Selective, controllable, and reversible aggregation of polystyrene latex microspheres via DNA hybridization

The directed three-dimensional self-assembly of microstructures and nanostructures through the selective hybridization of DNA is the focus of great interest toward the fabrication of new materials. Single-stranded DNA is covalently attached to polystyrene latex microspheres. Single-stranded DNA can function as a sequence-selective Velcro by only bonding to another strand of DNA that has a complementary sequence. The attachment of the DNA increases the charge stabilization of the microspheres and allows controllable aggregation of microspheres by hybridization of complementary DNA sequences. In a mixture of microspheres derivatized with different sequences of DNA, microspheres with complementary DNA form aggregates, while microspheres with noncomplementary sequences remain suspended. The process is reversible by heating, with a characteristic "aggregate dissociation temperature" that is predictably dependent on salt concentration, and the evolution of aggregate dissociation with temperature is observed with optical microscopy.     

Structural investigation of high-valent manganese-salen complexes by UV/Vis,Raman, XANES,and EXAFS spectroscopy

XANES and EXAFS spectroscopic studies at the Mn-K- and Br-K-edge of reaction products of (S,S)-(+)-N,N'-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)-1,2-cyclohexanediaminomanganese(III) chloride ([(salen)Mn(III)Cl], 1) and (S,S)-(+)-N,N'-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)-1,2-cyclohexanediaminomanganese(III) bromide ([(salen)Mn(III)Br], 2) with 4-phenylpyridine N-oxide (4-PPNO) and 3-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (MCPBA) are reported. The reaction of the Mn(III) complexes with two equivalents of 4-PPNO leads to a hexacoordinated compound, in which the manganese atom is octahedrally coordinated by four oxygen/nitrogen atoms of the salen ligand at an average distance of approximately 1.90 A and two additional, axially bonded oxygen atoms of the 4-PPNO at 2.25 A. The oxidation state of this complex was determined as approximately +IV by a comparative study of Mn(III) and Mn(V) reference compounds. The green intermediate obtained in reactions of MCPBA and solutions of 1 or 2 in acetonitrile was investigated with XANES, EXAFS, UV/Vis, and Raman spectroscopy, and an increase of the coordination number of the manganese atoms from 4 to 5 and the complete abstraction of the halide was observed. A formal oxidation state of IV was deduced from the relative position of the pre-edge 1s-->3d feature of the X-ray absorption spectrum of the complex. The broad UV/Vis band of this complex in acetonitrile with lambda(max)=648 nm was consistent with a radical cation structure, in which a MCPBA molecule was bound to the Mn(IV) central atom. An oxomanganese(V) or a dimeric manganese(IV) species was not detected.     

Synthesis, structure, and dynamics of six-membered metallacoronands and metallodendrimers of iron and indium

In the reaction of the N-substituted diethanolamines (H(2)L(1-3)) (1-3) with calcium hydride followed by addition of iron(III) or indium(III) chloride, the iron wheels [Fe(6)Cl(6)(L(1))(6)] (4) and [Fe(6)Cl(6)(L(2))(6)] (6) or indium wheels [In(6)Cl(6)(L(1))(6)] (5), [In(6)Cl(6)(L(2))(6)] (8) and [In(6)Cl(6)(L(3))(6)] (9) were formed in excellent yields. Exchange of the chloride ions of 6 by thiocyanate ions afforded [Fe(6)(SCN)(6)(L(2))(6)] (7). Whereas the structures of 4, 5 and 7 were determined unequivocally by single-crystal X-ray analyses, complexes 8 and 9 were characterised by NMR spectroscopy. Contrary to what is normally presumed, the scaffolds of six-membered metallic wheels are not generally rigid, but rather undergo nondissociative topomerisation processes. This was shown by variable temperature (VT) (1)H NMR spectroscopy for the indium wheel [In(6)Cl(6)(L(1))(6)] (5) and is highlighted for the enantiotopomerisation of one indium centre [ 1/6[S(6)-5]<==>[1/6[S(6)-5']]. The self-assembly of metallic wheels, starting from diethanolamine dendrons, is an efficient strategy for the convergent synthesis of metallodendrimers.     

