Application of significant structures theory to amorphous polyethylene

The thermodynamic properties of amorphous polyethylene are calculated from a model based on the method of significant structures. The motion of a molecule as a whole is described by the motion of segments, each segment moving independently of all others. It is assumed that on melting, holes appear in the solid lattice and the segments can move into these vacancies, obtaining some gaslike degrees of freedom. The complete frequency distribution for polyethylene is used for the solidlike degrees of freedom, while a corrected classical partition function is used for the gaslike degrees of freedom. The calculated thermodynamic properties are in reasonable agreement with experimentally determined values, assuming each gaslike segment to consist of 20 CH₂ groups.     

Multiple polypeptide forms observed in two-dimensional gels of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) polypeptides are generated during the separation procedure

We have examined two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) gel maps of polypeptides from the Gram-negative bacterium Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) and found the same widespread trains of spots as often reported in 2-DE gels of polypeptides of other Gram-negative bacteria. Some of the trains of polypeptides, both from the outer membrane and soluble protein fraction, were shown to be generated during the separation procedure of 2-DE, and not by covalent post-translational modifications. The trains were found to be regenerated when rerunning individual polypeptide spots. The polypeptides analysed giving this type of trains were all found to be classified as stable polypeptides according to the instability index of Guruprasad et al. (Protein Eng. 1990, 4, 155-161). The phenomenon most likely reflects conformational equilibria of polypeptides arising from the experimental conditions used, and is a clear drawback of the standard 2-DE procedure, making the gel picture unnecessarily complex to analyse.     

Ion Association in Lanthanide Chloride Solutions

A better understanding of the solution chemistry of the lanthanide (Ln) salts in water would have wide ranging implications in materials processing, waste management, element tracing, medicine and many more fields. This is particularly true for minerals processing, given governmental concerns about lanthanide security of supply and the drive to identify environmentally sustainable processing routes. Despite much effort, even in simple systems, the mechanisms and thermodynamics of Ln^III association with small anions remain unclear. In the present study, molecular dynamics (MD), using a newly developed force field, provide new insights into LnCl₃(aq) solutions. The force field accurately reproduces the structure and dynamics of Nd³⁺, Gd³⁺ and Er³⁺ in water when compared to calculations using density functional theory (DFT). Adaptive-bias MD simulations show that the mechanisms for ion pairing change from dissociative to associative exchange depending upon cation size. Thermodynamics of association reveal that whereas ion pairing is favourable, the equilibrium distribution of species at low concentration is dominated by weakly bound solvent-shared and solvent-separated ion pairs, rather than contact ion pairs, reconciling a number of contrasting observations of Ln^III–Cl association in the literature. In addition, we show that the thermodynamic stabilities of a range of inner sphere and outer sphere coordination complexes are comparable and that the kinetics of anion binding to cations may control solution speciation distributions beyond ion pairs. The techniques adopted in this work provide a framework with which to investigate more complex solution chemistries of cations in water.     

Termolecular ion-molecule reactions in Titan’s atmosphere. II: The structure of the association adducts of HCNH+ with C2H2 and C2H4

The ion-molecule reactivity of the products formed in the association reactions of HCNH+ with C2H2 (C3H4N+) and C2H4 (C3H6N+) has been investigated to provide information on the structures of the adducts thus formed. The C3H4N+ and C3H6N+ adducts were formed in the reaction flow tube of a flowing afterglow sourced-selected ion flow tube (FA-SIFT) and their reactivity with a neutral molecular "probe" examined. The reactivity of possible known structural isomers for the C3H4N+ and C3H6N+ ions was investigated in both the FA-SIFT and an ion cyclotron resonance spectrometer (ICR). Ab initio investigations of the potential energy surfaces for both structures at the G2(MP2) level have also been performed and structures corresponding to local minima on both surfaces have been identified and evaluated. The results of these experimental and theoretical studies show that at room temperature, the C3H4N+ adduct ion contains two isomers; a less reactive one that is likely to be a four-membered cyclic covalent isomer (approximately 70%) and a faster reacting component that is probably an electrostatic complex (approximately 30%). The C3H6N+ adduct ion formed from HCNH+ + C2H4 at room temperature is a single isomer that is likely to be the four-membered covalently bound cyclic CH2CH2CHNH+ species.     

