Mixed Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett films of a proton sponge and a fatty acid: influence of the subphase nature on the interactions between the two components

The H+ acceptor activity of a proton sponge, namely, diphenyl bis(octadecylamino)phosphonium bromide, has been studied at the air-liquid interface using several subphases. Mixed Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films containing the proton sponge and a fatty acid (behenic acid) in the whole composition range have been prepared. Surface pressure versus area per molecule isotherms were recorded and excess Gibbs energies of mixing calculated. The existence of strong interactions between the proton sponge and the fatty acid is observed when the subphase is either pure water or a NaOH aqueous solution. A stoichiometric 1:1 reaction between both molecules takes place at the air-water interface. This reaction has an efficiency close to 100% at high surface pressures, provided the majority anion present in the subphase is OH-. However, when the majority anion is another one, this complex is hardly formed. From the experimental results, we conclude that the acid-base reaction is highly dependent on the protonation state of the proton sponge at the air-liquid interface that is a function of the present counterion in the subphase. The floating films were also transferred onto solid substrates and characterized by means of IR spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction to investigate in more detail the complex formation. The interactions between the complex (when formed) and the excess component have been studied in terms of the subphase nature. It was found that the complex is immiscible with the proton sponge, yielding films made of different domains. Nevertheless, the complex is miscible with the fatty acid when the subphase used is an alkaline solution, presumably due to electrostatic interactions between the carboxylate group of the acid and the complex.     

Polysiloxanol condensation and disproportionation in the presence of a superacid

Kinetics studies of the condensation of model hydroxyl-terminated oligosiloxanes, pentamethyldisiloxane-1-ol (MDH) and heptamethyltrisiloxane-1-ol (MD₂H), catalysed by protic complex of tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate in the toluene solution were performed. The dominating reaction was condensation, which was accompanied by disproportionation of oligosiloxanols. Water released in the condensation forms separate dispersed phase, but the phase separation and the presence of water does not affect the rate of the polycondensation. Both processes, condensation and disproportionation, show analogous kinetic laws being first order in silanol and half order in catalyst. They exhibit also similar values of activation parameters. The kinetics are explained by the formation of a reactive protic complex of silanol with borate being in fast preequilibrium with an unreactive complex including two borate molecules and the silanol molecules. The equilibrium lies to the side of the unreactive borate complex.     

Light-driven hydrogen production by a hybrid complex of a [NiFe]-hydrogenase and the cyanobacterial photosystem I

In order to generate renewable and clean fuels, increasing efforts are focused on the exploitation of photosynthetic microorganisms for the production of molecular hydrogen from water and light. In this study we engineered a 'hard-wired' protein complex consisting of a hydrogenase and photosystem I (hydrogenase-PSI complex) as a direct light-to-hydrogen conversion system. The key component was an artificial fusion protein composed of the membrane-bound [NiFe] hydrogenase from the beta-proteobacterium Ralstonia eutropha H16 and the peripheral PSI subunit PsaE of the cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus. The resulting hydrogenase-PsaE fusion protein associated with PsaE-free PSI spontaneously, thereby forming a hydrogenase-PSI complex as confirmed by sucrose-gradient ultracentrifuge and immunoblot analysis. The hydrogenase-PSI complex displayed light-driven hydrogen production at a rate of 0.58 mumol H(2).mg chlorophyll(-1).h(-1). The complex maintained its accessibility to the native electron acceptor ferredoxin. This study provides the first example of a light-driven enzymatic reaction by an artificial complex between a redox enzyme and photosystem I and represents an important step on the way to design a photosynthetic organism that efficiently converts solar energy and water into hydrogen.     

NMR and MO Studies on the Molecular Structure of a Fluoranthene-Benzene Complex

Summary. Fluoranthene (FA) forms a 1:1 van der Waals complex with benzene in cyclohexane. The ¹H NMR spectrum of this complex shows that the FA moiety in the complex state has five kinds of hydrogen atoms and that the ¹H NMR peaks assigned to the protons attached to the naphthalene skeleton are largely shifted to higher magnetic field on complex formation with benzene. These observations indicate that the complex takes the structure of C_S symmetry, in which the benzene molecule mainly interacts with the electronic system localized on the naphthalene moiety of FA. The present ab initio calculations reproduce well the ¹H NMR spectral shifts mentioned above and the experimentally predicted C_S structure of the complex. According to the PPP calculations for the electronic absorption spectral changes on the complex formation, the FA-benzene complex is considered to take a sandwich type structure.     

