Cyclopropane chemistry. Part 5 [1,2]. Hexafluorocyclopropane as a source of difluorocarbene

Thermolysis of hexafluorocyclopropane in the presence of ethylene, propene, vinyl chloride, and vinyl bromide gives good yields of the corresponding 1,1-difluorocyclopropanes, formed by addition of difluorocarbene to the olefin. The tetrafluoroethylene formed dimerises to octafluorocyclobutane, co-dimerises with the olefin, or survives, depending on the reaction conditions. With allene, hexafluorocyclopropane gives 1-(difluoromethylene)cyclopropane, 2,2,3,3-tetrafluorospiropentane, and products derived from tetrafluoroethylene and allene.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Three Homoleptic Bismuth Silanolates: [Bi(OSiR3)3] (R = Me,Et, iPr)

The bismuth tris(triorganosilanolates) [Bi(OSiR₃)₃] ( 1 , R = Me; 2 , R = Et; 3 , R = iPr) were prepared by reaction of R₃SiOH with [Bi(OtBu)₃]. Compound 1 crystallizes in the triclinic space group with Z = 2 and the lattice constants a = 10.323(1) Å, b = 13.805(1) Å, c = 21.096(1) Å and α = 91.871(4)°, β = 94.639(3)°, γ = 110.802(3)°. In the solid state compound 1 is a trimer as result of weak intermolecular bismuth‐oxygen interactions with Bi–O distances in the range 2.686(6)–3.227(3) Å. The coordination at the bismuth atoms Bi(1) and Bi(3) is best described as 3 + 2 coordination whereas Bi(2) shows a 3 + 3 coordination. The intramolecular Bi–O distances fall in the range 2.041(3)–2.119(3) Å. Compound 3 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbcm with Z = 4 and the lattice constants a = 7.201(1) Å, b = 23.367(5) Å and c = 20.893(1) Å, whereas the triethylsilyl‐derivative 2 is liquid. In contrast to [Bi(OSiMe₃)₃] ( 1 ) compound 3 is monomeric in the solid state, but shows similar intramolecular Bi–O distances in the range 1.998(2)–2.065(5) Å. The bismuth silanolates are highly soluble in common organic solvents and strongly moisture sensitive. Compound 1 shows the lowest thermal stability.     

Optical spectroscopy of RuC: 18,000-24,000 cm(-1)

The optical spectrum of diatomic RuC has been recorded from 17 800 to 24 200 cm(-1). Three previously unidentified excited electronic states were analyzed and identified as having Omega' = 0, Omega' = 2, and Omega' = 3. The Omega' = 3 state was determined to be a 3Delta3 state that is suggested to arise from a mixture of the 10sigma(2)11sigma(2)5pi(3)2delta(3)12sigma(1)6pi(1) and 10sigma(2)11sigma(1)5pi(3)2delta(3)12sigma(2)6pi(1) electronic configurations. Three additional bands belonging to the previously observed [18.1] (1)Pi<--X (1)Sigma(+) system were analyzed to obtain B(e) (')=0.558 244(48) cm(-1), alpha(e) (')=0.004 655(27) cm(-1), omegae' = 887.201(37) cm(-1), and omega(e) 'xe' = 5.589(7) cm(-1) for the 102Ru 12C isotopomer (1sigma error limits). A Rydberg-Klein-Rees analysis was then performed using the determined spectroscopic constants of the [18.1] 1Pi state, and similar analyses were performed for the previously observed states. The resulting potential energy curves are provided for the 100Ru 12C, 101Ru 12C, 102Ru 12C, and 104Ru 12C isotopic species.     

Tilt of atomic force microscope cantilevers: effect on spring constant and adhesion measurements

In atomic force microscopy, the cantilevers are mounted under a certain tilt angle alpha with respect to the sample surface. In this paper, we show that this increases the effective spring constant by typically 10-20%. The effective spring constant of a rectangular cantilever of length L can be obtained by dividing the measured spring constant by cos2 alpha(1 - 2D tan alpha/L). Here, alpha is the tilt angle and D is the size of the tip. In colloidal probe experiments, D has to be replaced by the radius of the attached particle. To determine the effect of tilt experimentally, the adhesion force between spherical borosilicate particles and planar silicon oxide surfaces was measured at tilt angles between 0 degrees and 35 degrees. The experiments revealed a significant decrease of the mean apparent adhesion force with a tilt of typically 20-30% at alpha = 20 degrees. In addition, they demonstrate that the adhesion depends drastically on the precise position of contact on the particle surface.     

