Copolymerization of glycolic,d,l-lactic and d,l-2-hydroxybutyric acid mixtures present in kraft black liquors

A series of copolymers of glycolic acid (GA), d,l-lactic acid (dl-LA) and d,l-2-hydroxybutyric acid (dl-2HBA) were prepared via melt condensation polymerization. The utilized monomers represent mixtures that are present and potentially obtainable from kraft black liquor by fractionation. Polymerizations were performed in 165 °C at nitrogen atmosphere and reduced pressure using stannous octoate as catalyst. Copolymerizations were conducted with varying dl-2HBA content in order to observe how the presence of the dl-2HBA monomer affects the properties of the polymers. Prepared copolymers were characterized with ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR, size exclusion chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The obtained copolymers had molecular weights between M_w = 3500–10,000 g/mol. dl-2HBA had a lowering effect on the glass transition temperatures and molecular weights of the copolymers. However, significant lowering of molecular weight was observed only when the amount of dl-2HBA in the feed exceeded 60%. The results indicate that dl-2HBA can be copolymerized with GA and dl-LA and therefore the corresponding kraft black liquor fractions can be utilized for polymerizations.     

1H,13C, 19F NMR, and ESI mass spectral characterization of two geminal difluorosteroids

Two geminal difluorosteroids, 3,3-difluoro-5beta-cholan-24-oic acid (1) and 3,3-difluoro-5alpha-androstan-17-one (2), have been prepared from corresponding ketosteroids with diethylaminosulphurtrifluoride (DAST) treatment in moderate yields. The structures of 1 and 2 have been characterized by (1)H, (13)C, (19)F NMR, and ESI mass spectral techniques.     

Self-assembly properties of bile acid derivatives of l-cysteine,l-valine and l-serine alkyl esters

Comprehensive self-assembly studies for nine bile acid amides of amino acid esters are reported. The number of the hydroxyl groups attached to the steroidal skeleton and the character of the amino acid ester moiety were used as variables when examining the self-assembly properties of the compounds. Two of the compounds were shown to undergo self-assembly leading to organogelation. In addition, preliminary self-assembly studies in aqueous mixtures of polar organic solvents were conducted. Microscopic methods (optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy) were utilised in order to gain a deeper insight into the self-assembled structures. Furthermore, single-crystal X-ray structures for three of the compounds were solved.     

On-line monitoring of continuous beer fermentation process using automatic membrane inlet mass spectrometric system

A fully automatic membrane inlet mass spectrometric (MIMS) on-line instrumentation for the analysis of aroma compounds in continuous beer fermentation processes was constructed and tested. The instrumentation includes automatic filtration of the sample stream, flushing of all tubing between samples and pH control. The calibration standards can be measured periodically. The instrumentation has also an extra sample line that can be used for off-line sample collection or it can be connected to another on-line method. Detection limits for ethanol, acetic acid and eight organic beer aroma compounds were from μg l⁻¹ to low mg l⁻¹ levels and the standard deviations were less than 3.4%. The method has a good repeatability and linearity in the measurement range. Response times are shorter than or equal to 3 min for all compounds except for ethyl caproate, which has a response time of 8 min. In beer aroma compound analysis a good agreement between MIMS and static headspace gas chromatographic (HSGC) measurements was found. The effects of different matrix compounds commonly present in the fermentation media on the MIMS response to acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate and ethanol were studied. Addition of yeast did not have any effect on the MIMS response of ethanol or ethyl acetate. Sugars, glucose and xylose, increased the MIMS response of all studied analytes only slightly, whereas salts, ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrate and sodium chloride, increased the MIMS response of all three studied compounds prominently. The system was used for on-line monitoring of continuous beer fermentation with immobilised yeast. The results show that with MIMS it is possible to monitor the changes in the continuous process as well as delays in the two-phase process.     

Stereoselective synthesis of (3-aminodecahydro-1,4-methanonaphthalen-2-yl)methanols targeted to the C1 domain of protein kinase C

Protein kinase C (PKC) is a widely studied molecular target for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. We have approached the issue of modifying PKC function by targeting the C1 domain in the regulatory region of the enzyme. By using the X-ray crystal structure of the PKCδ C1b domain combined with molecular modeling, we discovered (3-aminodecahydro-1,4-methanonaphthalen-2-yl)methanol as a novel C1 domain ligand. The stereoselective synthesis of this tricyclic γ-amino alcohol was based on two successive Diels-Alder reactions to construct the six continuous stereocenters of the key intermediate.     

