Henri Kivelä

Substituent effects on the ring‐chain tautomerism of some 1,3‐oxazolidine derivatives

The 14 and 70 eV electron ionization mass spectra of five sets (R1 = Me, Et, i-Pr, t-Bu and Ph) of seven 2-aryl-4-R1-substituted (Ar = C6H4X; X = p-NO2, m-Br, p-Cl, H, p-Me, p-OMe and p-NMe2) (1-5) and of seven 2-aryl-5-phenyl-substituted 1,3-oxazolidines (6; for Ar, see above) were recorded to study their ring-chain equilibria in the gas phase. These equilibria were also studied by 1H NMR spectroscopy in CDCl3 for compounds 5 and 6. A few 2,4- and 2,5-dimethyl-2-aryl derivatives (7, 8: Ar = C6H4X; X = m-Br, H and p-OMe) were studied both in CDCl3 and in the gas phase. The main characteristics of the ring-chain equilibria expressed by the variable SigmaRA% of the ring and of the chain form proved to be a strong dependence on the nature of the substituents on C-2 and C-4. The results in the gas phase are compared with those in CDCl3.

Antioxidant Activity of Pine Bark Constituents

Abstract A modified in vitro lipid peroxidation inhibition assay was used to guide the fractionation and the isolation of antioxidative principles of Finnish pine bark extract. This approach yielded 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (protocatechuic acid) and taxifolin-3-O-β-glucopyranoside as major antioxidative compounds from the plant material. The structural elucidation of these compounds was undertaken with the help of HPLC-DAD and HPLC-ESI-MS analyses. Their IC50 values, in comparison to trolox (6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid), were: trolox (1.78 ± 0.56 μm) < protocatechuic acid (5.77 ± 1.63 μm) < taxifolin-3- O-β-glucopyranoside (16.30 ± 1.98 μm). The method for the determination of antioxidant activity proved reproducible and quick for routine analyses with 96 well plates.

Isolation and identification of cyclic lipopeptides from Paenibacillus ehimensis, strain IB-X-b.

Antifungal lipopeptides produced by an antagonistic bacterium, Paenibacillus ehimensis strain IB-X-b, were purified and analyzed. The acetone extract of the culture supernatant contained an antifungal amphiphilic fraction stainable with ninhydrin on thin layer chromatography. The fraction was further purified with water-methanol extraction followed by a chromatography on a C18-support. The analysis with LC-MS showed presence of two main series of homologous compounds, family of depsipeptides containing a hydroxy fatty acid, three 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (Dab) residues, five hydrophobic amino acids and one Ser/Thr residue, and cyclic lipopeptides of bacillomycin L and fengycin/plipastatin/agrastatin families. The prevailing compounds in this group are bacillomycin L-C15, fengycin/plipastatin A-C16 together with their homologues responsible for the majority of fungal growth inhibition by P. ehimensis IB-X-b.

Effects of pH and Oxidants on the First Steps of Polydopamine Formation: A Thermodynamic Approach

We present a general thermodynamic top-down analysis of the effects of oxidants and pH on dopamine oxidation and cyclization, supplemented with UV–vis and electrochemical studies. The model is applicable to other catecholamines and various experimental conditions. The results show that the decisive physicochemical parameters in autoxidation are the pK values of the semiquinone and the amino group in the oxidized quinone. Addition of Ce(IV) or Fe(III) enhances dopamine oxidation in acidic media in aerobic and anaerobic conditions by the direct oxidation of dopamine and, in the presence of oxygen, also by the autoxidation of the formed semiquinone. At pH 4.5, the enhancement of the one-electron oxidation of dopamine explains the overall reaction enhancement, but at a lower pH, cyclization becomes rate-determining. Oxidation by Cu(II) at reasonable rates requires the presence of oxygen or chloride ions.