Stereoisomeric Analysis of 6,10,14-Trimethylpentadecan-2-ol and the Corresponding Ketone in Wing Extracts from African Bicyclus Butterfly Species
Gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) were used to determine the stereoisomeric compositions of 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-ol and 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-one in wing extracts from 17 Bicyclus butterfly species from different regions of Africa. All samples were purified using solid phase extraction (SPE). Since some species contained both alcohol and ketone, these were separated and the ketone was reduced to the alcohol before analysis as either (R)-trans-chrysanthemoyl or (S)-2-acetoxypropionyl esters. A novel asymmetric synthesis was developed for a reference mixture of (2R/S,6S,10R)-6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-ol with known composition of the eight stereoisomers. The mixture then was used as the (R)-trans-chrysanthemoyl esters to correlate each of the eight gas chromatographic peaks to a specific stereoisomer of the extracted wing compounds. Seven butterfly species showed (2R,6R,10R)-configuration of the alcohol, four species contained minute amounts of alcohol too small to determine the stereochemistry, nine species showed (6R,10R)-configuration of the ketone, and one species contained minute amounts of ketone too small to determine the stereochemistry. No other stereoisomers of alcohol or ketone could be detected in the extracts, and the quantities of the compounds in the wing extracts varied from 5 to 900 ng per sample for each species.
Stereoisomeric Separation of Derivatized 2-alkanols Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry: Sex Pheromone Precursors Found in Pine Sawfly Species
Stereoisomers of long-chain secondary alcohols are used as sex pheromone precursors among pine sawflies and some species can be severe pine forest pests. To use their pheromone in environmentally friendly pest management, methods are needed that can determine the stereochemistry of the precursor alcohols. Combinations of 11 acid chloride derivatives and 10 GC columns were evaluated for separation of stereoisomers of 3,7-dimethylundecan-2-ol, 3,7-dimethyldodecan-2-ol, 3,7-dimethyltridecan-2-ol, 3,7-dimethyltetradecan-2-ol, and 3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ol. Derivatization with (S)-2-acetoxypropionyl chloride in combination with a Chiraldex B-PA column separated all eight stereoisomers of 3,7-dimethylundecan-2-ol, 3,7-dimethyldodecan-2-ol, and 3,7-dimethyltridecan-2-ol. A combination of two different derivatization methods was needed to separate all stereoisomers of the longer chained alcohols 3,7-dimethyltetradecan-2-ol and 3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ol. A female extract of the pine sawfly Neodiprion lecontei was also analyzed and the stereochemistry of the sex pheromone alcohol precursor was determined to be (2S,3S,7S)-3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ol at an amount of about 7 ng/female. This paper presents the first GC-MS separation of all eight stereoisomers of 3,7-dimethylundecan-2-ol, 3,7-dimethyldodecan-2-ol, and 3,7-dimethyltridecan-2-ol in a single analytical run and also the first GC-MS determination of the stereochemistry of the sex pheromone precursor found in females of N. lecontei.
Suppressed Light Emission of the Reaction Zone in Detonation
THE detonation of high explosives in water can be photographed with an open camera and a flash light as the explosive gases do not emit light. The method has been used1 to investigate the spread of shock waves and explosive gases, and to investigate the initiation by shock waves2. We have found that it can be used also in certain gases such as butane and propane. The method is not suitable, on the other hand, for explosives with two levels of detonation velocity in the case of low velocity. A great part of the reaction then occurs after the reaction zone has passed and the expanding explosive gases are very luminous even in water.