Theoretical studies of CH4 inside an open-cage fullerene: translation-rotation coupling and thermodynamic effects

Molecules trapped inside fullerenes exhibit interesting quantum behavior, including quantization of their translational degrees of freedom. In this study, a theoretical framework for predicting quantum properties of nonlinear small molecules in nonsymmetric open-cage fullerenes (OCFs) has been described along the lines of similar theories which treat small molecules inside C(60) and clathrate cages. As an example, the coupled translational-rotational energy structure has been calculated for the case of CH(4) inside a known OCF. The calculated energy levels have been used to calculate the equilibrium fraction of incorporated CH(4) as well as the translational heat capacity for the encapsulated molecule. The heat capacity shows an anomalous maximum at 239 K for CH(4) and 215 K for CD(4) which are not present in free methane.     

Fine tuning of the orifice size of an open-cage fullerene by placing selenium in the rim: insertion/release of molecular hydrogen

A newly synthesized open-cage fullerene containing selenium in the rim of the 13-membered-ring orifice allows milder conditions for hydrogen insertion, and the rate for hydrogen release is ca. three times faster than its sulfur analogue.     

Vibration-rotation spectroscopy of molecules trapped inside C60

A simple model is developed to treat the energy levels and spectroscopy of diatomic molecules inside C 60. The C 60 cage is treated as spherically symmetric, and the coupling to the C 60 vibrations is ignored. The remaining six degrees of freedom correspond to the vibrations and rotations of the diatomic molecule and the rattling vibration of the molecule inside the cage. By using conservation of angular momentum, we can remove two of these motions and simplify the calculations. The resulting energy levels are simple and can be labeled by a set of quantum numbers. The IR and Raman spectra look like those of gas-phase diatomic molecules at low temperatures. At higher temperatures, hot bands due to the low-frequency rattling mode appear, and the spectrum becomes congested, looking like a solution spectrum.     

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy on complex biomolecules

Biomolecular applications of NMR spectroscopy are often merely associated with soluble molecules or magnetic resonance imaging. However, since the late 1970s, solid-state NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy has demonstrated its ability to provide atomic-level insight into complex biomolecular systems ranging from lipid bilayers to complex biomaterials. In the last decade, progress in the areas of NMR spectroscopy, biophysics, and molecular biology have significantly expanded the repertoire of ssNMR spectroscopy for biomolecular studies. This Review discusses current approaches and methodological challenges, and highlights recent progress in using ssNMR spectroscopy at the interface of structural and cellular biology.     

100% encapsulation of a hydrogen molecule into an open-cage fullerene derivative and gas-phase generation of H2@C60

By applying high-pressure H2 to a new fullerene derivative, C63NO2SPh2Py (1), having a 13-membered-ring orifice, 100% incorporation of a H2 molecule into the fullerene cage has been achieved for the first time. This result substantiates the theoretical calculations indicating that the energy barrier required for H2 insertion through an orifice in 1 is considerably lower than that for the previously reported derivative with the largest orifice among open-cage fullerenes synthesized thus far. Upon matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectroscopy, the removal of organic addends from the fullerene derivative 1 encapsulating H2 and restoration of the pristine C60 cage, which retains approximately one-third of incorporated H2, have been observed.     

The outside knows the difference inside: trapping helium by immediate reduction of the orifice size of an open-cage fullerene and the effect of encapsulated helium and hydrogen upon the NMR of a proton directly attached to the outside

A methodology to entrap He inside an open-cage fullerene by immediate reduction of the size of an orifice was developed, and the effects of encapsulated He and H(2) on the chemical shift of a proton directly attached to the outer fullerene sphere were revealed.     

Efficient synthesis of open-cage fullerene derivatives having 16-membered-ring orifices

The synthesis of 10 new open-cage fullerene derivatives with a 16-membered-ring orifice is being reported. These compounds, derived from the regioselective addition reaction of an aromatic hydrazine or hydrazone to isomeric diketone derivatives of C(60), were isolated in moderate to excellent yields.     

