Lipase mediated separation of triterpene structural isomers, α- and β-amyrin

Pentacyclic triterpenoids α- and β-amyrin possess a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities. High structural similarity between these two structural isomers makes their chromatographic separation an ineffective and tedious choice. In this study, Candida rugosa lipase catalyzed separation protocol for the isolation of individual isomers has been developed. In the presence of vinyl acetate as the acyl donor, Candida rugosa lipase carried out acetylation of β-amyrin more efficiently as compared to α-amyrin leading to a kinetic separation. The conditions of transesterification reaction were optimized systematically, which was utilized to separate α- and β-amyrin from a mixture obtained from the latex of Plumeria obtusa.     

Electrochemical approaches for the detection of amyloid-β, tau,and α-synuclein

According to the World Health Organization, there are 47 million people worldwide who are afflicted with dementia today, and this is expected to rise to 132 million by 2050. Therefore, it is pertinent to develop efficient analytical methods such as electrochemical biosensors to study these disorders and diagnose them early. This review highlights some of the recent key developments in the use of electrochemical biosensors to study the biomarkers related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Especially, we focus on the applications of electrochemistry to analyze amyloid-β and tau related to Alzheimer's disease and α-synuclein related to Parkinson's disease.     

Simple synthesis and separation of the diastereomers of α-thio analogs of ribo- and deoxyribo- di- and triphosphates

Nucleoside 5′-0-(1-thiodi-) and triphosphates can be obtained in yields of up to 45% directly from the nucleosides. Their diastereomers can be separated by preparative reversed phase chromatography.     

HPLC-spectrophotometric detection of trace heavy metals via ‘cascade’ separation and concentration

A cascade pre-concentration and separation system involving continuous solid-phase extraction and one-drop solvent concentration was developed to enable high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination of trace levels of Ni(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Se(IV) and Cr(VI) ions in aqueous solution via complexation with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate. The metal complexes were almost completely adsorbed on the solid phase (octadecylsilyl packed column). Ethyl acetate (eluent) containing the metal complexes was then placed in a centrifuge tube, to which a microvolume of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was added. Successful pre-concentration of the metal complexes into the DMSO phase was accomplished by removing the ethyl acetate using a compact evaporator in a water bath (40°C); 1000-fold concentration was achieved within 45 min. A portion of the residual DMSO phase was then subjected to HPLC analysis. The proposed method has high reproducibility and high sensitivity with detection limits (3σ) for Ni(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Se(IV) and Cr(VI) ions of 0.08, 0.11, 0.12, 0.44 and 0.20 µg/L, respectively. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) (n = 5) at Ni(II) 5.87 µg/L, Co(II) 5.89 µg/L, Cu(II) 6.35 µg/L, Se(IV) 7.90 µg/L and Cr(VI) 5.20 µg/L (1.0 × 10^?7 mol/L each) were 4.0%, 4.6%, 4.6%, 7.2% and 3.4%, respectively.     

Voltammetric detection of the α-dicarbonyl compound: Methylglyoxal as a flavoring agent in wine and beer

A simple, rapid and highly selective method for the determination of the most abundant α-dicarbonyl compound in wine and beer has been developed for the first time by employing square wave voltammetry. A novel electrochemical sensor, based on the electrodeposition of platinum nanoparticles onto single wall carbon nanotubes that were cast on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) substrate, is presented in this paper. This modified electrode exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the electroreduction of methylglyoxal, showing much higher peak currents than those measured on an unmodified GCE. The effects of different experimental and instrumental parameters, such as solution pH and square wave frequency, were examined. The reduction peak current showed a linear range of from 0.1 × 10⁻⁶ to 100 × 10⁻⁶ M with a 0.9979 correlation coefficient; and a low detection limit of 2.8 × 10⁻⁹ M was also obtained. The proposed methodology was successfully applied to the quantitative analysis of methylglyoxal in wine and beer samples. The developed sensor possesses advantageous properties such as a high active surface area, stability, and rapid electron transfer rate, which cumulatively demonstrate high performance toward the electrocatalytic reduction and detection of methylglyoxal.     

