Effect of heavy atoms in bioluminescent reactions

Bioluminescent reactions of luminous organisms are excellent models for studying the effects of heavy atoms on enzymatic processes. The effects of potassium halides with halide anions of different atomic weight were compared in bioluminescent reactions of the firefly (Luciola mingrelica), a marine coelenterate (Obelia longissima), and a marine bacterium (Photobacterium leiognathi). Two mechanisms of the effects of the halides were examined—the physicochemical effect of the external heavy atom, based on spin–orbit interactions in electron-excited structures, and the biochemical effect, i.e. interactions with the enzymes resulting in changes of enzymatic activity. The physicochemical effect was evaluated by using photoexcitation of model fluorescent compounds (flavin mononucleotide, firefly luciferin, and coelenteramide) of similar structure to the bioluminescence emitters. The bioluminescent and photoluminescent inhibition coefficients were calculated and compared for the luminous organisms to evaluate the relative contributions of the two mechanisms. The biochemical mechanism was found to be dominant. Hence, the bioluminescent reactions can be used as assays to monitor enzyme inhibition, in metabolic processes, by Br or I-containing compounds.     

Formation and study of thin films oftert-butyl-substituted thiopyrylium dyes

The formation of thin films of symmetrical and asymmetrical thiopyrylium dyes, containingtert-butyl substituents, on glass supports was studied. The films were deposited by centrifugation of solutions of individual dyes or dye—polymer [poly(methyl methacrylate)] compositions. The dye: polymer ratios necessary for the formation of WORM recording layers based on these dyes were determined. The use of a polymeric matrix increases the film thickness and optical density but decreases its reflection power and does not allow crystallization of the dye on the support to be completely avoided. An increase in the number oftert-butyl groups in the dye molecule prevents crystallization of the recording layer in the case of symmetrical dye molecules, but does not prevent it for asymmetrical molecules. The data obtained were interpreted in terms of geometrical views on the interaction of dye molecules in thin layers. Translated fromIzestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1343–1349, July, 1998.     

Styryl dyes. Synthesis and study of the solid-state [2+2] autophotocycloaddition by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction

New styryl dyes of the pyridine and benzothiazole series were synthesized with the aim of investigating the solid-state [2+2] autophotocycloaddition (PCA) reaction. The ¹H NMR spectroscopy showed that for most of the compounds under study, the visible light irradiation of thin polycrystalline films of the dyes affords cyclobutane derivatives. The rate of the photoreaction depends on the structure of the dye and is higher for compounds, which contain a short N-substituent in the heterocyclic moiety and have strong absorption in the visible region. Dyes bearing electron-releasing substituents in the benzene ring undergo the stereospecific PCA in the syn-head-to-tail dimeric pair to give the only rctt isomer of cyclobutane derivatives. Electron-withdrawing and bulky substituents in the benzene fragment of styryl dyes extend the range of the mutual orientations of the molecules in the dimeric pairs, resulting in the formation of two or even four isomeric cyclobutanes in the PCA reactions. The structures of some dyes were established by X-ray diffraction. In the overwhelming majority of the structures, one of two packing modes, either syn-head-to-tail or syn-head-to-head, with extensive stacking interactions is observed. A rare example of the anti-head-to-head stacking mode was found for the dicationic dye containing the bulky N⁺(Et)Me₂ substituent in the benzene ring. The syn-head-to-tail and anti-head-to-head stacking modes can facilitate the PCA reaction due to the close spatial proximity of the ethylenic bonds and their parallel orientation in the dimeric pairs of the dye molecules. Dedicated to Academician G. A. Abakumov on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1797–1819, September, 2007.     

Protolytic properties of the structurally rigid analogs of 2,6-distyrylpyridine. Widening the pH sensitivity range by the photochemical E→Z isomerisation and introduction of substituents capable to protolytic interactions

Protolytic interactions in the series of prospective fluorescent ratiometric wide-range pH indicators — structurally rigid analogs of 2,6-distyrylpyridine — (3E,5E)-3,5-dibenzylidene-8-phenyl-1,2,3,5,6,7-hexahydrodicyclopentano[b,e]pyridine — were investigated. The pyridine nitrogen atom basicity in these compounds is significantly lower in comparison with that of unsubstituted heterocycle and 2,6-distyrylpyridine. The photochemical E→Z photoisomerization and the side benzene rings substituents influence on the acid-base equilibria were studied. The complex multi-stage mechanism of the acid-base interactions of the polysubstituted compounds was elucidated. The most significant spectral effects were typical to the N,N-dialkylamino substituted compounds of the investigated series. The widest pH sensitivity interval covering nearly the full range of 0–14 units was demonstrated for compounds with both proton donor and proton acceptor substituents.      

