Water concentration profiles in membranes measured by ESEEM of spin-labeled lipids

Electron spin-echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy of phospholipids spin-labeled systematically down the sn-2 chain was used to detect the penetration of water (D2O) into bilayer membranes of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine with and without 50 mol % cholesterol. Three-pulse stimulated echoes allow the resolution of two superimposed 2H-ESEEM spectral components of different widths, for spin labels located in the upper part of the lipid chains. Quantum chemical calculations (DFT) and ESEEM simulations assign the broad spectral component to one or two D2O molecules that are directly hydrogen bonded to the N-O group of the spin label. Classical ESEEM simulations establish that the narrow spectral component arises from nonbonded water (D2O) molecules that are free in the hydrocarbon chain region of the bilayer membrane. The amplitudes of the broad 2H-ESEEM spectral component correlate directly with those of the narrow component for spin labels at different positions down the lipid chain, reflecting the local H-bonding equilibria. The D2O-ESEEM amplitudes decrease with position down the chain toward the bilayer center, displaying a sigmoidal dependence on position that is characteristic of transmembrane polarity profiles established by other less direct spin-labeling methods. The midpoint of the sigmoidal profile is shifted toward the membrane center for membranes without cholesterol, relative to those with cholesterol, and the D2O-ESEEM amplitude in the outer regions of the chain is greater in the presence of cholesterol than in its absence. For both membrane types, the D2O amplitude is almost vanishingly small at the bilayer center. The water-penetration profiles reverse correlate with the lipid-chain packing density, as reflected by 1H-ESEEM intensities from protons of the membrane matrix. An analysis of the H-bonding equilibria provides essential information on the binding of water molecules to H-bond acceptors within the hydrophobic interior of membranes. For membranes containing cholesterol, approximately 40% of the nitroxides in the region adjacent to the lipid headgroups are H bonded to water, of which ca. 15% are doubly H bonded. Corresponding H-bonded populations in membranes without cholesterol are ca. 20%, of which ca. 6% are doubly bonded.     

Synthesis of 4-Aryl-6-oxo-5-cyano-1,6-dihydropyridine-2-carboxylic Acids and Their Methyl Esters by Reacting Methyl Acylpyruvates with Malononitrile and Cyanoacetamide

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - A series of new methyl 4-aryl-6-oxo-5-cyano-1,6-dihydropyridine-2-carboxylates and 4-aryl-6-oxo-5-cyano-1,6-dihydropyridine-2-carboxylic acids were...     

The CIDNP effect in plastic crystals

The CIDNP effects in the photolysis reactions of some aldehydes and ketones (including linear, aromatic and cyclic) in plastic crystals of cyclohexane have been discovered and studied. In going from liquid to solid solutions, the change of polarization sign is observed for some substances investigated. The CIDNP effect for a simple model for a relative motion of atoms of radicals possessing spin density (translational diffusion in a restricted volume) has been calculated. The results observed are interpreted in the framework of the radical pair mechanism of CIDNP effect formation.     

ESEEM of disordered systems in frequency domain: Analytical formulae in the case of nuclear spin 1/2 and weak hyperfine interaction

The analytical expressions for the spectral density of the dead time free electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) signal of disordered system are obtained for a paramagnetic center with nuclear spin 1/2 and weak axially symmetric hyperfine interaction. The spectral density is given by the Fourier transformation of the ESE signal averaged over all orientations. The order of the two linear operations may be changed. Fourier transformation of the nonaveraged ESE signal supplies us with the sum of the Dirac δ -functions. Averaging of such a spectrum is a rather trivial operation leading to the spectral densities in the final form.     

A kinematical study of Kirchhoff-Rayleigh flow

Summary A method of calculating the separated flow of a viscous fluid is proposed, which allows to split up properly the boundary condition problem from the viscous phenomena. The theory is developed for the flow past a plate and yields wakes of finite extension having an underpressure which depends directly on the amount of vorticity diffusion and dissipation occurring in the fluid. Application of the method to real flows shows good agreement between the calculated and the measured velocity distributions in front of the plate and in the wake.

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Résumé Une méthode de calcul de l'écoulement décollé d'un fluide visqueux est proposée qui permet de séparer clairement le problème aux limites des phénomènes visqueux. La théorie est développée pour l'écoulement autour d'une plaque et donne des sillages de longueur finie ayant une dépression de culot directement dépendante de l'intensité de la diffusion et dissipation de la vorticité se produisant dans le fluide. L'application de la méthode à des écoulements réels montre une bonne concordance entre les répartitions de vitesse calculées et mesurées sur le devant de la plaque et dans le sillage.

     

Reaction of 1-(2-Oxocyclohexyl)ethane-1,1,2,2-tetracarbonitrile with α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - The reaction of 1-(2-oxocyclohexyl)ethane-1,1,2,2-tetracarbonitrile with crotonic aldehyde, cinnamic aldehyde, 2-furylacrolein, 3-phenyl-2-propinal,...     

Gas phase activation energy for unimolecular dissociation of biomolecular ions determined by focused RAdiation for gaseous multiphoton ENergy transfer (FRAGMENT)

We present a novel approach for the determination of activation energy for the unimolecular dissociation of a large (>50 atoms) ion, based on measurement of the unimolecular dissociation rate constant as a function of continuous-wave CO(2) laser intensity. Following a short ( approximately 1 s) induction period, CO(2) laser irradiation produces an essentially blackbody internal energy distribution, whose 'temperature' varies inversely with laser intensity. The only currently available method for measuring such activation energies is blackbody infrared radiative dissociation (BIRD). Compared with BIRD, FRAGMENT: (a) eliminates the need to heat the surrounding ion trap and vacuum chamber to each of several temperatures (each requiring hours for temperature equilibration); (b) offers a three-fold wider range of effective blackbody temperature; and (c) extends the range of applications to include initially cold ions (e.g., gas-phase H/D exchange). Our FRAGMENT-determined activation energy for dissociation of protonated bradykinin, 1.2 +/- 0.1 eV, agrees within experimental error to the value, 1.3 +/- 0.1 eV, previously reported by Williams et al. from BIRD experiments. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MRI study of spatial distribution of photochemical reaction products

Spatial distribution of molecules with chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization has been studied by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. It is shown that heating of a system during the photolysis can cause highly nonuniform distribution of reaction products due to a convective effect.