Pyrazolate thiocarbonylrhodium complexes. X-ray structure of [Rh(μ-3,5-Me2Pz)(CS)(PPh3)]2

The preparation and properties of complexes of general formulae [Rh(CS)-(HL)(PR₃)₂]ClO₄ (HL = pyrazole (HPz), 3-methylpyrazole (H3-MePz), 3,5-dimethylpyrazole (H3,5-Me₂Pz), PR₃ = triphenylphosphine, tricyclohexylphosphine) and [(PR₃)₂(CS)Rh(μ-Pz)AuPPh₃]ClO₄ are reported. Complexes of the first set react with potassium hydroxide to give [Rh(μ-L)(CS)(PPh₃)₂ or RhPz(CS)(PR₃)₂ complexes. The structure of the complex [Rh(3,5-Me₂Pz)(CS)(PPh₃)]₂ has been determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The crystals are monoclinic, space group P2₁/c, with Z = 4 in a unit cell of dimensions a = 12.700(11), b = 17.217(16), c = 23.041(18) Å, β = 116.55(8)°. The structure has been solved by Patterson and Fourier methods and refined by full-matrix least-squares to R = 0.059 for 1978 independent reflections. The structure consists of dimeric complexes, in which each rhodium atom is in a square-planar environment being bonded to a carbon atom of a thiocarbonyl ligand, a phosphorus atom of a triphenylphosphine molecule and to two nitrogen atoms of pyrazolate ligands bridging the metal atoms. The dihedral angle of 71.1° between such two square planes leads to a bent configuration with an intramolecular rhodium-rhodium distance of 3.220 Å. The thiocarbonyl and triphenylphosphine ligands are in a trans disposition.     

Interaction of zinc finger ZNF191(243—368) and its I323 W and R327W mutants with oligonucleotides by florescence spectrum

Two mutants of the zinc finger protein, ZNF191 (243–368) I323W and R327W, are successfully obtained by site-directed mutagenesis. The fluorescence spectrum is used to study the interaction between these two mutants and the oligonucleotides. The influence of the mutation on the interaction has been studied using ethidium bromide (EB) as the fluorescence probe. The binding constants of the I323W-DNA and R327W-DNA have been calculated and the possible binding models have been discussed.     

One-dimensional Ising chain with competing interactions: Exact results and connection with other statistical models

We study the ground state properties of a one-dimensional Ising chain with a nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic interactionJ ₁, and akth neighboranti-ferromagnetic interactionJ _k . WhenJ _k/J₁=–1/k, there exists a highly degenerate ground state with a residual entropy per spin. For the finite chain with free boundary conditions, we calculate the degeneracy of this state exactly, and find that it is proportional to the (N+k–1)th term in a generalized Fibonacci sequence defined by,F _N ^(k) =F _N–1 ^(k) +F _N–k ^(k) . In addition, we show that this one-dimensional model is closely related to the following problems: (a) a fully frustrated two-dimensional Ising system with a periodic arrangement of nearest-neighbor ferro- and antiferromagnetic bonds, (b) close-packing of dimers on a ladder, a 2× strip of the square lattice, and (c) directed self-avoiding walks on finite lattice strips.Work partially supported by grants from AFOSR and ARO.     

Effects of Divalent Metal Ions on the Chaperone Activity and Structure of Rat Lens H18G Mutant αB‐Crystallin

αB‐crystalin, a small heat shock protein and a component of α‐crystalin, is a molecular chaperone playing an important role in preventing the formation of cataracts. It has been reported that His18 is an important site for Cu²⁺ to bind with to form a stable metal complex and thus to enhance this chaperone‐like activity of human αB‐crystalin. In this work, we used site‐directed mutagenesis to clone and express H18G rat lens αB‐crystalin in order to investigate the role of His18 in chaperoning activity. We found that 1 mM of Cu²⁺, or Zn²⁺, rather than Mg²⁺, significantly enhanced the chaperone‐like activity of wild type αB‐crystalin. Whereas, it is Zn²⁺ and Mg²⁺, not Cu²⁺, that significantly reduced this activity of H18G αB‐crystalin. In the absence of cation, H18G showed better activity compared to the wild type αB‐crystalin. ANS fluorescence measurement showed there was no linear relationship between chaperone‐like activity and surface hydrophobicity, indicating that surface hydrophobicity is not a prerequisite for chaperone‐like activity. An HPLC size‐exclusion chromatography study showed that in the presence of metal ions, wild type αB‐crystalin tended to aggregate via dissociation and re‐association into a high molecular aggregate with a molecular weight higher than 1400 kDa and then precipitated, suggesting that the presence of metal ions is a factor leading to the formation of cataracts. Both the near and far UV‐CD spectra suggested that the wild type αB‐crystalin reflected more β‐sheet structural characteristics; whereas the H18G reflected more random coil characteristics. The H18G induced structural alterations as to develop more random coil characteristics and more micro‐environmental changes around the tryptophan residues. This work suggested that His18 may not be a crucial binding site for Cu²⁺, but rather that it may be an important binding site for Zn²⁺ in terms of chaperone‐like activity and the process of metal induced self‐aggregation is prerequisite for chaperone‐like activity to occur.     

