A PHYTOCHROME PHOTOTRANSFORMATION STUDY USING TWO-LASER/TWO-COLOR FLASH PHOTOLYSIS: ANALYSIS OF THE DECAY MECHANISM OF I700*

The mechanism of I₇₀₀ decay, representing an early event in the phytochrome P_r→ P_fr phototransformation, was reanalyzed in the microsecond range by conventional laser flash photolysis as well as by two-laser/two-color flash photolysis. Three kinetic models that might describe the I₇₀₀ decay mechanism following P_r excitation were considered: a parallel, a sequential, and an equilibrium model. These models were used to mathematically simulate both the one- and two-laser flash experiments in an effort to select the model best describing the I₇₀₀ decay. The sequential model could be excluded already on the basis of the one-laser flash photolysis results alone. Discussion of the two-laser/two-color flash rcsults in the context of the equilibrium and the parallel models is presented.     

Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Polymers from the Polymerisation of Methacrylate-Substituted Oxotantalum Clusters with Methylmethacrylate: A Thermomechanical and Spectroscopic Study

New inorganic-organic hybrid materials were prepared by free-radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with methacrylate-substituted oxotantalum cluster [Ta₄O₄(OEt)₈(OMc)₄] and their properties evaluated. The cluster was prepared by the reaction of the parent alkoxide with methacrylic acid. Samples of the hybrid materials were produced with Ta-cluster to methyl methacrylate in the ratios of 1:50 and 1:100 and were characterized by thermal and spectroscopic techniques. The glass transition temperatures of the hybrid materials are shifted to higher temperatures than pure PMMA as a result of cross-linking of the polymer by the oxotantalum clusters. The increase in T_g is also observed from the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Evidence of crosslinking between the Ta-cluster and PMMA is obtained from infrared spectroscopic study. Surface studies performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) provide information about the atomic concentrations of the surface and indicate tantalum bonded to oxygen.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the atmosphere: monitoring, sources, sinks and fate. II: Sinks and fate

This paper reviews the transformation processes that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) undergo in the atmosphere. These processes can take place both in the gas phase and in the particulate/aerosol one. Among the gas-phase processes, the most important ones are the daytime reaction with *OH and the nighttime reaction with *NO3. The relative importance of the two processes depends on the particular PAH molecule. For instance, gaseous naphthalene is mainly removed from the atmosphere upon reaction with *OH, while gaseous phenanthrene is mainly removed by reaction with *NO3. Oxy-, hydroxy-, and nitro-PAHs are the main transformation intermediates. Reaction with ozone and photolysis play a secondary role in the transformation of gaseous PAHs. The particle-associated processes are usually slower than the gas-phase ones, thus the gas-phase PAHs usually have shorter atmospheric lifetimes than those found on particulate. Due to the higher residence time on particulate when compared with the gas phase, direct or assisted photolysis plays a relevant role in the transformation of particle-associated PAHs. Among the other processes taking place in the condensed phase, nitration plays a very important role due to the health impact of nitro-PAHs, some of them being the most powerful mutagens found so far in atmospheric particulate extracts.     

Highly enantioselective copper(I)-fesulphos-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides

The catalyst system formed by Cu(CH3CN)4ClO4 and the planar chiral P,S-ligand Fesulphos behaves as a very efficient chiral Lewis acid in the catalytic asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides. This catalyst shows a remarkable reactivity at low catalyst loading (0.5-3 mol %), affording in good yields the endo adducts with exceptional levels of enantioselectivity (up to >99% ee). This catalytic asymmetric procedure has a broad structural scope with regard to both azomethine and dipolarophile substitution. The first examples of catalytic asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with ketimine-derived azomethines are reported.     

Counterion exchange selectivity coefficients at water-in-oil microemulsion interface

The counterion binding at a water/Aerosol-OT (AOT)/heptane microemulsion interface was treated in the context of the pseudo-phase ion exchange formalism. Two approaches were used to determine the selectivity coefficient for copper/sodium counterion binding at the AOT microemulsion interface: measurements of the Cu(II) concentration taken up by the reverse micelle in a Winsor II microemulsion system and steady-state emission quenching measurements of an anionic water-solubilized probe, the tris-(4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine) ruthenium (II) ion. In addition, the selectivity coefficient for methyl viologen/sodium at the microemulsion surface was determined by the same photophysical technique. The value for copper (II)/sodium exchange (K(Cu/Na)) is 1.1+/-0.3 and that for methyl viologen/sodium (K(MV/Na)) is 0.9+/-0.3. The results show that the pseudo-phase ion exchange model can be used to obtain the selectivity coefficient in a microemulsion system.     

Divergent and solvent dependent reactions of 4-ethoxycarbonyl-3-methyl-1-tert-butoxycarbonyl-1,2-diaza-1,3-diene with enamines

Starting from 1-tert-butyloxycarbonyl-3-methyl-4-ethoxycarbonyl-1,2-diaza-1,3-diene and β,β,β and α,β-substituted enamines a careful choice of solvents and temperatures allows the divergent synthesis of 5,6-dihydro-4H-pyridazines, 2-(1-N-boc-hydrazono-ethyl)-4-pyrrolidin-1-yl-but-3-enoic acid ethyl ester, and 1-amino-pyrroles. Moreover, some interesting conclusions about the mechanism(s) of the reaction have been drawn by careful analysis of products' structure and distribution. Thus, the reaction may proceed through a stereospecific [4+2] cycloaddition mechanism giving rise to 5,6-dihydro-4H-pyridazines or by simple addition or domino addition/cyclization pathways affording, respectively, 2-(1-N-boc-hydrazono-ethyl)-4-pyrrolidin-1-yl-but-3-enoic acid ethyl ester and 1-amino-pyrroles (formally the [3+2] cycloaddition product).     