New general synthesis of α-alkoxyketones via α'-alkylation, α-alkylation and α,α'-dialkylation of α-alkoxyketimines

α-Methoxy- and α-ethoxyketones, as important intermediates in organic synthesis and flavor compounds in food chemistry, were synthesized by deprotonation of N-(1-alkoxy-2-propylidene)isopropylamine, prepared by condensation of the corresponding α-alkoxyacetone with isopropylamine, and subsequent reaction of the corresponding 1-azaallylic anions with alkyl halides to afford α'-alkylated, α-alkylated and α,α'-dialkylated ketimines. Hydrolysis of the imino function led to the desired substituted α-alkoxyketones. The ratio of α-, α'-, and α,α'-(di)alkylated compounds depended on the amount of base used and on the nature of the alkylating reagent.     

Quantum chemical study of α-diazocarbonyl bullvalene derivatives and related heterocyclic compounds

According to the results of PBE0/cc-pVTZ quantum chemical calculations, the equilibrium mixture of α-diazocarbonyl bullvalene derivatives (C₁₀H₈N₂O) contains an impurity of the corresponding bullvaleno-[1,2,3]oxadiazoles. The carbonyl group in the major tautomer is conjugated with the three-membered ring. The concentration of other tautomers in the equilibrium mixture of two bullvaleno[1,2,3]selenadiazoles is negligible.     

Enantiomeric separation of α-phenylethylamine and its analogs by mixed chiral and achiral stationary phase

A mixed stationary phase of modified β-cyclodextrin, 2,6-di-O-butyl-3-O-butyryl-β-cyclodextrin (phase A), and SE-54 (phase B) was used for enantiomeric separation of α-phenylethylami-ne, o,m,p-methyl and o,m,p-methoxy-substituted analogs. The composition of mixed phase was selected by comparison of each calculated amin(= (γm,i+1)/(γm,i))> the relative retention values of the most adjacent peaks, and γm,last, the relative retention values of the last eluting peak at each preselected ratio. Values of γm,i,α calculated by derived equations were in good agreement with the experimental results obtained with two specified mixed phases. All solutes investigated were almost baseline separated at a predicted composition of phase A and phase B in a single run within 18 minutes.     

Quantum chemical interpretation of reactivities of aliphatic amines and α-amino acids in acylation

Quantum chemical calculations of geometrical, electronic, and energy characteristics for aliphatic amines, ammonia, some α-amino acids, and 4-nitrophenyl benzoate (4-NPB) have been performed. By the QSPR method, it was found that the rate constants for the reactions of amino compounds specified with 4-NPB in water—propan-2-ol solvent mixture are linearly dependent on the contribution of the 2p_z-AO of nitrogen into the HOMO, as well as on the population of the 2p_z-AO of nitrogen. Different character of the dependencies for 6h-amino acids and aliphatic amines can be explained by their involvement into formation of solvato-complexes with different reactivity.     

Synthesis of fluorescent Ag nanoclusters and their application in α-l-fucosidase detection

Highly fluorescent Ag nanoclusters (NCs) were successfully prepared by a simple and nontoxic approach, and the as-prepared Ag NCs could be utilized for the AFu detection with a lower detection limit of 0.001 U L(-1).     

Density and birefringence of a highly stable α,α,β-trisnaphthylbenzene glass

Spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used to understand the properties of α,α,β-trisnaphthylbenzene (ααβ-TNB) glasses vapor-deposited at a substrate temperature of 295 K (0.85 T(g)). In a single temperature ramping experiment, a range of properties of the as-deposited glass can be measured, including density, fictive temperature, onset temperature, thermal expansion coefficient, and birefringence. The vapor-deposited ααβ-TNB glass is 1.3% more dense than the ordinary glass prepared by cooling at 1 K/min, is found to be birefringent, has a fictive temperature 35 K below that of the ordinary glass, and an onset temperature 20 K above that of the ordinary glass. The thermal expansion coefficient of the vapor-deposited ααβ-TNB glass is 14% lower than that of the ordinary glass, indicating that lower portions of the potential energy landscape have more harmonic potential minima than the parts accessible to the ordinary glass.     

