A New Route to Crystalline Salts of the Hydrolytic Dimer of Chromium(III)

Crystalline salts of the hydrolytic dimer of Cr(III), [Cr₂(μ-OH)₂(H₂O)₈]X₄·n H₂O (X = p-toluenesulfonate (tos) or mesitylene-2-sulfonate (dmtos)) have been prepared in good yields via a simple two-step procedure: H⁺ oxidation of Cr metal to give Cr²⁺ (T ≈? 70°) followed by O₂ oxidation, of Cr²⁺ to give the dimer (T ≈? 25°). The mechanism of conversion of Cr²⁺ into the dimer is discussed.     

Combined molecular dynamics and continuum solvent approaches (MM-PBSA/GBSA) to predict noscapinoid binding to γ-tubulin dimer

γ-tubulin plays crucial role in the nucleation and organization of microtubules during cell division. Recent studies have also indicated its role in the regulation of microtubule dynamics at the plus end of the microtubules. Moreover, γ-tubulin has been found to be over-expressed in many cancer types, such as carcinomas of the breast and glioblastoma multiforme. These studies have led to immense interest in the identification of chemical leads that might interact with γ-tubulin and disrupt its function in order to explore γ-tubulin as potential chemotherapeutic target. Recently a colchicine-interacting cavity was identified at the interface of γ-tubulin dimer that might also interact with other similar compounds. In the same direction we theoretically investigated binding of a class of compounds, noscapinoids (noscapine and its derivatives) at the interface of the γ-tubulin dimer. Molecular interaction of noscapine and two of its derivatives, amino-noscapine and bromo-noscapine, was investigated by molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation and binding free energy calculation. All noscapinoids displayed stable interaction throughout simulation of 25 ns. The predictive binding free energy (ΔG_bind) indicates that noscapinoids bind strongly with the γ-tubulin dimer. However, bromo-noscapine showed the best binding affinity (ΔG_bind = –37.6 kcal/mol) followed by noscapine (ΔG_bind = –29.85 kcal/mol) and amino-noscapine (ΔG_bind = –23.99 kcal/mol) using the MM-PBSA method. Similarly using the MM-GBSA method, bromo-noscapine showed highest binding affinity (ΔG_bind = –43.64 kcal/mol) followed by amino-noscapine (ΔG_bind = –37.56 kcal/mol) and noscapine (ΔG_bind = –34.57 kcal/mol). The results thus generate compelling evidence that these noscapinoids may hold great potential for preclinical and clinical evaluation.     

Capturing Lacunary Iron–Oxo Keggin Clusters and Insight Into the Keggin-Fe13 Cluster Rotational Isomerization

The formation mechanism of ferrihydrite is the key to understand its treatment of pollutants in waste water and purification of surface water and groundwater. Although emerging evidence suggests that formation of the ferrihydrite occurs through the aggregation of prenucleation clusters, rather than classical atom-by-atom growth, its formation mechanism remains unclear. Herein, an iron–oxo anionic cluster of [Fe₂₂(μ₄-O)₈(μ₃-OH)₂₀(μ₂-OH)₁₈(CH₃COO)₁₆(H₂O)₂]⁴⁻ viewed as a dimer of bivacant β-Keggin-Fe₁₃ clusters was for the first time obtained by using lanthanide ions as stabilizers. Upon dissolution in a mixed solution of isopropanol and water, the lacunary β-Keggin-Fe₁₃ cluster can transform into an α-Keggin-Fe₁₃ cluster, distinctly demonstrating that the Keggin-Fe₁₃ cluster rotational isomerization can be realized through the vacant Keggin-Fe₁₃ cluster.     

Discontinuous behavior of Rayleigh relaxation in supersaturated aqueous NH_4H_2PO_4 Solution

The algorithm of Rayleigh intensity correlation is employed for the elucidation of relaxa-tion time constants of the aqueous NH_4H_2PO_4 solution with various concentrations.The resultshows that there is a discontinuous(abrupt)increases in the relaxation time constant as the super-saturation state is reached.This quantity,the relaxation time constant,therefore,can be an orderparameter.Also discussed is the dependence of the relaxation time constant on the aggregationnumber n in(H_2PO_4~-)_n.This dependence is complicated and may be crucial in understanding theaggregation process in the supersaturation state.     

