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Biomedical subjects

Daniel W Armstrong

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel W Armstrong.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Pore exclusion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for monitoring elements in bacteria: a study on microbial removal of uranium from aqueous solution.

The interstitial spaces between spherical particles in a packed column can act as a sieve that passes microorganisms below a certain size. If the bed is a perfusion-type material (containing a binary distribution of large and small pores), colloidal-size microorganisms are subject only to pore exclusion, while all molecules are subject to size exclusion among the various pores. Thus, microorganisms elute first, followed by macromolecules, and then small molecules. Coupling this separation method to an ICP magnetic sector mass spectrometer provides a sensitive, direct means to study the microbial uptake of heavy metals (i.e., uranium) from their surrounding environments. Multiple metal ions can be monitored in the microorganism and in the surrounding solution. In this way, definitive information can be provided for the remediation of radioactive waste sites. The effect of uranium on microbial growth is also discussed.

Bacillus subtilis↗

Absolute stereochemistry of dihydrofuroangelicins bearing C-8 substituted double bonds: a combined chemical/exciton chirality protocol.

Coumarins are associated with a variety of pharmacological activities which have led to the synthesis of numerous derivatives. However, no general method for determination of the absolute configuration of chiral coumarins is known. This has now been achieved for a series of dihydrofuroangelicins bearing a variety of C-8 substituted double bonds, synthesized in the racemic form and resolved through enantioselective chromatography. A combined chemical/chiroptical protocol has been developed in which the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C double bonds are replaced with a styrenoid chromophore through either (i) cross metathesis, (ii) Heck reaction, or (iii) a combined method of cross metathesis and Heck reaction with about 1 mg sample under mild conditions. The coupling between the styrenoid and coumarin chromophores gives rise to clear-cut exciton coupled CD curves, suitable for assignments of absolute configurations. The solution conformation of the styrenoid derivatives is determined by NMR and DFT molecular modeling; the electronic structure of the 7-hydroxy coumarin chromophore is also clarified by semi-empirical and TDDFT methods. The conformation thus derived, in conjunction with quantitative DeVoe's coupled-oscillator CD calculation, establishes the absolute configurations of the coumarins. The theoretical study described herein justifies the straightforward approach of the current chemical/exciton chirality protocol to this type of dihydrofuroangelicins.

Alkenes↗

Surfactant solvation effects and micelle formation in ionic liquids.

The formation of micelles in 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride (BMIM-Cl) and hexafluorophosphate (BMIM-PF6) were explored using different surfactants and the solvation behavior of the new micellar-ionic liquid solutions examined using inverse gas chromatography.

Chromatography, Gas↗

High-stability ionic liquids. A new class of stationary phases for gas chromatography.

Room-temperature ionic liquids are a class of non-molecular ionic solvents with low melting points. Their properties have the potential to be especially useful as stationary phases in gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). A series of common ionic liquids were evaluated as GLC stationary phases. It was found that many of these ionic liquids suffer from low thermal stability and possess unfavorable retention behavior for some classes of molecules. Two new ionic liquids were engineered and synthesized to overcome these drawbacks. The two new ionic liquids (1-benzyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate and 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate) are based on "bulky" imidazolium cations with trifluoromethanesulfonate anions. Their solvation characteristics were evaluated using the Abraham solvation parameter model and correlations made between the structure of the cation and the degree to which the ionic liquids retain certain analytes. The new ionic liquids have good thermal stability up to 260 degrees C, provide symmetrical peak shapes, and because of their broad range of solvation-type interactions, exhibit dual-nature selectivity behavior. In addition, the ionic liquid stationary phases provided different retention behavior for many analytes compared to a commercial methylphenyl polysiloxane GLC stationary phase. This difference in selectivity is due to the unique solvation characteristics of the ionic liquids and makes them very useful as dualnature GLC stationary phases.

Chromatography, Gas↗

Cyclodextrin-based liquid chromatographic enantiomeric separation of chiral dihydrofurocoumarins, an emerging class of medicinal compounds.

