Structure and electrochemical behaviour of 4,7-diazaheptyl-trimethoxy-silane and vinyl-trialkoxy-silane adsorbed at silver surface

Novel self-assembled monolayers were obtained on silver using 4,7-diazaheptyl-trimethoxy-silane (SiN) and vinyl-trialkoxy-silane (SiVA, where the alkyl group is 3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45,48,51,54,57,60-eicozaoxa- hexaheptaconan). It was shown that thus modified metal surface was protected against electrooxidation. A densely packed monolayer remained stable and did not desorb from the Ag electrode on the potential cycling. The structure of SiN and SiVA as well as their complexes with Li⁺ cations were calculated and visualised by the AM1d and PM5 semi-empirical methods.     

Intramolecular hydrogen bonds and hydrogen-bonded systems in di-Schiff bases of 4-methyl-isophthalaldehyde with 4-substituted anilines

Three di-Schiff bases of 2-hydroxy-5-methyl-isophthalaldehyde with 4-R-anilines (R=H, CH₃, OCH₃) and their 1:1 complexes with HClO₄ were studied by FT-IR, ¹H, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy in acetonitrile and [²H₃]acetonitrile solutions, respectively. In di-Schiff bases intramolecular OH…N hydrogen bonds have been detected; however, they show no proton polarizability. Hydrogen-bonded systems with fast proton fluctuation and large proton polarizability have been found in the 1:1 complexes of di-Schiff bases with HClO₄.     

Intramolecular easily polarizable charged and non-charged hydrogen bonds: IR continua and hydrogen bond length

Substances with intramolecular, easily polarizable hydrogen bonds of different length are compared. Long hydrogen bonds cause IR continua which show band-like structures in the region 2800–1800 cm^?1, extending with weaker intensity toward smaller wave-numbers over the whole region studied. Medium length bonds cause continua beginning at 3200 cm^?1 and extending over the whole region studied. Very short, easily polarizable hydrogen bonds, such as the bond in the HAuCl₄ salt of NN'-tetramethyl-o-xylildiamine di-N-oxide, cause continua with very great intensity in the region 1500–850 cm^?1. Comparison of the experimental with calculated continua shows very good agreement with regard to wavenumber regions in which easily polarizable hydrogen bonds of different length cause IR continua.By comparing all these intramolecular, easily polarizable hydrogen bonds causing IR continua it is shown that the charge of the hydrogen bonds is not the decisive property for the occurrence of the continua but rather the shape of the proton potentials. Continua may occur only with hydrogen bonds with double minima or broad flat proton potential.     

Studies of reaction heats and structure of complexes formed between strong N-bases and phenols

The heats of reactions between various phenols and two strong N-bases of guanidine-like character in acetonitrile, are determined. The values can be used as a measure of self-assembly abilities of the phenol molecules in the interactions with strong N-bases, playing a very important role in biological systems. In the case of TBD complexes with corresponding nitrophenols, the protonated N-base is hydrogen-bonded to the nitro group excluding the self-assembly process of the phenols. In the case of other phenols, the self-assembly abilities are dependent on pK_a values of phenols. With increasing acidity of phenols their ability to form the hydrogen-bonded chains decreases. The maximum of length of the chains is observed for 4-methylphenol, which has a similar pK_a value to that in the tyrosine residue in biological systems.     

Nonrelativistic Lamb shift for muonic molecules

A recently developed formula [R. Bukowski and B. Jeziorski, Phys. Rev. A46 (1992) 5437]. has been applied to estimate the soft-photon Lamb shift contribution to the energies of the muonic molecules pp, dd, tt, pd, pt and dt. The corresponding corrections to the dissociation energies for the excited P states of dd and dt have been found to be almost identical and equal to 0.048 meV. The magnitude of this stabilizing effect is too small to affect seriously the formation rates predictions.     

Distance-dependent fluorescence quenching ofN-acetyl-l-tryptophanamide by acrylamide

We examined the time-dependent intensity decays ofN-acetyl-l-tryptophanamide (NATA) when collisionally quenched by acrylamide in propylene glycol over a range of temperatures. The intensity decays of NATA became increasingly heterogeneous in the presence of acrylamide. The NATA intensity decays were not consistent with the Collins-Kimball radiation boundary condition (RBC) model for quenching. The steady-state Stern-Volmer plots show significant upward curvature, and quenching of NATA by acrylamide was observed even in vitrified propylene glycol, where translational diffusion cannot occur during the lifetime of the excited state. These frequencydomain and steady-state data indicate a through-space quenching interaction between NATA and acrylamide, and the results are consistent with a rate constant for quenching that depends exponentially on the fluorophore-quencher separation distance. The exponential distance-dependent rate of quenching also explains the upward curvature of the Stern-Volmer plot, and the steady-state data aid in determining the interaction distance between NATA and acrylamide. These results suggest that the distance-dependent quenching rates need to be considered in the interpretation of acrylamide quenching of proteins.     

