Pre-column derivatization of amines with 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-isopropyl chloroformate followed by LC-fluorescence and LC-APCI-MS

A pre-column derivatization method for the sensitive determination of amines using the labeling reagent 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-isopropyl chloroformate (BCIC-Cl) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection has been developed. Identification of derivatives is carried out by high performance liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (LC-APCl-MS-MS). The chromophore of 2-(9-carbazole)-ethyl chloroformate (CEOC) reagent is replaced by 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-isopropyl functional group, which results in a sensitive fluorescence derivatizing reagent BCIC-Cl. BCIC-Cl can easily and quickly label amines. Derivatives are stable enough to be efficiently analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and show an intense protonated molecular ion corresponding m/z [MH](+) under APCl in positive-ion mode. The collision-induced dissociation of protonated molecular ion formed a product at m/z 260 corresponding to the cleavage of CH2-OCO bond. Studies on derivatization demonstrate excellent derivative yields over the pH 9.0-10.0. Maximal yields close to 100% are observed with a 3 to 4-fold molar reagent excess. In addition, the detection responses for BCIC derivatives are compared with those obtained using CEOC and FMOC as derivatization reagents. The ratios of l(BCIC)/l(CEOC) and l(BCIC)/l(FMOC) are, respectively, 1.23-3.14 and 1.25-3.08 for fluorescent (FL) responses (here, l is relative fluorescence intensity). Separation of the derivatized amines had been optimized on reversed-phase Eclipse XDB-C-8 column. Detection limits are calculated from 1.0 pmol injection, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3, are 10.6-37.8 fmol. The mean interday accuracy ranges from 94 to 105% for fluorescence detection with the largest mean %CV < 7.5. The mean interday precision for all standards is < 6.0% of the expected concentration. Excellent linear responses are observed with coefficients of > 0.9997.

Development of a sensitive fluorescent derivatization reagent 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl chloroformate (BCEOC) and its application for determination of amino acids from seeds and bryophyte plants using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and identification with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A pre-column derivatization method for the sensitive determination of amino acids and peptides using the tagging reagent 1,2-benzo-3,4dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl chloroformate (BCEOC) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection has been developed. Identification of derivatives was carried out by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS). The chromophore of 2-(9-carbazole)-ethyl chloroformate (CEOC) reagent was replaced by 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole functional group, which resulted in a sensitive fluorescence derivatizing reagent BCEOC. BCEOC can easily and quickly label peptides and amino acids. Derivatives are stable enough to be efficiently analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The derivatives showed an intense protonated molecular ion corresponding m/z (M + H)(+) under electrospray ionization (ESI) positive-ion mode with an exception being Tyr detected at negative mode. The collision-induced dissociation of protonated molecular ion formed a product at m/z 246.2 corresponding to the cleavage of C-O bond of BCEOC molecule. Studies on derivatization demonstrate excellent derivative yields over the pH 9.0-10.0. Maximal yields close to 100% are observed with a 3-4-fold molar reagent excess. Derivatives exhibit strong fluorescence and extracted detzvatization solution with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (10:1, v/v) allows for the direct injection with no significant interference from the major fluorescent reagent degradation by-products, such as 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethanol (BDC-OH) (a major by-product), mono- 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl carbonate (BCEOC-OH) and bis-(1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl) carbonate (BCEOC)(2). In addition, the detection responses for BCEOC derivatives are compared to those obtained with previously synthesized 2-(9-carbazole)-ethyl chloroformate (CEOC) in our laboratory. The ratios AC(BCEOC)/AC(CEOC) = 2.05-6.51 for fluorescence responses are observed (here, AC is relative fluorescence response). Separation of the derivatized peptides and amino acids had been optimized on Hypersil BDS C-18 column. Detection limits were calculated from 1.0 pmol injection at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3, and were 6.3 (Lys)-177.6 (His) fmol. The mean interday accuracy ranged from 92 to 106% for fluorescence detection with mean %CV < 7.5. The mean interday precision for all standards was < 10% of the expected concentration. Excellent linear responses were observed with coefficients of > 0.9999. Good compositional data could be obtained from the analysis of derivatized protein hydrolysates containing as little as 50.5 ng of sample. Therefore, the facile BCEOC derivatization coupled with mass spectrometry allowed the development of a highly sensitive and specific method for the quantitative analysis of trace levels of amino acids and peptides from biological and natural environmental samples. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Novel 2-(4-(2,2,2-Trifluoroethoxy)-3-methylpyridin-2-ylthio)-1H-benzo[d]imid azole Derivatives

