Aromatic Radical Anions with Parallel or Crossed Triple Bonds

Proton hyperfine data are reported for the radical anions of 1,8-di (propyn-1-yl)-naphthalene (I), 7,8,12,13-tetradehydro-10,11-dihydro-9H-cyclodeca[d,e]naphthalene (II) and 2,2′-di(propyn-1-yl)-biphenyl (III), as well as of 5,6,11,12-tetradehydro-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-dibenzo[a,c]cyclodecene (IV) and its 8,8,9,9-tetradeuterio-derivative (IV-d₄). The triple bonds in I and II can be regarded as roughly parallel, while those in IV (and IV-d₄) may be considered as crossed. The π-spin distributions in I? to IV? are discussed in terms of simple MO models which suggest a weekly bonding interaction between the acetylenic fragments in IV?, in contrast to III? where such an effect appears to be negligible. The importance of an analogous interaction in I? and II? is difficult to deduce, since its inclusion into a MO model does not substantially affect the π-spin distribution in these radical anions.     

Nucleoside und Nucleotide. Teil 16. Verhalten von 1-(2′-Desoxy-β-D-ribofuranosyl)-2(1 H)-pyrimidinon-5′-triphosphat, 1-(2′-Desoxy-β-D-ribofuranosyl)-2(1 H)pyridinon-5′-triphosphat und 4-Amino-1-(2′-Desoxy-β-D-ribofuranosyl)-2(1 H)-pyridinon-5′-triphosphat gegenüber DNA-Polymerase

Nucleosides and Nucleotides. Part 16. The Behaviour of 1-(2′-Deoxy-β-D -ribofuranosyl)-2(1H)-pyrimidinone-5′-triphosphate, 1-(2′-Deoxy-β-D -ribofuranosyl-2(1H))-pyridinone-5′-triphosphate and 4-Amino-1-(2′-desoxy-β-D -ribofuranosyl)-2(1H)-pyridinone-5′-triphosphate towards DNA Polymerase The behaviour of nucleotide base analogs in the DNA synthesis in vitro was studied. The investigated nucleoside-5′-triphosphates 1-(2′-deoxy-β-D -ribofuranosyl)-2(1 H)-pyrimidinone-5′-triphosphate (pppM_d), 1-(2′-deoxy-β-D -ribofuranosyl)-2(1 H)-pyridinone-5′-triphosphate (pppII_d) and 4-amino-1-(2′-deoxy-β-D -ribofuranosyl)-2(1 H)-pyridinone-5′-triphosphate (pppZ_d) can be considered to be analogs of 2′-deoxy-cytidine-5′-triphosphate. However, their ability to undergo base pairing to the complementary guanine is decreased. When pppM_d, pppII_d or pppZ_d are substituted for pppC_d in the enzymatic synthesis of DNA by DNA polymerase no incorporation of these analogs is observed. They exhibit only a weak inhibition of the DNA synthesis. The mode of the inhibition is uncompetitive which shows that these nucleotide analogs cannot serve as substrates for the DNA polymerase.     

Zerlegungen der Grenzgruppe des einfach-isotropen Raumes Jn

According to Strubecker an affine metric n-space (J_n,g) over a field F of char. 2 (n2) is called simply-isotropic if Radg is one-dimensional; let Fu be the totally isotropic direction w.r. to g. The group B_g of motions of (J_n,g) contains an invariant (2n–1)-dimensional subgroup G, called thelimit group (Grenzgruppe) which maps planes parallel to Fu into parallel ones. In case n=3, n=5, F= Strubecker [12], [13], [14] gave several factorizations G=G_L oG_R of G into a commutative product of subgroups acting 1-transitively (=regularly) on J_n.This note deals with all factorizations of this kind; it followes that n must be odd. A factorization is invariant under B_g iff n=3. Finally it is shown for each factorization of G how the space J_n can be made into a two sided incidence group and into a kinematic space in the sense of Karzel [5], and how the two structures are related to each other.

