Formation of silver(I)-mediated DNA duplex and triplex through an alternative base pair of pyridine nucleobases

We have recently reported the first artificial nucleoside for alternative DNA base pairing through metal complexation (J. Org. Chem. 1999, 64, 5002-5003). In this context, we have accomplished a Ag(I)-mediated base pair or a base triplet in a double- or triple-stranded DNA, respectively, by introducing a pair of pyridine nucleobases in the middle of the sequence. As a result, the incorporated Ag(I) complex significantly stabilized the DNA duplex and triplex. This strategy would be expanded to the regulation of thermodynamic stability of DNA duplex or triplex by adding transition metal ions from outside, or to labeling applications in biotechnology.     

Panchromatic sensitization of nanocrystalline TiO2 with cis-Bis(4-carboxy-2-[2'-(4'-carboxypyridyl)]quinoline)bis(thiocyanato-N)ruthenium(II)

We compared the spectral (IR and Raman), electrochemical, and photoelectrochemical properties of nanocrystalline TiO(2) sensitized with the newly synthesized complex [NBu(4)](2)[cis-Ru(Hdcpq)(2)(NCS)(2)] (1; [NBu(4)](+) = tetrabutylammonium cation; H(2)dcpq = 4-carboxy-2-[2'-(4'-carboxypyridyl)]quinoline) with those of TiO(2) sensitized with [NBu(4)](2)[cis-Ru(Hdcbpy)(2)(NCS)(2)] (2; H(2)dcbpy = 4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine) and [NBu(4)](2)[cis-Ru(Hdcbiq)(2)(NCS)(2)] (3; H(2)dcbiq = 4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-biquinoline). Complex 1 achieved efficient sensitization of nanocrystalline TiO(2) films over a wide visible and near-IR region, generating a large short-circuit photocurrent. The absorbed photon-to-current conversion efficiency decreased in the order 2 > 1 > 3 with the decrease in the free energy change (-Delta G(inj)) of the electron injection from the ruthenium complex to TiO(2). The open-circuit photovoltages (V(oc)'s) of dye-sensitized solar cells decreased in the order 2 > 1 > 3 with the increase in the dark current resulting from reverse electron transfer from TiO(2) to I(3)(-). The sensitizer-dependent V(oc) value can be interpreted as a result of reverse electron transfer through the sensitizing dye molecules.     

Synthesis and reactions of methylbenzo[c]quinolizinium salts

Six isomers of the methylbenzo[c]quinolizinium salt 3 including four new monomethyl derivatives were synthesized by thermal-intramolecular quaternization of the cis-methyl-substituted 2-[2-(2-chlorophenyl)-vinyl]pyridines 4 or by the irradiation of trans- 4 with selected wavelengths (290 < λ < 340 nm and λ > 400 nm) in acetonitrile. Among the regioisomeric monomethyl derivatives 3 , the 1-, 3-, and 6-methyl derivatives 3b, 3d , and 3g reacted with p-methoxybenzaldehyde in the presence of bis(l-piperidino)-(p-methoxyphenyl)-methane 7 to yield trans-(p-methoxystyryl)benzo[c]quinolizinium salts 6 . The reactivity of 3 and methylbenzo[a]quinolizinium salts 1 was discussed on the basis of their π-electron energy.     

New mononuclear, cyclic tetranuclear, and 1-D helical-chain Cu(II) complexes formed by metal-assisted hydrolysis of 3,6-di-2-pyridyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (DPTZ): crystal structures and magnetic properties

