Time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence spectroscopic studies of the human lens with comparison to argpyrimidine,pentosidine and 3-OH-kynurenine

The intrinsic fluorescence from the human lens on excitation in the UV region, referred to as blue lens autofluorescence, increases with age or in the presence of diabetes. The present study reveals that the relative contribution of compounds responsible for the blue autofluorescence appears to be a constant with age. Three potential candidates for the blue fluorescence were also studied with respect to fluorescence spectroscopic properties. These were argpyrimidine and pentosidine, both advanced glycation end products, and 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-OH-kynurenine), a photooxidative derivative of tryptophan. It was shown that the spectral properties of argpyrimidine and pentosidine are compatible with the observed blue fluorescence of the human lens, whereas the fluorescence from 3-OH-kynurenine is negligible.     

Host-guest chemistry of the chromium-wheel complex [Cr8F8(tBuCO2)16]: prediction of inclusion capabilities by using an electrostatic potential distribution determined by modeling synchrotron X-ray structure factors at 16 K

The structure and detailed electron density distribution (EDD) of the large octanuclear chromium-wheel host complex [Cr8F8(tBuCO2)16] (1) has been determined from synchrotron X-ray structure factors collected at 16(5) K. The complex has a central cavity with a minimum entry distance between carbon atoms of the pivalate methyl groups (pivalic acid = tBuCO2H) of 4.027(4) A on one side of the molecule and 7.273(4) A on the other. The screened side of the molecule can be "opened" by rotation of methyl groups to create a strained host structure, which is compensated for by improved host-guest and host-solvent interaction. The EDD of the 272-atom complex (1144 e-) was determined by multipole modeling based on the experimental structure factors. 3d orbital populations on the Cr atoms and topological analysis of the EDD show that the covalent part of the metal-ligand interactions consists mainly of sigma donation from the ligands, but that overall the interactions are predominantly electrostatic. The electrostatic potential (EP) has been calculated from the experimental EDD. Knowledge of the geometry of the naked complex 1 as well as the EP in the central cavity of this molecule allows us to deduce which characteristic properties guest molecules must have to be accepted into the void. To probe these predictions, a series of complexes of 1 with different guest inclusions were synthesized (2 = 1 + N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF), 3 = 1 + N,N'-dimethylacetamide (DMA), 4 = 1 + DMA + DMF, 5 = 1 + 2CH3CN), and their structures were examined by using X-ray diffraction data measured at 120(1) K. Results of these studies indicate that in the crystalline state, the optimal guest molecule should be linear and possess a permanent dipole. Attempts to crystallize the host complex with cations incorporated into the cavity were fruitless, although electrospray ionization mass spectrometry showed that a [1 + potassium]+ entity pre-exists in solution and can be transferred intact into the gas phase.     

Long-term stability of a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry system in quantitative gas analysis

A gas chromatograph/quadrupole mass spectrometer (GC/MS) system was used to supervise a test programme for evaluating the potential of a natural gas storage plant. The dispersion characteristics of a large nitrogen reservoir located in a tight sandstone formation 1600 m below sea level between claystones, was investigated by injection and withdrawal of 350 000 m³ nitrogen with argon as tracer gas. The GC/MS system was installed in a shed in an open field and operated under computer control continuously 24 h a day for three weeks; about 3000 analyses were done. The on-line results were in good agreement with those obtained from additional gas samples withdrawn every 4 h for independent quantitative gas analyses with a purpose-built mass spectrometer.     

Selective Halogen-Lithium Exchange Reaction of Bromine-Substituted 25,26,27,28-Tetrapropoxycalix[4]arene

Methods are described for the selective bromine-lithium exchange reaction of bromine-substituted calix[4]arenes with either n-BuLi or t-BuLi in THF. Quenching of the lithiated calix[4]arenes with MeOH, D(2)O, CH(3)SSCH(3), B(OCH(3))(3), DMF, or CO(2) as electrophiles resulted in 5-monosubstituted, 5,17-disubstituted, or 5,11,17,23-tetrasubstituted calix[4]arenes with H, D, SCH(3), B(OH)(2), CHO, or COOH functionalities.     

Resistivity of positive-J spin glasses: Study ofLaGd under hydrostatic pressure

Results of a new calculation of the resistivity in the noise model of spin glasses, based on the –J S interaction forpositive J, are compared with measurements of the resistivity in an fcc La-8at% Gd alloy under hydrostatic pressures up to 12 kbar, the first positive-J resistivity investigations under pressure. A positive value ofJ that decreases with increasing pressure, in accord with other experiments, leads to quantitative agreement between theory and experiment if one uses a large electronic density of states at the Fermi energy, in accord with specific heat measurements and electronic band structure calculations in fcc La. Impurity potential scattering is found to contribute significantly to the resistivity. Its size and pressure variation is determined.This work is supported in part by the Deutsche Forschungs-gemeinschaft.     

