Network Analysis of Substituted Bullvalenes.

Substituted bullvalenes are dynamic shape-shifting molecules that exist within complex reaction networks. Herein, we report the synthesis of di- and trisubstituted bullvalenes and investigate their dynamic properties. Trisubstituted bullvalenes share a common major isomer which shows kinetic metastability. A survey of the thermodynamic and kinetic landscapes through computational analysis together with kinetic simulation provides a map of the internal dynamics of these systems.

Evaluation Protocol for Review of Method Validation Data by the AOAC Stakeholder Panel on Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals Expert Review Panel.

Methods under consideration as part of the AOAC Stakeholder Panel on Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals process are to be evaluated against a set of Standard Method Performance RequirementsSM (SMPRs) via peer review by an expert review panel (ERP). A validation protocol and a checklist have been developed to assist the ERP to evaluate experimental data and to compare multiple candidate methods for each nutrient. Method performance against validation parameters mandated in the SMPRs as well as additional criteria are to be scored, with the method selected by the ERP proceeding to multilaboratory study prior to Final Action approval. These methods are intended to be used by the infant formula industry for the purposes of dispute resolution.

Analytical procedures for water-soluble vitamins in foods and dietary supplements: a review.

Water-soluble vitamins include the B-group vitamins and vitamin C. In order to correctly monitor water-soluble vitamin content in fortified foods for compliance monitoring as well as to establish accurate data banks, an accurate and precise analytical method is a prerequisite. For many years microbiological assays have been used for analysis of B vitamins. However they are no longer considered to be the gold standard in vitamins analysis as many studies have shown up their deficiencies. This review describes the current status of analytical methods, including microbiological assays and spectrophotometric, biosensor and chromatographic techniques. In particular it describes the current status of the official methods and highlights some new developments in chromatographic procedures and detection methods. An overview is made of multivitamin extractions and analyses for foods and supplements.

Antisense suppression of a (+)-delta-cadinene synthase gene in cotton prevents the induction of this defense response gene during bacterial blight infection but not its constitutive expression.

In cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) the enzyme (+)-delta-cadinene synthase (CDNS) catalyzes the first committed step in the biosynthesis of cadinane-type sesquiterpenes, such as gossypol, that provide constitutive and inducible protection against pests and diseases. A cotton cDNA clone encoding CDNS (cdn1-C4) was isolated from developing embryos and functionally characterized. Southern analysis showed that CDNS genes belong to a large multigene family, of which five genomic clones were studied, including three pseudogenes and one gene that may represent another subfamily of CDNS. CDNS expression was shown to be induced in cotton infected with either the bacterial blight or verticillium wilt pathogens. Constructs for the constitutive or seed-specific antisense suppression of cdn1-C4 were introduced into cotton by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Gossypol levels were not reduced in the seeds of transformants with either construct, nor was the induction of CDNS expression affected in stems of the constitutive antisense plants infected with Verticillium dahliae Kleb. However, the induction of CDNS mRNA and protein in response to bacterial blight infection of cotyledons was completely blocked in the constitutive antisense plants. These results suggest that cdn1-C4 may be involved specifically in the bacterial blight response and that the CDNS multigene family comprises a complex set of genes differing in their temporal and spatial regulation and responsible for different branches of the cotton sesquiterpene pathway.

Diastereoselectivity and molecular recognition in the self-assembly of double-stranded dinuclear metal complexes of the type [M2[(R,S)-tetraphos]2](PF6)2 (M = Ag and Au).

The ligand (R,S)-Ph(2)PCH(2)CH(2)P(Ph)CH(2)CH(2)P(Ph)CH(2)CH(2)PPh(2), (R,S)-tetraphos, combines with silver(I) and gold(I) ions in the presence of hexafluorophosphate to diastereoselectively self-assemble the head-to-head (H,H) diastereomers of the double-stranded, dinuclear metal complexes [M(2)[(R,S)-tetraphos](2)](PF(6))(2) in which the two chiral metal centers in the complexes have M (R end of phosphine) and P (S end of phosphine) configurations. The crystal and molecular structures of the compounds have been determined: (H,H)-(M,P) -[Ag(2)[(R,S)-tetraphos](2)](PF(6))(2), monoclinic, P2(1)/c, a = 10.3784(2), b = 47.320(1), c = 17.3385(4) A, beta = 103.8963(5) degrees, Z = 4; (H,H)-(M,P)-[Au(2)[(R,S)-tetraphos](2)](PF(6))(2), monoclinic, P.2(1) (No. 4, c unique axis), a = 24.385(4), b = 46.175(3), c = 14.820(4) A, Z = 8. The complexes crystallize as racemic compounds in which the unit cell in each case contains equal numbers of enantiomorphic molecules of the cation and associated anions. The cations in both structures have similar side-by-side structures of idealized C(2) symmetry, the bulk helicity of each molecule in the solid state being due solely to the twist of the central ten-membered ring containing the two metal ions of opposite configuration, which has the chiral twist-boat-chair-boat conformation. When 1 equiv each of (R,S)-tetraphos, (R,R)-(+/-)-tetraphos, (S,S)-(+)-tetraphos, 2 equiv of Ph(2)PCH(2)CH(2)PPh(2) (dppe), and 7 equiv of [AuCl(SMe(2))] in dichloromethane are allowed to react for several minutes in the presence of an excess of ammonium hexafluorophosphate in water (two phases), the products are the double-stranded digold(I) complexes in which each ligand strand has recognized itself by stereoselective self-assembly, together with [Au(dppe)(2)]PF(6).

Installation of a ratchet tooth and pawl to restrict rotation in a cyclodextrin rotaxane.

Eight new [2]rotaxanes have been prepared, incorporating an alpha-cyclodextrin as the rotor, a stilbene as the axle, and trinitrophenyl substituents as capping groups. Strategies have been devised to elaborate these by linking the rotor to the axle, to produce two new [1]rotaxanes. Rotational motion in a selection of these rotaxanes has been investigated through the application of two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy by performing TOCSY, DQF-COSY, ROESY and HMQC experiments. This has shown that a methoxyl group incorporated on the stilbene and a succinamide joining the stilbene and the cyclodextrin behave analogously to a ratchet tooth and pawl, respectively, to restrict rotation.