The assay of a novel histamine H2-receptor antagonist, SK&F 93479, in human plasma by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A selective assay of a new histamine H2-receptor antagonist, SK&F 93479, in human plasma has been developed. The method uses liquid-liquid extraction from the biological sample and analysis of the resulting extract by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection for quantitation of the drug and an added standard. The assay is sufficiently accurate and precise to determine the compound at concentrations as low as 0.025 mg 1(-1). The coefficient of variation of the assay averages 5.7% at concentrations between 0.1 and 2.0 mg 1(-1), but increases to 21.8% at 0.02 mg 1(-1). SK&F 93479 can be determined in spiked plasma samples, at concentrations between 0.05 and 0.80 mg 1(-1) with a bias of between -7.5 and +3.6%, but at 0.02 mg 1(-1) concentrations were underestimated by 15% on average. The assay has been used for pharmacokinetic and bioavailability studies: after a single 0.5 mg kg-1 oral dose in man, plasma concentrations can be monitored for up to 70 h after dosing.     

Wormlike micelles from a cage amine metallosurfactant

We have shown that copper and cobalt metallosurfactants derived from Cu(II) and Co(III) complexes of a macrobicyclic hexamine ("cage") can form wormlike micelles in aqueous solution that may coexist with or easily interconvert with vesicle structures. The cylindrical micelle structures are unusual for triple-chain surfactants with a single headgroup and are not easily accounted for using geometrical packing arguments. The solution behavior has been characterized by cryo-TEM and SAXS measurements. Both the Cu and Co compounds display viscoelastic solutions at 1 wt %, indicating that such behavior may be anticipated for the full variety of stable metal complexes formed by the cage headgroup, auguring applications based on the incorporation of metallo aggregates into mesoporous silica structures.     

Compositional control of electrical transport properties in the new series of defect thiospinels, Ga1−xGexV4S8−δ (0≤x≤1)

A new series of non-stoichiometric sulfides Ga_1−xGe_xV₄S_8−δ (0≤x≤1; δ≤0.23) has been synthesized at high temperatures by heating stoichiometric mixtures of the elements in sealed quartz tubes. The samples have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, SQUID magnetometry and electrical transport-property measurements. Structural analysis reveals that a solid solution is formed throughout this composition range, whilst thermogravimetric data reveal sulfur deficiency of up to 2.9% in the quaternary phases. Magnetic measurements suggest that the ferromagnetic behavior of the end-member phase GaV₄S₈ is retained at x≤0.7; samples in this composition range showing a marked increase in magnetization at low temperatures. By contrast Ga_0.25Ge_0.75V₄S_8−δ appears to undergo antiferromagnetic ordering at ca. 15 K. All materials with x≠1 are n-type semiconductors whose resistivity falls by almost six orders of magnitude with decreasing Ga content, whilst the end-member phase GeV₄S_8−δ is a p-type semiconductor. The results demonstrate that the physical properties are determined principally by the degree of electron filling of narrow-band states arising from intracluster V-V interactions.     

A stereodivergent,two-directional synthesis of stereoisomeric C-linked disaccharide mimetics

Dipyranones, such as 1,2-bis[(2R,3S,6S)-3-hydroxy-6-methoxy-3-oxo-6H-pyran-2-yl]ethane, were exploited as templates for the synthesis of some novel C-linked disaccharide analogues. Efficient methods, such as stereoselective reduction and dihydroxylation, were developed for two-directional functionalisation of these templates. Peracetylated derivatives of ten stereoisomeric disaccharide analogues [acetic acid 4,5-diacetoxy-6-methoxy-[(3',4',5'-triacetoxy-6'-methoxytetrahydropyran- 2'-yl)ethyl]tetrahydropyran-3-yl esters] were synthesised from a virtual library of 136 compounds; furthermore, an additional eight stereoisomers could have been synthesised simply by using the enantiomeric ligand in the enantioselective step. The ability of (2S,3S,4R,5R,6R)-6-methoxy-2-[2'-((2'R,3'R,4'S, 5'R,6'S)-3',4',5'-trihydroxy-6'-methoxytetrahydropyran-2'-yl) ethyl]tetrahydropyran-3,4,5-triol to bind to the repressor protein, LacI, was estimated to be similar to that of isopropyl-beta-thiogalactoside. The disaccharide mimetics were concluded to be a new and interesting class of C-linked disaccharide mimetics with promising, though largely unstudied, biological activity.     

Some experiences with a mass spectrometry data system validation

Summary An HPLC method with UV and radioactivity detection is reported for analysis of the toxic metabolite of acetaminophen (paracetamol) in human liver samples. Acetaminophen and its oxidative metabolites were separated on an RP-18 column with aqueous NH₄-acetate:methanol mobile phase. The¹⁴C-acetaminophen and its metabolites were monitored at 250 nm and by online-coupled radioactivity detection. HPLC-MS indicated the presence of the toxic metabolite—the new method proving suitable for its serial analysis. Presented at Balaton Symposium '01 on High-Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 2–4, 2001     

Novel Intercalation Compounds of MoS2

Abstract

Intercalation of naphthalene and its substituted derivatives into MoS₂ has been achieved by exfoliation-reflocculation. Intercalation results in an expansion of the lattice in a direction perpendicular to the dichalcogenide layers and, in the case of naphthalene, modifies the electrical properties of the host.     

Amyloid formation from an α-helix peptide bundle is seeded by 3(10)-helix aggregates

Transformation of proteins and peptides to fibrillar aggregates rich in β sheets underlies many diseases, but mechanistic details of these structural transitions are poorly understood. To simulate aggregation, four equivalents of a water‐soluble, α‐helical (65 %) amphipathic peptide (AEQLLQEAEQLLQEL) were assembled in parallel on an oxazole‐containing macrocyclic scaffold. The resulting 4α‐helix bundle is monomeric and even more α helical (85 %), but it is also unstable at pH 4 and undergoes concentration‐dependent conversion to β‐sheet aggregates and amyloid fibrils. Fibrils twist and grow with time, remaining flexible like rope (>1 μm long, 5–50 nm wide) with multiple strings (2 nm), before ageing to matted fibers. At pH 7 the fibrils revert back to soluble monomeric 4α‐helix bundles. During α→β folding we were able to detect soluble 3₁₀ helices in solution by using 2D‐NMR, CD and FTIR spectroscopy. This intermediate satisfies the need for peptide elongation, from the compressed α helix to the fully extended β strand/sheet, and is driven here by 3₁₀‐helix aggregation triggered in this case by template‐promoted helical bundling and by hydrogen‐bonding glutamic acid side chains. A mechanism involving α?α₄?(3₁₀)₄?(3₁₀)_n?(β)_n?m(β)_n equilibria is plausible for this peptide and also for peptides lacking hydrogen‐bonding side chains, with unfavourable equilibria slowing the α→β conversion.     

Optical Tomography on Simple Riemannian Surfaces

ABSTRACT

Optical tomography means the use of near-infrared light to determine the optical absorption and scattering properties of a medium. In the stationary Euclidean case the dynamics are modeled by the radiative transport equation, which assumes that, in the absence of interaction, particles follow straight lines. Here we shall study the problem in the presence of a Riemannian metric where particles follow the geodesic flow of the metric. In particular, we study the problem in dimension two, where the analysis is more delicate than in the higher dimensional cases.