Nucleic acid analysis using an expanded genetic alphabet to quench fluorescence

Organic chemistry has made possible the synthesis of molecules that expand on Nature's genetic alphabet. Using the previously described nonstandard DNA base pair constructed from isoguanine and 5-methylisocytosine, we report a highly specific and sensitive method that allows for the fast and specific quantitation of genetic sequences in a closed tube format. During PCR amplification, enzymatic site-specific incorporation of a quencher covalently linked to isoguanine allows for the simultaneous detection and identification of multiple targets. The specificity of method is then established by analysis of thermal denaturation or melting of the amplicons. The appropriate functions of all reactions are further verified by incorporation of an independent target into the reaction mixture. We report that the method is sensitive down to the single copy level, and specificity is demonstrated by multiplexed end-point genotypic analysis of four targets simultaneously using four separate fluorescent reporters. The method is general enough for quantitative and qualitative analysis of both RNA and DNA using previously developed primer sets. Though the method described employs the commonly used PCR, the enzymatic incorporation of reporter groups into DNA site-specifically should find broad utility throughout molecular biology.     

Synthesis, characterization, and adsorption properties of nanocrystalline ZSM-5

Nanocrystalline ZSM-5 with a Si/Al ratio of 20 was synthesized using clear solutions and a hydrothermal synthesis procedure. The resulting ZSM-5 materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption isotherms, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, and toluene adsorption. A commercial ZSM-5 sample was similarly characterized for comparison with the synthesized materials. The particle sizes of the synthesized ZSM-5 samples were calculated using the measured external surface areas and were determined to be 15 and 60 nm. SEM images indicated that the ZSM-5 samples consist of agglomerated and possibly intergrown particles. Toluene adsorption measurements showed that the ZSM-5 sample with a particle size of 15 nm adsorbed approximately 50% more toluene than the other ZSM-5 samples, most likely due to the adsorption of toluene on the external surface. For the toluene adsorbed on the internal zeolite surface, approximately one toluene molecule was adsorbed per channel intersection for each of the ZSM-5 samples.     

Mediation of ultrafast light-harvesting by a central dimer in phycoerythrin 545 studied by transient absorption and global analysis

We report ultrafast femtosecond transient absorption measurements of energy-transfer dynamics for the antenna protein phycoerythrin 545, PE545, isolated from a unicellular cryptophyte Rhodomonas CS24. The phycoerythrobilins are excited at both 485 and 530 nm, and the spectral response is probed between 400 and 700 nm. Room-temperature measurements are contrasted with measurements at 77 K. An evolution-associated difference spectra (EADS) analysis is combined with estimations of bilin spectral positions and energy-transfer rates to obtain a detailed kinetic model for PE545. It is found that sub pulse-width dynamics include relaxation between the exciton states of a chromophore dimer (beta 50/60) located in the core of the protein. Energy transfer from the lowest exciton state of the phycoerythrobilin (PEB) dimer to one of the periphery 15,16-dihydrobiliverdin (DBV) bilins is found to occur on a time scale of 250 fs at room temperature and 960 fs at 77 K. A host of energy-transfer dynamics involving the beta 158, beta 82, and alpha 19 bilins occur on a time scale of 2 ps at room temperature and 3 ps at 77 K. A final energy transfer occurs between the red-most DBV bilins with a time scale estimated to be approximately 30 ps. The role of the centrally located phycoerythrobilin dimer is seen as crucial-spectrally as it expands the cross-section of absorption of the protein; structurally as it sits in the middle of the protein acting as an intermediary trap; and kinetically, as the internal conversion and subsequent red-shift of the excitation is extremely fast.     

Report on three aliphatic dimethylarsinoyl compounds as common minor constituents in marine samples. An investigation using high-performance liquid chromatography/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry

Three water-soluble aliphatic arsenicals, dimethylarsinoyl acetate (DMAA), dimethylarsinoyl ethanol (DMAE), and dimethylarsinoyl propionate (DMAP), were identified in marine biological samples. Sample extracts in methanol/water (1 + 1) were analysed by cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC/ICPMS). Eluate fractions from the HPLC/ICPMS analyses containing the compounds in question were collected and subjected to analysis by electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS), which provided supportive evidence for the structures of the three compounds. The concentrations of the three arsenicals were determined in 37 marine organisms comprising algae, crustaceans, bivalves, fish and mammals by HPLC/ICPMS. The three arsenicals DMAA, DMAE and DMAP, which occurred at microg kg(-1) concentrations, were detected in 25, 23 and 17 of the 37 samples analysed, respectively. The limits of detection were 2-3 microg kg(-1) dry mass. The data illustrate that the three compounds are common minor constituents in marine samples. This is the first report on DMAE and DMAP as naturally occurring species in marine samples. The presence of DMAA and DMAE supports a proposed biosynthesis of arsenobetaine (AB) from dimethylarsinoylribosides. Alternative proposals, which explain the presence of the compounds in marine samples, are addressed briefly in the paper.