Nanoscale organization of a phthalocyanine-fullerene system: remarkable stabilization of charges in photoactive 1-D nanotubules

Induction of self-organization between zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and C60 moieties in a novel amphiphilic ZnPc-C60 salt results in uniformly nanostructured 1-D nanotubules. Their photoreactivity, in terms of ultrafast charge separation (i.e., approximately 1012 s-1) and ultraslow charge recombination (i.e., approximately 103 s-1), is remarkable. In addition, the observed ZnPc*+-C60*- lifetime of 1.4 ms implies, relative to that of the monomeric ZnPc-C60 ( approximately 3 ns), an impressive stabilization of 6 orders of magnitude.     

CCR5 antagonists: 3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propionic acid analogues with potent anti-HIV activity

[reaction: see text] A novel approach to alpha,alpha-disubstituted-beta-amino acids (beta(2,2)-amino acids) was employed in the synthesis of a series of 3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propionic acids possessing high affinity for the CCR5 receptor and potent anti-HIV activity. The rat pharmacokinetics for these new analogues featured higher bioavailabilities and lower rates of clearance as compared to cyclopentane 1.     

IR and NMR Properties of Ionic Liquids: Do They Tell Us the Same Thing?

We used a combination of theoretical and experimental methods to derive the spectroscopic properties of imidazolium-based ionic liquids. Vibrational frequencies, NMR chemical shifts, and quadrupole coupling constants react in comparable manner to changes in the chemical environment. This suggests that both the IR and the NMR spectroscopic properties reflect a similar type of electronic perturbation caused by hydrogen bonding. These relationships of the spectroscopic properties provide detailed information about structural complexes and may thus serve as good indicators of ion-pair formation. They also help to decide which spectroscopic tool is the most sensitive for investigating molecular interactions. The measurement of only one spectroscopic property allows the prediction of other properties that cannot be so easily measured. In some cases, this is the only way to obtain reliable coupling constants for deriving molecular correlation times from macroscopic NMR relaxation times, thus opening a new path for studying structure-dynamics relations in ionic liquids.     

Phosphaniminato-Komplexe des Iods. Synthese und Kristallstrukturen von Ph3PNIO2 und Ph3PNSiMe3 · I2

Phosphoraneiminato Complexes of Iodine. Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Ph₃PNIO₂ and Ph₃PNSiMe₃ · I₂ Ph₃PNIO₂ has been prepared as yellow crystals by the reaction of Ph₃PNSiMe₃ with I₂O₅ in boiling acetonitrile, whereas the molecular complex Ph₃PNSiMe₃ · I₂ is formed as brown crystals by the reaction of Ph₃PNSiMe₃ with iodine in acetonitrile solution. Both complexes were characterized by crystal structure determinations. Ph₃PNIO₂: Space group P2₁/n, Z = 4, 2 858 observed unique reflections, R = 0.039. Lattice dimensions at 19°C: a = 972.8(2), b = 1 743.4(3), c = 1 073.7(2) pm, β = 115.46(3)°. The compound forms monomeric molecules with pyramidal geometry at the iodine atom. The bond angle PNI (126.9°) is unusually small; the PN bond length of 159.2 pm corresponds with a double bond. Ph₃PNSiMe₃ · I₂: Space group P1 , Z = 2, 3 560 observed unique reflections, R = 0.033. Lattice dimensions at 19°C: a = 941.2(2), b = 1 041.7(2), c = 1 287.4(3) pm, α = 78.34(1)°, β = 72.00(2)°, γ = 86.08(2)°. The compound forms monomeric molecules, in which the I₂ molecule and the nitrogen atom of the phosphoraneimine molecule realize a linear N? I? I axis with a bond length N? I of 243.2 pm.     

A nonadiabatic lower bound calculation of H 2 + and D 2 +

Accurate nonadiabatic lower and upper bounds for groundstate energies of H ₂ ⁺ and D ₂ ⁺ are calculated with the linearized method of variance minimization. The results in a.u. are –0.59713906₃<E ₀(H ₂ ⁺ )<–0.59713899₄ –0.59878877₅<E ₀(D ₂ ⁺ )<–0.59877873₈ i.e. the values are determined with an absolute error smaller than 0.02 cm^–1 for H ₂ ⁺ and 0.01 cm^–1 for D ₂ ⁺ .     

Negative dipole potentials of uncharged langmuir monolayers due to fluorination of the hydrophilic heads

