Binuclear Cu2+ complex mediated discrimination between L-glutamate and L-aspartate in water

L-glutamate and L-aspartate selectivity is achieved by the action of two Cu2+ metal ions rightly disposed in a cyclophane-type macrocyclic framework; electrochemical sensing of glutamate has been achieved by adsorption of the copper complexes on graphite electrodes.     

Ligand dynamics and reactivity in trimetallic clusters

The general relationships between trinuclear cluster reactivity and the ligand dynamical processes in these systems are explored. Three specific mechanistic studies are presented: (1) the rate and stereochemistry of ligand addition to ₃-imidoyl complexes, (2) the factors influencing the rate of carbon-hydrogen bond activation in ₃-alkyne complexes, and (3) the origin of anomalously large kinetic deuterium isotope effect in metal to ligand and ligand to metal hydrogen transfer in trinuclear and binuclear complexes. In all three cases, the current state of the mechanistic studies are summarized and the possible rate of specific ligand dynamical processes in controlling the mechanism are put forth.     

Synthesis of 10-(4-methyl-1-piperazinyl)thieno[3,2-b][1,5]benzoxazepines

A series of the title compounds has been synthesized starting from methyl 3-hydroxythiophene-2-carboxylate. Its condensation with 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene provides through compound 4e a way to introduce 7-substituents by means of diazonium salts reactions.     

A trinickel dipyridylamido complex with metal-metal bonding interaction: prelude to polynickel molecular wires and devices?

The molecule Ni(3)(dpa)(4)Cl(2) (1) can be oxidized by AgPF(6) to give crystalline Ni(3)(dpa)(4)(PF(6))(3) (2) (dpa is the anion of di(2-pyridyl)amine). This reversible oxidation occurs at a potential of 0.908 V vs Ag/AgCl electrochemically. The X-ray structure of 2 shows that the oxidation causes a major structural change (even though it is reversible), namely, a contraction of the Ni-Ni distances from ca. 2.43 A to 2.284[1] A. In addition, the electronic structure changes so that from four unpaired electrons in 1 there is only one in 2. From these remarkable results, it is inferred that while 1, and all higher homologues with 5, 7, 9,... nickel atoms are poor electronic conductors, the cations obtainable from them may be much better ones. This in turn means that by controlling the oxidation state electrochemically, these molecules may be able to function as nanoscale diodes.     

Computer experiments on crystalline nylons: structural analysis of nylons with large aliphatic segments

A theoretical study based on force-field calculations has been performed to investigate the structural preferences of crystalline even nylons n with large and very large aliphatic segments. Atomistic energy calculations and Monte Carlo simulations were carried out considering the conventional and forms of nylons 10, 12, 18, 24, and 32. Results indicated that the form is the most favored for nylons 10, 12, 18, and 24. However, the structure was unstable for nylon 32, a polymer in which the density of hydrogen bonds is almost negligible. In this case, the arrangement is energetically more favored than the one.     

Chiral separation of some triazole pesticides by supercritical fluid chromatography

The enantiomeric separation of six triazole pesticides: cyproconazole, propiconazole, diniconazole, hexaconazole, tebuconazole and tetraconazole, using supercritical fluid chromatography and the Chiralpak AD column, is presented in this work. The effect of different organic modifiers such as methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol on the retention and resolution was studied as well as the presence of additives in the mobile phase. The results obtained were highly successful, all the compounds were enantiomerically separated and in most of the cases the analysis time was close to 10 min. The type of organic modifier that provided the best results depended on the compound.     