Search for regular polypeptides possessing esterase properties. I. Polypeptides containing tyrosine and glutamic acid residues

An investigation has been made of the catalytic properties in relation to the hydrolysis of p-NPA of six polypeptides of regular structure: H-[Glu-Tyr]_n-OH (1), H-[Glu₂-Tyr]_n-OH (2), H-[Glu-Tyr₃]_n-OH (3), H-[Glu₃-Tyr]_n-OH (4), H-[Glu₃-Tyr]_n-OH (5), and H-[Glu-Tyr₂]_n]-OH (6). It has been shown that polypeptides (I), (III), and (IV) catalyze the hydrolysis of p-NPA (p-nitrophenyl acetate). An enzyme-like type of catalysis has been found. Some catalytic characteristics have been calculated and the dependence of the rate of hydrolysis on the pH of the medium, the temperature, and the concentration of p-NPA have been discussed. The structures of the catalytically active and catalytically inactive polypeptides have been studied by the circular dichroism method. It has been shown that under conditions in which the catalytic properties of polypeptides are shown to the maximum degree there is a structure of the random coil type. The catalytic activity falls or disappears completely when ordered fragments of the α-helix and β-structure types appear in the structure. It has been found that polypeptide (I) possesses the maximum catalytic activity. It exceeds the activity of a copolymer of the same amino acids by an order of magnitude.     

Preparation and proton conductivity of poly(N‐methylbenzimidazole) doped with acid

To increase the solubility and film forming ability of polybenzimidazole (PBI), poly(N‐methylbenzimidazole) (PNMBI) with different degrees of methylation was synthesized. Chemical structure, degree of substitution, and solubility of PNMBI was studied. PNMBI is easier to be doped with acid than PBI. The basicity of PNMBI was improved with the introduction of methyl groups on the imidazole moiety. Effects of methylation degree, H₃PO₄ content and temperature on proton conductivity of PNMBI doped H₃PO₄ was studied. Proton conductivity of H₃PO₄ doped PNMBI‐1.2 membranes increases with increasing doping level. Temperature dependence of proton conductivity of H₃PO₄ doped PNMBI‐1.2 membranes follows the Arrhenius law. With an increase in the degree of substitution, proton conductivity of H₃PO₄ doped PNMBI decreases dramatically. The proton transport mechanism was also discussed. The proton conductivity of PNMBI/H₃PO₄ is mainly contributed by proton hopping or Grotthuss mechanism. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Orthophosphoric Acid-;N,N-Dimethylformamide System: IR Study

Interactions in the orthophosphoric acid (H₃PO₄)-;N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) system are studied by IR Fourier spectroscopy. A mechanism of interaction between the H₃PO₄ and DMF molecules was proposed on the basis of the results and the earlier reported viscosimetry data for this system.     

Delaying Anticancer Drug Delivery by Self-Assembly and Branching Effects of Minimalist Dendron–Drug Conjugates

Self-assembly of a covalently-bound lipophilic drug to a dendronic scaffold for making organic nanoparticles is reported as a proof of concept in nanovectorization. A minimalist structural approach with a small PEG-dendron conjugated to paclitaxel (PTX), incorporating safe succinic and gallic acids, is efficient to provide the expected anticancer bioactivity, but also significantly retards and targets intracellular delivery of PTX in 2D and 3D lung cancer cell cultures. A branching effect of dendrons is crucial, when compared to linear PTX conjugates. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light-scattering (DLS) studies indicate the formation of stable, low-disperse nanoparticles at 10⁻⁵ m in H₂0, which could also be responsible for the biological effects. An ultrasensitive LC-MS/MS method was used for the determination of intracellular PTX concentration over time, along with the survival rates of cancer cells. Similarly, cell survival assays were successfully correlated to a 3D cell culture with spheroids for mimicking tumors, when treated with PTX conjugates. Our work opens the way to a full evaluation program required for new chemical entities.     