The dipole potential, affecting the structure, functions, and interactions of biomembranes, lipid bilayers, and Langmuir monolayers, is positive toward the hydrocarbon moieties. We show that uncharged Langmuir monolayers of docosyl trifluoroethyl ether (DFEE) exhibit large negative dipole potentials, while the nonfluorinated docosyl ethyl ether (DEE) forms films with positive dipole potentials. Comparison of the Delta V values for these ethers with those of the previously studied(37-39) monolayers of trifluoroethyl ester (TFEB) and ethyl ester of behenic acid (EB) shows that the reversal of the sign of Delta V causes the same change Delta(Delta V) = -706 +/- 16 mV due to fluorination of heads. The Delta V values of both TFEB and EB films differ by -122 +/- 16 mV from those of DFEE and DEE monolayers, respectively, with the same density. Such quantitative coincidence points to a common mechanism of reversal of the sign of the dipole potential for the ether and ester films despite the different structure of their heads. The mechanical properties and phase behaviors of these monolayers show that both fluorinated heads are less hydrated, suggesting that the change of the sign of Delta V could, at least partially, be related to different hydration water structure. The same negative contribution of the carbonyl bond in both TFEB and EB films contrasts with the generally accepted positive contribution of the C(delta+)=O(delta-) bond in condensed Langmuir monolayers of fatty acids, their alcohol esters, glycerides, and phospholipids but concurs with the theoretical analysis of Delta V of stearic acid monolayers. Both results question the literature values of the molecular dipole moments of these substances calculated via summation of bonds and atomic group contributions. Mixed monolayers of DFEE and DEE show smooth monotonic variation of Delta V from +450 to -235 mV, indicating a way for adjustment of the sign and magnitude of the dipole potential at the membrane-water boundary and regulation of such membrane behaviors as binding and translocation rate of hydrophobic ions and ion-carriers, adsorption and penetration of amphiphilic peptides, polarization of hydration water, and short-range repulsion. The interaction of the hydrophobic ions tetraphenylboron TPhB- and tetraphenylphosphonium TPhP+ with DFEE and DEE monolayers qualitatively follows the theory of binding of such ions to lipid bilayers, but the shifts Delta(Delta V) from the values obtained on water are much smaller than those for DPPC monolayers. This difference seems to be due to the solid (polycrystalline) character of the DFEE and DEE films that hampers the penetration of TPhB- and TPhP+ in the monolayers and reduces the attractive interaction with the hydrophobic moiety. This conclusion orients the future synthesis of amphiphiles with fluorinated heads to those which could form liquid-expanded Langmuir monolayers.     

Effects of internal hydrogen bonds between amide groups: protonation of alicyclic diamides

The proton affinity (PA) of cyclopentane carboxamide 1, cyclohexane carboxamide 2 and their secondary and tertiary amide derivatives S1, S2, T1 and T2, was determined by the thermokinetic method and the kinetic method [PA(1) = 888 +/- 5 kJ mol(1); PA(2) = 892 +/- 5 kJ mol(1); PA(S1) = 920 +/- 6 kJ mol(1); PA(S2) = 920 +/- 6 kJ mol(1); PA(T1) = 938 +/- 6 kJ mol(1); PA(T2) = 938 +/- 6 kJ mol(1)]. Special entropy effects are not observed. Additionally, the effects of protonation have been studied using an advanced kinetic method for all isomers 37 of cyclopentane dicarboxamides and cyclohexane dicarboxamides (with the exception of cis-cyclopentane-1,2-dicarboxamide) and their bis-tertiary derivatives T3T7 by estimating the PA and the apparent entropy of protonation Delta(DeltaS(app)). Finally, the study was extended to bicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-diene-2,3-dicarboxamide 8 and its bis-tertiary derivative T8, to all stereoisomers of bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2,3-dicarboxamide 9, their secondary and tertiary amide derivatives S9 and T9, and to endoendobicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2,5-dicarboxamide 10 and the corresponding secondary and tertiary derivatives S10 and T10. Compared with 1 and 2, all alicyclic diamides exhibit a significant increase of the PA (DeltaPA) and special entropy effects on protonation. For alicyclic diamides, which can not accommodate a conformation appropriate for building a proton bridge, the values of DeltaPA and Delta(DeltaS(app)) are small to moderate. This is explained by ion / dipole interactions between the protonated and neutral amide group which stabilize the protonated species but hinder the free rotation of the amide groups. If any of the conformations of the alicyclic diamide allows formation of a proton bridge, DeltaPA and Delta(DeltaS(app)) increase considerably. A spectacular case is cis-cyclohexane-1,4-dicarboxamide 7c which is the most basic monocyclic diamide, although generation of the proton bridge requires the unfavorable boat conformation with both amide substituents at a flagpole position. A pre-orientation of the two amide groups in such a 1,4-position in 10 results in a particularly large PA of < 1000 kJ mol(1). The observation of comparable values for Delta(DeltaS(app)) for linear and monocyclic diamides indicates that a major part of the entropy effects originates from freezing the free rotation of the amide groups by formation of the proton bridge. This is corroborated by observing corresponding effects during the protonation of dicarboxamides containing the rigid bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane carbon skeleton, where the only internal movements of the molecules corresponds to rotation of the amide substituents.     

On the determination of the worst sampling error in a communication system for pulse amplitude modulated signals. Part II: The finite dimensional model

This paper is dedicated to the problem of optimizing the transmission properties of a Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) system. The system is disturbed by a random timing jitter in the sampling device which periodically evaluates the continuous output signal at discrete times. Mathematically the timing jitter is a random variable with unknown probability distribution. So, our optimization problem turns out to be actually a minimax problem, for which mathematical game theory with its powerful concepts becomes the suitable frame for our analysis.In the first part [4] we have established a general existence theorem for the minimax problem, and we have worked out some properties of solutions in the case that the feasible impulse responses form a space of infinite dimension.This part summarizes results which we obtain, if we allow only for impulse responses lying in a certainn-dimensional subspace of the original space (see [2, 3]). By general results from semi-infinite optimization (see [1]) we know that, writing the minimax problem as a semi-infinite optimization problem, we can reduce the number of restrictions from infinity to a numbersn+1. On the basis of our special model we present a theory of uniformly singular quadratic forms, which has been developed (see [3]) in order to get additional statements abouts.In this way we supplement the work of Krabs [6], who was the first to present such a finite dimensional model, arguing that it is impossible for an engineer to construct a system in a way that an arbitrary impulse response is realized, unless this impulse response has a simple structure (for instance a low pass filter).The first two paragraphs have been taken almost literally from part I in order to render the lecture more comfortable. The interesting parts, however, are the following ones, where the results specific for the finite dimensional case are worked out.