The reactions of 3,6-di-2-pyridyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (DPTZ) with different Cu(II) salts generate two new ligands, 2,5-bis(2-pyridyl)-1,3,4-oxodiazole (L(1)) and N,N'-bis(alpha-hydroxyl-2-pyridyl)ketazine (H(2)L(2)), from the metal-assisted hydrolysis of DPTZ, and form three new complexes: a mononuclear complex [Cu(L(1))(2)(H(2)O)(2)] .2ClO(4) (1), a linear coordination polymer [Cu(L(1))(NO(3))(2)](8) (2), and a cyclic tetranuclear complex [Cu(4)(L(2))(2)(Im)(2)(NO(3))(4)(H(2)O)(2)] (3) (Im = imidazole). Crystal data for 1: space group P2(1)/n with a = 10.339(3) A, b = 10.974(2) A, c = 13.618(4) A, beta = 103.24(1) degrees, and Z = 2. Crystal data for 2: space group C2/c with a = 13.9299(14) A, b = 9.2275(9) A, c = 12.1865(13) A, beta = 111.248(2) degrees, and Z = 4. Crystal data for 3: space group P2(1)/n with a = 9.3422(14) A, b = 15.987(2) A, c = 13.963(2) A, beta = 108.587(3) degrees, and Z = 2. L(1) acts as a bidentate chelating ligand in 1 and as a bis-bidentate chelating ligand in 2 with the shortest intramolecular Cu...Cu distance of 6.093 A. L(2) is a hexadentate ligand to bridge four Cu(II) ions, forming an interesting neutral cyclic tetranuclear complex 3 with Cu...Cu distances varying from 4.484 to 9.370 A. The mechanism of the metal assisted hydrolysis of DPTZ is discussed in detail. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that 2 shows weak ferromagnetic interaction (J = 2.85 cm(-1)) along the 1-D helical chain, and that 3 displays weak antiferromagnetic interaction (J = -1.19 cm(-1) for the N-N bridge) and ferromagnetic interaction (j = 0.11 cm(-1) for the O-C=N bridge) between the adjacent Cu(II) ions.     

Photophysics and photochemical dynamics of chlorotoluene molecule

Laser-induced fluorescence spectra of jet-cooled chlorotoluene molecules are reported for the S₁ state. The fluorescence excitation spectrum of m-chlorotoluene shows some low-frequency bands up to 200 cm⁻¹ above the S₁ origin, which are assigned to internal rotational modes of the methyl group. Beyond 300 cm⁻¹ and up to approximately 1500 cm⁻¹ sharp vibrational bands are observed, which are assigned by measurement of the dispersed fluorescence spectrum on excitation of each vibrational band. The vibrational energies of the C---Cl stretching modes for the o-, m- and p-chlorotoluene molecules are 341, 378 and 360 cm⁻¹ respectively in the S₁ state.     

Rate constants for the reactions of benzyl and methyl-substituted benzyl radicals with O2 and NO

Rate constants for reactions of benzyl, o-niethylbenzyl and p-meihylbenzyl radicals with O₂ and NO have been measured at room temperature. The radicals were generated by UV flash photolysis and the time decay measured by absorption at ≈ 300 nm. The rate constants are: benzyl (0.99 ± 0.07 and 9.5 ± 1.2), o-methylbenzyl (1.2 ± 0.07 and 8.6 ± 0.8) and p-mithyl-benzyl (1.1= 0.10 and 8.9 = 0.9) for O₂ and NO respectively in units of 10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1.     

Picosecond IR-UV pump-probe spectroscopic study of the dynamics of the vibrational relaxation of jet-cooled phenol. II. Intracluster vibrational energy redistribution of the OH stretching vibration of hydrogen-bonded clusters

A picosecond time-resolved IR-UV pump-probe spectroscopic study has been carried out for investigating the intracluster vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) and subsequent dissociation of hydrogen-bonded clusters of phenol (C6H5OH) and partially deuterated phenol (C6D5OH, phenol-d5) with various solvent molecules. The H-bonded OH stretching vibration was pumped by a picosecond IR pulse, and the transient S1-S0 UV spectra from the pumped level as well as the redistributed levels were observed with a picosecond UV laser. Two types of hydrogen-bonded clusters were investigated with respect to the effect of the H-bonding strength on the energy flow process: the first is of a strong "sigma-type H-bond" such as phenol-(dimethyl ether)(n=1) and phenol dimer, and the second is phenol-(ethylene)(n=1) having a weak "pi-type H-bond." It was found that the population of the IR-pumped OH level exhibits a single-exponential decay, whose rate increases with the H-bond strength. On the other hand, the transient UV spectrum due to the redistributed levels showed a different time evolutions at different monitoring UV frequency. From an analysis of the time profiles of the transient UV spectra, the following three-step scheme has been proposed for describing the energy flow starting from the IVR of the initially excited H-bonded OH stretching level to the dissociation of the H bond. (1) The intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution takes place within the phenolic site, preparing a hot phenol. (2) The energy flows from the hot phenol to the intermolecular vibrational modes of the cluster. (3) Finally, the hydrogen bond dissociates. Among the three steps, the rate constant of the first step was strongly dependent on the H-bond strength, while the rate constants of the other two steps were almost independent of the H-bond strength. For the dissociation of the hydrogen bond, the observed rate constants were compared with those calculated by the Rice, Ramsperger, Kassel, and Marcus model. The result suggests that dissociation of the hydrogen bond takes place much faster than complete energy randomization within the clusters.     

