Spectroscopic characterization of mineral crystals produced by the bacterium Azospirillum brasilense

The results of spectroscopic structural and trace elemental analyses of mineral crystals produced by the soil nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azospirillum brasilense cultivated in a synthetic medium are presented and discussed. The mineral formed is shown to have a structure close to struvite (MgNH(4)PO(4) x 6H(2)O; ASTM file No. 15-762) with some differences which may be attributed to the presence of isomorphic admixtures of other cations (struvite is known to have a variety of forms). AAS/AES and ion chromatography analyses for a number of biologically important microelements and their role in the formation of the crystal structure, as well as some questions related to biomineralization are also discussed.     

Synthesis of mixed metal decaosmium carbido clusters: The X-ray structures of the monoanions [Os10C(CO)24Cu(NCMe)]− and [Os10C(CO)24AuPPh3]−

The high nuclearity mixed metal cluster monoanions [Os₁₀C(CO)₂₄Cu(NCMe)]^? (I) and [Os₁₀C(CO)₂₄AuPPh₃]^? (II) have been obtained by reaction of the carbido-dianion [Os₁₀C(CO)₂₄]^2? (III) with one equivalent of [Cu(NCMe)₄] [BF₄] and Ph₃PAuCl, respectively, in CH₂Cl₂. X-ray analysis of the [PPh₃Me]⁺ salts of I and II show that the Cu and Au ligands have added to capping tetrahedra of the dianion III in μ₃- and μ₂-bridging positions, respectively.     

A remark on a maximal function over a Cantor set of directions

LetM _e ⁰ be the maximal operator over segments of length 1 with directions belonging to a Cantor set. It has been conjectured that this operator is bounded onL ². We consider a sequence of operators over finite sets of directions converging toM _e ⁰ . We improve the previous estimate for the (L ²,L ²)-norm of these particular operators. We also prove thatM _e ⁰ is bounded from some subsets ofL ² toL ². These subsets are composed of positive functions whose Fourier transforms have a very weak decay or are supported in a vertical strip. Partially supported by Spanish DGICYT grant no. PB90-0187.     

Directional operators and radial functions on the plane

LetEçS ¹ be a set with Minkowski dimensiond(E)1. We consider the Hardy-Littlewood maximal function, the Hilbert transform and the maximal Hilbert transform along the directions ofE. The main result of this paper shows that these operators are bounded onL _rad ^p (R²) forp>1+d(E) and unbounded whenp<1+d(E). We also give some end-point results.     

Type 2 intramolecular nitroso Diels-Alder reaction. Synthesis and structure of bridgehead oxazinolactams

[reaction--see text] The type 2 intramolecular Diels-Alder cycloaddition utilizing N-acylnitroso dienophiles provides an efficient entry into bridged oxazinolactams. In contrast to the bimolecular counterpart, the reaction is completely regioselective. Structural characterization of the cycloadducts allows for evaluation of the olefin distortion and the degree of pyramidalization of the bridgehead oxazinolactam.     

Carbon-carbon coupling on tetrahedral iridium clusters: X-ray molecular structures and multinuclear NMR studies of the two isomeric forms of [Ir4(CO)6(μ3-η-HCCPh)(μ2-η-C4H2Ph2)(μ-PPh2)2]

The reactions of [HIr₄(CO)₉(Ph₂PCCPh)(μ-PPh₂)] (1) or [Ir₄(CO)₈(μ₃-η²-HCCPh)(μ-PPh₂)₂] (2) with HCCPh gave two isomeric forms of [Ir₄(CO)₆(μ₃-η²-HCCPh)(μ₂-η⁴-C₄H₂Ph₂)(μ-PPh₂)₂] (3 and 4) in good yields as the only products. These compounds were characterized with analytical and spectroscopic data including ¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P NMR (1 and 2D) spectroscopy and their molecular structures were established by X-ray diffraction studies. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibit the same distorted butterfly metal polyhedral arrangement of metal atoms with two μ-PPh₂ that occupy different positions in the structures of the two isomers. Both molecules contain a HCCPh ligand bonded in a μ₃-η²-// mode to one of the wings of the butterfly and a metallacyclic ring, which resulted from head-to-tail coupling, in the case of [Ir₄(CO)₆(μ₃-η²-HCCPh){μ₂-η⁴-(H)CC(Ph)C(H)C(Ph)}(μ-PPh₂)₂] (3) and tail-to-tail coupling, in that of [Ir₄(CO)₆(μ₃-η²-HCCPh){μ₂-η⁴-(H)CC(Ph)C(Ph)C(H)}(μ-PPh₂)₂] (4), and which is linked to two metal atoms of the second wing of the butterfly.     