Influence of anionic additive on Hg(2+) interference on Ag(+)-ISEs based on [2.2.2]p,p,p-cyclophane as neutral carrier

The influence of the anionic additive on the Hg²⁺ interference on Ag⁺-ion-selective electrodes (Ag⁺-ISEs) based on [2.2.2]p,p,p-cyclophane as π-coordinating neutral carrier was studied by potentiometric measurements. The weakly coordinating carborane anion (7,8,9,10,11,12-hexabromocarborane, CB₁₁H₆Br₆⁻) was compared with the commonly used tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl borate) (TpClPB⁻) as the anionic additive in plasticized PVC membrane-based Ag⁺-ISEs. The Hg²⁺ interference was reduced by six orders of magnitude when replacing TpClPB⁻ with CB₁₁H₆Br₆⁻ as the anionic additive, resulting in determined by the matched potential method (MPM). This indicates that weakly coordinating carboranes may be particularly useful as anionic additives in ISEs for soft cations.     

A new maximum likelihood approach with asymmetric residual distribution for multicomponent mass spectra analysis

This paper proposes a new maximum likelihood approach for the deconvolution of identity and quantity of individual compounds based on the multicomponent mass spectra measured by mass spectrometry (MS). Mixture analysis of multicomponent mass spectra is, typically, based on a linear multicomponent mass spectrum model, where the compounds of the measured spectra to be solved are explicitly stated and assumed to be known. In many cases, however, the measured spectrum may contain unknown compounds that are not explicitly stated in the model and a commonly used least square (LS) solution fails. Moreover, a standard improvement over the LS method in these cases, namely the M-estimation (ME) approach, also suffers from this same problem. Our method overcomes the limitations of the LS and ME methods by modeling the effect of the unknown compound(s) to the residual of the linear model. The experimental results presented show that this new approach can separate more robustly the complex multicomponent mass spectra into their individual constituents compared to the LS and ME methods.     

Structural, thermoanalytical and molecular modeling studies on N-(3-hydroxypropyl) 3 alpha,12 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-amide and its monohydrates

The synthetic method for preparing N-(3-hydroxypropyl) 3 alpha,12 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-amide can lead to formation of at least three different crystal forms - an anhydrous compound and two monohydrates. The structural and thermal properties of these forms have been characterized by 13C-CP/MAS-NMR and IR spectroscopy, thermo- gravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry and by powder and single crystal x-ray crystallography. In addition, theoretical 13C-NMR chemical shift calculations were also performed for the anhydrous compound and for the first monohydrate, starting from single crystal structures and the structures of these species have now been verified. The first monohydrate, C27H47NO4 x H2O, crystallizes in orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with cell parameters: a = 7.1148(2), b = 18.1775(5), c = 20.1813(6), Z = 4.     

Bile acid alkylamide derivatives as low molecular weight organogelators: systematic gelation studies and qualitative structural analysis of the systems

A series of amino- and hydroxyalkyl amides of bile acids have been synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), as well as electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) measurements. The ability of the synthesized molecules to promote gel formation was systematically investigated. Out of 396 combinations formed by 11 compounds and 36 different solvents, 22 gel-containing systems were obtained with 1% (w/v) gelator concentration. Apart from one exception, the gelator compounds were lithocholic acid derivatives. This challenges the general trend of bile acid-based physical gelators, according to which the gelation ability of lithocholic acid derivatives is poor. A correlation between the values of Kamlet-Taft parameters and solvent preferences for gelators was observed. The morphologies of the solid and gel structures studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed variability from fibers to spherical microscale aggregates, the latter of which are unique among bile acid-based organogels. The gels exhibited more complex behavior than was previously established with bile acid derivatives, judging by the microscale diversity present in gelating and non-gelating systems and the tendency for polymorphism. This study underlines the importance of both the molecular and colloidal scale aspects of the gelation phenomenon.