Synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbene precursors bearing biphenyl units and their use in ruthenium-catalyzed ring-opening metathesis polymerization

A range of new imidazolium and imidazolinium chlorides bearing biphenyl units on their nitrogen atoms was synthesized. They differed by the electron-withdrawing or -donating nature and the steric bulk of the substituents on their aromatic rings. These various N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursors were combined with the [RuCl₂(p-cymene)]₂ dimer and potassium tert-butoxide to generate the corresponding ruthenium-arene complexes [RuCl₂(p-cymene)(NHC)] in situ. The catalytic activity of these species was investigated in the photoinduced ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of cyclooctene. The results obtained confirmed the necessity of blocking the ortho-positions of the phenyl rings in the vicinity of the metal center in order to attain high catalytic efficiencies. They also showed that changing the steric and electronic properties of the substituents on the remote phenyl rings of the biphenyl units had no significant influence on the outcome of the polymerization.     

Binary and ternary chromium(III) complexes with cellular reductants and DNA components isolated from redox type systems. Part 1. Chromium(VI)–cysteine–adenine (adenosine,ATP)

The reduction of CrO₃ with an excess of L-cysteine and its interaction with DNA fragments (adenine, adenosine) and ATP nucleotide was studied by analysis of the isolated solid products. The precipitates were characterised by elemental analyses, FAB mass spectral data, spectroscopic methods (u.v.–vis., f.i.r., i.r.) and magnetic measurements. The Cr^III complexes obtained appear to be various Cr^III cysteinate and adenine or ATP (but not adenosine) ternary species of the addition type bound through the hydrogen bonding network.     

Second-generation mimics of ganglioside GM1 oligosaccharide: a three-dimensional view of their interactions with bacterial enterotoxins by NMR and computational methods

As a step to delineate a strategy of ligand design for cholera toxin (CT), NMR studies were performed on several mimics of the GM1 ganglioside oligosaccharide. The conformation of these analogues was investigated first in solution and then upon binding to cholera toxin by transferred nuclear Overhauser effect (TR-NOE) measurements. It was demonstrated that CT selects a conformation similar to the global minima of the free saccharides from the ensemble of presented conformations. No evidence of major conformational distortions was obtained, but one or two of the available conformers of the hydroxyacid side chain appear to be selected in the bound state. The NMR data were interpreted with the aid of computer models, generated and analyzed by using a combination of different approaches (MacroModels' MC/EM and MC/SD, Autodock, and GRID). Analysis of the NMR data supported by computational studies allowed us to interpret the experimental observations and to derive workable models of the ligand:toxin complexes. These models suggest that the higher affinity of the (R)-lactic acid derivative 3 may stem from lipophilic interactions with a hydrophobic area in the toxin binding site located in the vicinity of the sialic acid side chain binding region of the CT:GM1 complex, and formed by the side chain of Ile-58 and Lys-34. Thus, the models obtained have allowed us to make useful design suggestions for the improvement of ligand affinity.     

Characterization of low-energy chlorophylls in the PSI-LHCI supercomplex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. A site-selective fluorescence study

Almost all photosystem I (PSI) complexes from oxygenic photosynthetic organisms contain chlorophylls that absorb at longer wavelength than that of the primary electron donor P700. We demonstrate here that the low-energy pool of chlorophylls in the PSI-LHCI complex from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, containing five to six pigments, is significantly blue-shifted (A(max) at 700 nm at 4 K) compared to that in the PSI core preparations from several species of cyanobacteria and in PSI-LHCI particles from higher plants. This makes them almost isoenergetic with the primary donor. However, they keep the other characteristic features of "red" chlorophylls: clear spectral separation from the bulk chlorophylls, big Stokes shift revealing pronounced electron-phonon coupling, and large homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening of approximately 170 and approximately 310 cm(-1), respectively.     