The present work deals with the anticancer effect of benzimidazole derivatives associated with the pyridine framework. By varying the functional group at N-terminal of the benzimidazole by different L-amino acids, several 2-(4-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)-3-methylpyridin-2-ylthio)-1H-benzo[d]imid azole derivatives 9(a-j) were synthesized. Their chemical structures were confirmed by H-1 NMR, IR and mass spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized compounds were examined for their antiproliferative effects against human leukemia cell lines, K562 and CEM. The preliminary results showed most of the derivatives had moderate antitumor activity. Compound 9j containing cysteine residue exhibited good inhibition compared to other amino acid resides. In addition DNA fragmentation results suggest that 9j is more cytotoxic and able to induce apoptosis.

Determination of amines using 2-(11H-benzo[a]carbazol-11-yl) ethyl chloroformate (BCEC-Cl) as labeling reagent by HPLC with fluorescence detection and identification with APCI/MS

A pre-column derivatization method for the sensitive determination of amines using a labeling reagent 2-(11H-benzo[a]-carbazol-11-yl) ethyl chloroformate (BCEC-Cl) followed by high-performance, liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection has been developed. Identification of derivatives was carried out by LC/APCI/MS in positive-ion mode. The chromophore of 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl chloroformate (BCEOC-Cl) reagent was replaced by 2-(11H-benzo[a]-carbazol-11-yl) ethyl functional group, which resulted in a sensitive fluorescence derivatizing reagent BCEC-Cl. BCEC-Cl could easily and quickly label amines. Derivatives were stable enough to be efficiently analyzed by HPLC and showed an intense protonated molecular ion corresponding m/z [M+ H](+) under APCI/MS in positive-ion mode. The collision-induced dissociation of the protonated molecular ion formed characteristic fragment ions at m/z 261.8 and m/z 243.8 corresponding to the cleavages of CH2O-CO and CH2-OCO bonds. Studies on derivatization demonstrated excellent derivative yields over the pH 9.0-10.0. Maximal yields close to 100% were observed with three- to four-fold molar reagent excess. In addition, the detection responses for BCEC-derivatives were compared to those obtained using 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl chloroformate (BCEOC-Cl) and 9-fluorenyl methylchloroformate, (FMOC-Cl) as labeling reagents. The ratios I-BCEC/I-BCEOC = 1.94-2.17 and I-BCEC/I-FMOC = 1.04-2.19 for fluorescent (FL) responses (here, I was relative fluorescence intensity). Separation of the derivatized amines had been optimized on reversed-phase Eclipse XDB-C-8 column. Detection limits calculated from 0.50 pmol injection, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3, were 1.77-14.4 fmol. The relative standard deviations for within-day determination (n = 11) were 1.84-2.89% for the tested amines. The mean intra- and inter-assay precision for all amines levels were < 3.64% and 2.52%, respectively. The mean recoveries ranged from 96.6% to 107.1% with their standard deviations in the range of 0.8-2.7. Excellent linear responses were observed with coefficients of > 0.9996. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

2,3-Divinyl- und 2-Aryl-3-vinylindole als Bausteine zu Carbazolen und Versuche zur photochemischen und Ultraschall-induzierten 1,6-Elektrocyclisierung