NMR and MO Studies on the Molecular Structure of a Fluoranthene-Benzene Complex

Fluoranthene (FA) forms a 1:1 van der Waals complex with benzene in cyclohexane. The ¹H NMR spectrum of this complex shows that the FA moiety in the complex state has five kinds of hydrogen atoms and that the ¹H NMR peaks assigned to the protons attached to the naphthalene skeleton are largely shifted to higher magnetic field on complex formation with benzene. These observations indicate that the complex takes the structure of C_S symmetry, in which the benzene molecule mainly interacts with the electronic system localized on the naphthalene moiety of FA. The present ab initio calculations reproduce well the ¹H NMR spectral shifts mentioned above and the experimentally predicted C_S structure of the complex. According to the PPP calculations for the electronic absorption spectral changes on the complex formation, the FA-benzene complex is considered to take a sandwich type structure.     

Formation and decomposition of a volatile Zn-containing complex for the synthesis of ZnO films

The formation of a Zn-containing complex on a ZnO target in an H₂O₂ vapor medium, the sublimation of this complex, and the decomposition of the complex to the original compound are considered. UV preirradiation of the target raises the concentration of the Zn-containing complex in the gas phase in proportion to the irradiation time. The rate constant of the decomposition of the complex on a substrate is reported. The activation energy and the preexponential factor (k ₀) for the decomposition reaction are derived from the temperature dependence of the rate constant. The fact that the activation energy of the decomposition of the complex is similar to that of hydrogen peroxide decomposition suggests that the complex has a peroxide-like structure. The experimental and calculated k ₀ data indicate that the decomposition reaction is monomolecular.     

Investigation of the extraction equilibrium of the vanadium-par complex between aqueous medium and a chloroform solution of a quaternary ammonium chloride

Partition of the VO(2)L(-) complex (formed from vanadium(V) and PAR [4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol]) between water and a chloroform solution of TOMACl (trioctylmethylammonium chloride) has been studied. The V-PAR-TOMACl complex extracted into the chloroform phase was found to be 1:1:1 in composition. The extraction equilibrium constant is log K = 4.0 +/- 0.1.     

Conformational fluctuations of a protein-DNA complex and the structure and ordering of water around it

Protein-DNA binding is an important process responsible for the regulation of genetic activities in living organisms. The most crucial issue in this problem is how the protein recognizes the DNA and identifies its target base sequences. Water molecules present around the protein and DNA are also expected to play an important role in mediating the recognition process and controlling the structure of the complex. We have performed atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of an aqueous solution of the protein-DNA complex formed between the DNA binding domain of human TRF1 protein and a telomeric DNA. The conformational fluctuations of the protein and DNA and the microscopic structure and ordering of water around them in the complex have been explored. In agreement with experimental studies, the calculations reveal conformational immobilization of the terminal segments of the protein on complexation. Importantly, it is discovered that both structural adaptations of the protein and DNA, and the subsequent correlation between them to bind, contribute to the net entropy loss associated with the complex formation. Further, it is found that water molecules around the DNA are more structured with significantly higher density and ordering than that around the protein in the complex.     

Poised on the brink between a bistable complex and a compound

[reaction: see text] An enmeshed supramolecular complex, based on a semi-dumbbell-shaped component containing an asymmetrically substituted tetrathiafulvalene site and a 1,5-dioxynaphthalene site for encirclement by a cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) ring component and with a "speed bump" in the form of an thiomethyl group situated between the two recognition sites, has been self-assembled. This complex is a mixture in acetone solution of two slowly interconverting [2]pseudorotaxanes, one of which is on the verge of being a [2]rotaxane at room temperature.     

Heterogeneous synergistic catalysis by a palladium complex and an amine on a silica surface for acceleration of the tsuji-trost reaction

The cooperative surface-catalysis strategy of a Br?nsted acid and an organic base can be extended to a metal complex and organic base pair. A silica-supported diaminopalladium complex and a tertiary amine were prepared and characterized. The Pd-catalyzed Tsuji-Trost reaction was enhanced significantly by the presence of the tertiary amine on the same silica surface as the Pd complex.     

