Raman spectrum of hydroxylamine hydrochloride (NH3OH.Cl)

The Raman spectrum of hydroxylamine hydrochloride (NH3OH.Cl) in the form of a single crystal has been photographed usingλ 2536·5 excitation. 32 Raman lines with frequency shifts 40, 57, 78, 88, 111, 125, 135, 156, 187, 217, 250, 330, 550, 575, 1004, 1168, 1204, 1470, 1496, 1565, 1590, 1979, 2636, 2710, 2750, 2789, 2926, 2970, 3000, 3050, 3141 and 3220 cm.−1 have been recorded. Of these, the first 8 low-frequency lines belong to the external oscillation, while the four lines at 187, 217, 250 and 330 cm.−1 should be attributed to the vibrations of the hydrogen bond valence vibrations. The remaining Raman lines have been assigned to the vibrations of the NH3OH ion. The O-H and N-H stretching vibrations are very much influenced by the presence of the hydrogen bonds in the crystal.

Reaction of spironaphthalenones with hydroxylamine hydrochloride: Part IV

Reaction of 1-methoxynaphthalene with 1-formylnaphthalene in presence of n-BuLi/TMEDA, followed by deoxygenation and demethylation gave the bisnaphthol 6. Oxidation of 6 with KOBr yielded the spironaphthalenones 4a-b and 5a-b. The spironaphthalenones 3a-c on reaction with NH2OH.HCl gave naphth[2,1-c]isoxazole derivatives 9a-c. While similar reaction of 4a-b gave the pyrrolotropones 11a-b, spironaphthalenones 5a-b afforded the naphth[1,2-c]isoxazole derivatives 12a-b.

(Table II, page 668-669) Distribution of elements between minerals soluble in 1M Hydroxylamine hydrochloride (Reducible); in 1m HCL (Acid-soluble) and in the insoluble residue of manganese nodules

Attempts to classify pelagic sediments have been based either on appearance and composition, or on the ultimate origin of the components. In particular it appears feasible to distinguish minerals which crystallized in sea-water from those which formed in magmas, in hydrothermal solution, or by weathering under acidic conditions. It is the case of iron and manganese oxide mineral aggregates which constitute one of the major types of rock encountered on the ocean floor; according to Menard (unpublished) about 10% of the pelagic area of the Pacific is covered by such nodules. The nodules consist of intimately intergrown crystallites of different minerals among those identified, besides detrital minerals and organic matter, are opal, goethite, rutile, anatase, barite, nontronite, and at least three manganese oxide minerals of major importance. Arrhenius and Korkisch (1959) have attempted to separate from each other the different minerals constituting the nodules, in order to establish the details of their structure and the localization of the heavy metal ions. The results demonstrate (Table II) that copper and nickel are concentrated in the manganese oxide phases concentrated in the reducible fraction. Cobalt, part of the nickel and most of the chromium are distributed between these and the acid-soluble group of the non-manganese minerals, dominated by goethite and disordered FeOOH.