Es wurden neue funktionalisierte Carbazole und anellierte Benzo[a]carbazole als potentielle pharmakologische Therapeutika durch 1,6-pi-Elektrocyclisierung auf photo-chemischem, thermischem und sonochemischem Weg synthetisiert und die Synthesemethoden der 1,6-pi-Elektrocyclisierung sowie der 2,3-Divinylindole und der 2-Aryl-3-vinylindole als entsprechende Ausgangsprodukte validiert und evaluiert. Es gelang weder das nach den Woodward-Hoffmann-Regeln erwartete primäre Cyclisierungsprodukt mit Indolochinodimethanstruktur noch die Existenz des in einer photochemischen Abfangreaktion daraus resultierenden Cycloprodukts NMR-spektroskopisch nachzuweisen, um den stereochemischen Verlauf der Cyclisierung vorherzusagen. Ergebnisse der quantenchemischen Berechnungen der Eduktmoleküle (AO-Koeffizienten der MO's, HOMO/LUMO-Energien) sowie der Übergangszustandsgeometrien der Cyclisierungen decken sich mit den experimentellen Daten. Divinyl- und 2-Aryl-3-vinylindole sind als Systeme mit Hexatriensymmetrie aufzufassen, deren Cyclisierungsverhalten sich mit den Woodward-Hoffmann-Regeln beschreiben läßt. Im Vergleich der verschiedenen 1,6-pi-Elektrocyclisierungsmethoden zeigte sich, daß die photochemische Variante eine elegante Synthesemethode darstellt, um funktionalisierte Carbazole und Benzo[a]carbazole mit unterschiedlichen pharmakologischen Aktivitäten unter schonenden Reaktionsbedingungen mit den vergleichbar höchsten Ausbeuten zu erhalten. Demgegenüber lieferten die Ultraschallreaktionen keine nachweisbaren Cyclisierungsprodukte. Die thermische Cyclisierung führte zur Gruppe der 1,2-Dihydrocarbazole. Sie bildeten sich in einer Folgereaktion durch [1,5s]-H-Verschiebung aus dem primär entstandenen Woodward-Hoffmann-Cyclisierungsprodukt. In abschließenden DNA-Bindestudien mit verschiedenen Testsystemen zeigte keine der synthetisierten Testsubstanzen DNA-Bindungsaktivität.

2-(2,4-dinitrobenzyl)pyridinium 2-hydroxy-3,5-dinitrobenzoate

In the structure of the title compound, the salt C12H10N3O4+ C7H3N2O72-, the cations and the anions are linked by a single N+-H...O(carboxyl) hydrogen bond, the discrete cation-anion unit having no intermolecular associations other than weak cation--anion aromatic ring pi--pi interactions [ring centroid separation, 3.7320(14)A] and a number of weak inter-unit aromatic C-H...O contacts.

Advanced Gen-1, 2 and 3 biofuels research in Australia - Fuelling advanced biofuels training for international scientists

Flinders University and Queensland University of Technology, biofuels research interests cover a broad range of activities. Both institutions are seeking to overcome the twin evils of "peak oil" (Hubbert 1949 & 1956) and "global warming" (IPPC 2007, Stern 2006, Alison 2010), through development of Generation 1, 2 and 3 (Gen-1, 2 & 3) biofuels (Clarke 2008, Clarke 2010). This includes development of parallel Chemical Biorefinery, value-added, co-product chemical technologies, which can underpin the commercial viability of the biofuel industry. Whilst there is a focused effort to develop Gen-2 & 3 biofuels, thus avoiding the socially unacceptable use of food based Gen-1 biofuels, it must also be recognized that as yet, no country in the world has produced sustainable Gen-2 & 3 biofuel on a commercial basis. For example, in 2008 the United States used 38 billion litres (3.5% of total fuel use) of Gen-1 biofuel; in 2009/2010 this will be 47.5 billion litres (4.5% of fuel use) and in 2018 this has been estimated to rise to 96 billion litres (9% of total US fuel use). Brazil in 2008 produced 24.5 billion litres of ethanol, representing 37.3% of the world’s ethanol use for fuel and Europe, in 2008, produced 11.7 billion litres of biofuel (primarily as biodiesel). Compare this to Australia’s miserly biofuel production in 2008/2009 of 180 million litres of ethanol and 75 million litres of biodiesel, which is 0.4% of our fuel consumption! (Clarke, Graiver and Habibie 2010) To assist in the development of better biofuels technologies in the Asian developing regions the Australian Government recently awarded the Materials & BioEnergy Group from Flinders University, in partnership with the Queensland University of Technology, an Australian Leadership Award (ALA) Biofuel Fellowship program to train scientists from Indonesia and India about all facets of advanced biofuel technology.

A review of rationale for allocating costs and payments in producing and supplying public sector information PART A of 2 Parts – Chapters 1, 2 and 3) 13 March 2011 version

This work reviews the rationale and processes for raising revenue and allocating funds to perform information intensive activities that are pertinent to the work of democratic government. ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’ expresses an idea that democratic government has no higher authority than the people who agree to be bound by its rules. Democracy depends on continually learning how to develop understandings and agreements that can sustain voting majorities on which democratic law making and collective action depends. The objective expressed in constitutional terms is to deliver ‘peace, order and good government’. Meeting this objective requires a collective intellectual authority that can understand what is possible; and a collective moral authority to understand what ought to happen in practice. Facts of life determine that a society needs to retain its collective competence despite a continual turnover of its membership as people die but life goes on. Retaining this ‘collective competence’ in matters of self-government depends on each new generation: • acquiring a collective knowledge of how to produce goods and services needed to sustain a society and its capacity for self-government; • Learning how to defend society diplomatically and militarily in relation to external forces to prevent overthrow of its self-governing capacity; and • Learning how to defend society against divisive internal forces to preserve the authority of representative legislatures, allow peaceful dispute resolution and maintain social cohesion.