Electronic structure of unstable intermediates

The geometry of the linear molecule HBO, has been investigated within the restricted Hartree-Fock LCAO-MO-SCF approximation. The calculated bond lengths for the near Hartree-Fock calculation were R(H-B)=2.1913 bohr, R(B-O)=2.2284 bohr. Several one electron properties have been calculated for the minimum energy configuration.     

A practical synthesis of (+/-)-alpha-isosparteine from a tetraoxobispidine core

[reaction: see text] The title alkaloid was synthesized in racemic form from 3,7-diallyl-2,4,6,8-tetraoxo-3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane (7) by a regioselective diallylation reaction followed by double ring-closing olefin metathesis and exhaustive reduction. Tetraoxobispidine 7 was itself prepared in three simple operations from dimethyl malonate. The entire sequence to alpha-isosparteine was conducted on a multigram scale and proceeded without recourse to chromatography.     

Synthesis of the branched-chain sugar aceric acid: a unique component of the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan-II

Described herein is the synthesis of 3-C-carboxy-5-deoxy-L-xylose (aceric acid), a rare branched-chain sugar found in the complex pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan-II. The key synthetic step in the construction of aceric acid was the stereoselective addition of 2-trimethylsilyl thiazole to 5-deoxy-1,2-O-isopropylidene-alpha-L-erythro-pentofuran-3-ulose (2), which was prepared from L-xylose. The thiazole group was efficiently converted into the required carboxyl group via conventional transformations. Aceric acid was also synthesized by dihydroxylation of a 3-C-methylene derivative of 2 followed by oxidation of the resulting hydroxylmethyl group. The C-2 epimer of aceric acid was also synthesized using thiazole addition chemistry, starting from L-arabinose.     

Zur Synthese sulfonierter Derivate von 2,3-Dimethylanilin und 3,4-Dimethylanilin

On the Synthesis of Sulfonated Derivatives of 2,3-Dimethylaniline and 3,4-Dimethylaniline Baking the hydrogensulfate salt of 2,3-dimethylaniline ( 1 ) or of 3,4-dimethylaniline ( 2 ) led to 4-amino-2,3-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 4 ) and 2-amino-4,5-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 5 ), respectively (Scheme 1). The sulfonic acid 5 was also obtained by treatment of 2 with sulfuric acid or by reaction of 2 with amidosulfuric acid. 3-Amino-4,5-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 3 ) and 5-Amino-2,3-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 6 ) were prepared by sulfonation of 1,2-dimethyl-3-nitrobenzene ( 9 ) to 3,4-dimethyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonic acid ( 11 ) and of 1,2-dimethyl-4-nitrobenzene ( 10 ) to 2,3-dimethyl-5-nitrobenzenesulfonic acid ( 12 ), respectively, with subsequent Béchamp reduction (Scheme 1). Preparations of 2-amino-3,4-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 7 ) and of 6-amino-2,3-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 8 ) were achieved by the sulfur dioxide treatment of the diazonium chlorides derived from 3,4-dimethyl-2-nitroaniline ( 24 ) and from 2,3-dimethyl-6-nitroaniline ( 31 ) to 3,4-dimethyl-2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride ( 29 ) and 2,3-dimethyl-6-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride ( 32 ), respectively, followed by hydrolysis to 3,4-dimethyl-2-nitrobenzenesulfonic acid ( 30 ) and 2,3-dimethyl-6-nitrobenzenesulfonic acid ( 33 ), and final reduction (Scheme 3). Compound 7 was also synthesized by reaction of 4-chloro-2,3-dimethylaniline ( 23 ) with amidosulfuric acid to 2-amino-5-chloro-3,4-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 20 ) and subsequent hydrogenolysis (Scheme 2). 4′-Bromo-2′, 3′-dimethyl-acetanilide ( 13 ) and 4′-chloro-2′, 3′-dimethyl-acetanilide ( 14 ) on treatment with oleum yielded 5-acetylamino-2-bromo-3,4-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 17 ) and 5-acetylamino-2-chloro-3,4-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 18 ), respectively. Their structures were proven by hydrolysis to 5-amino-2-bromo-3,4-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 21 ) and 5-amino-2-chloro-3,4-dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid ( 22 ), followed by reductive dehalogenation to 3 .