Mass spectra of heterocyclic compounds. II-Hexahydro-1,3,5,-triazines

The twelve tri-N-sulphonylhexahydro-1,3,5-triazines (R = alkyl or aryl) exhibit a common fragmentation pattern; most of the fragments are directly or indirectly generated from the [M ? RSO₂]⁺ ion. Tri-N-Benzylsulphonylhexahydro-1,3,5-triazine (R = PhCH₂) departs from the others mainly because the key ion [M ? RSO₂]⁺ suffers a skeletal rearrangement with loss of SO₂. The rationalizations presented are supported by metastable evidence, accurate mass measurements and deuterium labelling.     

Determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in air by solid phase micro-extraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

The aim of the study was to analyse BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) in air by solid phase micro-extraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME/GC/MS), and this article presents the features of the calibration method proposed. Examples of real-world air analysis are given. Standard gaseous mixtures of BTEX in air were generated by dynamic dilution. SPME sampling was carried out under non-equilibrium conditions using a Carboxen/PDMS fibre exposed for 30 min to standard gas mixtures or to ambient air. The behaviour of the analytical response was studied from 0 to 65 g/m³ by adding increasing amounts of BTEX to the air matrix. Detection limits range from 0.05 to 0.1 g/m³ for benzene, depending on the fibre. Inter-fibre relative standard deviations (reproducibility) are larger than 18%, although the repeatability for an individual fibre is better than 10%. Therefore, each fibre should be considered to be a particular sampling device, and characterised individually depending on the required accuracy. Sampling indoor and outdoor air by SPME appears to be a suitable short-delay diagnostic method for volatile organic compounds, taking advantage of short sampling time and simplicity.     

Optimization of the cyclodextrin-assisted capillary electrophoresis separation of the enantiomers of phenoxyacid herbicides

An ethylcarbonate derivative of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) with three substituents per molecule, hydroxypropyl-beta-CD and native alpha-CD have been tested as resolving agents in the capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) separation of the four enantiomers of the herbicides mecoprop and dichlorprop. The performances of the three compounds have been quantified by means of two-levels full factorial design and the inclusion constants were calculated from CZE migration time data. Possible structure of inclusion complexes have been proposed, on the basis of molecular mechanics simulations.     

A Practical Approach for the In Vitro Safety and Efficacy Assessment of an Anti-Ageing Cosmetic Cream Enriched with Functional Compounds

(1) Background: Cosmeceuticals are topical products applied to human skin to prevent skin ageing and maintain a healthy skin appearance. Their effectiveness is closely linked to the compounds present in a final formulation. In this article, we propose a panel of in vitro tests to support the efficacy assessment of an anti-ageing cream enriched with functional compounds. (2) Methods: biocompatibility and the irritant effect were evaluated on reconstructed human epidermis (RHE) and corneal epithelium (HCE) 3D models. After a preliminary MTT assay, normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and keratinocytes (HaCaT) were used to evaluate the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein synthesis, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) production. (3) Results: data collected showed good biocompatibility and demonstrated the absence of the irritant effect in both 3D models. Therefore, we demonstrated a statistical increase in collagen and elastin productions in NHDF cells. In HaCaT cells, we highlighted an anti-inflammatory effect through a reduction in IL-6 levels in inflammatory stimulated conditions. Moreover, the reduction of MMP-1 production after UV-B radiation was demonstrated, showing significant photo-protection. (4) Conclusion: a multiple in vitro assays approach is proposed for the valid and practical assessment of the anti-ageing protection, anti-inflammatory and biocompatible claims that can be assigned to a cosmetic product containing functional compounds.     

Intramolecular sulphonyl-amidomethylation. Part I. Cyclization of benzylsulphonamides

Cyclization of benzylsulphonamides with aldehydes in strong acid media is a synthetically useful route to 3,4-dihydro-1H-2,3-benzothiazine 2,2-dioxides III. With insufficient acid strength or reaction time, kinetic products IV and VI are obtained; the latter compounds can be converted into the thermodynamic products III under stronger conditions. The reactions proceed via imine VII or iminium VIII compounds as common intermediates.     