低极性化合物的电喷雾质谱检测方法及几种中藏药材的活性成分研究

本学位论文首先报道了为解决低极性化合物的电喷雾质谱（ESI-MS）分析难题而建立的一种衍生化分析方法；然后从色谱-质谱联用分析、分离纯化和结构鉴定等方面分别报道了几种中藏药材的活性成分研究。论文由下述六章组成： 第一章报道了盐酸羟胺衍生化方法在电喷雾质谱 (ESI-MS) 分析中的应用。该方法利用盐酸羟胺和羰基成肟的快速反应，建立了针对三萜酮等含酮或醛羰基低极性化合物的ESI-MS 信号增强技术。此方法不仅可应用于增强羰基化合物的ESI-MS 质谱信号，还可检测化合物中羰基的个数以及辨别涉及羰基官能团的同分异构体。此外，通过简单的氧化反应，还可将该方法拓展到三萜醇、甾醇等含羟基的低极性化合物，增强它们的ESI-MS 信号。对比已报道的相关ESI-MS 增强质谱信号的衍生化方法，此方法有经济、实用、快速和简便的显著特点。 第二章是关于野生羌活及其栽培品种化学成分的色谱-质谱联用分析。对不同产地野生羌活生长过程中活性成分的动态变化、野生羌活不同形态部位和人工栽培羌活中的活性成分含量进行了HPLC 定量分析。结果表明主要活性成分羌活醇和异欧前胡素都随生长期存在规律性变化，羌活不同形态部位中的活性成分含量也有明显不同。这些实验结果有些较好地印证了传统中医的用药理论，有些也对羌活的传统使用方法提出了新的建议。 第三章介绍了几种传统中藏药材的色谱-质谱联用及串联质谱分析。通过GC-MS 方法，从藏药材长花党参挥发油中共分离鉴定出45 个化合物；利用HPLC方法测定了该藏药材中的主要化学成分——木犀草素的含量（0.7%）；利用串联质谱技术，对西番莲和射干中的主要成分进行了快速鉴定，从西番莲中鉴定了4个黄酮碳苷；从不同产地的射干和川射干中鉴定了8 个主要异黄酮成分，其中包括一个未见报道的化合物。 第四章的内容为藏药材石莲叶点地梅的活性成分研究。从植物石莲叶点地梅(Androsace integra (Maxim.) Hand.-Mazz.) 乙醇提取物的正丁醇萃取部分共分离和鉴定了6 个化合物，利用MS 和NMR 等现代波谱学技术阐明了它们的结构：其中包括4 个三萜类化合物：分别是androsacin (1)、 ardisiacrispin A (2) 、saxifragifolin A (3) 和20(29)-lupen-3-one (4)；一个神经酰胺：4-羟基-Δ8,9(Z)-鞘氨醇-2'-羟基正二十四碳酸酰胺(5)；一个甾体类化合物：胡萝卜苷(6)。化合物1为新的13,28-epoxy-oleanane 型三萜皂苷，在其结构表征的过程中，采用LC-MS 进行糖分析，获得了值得推广的好结果。通过活性筛选发现化合物1~3 对HepG2肝癌细胞表现出不同程度的抑制活性，其中化合物2 活性最好，其IG50 为1.65μg/mL。 第五章是关于一些传统中藏药材的农药活性筛选。利用Syngenta 公司的活性筛选平台对68 种传统中藏药材醇提物进行了抗菌和除草的生物源农药活性筛选。结果表明所筛选的68 种植物提取物中，共有14 种样品表现出明显的除草/杀虫活性，其中水母雪莲花、松萝和茯神木等植物提取物还具有多种生物活性。活性成分还有待进一步追踪分离、纯化和结构鉴定。 第六章为文献综述，概述了羌活药材的研究进展。对羌活属及药用羌活植物从分类学、本草学、品质评价、人工栽培、化学成分及药理作用等方面进行了文献归纳和总结。 In this dissertation, an electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) signal enhancement method, as well as the work of bioactive components study, HPLC-MS/MS application, bioassay screening, chromatograph separation and structure identification of the metabolites in several medicinal herbs have been reported. First chapter expounded a rapid, simple ESI-MS sensitivity enhancement method for detecting carbonyl groups in natural products has been developed by using hydroxylamine hydrochloride (NH2OH·HCl) as a derivatization reagent. We use the oxime formed during the derivatization reactions and its Beckmann rearrangement intermediates as a means of detecting the carbonyl groups originally present in these triterpenoids. In comparison with other derivatization methods in the literature, this method is simple, specific and can be used to detect carbonyl groups in triterpenoids which have low polarity and are poorly or non-ionizable. Moreover, it can also be used to detect hydroxyl groups by using the Dess-Martin periodinane (DMP) to convert primary and secondary hydroxyls into carbonyl groups. Chapter 2 reported an HPLC-MS method for analyzing the main bioactive compounds in both wild and cultured Notopterygium incisum. The results indicated that the main bioactive compounds varied through different seasons regularly, and in different commercial parts of this herb the content of these compounds also differed from each other. The quantitative analysis results showed that in the traditional commercial parts, the content of main chemical constitutes in Silkworm Notopterygium, Bamboo Notopterygium and Irregular-nodal Notopterygium are higher than that in Striped Notopterygium. This result is tally with the