A set of 28 racemic dihydrofurocoumarins in which the stereogenic center is located in the furan ring have been synthesized. Currently no effective asymmetric synthesis of this class of compounds exists, although their enantiomers are produced biologically by certain plants. Their diverse medicinal properties are being investigated in several laboratories. The enantioselective separation of these dihydrofurocoumarins by three native and six derivatized cyclodextrins has been evaluated in the reversed-phase mode, the polar organic mode, and normal-phase mode. The hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin is the most effective chiral stationary phase (CSP) at separating the dihydrofurocoumarins into enantiomers, showing some enantioselectivity for 22 dihydrofurocoumarins, and baseline resolving 16 of the 28 compounds in the reversed-phase mode. The acetyl-beta-cyclodextrin and 2,3-dimethyl-beta-cyclodextrin also showed enantioselectivity for a large number (18 and 17, respectively) of dihydrofurocoumarins in the reversed-phase mode. The native cyclodextrins are ineffective and the aromatic derivatized beta-cyclodextrins are only marginally effective at separating the furocoumarin enantiomers in the reversed-phase mode. The polar organic mode and the normal-phase mode have also been evaluated with these CSPs, but no enantioseparations were observed.

Coumarins↗

Separation of the enantiomers of substituted dihydrofurocoumarins by HPLC using macrocyclic glycopeptide chiral stationary phases.

Enantiomer separations by HPLC using the macrocyclic glycopeptides teicoplanin (Chirobiotic T), teicoplanin aglycon (Chirobiotic TAG), and ristocetin A (Chirobiotic R) chiral stationary phases (CSP) have been achieved on a unique series of potentially biologically active racemic analogues of dihydrofurocoumarin. The macrocyclic glycopeptides have proven to be very selective for this class of compound. All of the 28 chiral analogues examined afforded baseline separation on at least one of the macrocyclic glycopeptide CSP. The teicoplanin CSP showed the broadest enantioselectivity with 24 of the compounds baseline separated. The TAG and the R CSP produced 23 and 14 baseline separations respectively. All three mobile phase modes, i.e. normal phase (NP), reversed phase (RP), and new polar organic modes (PO), have been evaluated. The NP mode proved to be most effective for the separation of chiral dihydrofurocoumarins on all CSP tested. In the reversed phase (RP) mode, all three CSP separated a similar number of compounds. It was observed that the structural characteristics of the analytes and steric effects are very important factors leading to chiral recognition. Hydrogen bonding was found to play a secondary role in chiral discrimination in the normal phase and polar organic modes. Hydrophobic interactions are important for chiral separation in the reversed-phase mode. Chromatographic retention data does not provide information on the absolute configuration of these chiral dihydrofurocoumarin derivatives. However, when coupled with circular dichroism using the exciton coupling chirality method, the enantiomer elution order and the absolute configuration of some chiral dihydrofurocoumarins were successfully determined.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Electrophoretic behavior and potency assessment of boar sperm using a capillary electrophoresis-laser induced fluorescence system.

The assessment of mammalian fertility, and the agents that affect it, is of increasing concern in medicinal, environmental, and agricultural science. The viability, integrity, and overall state of the male gamete (sperm) is an essential factor that must be considered in such studies. Traditional potency evaluations tend to be labor intensive and often are not precise. A CE-LIF technique for determining the viability of boar sperm was developed using the fluorescent stains SYBER-14 and propidium iodide. The buffer type, pH, ionic strength, applied voltage, and polymer additive must be optimized in order to obtain sharp peaks and accurate results. Extender solutions that are widely used in artificial insemination programs were found to be compatible and even beneficial for these CE-LIF experiments. A single viability assay takes less than 10 min, which is significantly faster than most other procedures. The compaction or focusing of the sample zone seems to be similar to that reported previously for microorganisms in CE.

Animals↗

Assignment of absolute configuration of a chiral phenyl-substituted dihydrofuroangelicin.