Characterization and Purification of the Mammalian COP9 Complex, a Conserved Nuclear Regulator Initially Identified as a Repressor of Photomorphogenesis in Higher Plants

The COP9 complex has been identified as a repressor of photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis. Here we demonstrate that the COP9 complex is also present in mammals. Specific antibodies were generated against human counterparts of the Arabidopsis COP9 and COP11, the two known subunits of plant COP9 complex. Using these antibodies, we showed that indeed mammalian COP9 and COP11, also known as GPS1, could be coimmuno-precipitated using either of the two specific antibodies, definitively confirming that they are physically part of the same complex. Further, the mammalian COP9 and COP11/GPS1 were cofractionated in the same large molecular weight fractions of about 500 kDa and were absent from the monomeric fractions. The mammalian COP9 complex was present in all organs examined but abundances vary. Indirect immunofluorescence studies suggested that the mammalian COP9 complex is largely nuclear localized. Both conventional biochemical and affinity purifications of the COP9 complex from pig spleen indicated that the mammalian COP9 complex consists of eight distinct subunits. These findings indicate that mammals also have a COP9 complex with conserved molecular composition and biochemical and cellular properties similar to the higher plant counterpart.     

Synthesis and biodistribution of the 99m TcN-DMSA complex as a potential bone imaging agent

In this study, the preparation of the 99m TcN complex of DMSA (dimercaptosuccinicacid) was carried out as a freeze-dried formulation, through a simple procedureinvolving the initial of 99m TcO 4 – with succinic dihydrazide in thepresence of stannous chloride as reducing agent, followed by the additionof the ligand DMSA to afford the final product. The radiochemical purity ofthe 99m TcN-DMSA complex was over 90% determined by thin layer chromatography.It was stable over 8 hours at room temperature. Its partition coefficientindicated that it was a good hydrophilic complex. Biodistribution in miceshowed that the 99m TcN-DMSA complex was accumulated in bone with high uptakeand good retention, suggesting it would be potentially useful as a bone imagingagent containing the [ 99m TcN] 2+ core. The biodistribution comparison inmice of the 99m TcN-DMSA complex and the 99m Tc-DMSA complex indicate thatthe presence of the 99m Tc nitrido group significantly alters the biologicalproperties of the 99m Tc complex.     

Conformational flexibility of a protein-carbohydrate complex and the structure and ordering of surrounding water

Protein-carbohydrate non-covalent interactions are important to understand various biological processes in living organisms. One of the important issues in protein-carbohydrate binding is how the protein identifies the target carbohydrate and recognizes its conformational features. Surrounding water molecules are expected to play a critical role not only in mediating the recognition process but also in maintaining the structure of the complex. We carried out atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of an aqueous solution of the protein-carbohydrate complex formed between the hyaluronan binding domain (HABD) of the murine Cd44 protein and the octasaccharide hyaluronan (HA(8)). The conformational flexibilities of the protein and the carbohydrate, and the microscopic structure and ordering of water molecules around them in the complexed form have been explored. It is revealed that the formation of the complex is associated with significant immobilization of the monosaccharide units of the carbohydrate moiety that are involved in binding. Further, reduction in water densities around the binding residues of the two molecules in the complex with respect to their free forms clearly demonstrated that the recognition between the protein and the carbohydrate is facilitated by removal of a fraction of water molecules from regions around the binding domains.     

Interaction between the Heme and a G-Quartet in a Heme-DNA Complex

The structure of a complex between heme(Fe(3+)) and a parallel G-quadruplex DNA formed from a single repeat sequence of the human telomere, d(TTAGGG), has been characterized by (1)H NMR. The study demonstrated that the heme(Fe(3+)) is sandwiched between the 3'-terminal G-quartets of the G-quadruplex DNA. Hence, the net +1 charge of the heme(Fe(3+)) in the complex is surrounded by the eight carbonyl oxygen atoms of the G-quartets. Interaction between the heme Fe(3+) and G-quartets in the complex was clearly manifested in the solvent (1)H/(2)H isotope effect on the NMR parameters of paramagnetically shifted heme methyl proton signals, and interaction of the heme Fe(3+) with the eight carbonyl oxygen atoms of the two G-quartets was shown to provide a strong and axially symmetric ligand field surrounding the heme Fe(3+), yielding a heme(Fe(3+)) low-spin species with a highly symmetric heme electronic structure. This finding provides new insights as to the design of the molecular architecture and functional properties of various heme-DNA complexes.     

