Kristallstruktur und Phasenumwandlung von Betain-Borat, (CH3)3NCH2COO·B(OH)3

Summary Betaine borate undergoes a phase transition of strongly second order at 142.5 K. Crystals below this temperature belong to the ferroelastic Aizu species mmmF2/m. The crystal structures of both phases have been determined. Paraelastic phase: Pmcn,a=7.769(1),b=9.873(2),c=11.974(2)Å,Z=4,T=293K,R=0.041 for 519 unique observed reflections. Ferroelastic phase: P2₁/c,a=7.615(5),b=9.872(3),c=11.947(5)Å, =92.98(8)°,Z=4,T=130K,R=0.083 for 507 unique observed reflections. In both structures the betaine molecules are connected to B(OH)₃-groups via hydrogen bonds to form chains running parallel[001]. These chains are associated to each other by van der Waals forces.

     

Quantification of L‐ergothioneine in whole blood by hydrophilic interaction ultra‐performance liquid chromatography and UV‐detection

A new hydrophilic interaction ultra‐performance LC method was established for the whole blood measurement of L‐ergothioneine. Chromatographic separation was achieved in a fairly short time, less than 4 min, on a 100 × 2.1 mm Acquity UPLC BEH HILIC 1.7 μm column with a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of 100 mmol/L ammonium acetate/ACN/water (5:85:10, v/v/v) that flowed isocratically at 0.250 mL/min. The LOD and the limit of quantification were 3.85 and 11.67 μmol/L, respectively. The method exhibited linearity in a concentration range of 15.63–1000 μmol/L (R² > 0.999). Mean recovery was 96.34% whereas intraassay and interassay precision were 1.52 and 1.82% RSD, respectively. On the whole, the developed method is simple, fast, precise, accurate, and sensitive and may be useful for routine analyses.     

Evaluation of potential cationic probes for the detection of proline and betaine

Osmoregulants are the substances that help plants to tolerate environmental extremes such as salinity and drought. Proline and betaine are two of the most commonly studied osmoregulants. An indirect UV CE method has been developed for simultaneous determination of these osmoregulants. A variety of reported probes and compounds were examined as potential probes for the indirect detection of proline and betaine. Mobility and UV‐absorption properties highlighted sulfanilamide as a potential probe for indirect analysis of proline and betaine. Using 5 mM sulfanilamide at pH 2.2 with UV detection at 254 nm, proline and betaine were separated in less than 15 min. The LODs for proline and betaine were 11.6 and 28.3 μM, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to quantification of these two osmoregulants in spinach and beetroot samples.     

Study of zwitterionic sulfopropylbetaine containing reactive siloxanes for application in antibacterial materials

Antibacterial agents receive a great deal of attention around the world due to the interesting academic problems of how to combat bacteria and of the beneficial health, social and economic effects of successful agents. Scientists are actively developing new antibacterial agents for biomaterial applications. This paper reports the novel antibacterial agent siloxane sulfopropylbetaine (SSPB), which contains reactive alkoxysilane groups. The structure and properties of SSPB were systematically investigated, with the results showing that SSPB contains both quaternary ammonium compounds and reactive siloxane groups. SSPB has good antibacterial activity against both Escherichia coli (E. coli, 8099) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, ATCC 6538). The minimal inhibition concentration is 70 μmol/ml SSPB against both E. coli and S. aureus. In addition, the SSPB antibacterial agent can be used in both weak acid and weak alkaline environments, functioning within the wide pH range of 4.0-9.0. The SSPB-modified glass surface killed 99.96% of both S. aureus and E. coli organisms within 24 h. No significant decrease was observed in this antibacterial activity after 20 washes. Moreover, SSPB does not induce a skin reaction and is nontoxic to animals. Thus, SSPB is an ideal candidate for future applications as a safe, environmentally friendly antibacterial agent.     

Molecular structure and hydrogen bonding of 4-dimethylaminopyridinioacetate in its crystalline dihydrate and hydrochloride trihydrate,L·2H2O and [L2H]Cl·3H2O (L=p-Me2NC5H4N+CH2CO2 −)

The crystalline dihydrate and hydrochloride trihydrate of a new betaine, namely, L·2H₂O (1) and [L₂H]Cl·3H₂O(2) (L=p-Me₂NC₅H₄N⁺CH₂CO₂), have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. Molecule L in compound1 [space groupPbcn, witha=15.732(3),b=7.894(2),c=18.304(4) Å, andZ=8] possesses approximateC _s symmetry. The formation of hydrogen bonds by water molecules bridging neighboring carboxy oxygen atoms leads to an infinite two-dimensional network composed of a packing of two different kinds of 12-membered rings. In compound2 [space group PT witha=7.341(2),b=9.543(2),c=17.010(4) Å, =82.43(2)°, =80.34(2)°, =74.05(2)°, andZ=2], the carboxylate groups of a pair of betaine molecules are bridged by a proton to form a dimeric cation L₂H⁺ with a very strong asymmetric hydrogen bond of length 2.464(7) Å. The crystal structure features a hydrogen-bonded corrugated ribbon comprising an alternate arrangement of edge-sharing centrosymmetric (H₂O)₄(Cl^–)₂ and (H₂O)₄ rings running parallel to thea axis.     

Structural effect of synthetic zwitterionic cosolutes on the stability of DNA duplexes

The molecular design of useful cosolutes for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is one of the most important techniques in molecular biology, plays a significant role in amplification of highly stable genome sequences because during PCR, strand dissociation sometimes fails due to high melting temperature. Here, we designed and synthesized eight new zwitterionic cosolutes derived from glycine betaine, a destabilizing reagent for GC-rich DNA duplexes, and systematically compared their ability to destabilize DNA duplexes and to amplify genome DNA by PCR. We found that introduction of n-butyl groups rather than methyl groups into the ammonium group reduced the melting temperature of DNA duplexes 11-fold more than what was observed for the scaffold cosolute, glycine betaine, and furthermore, the cosolute can amplify the stable genome sequence by PCR.