Synthesis and characterization of copper 4-carboxyphenylphosphonates

Three new copper 4-carboxyphenylphosphonates with formulae Cu(HOOCC₆H₄PO₃)·2H₂O, Cu(HOOCC₆H₄PO₃) and Cu₃(OOCC₆H₄PO₃)₂·3H₂O were prepared and characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis and infrared spectroscopy. The preparation conditions of Cu(HOOCC₆H₄PO₃)·2H₂O and Cu₃(OOCC₆H₄PO₃)₂·3H₂O differ in the acidity of the reaction mixture, where Cu(HOOCC₆H₄PO₃) was prepared under hydrothermal conditions. Copper 4-carboxyphenylphosphonate with formula Cu₃(OOCC₆H₄PO₃)₂·3H₂O reacts with 4-carboxyphenylphosphonic acid to form Cu(HOOCC₆H₄PO₃)·2H₂O.Cu(HOOCC₆H₄PO₃)·2H₂O is orthorhombic, space group Pbcn (no. 60), a=8.234(2) Å, b=9.438(2) Å, c=24.899(5) Å. Cu(HOOCC₆H₄PO₃) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c (no. 14), a=19.0951(3), b=8.0968(4), c=5.2111(11) Å, β=94.914(6)°, Z=4. Its layered structure is composed of distorted CuO₆ octahedra arranged hexagonally in a gibbsite-like manner around two phosphonate groups, which have their carboxyphenyl groups extending into the space above and below the copper–phosphonate layer. Infrared spectra indicate that for both Cu(HOOCC₆H₄PO₃)·2H₂O and Cu(HOOCC₆H₄PO₃) the acid hydrogen is present at the carboxyl group and not at the phosphonic group.     

Determination of Formation Regions of Titanium Phosphates; Determination of the Crystal Structure ofβ-Titanium Phosphate, Ti(PO4)(H2PO4), from Neutron Powder Data

The formation region of the various types of layered titanium hydrogen phosphate hydrates was investigated. The materials were prepared by hydrothermal methods, treating amorphous titanium phosphate with phosphoric acid (8 to 16M) in the temperature range 175 to 250°C. The materials obtained were:α-Ti(HPO₄)₂·H₂O,γ-Ti(PO₄)(H₂PO₄)·2H₂O, and its anhydrous formβ-Ti(PO₄)(H₂PO₄). The structure ofβ-Ti(PO₄)(H₂PO₄) has been determined by Rietveld powder refinement of high resolution neutron diffraction data. The structure is refined in the monoclinic space groupP2₁/n(No. 14). The unit cell parameters are:a=18.9503(4) Å,b=6.3127(1) Å,c=5.1391(1) Å,β=105.366(2)°;Z=4. The final agreement factors were:R_p=2.9% andR_wp=3.8%. The structure ofβ-Ti(PO₄)(H₂PO₄) is built from TiO₆octahedra linked together by tertiary phosphate (PO₄) and dihydrogen phosphate ((OH)₂PO₂) tetrahedra. The layers are held together by hydrogen bonds.     

Aggregation properties of a polymeric anticancer therapeutic: a coarse-grained modeling study

The effects of paclitaxel (PTX) loading fraction and spatial PTX arrangement on poly(γ-glutamyl-glutamate) paclitaxel (PGG-PTX) aggregation were explored using coarse-grained molecular dynamics. Results show that the PTX loading fraction does not significantly impact aggregation, and the spatial PTX arrangement only affects aggregation at more concentrated PTX arrangements. Overall, the f(PTX) = 0.37 'ends' and f(PTX) = 0.18 'even' PGG-PTX systems exhibit the highest aggregation and the 'middle' and 'side' systems the lowest.     

Morphological and Thermal Investigations of the ‘Active’ Dimer Hydroxide of Chromium(III)

The ‘active’ dimer hydroxide, [Cr₂(μ-OH)₂(OH)₄(OH₂)₄]·2 H₂O, has been characterised by means of IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, and electron microscopy. Thermogravimetric measurements and the Cr content of the hydroxide are in agreement with this composition. The IR spectrum supports the notion that this hydroxide is composed of unaltered dimer fragments linked through hydrogen bonds of ca. 2.8 Å. The compound is microcrystalline in nature with an X-ray powder diffraction pattern distinctly different from that of the isomeric ‘active’ monomer hydroxide. Electron micrographs of the ‘active’ dimer hydroxide indicate that this material consists of platelets the sie of which is dependent on the pH of precipitation.     