traditionally concept that the quality of Notopterygium, Bamboo Notopterygium and Irregular-nodal Notopterygium are better than that of Striped Notopterygium, which means that the quality of rhizomes is better than main roots. The chemical constituents of cultured N. incisum is reported for the first time in this dissertation and the analysis results showed some growth curves of chemical constituents in this plant, but still left some questions unanswered. Chapter 3 discussed the GC/LC-MS analysis of the traditional Chinese medicines Codonopsis thalictrifolis, Passiflora incarnate, Belamcanda chinensis and Passiflora incarnate. The main constituent, luteolin was isolated and identified from the traditional Tibet medicine of C. thalictrifolis. The quantitative analysis by HPLC has revealed that the content of luteolin in this herb is 0.7%. GC-MS was employed to analyzed chemical constituents of the essential oil from the flower of C. thalictrifolis. More than 60 peaks were detected and 45 of them were identified by comparing their spectra with that of the standards in the database and literatures. ESI-MS/MS was used to analyze the n-butanol extract of Passiflora incarnate. Based on the information of pseudo molecular ions and fragment ions of the glycosides, four major flavone-C-glycosides have been detected and identified as 7-methoxyluteolin-6-C-β-D-glucopyranoside, vitexin, swertisin and orientin. The isoflavone compounds in theextracts of three samples of B. chinensis collected in Gansu, Sichuan and Hunan, and the extract of Iris tectorum collected in Sichuan were analyzed by using TOF-HRMS and IT-MS. From the extracts of these herbs, a new isoflavone, identified as 5’,5,6,7-tetrahydroxy-3’4’-dimethoxyl isoflavon, and 7 known ones have been identified by analyzing the fragmentation patterns and their molecular formulas given by HRMS and the tandem mass spectrometry acquired by IT-MS. Chapter 4 elucidated the isolation and identification of a new triterpene saponin, androsacin (1), along with five known compounds (2-6) were isolated from the whole plants of Androsace integra (Maxim.) Hand.-Mazz., an herb used in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine. The chemical structure of the new compound was established as 3β-O-{β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→2)-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-[O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)]-α-L-arabinopyranosyl}-16α-hydroxy-13β,28-epoxy-olean-30-al by analyzing its MS, 1D- and 2D-NMR spectra. Compound 2 was cytotoxic toward HepG2 cancer cell with the GI50 value of 1.65 μg/mL. Chapter 5 described the biogenic pesticide activity screening of 68 traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine extractions. The intention of this study is to explore bioactive natural compounds from these traditional medicinal herbs for biogenic insecticides use. Based on Syngenta’s bioassay, 14 extractions of these traditional medicines showed pesticide activities, and some of them had multi-activities on antibacterial and insecticidal. Chapter 6 is a review on the chemical and bioactivity research progress of Notopterygium incisum and N. forbesii.