单取代芳烃对位选择性碳氢活化反应研究

以单取代芳烃为芳基化试剂,以羰基为导向定位基团,研究了单取代芳烃对位选择性与芳香酮的交叉脱氢偶联反应。该方法的高选择性一方面体现在用作芳基化试剂的单取代芳烃能够单一选择性地发生对位碳氢活化,并生成对位取代产物;另一方面,作为弱导向基团的羰基具有优异的邻位导向定位作用,高选择性地发生羰基邻位碳氢键活化。此外,该方法还具有反应条件温和、反应效率高、底物范围广、氧化剂廉价易得等优点,为对位取代联芳基化合物的合成提供了一条切实可行的途径。     

CompassR Yields Highly Organic-Solvent-Tolerant Enzymes through Recombination of Compatible Substitutions

The CompassR (computer-assisted recombination) rule enables, among beneficial substitutions, the identification of those that can be recombined in directed evolution. Herein, a recombination strategy is systematically investigated to minimize experimental efforts and maximize possible improvements. In total, 15 beneficial substitutions from Bacillus subtilis lipase A (BSLA), which improves resistance to the organic cosolvent 1,4-dioxane (DOX), were studied to compare two recombination strategies, the two-gene recombination process (2GenReP) and the in silico guided recombination process (InSiReP), employing CompassR. Remarkably, both strategies yielded a highly DOX-resistant variant, M4 (I12R/Y49R/E65H/N98R/K122E/L124K), with up to 14.6-fold improvement after screening of about 270 clones. M4 has a remarkably enhanced resistance in 60 % (v/v) acetone (6.0-fold), 30 % (v/v) ethanol (2.1-fold), and 60 % (v/v) methanol (2.4-fold) compared with wild-type BSLA. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that attracting water molecules by charged surface substitutions is the main driver for increasing the DOX resistance of BSLA M4. Both strategies and obtained molecular knowledge can likely be used to improve the properties of other enzymes with a similar α/β-hydrolase fold.     

Tailoring D‐Amino Acid Oxidase from the Pig Kidney to R‐Stereoselective Amine Oxidase and its Use in the Deracemization of α‐Methylbenzylamine

The deracemization of racemic amines to yield enantioenriched amines using S‐stereoselective amine oxidases (AOx) has recently been attracting attention. However, R‐stereoselective AOx that are suitable for deracemization have not yet been identified. An R‐stereoselective AOx was now evolved from porcine kidney D ‐amino acid oxidase (pkDAO) and subsequently use for the deracemization of racemic amines. The engineered pkDAO, which was obtained by directed evolution, displayed a markedly changed substrate specificity towards R amines. The mutant enzyme exhibited a high preference towards the substrate α‐methylbenzylamine and was used to synthesize the S amine through deracemization. The findings of this study indicate that further investigations on the structure–activity relationship of AOx are warranted and also provide a new method for biotransformations in organic synthesis.     

细胞色素P450酶催化的烷烃选择性羟化

碳氢键选择氧化是合成化学领域的重要课题,其中烷烃选择性羟化反应更是面临着化学选择性、区域选择性和立体选择性等多重挑战.细胞色素P450酶广泛分布于动植物和微生物体内,是公认的多功能生物氧化催化剂.P450酶对惰性C-H键的选择性氧化具有独特优势,在催化烷烃选择性羟化反应方面拥有巨大潜力.本综述简述了P450单加氧酶及其催化烷烃选择性羟化的反应机理,梳理了来自CYP153家族、CYP52家族和其他家族的天然P450酶催化各类烷烃底物的氧化反应和选择性,讨论了理性设计和定向进化策略在开发烷烃羟化P450突变酶过程中的经典案例,介绍了底物工程、诱饵分子、双功能小分子协同催化等几种化学活化P450酶的策略及其在烷烃羟化上的应用,探讨了P450酶在烷烃选择性羟化方面所面临的挑战和解决途径,并展望了其应用前景.