First isolation of disubstituted cis-5,6-dihydro-1,10-phenanthrolines. Lipase-mediated resolution of cis- and trans-phenoxy alcohol isomers and assignment of absolute stereochemistry via CD and NMR spectroscopy.

5,6-Dihydro-1,10-phenanthrolines can display axial and central chirality. In conjunction with the ligating properties of the diimino moiety, this class of compounds is of great interest to applications in supramolecular chemistry. We report the first preparation of cis-5,6-dihydro-1,10-phenanthroline derivatives by reacting triphenyl borate with the corresponding epoxide precursor.

Inositol catabolism, a key pathway in sinorhizobium meliloti for competitive host nodulation.

The nitrogen-fixing symbiont of alfalfa, Sinorhizobium meliloti, is able to use myo-inositol as the sole carbon source. Putative inositol catabolism genes (iolA and iolRCDEB) have been identified in the S. meliloti genome based on their similarities with the Bacillus subtilis iol genes.

Efficient alcoholysis of 5,6-dihydro-1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-epoxide with ytterbium(III) triflate and subsequent enantioselective transesterification with lipases.

New 5,6-dihydro-1,10-phenanthroline derivatives were prepared in high yield via ytterbium(III) triflate-catalyzed alcoholysis of the corresponding epoxide. Enzymatic transesterifications of racemic alkoxy alcohols afforded enantioselective separations with up to 99% ee. The lipase derived from Burkholderia cepacia (PSCI) was the most efficient, with E-values of up to 200.

Chemical synthesis of scyllo-inosamine and catabolism studies in Sinorhizobium meliloti.

Rhizopines such as scyllo-inosamine (SIA) and L-3-O-methyl-scyllo-inosamine (3-O-MSI) play an intricate role as nutritional mediators during the establishment of the symbiotic relationship between legumes and rhizobia. The mechanism of action is not well understood. One challenge is the availability of rhizopines, which occur in only minute amounts in plant nodules.

Development of an isotope dilution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry detection method for DNA adducts of selected aromatic amines.

Polycyclic aromatic amines (arylamines) are a class of chemical carcinogens that are prevalent in environmental and industrial settings. They are metabolically activated to covalently bond to DNA, forming mutagenic adducts. In order to study the mechanisms of their toxicity, sensitive and selective quantitative LC/MS/MS detection methods were developed to measure the N-(adenin-8-yl)-benzidine adduct and N-(adenin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene in total DNA extract samples.