Utility of reaction intermediate monitoring with photodissociation multi-stage (MS) time-of-flight mass spectrometry for mechanistic and structural studies: Phosphopeptides

In tandem mass spectra of phosphopeptides, intact sequence ions are often missing or appear weakly. Instead, dephosphorylated sequence ions appear prominently. In this work, we used photodissociation (PD) multi-stage (MSⁿ) time-of-flight mass spectrometry that can monitor reaction intermediates with lifetime as short as 100 ns to study the formation of dephosphorylated sequence ions such as y_n-H₃PO₄. y_n-H₃PO₄ was found to be formed mainly by H₃PO₄ loss from y_n. For doubly phosphorylated peptides, y_n seemed to lose H₃PO₄ stepwise and form y_n-H₃PO₄ and y_n-2H₃PO₄. Even when y_n was absent in PD-MS² spectrum, its m/z could be predicted from those of y_n-H₃PO₄ and/or y_n-2H₃PO₄. Complete sequence coverage was possible when the data from PD-MS² and PD-MS³ were combined, demonstrating the utility of transient ion detection by PD-MS³ for structure analysis.     

一维双链镉(Ⅱ)配合物[Cd(C5H5N)CH2C(OH)(PO3)(PO3H)·3H2O]n的合成与晶体结构

A new cadmium complex [Cd(C₅H₅N)CH₂C(OH)(PO₃)(PO₃H)·3H₂O]_n((C₅H₄N)CH₂C(OH)(PO₃H₂)₂=1-hydroxy-2-(2-pyridyl)ethylidene-1,1-diphosphonate acid) has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. Single crystal structure determination reveals that the compound has a ladder-like chain structure in which the edge-shared {CdO₆} octahedra are linked by {CPO₃} tetrahedra through corner-sharing. The chains of {Cd(C₅H₅N)CH₂C(OH)(PO₃)(PO₃H)}_n are linked by inter-chain hydrogen bonds, forming a supramolecular layer. CCDC: 722396.     

Theoretical Study of the Dimerization of Chlorophyll (a) and Its Hydrates: Implication for Chlorophyll (a) Aggregation

Dimeric structures chlorophyll (a) (Chla) and their mono‐ and dihydrated have been suggested to play an important role in the mechanism of photoreaction center chlorophyll special pairs PSI and PSII. Despite their functional importance, the molecular basis structures for interacting two Chla molecules and the structural stabilization role of H₂O in the formation of hydrated Chla dimer complexes is poorly understood. In this article, the different coordination modes between two interacting Chla molecules and the configurational (orientation and distance) features between the dimer and bound H₂O molecules are characterized by means of super molecule approach the density functional theory DFT. An estimation of the thermodynamic quantities is made for Chla dimerization and hydration processes. The results indicate that structure including ester linkages via H₂O hydrogen bonding is the most favorable conformation for the dihydrated chlorophyll (a) dimer at B3LYP/6‐31G*‐DCP level of calculation. The dispersion interaction is shown to be of great significance for the Chla dimer stabilization. In aqueous nonpolar solvent, the thermodynamics show that Chla has a slightly stronger driving force for full hydration than for dimerization and that hydration of the dimers is rather weakly exergonic. The tetrahydrated dimers having a similar arrangement to that in crystals of ethyl chlorophyllide (a) dihydrate are found to be more stable than the Chla dihydrated dimer. The data underscore the key role of H‐bonding in the stability of Chla‐H₂O adducts and, in particular, the great importance of the Chla monomeric dihydrated species in the hydration and dimerization of Chla in aqueous media. Clearly, the Chla dihydrates (Chla‐2 H₂O) are found more stable than the monohydrates (Chla‐H₂O) and the Chla dimers (Chla₂), owing to a particular structure in which cooperative interactions occur between the H₂O molecules and Chla. Calculations also indicate that the most thermodynamically preferred pathway for the formation of Chla dimer hydrates can be represented by two steps: the first corresponds to the formation of Chla monomeric dihydrates and the second is the dimerization of the dihydrates on to tetrahydrated Chla dimers. These results allow to obtain a new possible pathway for Chla dimer formation processes and could provide new insights to the aggregation of chlorophyll (a) in solution.     