Coulomb explosion dynamics of N2O in intense laser-field: Identification of new two-body and three-body fragmentation pathways

The Coulomb explosion process of N₂O in an intense laser-field (∼5 PW/cm²) has been investigated by the high-resolution time-of-flight (TOF) spectroscopy. Six two-body explosion pathways involving the NO⁺, NO²⁺, N₂ ⁺ molecular ions have been securely identified from the momentum-scaled TOF spectra of the fragment ions. Assuming a linear geometry, three-body explosion pathways were investigated by sequential and concerted explosion models. When the concerted model is adopted, the observed momentum distributions of six atomic ion channels; N⁺, N²⁺, N³⁺, O⁺, O²⁺ and O³⁺, were well fitted using the Gaussian momentum distribution with the optimized bond elongation factor of 2.2(3). From the yields of individual Coulomb explosion pathways determined by the fit, the abundance of the parent ions, N₂O^z+ (z=2–8), prior to the two- body and three-body explosion processes was found to have a smooth distribution with a maximum at z∼3.     

Ranging correlated motion (1.5 nm) of two coaxially arranged rotors mediated by helix inversion of a supramolecular transmitter

For a long-range transmission of motion between two movable parts apart from each other, transmitters that can precisely correlate these two motions should be properly incorporated into the system. However, such a motional relay is yet to be realized in artificial systems because of the lack of reliable methodologies for arranging a discrete number of motional parts. Herein, we report a correlated motion of two rotor molecules, which are coaxially arranged at a distance of 1.5 nm, through either Ag (+)- or Hg (2+)-assembled helical transmitters, leading to different frequencies of synchronized motion. A helix inversion in the transmitter was proven to strongly correlate the motions of both terminals. The X-ray analysis of the entity determined a quadruple-decker nonanuclear structure of the metal complex comprising two terminal rotor-like ligands closely attached to a central transmitter moiety. (1)H NMR analysis fully demonstrated the synchronized motion of the two rotors coaxially stacked and connected through the transmitter. Since the transmitter is composed of simple helical repeating units, the principle of helix inversion would be an efficient and widely applicable strategy for the long-range transmission of molecular motion.     

Structure of hydrated clusters of dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether in a supersonic jet--encapsulation of water molecules in the crown cavity

The structure of dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether (DB18C6) and its hydrated clusters has been investigated in a supersonic jet. Two conformers of bare DB18C6 and six hydrated clusters (DB18C6-(H(2)O)(n)) were identified by laser-induced fluorescence, fluorescence-detected UV-UV hole-burning and IR-UV double-resonance spectroscopy. The IR-UV double resonance spectra were compared with the IR spectra obtained by quantum chemical calculations at the B3LYP/6-31+G* level. The two conformers of bare DB18C6 are assigned to "boat" and "chair I" forms, respectively, among which the boat form is dominant. All the six DB18C6-(H(2)O)(n) clusters with n = 1-4 have a boat conformation in the DB18C6 part. The water molecules form a variety of hydration networks in the boat-DB18C6 cavity. In DB18C6-(H(2)O)(1), a water molecule forms the bidentate hydrogen bond with the O atoms adjacent to the benzene rings. In this cluster, the water molecule is preferentially hydrogen bonded from the bottom of boat-DB18C6. In the larger clusters, the hydration networks are developed on the basis of the DB18C6-(H(2)O)(1) cluster.