Linkage to chromosome 2q32.2-q33.3 in familial serrated neoplasia (Jass syndrome)

Abstract Causative genetic variants have to date been identified for only a small proportion of familial colorectal cancer (CRC). While conditions such as Familial Adenomatous Polyposis and Lynch syndrome have well defined genetic causes, the search for variants underlying the remainder of familial CRC is plagued by genetic heterogeneity. The recent identification of families with a heritable predisposition to malignancies arising through the serrated pathway (familial serrated neoplasia or Jass syndrome) provides an opportunity to study a subset of familial CRC in which heterogeneity may be greatly reduced. A genome-wide linkage screen was performed on a large family displaying a dominantly-inherited predisposition to serrated neoplasia genotyped using the Affymetrix GeneChip Human Mapping 10 K SNP Array. Parametric and nonparametric analyses were performed and resulting regions of interest, as well as previously reported CRC susceptibility loci at 3q22, 7q31 and 9q22, were followed up by finemapping in 10 serrated neoplasia families. Genome-wide linkage analysis revealed regions of interest at 2p25.2-p25.1, 2q24.3-q37.1 and 8p21.2-q12.1. Finemapping linkage and haplotype analyses identified 2q32.2-q33.3 as the region most likely to harbour linkage, with heterogeneity logarithm of the odds (HLOD) 2.09 and nonparametric linkage (NPL) score 2.36 (P = 0.004). Five primary candidate genes (CFLAR, CASP10, CASP8, FZD7 and BMPR2) were sequenced and no segregating variants identified. There was no evidence of linkage to previously reported loci on chromosomes 3, 7 and 9.

Vibrational spectroscopic characterization of the phosphate mineral kulanite Ba(Fe2+,Mn2+,Mg)2(Al,Fe3+)2(PO4)3(OH)3

The mineral kulanite BaFe2Al2(PO4)3(OH)3, a barium iron aluminum phosphate, has been studied by using a combination of electron microscopy and vibrational spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy with EDX shows the mineral is homogenous with no other phases present. The Raman spectrum is dominated by an intense band at 1022 cm−1 assigned to the PO43-ν1 symmetric stretching mode. Low intensity Raman bands at 1076, 1110, 1146, 1182 cm−1 are attributed to the PO43-ν3 antisymmetric stretching vibrations. The infrared spectrum shows a complex spectral profile with overlapping bands. Multiple phosphate bending vibrations supports the concept of a reduction in symmetry of the phosphate anion. Raman spectrum at 3211, 3513 and 3533 cm−1 are assigned to the stretching vibrations of the OH units. Vibrational spectroscopy enables aspects on the molecular structure of kulanite to be assessed.

The relationship between children's emotional and cognitive self-regulation at 2 to 3 years and prosocial behavior in the early years of school

This study used data from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to investigate how parent report of children’s emotional and cognitive regulation at age 2-3 years was associated with teacher ratings of children’s prosocial behaviors in the early years of school. A sample of 2,392 children was drawn from the LSAC Birth Cohort for the analyses. The analyses used structural equation modeling to estimate parameters of the relationships between key variables. Within the model, estimates of mother-reported emotional and cognitive regulation at age 2 to 3 years were significantly associated with teacher-reported prosocial behavior at 6 to 7 years. Emotional regulation was a slightly stronger indicator of prosocial behavior than cognitive regulation. Being female and from a family with a higher socioeconomic position were also associated with higher levels of prosocial behavior. Results are discussed in relation to the role of early childhood teachers in fostering children’s self-regulatory behaviors and in providing environments in which empathic and prosocial behaviors are modeled, guided, and scaffolded so that foundations are laid for caring behaviors to be understood and internalized by children.