Solid-state NMR studies of the molecular structure of Taxol

Solid-state 13C{1H} cross-polarization/magic angle spinning spectroscopy (CP/MAS) has been utilized to extract the molecular structure information of Taxol, which is an anti-tumor therapeutic medicine extracted from the yew bark. The 13C signals have chemical shift values quite consistent with those measured in solution phase, and the overall chemical shift range is over 200 ppm. Notably, most of the 13C resonances of the taxane ring have two clearly resolved spectral components except the resonance peaks of C-15, C-16 and C-17, which are located at the central part of the taxane ring. On the basis of our NMR data, we propose that these doublets originate from two slightly different molecular conformations of the taxane ring and still the central part of the ring remains structurally similar. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the 13C chemical shift difference deduced from the doublet splittings can serve as a direct measure of the structural difference between the two conformations, which could possibly correlate with the anti-tumor activity of Taxol.     

The reaction of fullerene C(60) with 4,6-dimethyl-1,2,3-triazine: formation of an open-cage fullerene derivative.

A thermal reaction of fullerene C(60) with 4,6-dimethyl-1,2,3-triazine (4) in o-dichlorobenzene gave azacyclohexadiene-fused fullerene derivative 5, by the reaction with intermediate azete 11, and then, after flash chromatography over SiO(2), open-cage fullerene derivative 6 having an eight-membered ring orifice on the C(60) cage. Compound 6 is assumed to be formed via addition of diradical intermediate 13 to C(60). Compound 6 underwent a further photochemical reaction with singlet oxygen with the cleavage of one of the double bonds at the rim of the orifice to afford triketone derivative 8 having a 12-membered ring orifice.     

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy of aligned lipid bilayers at low temperatures

This study, for the first time, demonstrates that it is possible to mechanically align lipid bilayers at a very low temperature (as low as the gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition temperature). Performing NMR experiments on mechanically aligned lipid bilayers at a low temperature increases the signal-to-noise ratio, the resolution, and the span of NMR parameters. The increased lifetime of the alignment and the nature of the bilayer sample would enhance the application of solid-state NMR techniques to study membrane proteins.     

Inter- and intramolecular spin transfer in molecular magnetic materials. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy of paramagnetic metallocenium ions

To shed light on the interaction in molecule-based magnetic materials, the decamethylmetallocenium hexafluorophosphates, [(C(5)Me(5))(2)M](+) [PF(6)](-) with M = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni, as well as the tetracyanoethenides, [(C(5)Me(5))(2)M](+) [TCNE](-) with M = Cr, Mn, Fe, and Co, have been investigated in the solid state by using (1)H, (13)C, (19)F, and (31)P NMR spectroscopy under magic angle spinning (MAS). The isotropic (13)C and (1)H NMR signals cover ranges of about 1300 and 500 ppm, respectively. From the shift anisotropies of the ring carbon signal of the [(C(5)Me(5))(2)M](+) cations, the total unpaired electron spin density in the ligand pi orbitals has been calculated; it amounts up to 36% (M = Ni) and is negative for M = Cr, Mn, and Fe. The radical anion of [(C(5)Me(5))(2)M](+) [TCNE](-) shifts the (13)C NMR signals of all [(C(5)Me(5))(2)M](+) cations to high frequency, which establishes transfer of positive spin density from the anions to the cations. The (19)F and (31)P NMR signals of the paramagnetic salts [(C(5)Me(5))(2)M](+) [PF(6)](-) are shifted up to 13.5 ppm relative to diamagnetic [(C(5)Me(5))(2)Co](+) [PF(6)](-). The signs of these shifts are the same as those of the pi spin density in [(C(5)Me(5))(2)M](+). After consideration of interionic ligand- and metal-centered dipolar shifts, this establishes cation-anion spin delocalization. The mixed crystals [(C(5)Me(5))(2)M(x)Co(1-x)](+)[PF(6)](-) have been prepared for M = Cr and Ni. They are isostructural with [(C(5)Me(5))(2)Co](+) [PF(6)](-) whose single-crystal structure has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The (13)C, (19)F, and (31)P MAS NMR spectra of the mixed crystals show that the respective two closest paramagnetic ions in the lattice delocalize spin density to [(C(5)Me(5))(2)Co](+), [(C(5)Me(5))(2)Ni](+), and [PF(6)](-). In [(C(5)Me(5))(2)M](+), about 10(-4) au per carbon atom are transferred.     