X-ray diffraction and solid-state NMR studies of a germanium binuclear complex

A compound formulated as (C4H12N2)[Ge2(pmida)2(OH)2] x 4 H2O (where pmida(4-) = N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetate and C4H12N2(2+) = piperazinedium cation), containing the anionic [Ge2(pmida)2(OH)2]2- complex, has been synthesised by the hydrothermal approach and its structure determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Several high-resolution solid-state magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR techniques, in particular two-dimensional 1H-X(13C,31P) heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) and 1H-1H homonuclear correlation (HOMCOR) experiments incorporating a frequency-switched Lee-Goldburg (FS-LG) decoupling scheme, have been employed for the first time in such a material. Using these tools in tandem affords an excellent general approach to study the structure of other inorganic-organic hybrids. We assigned the NMR resonances with the help of C...H and P...H internuclear distances obtained through systematic statistical analyses of the crystallographic data. The compound was further characterised by powder X-ray diffraction techniques, IR and Raman spectroscopy, and by elemental and thermal analyses (thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry).     

Structural basis for discriminative regulation of gene expression by adenine- and guanine-sensing mRNAs

Metabolite-sensing mRNAs, or "riboswitches," specifically interact with small ligands and direct expression of the genes involved in their metabolism. Riboswitches contain sensing "aptamer" modules, capable of ligand-induced structural changes, and downstream regions, harboring expression-controlling elements. We report the crystal structures of the add A-riboswitch and xpt G-riboswitch aptamer modules that distinguish between bound adenine and guanine with exquisite specificity and modulate expression of two different sets of genes. The riboswitches form tuning fork-like architectures, in which the prongs are held in parallel through hairpin loop interactions, and the internal bubble zippers up to form the purine binding pocket. The bound purines are held by hydrogen bonding interactions involving conserved nucleotides along their entire periphery. Recognition specificity is associated with Watson-Crick pairing of the encapsulated adenine and guanine ligands with uridine and cytosine, respectively.     

Bioavailability, bioaccumulation and tolerance of chromium: consequences in the food chain of freshwater ecosystems

Many abiotic and biotic factors can influence the partitioning equilibrium of heavy metals, thus influencing metal impact on aquatic environments. Unicellular algal species release soluble organic substances able to complex metals. In our laboratory a Cr-tolerant strain was selected and isolated from a wild type strain of Scenedesmus acutus. The exudates released by the two strains counteracted the growth inhibition caused by Cr(VI) and the exudates of the Cr-tolerant strain were more effective. On the contrary, the exudates did not reduce chromium toxicity to the cladoceran Daphnia magna. The reduction of chromium effect on algae seems the consequence of an algae-specific interaction among Cr(VI), exudates and algal cells. Chromium uptake resulted to be energy-dependent since bioaccumulation rate in subdued light condition was lower than at high light intensity. The effect of Cr(VI) on algae changed depending on metabolism of the cells and in particular it seemed to be related to the bioaccumulation rate. Tolerance in the selected strain could not be ascribed to a lower uptake of chromium. The difference in sensitivity to chromium between the two strains was exploited to evaluate if tolerance acquired by algae could have consequences for Daphnia. After treatment with Cr(VI), the two strains of S. acutus were used as food source for D. magna. The results indicate that chromium is accumulated by algae in a form not available for daphnids and that Cr tolerance acquired by the algae can be of some advantage to the consumer organism.     

Gallium metal mediated allylation of carbonyl compounds and imines under solvent-free conditions

Gallium metal is effective in mediating the allylation of various carbonyl compounds and imines under solvent-free conditions, with the application of sonic energy, affording the corresponding homoallylic alcohols and amines. The imines themselves were also prepared under solventless conditions in high yield, thereby establishing a two-step solvent-free synthesis of homoallylic amines. In comparison, indium metal produced a mixture of the desired homoallylic secondary amine and the bis-allylated species via an iminium ion intermediate.     

Solvent and temperature effects on the fluorescence and competitive photoreactions of cis-9-styrylanthracene

A fluorimetric and photochemical study of cis-9-styrylanthracene as a function of temperature has been carried out in different solvents with the aim of answering some open questions about the behavior of its first excited singlet state, S₁. In non-polar solvents, a parallel photoreactive pathway, leading to a cyclization adduct, was found to compete with fluorescence and isomerization already at 200 K, its contribution increasing markedly with temperature. The cis » trans photoisomerization occurs prevalently by a triplet mechanism, a detectable contribution of diabatic and adiabatic isomerization in S₁ being operative in these solvents from room temperature upwards. In polar solvents, the main deactivation pathway competitive with fluorescence is isomerization to trans, which occurs prevalently through a mixed singlet mechanism with a major diabatic and a minor adiabatic components.