Effect of DNA and bivalent metal ions on the interaction of thermostable DNA polymerase <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tte</Emphasis> with dNTPs

The interaction of DNA polymerase Tte from Thermus thermophilus B35 with dUTP analog containing a fluorescein residue bound to C(5) of the base (Flu-dUTP) was studied by fluorescence titration. The dissociation constants of the enzyme—substrate complexes in the absence and in the presence of a DNA duplex containing an extended template and bivalent metal ions and the kinetic parameters of polymerization by DNA polymerase Tte in the presence of Flu-dUTP were determined. __________ Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 1268–1272, May, 2005.     

New stable germylenes,stannylenes, and related compounds 7. Synthesis and structures of compounds Hal—Sn—OCH<Subscript>2</Subscript>CH<Subscript>2</Subscript>NMe<Subscript>2</Subscript> (Hal = Cl or F)

New stable divalent tin derivatives containing no bulky substituents at the metal atom, Hal—Sn— OCH₂CH₂NMe₂ (Hal = Cl or F), were synthesized, and their crystal structures were studied by X-ray diffraction. Unlike the analogous monomeric divalent germanium derivative Cl—Ge—OCH₂CH₂NMe₂, the new compounds are centrosymmetric dimers formed via two intermolecular Sn←CO coordination bonds. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 2, pp. 259–262, February, 2007.     

Synthesis and Photophysical Characterizations of Pyrroloquinolone Photosensitizers for Singlet Oxygen Production†

A series of pyrroloquinolone photosensitizers bearing different halogen substituents (Cl, Br, I) on the heterocyclic framework was studied. These structures were readily prepared through a multi-step synthetic sequence involving an oxidative protocol as an important step to access the quinolone framework. Spectroscopic characterizations and computational investigations were carried out to study the dyes before and after the oxidative step. Interestingly, the fluorescence emission was significantly reduced upon oxidation. In spite of a low photostability under UV light, the pyrroloquinolone photosensitizers proved effective to produce singlet oxygen. Higher singlet oxygen quantum yields were obtained with photosensitizers bearing halogen atoms with a higher atomic number.     

Impact of halogen substituents on interactions between 2-phenyl-2,3-dihydroqulinazolin-4(1H)-one derivatives and human serum albumin

A novel type of 2-(un)substituted phenyl-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-one (DQL) derivatives were designed and synthesized to study the impact of halogen substituents on interactions between DQL and human serum albumin (HSA) by comparison methodology. The interactions between DQL and HSA were studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. The intrinsic fluorescence of human serum albumin was quenched by DQL through a static quenching mechanism. Site marker competitive experiments showed that DQL bound to HSA in site II (subdomain IIIA). The binding constants, the numbers of binding sites and the thermodynamic parameters were measured too. The results indicated that the interactions were spontaneous, mainly through hydrophobic forces, and the substitution by halogen atoms in the benzene ring could increase the interactions between DQL and HSA. Furthermore, the binding affinity was enhanced gradually with the increasing of halogen atomic number.     

Stabilizing hydrogen-hydrogen interactions in cationic indopolycarbocyanine dyes

A quantum chemical DFT method with the hybrid B3LYP functional in the 6-31G(d) basis set is employed to calculate the equilibrium geometric parameters of the ground and excited states of cationic symmetric indopolycarbocyanine dyes. Based on the Bader topological analysis of the electron density distribution function, it is found that there are hydrogen-hydrogen bonding interactions in the ground, first singlet, and first triplet states of the studied compounds. These interactions are assumed to have the dispersion character. The effect of the stabilization of the conformational position of methyl groups due to hydrogenhydrogen interatomic interactions on fluorescence deactivation processes is shown. The total stabilization energy of hydrogen-hydrogen interatomic interactions in dye cations is found, which is ≈9 kcal/mol.     

