BACKGROUND Increased titres of serum IgM antibodies to GM1 ganglioside are often associated with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN). Testing for IgM antibodies to other antigens including GM2, the mixture of GM1 and galactocerebroside (GM1/GalC) and the disulfated heparin disaccharide NS6S were reported to increase the sensitivity of antibody testing in MMN even if it is unclear whether the spec...

To investigate whether antecedent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome are associated with the presence of specific antiganglioside antibodies, acute phase serum samples from 130 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome and 200 controls were tested. Anti-GM2 IgM antibodies were found more often in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome with CMV infection (22%) t...

GM2 and GA2 gangliosides from the brain of a patient who died of Sandhoff's disease were purified by solvent partition, silicic acid and silica gel column chromatography, and silica gel preparative thin-layer chromatography. They were tritiated in the terminal N-acetylgalactosamine residue using galactose oxidase and sodium [3H]borohydride with the inclusion of catalase and peroxidase into the ...

Oligosaccharides of biological importance often exhibit branched covalent structures and dynamic conformational multiplicities. Here we report the application of a method that we developed, which combined molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and lanthanide-assisted paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy, to evaluate the dynamic conformational ensemble of a branched oligosaccharide. A lanthanide-chelating...

Methoxymethylation of a variety of alcohols was performed using formaldehyde dimethyl acetal in the presence of 1,3-dichloro-5,5-dimethyl hydantoin [DCDMH] and Poly N,N′-dibromo-N-ethyl naphthyl-2,7-disulfonamide [PBNS] as catalysts at room temperature and under solvent-free conditions. Our experiments show that primary and secondary alcohols can be smoothly converted into the corresponding MOM...

methoxymethylation of a variety of alcohols was performed using formaldehyde dimethyl acetal in the presence of 1,3-dichloro-5,5-dimethyl hydantoin [dcdmh] and poly n,n′-dibromo-n-ethyl naphthyl-2,7-disulfonamide [pbns] as catalysts at room temperature and under solvent-free conditions. our experiments show that primary and secondary alcohols can be smoothly converted into the corresponding mom...

Tricyclic isotaxane and taxane derivatives have been synthesized by a very efficient cascade ring-closing dienyne metathesis (RCDEYM) reaction, which formed the A and B rings in one operation. When the alkyne is present at C13 (with no neighboring gem-dimethyl group), the RCEDYM reaction leads to 14,15-isotaxanes 16 a,b and 18 b with the gem-dimethyl group on the A ring. If the alkyne is at the...