Reaction of spironaphthalenones with hydroxylamine: Part I. A reinvestigation of the mechanism

Spironaphthalenones 1b–g on reaction with hydroxylamine hydrochloride gave the expected pyrrolotropones 2b–g. Furanotropone 6, postulated as an intermediate in the formation of pyrrolotropones, remained unchanged on reaction with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in ethanol. Reaction of unsymmetrical spironaphthalenones 1h–o with NH2OH.HCl gave the rearranged pyrrolotropones 2h–o.

Reaction of spironaphthalenones with hydroxylamine: Part II. Structure of product in the reaction of 1′-substituted spironaphthalenone.

Reaction of 1′-aryl substituted spironaphthalenones 1a–d with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in ethanol gave substituted cinnamic ester derivatives 4a–d. Similarly, reaction of spironaphthalenone 1a with different alcohols gave the corresponding esters 4i–m. Reaction of unsymmetrical spironaphthalenones 1e–h with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in presence of ethanol gave the respective esters 4e–h. All the esters were characterised by their spectral data.

Primary structure of a Thomsen-Friedenreich-antigen-specific lectin, jacalin [Artocarpus integrifolia (jack fruit) agglutinin]. Evidence for the presence of an internal repeat

Jacalin [Artocarpus integrifolia (jack fruit) agglutinin] is made up of two types of chains, heavy and light, with M(r) values of 16,200 +/- 1200 and 2090 +/- 300 respectively (on the basis of gel-permeation chromatography under denaturing conditions). Its complete amino acid sequence was determined by manual degradation using a 4-dimethylaminoazobenzene 4'-isothiocyanate double-coupling method. Peptide fragments for sequence analysis were obtained by chemical cleavages of the heavy chain with CNBr, hydroxylamine hydrochloride and iodosobenzoic acid and enzymic cleavage with Staphylococcus aureus proteinase. The peptides were purified by a combination gel-permeation and reverse-phase chromatography. The light chains, being only 20 residues long, could be sequenced without fragmentation. Amino acid analyses and carboxypeptidase-Y-digestion C-terminal analyses of the subunits provided supportive evidence for their sequence. Computer-assisted alignment of the jacalin heavy-chain sequence failed to show sequence similarity to that of any lectin for which the complete sequence is known. Analyses of the sequence showed the presence of an internal repeat spanning residues 7-64 and 76-130. The internal repeat was found to be statistically significant.

2,1,3-Bentsoksadiatsolirakenteiset molekyylit antibakteerisina ja antiparasiittisina yhdisteinä

Aikaisemman tutkimuksen perusteella tiedettiin tiettyjen 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsolirakenteisten molekyylien olevan aktiivisia Chlamydia pneumoniae –bakteeria vastaan. Tutkimusta lähdettiin jatkamaan ja 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsolimolekyylien rakenne-aktiivisuusuhteista haluttiin saada lisätietoa. Tarkoituksena oli kehittää 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsolimolekyyleille ja sen avulla muodostaa molekyylikirjasto. Syntetisoidut molekyylit haluttiin testata sekä Chlamydia pneumoniae -bakteeria että Leishmania donovani –parasiittia vastaan. Chlamydia pneumoniae –bakteeri aiheuttaa akuutteja ylä- ja alahengitystieinfektiota, kuten keuhkoputkentulehdusta. Akuutissa tulehduksessa oireet vaihtelevat huomattavasti. Chlamydia pneumoniae –bakteerilla on myös taipumus aiheuttaa kroonisia tulehduksia. Nämä ovat useissa tutkimuksissa yhdistetty kansantaloudellisesti merkittäviin sairauksiin, kuten ateroskleroosiin ja astmaan. Leishmanioosi on toiseksi yleisin loissairaus ihmisellä malarian jälkeen. Leishmania donovani –parasiitti voi aiheuttaa tappavaa viskeraalista leishmanioosia. Vuodessa leishmanioosiin kuolee yli 50 000 ihmistä. Viime vuosina leishmanioosin lääkehoidossa on esiintynyt monenlaisia ongelmia. Osat lääkkeistä ovat menettäneet tehonsa ja osalla esiintyy vakavia haittavaikutuksia. 2,1,3-Bentsoksadiatsolirakenteisille yhdisteille saatiin kehitettyä toimiva synteesireitti. Lähtöaineena käytettiin 4-amino-2-nitrobentsoehappoa, josta saatiin hapettavalla renkaansulkeutumisreaktiolla 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsoli-5-karboksyylihappoa. Karboksyylihaposta syntetisoitiin amidi-välituotteen kautta 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsoli-5-karbonitriiliä. Hydroksyyliamiini hydrokloridin avulla 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsoli-5-karbonitriilistä muodostettiin vastaavaa karboksimidamidia, joka oli synteesireitin yhteinen välituote kaikille molekyyleille. Viimeisessä vaiheessa N´-hydroksidi-2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsoli-5-karboksimidamidin annettiin reagoida joko fenyyli-isosyanaatin tai fenyyli-isotiosyanaatin kanssa, jolloin saatiin lopputuotetta. Synteesireitin kehittäminen osoittautui haastavaksi ja loppujen lopuksi saatiin ainoastaan kolme lopputuotetta syntetisoitua. Yksi lopputuotteista testattiin C. pneumoniae –bakteeria vastaan Åbo akademissa Turussa. Testattavaa yhdiste ei sisältänyt 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsoliarengasta ja bioaktiivisuuskokeen tulos oli odotusten mukainen. Yhdiste ei ollut aktiivinen C. pneumoniae –bakteeria vastaan alhaisilla konsentraatioilla ja tuloksesta voitiin todeta 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsolirengaan olevan tärkeä aktiivisuuden kannalta. Kaksi lopputuotetta saatiin testaukseen Leishamania donovani –parasiittia vastaan Israeliin. Ainoastaan toinen molekyyleistä sisälsi 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsolirakenteen. Bioaktiivisuuskokeiden tulokset olivat erittäin rohkaisevia. Yhdisteet olivat aktiivisia parasiittia vastaan jo alhaisilla konsentraatioilla. Kuitenkin 2,1,3-bentsoksadiatsolirakenteinen molekyyli oli aktiivisempi, joten tämäkin aktiivisuuskokeen perusteella huomattiin rengasrakenteen olevan tärkeä aktiivisuuden kannalta.

