Recoil spectrometry: Ion accelerator based elemental characterisation of surface layers

Recoil Spectrometry covers a group of techniques that are very similar to the well known Rutherford backscattering Spectrometry technique, but with the important difference that one measures the recoiling target atom rather than the projectile ion. This makes it possible to determine both the identity of the recoil and its depth of origin from its energy and velocity, using a suitable detector system. The incident ion is typically high-energy (30–100MeV)³⁵C1,⁸¹Br or¹²⁷I. Low concentrations of light elements such as C, O and N can be profiled in a heavy matrix such as Fe or GaAs. Here we present an overview of mass and energy dispersive recoil Spectrometry and illustrate its successful use in some typical applications.     

On Bateman's method for second kind integral equations

Summary Under suitable conditions, we prove the convergence of the Bateman method for integral equations defined over bounded domains inR ^d ,d1. The proof makes use of Hilbert space methods, and requires the integral operator to be non-negative definite. For one-dimensional integral equations over finite intervals, estimated rates of convergence are obtained which depend on the smoothness of the kernel, but are independent of the inhomogeneous term. In particular, for aC kernel andn reasonably spaced Bateman points, the convergence is shown to be faster than any power of 1/n. Numerical calculations support this result.     

Formation of the unusual alkynyl carboxamide complex, C2H5N(H)C(O)CC[Co2(CO)6]CCo3(CO)9

The reaction of the cluster complex HCC[Co₂(CO)₆]CCo₃(CO)₉ with (or without) BrCCo₃(CO)₉ under Cadiot-Chodkiewicz coupling conditions gave the unusual alkynyl carboxamide complex C₂H₅N(H)C(O)CC[Co₂(CO)₆]CCo₃(CO)₉ rather than a coupled product containing two tricobalt cluster units. Steric demands imposed by the Co₃ cluster allow attack at the least hindered alkyne carbon and stabilise the formed ynamine, so allowing subsequent CO insertion. The product has been characterised by X-ray crystallography.     

Heteroatom transfer to alkenes by N-protected-oxaziridines: new reaction pathways and products

N-Alkoxycarbonyl- and N-carboxamido-oxaziridines are shown to react with aromatic alkenes to give epoxide, aziridine or hydro-oxidation products, in ratios depending on the oxaziridine structure. Chiral oxaziridines can effect epoxidation and hydro-oxidation with promising levels of asymmetric induction.     

Half-sandwich titanium(IV) complexes with Kläui's tripod ligand

Treatment of [Ti(O-i-Pr)(2)Cl(2)] with NaL(OEt) (L(OEt)(-) = [CpCo[P(O)(OEt)(2)](3)](-), Cp = eta(5)-C(5)H(5)) afforded [L(OEt)Ti(O-i-Pr)(2)Cl] that reacted with HCl in ether to give [L(OEt)TiCl(3)] (1). The average Ti-O and Ti-Cl distances in 1 are 1.975 and 2.293 A, respectively. Reaction of titanyl sulfate with NaL(OEt) in water followed by addition of HBF(4) afforded [L(OEt)TiF(3)] (2), the Ti-O and Ti-F distances of which are 2.020(2) and 1.792(2) A, respectively. The Zr(IV) analogue [L(OEt)ZrF(3)] (3) was prepared similarly from zirconyl nitrate, NaL(Oet), and HBF(4) in water. The Zr-O and average Zr-F distances in 3 are 2.139(2) and 1.938(2) A, respectively. Treatment of 1 with tetrachlorocatechol (H(2)Cl(4)cat) afforded [L(OEt)Ti(Cl(4)cat)Cl] (4). The average Ti-O(P), Ti-O(C), and Ti-Cl distances in 4 are 1.972, 1.926, and 2.334 A, respectively. Hydrolysis of 4 in the presence of Et(3)N yielded the mu-oxo dimer [(L(OEt))(2)Ti(2)(Cl(4)cat)(2)(mu-O)] (5). The average Ti-O(P), Ti-O(C), and Ti-O(Ti) distances in 5 are 2.027, 1.926, and 1.7977(9) A. Treatment of 1 with 1,1'-binaphthol (BINOLH(2)) in the presence of Et(3)N afforded [(L(OEt))(2)Ti(2)(mu-O)(2)(mu-BINOL)] x 2BINOLH(2) (6.2BINOLH(2)). Complex 1 is capable of catalyzing ring opening of epoxides with Me(3)SiN(3) under solvent-free conditions presumably via a Ti-azide intermediate.     