Color‐Tunable Solid‐State Fluorescence Emission from Carbazole‐Based BODIPYs

Several carbazole‐based boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes were synthesized by organometallic approaches. Thiazole, benzothiazole, imidazole, benzimidazole, triazole, and indolone substituents were introduced at the 1‐position of the carbazole moiety, and boron complexation of each dipyrrin generated the corresponding compounds 1 , 2 a , and 3 – 6 . The properties of these products were investigated by UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, X‐ray crystallography, and DFT calculations. These compounds exhibited large Stokes shifts, and compounds 1 , 2 a , and 3 – 5 fluoresced both in solution and in the solid state. Complex 2 a showed the highest fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_F) in the solid state, therefore boron complexes of the carbazole–benzothiazole hybrids 2 b – f , which had several different substituents, were prepared and the effects of the substituents on the photophysical properties of the compounds were examined. The fluorescence properties showed good correlation with the results of crystal‐packing analyses, and the dyes exhibited color‐tunable solid‐state fluorescence.     

The effects of characteristics of substituents on toxicity of the nitroaromatics: HiT QSAR study

The present study applies the Hierarchical Technology for Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationships (HiT QSAR) for (i) evaluation of the influence of the characteristics of 28 nitroaromatic compounds (some of which belong to a widely known class of explosives) as to their toxicity; (ii) prediction of toxicity for new nitroaromatic derivatives; (iii) analysis of the effects of substituents in nitroaromatic compounds on their toxicity in vivo. The 50% lethal dose concentration for rats (LD₅₀) was used to develop the QSAR models based on simplex representation of molecular structure. The preliminary 1D QSAR results show that even the information on the composition of molecules reveals the main tendencies of changes in toxicity. The statistic characteristics for partial least squares 2D QSAR models are quite satisfactory (R ² = 0.96–0.98; Q ² = 0.91–0.93; R ² _test = 0.89–0.92), which allows us to carry out the prediction of activity for 41 novel compounds designed by the application of new combinations of substituents represented in the training set. The comprehensive analysis of toxicity changes as a function of substituent position and nature was carried out. Molecular fragments that promote and interfere with toxicity were defined on the basis of the obtained models. It was shown that the mutual influence of substituents in the benzene ring plays a crucial role regarding toxicity. The influence of different substituents on toxicity can be mediated via different C–H fragments of the aromatic ring. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

X-ray crystal structures of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-halogenated 6,6-diphenylfulvenes

Crystal structures of a series of p-halogenated 6,6-diphenylfulvenes 2–5 are reported and comparatively discussed including the known structure of the non-halogenate parent compound 1. The molecular structures show twisted conformations of the plane aryl and fulvene subunits against each other, rather unaffected by the different halogen substituents. The packing structures exclusively involve C–H···X (X = F, Cl, π) contacts while Hal···Hal and π-stacking interactions do not occur.     

Two Orthogonal Halogen-Bonding Interactions Directed 2D Crystalline Supramolecular J-Dimer Lamellae

Dye assemblies exhibit fascinating properties and performances, both of which depend critically on the mutual packing arrangement of dyes and on the supramolecular architecture. Herein, we engineered, for the first time, an intriguing chlorosome-mimetic 2D crystalline J-dimer lamellar structure based on halogenated dyes in aqueous media by employing two distinct orthogonal halogen-bonding (XB) interactions. As the only building motif, antiparallel J-dimer was formed and stabilized by single π-stacking and dual halogen⋅⋅⋅π interactions. With two substituted halogen atoms acting as XB donors and the other two acting as acceptors, the constituent J-dimer units were linked by quadruple highly-directional halogen⋅⋅⋅halogen interactions in a staggered manner, resulting in unique 2D lamellar dye assemblies. This work champions and advances halogen-bonding as a remarkably potent tool for engineering dye aggregates with a controlled molecular packing arrangement and supramolecular architecture.     

Correlation between X-ray crystallography and nuclear quadrupole resonance data: Antimony halides and chalcogenides

For 53 compounds containing 73 crystallographic types of SbX _n coordination polyhedra (X is a halogen and/or chalcogen), parameters of the Voronoi-Dirichlet (VD) polyhedra characterizing the asymmetry of the crystal field in the vicinity of Sb nuclei—the displacement of the Sb nucleus from the centroid of its VD polyhedron (D _A) and the noncentrosymmetry parameter of the atomic environment (A _ns)—have been determined. There is a linear correlation between the experimental ¹²¹Sb quadrupole coupling constants determined from nuclear quadrupole resonance spectra and the D _A and A _ns values calculated from crystal-chemical data.     