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Herrn Professor Dr. Karl Strubecker zum 75. Geburtstag gewidmet     

Highly substituted azulene dyes as multifunctional NLO and electron-transfer compounds

Two highly substituted azulene derivatives were synthesised by Pd-mediated dimerisation from the corresponding tolan species. One azulene derivative (2) has donor functionalities (dianisylaminophenyl and dianisylamino) in the 1-, 2-, 3- and 6-positions, while the other (1) has donors (dianisylaminophenyl) in the 2- and 6-positions and acceptors (nitrophenyl) in the 1- and 3-positions. Each azulene derivative shows strong bond length alternation in the solid state, determined by X-ray crystal analysis, and an intense CT band around 450-500 nm in its UV/Vis spectrum. The first-order hyperpolarisability of 1 and of 2 was measured by hyper-Rayleigh scattering and is about that of disperse red DR1. Both azulene derivatives show multiple oxidation processes. The intramolecular adiabatic ET behaviour of the mixed valence radical cations of 1 and of 2 was investigated by UV/Vis/NIR spectroelectrochemistry. The intervalence-CT band of 1(+) could be analysed by the Generalised Mulliken-Hush theory, which yields an electronic coupling V=1140 cm(-1) for the optically induced adiabatic hole transfer.     

Analysis of human brain tissue, brain tumors and tumor cells by infrared spectroscopic mapping

This study uses infrared (IR) spectroscopic, point detection, mapping procedures to examine tissue samples from normal brain specimens and from astrocytic gliomas, the most frequent human brain tumors. Model systems were derived from cultured glioma cell lines. IR spectra of normal tissue sections distinguished white matter from gray matter by increased spectral contributions from lipids and cholesterol. Qualitatively the same differences were found in IR spectra of low and high grade glioma tissue sections pointing to a significant reduction of brain lipids with increasing malignancy. Whereas spectral contributions of proteins and lipids were similar in IR spectra of glioma cells and tissues, nucleic acid bands were more intense for cells suggesting higher proliferative activities. For statistical analyses of IR spectroscopic maps from 71 samples, a parameter for the lipid to protein ratio was introduced involving the CH(2) symmetric stretch band with lipids as main contributors and the amide I band of proteins. As this parameter correlated with the grade of gliomas obtained from standard histopathological examination, it was applied to classify brain tissue sections based on IR spectroscopic mapping.     

Near infrared Raman spectroscopic mapping of native brain tissue and intracranial tumors

This study assessed the diagnostic potential of Raman spectroscopic mapping by evaluating its ability to distinguish between normal brain tissue and the human intracranial tumors gliomas and meningeomas. Seven Raman maps of native specimens were collected ex vivo by a Raman spectrometer with 785 nm excitation coupled to a microscope with a motorized stage. Variations within each Raman map were analyzed by cluster analysis. The dependence of tissue composition on the tissue type in cluster averaged Raman spectra was shown by linear combinations of reference spectra. Normal brain tissue was found to contain higher levels of lipids, intracranial tumors have more hemoglobin and lower lipid to protein ratios, meningeomas contain more collagen with maximum collagen content in normal meninges. One sample was studied without freezing. Whereas tumor regions did not change significantly, spectral changes were observed in the hemoglobin component after snap freezing and thawing to room temperature. The results constitute a basis for subsequent Raman studies to develop classification models for diagnosis of brain tissue.     

Self-assembly of amphiphilic hexapyridinium cations at the air/water interface and on HOPG surfaces.

Mono- and multilayers of a novel amphiphilic hexapyridinium cation with six eicosyl chains (3) are spread at the air/water interface as well as on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). On water, the monolayer of 3 is investigated by recording surface pressure/area and surface potential/area isotherms, and by Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). Self-organized tubular micelles with an internal edge-on orientation of molecules form at the air/water interface at low surface pressure whereas multilayers are present at high surface pressure, after a phase transition. Packing motifs suggesting a tubular arrangement of the constituting molecules were gleaned from atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers being transferred on HOPG at different surface pressures. These LB film structures are compared to the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 3 formed via adsorption from a supersaturated solution, which is studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). On HOPG the SAM of 3 consists of nanorods with a highly ordered edge-on packing of the aromatic rings and an arrangement of alkyl chains which resembles the packing of molecules at the air/water interface at low surface pressure. Additional details of the molecular packing were gleaned from single-crystal X-ray structure analysis of the hexapyridinium model compound 2b, which possesses methyl instead of eicosyl residues.     