Simultaneous determination of clebopride and a major metabolite N-desbenzylclebopride in plasma by capillary gas chromatography-negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry

A procedure for the simultaneous assay of clebopride and its major metabolite N-desbenzylclebopride in plasma has been developed. The method utilizes capillary gas chromatography-negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry with selected-ion monitoring of characteristic ions. Employing 2-ethoxy analogues as internal standards, the benzamides were extracted from basified plasma using dichloromethane. Subsequent reaction with heptafluorobutyric anhydride produced volatile mono- and diheptafluorobutyryl derivatives of clebopride and N-desbenzylclebopride, respectively. The methane negative-ion mass spectra of these derivatives exhibited intense high-mass ions ideal for specific quantitation of low levels in biological fluids. Using this procedure the recovery of the drug and metabolite from human plasma was found to be 84.4 +/- 1.5% (n = 3) and 77.4 +/- 4.7% (n = 3), respectively, at 0.5 ng/ml. Measurement of both compounds down to 0.10 ng/ml with a coefficient of variation of less than 10.5% is described. Plasma levels are reported in four volunteers up to 24 h following oral administration of 1 mg of clebopride malate salt.     

Molecular cluster decay viewed as escape from a potential of mean force

We show that evaporation from a quasistable molecular cluster may be treated as a kinetic problem involving the stochastically driven escape of a molecule from a potential of mean force. We derive expressions for the decay rate, and a relationship between the depth of the potential and the change in system free energy upon loss of a molecule from the cluster. This establishes a connection between kinetic and thermodynamic treatments of evaporation, but also reveals differences in the prefactor in the rate expression. We perform constant energy molecular dynamics simulations of cluster dynamics to calculate potentials of mean force, friction coefficients and effective temperatures for use in the kinetic analysis, and to compare the results with the directly observed escape rates. We also use the simulations to estimate the escape rates by a probabilistic analysis. It is much more efficient to calculate the decay rate by the methods we have developed than it is to monitor escape directly, making these approaches potentially useful for the assessment of molecular cluster stability.     

Theoretical analysis of peptidyl alpha-ketoheterocyclic inhibitors of human neutrophil elastase: Insight into the mechanism of inhibition and the application of QM/MM calculations in structure-based drug design

It has been suggested from QSAR data (P. D. Edwards, D. J. Wolanin, D.A. Andisik and M. W. Davis, J. Med. Chem., 1995, 38, 76) that the inhibition of elastase by peptidyl alpha-ketoheterocyclic inhibitors can occur in two ways, the less potent inhibitors forming a non-bonded Michaelis complex and the more potent set a covalently bonded enzyme-substrate intermediate. We report QM/MM studies of both binding and reactivity that confirm these findings, showing that the activity of the least potent set of inhibitors correlates with the calculated binding energy, and that of the more potent set correlates with the stability of the intermediate. These calculations show that QM/MM methods can be successfully employed to understand complicated structure-activity relationships and might be employed in the design and assessment of new inhibitors.     

Protein-Loop Mimetics: A Diketopiperazine-Based Template to Stabilize Loop Conformations in Cyclic Peptides Containing the NPNA and RGD Motifs

We explore here an approach to mimic the structures and biological functions of protein loops in small synthetic molecules, by grafting the loop of interest onto an organic template comprising a bicyclic diketopiperazine, prepared by the formal coupling of (2S,4S)-4-aminoproline (Pro(NH₂)) and aspartic acid (Asp). The Fmoc-protected template 4 is used to prepare cyclo(-Ala¹-Asn²-Pro³-Asn⁴-Ala⁵- Ala⁶-Temp-) ( 5 ) and cyclo(-Ala¹-Arg²-Gly³-Asp⁴-Temp-) ( 6 ) (where Temp = template derived from 4 ), containing the Asn-Pro-Asn-Ala (NPNA) and Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motifs. The conformational properties of these molecules are studied in aqueous solution by NMR and simulated-annealing methods. The NPNA motif, an immunodominant epitope on the circumsporozoite surface protein of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is shown to adopt a stable type-I β-turn in 5 . The template in 5 adopts a preferred conformation with Pro(NH₂)χ₁ ≈? ?35° and the Asp moiety χ₁ ≈? 70°. A different template conformation is inferred for 6 , with Pro(NH₂)χ₁ ≈? 0°, but the ARGD loop appears by NMR to undergo rapid conformational averaging. Solid-phase binding assays reveal that 6 displays modest antagonist activity towards both the integrin α_IIbβ₃ and α_vβ₃ receptors.