Crystal chemistry of protonated 1,2-bis(di-R-aminomethyl)benzenes. Part V. [1,2-bis(diethylaminomethyl)-3,6-dichlorobenzene:1,2-bis(diethylaminomethyl)-3,4,6-trichlorobenzene]perchlorate mixed crystals

The mixed crystals of 1,2-bis(diethylaminomethyl)-3,6-di- and 3,4,6-trichloro-benzene perchlorate at 0.5:0.5 ratio have been studied using X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy. The molecules of di- and tri-chloro derivatives are distributed randomly in the crystal lattice; however, this disorder manifested mainly by a partial occupation of the chlorine atom at C(4) and by relatively big atomic temperature parameters even at 99 K, particularly for the oxygens of the perchlorate anion. The proton in the [NHN]⁺ bond refined close to the equidistant position between the nitrogens. The conformations of the diethylaminomethyl substituents are pseudo-symmetrical relative to the plane and twofold axis passing through the midpoint of the hydrogen bond. The IR spectrum of the crystals shows a broad intense band and an intense continuous absorption indicating relatively high proton polarizability in the intramolecular hydrogen bond. In acetonitrile and in chloroform, the proton in the intramolecular hydrogen bond also shows a very high proton polarizability demonstrated by the continuous absorption in the IR spectrum.     

Bounds for the scattering length of spin-polarized helium from high-accuracy electronic structure calculations

We developed a series of correlation-consistent, polarized multiple zeta basis sets optimized specifically for the energy of the 2 3S state of helium atom. These basis sets were subsequently augmented with diffuse functions optimized for the van der Waals constants C6 through C14 which determine the asymptotic behavior of the second-order dispersion interaction between 2 3S helium atoms at large interatomic separation R. The resulting bases were applied to compute the Born-Oppenheimer (BO) potential for the lowest 5Sigmag+ state of the helium dimer. The coupled cluster and the full configuration-interaction techniques were employed to account for the electron correlation effects. The cardinal number extrapolation technique was used to obtain the complete-basis-set limit V(R) for the interaction potential and to find its lower VL(R) and upper VU(R) bounds. The resulting potentials were fitted to an analytical function containing accurate van der Waals constants C6 through C12 (including C11). We found that the complete-basis-set BO potential has a well depth De=1048.24+/-0.36 cm-1. The highest rotationless vibrational level is bound by D14=90.2+/-4.7 MHz, much stronger than the previous most accurate estimation of 15.2 MHz. The error bounds for De and D14 were obtained using the VL(R) and VU(R) potentials. The S-wave scattering length computed using the VL(R), V(R), and VU(R) potentials (assuming atomic masses) is aL=7.41 nm, a=7.54 nm, and aU=7.69 nm, respectively. We also computed the adiabatic, relativistic, and quantum electrodynamics (QED) corrections to the BO potential. When these corrections are taken into account the values of D14 and of a (both computed assuming nuclear masses) are 87.4+/-6.7 MHz and 7.64+/-0.20 nm; the error bounds reflect now also the uncertainty of the included adiabatic, relativistic, and QED corrections. The value of the scattering length resulting from our investigation lies outside the error bounds of all experimental determinations based on the properties of Bose-Einstein condensate of spin-polarized helium atoms.     

Temperature Dependence for Fluorescence of β-NADH in Glycerol/Water Solution and in Trehalose/Sucrose Glass

Fluorescence imaging of cells and tissue can be used to evaluate β-NADH redox and location. At low temperature, β-NADH fluorescence intensity increases and therefore sensitivity of imaging increases. In this paper, the temperature dependence of fluorescence was evaluated for β-NADH in glycerol/water solution and in trehalose/sucrose glass. The average fluorescence lifetime for NADH in glycerol/water is 0.66 ns, compared with 5.3 ns in trehalose/ sucrose at 20°C. Emission spectra were recorded from 290 to 12 K. The fluorescence of β-NADH in glycerol/water increases ∼16 fold and the emission shifts about 35 nm to the blue as temperature decreases. Much smaller change is seen for fluorescence of β-NADH in sugar glass. Below 77 K, the β-NADH spectral features did not change significantly with temperature change, and so no increase in sensitivity is obtained by going to very low temperatures. It is suggested that the sensitivity of β-NADH fluorescence is related to water relaxation around the excited state molecule. Differences in water in various tissues may contribute to β-NADH fluorescence changes when cells are altered.     

Spectroscopic, mass spectrometry, and semiempirical investigations of a new 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl ester of Monensin A and its complexes with monovalent cations

A new 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl ester of Monensin A (MON7) has been synthesized and its capability of complex formation with Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺ cations has been studied by ESI MS, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, FT-IR, and PM5 semiempirical methods. ESI mass spectrometry indicates that MON7 forms complexes with Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺ of exclusively 1:1 stoichiometry which are stable up to cv = 70 V. The formation of complexes between MON7 and Na⁺ cations is strongly favored. Starting from about cv = 90 V fragmentation of the respective complexes is observed, primarily characterized by several dehydration steps. The structures of the MON7 complexes with Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺ cations are stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonds in which the OH groups are always involved. The structures are visualized and discussed in detail. It has been proved that the formation of a pseudo crown ring structure formed by MON7 is preferred in complexes with Na⁺ cations.