Chlorinated briarane-type diterpenoids from the gorgonian coral Ellisella robusta (Ellisellidae)

Four chlorinated metabolites featuring briarane carbon skeletons have been isolated from the gorgonian coral Ellisella robusta, which was collected off the coast of southern Taiwan: two new natural products, robustolides D (1) and E (2), and two known metabolites, robustolides F (3) and G (4). The structures of metabolites 1–4 were determined by spectroscopic methods, using 1D and 2D NMR in particular. The structures and absolute stereochemistry of robustolides D (1), F (3), and G (4) were directly established by X-ray diffraction analysis. Robustolide D (1) is the first metabolite of briarane-related natural products found to possess two halogen atoms.     

Investigation of ion/molecule reactions as a quantification method for phosphorylated positional isomers. an FT-ICR approach

A rapid and accurate method of quantifying positional isomeric mixtures of phosphorylated hexose and N-acetylhexosamine monosacchrides by using gas-phase ion/molecule reactions coupled with FT-ICR mass spectrometry is described. Trimethyl borate, the reagent gas, reacts readily with the singly charged negative ions of phosphorylated monosaccharides to form two stable product ions corresponding to the loss of one or two neutral molecules of methanol from the original adduct. Product distribution in the ion/molecule reaction spectra differs significantly for isomers phosphorylated in either the 1- or the 6-position. As a result, the percents of total ion current of these product ions for a mixture of the two isomers vary with its composition. In order to determine the percentage of each isomer in an unknown mixture, a multicomponent quantification method is utilized in which the percents of total ion current of the two product ions for each pure monosaccharide phosphate and the mixture are used in a two-equation, two-unknown system. The applicability of this method is demonstrated by successfully quantifying mock mixtures of four different isomeric pairs: Glucose-1-phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate; mannose-1-phosphate and mannose-6-phosphate; galactose-1-phosphate and galactose-6-phosphate; N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate and N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate. The effects of mixture concentrations and ion/molecule reaction conditions on the quantification are also discussed. Our results demonstrate that this assay is a fast, sensitive, and robust method to quantify isomeric mixtures of phosphorylated monosaccharides.     

The rat liver mitochondrial proteins

Subcellular fractionation increases the probability of detection of low-abundance proteins. We prepared a fraction highly enriched in mitochondrial proteins from rat liver. The proteins were analyzed by two-dimensional (2-D) electrophoresis using broad-and narrow-range immobilized pH gradient strips, and identified by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). 192 different gene products were detected, of which approximately 70% were enzymes with a broad spectrum of catalytic activities. Most of the identified proteins were detected in other rat protein samples as well, which were analyzed in our laboratory. Eight gene products were detected for the first time. These were represented by one spot each, whereas most of the frequently detected proteins were represented by multiple spots. In average, approximately 10-15 spots corresponded to one gene product.     

A microcapillary system for simultaneous, parallel microwave-assisted synthesis

A continuous flow, microwave-assisted, parallel-capillary microreactor has been developed. Libraries of drug candidates were prepared on the milligram scale with this reactor by injecting plugs of reagents from separate syringes into common reaction capillaries, thereby producing discrete compounds in excellent yield and purity. Microwave irradiation provides the necessary energy that existing room-temperature microreactor technology lacks for higher activation barrier transformations, producing the required amounts of desired compounds in minutes or less.     

Surface amplification of invasive cleavage products

A major focus of current efforts in genomics is to elucidate the genetic variations extent within the human population, and to study the effects of these variations upon the human system. The most common type of genetic variations are the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which occur every 500-1000 nt in the genome. Large-scale population association studies to study the biological or medical significance of such variations may require the analysis of hundreds of thousands of SNPs on thousands of individuals. We are pursuing development of an approach to large-scale SNP analysis that combines the specificity of invasive cleavage reactions with the parallelism of high density DNA arrays. A surface-immobilized probe oligonucleotide is specifically cleaved in the presence of a complementary target sequence in unamplified human genomic DNA, yielding a 5' phosphate group. High sensitivity detection of this reaction product on the surface is achieved by the use of rolling circle amplification, with an approximate concentration detection limit of 10 fM target DNA. This combination of very specific surface cleavage and highly sensitive surface detection will make possible the rapid and parallel analysis of genetic variations across large populations.     

Delineation of RAID1, the RACK1 interaction domain located within the unique N-terminal region of the cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase, PDE4D5

Background  

The cyclic AMP specific phosphodiesterase, PDE4D5 interacts with the β-propeller protein RACK1 to form a signaling scaffold complex in cells. Two-hybrid analysis of truncation and mutant constructs of the unique N-terminal region of the cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase, PDE4D5 were used to define a domain conferring interaction with the signaling scaffold protein, RACK1.