Solid-state 139La and 15N NMR spectroscopy of lanthanum-containing metallocenes

A preliminary set of solid-state 139La and 15N NMR data for lanthanum-containing metallocenes is presented, including (C5H5)3La, (C5Me4H)3La, [(C5Me5)2La]+[BPh4]-, and 15N-enriched [(C5Me4H)2La(THF)]215N2. Broad 139La NMR spectra, with breadths ranging from 600 kHz to 2.5 MHz, were acquired with piecewise QCPMG techniques at 9.4 T. Simulations of the spectra reveal 139La quadrupolar coupling constants (CQ) between 44 and 105 MHz. In addition, the first NMR measurement of a nitrogen chemical shift (CS) tensor for dinitrogen bound side-on to a metal atom is reported for [(C5Me4H)2La(THF)]215N2. The 139La NMR parameters show remarkable sensitivity to changes in metallocene structure and can be interpreted in an intuitive manner. Preliminary RHF and DFT calculations of 139La electric field gradient (EFG) and nitrogen CS tensors are used to provide tensor orientations and to rationalize the origin of the NMR parameters in terms of molecular structure and symmetry. The sensitivity of 139La and 15N NMR tensor parameters to changes in structure and bonding should prove invaluable in future studies of noncrystalline and disordered systems.     

Solid-state phosphorus-31 NMR spectroscopy of a multiple-spin system: an investigation of a rhodium-triphosphine complex

Phosphorus-31 NMR spectra of solid [tris(dimethylphenylphosphine)](2,5-norbornadiene) rhodium(I) hexafluorophosphate have been acquired at several applied magnetic field strengths. The phosphorus nuclei of the three phosphine ligands are spin-spin coupled to each other and to 103Rh, resulting in complex NMR spectra; however, the three phosphorus chemical shift (CS) tensors were determined through the analysis of NMR spectra of slow magic angle spinning and stationary samples. Spectra of spinning samples in rotational resonance and two-dimensional 31P NMR spectra were particularly useful for determining the magnitudes of the indirect spin-spin couplings, and to probe their signs. Despite being in similar environments, the three phosphorus nuclei of the phosphine ligands have distinct CS tensors. In particular, the spans of these tensors, delta11-delta33, range from 80 to 176 ppm. The phosphorus CS tensors have been assigned to specific sites determined by X-ray crystallography, based on a combination of the experimental results and the results of quantum chemical calculations of the phosphorus shielding and 2J(31P,31P) values. The effect of coordination of dimethylphenylphosphine with rhodium has been investigated by comparing calculated phosphorus CS tensors for the uncoordinated ligand with those obtained for the ligands in the complex.     

Investigation of biomolecules trapped in fluid inclusions inside halite crystals by Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy was tested for the identification of biomolecules (glycine, L-alanine, β-alanine, L-serine, and γ-aminobutyric acid) trapped in fluid inclusions inside halite model crystals. The investigated biomolecules represent important targets for future astrobiological missions. We know from terrestrial conditions that organic molecules and microorganisms can be sealed within fluid inclusions and can survive intact even for hundreds of millions of years. Raman spectroscopy is currently being miniaturized for future extraterrestrial planetary exploration (ExoMars 2018). Raman spectroscopy has shown the ability to detect investigated aminoacids nondestructively without any sample preparation, in short measurement times, and in relatively low concentrations. The number of registered Raman bands of investigated aminoacids and their intensity clearly correlate with the given concentration of biomolecules within fluid inclusions.