Surprising Homolytic Gas Phase Co−C Bond Dissociation Energies of Organometallic Aryl-Cobinamides Reveal Notable Non-Bonded Intramolecular Interactions

Aryl-cobalamins are a new class of organometallic structural mimics of vitamin B₁₂ designed as potential ‘antivitamins B₁₂’. Here, the first cationic aryl-cobinamides are described, which were synthesized using the newly developed diaryl-iodonium method. The aryl-cobinamides were obtained as pairs of organometallic coordination isomers, the stereo-structure of which was unambiguously assigned based on homo- and heteronuclear NMR spectra. The availability of isomers with axial attachment of the aryl group, either at the ‘beta’ or at the ‘alpha’ face of the cobalt-center allowed for an unprecedented comparison of the organometallic reactivity of such pairs. The homolytic gas-phase bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of the coordination-isomeric phenyl- and 4-ethylphenyl-cobinamides were determined by ESI-MS threshold CID experiments, furnishing (Co−C )-BDEs of 38.4 and 40.6 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively, for the two β-isomers, and the larger BDEs of 46.6 and 43.8 kcal mol⁻¹ for the corresponding α-isomers. Surprisingly, the observed (Co−C )-BDEs of the Co_β-aryl-cobinamides were smaller than the (Co−C )-BDE of Co_β-methyl-cobinamide. DFT studies and the magnitudes of the experimental (Co−C )-BDEs revealed relevant contributions of non-bonded interactions in aryl-cobinamides, notably steric strain between the aryl and the cobalt-corrin moieties and non-bonded interactions with and among the peripheral sidechains.     

“… to make Chemistry more Applicable and Generally Beneficial”—The Transition in Scientific Perspective in Eighteenth Century Chemistry

In 1751, the Swedish chemist Johan Gottschalk Wallerius first differentiated between “pure” and “applied” chemistry, a distinction which was quickly adopted by the other branches of science. Behind this was a new scientific concept of chemistry which emphasized the importance of applying chemistry's accumulated knowledge and its capabilities of providing for the general economic benefit. It also provided chemistry with a new position within the hierarchy of the sciences as well as with a new function in society. The reasons behind and causes of the change in scientific perspective associated with this concept point to the social and institutional conditions under which this field has developed into an independent academic discipline.     

Rapid and sensitive identification of epitope-containing peptides by direct matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem mass spectrometry of peptides affinity-bound to antibody beads

A method has been developed for rapid and sensitive identification of epitope-containing peptides, based on direct MALDI-MS/MS analysis of epitope-containing peptides affinity bound to affinity beads. This technique provides sequence information of the epitope that allows unambiguous identification of the epitope either by database searching or de novo sequencing. With MALDI-MS, affinity beads with bound peptides can be placed directly on the MALDI target and analyzed. Coupling a MALDI source to an orthogonal injection quadrupole time-of-flight (QqTOF) mass spectrometer allows direct sequencing of the bound peptides. In contrast to ESI-MS/MS, elution of the affinity-bound peptides followed by additional concentration and purification steps is not required, thus reducing the potential for sample loss. Direct mass spectrometric sequencing of affinity-bound peptides eliminates the need for chemical or enzymatic sequencing. Other advantages of this direct MALDI-MS/MS analysis of epitope-containing peptides bound to the affinity beads include its sensitivity (femtomole levels) and speed. In addition, direct analysis of peptides on affinity beads does not adversely affect the high mass accuracy of a QqTOF, and database searching can be performed on the MS/MS spectra obtained. In proof-of-principle experiments, this method has been demonstrated on beads containing immobilized antibodies against phosphotyrosine, the c-myc epitope tag, as well as immobilized avidin. Furthermore, de novo sequencing of epitope-containing peptides is demonstrated. The first application of this method was with anti-FLAG-tag affinity beads, where direct MALDI MS/MS was used to determine an unexpected enzymatic cleavage site on a growth factor protein.