Proteomic analysis of simulated occupational jet fuel exposure in the lung

We analyzed protein expression in the cytosolic fraction prepared from whole lung tissue in male Swiss-Webster mice exposed 1 h/day for seven days to aerosolized JP-8 jet fuel at concentrations of 1000 and 2500 mg/m3, simulating military occupational exposure. Lung cytosol samples were solubilized and separated via large scale, high resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and gel patterns scanned, digitized and processed for statistical analysis. Significant quantitative and qualitative changes in tissue cytosol proteins resulted from jet fuel exposure. Several of the altered proteins were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting, confirmed by sequence tag analysis, and related to impaired protein synthetic machinery, toxic/metabolic stress and detoxification systems, ultrastructural damage, and functional responses to CO2 handling, acid-base homeostasis and fluid secretion. These results demonstrate a significant but comparatively moderate JP-8 effect on protein expression and corroborate previous morphological and biochemical evidence. Further molecular marker development and mechanistic inferences from these observations await proteomic analysis of whole tissue homogenates and other cell compartment, i.e., mitochondria, microsomes, and nuclei of lung and other targets.     

Computer-Assisted Solution of Chemical Problems—The Historical Development and the Present State of the Art of a New Discipline of Chemistry

The topic of this article is the development and the present state of the art of computer chemistry, the computer-assisted solution of chemical problems. Initially the problems in computer chemistry were confined to structure elucidation on the basis of spectroscopic data, then programs for synthesis design based on libraries of reaction data for relatively narrow classes of target compounds were developed, and now computer programs for the solution of a great variety of chemical problems are available or are under development. Previously it was an achievement when any solution of a chemical problem could be generated by computer assistance. Today, the main task is the efficient, transparent, and non-arbitrary selection of meaningful results from the immense set of potential solutions—that also may contain innovative proposals. Chemistry has two aspects, constitutional chemistry and stereochemistry, which are interrelated, but still require different approaches. As a result, about twenty years ago, an algebraic model of the logical structure of chemistry was presented that consisted of two parts: the constitution-oriented algebra of be- and r-matrices, and the theory of the stereochemistry of the chemical identity group. New chemical definitions, concepts, and perspectives are characteristic of this logic-oriented model, as well as the direct mathematical representation of chemical processes. This model enables the implementation of formal reaction generators that can produce conceivable solutions to chemical problems—including unprecedented solutions—without detailed empirical chemical information. New formal selection procedures for computer-generated chemical information are also possible through the above model. It is expedient to combine these with interactive methods of selection. In this review, the Munich project is presented and discussed in detail. It encompasses the further development and implementation of the mathematical model of the logical structure of chemistry as well as the experimental verification of the computer-generated results. The article concludes with a review of new reactions, reagents, and reaction mechanisms that have been found with the PC-programs IGOR and RAIN.     

Chemistry of polyfunctional molecules-123. Reactions of BiBr3, SbI3 and AsI3 with LiN(PPh2)2; X-ray structure of a cyclophosphazene salt containing arsenic(I)

BiBr₃ or SbI₃ react at 20°C with LiN(PPh₂)₂ (1) to give elementary Bi or Sb and the P---P coupled phosphazene ligand Ph₂P---N=PPh₂---PPh₂=N---PPh₂ (2). The reaction of AsI₃ with 1 at room temperature formed yellow needles of the eight-membered heterocycle (3), whereas AsI₃ interacted at 80°C with 1 in the molar ratio of 1:3 to give elementary arsenic and 2. Treatment of AsI₃ and 1 at 20°C in a 1:2 stoichiometry yielded the seven-membered, cyclic arsenium(I) salt

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I·4THF (5·4THF), which was characterized by elemental analysis, conductivity, mass, IR and NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray structural analysis.     

Chemie der lithium-enolat-heptafulvene: regiospezifische aldol-addition

Aldehydes and ketones add to the cycloheptatriene ester anion $\text{2a}$ and to the carboxylic acid dianion $\text{2b}$ at C-7 (α-attack) or C-2 (C-5) (γ-attack), depending on the starting compounds.