A phenyl-substituted chiral dihydrofuroangelicin, 4-methyl-8-(2-E-phenylethenyl)-8,9-dihydro-2H-furo[2,3-h]- 1-benzopyran-2-one, synthesized in racemic form, has been resolved by HPLC chiral separation, and its absolute configuration determined by the non-empirical exciton chirality method. The solution conformation has been investigated through NMR and molecular modeling methods: two minima found by molecular mechanics and DFT methods are in keeping with observed 1H-1H 3J coupling constants and NOE effects. The experimental CD spectrum for the second eluted enantiomer shows a positive couplet between 230 and 350 nm (amplitude A = + 15.7); by application of the exciton chirality method, the absolute configuration of this enantiomer at C8 is determined as (S). The experimental spectrum is in very good agreement with the one evaluated by means of DeVoe coupled-oscillator calculations, using the DFT calculated geometries.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

First asymmetric synthesis of chiral beta-iodo Baylis-Hillman esters via tandem 1,4-conjugate addition/carbonyl coupling reactions.

A new asymmetric approach to chiral beta-iodo Baylis-Hillman hydroxy esters was developed via a tandem asymmetric I-C/C-C formation reaction. The reaction was conveniently carried out by slow addition of diethylaluminum iodide into a mixture of aldehyde and alpha,beta-acetylenic menthyl ester in dichloromethane at -23 degrees C. Excellent geometric selectivity, promising diastereoselectivity and modest to high yields (up to 91%) were obtained.

Aldehydes↗

Enantioseparation of dihydrofurocoumarin derivatives by various separation modes of capillary electrophoresis.

Chiral dihydrofurocoumarin compounds are currently the focus of industrial and pharmacological research. These derivatives have been shown to possess many physiological properties that could be medically beneficial. This work proposes four different chiral separation methods using capillary electrophoresis and micellar capillary electrophoresis (MCE). Several different cyclodextrin chiral selectors were examined to evaluate their effectiveness in the enantioseparation of dihydrofurocoumarins. In addition, the effects of the chiral selector concentration, the presence of an organic modifier, run buffer pH, and in two cases, the ratio between the chiral selector and an additional charged pseudophase were investigated. Overall, the best separations for this class of chiral compounds were achieved using sulfated beta-cyclodextrins at low pH in the reversed polarity mode.

Anticoagulants↗

Ionic matrices for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight detection of DNA oligomers.

Salts with low melting points, also termed room-temperature ionic liquids, can be used as matrices in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF). They have great vacuum stability, and can dissolve polar and apolar solutes including carbohydrates, biological oligomers and proteins. The ionic liquids give much more homogeneous sample solutions compared with solid matrices. We demonstrate the usefulness of using ionic matrices to determine the molecular weight of DNA oligomers by direct TOF mass spectrometric analysis. Three oligonucleotides were tested, (d(pT)(10), d(pC)(11), and d(pC)(12)), with several ionic matrices synthesized from different bases associated to two acids (3-hydroxypicolinic acid and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid). The results obtained show that the best ionic matrices enhance the ion peak intensity of the oligonucleotides with respect to conventional molecular matrices under our experimental conditions. In one case, an ionic matrix provided a signal-to-noise ratio ten times higher than the corresponding molecular matrix. Several of the tested ionic matrices were liquids. However, all working ionic matrices were solids.

DNA↗

Separation, identification, and characterization of microorganisms by capillary electrophoresis.

The use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the analysis, identification, and characterization of microorganisms has been gaining in popularity. The advantages of CE, such as small sample requirements, minimal sample preparation, rapid and simultaneous analysis, ease of quantitation and identification, and viability assessment, make it an attractive technique for the analysis of microbial analytes. As this instrumental method has evolved, higher peak efficiencies have been achieved by optimizing CE conditions, such as pH, ionic strength, and polymer additive concentration. Experimental improvements have allowed better quantitation and more accurate results. Many practical applications of this technique have been investigated. Viability and identification of microbes can be accomplished in a single analysis. This is useful for evaluation of microbial analytes in consumer products. Diagnosis of microbe-based diseases is now possible, in some cases, without the need for culture methods. Microbe-molecule, virus-antibody, or bacteria-antibiotic interactions can be monitored using CE, allowing for the screening of possible drug candidates. Fermentation can be monitored using this system. This instrumental approach can be adapted to many different applications, including assessing the viability of sperm cells. Progress has been made in the development of microelectrophoresis instrumentation. These advances will eventually allow the development of small, dedicated devices for the rapid, repetitive analyses of specific microbial samples. Although these methods may never fully replace traditional approaches, they are proving to be a valuable addition to the collection of techniques used to analyze, quantitate, and characterize microbes. This review outlines the recent developments in this rapidly growing field.

