Effect of cholesterol on the properties of phospholipid membranes. 4. Interatomic voids

The properties of the interatomic voids present in fully hydrated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC)-cholesterol mixed membranes of different compositions are analyzed in detail using a generalized variant of the Voronoi-Delaunay method on the basis of computer simulation results. The systems investigated are chosen from both sides of the DMPC-cholesterol miscibility gap; the pure DMPC bilayer has also been included in the analysis as a reference system. The results obtained show that the empty space is organized in a more compact way, forming larger voids in the presence than in the absence of cholesterol. The voids located in the region of the rigid cholesterol rings become, on average, less spherical, oriented more parallel with the membrane normal axis with increasing cholesterol concentration, whereas an opposite effect of cholesterol is observed in the middle of the membrane among the chain terminal methyl groups. In general, the preferential orientation of the voids is found to strongly correlate with that of the molecules in the hydrocarbon phase of the membranes. The membranes are found to contain rather large voids, the volume of which can be an order of magnitude larger than the largest spherical cavities present in the systems. These voids are elongated or branching channels rather than big empty holes. The voids located among the DMPC and cholesterol molecules are lying preferably parallel with the membrane normal axis. The existence of such empty channels can be of great importance in the cross-membrane permeation of small, uncharged penetrants, in particular, of polar molecules.     

Chemiluminescence and catalysis of decomposition of dispiro(diadamantane-1,2-dioxetane) in the presence of EuIII and TbIII tris(benzoyltrifluoroacetonate) complexes

Catalysis of decomposition of dispiro(diadamantane-1,2-dioxetane) (1) in the presence of Eu^III and Tb^III tris(benzoyltrifluoroacetonate) complexes (Ln(btfa)₃) accompanied by the formation of adamantanone (2) and chemiluminescence (CL) was studied. The rate constants (k ₂) of decomposition of compound1 in the1·Ln(btfa)₃ complexes and their stability constants (K ₁) have been determined. The Arrhenius parameters of decomposition of1 (E _a= 22.4±0.7 kcal mol^?1, logA=10.2±0.8 for1·Tb(btfa)₃ andE _a=23.4±0.6 kcal mol^?1, logA=10.6±0.8 for1·Eu(btfa)₃) and thermodynamic parameters of complex formation (ΔH=?5.5±0.5 kcal mol^?1, ΔS=?10.4±0.7 e.u. for1·Tb(btfa)₃ and ΔH=?5.8±0.5 kcal mol^?1, ΔS=?10.9±0.7 e.u. for1·Eu(btfa)₃) have been calculated from the temperature dependences ofk ₂ andK ₁. The yields of excitation of the Ln(btfa)₃ chelates φ _Eu ^* =0.021±0.006 and φ _Tb ^* =0.12±0.04 have been determined. A higher efficiency of the occupation of the⁵D₄-level of Tb³⁺ compared to those of the⁵D₁- and⁵D₀-levels of Eu³⁺ is caused by different efficiencies of the non-radiative energy dissipation in the Ln³⁺ ion after the intracomplex energy transfer from the³n,π^*-state of2 to the resonance excited levels of lanthanides.     

Chemically initiated electron-exchange luminescence of Ru(bpy)3Cl2 in catalytic reaction with 1,2-dioxetane

We have investigated chemiluminescence activated by Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂ in the reaction of decomposition of 1,2-dioxetane. Catalysis and activation of chemiluminescence of 1,2-dioxetanes by a ruthenium complex occur according to a mechanism of chemically initiated electron exchange, which leads to effective excitation of Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂ with yield =0.20±0.05.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1316–1321, June, 1991.     

On the origin of the splitting of the second maximum in the radial distribution function of amorphous solids

The splitting of the second maximum of the radial distribution function of an irregular atomic packing is regarded as an indication of the amorphous state of a substance. This paper describes the splitting-forming atomic configurations using Delaunay simplices, representing chains of elementary configurations. It is shown that the splitting is formed of chains in which all simplices are nearly regular tetrahedra and quartoctahedra. Translated fromZhumal Struktumoi Khimii, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 78–88, January–February, 1997.     

Spiropyrans and spirooxazines. 3. Synthesis of photochromic 5′-(4,5-diphenyl-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)-spiro[indoline-2,3′-naphtho[2,3-<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>]pyran]

The reaction of 2-hydroxy-3-(4,5-diphenyl-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)-1-naphthaldehyde with 1,2,3,3-tetramethyl-3H-indolium perchlorate afforded photochromic spiro[indoline-2,3′-naphthopyran] containing a 4,5-diphenyloxazole group in position 5′ of the naphthopyran fragment. The merocyanine form of the spiropyran gave complexes with bivalent heavy cations.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 693–697, March, 2005.     

Measurement of intense X-Ray spectra: Methods based on CXR and Ross filter

The interaction between X-ray radiation and the material of secondary targets is simulated using GEANT4 for two methods of measurements of intense X-ray spectra. In the first case, characteristic X-ray radiation (CXR) from the secondary target to the back hemisphere is detected; in the second case, primary radiation passing through pairs of foils (a Ross filter) is registered. Using Ross filters and the CXR technique, the primary spectra of X-ray radiation are recovered. Two methods for recovery primary radiation spectra are compared.