Synthesis,Properties and Reactivity Studies of a Hetero-dicopper Complex Consisting of a Porphyrin and a Bispyridylamine Moiety Connected by a Xanthene Backbone

Synthesis, characterization and reactivity studies of a hetero-dicopper complex, particularly towards oxygen reduction are presented. A bischlorido copper(II) trishistidine-type coordination unit is positioned directly above a copper porphyrin unit. The close distance between the two coordination fragments is secured by a rigid xanthene backbone. Surprisingly, the dinuclear complex is not active towards oxygen reduction unlike the earlier published mononuclear analogues with a bispyridylamine copper center. However, the compound architecture of this multinuclear metal complex is interesting and can play an important role in the development of new catalysts for ORR.     

Synthesis and reactivity of a dipyrrinatolithium complex

The synthesis and characterization of the first dipyrrinato-alkali-metal complex is reported herein. The novel reactivity of this lithium complex is demonstrated in the preparation, isolation, and characterization of a heteroleptic zinc(II) complex in high yield.     

Structure of a di-zinc complex of a bis-calix[4]arene conjugate and its sensing of cysteine among the amino acids

Abstract

A triethylene glycol di-imine locked triazole linked bis-calix[4]arene conjugate (L) and its Zn²⁺ complex [Zn₂L], were synthesised, characterised and the three-dimentional (3-D) structure of the complex was established by single crystal XRD. In this complex, the Zn²⁺ centre exhibits distorted tetrahedral geometry with N₂O₂ binding core. The complex showed selectivity towards cysteine (Cys) with greater sensitivity followed by histidine (His) among the naturally occurring amino acids studied based on fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy. The fluorescence quenching of the complex is much greater with Cys as compared to that of His. The detection limit of Cys is 650 ppb. Release of Zn²⁺ from its complex [Zn₂L] followed by its capture by –SH containing molecules was shown based on absorption and emission spectroscopy. This was also shown in one case by ¹H NMR spectroscopy.     

Molecular dynamics study on the interaction of a mithramycin dimer with a decanucleotide duplex

The complex of a minor groove binding drug mithramycin (MTR) and the self-complementary d(TAGCTAGCTA) 10-mer duplex was investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the AMBER 7.0 suite of programs. There is one disaccharide and trisaccharide segment projecting from opposite ends of an aglycone chromophore of MTR. A MTR dimer complex (MTR)2Mg2+ is formed in the presence of a coordinated ion Mg2+. A NMR solution structure of two (MTR)2Mg2+ complexes bound with one DNA duplex, namely, the 2:1 duplex complex, was taken as the starting structure for the MD simulation. The partial charge on each atom was calculated using the multiple-RESP fitting procedure, and all of the missing parameters in the Parm99 force field used were adapted comparably from the literature. The length of the MD simulation was 5 ns, and the binding free energy for the formation of a 1:1 or 2:1 duplex complex was determined from the last 4 ns of the simulation. The binding free energies were decomposed to components of the contributions from different energy types, and the changes in the helical parameters of the bound DNA duplex plus the glycosidic linkages between sugar residues of the bound MTR dimer were determined. It was found that binding of the first (MTR)2Mg2+ complex with the DNA duplex to form a 1:1 duplex complex does not cause stiffening of the duplex especially in the unoccupied site of the duplex. However, the overall flexibility of the DNA duplex is reduced substantially once the second (MTR)2Mg2+ complex is bound with the unoccupied site to form the 2:1 duplex complex. The van der Waals interactions were found to be dominant in the central part of the DNA duplex where sugar residues from each bound (MTR)2Mg2+ complex were inwardly pointing and the corresponding minor groove was widened.     

Enhancement of the photoluminescence of a thioamide-based pincer palladium complex in the crystalline state

A thioamide-based pincer Pd complex, [2,6-bis(benzylaminothiocarbonyl-κS)phenyl-κC¹]chloropalladium(II), was crystallized from different solvents. The structure of the complex in the solid state depends on hydrogen bonding interactions of cocrystallized solvent molecules with the metal complex in the crystal. The arrangement affects the intensity of the photoluminescence from the crystals. Strong emission was observed from the crystal having a densely packed arrangement of the complex, whereas the solutions and powders of the complex did not exhibit emission.