Comparative performance of MM3(92) and two TINKER MM3 versions for the modeling of carbohydrates

The 1992 version of MM3 was largely used for modeling mono-, di-, and trisaccharides. In later versions of MM3 improvements were made in some parameters that may be important for carbohydrates. This corrected MM3 force field is part of the Tinker package, freely available (as its 4.1 version), and included in the Chem 3D Ultra 8.0 package (as the 3.7 version). The latter version lacks the corrections to the standard bond lengths produced by electronegativity and anomeric effects, whereas the Tinker 4.1 version only lacks the latter correction. The present work compares the performance of the three MM3 versions (and in some cases, DFT and/or HF/ab initio procedures) on several carbohydrate model problems as the chair and rotamer equilibria in 2-hydroxy- and 2-methoxytetrahydropyran, hydrogen bonding in cis-2,3-dihydroxytetrahydropyran, and the potential energy surfaces around the glycosidic bonds of two sulfated disaccharides and two trisaccharides. Tinker MM3 can be used accurately to estimate carbohydrate energies and geometries, and-with the help of some programming-to pursue studies on the potential energy surfaces of di- and trisaccharides. In most cases results obtained using the three MM3 versions are similar, although large energy differences are obtained when comparing a rotameric distribution around a O-C-O-H dihedral, which is almost forced to the exo-anomeric position by the Tinker versions. In other systems smaller energy differences are found, but they can nevertheless lead to a different global minimum when comparing conformers of similar energy. MM3(92) establishes better the differences between the bond lengths in both anomers, as an expected expression of the anomeric correction.     

The influence of microhydration on the ionization energy thresholds of uracil and thymine

In the present study the ionization energy thresholds (IET's) of uracil and thymine have been calculated (with the B3LYP, PMP2, and P3 levels of theory using the standard 6-31++G(d,p) basis set) with one to three water molecules placed in the first hydration shell. Then (B3LYP) polarizable continuum model (PCM) calculations were performed with one to three waters of the hydration shell included. Calculations show there is a distinct effect of microhydration on uracil and thymine. For uracil, one added water results in a decrease in the IET of about 0.15 eV. The second and third water molecules cause a further decrease by about 0.07 eV each. For thymine, the first water molecule is seen to decrease the IET by about 0.1 eV, while the second and third water molecules cause a further decrease of less than 0.1 eV each. The changes in IET calculated here for thymine with one to three waters of hydration are smaller than the experimental values determined by Kim et al. (Kim, S. K.; Lee, W.; Herschbach, D. R. J. Phys. Chem. 1996, 100, 7933). Preliminary results presented here indicate that the experimental results may involve keto-enol tautomers of thymine. The results of placing the microhydrated structures of uracil and thymine in a PCM cavity was seen to make very little difference in the IET when compared to the IET of ordinary uracil or thymine in a PCM cavity. The implications are that accurate calculations of the IET's of uracil and thymine can be obtained by simply considering long-range solvation effects.     

Cell lysis on a microfluidic CD (compact disc)

Cell lysis was demonstrated on a microfluidic CD (Compact Disc) platform. In this purely mechanical lysis method, spherical particles (beads) in a lysis chamber microfabricated in a CD, cause disruption of mammalian (CHO-K1), bacterial (Escherichia coli), and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cells. Interactions between beads and cells are generated in the rimming flow established inside a partially filled annular chamber in the CD rotating around a horizontal axis. To maximize bead-cell interactions in the lysis chamber, the CD was spun forward and backwards around this axis, using high acceleration for 5 to 7 min. Investigation on inter-particle forces (friction and collision) identified the following parameters; bead density, angular velocity, acceleration rate, and solid volume fraction as having the most significant contribution to cell lysis. Cell disruption efficiency was verified either through direct microscopic viewing or measurement of the DNA concentration after cell lysing. Lysis efficiency relative to a conventional lysis protocol was approximately 65%. In the long term, this work is geared towards CD based sample-to-answer nucleic acid analysis which will include cell lysis, DNA purification, DNA amplification, and DNA hybridization detection.     

E- and Z-isomerism of 2-acetylthiophene oximes

A study on the oximation of a number of 2-acetylthiophenes in order to ascertain the validity of contradictory results previously described is reported. The fact that the steric hindrance is smaller in 2-acetylthiophenes unsubstituted at position-3 than in acetylbenzenes allows in these cases the formation of Z oximes, which even can predominate on the E oximes in the case of a + M substitution at position-5. In the paper is also shown that the E/Z ratio of 2-acetylthiophene oximes can be deduced from the ¹H-nmr spectrum of the crude oxime mixture.