General strategy for a short and efficient synthesis of 3-hydroxy-4-methylprolines (HMP)

The non-proteinogenic amino acid 3-hydroxy-4-methylproline (HMP) is an active constituent of some potent antimicrobials including echinocandins, nostopeptins, pneumocandins, sporiofungin and mulundocandins. A synthesis has been achieved in 10 steps with 29% overall yield; the Evans’ aldol reaction using Crimmins’ modified method was pivotal to the success of the strategy.     

Baseline studies of radon/thoron concentration levels in and around the Lambapur and Peddagattu areas in Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, India

Studies conducted by Atomic Minerals Directorate of Exploration and Research (AMD) of Hyderabad, India had established the presence of higher concentrations of uranium in Lambapur and Peddagattu areas of Nalgonda district, AP, India and it was estimated that it could be a viable source for commercial extraction. The envisaged extraction process involves dispersion of radioactive particulate matter into atmosphere. Environmental radioactive studies in and around proposed mining areas at this point of time will be extremely useful for establishing base line data before a large scale uranium extraction process comes into existence. To this end, Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors were installed to evaluate indoor radon and thoron concentration levels in the dwellings of the area. The geometric means of radon and thoron concentration levels were found to be (7.1±0.2)×10¹ and (6.7±0.3)×10¹ Bq/m³, respectively. Simultaneously, natural background radiation measurements were also made and these levels are found to vary from 770 to 3995 μGy/y in the spatial distribution.     

Tevatron: Recent results and prospects at the upgrade

In this article, we review some of the recent results from CDF and DØ experiments at the Tevatron and their prospects at the upgrade. Among the topics discussed are top quark physics, electroweak physics, qcd physics and new physics beyond standard model.     

Use of a chiral surfactant for enantioselective reduction of a ketone

The influence of a chiral surfactant and a polymer-supported chiral additive on reduction of ketones using sodium borohydride will be described. Initial preparations involved methylation of (S)-leucinol to give (2S)-N , N-dimethyl-2-amino-4-methyl-1-pentanol (1) (67%). The chiral surfactant (2) was synthesized by reacting (1) with bromohexadecane (71%). The functionalized styrene for the polymer-supported chiral additive (5) was synthesized by reacting (1) with 4-vinylbenzyl chloride. Polymerization was carried out with 10% of the functionalized monomer (4), 5% cross-linking agent divinylbenzene, and 85% styrene with AIBN as the initiator. The activity of the chiral surfactant and polymeric additive were examined by using them as additives in a standard reduction of 2-pentanone with sodium borohydride to yield (R)- and (S)-2-pentanol (3) (20%). The resulting alcohol was analyzed by polarimetry (ee 9.5%) and also esterified with (2S)-methylbutyric acid prior to characterization by NMR. 13C NMR indicated an enantiomeric excess of 5.2% when the chiral surfactant was used, and 7% when the polymeric additive was used.     

Adsorption Equilibrium and Kinetics of Egg-White Proteins on Immobilized Metal Ion Affinity Gels for Designing Fractionation

Designing an Immobilized Metal ion Affinity (IMA) chromatographic process on large scale demands a thorough understanding to be developed regarding the adsorption behaviour of proteins on metal loaded IMA (IMA-M(II)) gels and the characteristic adsorption parameters to be evaluated. This research investigation illustrates the significance of these aspects for the proposed fractionation of chicken egg-white proteins on these gels. Consequently, a systematic investigation of the adsorption characteristics of three chicken egg-white proteins viz., ovalbumin, conalbumin and lysozyme on Cu(II) and Ni(II) loaded IMA gels, iminodiacetate (IDA) and tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TREN), has been undertaken. These gels differ in their selectivity towards the proteins of interest under the identical sets of experimental conditions. While TREN-Ni(II) was selective only for lysozyme, IDA-Cu(II), IDA-Ni(II) and TREN-Cu(II) showed varying affinities for all the three proteins. The equilibrium and kinetic data were analysed using various theoretical models and adsorption parameters were quantified. On the basis of these investigations, various strategies have been proposed for the efficient large-scale fractionation of chicken egg-white proteins on these gels.     

Oxidation of cyclohexane with molecular oxygen using a Schiff base cobalt complex bonded to carbamate-modified silica gel

The Schiff base [1,2-bis(salicylidene amino)phenylene]cobalt(II) complex, chemically bonded to a carbamate-modified silica gel catalyst, has been prepared by a four step procedure. The oxidation of cyclohexane was studied in the presence of this catalyst under relatively mild conditions (150–200 °C, 15–20 atm) using molecular oxygen. The catalyst was found to be very selective for the production of cyclohexanol, with cyclohexanone formed in only a small amount (45:1). This is in contrast to the commercially available processes in which cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone are both formed in appreciable amounts. The t.g.a. analysis shows the catalyst to be stable up to 211 °C and atomic absorption spectroscopy indicated negligible metal loss during 50 h use of the catalyst up to 180 °C.     

Expression ofAscaris suum malic enzyme in a mutantEscherichia coli allows production of succinic acid from glucose

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The malic enzyme gene ofAscaris suum was cloned into the vector pTRC99a in two forms encoding alternative arnino-termini. The resulting plasmids, pMEAl and...     

Fabrication of highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays using an organic electrolyte

Anodization of titanium in a fluorinated dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ethanol mixture electrolyte is investigated. The prepared anodic film has a highly ordered nanotube-array surface architecture. Using a 20 V anodization potential (vs Pt) nanotube arrays having an inner diameter of 60 nm and 40 nm wall thickness are formed. The overall length of the nanotube arrays is controlled by the duration of the anodization, with nanotubes appearing only after approximately 48 h; a 72 h anodization results in a nanotube array approximately 2.3 mum in length. The photoelectrochemical response of the nanotube-array photoelectrodes is studied using a 1 M KOH solution under both UV and visible (AM 1.5) illumination. Enhanced photocurrent density is observed for samples obtained in the organic electrolyte, with an UV photoconversion efficiency of 10.7%.     

π‐Facial Selectivity in the Formation of Tricarbonylchromium(0) Complexes of Estra‐1, 3, 5(10), 6‐tetraenes

The preparation of two η⁶‐estra‐1, 3, 5(10), 6‐tetraene tricarbonylchromium complexes 4 and 6 are described. In both cases only one stereoisomer can be isolated, in contrast to other estrane‐tricarbonylchromium complexes, where complexations are non‐stereoselective. X‐ray crystal structural analysis of 4 discloses that only the more sterically hindered β‐facial isomer is formed. It is assumed that the 6, 7‐olefinic moiety exerts a directive influence on the complexation.     

Mapping the Geometry of Metal Three‐Coordination Using Crystal Structure Data: Reaction Pathway for Ligand Addition to Linear HgII Species

Symmetry‐modified principal‐component analysis has been used to visualise the geometrical distortions of three‐coordinate metal centres observed in crystal structures retrieved from the Cambridge Structural Database. It is shown that compounds of Cu, Ag, Hg, Zn, and Au dominate the dataset, and exhibit distortions away from the trigonal planar archetype towards a) T‐shaped and b) Y‐shaped geometries. A small number of compounds, principally of Cu and Ag, also show distortions towards trigonal pyramidal geometries. The interconversions from Y‐shaped geometries, through the trigonal planar form to T‐shaped geometries are clearly mapped by the PC analysis. For Hg^II complexes, it is possible to interpret the transition from T‐shaped geometries to the trigonal planar form in terms of a reaction pathway for ligand addition to linear L₁? Hg^II? L₂ species.