Animals↗

Super/subcritical fluid chromatography chiral separations with macrocyclic glycopeptide stationary phases.

The chiral recognition capabilities of three macrocyclic glycopeptide chiral selectors, namely teicoplanin (Chirobiotic T), its aglycone (Chirobiotic TAG) and ristocetin (Chirobiotic R), were evaluated with supercritical and subcritical fluid mobile phases. A set of 111 chiral compounds including heterocycles, analgesics (nonsteroidal antiinflamatory compounds), beta-blockers, sulfoxides, N-protected amino acids and native amino acids was separated on the three chiral stationary phases (CSPs). All separations were done with an outlet pressure regulated at 100 bar, 31 degrees C and at 4 ml/min. Various amounts of methanol ranging from 7 to 67% (v/v) were added to the carbon dioxide along with small amounts (0.1 to 0.5%, v/v) of triethylamine and/or trifluoroacetic acid. The Chirobiotic TAG CSP was the most effective closely followed by the Chirobiotic T column. Both columns were able to separate, partially or fully, 92% of the enantiomers of the compound set. The ristocetin chiral selector could partially or baseline resolve only 60% of the enantiomers tested. All separations were done in less than 15 min and 70% were done in less than 4 min. The speed of the separations is the main advantage of the use of SFC compared to normal-phase HPLC. In addition, SFC is advantageous for preparative separations with easy solute recovery and solvent disposal.

Chromatography, Liquid↗

Characterizing ionic liquids on the basis of multiple solvation interactions.

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are useful in many chemical applications. Recent publications have attempted to determine the polarity of RTILs using empirical solvent polarity scales. The results have indicated that most RTILs have similar polarities. Nevertheless, RTILs are capable of behaving quite differently when used as solvents in organic synthesis, matrixes in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry, liquid-liquid extraction, and as stationary phases in gas chromatography. The work presented in this study uses a linear free energy approach to characterize 17 RTILs on the basis of their distinct multiple solvation interactions with probe solute molecules. This model provides data that can be used to help identify the interactions and properties that are important for specific chemical applications.

Alkanes↗

Determination of the enantiomerization energy barrier of some 3-hydroxy-1,4-benzodiazepine drugs by supercritical fluid chromatography.

The first-order kinetic equation for irreversible reactions was used to determine the enantiomerization barrier of some of 3-hydroxy-1,4-benzodiazepine enantiomers by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). The racemates of lorazepam, oxazepam and temazepam were separated by SFC on chiral (R,R)-Whelk-O1 column with supercritical carbon dioxide containing 12.5% methanol and 0.5% diethylamine as a mobile phase. Peak areas of enantiomers prior to (A(A0), A(B0)) and after the separation (A(A), A(B)), used for calculation of the enantiomerization barrier, were determined by computer-assisted peak deconvolution of peak clusters from the chromatograms. It was demonstrated for the first time that using a model for a four-peak cluster produces height precise results, and most closely approximates the published results. The kinetic equation for irreversible reactions was used to determine apparent enantiomerization rate constants. The dependence of the apparent enatiomerization barrier (deltaG(app)(A-->B), deltaG(app)(B-->A)) on temperature was used to determine apparent activation enthalpy (deltaH(app)(R-->S), deltaH(app)(S-->R)) and entropy (deltaS(app)(R-->S), deltaS(app)(S-->R)) for all studied benzodiazepines.

Benzodiazepines↗

Mechanistic aspects in the generation of apparent ultrahigh efficiencies for colloidal (microbial) electrokinetic separations.

