Cation-crown ether complex formation in water. II. Alkali and alkaline earth cations and 12-crown-4, 15-crown-5, and 18-crown-6

The stability constants and the partial molal volume and isentropic partial molal compressibility changes of complex formation between cations and crown ethers in water at 25°C are presented. The cations involved are Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, Cs⁺, Ca²⁺, and Ba²⁺, and the crown ethers are 12-crown-4, 15-crown-5, and 18-crown-6. Values of V of complex formation have been discussed in terms of two simple models, one based on the scaled particle theory, and the others on the Drude-Nernst continuum model. The results indicate that the charge of the potassium cation in 18-crown-6 is especially well screened from the water. On this basis hydration numbers of complexed cations have been calculated. This shows that the size of the cation compared to the crown ether hole is important for the contacts between complexed cations and water.     

PRIMARY DNA DAMAGE, HPRT MUTATION AND CELL INACTIVATION PHOTOINDUCED WITH VARIOUS SENSITIZERS IN V79 CELLS

DNA strand breaks and hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) mutants were measured in parallel in photochemically treated (PCT) cells and compared at the same level of cell survival. Chinese hamster fibroblasts (V79 cells) were either incubated with the lipophilic dyes tetra(3—hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (3THPP) and Photofrin II (PII), the anionic dye meso -tetra(4—sulfonatophenyl)porphine (TPPS₄) or the cationic dye meso -tetra( N -methyl-4-pyridyl)porphine ( p -TMPyPH₂ before light exposure. In the cells, the lipophilic dyes were localized in membranes, including the nuclear membrane, while the hydrophilic dyes were taken up primarily into spots in the cytoplasm. In addition, the hydrophilic TPPS₄ was distributed homogeneously throughout the whole cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. According to the HPRT mutation test, the mutagenicity of light doses survived by 10% of the cells was a factor of six higher in the presence of 3THPP than of PII, whereas for X-rays it was a factor of three higher than for PCT with 3THPP. Light exposure in the presence of the hydrophilic dyes TPPS₄ and p -TMPyPH₂ was not significantly mutagenic. There was no correlation between the induced rates of HPRT mutants and of DNA strand breaks. Thus, TPPS₄ was the most efficient sensitizer with regard to DNA strand breaks when compared at the same level of cell survival, followed by 3THPP, PII and p -TMPyPH₂. Hence, the rate of DNA strand breaks cannot be used to predict the mutagenicity of PCT.     

Über die Konfiguration des Prolins im Ergotamin

It is well known that in the ergot alkaloids of the peptide type the proline appears in thel-configuration. Different methods of acid hydrolysis may lead to various cleavage products; hydrolysis by HCl yieldsd-proline, on the other hand hydrolytic cleavage by means of strongly acid cation exchange resin preserved the orginall-configuration.

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Teilveröffentlichung der Dissertation vonH. Kolassa, Univ. Wien, 1973.     

The Flipping of CO Ligand Groups in Metal Carbonyl Compounds and its Frequency in Fe(CO)5

It has been proven qualitatively by a number of authors using variable temperature NMR experiments that most metal carbonyl complexes are nonrigid. A quantitative determination of the ligand exchange frequency v_e is often achieved by a line shape analysis or by measurement of the transverse relaxation time T₂ using the Carr-Purcell method. In the case of a “very fast” exchange, however, both methods prove unsuccessful. It is shown in this study that a simultaneous fit of IR or Raman spectra on the one hand and NMR spectra on the other can make possible the determination of v_e for the “very fast” exchange and can also facilitate the determination of v_e in “slow” and “medium” exchange cases considerably. The ligand exchange frequency thus found for Fe(CO)₅, 1.1 × 10¹⁰s^?1, is unexpectedly high; comparison with variable temperature measurements on solid Fe(CO)₅, yields similar energy barriers. A mechanism of exchange closely related to the “Berry mechanism” is proposed. Finally the consequences of this surprisingly large ligand exchange rate are discussed with respect to IR band assignments for molecular “fragments” M(CO)^x (where x=coordination number, and M is a transition metal, typically lanthanoid or actinoid).     

