Comprehensive Profiling by Non-targeted Stable Isotope Tracing Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry: A New Tool Complementing Metabolomic Analyses of Polar Metabolites

Mass spectrometry (MS) driven metabolomics is a frequently used tool in various areas of life sciences; however, the analysis of polar metabolites is less commonly included. In general, metabolomic analyses lead to the detection of the total amount of all covered metabolites. This is currently a major limitation with respect to metabolites showing high turnover rates, but no changes in their concentration. Such metabolites and pathways could be crucial metabolic nodes (e.g., potential drug targets in cancer metabolism). A stable-isotope tracing capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry (CE-MS) metabolomic approach was developed to cover both polar metabolites and isotopologues in a non-targeted way. An in-house developed software enables high throughput processing of complex multidimensional data. The practicability is demonstrated analyzing [U-¹³C]-glucose exposed prostate cancer and non-cancer cells. This CE-MS-driven analytical strategy complements polar metabolite profiles through isotopologue labeling patterns, thereby improving not only the metabolomic coverage, but also the understanding of metabolism.     

On Genuine Bernstein–Durrmeyer Operators

We continue the studies on the so–called genuine Bernstein–Durrmeyer operators U _n by establishing a recurrence formula for the moments and by investigating the semigroup T(t) approximated by U _n . Moreover, for sufficiently smooth functions the degree of this convergence is estimated. We also determine the eigenstructure of U _n , compute the moments of T(t) and establish asymptotic formulas. Received: January 26, 2007.     

Conformational analysis of a stereochemically complete set of cis-enediol peptide analogues

A conformational analysis of a stereochemically complete set of peptide analogues based on a cis-enediol unit is presented. The cis-enediol unit, which can replace a two or a three amino acid segment of a peptide, contains two "side chains", four asymmetrical carbon atoms, and six free dihedral angles. To determine the accessible conformational space, the molecules are divided into three fragments, each containing two free dihedral angles. The energy surfaces are computed for all dihedral angle values, and the possible conformations of the cis-enediol unit analogues are built using all combinations of the surface minima. Such a "build-up" procedure, which is very fast, is able to reproduce 75% of the minima obtained from a full dihedral angle exploration of the conformational space. The cis-enediol unit minima are compared with the corresponding di- and tripeptide minima; all peptide minima can be closely matched by a cis-enediol unit minimum of low energy (less than 2.2 kcal/mol above the lowest energy conformer). However, there are low energy minima of the cis-enediol unit that have no corresponding minima in peptides. The results are shown to depend strongly on the chirality of the analogues. The ability of each of the stereoisomers to mimic natural peptides, evaluated by the present approach, is correlated with its experimental activity in a renin inhibition assay.     

Phosphorothioate Analogues of Nucleotides—Tools for the Investigation of Biochemical Processes

Nucleoside phosphorothioates are analogues of nucleotides with a wide range of applications. Thus, on the one hand, in many but not all cases they are more stable against hydrolysis than the unmodified nucleotides—a property which they share with other nucleotide analogues. On the other hand, however, they are good substrates for many, but not all reactions where the nucleotide or the phosphorothioate group is transferred to an acceptor other than H₂O. As a consequence, once incorporated into a system such as DNA, phosphorothioates cannot be easily removed. What makes these compounds unique to a certain extent is the chirality at the phosphorus center if two nonequivalent residues are linked to the phosphorothioate group. This opens the way for the use of these compounds to investigate stereochemical aspects of enzymatic reactions. In addition to these properties, there are those expected from exchange of an oxygen for a sulfur atom in a phosphate group, e.g. the increased affinity towards mercury derivatives and the large chemical shift of the ³¹P-NMR sinals. If one considers how many biologically interesting compounds contain phosphate groups, the considerable interest in these nucleotide analogues is not surprising.     

