Dogger bank itch. 4. An eczema-causing sulfoxonium ion from the marine animal, Alcyonidium gelatinosum [Bryozoa]

Repeated exposure to the marine bryozoan, Alcyonidium gelatinosum, frequently provokes an eczematous allergic contact dermatitis known as the "Dogger Bank Itch". The dermatitis, representing a severe occupational disease, is especially widely distributed among trawlermen working in the Dogger Bank area in the North Sea. The allergy is shown to belong to the type of cell-mediated hypersensitivity. The hapten has been identified as the (2-hydroxyethyl)dimethylsulfoxonium ion. The isolation, structure determination and synthesis are discussed.

The structure of N-[3-phenyl-5-(1,2,3,4-oxatriazolio)]-phenylamide at 105 K

The crystal and molecular structure of the meso-ionic title compound, C13H10N4O, have been determined by X-ray methods using 2667 reflections above background level collected by counter methods at 105 K. The crystals are monoclinic, space group P2a/c, with cell dimensions: a=5.233(2) A; b=18.846(6) A; c=11.643(2) A, beta=105.71 degrees(2), with 4 molecules per unit cell. The structure model was refined to an R-factor of 0.047. In order to reduce the influence of the valence electrons all reflections with sin theta/lambda smaller than 0.5 A- minus 1 were excluded in the last stages of the refinement procedure (leaving 1658 Fo'S, R=0.058). The central five-membered ring is found to be planar and the bond lengths within this ring indicate a resonance stabilized system, as has been found for sydnones. The planes of the two benzene rings are tilted 11.7 and 8.0 degrees, respectively, with respect to the plane of the central oxatriazolio-ring.?