Plasmodium falciparum parasites lacking histidine-rich protein 2 and 3 : a review and recommendations for accurate reporting

Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) play a critical role in malaria case management, surveillance and case investigations. Test performance is largely determined by design and quality characteristics, such as detection sensitivity, specificity, and thermal stability. However, parasite characteristics such as variable or absent expression of antigens targeted by RDTs can also affect RDT performance. Plasmodium falciparum parasites lacking the PfHRP2 protein, the most common target antigen for detection of P. falciparum, have been reported in some regions. Therefore, accurately mapping the presence and prevalence of P. falciparum parasites lacking pfhrp2 would be an important step so that RDTs targeting alternative antigens, or microscopy, can be preferentially selected for use in such regions. Herein the available evidence and molecular basis for identifying malaria parasites lacking PfHRP2 is reviewed, and a set of recommended procedures to apply for future investigations for parasites lacking PfHRP2, is proposed.

Identification of optimal epitopes for Plasmodium falciparum rapid diagnostic tests that target histidine-rich proteins 2 and 3

Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) represent important tools to diagnose malaria infection. To improve understanding of the variable performance of RDTs that detect the major target in Plasmodium falciparum, namely, histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2), and to inform the design of better tests, we undertook detailed mapping of the epitopes recognized by eight HRP-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). To investigate the geographic skewing of this polymorphic protein, we analyzed the distribution of these epitopes in parasites from geographically diverse areas. To identify an ideal amino acid motif for a MAb to target in HRP2 and in the related protein HRP3, we used a purpose-designed script to perform bioinformatic analysis of 448 distinct gene sequences from pfhrp2 and from 99 sequences from the closely related gene pfhrp3. The frequency and distribution of these motifs were also compared to the MAb epitopes. Heat stability testing of MAbs immobilized on nitrocellulose membranes was also performed. Results of these experiments enabled the identification of MAbs with the most desirable characteristics for inclusion in RDTs, including copy number and coverage of target epitopes, geographic skewing, heat stability, and match with the most abundant amino acid motifs identified. This study therefore informs the selection of MAbs to include in malaria RDTs as well as in the generation of improved MAbs that should improve the performance of HRP-detecting malaria RDTs.

Global sequence variation in the histidine-rich proteins 2 and 3 of Plasmodium falciparum: implications for the performance of malaria rapid diagnostic tests

Background Accurate diagnosis is essential for prompt and appropriate treatment of malaria. While rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) offer great potential to improve malaria diagnosis, the sensitivity of RDTs has been reported to be highly variable. One possible factor contributing to variable test performance is the diversity of parasite antigens. This is of particular concern for Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2)-detecting RDTs since PfHRP2 has been reported to be highly variable in isolates of the Asia-Pacific region. Methods The pfhrp2 exon 2 fragment from 458 isolates of P. falciparum collected from 38 countries was amplified and sequenced. For a subset of 80 isolates, the exon 2 fragment of histidine-rich protein 3 (pfhrp3) was also amplified and sequenced. DNA sequence and statistical analysis of the variation observed in these genes was conducted. The potential impact of the pfhrp2 variation on RDT detection rates was examined by analysing the relationship between sequence characteristics of this gene and the results of the WHO product testing of malaria RDTs: Round 1 (2008), for 34 PfHRP2-detecting RDTs. Results Sequence analysis revealed extensive variations in the number and arrangement of various repeats encoded by the genes in parasite populations world-wide. However, no statistically robust correlation between gene structure and RDT detection rate for P. falciparum parasites at 200 parasites per microlitre was identified. Conclusions The results suggest that despite extreme sequence variation, diversity of PfHRP2 does not appear to be a major cause of RDT sensitivity variation.

Poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(furan-2-yl)-2,5-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,4-c] pyrrole-1,4-dione-co-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene): A high performance polymer semiconductor for both organic thin film transistors and organic photovoltaics

A new diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-containing donor-acceptor polymer, poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(furan-2-yl)-2,5-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,4-c] pyrrole-1,4-dione-co-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PDBF-co-TT), is synthesized and studied as a semiconductor in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). High hole mobility of up to 0.53 cm 2 V -1 s -1 in bottom-gate, top-contact OTFT devices is achieved owing to the ordered polymer chain packing and favoured chain orientation, strong intermolecular interactions, as well as uniform film morphology of PDBF-co-TT. The optimum band gap of 1.39 eV and high hole mobility make this polymer a promising donor semiconductor for the solar cell application. When paired with a fullerene acceptor, PC 71BM, the resulting OPV devices show a high power conversion efficiency of up to 4.38% under simulated standard AM1.5 solar illumination.