Isentropic partial molal compressibilities of alcohols in propylene carbonate at 25°C

The isentropic coefficients of compressibility of the homologous series of alcohols and diols R _n CH₂OH (n=2–6), CH₃CHOHR _n (n=1–5), 1,2-propanediol, 1,3- 1,4- and 2,3-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, and 1,7-heptanediol dissolved in propylene carbonate have been measured at 25°C. Isentropic partial molal compressibilities and group partial molal compressibilities at infinite dilution have been evaluated. The isentropic partial molal compressibilities of these alcohols and diols have been compared with the corresponding values in water. This comparison shows that the values in propylene carbonate are higher than in water by a factor of 10 due to an increased compressibility of the solvation sheath around nonpolar groups in PC.     

Multiple polypeptide forms observed in two-dimensional gels of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) polypeptides are generated during the separation procedure

We have examined two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) gel maps of polypeptides from the Gram-negative bacterium Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) and found the same widespread trains of spots as often reported in 2-DE gels of polypeptides of other Gram-negative bacteria. Some of the trains of polypeptides, both from the outer membrane and soluble protein fraction, were shown to be generated during the separation procedure of 2-DE, and not by covalent post-translational modifications. The trains were found to be regenerated when rerunning individual polypeptide spots. The polypeptides analysed giving this type of trains were all found to be classified as stable polypeptides according to the instability index of Guruprasad et al. (Protein Eng. 1990, 4, 155-161). The phenomenon most likely reflects conformational equilibria of polypeptides arising from the experimental conditions used, and is a clear drawback of the standard 2-DE procedure, making the gel picture unnecessarily complex to analyse.     

Yellowing and IR-changes of spruce wood as result of UV-irradiation

The yellowing and IR-changes of spruce wood as a result of UV-irradiation were studied using two different types of xenon lamps (lambda>300 nm; I(o)=50 mW cm(-2) and lambda>280 nm; I(o)=17.5 mW cm(-2)). Changes in the IR spectra as well as the yellowing of the irradiated wood surfaces show the influence of UV light on the wood modules. The UV-irradiation (72 h; lambda>300 nm; I(o)=50 mW cm(-2)) decreased the lignin content on the surface by up to 20% of the original values. The colour difference of yellowing (deltaE) exhibited a systematic trend to higher values with increasing irradiation time. Our results show that the photoyellowing (UV-Vis detection) correlates very well with lignin degradation (IR detection). This result is in agreement with the quinone formation as the chromophoric reaction product of lignin decay. The degradation, yellowing, and oxidation kinetics differed only little using different light sources. The absorbed light intensity, which depends on wavelength, the intensity distribution of the light source and the absorption spectrum of lignin, influenced the degradation rate. Under the current experimental conditions, the absorption spectrum of lignin was the most important factor. Therefore, irradiation with lambda>280 nm is useful for rapidly monitoring the UV-degradation of wood     

Emission,Emissionslebensdauer und Absorption von [Cr urea6]X3-Einkristallen

Emission and absorption polarization spectra as well as emission lifetimes between room temperature and 5 °K have been measured of [Cr urea₆]X₃ single crystals, where X stands for ClO ₄ ^– , J^–, NO ₃ ^– , Br^–, Cl^–, F^–, and X₃ for JSO ₄ ^3– . The strong temperature dependence of the fluorescence/phosphorescence-ratios, and of the emission lifetimes is discussed. The differences between the spectra as well as the emission lifetimes of the various salts can be attributed to an anion dependent trigonal perturbation.

Die Autoren danken dem Verband der Chemischen Industrie für finanzielle Unterstützung dieser Arbeit.     

Thermodynamic properties of peptide solutions: 7. Partial molar isentropic pressure coefficients of some dipeptides in aqueous solution

The partial molar isentropic pressure coefficients at infinite dilution, K _S,2 ^o , have been determined for a number of dipeptides in aqueous solution at 25°C. For a series of dipeptides of sequence gly-X, where X is an amino acid with a neutral side chain, the K _S,2 ^o values are all more negative than that for diglycine. The results are discussed in terms of the hydration of the side chains. There are significant differences in the K _S,2 ^o values for sequence isomeric dipeptides. These differences can be rationalized in terms of the mutual interactions between the side chain and the ionic end groups in the dipeptides. Possible relationships between K _S,2 ^o and V ₂ ^o , the partial molar volume at infinite dilution, were investigated. For the dipeptides of sequence gly-X there is an interesting linear relationship between K _S,2 ^o /V ₂ ^o and V ₂ ^o .