Geminate rebinding in R-state hemoglobin: kinetic and computational evidence for multiple hydrophobic pockets

Biphasic geminate rebinding of CO to myoglobin upon flash photolysis has been associated to ligand distribution in hydrophobic cavities, structurally detected by time-resolved crystallography, xenon occupancy, and molecular simulations. We show that the time course of CO rebinding to human hemoglobin also exhibits a biphasic geminate rebinding when the protein is entrapped in wet nanoporous silica gel. A simple branched kinetic scheme, involving the bound state A, the primary docking site C, and a secondary binding site B was used to calculate the microscopic rates and the time-dependent population of the intermediate species. The activation enthalpies of the associated transitions were determined in the absence and presence of 80% glycerol. Potential hydrophobic docking cavities within the alpha and beta chains of hemoglobin were identified by computational modeling using xenon as a probe. A hydrophobic pocket on the distal side of the heme, corresponding to Xe4 in Mb, and a nearby site that does not have a correspondence in Mb were detected. Neither potential xenon sites on the proximal side nor a migration channel from the distal to proximal site was located. The small enthalpic barriers between states B and C are in very good agreement with the location of the xenon sites on the distal side. Furthermore, the connection between the two xenon sites is relatively open, explaining why the decreased mobility of the protein with viscosity only slightly perturbs the energetics of ligand migration between the two sites.     

Analysis of the Temperature and Composition Dependence of Viscosimetric Properties of 2-Butanone <Emphasis Type="Bold">+</Emphasis> 2-Butanol Solvent Mixtures

Kinematic viscosities were measured for 2-butanone + 2-butanol binary liquid mixtures with a capillary Ubbelohde routine viscometer in the temperature range from 273.15 to 353.15 K at atmospheric pressure, and covering the whole miscibility field (0x_i1). Experimental data have been correlated by means of different empirical or semiempirical relationships, such as =(T), =(x_i), and =(T, x_i). Viscosity deviations, , from ideal behavior are negative at all experimental conditions, confirming that structure breaking effects prevail in the liquids. Furthermore, the thermodynamics of viscous flow and excess Gibbs energy of activation of viscous flow, G*^E, have been calculated. As an alternative and complementary approach to such investigations, the fluidity () of this binary system has been analyzed by the modified—Batschinski theory. The results are discussed in terms of the specific molecular interactions between the mixture components.     

Rapid determination of minority organic acids in honey by high-performance liquid chromatography

A rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of organic acids in honey is reported. Malic, maleic, citric, succinic and fumaric acids were identified and quantified in 15 min. First time repeatibility, reproducibility and recoveries were determined out for these acids in honey samples. Maleic acid was also quantified for first time by a chromatographic method. The organic acids were removed from honey by using a solid-phase extraction procedure with anion-exchange cartridges. Previously, the solution of honey was adjusted to pH 10.50 with 0.1 M NaOH and stirred for 15 min at room temperature. Then, this solution was adjusted to pH 5.00 with 0.1 M H2SO4. This procedure was carried out to avoid interferences in the baseline. The chromatographic separation was achieved with only one Spherisorb ODS-2 S5 column thermostated at 25 degrees C. Metaphosphoric acid (pH 2.20) was used as mobile phase at a flow-rate of 0.7 ml/min. Organic acids were detected with a UV-vis detector (215 nm). The precision results showed that the relative standard deviations of the repeatability and reproducibility were < or =3.20% and < or =4.86%, respectively. The recoveries of the organic acids ranged from 62.9 to 99.4%. Under optimum conditions the detection limits ranged from 0.0064 to 7.57 mg/kg and the quantification limits ranged from 0.025 to 10.93 mg/kg.     

Selenolate gold complexes with aurophilic Au(I)-Au(I) and Au(I)-Au(III) interactions

The gold(I) selenolate compound [Au(2)(SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)] (dppf = 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene) has been prepared by reaction of [Au(2)Cl(2)(mu-dppf)] with PhSeSiMe(3) in a molar ratio 1:2. This complex reacts with gold(I) or gold(III) derivatives to give polynuclear gold(I)-gold(I) or gold(I)-gold(III) complexes of the type [Au(4)(mu-SePh)(2)(PPh(3))(2)(mu-dppf)](OTf)(2), [Au(3)(C(6)F(5))(3)(mu-SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)], or [Au(4)(C(6)F(5))(6)(mu-SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)], with bridging selenolate ligands. The reaction of [Au(2)(SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)] with 1 equiv of AgOTf leads to the formation of the insoluble Ag(SePh) and the compound [Au(2)(mu-SePh)(mu-dppf)]OTf. The complexes [Au(4)(C(6)F(5))(6)(mu-SePh)(2)(mu-dppf)] and [Au(2)(mu-SePh)(mu-dppf)]OTf (two different solvates) have been characterized by X-ray diffraction studies and show the presence of weak gold(I)-gold(III) interactions in the former and intra- and intermolecular gold(I)-gold(I) inter-actions in the later.