Decharging of globular proteins and protein complexes in electrospray

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is a valuable tool in structural biology for investigating globular proteins and their biomolecular interactions. During the electrospray ionization process, proteins become desolvated and multiply charged, which may influence their structure. Reducing the net charge obtained during the electrospray process may be relevant for studying globular proteins. In this report we demonstrate the effect of a series of inorganic and organic gas-phase bases on the number of charges that proteins and protein complexes attain. Solution additives with very strong gas-phase basicities (GB) were identified among the so-called "proton sponges". The gas-phase proton affinities (PA) of the compounds that were added to the aqueous protein solutions ranged from 700 to 1050 kJ mol(-1). Circular dichroism studies showed that in these solutions the proteins retain their globular structures. The size of the proteins investigated ranged from the 14.3 kDa lysozyme up to the 800 kDa tetradecameric chaperone complex GroEL. Decharging of the proteins in the electrospray process by up to 60 % could be achieved by adding the most basic compounds rather than the more commonly used ammonium acetate additive. This decharging process probably results from proton competition events between the multiply protonated protein ions and the basic additives just prior to the final desolvation. We hypothesize that such globular protein species, which attain relatively few charges during the ionization event, obtain a gas-phase structure that more closely resembles their solution-phase structure. Thus, these basic additives can be useful in the study of the biologically relevant properties of globular proteins by using mass spectrometry.     

Ferromagnetic coupling in the three-dimensional malonato-bridged gadoliniumIII complex [Gd2(mal)3(H2O)6] (H2mal = malonic acid)

The novel gadolinium(III) complex of formula [Gd(2)(mal)(3)(H(2)O)(6)] (1) (H(2)mal = 1,3-propanedioic acid) has been prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. Crystal data for 1: monoclinic, space group I2/a, a = 11.1064(10) A, b = 12.2524(10) A, c =13.6098(2) A, beta = 92.925(10) degrees, U = 1849.5(3) A(3), Z = 4. Compound 1 is a three-dimensional network made up of malonate-bridged gadolinium(III) ions where the malonate exhibits two bridging modes, eta(5)-bidentate + unidentate and eta(3):eta(3) + bis(unidentate). The gadolinium atom is nine-coordinate with three water molecules and six malonate oxygen atoms from three malonate ligands forming a distorted monocapped square antiprism. The shortest metal-metal separations are 4.2763(3) A [through the oxo-carboxylate bridge] and 6.541(3) A [through the carboxylate in the anti-syn coordination mode]. The value of the angle at the oxo-carboxylate atom is 116.8(2) degrees. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal the occurrence of a significant ferromagnetic interaction through the oxo-carboxylate pathway (J = +0.048(1) cm(-1), H = -JS(Gd(1)) x S(Gd(1a))).     

High-nuclearity sulfide-rich molybdenum[bond]iron[bond]sulfur clusters: reevaluation and extension

High-nuclearity Mo[bond]Fe[bond]S clusters are of interest as potential synthetic precursors to the MoFe(7)S(9) cofactor cluster of nitrogenase. In this context, the synthesis and properties of previously reported but sparsely described trinuclear [(edt)(2)M(2)FeS(6)](3-) (M = Mo (2), W (3)) and hexanuclear [(edt)(2)Mo(2)Fe(4)S(9)](4-) (4, edt = ethane-1,2-dithiolate; Zhang, Z.; et al. Kexue Tongbao 1987, 32, 1405) have been reexamined and extended. More accurate structures of 2-4 that confirm earlier findings have been determined. Detailed preparations (not previously available) are given for 2 and 3, whose structures exhibit the C(2) arrangement [[(edt)M(S)(mu(2)-S)(2)](2)Fe(III)](3-) with square pyramidal Mo(V) and tetrahedral Fe(III). Oxidation states follow from (57)Fe M?ssbauer parameters and an S = (3)/(2) ground state from the EPR spectrum. The assembly system 2/3FeCl(3)/3Li(2)S/nNaSEt in methanol/acetonitrile (n = 4) affords (R(4)N)(4)[4] (R = Et, Bu; 70-80%). The structure of 4 contains the [Mo(2)Fe(4)(mu(2)-S)(6)(mu(3)-S)(2)(mu(4)-S)](0) core, with the same bridging pattern as the [Fe(6)S(9)](2-) core of [Fe(6)S(9)(SR)(2)](4-) (1), in overall C(2v) symmetry. Cluster 4 supports a reversible three-member electron transfer series 4-/3-/2- with E(1/2) = -0.76 and -0.30 V in Me(2)SO. Oxidation of (Et(4)N)(4)[4] in DMF with 1 equiv of tropylium ion gives [(edt)(2)Mo(2)Fe(4)S(9)](3-) (5) isolated as (Et(4)N)(3)[5].2DMF (75%). Alternatively, the assembly system (n = 3) gives the oxidized cluster directly as (Bu(4)N)(3)[5] (53%). Treatment of 5 with 1 equiv of [Cp(2)Fe](1+) in DMF did not result in one-electron oxidation but instead produced heptanuclear [(edt)(2)Mo(2)Fe(5)S(11)](3-) (6), isolated as the Bu(4)N(+)salt (38%). Cluster 6 features the previously unknown core Mo(2)Fe(5)(mu(2)-S)(7)(mu(3)-S)(4) in molecular C(2) symmetry. In 4-6, the (edt)MoS(3) sites are distorted trigonal bipramidal and the FeS(4) sites are distorted tetrahedral with all sulfide ligands bridging. M?ssbauer spectroscopic data for 2 and 4-6 are reported; (mean) iron oxidation states increase in the order 4 < 5 approximately 1 < 6 approximately 2. Redox and spectroscopic data attributed earlier to clusters 2 and 4 are largely in disagreement with those determined in this work. The only iron and molybdenum[bond]iron clusters with the same sulfide content as the iron[bond]molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase are [Fe(6)S(9)(SR)(2)](4-) and [(edt)(2)Mo(2)Fe(4)S(9)](3-)(,4-).     