Under specific experimental conditions, the electrokinetic separation of certain microorganisms can produce peaks of very high apparent efficiencies (approximately 10(6)-10(10) theoretical plates/m). This is unusual in that no deliberate focusing mechanism was employed. To investigate this process further, the separation was monitored in real time using a charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging system. At least two different processes seem to be operative when these narrow peaks are observed. The initial field-induced association of cells appears to require a dilute polymer solution, electroosmotic flow (preferably countercurrent to the direction of cell electrophoresis), and a direct current electric field. Three possible models are presented that may explain aspects of the observed behavior. The balance between dispersive forces and intercellular adhesive forces also affects the observed bandwidths. Understanding and controlling the dynamic and aggregation of cells in microfluidic processes is essential, since it can be beneficial for some experiments and detrimental to others.

Bacterial Adhesion↗

Effects of temperature on retention of chiral compounds on a ristocetin A chiral stationary phase.

The isocratic retention of enantiomers of chiral analytes, i.e. tryptophan, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline and gamma-butyrolac tone analogs, was studied on a ristocetin A chiral stationary phase at different temperatures and with different mobile phase compositions, using the reversed-phase, polar-organic and normal-phase modes. By variation of the both mobile phase composition and the temperature, baseline separations could be achieved for these enantiomers. The retention factors and selectivity factors for the enantiomers of all investigated compounds decreased with increasing temperature. The natural logarithms of the retention factors (ln k) of the investigated compounds depended linearly on the inverse of temperature (1/T). van't Hoff plots afforded thermodynamic parameters, such as the apparent change in enthalpy (deltaH(o)), the apparent change in entropy (deltaS(o)) and the apparent change in Gibbs free energy (deltaG(o) ) for the transfer of analyte from the mobile to the stationary phase. The thermodynamic parameters (deltaH(o), deltaS(o) and deltaG(o)) were calculated in order to promote an understanding of the thermodynamic driving forces for retention in this chromatographic system.

Ristocetin↗

Separation of chiral sulfoxides by liquid chromatography using macrocyclic glycopeptide chiral stationary phases.

A set of 42 chiral compounds containing stereogenic sulfur was prepared. There were 31 chiral sulfoxide compounds, three tosylated sulfilimines and eight sulfinate esters. The separations were done using five different macrocyclic glycopeptide chiral stationary phases (CSPs), namely ristocetin A, teicoplanin, teicoplanin aglycone (TAG), vancomycin and vancomycin aglycone (VAG) and seven eluents, three normal-phase mobile phases, two reversed phases and two polar organic mobile phases. Altogether the macrocyclic glycopeptide CSPs were able to separate the whole set of the 34 sulfoxide enantiomers and tosylated derivatives. Five of the eight sulfinate esters were also separated. The teicoplanin and TAG CSPs were the most effective CSPs able to resolve 35 and 33 of the 42 compounds. The three other CSPs each were able to resolve more than 27 compounds. The normal-phase mode was the most effective followed by the reversed-phase mode with methanol-water mobile phases. Few of these compounds could be separated in the polar organic mode with 100% methanol mobile phases. Acetonitrile was also not a good solvent for the resolution of enantiomers of sulfur-containing compounds, neither in the reversed-phase nor in the polar organic mode. The structure of the chiral molecules was compared to the enantioselectivity factors obtained with the teicoplanin and TAG CSP. It is shown that the polarity, volume and shape of the sulfoxide substituents influence the solute enantioselectivity factor. Changing the oxidation state of the sulfur atom from sulfoxides to sulfinate esters is detrimental to the compound's enantioselectivity. The enantiomeric retention order on the teicoplanin and TAG CSPs was very consistent: the (S)-(+)-sulfoxide enantiomer was always the less retained enantiomer. In contrast, the (R)-(-)-enantiomer was less retained by the ristocetin A, vancomycin and vancomycin aglycone columns, showing the complementarity of these CSPs. The macrocyclic glycopeptide CSPs provided broad selectivity and effective separations of chiral sulfoxides.

Chromatography, Liquid↗