The Crystal Structure of Tetraphenyldichloro(μ-hydroxo)- Distannate·quinoline

Hydrolysis of diphenyltin dichloride in the presence of quinoline and diethyl ether proceeds via formation of a monomeric diorganodistannoxane compound. The single crystal X-ray diffraction study of [Sn(C₆H₅)₂Cl(μ-OH)]₂ · quin is reported together with IR and H-NMR data. The dimer consists of five-coordinate tin(IV) units with di-μ-hydroxo bridging. The coordination geometry of the tin unit is a distorted trigonal bipyramid with two phenyl groups and one μ-hydroxo in equatorial positions and the other μ-hydroxo and chlorine atoms in axial positions.     

Interference of arsenic trioxide on magnesium dependent polymerization of microtubule proteins

Prevention of microtubule polymerization is considered as one of the promising approaches towards inhibition of cell proliferation, especially in treatment of malignancies. Arsenic trioxide, As₂O₃, is being successfully used in the treatment of human lymphoma, while the mechanism of its therapeutic function is still under investigation. Experiments were designed to determine if indeed As₂O₃ interferes with polymerization of nanotube microtubule. Microtubules were extracted from sheep brain and their interaction with arsenic trioxide was examined by spectrometery. Electrical conductometry of 2 mM MgSO₄ solution containing various concentrations of As₂O₃ was studied in order to determine their possible interaction. Transmission electron microscopy was used to show microtubule structure in the presence of arsenic trioxide. Fluorometric characteristics of tubulin dimer were examined in presence of varying concentrations of arsenic trioxide. It is concluded that arsenic trioxide interacts with Mg²⁺ ion around GTPase site of β-tubulin, resulting enhancement of depolymerization of the microtubule polymer.     

Reactions of Phosphate Radicals with Monosubstituted Benzenes. A Mechanistic Investigation

The kinetics and reaction mechanism of phosphate radicals with substituted benzenes, PhX (X=OH, Me, H, Cl, MeO, and CHO), were studied by flash photolysis and continuous irradiation of aqueous solutions containing potassium peroxodiphosphate (K₄[(PO₃)₂O₂]). The rate constants for the reactions of phosphate radicals with the aromatic contaminants PhX were measured and the reaction intermediates and products detected. A correlation between the logarithm of the rate constant for every substrate with H₂PO₄^., HPO₄^.?, and PO₄^.2? and the logarithm of the dissociation constant K_a for H₃PO₄, , and was found. A general mechanism is proposed (Scheme 1), which accounts for the experimental results.     

Fading of a novel colorimetric receptor after recognizing H2PO4−

A novel selective and sensitive colorimetric receptor 1 (1, 10-phenanthroline-2, 9-dialdehyde bis-(-p-nitrophenylureasemicarbo-hydrazone)) based on urea showing distinctive color fading phenomenon towards H₂PO₄^? ion was reported. Fancifully, the recognition process of receptor 1 to H₂PO₄^? was not interfered by the existence of others anions. We have probed the binding mechanism of 1-H₂PO₄^? that H₂PO₄^? ion induced competitive hydrogen binding process via intramolecular hydrogen-bond by UV–vis, fluorescence, ¹H NMR titrations and ESI-MS experiments.     

Exchange interactions in oxovanadium phosphates: towards the understanding of the magnetic patterns

We report the calculations of exchange magnetic constants in a series of vanadium phosphorus oxides for which structural and magneto-chemical data are available. Four different types of dimers have been extracted from the crystal lattices in all solids studied. On the basis of a combined density functional theory broken symmetry approach, our calculations on molecular models allow us to define schemes of magnetic interactions. The largest absolute magnetic interaction is provided by the double O–P–O and di-μ-oxo bridges, suggestive of an alternating dimer chain model and an isolated dimer one for the VO(HPO₄)·0.5H₂O and α-VO(HPO₄)·2H₂O phases, respectively. Conversely, VO(HPO₄)·4H₂O is consistent with a bi-dimensional magnetic pattern whereas VO(H₂PO₄)₂ and α-VO(PO₃)₂ with three-dimensional magnetic schemes. The use of dimer models has been justified by the analysis of higher-nuclearity clusters.