Design,Synthesis, and Antiviral Activity of α-Aminophosphonates Bearing a Benzothiophene Moiety

Abstract

A series of α-aminophosphonates containing a benzothiophene moiety was designed and synthesized. All synthesized compounds were confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ³¹P NMR, infrared spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The half-leaf method was used to determine the in vivo efficacy of α-aminophosphonates bearing a benzothiophene moiety against the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Bioassay results showed that all compounds exhibited certain anti-TMV activity at 500 μg/mL concentration. Compound 2f exhibited a curative effect of up to 48.1% against TMV, which was almost similar to that obtained from the standard ningnanmycin (51.9%).

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfer, and Silicon and the Related Elements for the following free supplemental files: Additional text, figures, and tables.]     

Integration of sample pretreatment, μPCR,and detection for a total genetic analysis microsystem

Since the emergence of lab-on-a-chip technology, a variety of chemical and biochemical assays were successfully implemented on microdevice platforms. Among the chip-based applications, genetic analysis based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been extensively developed in order to accomplish the goal of cheap, rapid, high-throughput, and point-of-care DNA testing. We are summarizing here several formats of the miniaturized PCR systems including the integration of units for sample pretreatment and downstream analytical detection. The various sections cover (a) miniaturized PCR systems, (b) integrated sample pretreatment-PCR microsystems, (c) integrated PCR-detection microsystems, and (d) integrated sample pretreatment-PCR-detection microsystems. Respective microdevices were successfully introduced recently in the form of a fully integrated microsystem for genetic analysis with sample-in-answer-out capability. Contains 120 references. Figure

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Syntheses of carbocyclic analogues of α-D-glucosamine, α-D-mannose, α-D-mannuronic acid, β-L-idosamine, and β-L-gulose

A versatile synthesis of orthogonally protected derivatives of carba-α-D-glucosamine, carba-α-D-mannose, carba-α-D-mannuronic acid, carba-β-L-idosamine, and carba-β-L-gulose from methyl α-D-mannoside is described. Our synthetic strategy utilizes the palladium-promoted Ferrier carbocyclization and persistent butane-2,3-diacetal protection to produce a key chiral cyclohexanone intermediate, from which all five carbasugar derivatives can readily be obtained.     

Separation of α-tocotrienol oxidation products and eight tocochromanols by HPLC with DAD and fluorescence detection and identification of unknown peaks by DAD,PBI-EIMS,FTIR, and NMR

Tocotrienols, like tocopherols, are members of the vitamin E family. While tocopherols (T) have been studied intensively, only recently have tocotrienols (T3) received increased attention due to their special health benefits. However, these positive attributes of T3 are probably lost as a result of degradation during food storage and processing, and there is little information about their oxidation products. Of particular interest are the oxidation products of α-tocotrienol (α-T3) as this is the least thermostable T3 isomer with the highest rate of degradation. The objective of this study was therefore to develop a reliable method for the determination of the most important oxidation products of α-T3 along with other tocochromanol isomers. We developed a high-performance liquid chromatography method with diode array detection, fluorescence detection, and a particle beam interface electron impact mass spectroscopy in order to separate the most important oxidation products of α-T3 (α-T3 spirodimers/spirotrimers, α-tocotrienoldihydroxy dimer, 7-formyl-β-tocotrienol (7-FβT3), 5-formyl-γ-tocotrienol (5-FγT3), α-tocotrienolquinone (α-T3Q), and α-T3Q dimers and α-tocotrienolquinone epoxides (α-T3QE)) from eight tocochromanol isomers. Furthermore, we sought to identify the as yet unknown oxidation products 5-FγT3, 7-FβT3, α-T3Q-dimer, and α-T3QE. Of these, 5-FγT3 was fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.