Novel 2,6-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-methylpiperidin-4-one oxime esters: synthesis and a new insight into their antioxidant and antimicrobial potential

A simple and efficient protocol for the synthesis of novel 2,6-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-methylpiperidin-4-one oxime esters 4(a-q) is described. Initially, p-anisaldehyde 1 was condensed (Mannich reaction) with acetone and ammonium acetate trihydrate afforded 2,6-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)piperidin-4-one 2. Then, methylation followed by oximation with hydroxylamine hydrochloride (NH(2)OHa (TM) HCl) furnished a key scaffold 4. Further, to explore the enhanced biological properties of the piperidin-4-one core i.e. the key scaffold 4 was conjugated with substituted benzoyl chlorides in the presence of anhydrous K2CO3 as base to obtain novel 2,6-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-methylpiperidin-4-one oxime esters 4(a-q) in excellent yields. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR and mass spectroscopic techniques, and screened for their in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Most of the compounds exerted positive efficacy towards the biological assays performed. Among the synthesized analogues, compounds 4l and 4m exhibited promising antioxidant activity and on the other hand compounds 4b and 4d manifested persuasive antibacterial activity, whereas compound 4b displayed stupendous antifungal activity against A. flavus strain.

Purification and properties of Aspartate aminotransferase (E.C. 2.6.1.1) from skeletal muscle of Cirrhina mrigala

Aspartate aminotransferase (E.C. 2.6.1.1.) from the skeletal muscle of fresh water fish Cirrhina mrigala has been purified 40 fold by ammonium sulphate fractionation, adsorption on alumina Csub(8) gel and chromatography using DEAE-cellulose column and the properties of the purified enzyme studied. The pH optimum of the enzyme is 7.8. The Km value of aspartic acid and 2-oxoglutaric acid are found to be 2.8 x 10sub(-3) M and 1.0 x 10sub(-4) M respectively. The activity of enzyme is inhibited by p-chloromercurybenzoate, hydroxylamine hydrochloride and sodium cyanide. The inhibition by pchloromercurybenzoate is reversed by reduced glutathione, B-mercaptoethanol and cysteine. Dicarboxylic acids such as maleic acid, malic acid and succinic acid inhibit the enzyme activity. The enzyme is not activated by any of the metal ions tested and heavy metal ions such as mercury and silver strongly inhibit the enzyme activity.

Implementing stepwise solvent elution in sequential injection chromatography for fluorimetric determination of intracellular free amino acids in the microalgae Tetraselmis gracilis

