein sequences not available in NCBInr database paving the way to the discovery of new protein molecules.     

Sulfonylcarbamimidic azides from sulfonyl chlorides and 5-aminotetrazole

Treatment of o-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride ( 3 ) with 5-aminotetrazole (5-AT) gave [(2-nitrophenyl)-sulfonyl]carbamimidic azide ( 6 ), a ring-opened isomer of the expected N-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-2-nitrobenzenesulfonamide ( 4 ). Sulfonylcarbamimidic azide 6 was converted to 2-amino-N-(aminoiminomethyl)benzene-sulfonamide ( 7 ) with ethanolic stannous chloride, and to 3-amino-1,2,4-thiadiazine 1,1-dioxide ( 8 ) with sodium dithionite. Methanesulfonyl chloride ( 9 ) and 5-AT gave 2-(methylsulfonyl)carbamimidic azide ( 10 ), which isomerized to 5-[(methylsulfonyl)amino]-1H-tetrazole ( 11 ) in warm ethanol. Attempted cycloaddition of 2-(phenylsulfonyl)carbamimidic azide ( 13 ) and ethyl vinyl ether led only to alkylated tetrazole products. In addition, other tetrazole-alkylating reactions are described. Isomers produced from these alkylations were differentiated with ¹³C nmr spectroscopy.