Fluorescence-labelled DNA probes to detect complementary sequences in homogeneous media

Sensitive, safe and easy-to-use probes for the detection of nucleic acids are urgently called for. To this end we are in the process of developing a fluorescence-based technique to work in homogeneous assay media. We have examined pyrene and fluorescein as fluorescent labels for natural DNA probes. A fraction of the cytosine residues of a single-stranded cDNA was randomly labelled with either pyrene or fluorescein using the bisulfite-catalyzed diamine reaction. Both fluorophores showed fluorescence quenching when the labelled probe was hybridized with its complementary strand and we describe the changes in steady-state fluorescence intensity that occurred upon hybridization. Our results demonstrate that pyrene quenching is more efficient than fluorescein quenching and thus pyrene-labelled probes are more sensitive for detecting and quantifying DNA from natural sources.     

Synthesis and structures of monomeric magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium amides involving the N,N-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)(trimethylsilyl)amido ligand

An extended family of aryl-substituted alkaline earth metal silylamides M{N(2,4,6-Me3C6H2)(SiMe3)}donor(n) was prepared using alkane elimination (Mg), salt elimination (Ca, Sr, Ba), and direct metalation (Sr, Ba). Three different donors, THF, TMEDA (TMEDA = N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine), and PMDTA (PMDTA = N,N,N',N',N'-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine) were employed to study their influence on the coordination chemistry of the target compounds, producing monomeric species with the composition M{N(2,4,6-Me3C6H2)(SiMe3)}2(THF)2 (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba), M{N(2,4,6-Me3C6H2)(SiMe3)}2TMEDA (M = Ca, Ba), and M{N(2,4,6-Me3C6H2)(SiMe3)}2PMDTA (M = Sr, Ba). For the heavier metal analogues, varying degrees of agostic interactions are completing the coordination sphere of the metals. Compounds were characterized using IR and NMR spectroscopy in addition to X-ray crystallography.     

A novel group of alkaline earth metal amides: syntheses and characterization of M[N(2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3))(SiMe(3))](2)(THF)(2) (M = Mg,Ca, Sr,Ba) and the linear,two-coordinate Mg[N(2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3))(SiMe(3))](2)

Novel alkaline earth metal aryl-substituted silylamides were prepared using alkane (Mg) and salt elimination reactions (Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba). The salt elimination regime involved the treatment of the alkaline earth metal iodides with 2 equiv of the respective potassium amide KNDiip(SiMe(3)), (Diip = 2,6-i-Pr(2)C(6)H(3)). The organomagnesium source for the alkane elimination was ((n)()Bu/(s)()Bu)(2)Mg. All compounds were characterized using (1)H, (13)C NMR, and IR spectroscopy, in addition to X-ray crystallography (except Mg[NDiip(SiMe(3))](2)THF(2)). Crystal data with Mo Kalpha (lambda = 0.710 73 A) are as follows: Mg[NDiip(SiMe(3))](2), 1, a = 9.4687(6) A, b = 9.6818(6) A, c = 17.9296(1) A, alpha = 96.487(1) degrees, beta = 94.537(1) degrees, gamma = 89.222(1) degrees, V = 1608.8(2) A(3), Z = 2 (two independent molecules), triclinic, space group P(-)1, R1 (all data) = 0.0508; (n)()BuMg[NDiip(SiMe(3))]THF(2), 2, a = 9.5413(1) A, b = 16.493(2) A, c = 9.8218(1) A, beta = 108.149(2) degrees, V = 1468.7(4) A(3), Z = 2, monoclinic, space group P2(1), R1(all data) = 0.1232; Ca[NDiip(SiMe(3))](2)THF(2), 4, a = 9.7074(1) A, b = 20.9466(4) A, c = 21.6242(3) A, alpha = 73.573(1) degrees, beta = 78.632(1) degrees, gamma = 89.621(1) degrees, V = 4129.1(1) A(3), Z = 4 (two independent molecules), triclinic, space group P(-)1, R1 (all data) = 0.0902; Sr[NDiip(SiMe(3))](2)THF(2), 5, a = 20.5874(5) A, b = 9.8785(2) A, c = 20.8522(5) A, beta = 102.035(2) degrees, V = 4147.6(2) A(3), Z = 4 (two independent molecules), monoclinic, space group P2/n, R1 (all data) = 0.0756; Ba[NDiip(SiMe(3))](2)THF(2), 6, a = 20.5476(2) A, b = 10.0353(2) A, c = 20.9020(4) A, beta = 101.657(1) degrees, V = 4221.0(1) A(3), Z = 4 (two independent molecules), monoclinic, space group P2/n, R1 (all data) = 0.0573.