PHOTOOXIDATION OF LANTHANIDE ION-LYSOZYME COMPLEXES. A NEW APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION OF INTRAMOLECULAR DISTANCES IN PROTEINS

Abstract— Rare-earth metal ions give 1:1 complexes with hen's egg-white lysozyme. Spectroscopic and enzymic activity measurements suggest that the binding site consists of the side chains of glutamic-35 and aspartic-52. The spatial conformation of these complexes is practically identical to that of native lysozyme, especially as concerns the environment of the tryptophyl side chains. Irradiation of La³⁺-lysozyme by visible light, in the presence of proflavine as photosensitizer, causes the oxidative modification of all the tryptophyl and methionyl residues at almost the same rate as in uncomplexed protein. On the other hand, when lanthanide ions with nonvanishing magnetic moments were coordinated with lysozyme, at least some tryptophans and methionines were protected from photooxidative attack. The distance of the protected residues from the coordination site increased with increasing magnetic moment of the bound metal ion, which suggests that inhibition of the photoprocess was mainly due to perturbation of the lifetime of the electronically excited intermediate species. On the basis of the atomic coordinates of lysozyme in the crystal state, it is thus possible to define a "quenching radius" for the various lanthanide ions; these radii could in turn be used to evaluate intramolecular distances in proteins of unknown tertiary structure, by identifying the amino acid residues that are protected or photooxidized upon irradiation of complexes between the given protein and several different lanthanide ions. Our studieson lysozyme allow us to define five radii of protection, ranging from 6·7 Å for Sm³⁺ to over 17 Å for Dy³⁺, Ho³⁺, Er³⁺ and Tb³⁺. Therefore, this technique opens the possibility of mapping appreciably large regions of a protein molecule.     

Determination and identification by high-performance liquid chromatography and spectrofluorimetry of twenty-three aromatic sulphonates in natural waters

A method for detecting and identifying 23 aromatic sulphonates in natural waters was optimized. Samples were pretreated by solid-phase extraction in order to eliminate interferents and to preconcentrate the analytes. Separation of the extracted analytes was accomplished by ion-pair HPLC with fluorimetric detection; the eluent composition and pH were optimized. The detection limits lie in the low μg 1⁻¹ range. Some of the investigated compounds were found in the water of the river Bormida (N.W. Italy). Unknown components were identified from their fluorescence spectra.     

Evaluation of signal and noise and identification of a suitable target function in the tuning of an ESI ion trap mass spectrometer by multivariate pattern recognition tools

When mass spectrometry is not combined to separation techniques, the evaluation of signal and noise in a complex mass spectrum is not trivial. The tuning of the spectrometer based only on the increase of the signal of a selected number of m/z values does not ensure the achievement of the best experimental conditions: signal could improve and noise could increase as well. The scope of this work is the development of a function separating signal and noise (for evaluating the S/N) from complex mass spectra for potential use as target function for the automatic tuning of the instrument. Two different methods were applied: the first is based on the separation of a pool of m/z values attributable to the signal from the m/z values due to the noise, while the second is based on the application of principal component analysis to separate the signal (present in the significant components) from the noise (present in the residuals). The comparison of the two methods was carried out by the evaluation of the stability of the signal and the target functions obtained, and the evaluation of the variation of the target functions as a function of concentration.     

Substitution in the hydrantoin ring—I Aminomethylation

The behaviour of the hydantoin ring in the aminomethylation reaction was studied in order to determine the orientation of this substitution. It was found that position 3 is the most reactive one and this result is rationalized in terms of influence of structural factors.

Mono-aminomethyl derivatives of hydantoins (I to XV) are described.     

Mass spectra of heterocyclic compounds VI. 3,4-dihydro-1H-2,3-benzothiazine 2,2-dioxides

The mass fragmentation behaviour of 3,4-dihydro-1H-2,3-benzothiazine 2,2-dioxides was studied. The rationalizations suggested are supported by accurate mass measurements, metastable evidence and deuterium labelling.