Magnetic anisotropy of a high-spin octanuclear nickel(II) complex with a meso-helicate core

The octanickel(II) cluster 2b has been synthesized from the novel ferromagnetically coupled dinickel(II) metallacryptand 1b assembled from the m-phenylene-bis(oxamate) ligand. Complex 2b exhibits a dimer-of-tetramers structure, with two oxamate-bridged propeller-shaped tetranuclear units connected through three meta-substituted phenylenediamidate bridges, giving a metallacryptand core of the meso-helicate type. Complex 2b behaves as a ferromagnetically coupled dimer of two S=2 Ni(II)4 units with appreciable magnetic anisotropy.     

Simultaneous determination of cobalt,nickel and iron by multi-wavelength spectrophotometry

A method for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of cobalt, nickel and iron based on the formation of their complexes with 1,5-bis(di-2-pyridylmethylene) thiocarbonohydrazide is proposed. The absorption curves of these complexes overlap severely in the scanning range 390–510 nm. The analyte concentrations are calculated by a least squares fit of the pure spectra to the mixture spectra, which therefore makes the simultaneous determination of these metallic ions possible without tedious pretreatment. The detection limits afforded by the proposed method range from 0.05 g/ml for Fe and Ni to 0.1 g/ml for Co. Root-mean-squared errors of prediction of 0.085 g/ml for Co, 0.048 g/ml for Ni and 0.1172 g/ml for Fe were obtained using the wavelength range 400–510 nm and 0.147 g/ml for Co, 0.107 g/ml for Ni and 0.127 g/ml for Fe using the wavelength range 420–434 nm. The effect of interferences is studied and the proposed method is applied to analysis for the above elements in synthetic samples and real samples, such as biological materials and alloys.     

Study of the Chemical Space of Selected Bacteriostatic Sulfonamides from an Information Theory Point of View

The relative structural location of a selected group of 27 sulfonamide‐like molecules in a chemical space defined by three information theory quantities (Shannon entropy, Fisher information, and disequilibrium) is discussed. This group is composed of 15 active bacteriostatic molecules, 11 theoretically designed ones, and para‐aminobenzoic acid. This endeavor allows molecules that share common chemical properties through the molecular backbone, but with significant differences in the identity of the chemical substituents, which might result in bacteriostatic activity, to be structurally classified and characterized. This is performed by quantifying the structural changes on the electron density distribution due to different functional groups and number of electrons. The macroscopic molecular features are described by means of the entropy‐like notions of spatial electronic delocalization, order, and uniformity. Hence, an information theory three‐dimensional space (IT‐3D) emerges that allows molecules with common properties to be gathered. This space witnesses the biological activity of the sulfonamides. Some structural aspects and information theory properties can be associated, as a result of the IT‐3D chemical space, with the bacteriostatic activity of these molecules. Most interesting is that the active bacteriostatic molecules are more similar to para‐aminobenzoic acid than to the theoretically designed analogues.     

Simultaneous Molecular Recognition of Interleukins 2 and 4, and of Tumour Necrosis Factor-α in Biological Samples

Two 3D stochastic sensors based on single-walled carbon nanotubes and multi-walled carbon nanotubes decorated with gold nanoparticles and modified with 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (pentafluorophenyl)-21H,23H-porphyrin iron (III) chloride were constructed and utilized for the simultaneous molecular recognition of IL-2, IL-4, and TNF-α in biological samples. The proposed sensors present low limits of quantification, high sensitivity, and wide concentration ranges. Recoveries values higher than 98.2 % of analytes from whole blood and brain tumour tissue samples were obtained.     

M(III)(bpym)(CN)(4)](-): a suitable building block to design ferrimagnetic cyano-bridged heterobimetallic chains (M = Fe, Cr; bpym = 2,2'-bypyrimidine)

Two cyano-bridged M(III)Mn(III) [M = Fe () and Cr ()] ferrimagnetic chains are reported; exhibits metamagnetism with two critical fields of 1250 G and 2.0 T which correspond to the overcoming by the applied dc field of the inter- and intrachain magnetic interactions, respectively.     

One-dimensional and two-dimensional coordination polymers constructed from copper(II) nodes and polycarboxylato spacers: Synthesis,crystal structures and magnetic properties

Four new coordination polymers were obtained by employing polycarboxylato spacers and cationic copper(II) complexes as nodes: ^∞₂[Cu₃(trim)₂(NH₃)₆(H₂O)₃] (1); ^∞₁[Cu(tmen)(dhtp)] (2), ^∞₁[Cu(tmen)(hitp)(H₂O)] (3), ^∞₁[Cu(tmen)(nitp)] (4). (H₃trim = trimesic acid, H₂dhtp = 2,5-dihydroxy-terephthalic acid; H₂hitp = 5-hydroxy-isophthalic acid, H₂nitp = 5-nitro-isophthalic acid; tmen = N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-ethylenediamine). The crystal structures of the four compounds have been solved. Compound 1 consists of 2D coordination polymers with heart-shaped meshes, while compounds 2–4 contain infinite zigzag chains. The role of the hydrogen bond interactions in sustaining the supramolecular solid-state architectures in compounds 1 and 3 is discussed. The cryomagnetic investigation of compounds 1, 2, and 4 reveals antiferromagnetic interactions between the copper ions.