CrIII-Phthalocyaninate: Darstellung,Eigenschaften und Kristallstruktur von l-Bis(triphenylphosphin)iminium-trans-di(nitrito(O))phthalocyaninato(2–)-chromat(III)

Cr^III Phthalocyaninates: Synthesis, Properties, and Crystal Structure of l-Bis(triphenylphosphine)iminium trans-Di(nitrito(O))phthalocyaninato(2–)chromate(III) [Cr(H₂O)₂Pc^2?]I_x reacts with excess (PNP)NO₂ in dimethylformamide to yield less soluble greenblack l-bis(triphenylphosphine)iminium trans-di(nitrito(O))phthalocyaninato(2–)chromate(III), ^l(PNP)^trans[Cr(ONO)₂Pc^2?], which crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 (No. 2) with Z = 2. The Cr atom is in the center of the Pc^2? ligand and the two nitrite ions are monodentate O-coordinated in a mutually trans arrangement to the Cr atom. The Cr? O and Cr? N_iso bond distances are 1.9898(14) und 1.981(2) Å, respectively. The geometric data of the coordinated nitrite ion are: d(N? O) = 1.307(2) Å; d(N? O) = 1.205(2) Å; ?(O? N? O) = 113.7(2)°; ?(Cr? O? N) = 116.85(12)°. The non-bonding O atoms are trans to the Cr atom. The Pc^2? ligand is slightly saddled. Three weak spin-allowed trip-quartet(TQ) transitions (in 10³ cm^?1): TQ1 (8.20) < TQ2 (11.3) < TQ3 (20.33) and the characteristic π-π* transitions of the Pc^2? ligand: B (14.68) < Q₁ (27.1) < Q₂ (29.0) < N (35.4) are observed in the UV-VIS-NIR spectrum. Prominent luminescence spectra are obtained by excitation within the TQ1 region, in which the spin-forbidden trip-sextet transition at 7376 cm^?1 dominates at low temperatures (T < 50 K). The vibrational spectra are discussed. In coincidence of the excitation lines with TQ3, v_s(Cr? O) at 378 cm^?1 is selectively resonance Raman (RR) enhanced. v_as(Cr? O) is observed in the FIR spectrum at 391 cm^?1. The following internal vibrations (in cm^?1) of the nitrito ligand are in the MIR spectrum: v_as(N? O)/1447 > v_as(N? O)/1018/1029 > δ(O? N? O)/828 and in the RR-spectrum: v_s(N? O)/1410 > v_s(N? O)/952, the last followed by three overtones.     

Osmium(II)-Phthalocyanine: Darstellung und Eigenschaften von Di(acido)phthalocyaninatoosmaten(II)

Osmium(II) Phthalocyanines: Preparation and Properties of Di(acido)phthalocyaninatoosmates(II) “H[Os(X)₂Pc^2?]” (X = Br, Cl) reacts in basic medium or in the melt with (ⁿBu₄N)X forming less stable, diamagnetic, darkgreen (ⁿBu₄N)₂[Os(X)₂Pc^2?]. Similar dicyano and diimidazolido(Im) complexes are formed by the reaction of “H[Os(Cl)₂Pc^2?]” with excess ligand in the presence of [BH₄]^?. The cyclic voltammograms show up to three quasireversible redoxprocesses: E_1/2(I) = 0.13 V (X = CN), ?0.03 V (Im), ?0.13 V (Br) resp. ?0.18 V (Cl) is metal directed (Os^II/III), E_1/2(II) = 0.69 V (Cl), 0.71 V (Br), 0.83 V (CN), 1.02 V (Im) is ligand directed (Pc^2?/?) and E_1/2(III) = 1.17 V (Cl) resp. 1.23 V (Br) is again metal directed (Os^III/IV). Between the typical “B” (～16.2 kK) and “Q” (～29.4 kK), “N regions” (～34.1 kK) up to seven strong “extra bands” of the phthalocyanine dianion (Pc^2?) are observed in the uv-vis spectrum. Within the row CN > Im > Br > Cl, most of the bands are shifted slightly, the “extra bands” considerably more to lower energy in correlation with E_1/2(I). The vibrational spectra are typical for the Pc^2? ligand with D_4h symmetry. M.i.r. bands at 514, 909, 1 173 and 1 331 cm^?1 are specific for hexa-coordinated low spin Os^II phthalocyanines. In the resonance Raman (r.r.) spectra polarized, depolarized or anomalously polarized deformation and stretching vibrations of the Pc^2? ligand will be selectively enhanced, if the excitation frequency coincides with “extra bands”. With excitation at ～19.5 kK the intensity of the symmetrical Os? X stretching vibration at 295 cm^?1 (X = Cl), 252 cm^?1 (X = Im) and 181 cm^?1 (X = Br) is r.r. enhanced, too. The asymmetrical Os? X stretching vibration is observed in the f.i.r. spectrum at 345 cm^?1 (X = CN), 274 cm^?1 (X = Cl), 261 cm^?1 (X = Im) and 200 cm^?1 (X = Br).