Synthesis and photonics of ketocyanine dyes, 2,6-bis(4-dimethylaminoalka-1,3-dienyl)-4H-pyran-4-ones and ethoxytridecamethine salts based on them

The reactions of β-dimethylaminoacrolein aminals with 2,6-dimethyl-γ-pyrone lead to 2,6-bis(4-dimethylaminoalka-1,3-dienyl)-4H-pyran-4-ones, whose alkylation affords ethoxytridecamethine salts. The spectral and fluorescence properties of the synthesized compounds were studied. Their absorption spectra are unusual; along with the long-wavelength band in the visible spectral region, they contain a much more intense short-wavelength band in the near UV region. This pattern of the absorption spectra is explained in terms of the model of chromophore interaction, assuming an acute angle between the chromophore “halves” of the polyene chain of the dye molecule. The central pyran ring in the ethoxytridecamethine salts can hamper conjugation in the polymethine chain. Thermochromism of 2,6-bis(4-dimethylaminoalka-1,3-dienyl)-4H-pyran-4-ones (the long-wavelength shift of the absorption spectra on cooling of the solutions) is observed; only the long-wavelength absorption band undergoes a pronounced thermochromic shift. The introduction of methyl or phenyl substituents into the polyene chains of substituted 4H-pyranones decreases the fluorescence quantum yield. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1340–1345, July, 1999.     

Fluorescence and photochemical properties of crystalline boron difluorides β-diketonato

The fluorescence and photochemical properties of crystalline β-diketonatoboron difluorides (DBD) RCOCHCOR¹BF₂ were studied. These compounds are characterized by relatively high photochemical stability. The introduction of electron-donating groups into the aromatic α-substituent of the chelate ring increases and the introduction of electron-withdrawing groups decreases the fluorescence intensity of DBD. Anisoylbenzoylmethanotoboron difluoride was found to exhibit the highest fluorescence intensity. The substituents were shown to influence the relative arrangement of singlet and triplet ηπ^* and ππ^* levels and luminescence properties of compounds. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1030–1033, June, 2000.     

Interaction of Polymethine Dyes with Detonation Nanodiamonds

Among cationic, anionic, and merocyanine polymethine dyes, the binding to detonation nanodiamond (DND) colloid particles in hydrosol occurs only for negatively charged dye species. This, in view of the positive ζ-potential of the DND used in this study, suggests the predominance of electrostatic interactions over other intermolecular forces in such systems. Indeed, after decorating the merocyanine and the cationic dye by one and two negatively charged sulfopropyl groups, respectively, so that the net charge of their colored species becomes negative, the compounds also demonstrate affinity to the DND particles. In all cases, the binding of dyes to DND is accompanied by a decrease in fluorescence intensity and a bathochromic shift of their absorption and fluorescence bands. A quantitative study of the dyes adsorption on the DND nanoparticles as performed using the Küster-Freundlich and Langmuir equations reveals some peculiarities of their attaching to the DND aggregates and allows estimating the specific area of the DND particles at a concentration of 0.0212 wt/vol %.     

The micellar effect of the sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate—decane—water reverse system on the hydrolysis of phosphonic acid esters

The reactivity of alkyl aryl chloromethylphosphonates in alkaline hydrolysis in the sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate—decane—water reverse micellar system is mainly determined by the electronic properties of substituents and depends only slightly on their hydrophobicity. Published inIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 1712–1715, October, 2000.     

Primary photoprocesses in molecules of carbocyanine dyes in binary solvent mixtures

The effect of the composition of the dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-toluene mixture on the photophysical processes of thia-, indo-, and imidacarbocyanine dyes was studied. In the mixtures with the DMSO content of more than 20 vol %, the dyes representing solvated cations are characterized by high efficiency of trans → cis photoisomerization and fluorescence, in contrast to the extremely low efficiency of intersystem crossing to the triplet state. With growing the toluene content in the mixture, ion pairs between the dye cation and Cl⁻, Br⁻, I⁻, or BF⁴⁻ anion are formed. In the cases when the dye counterions are Br⁻ or I⁻, a sharp increase in the yield of the triplet molecules and a decrease in their lifetime take place. The results are discussed in terms of “the external heavy atom effect” in ion pairs.