The concept of sequential injection chromatography (SIC) was exploited to automate the fluorimetric determination of amino acids after pre-column derivatization with ophthaldialdehyde (OPA) in presence of 2-mercaptoethanol (2MCE) using a reverse phase monolithic C(18) stationary phase. The method is low-priced and based on five steps of isocratic elutions. The first step employs the mixture methanol: tetrahydrofuran: 10 mmol L(-1) phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) at the volumetric ratio of 8:1:91; the other steps use methanol: 10 mmol L-1 phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) at volumetric ratios of 20:80, 35:65, SO:SO and 65:35. At a flow rate of 10 mu L s(-1) a 25 mm long-column was able to separate aspartic acid (Asp), glutamic acid (Glu), asparagine (Asn), serine (Ser), glutamine (Gln), glycine (Gly), threonine (Thr), citruline (Ctr), arginine (Arg), alanine (Ala), tyrosine (Tyr), phenylalanine (Phe), ornithine (Orn) and lysine (Lys) with resolution >1.2 as well as methionine (Met) and valine (Val) with resolution of 0.6. Under these conditions isoleucine (Ile) and leucine (Leu) co-eluted. The entire cycle of amino acids derivatization, chromatographic separation and column conditioning at the end of separation lasted 25 min. At a flow rate of 40 mu L s(-1) such time was reduced to 10 min at the cost of resolution worsening for the pairs Ctr/Arg and Orn/Lys. The detection limits varied from 0.092 mu mol L(-1) for Tyr to 0.51 mu mol L(-1) for Orn. The method was successfully applied to the determination of intracellular free amino acids in the green alga Tetraselmis gracilis during a period of seven days of cultivation. Samples spiked with known amounts of amino acids resulted in recoveries between 94 and 112%. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pb isotopes in Cenozoic sediments of ODP Site 177-1090

Nd and Pb isotopic compositions extracted from bulk deep sea sediments have been shown to be robust proxies for deep water circulation as well as weathering provenance and intensity over geologically young time scales. In this study we evaluated ten deep sea samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) site 1090 ranging in age from mid Eocene to early-Miocene to test whether Pb isotopic compositions extracted from geologically older sediments record reliable seawater isotopic ratios and to evaluate the source of the extracted Pb. The sequential extraction protocol used in this study is similar to protocols reported for previous studies and produces acetic acid, hydroxylamine hydrochloride (HH) and residue fractions. Each extracted fraction was analyzed for Pb isotopes, rare earth elements (REEs), and a suite of major elements. Similar 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb ratios are recorded from the acetic acid and HH fractions for ~70-80% of the samples, suggesting that either the acetic acid dissolves Fe-Mn oxides or multiple phases are recording the same seawater isotopic value. Several indirect tests, such as Al mass balance, comparison of Sr isotopes in HH extracts to contemporaneous seawater Sr isotopes, and comparison of Nd isotopic compositions in HH extracts to published fossil fish teeth values, provide evidence that Pb isotopic compositions measured in our bulk HH extracts record bottom water values. The relationship between Pb, Mn and Ca concentrations in HH fractions indicates that Fe-Mn oxides and a Mn-bearing carbonate are the dominant phases contributing seawater Pb. Comparison of REE patterns derived from the HH fraction and total digestions of Fe-Mn nodule standards reveals that the trivalent REEs exhibit patterns consistent with the parent archive, but Ce can be fractionated during extraction. Ratios of REEs also produce unique fields for each fraction and can be used to test the purity of the seawater signal of the extraction protocol. Finally, an initial evaluation of Pb isotopic compositions in fossil fish indicates that this archive is not suitable for bottom water Pb isotope studies.

Composition and origin of sediments at DSDP Site 54-424

The sediments recovered on Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 54 appear to be mixtures of the normal pelagic sediments of the area and hydrothermally produced manganese and iron phases. The latter are mineralogically and chemically very similar to phases recovered from surficial sampling of the mounds. The hydrothermal nontronite which is approximately 15 meters thick in the three holes is essentially free of carbonate or detrital contaminants. The basal sediments are similar to the carbonate oozes presently being deposited in the region, but are enriched in Mn and Fe. This enrichment appears to be the result of hydrothermal deposition that took place at or near the spreading center and may not be associated with the mounds formation. Three different hypotheses for the formation of the nontronite layer and the mounds deposits are considered. An initial deposition of a widespread nontronite layer and subsequent diapiric-like movement of the layer into carbonates could account for the observed stratigraphy; however, if this be correct, analogous deposits should be present in other DSDP sites. The second hypothesis - replacement of the normal sediments by nontronite - may be feasible, but the high purity of the nontronite requires dissolution and removal of refractory elements. The third hypothesis, metal deposition in an advancing oxidation gradient, is compatible with submersible observations of the mounds; however, it can account only for the high purity of the nontronite by very rapid deposition of the hydrothermal phases.