The hyperfine fields and isomer shift at Fe-Co metal inclusions in synthetic diamond grains

The thermal changes taking place at the sites of Fe-Co metal inclusions in synthetic diamond grains have been investigated using Mössbauer spectroscopy on as-grown samples and samples annealed at 970–1370 K. The spectra show the presence of Fe-Co and (Fe-Co)-C complexes. The temperature-dependent results suggest that the latter are due to reactions at the metal inclusion-diamond interface, and may be a signature of the processes leading to strength loss in the grains.     

Fluorocarbon soluble copper(II) carboxylate complexes with nonfluoroponytailed nitrogen ligands as precatalysts for the oxidation of alkenols and alcohols under fluorous biphasic or thermomorphic modes: structural and mechanistic aspects

This fluorous biphasic catalysis (FBC) contribution was focused on the synthesis and characterization of new fluorous soluble R(f)-Cu(II) carboxylate complexes containing nonfluoroponytailed ligands and defines their role as precatalysts for the FBC oxidation of alkenols and alcohols in the presence of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (TEMPO)/O(2). In this FBC approach, we have utilized the phase-switching technique of Vincent et al. (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 12942) to solubilize the nonfluoroponytailed ligands, N-1,4,7-Me(3)TACN, 2, and N-1,4,7-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA), 3, by reaction with a fluorous solvent-soluble copper (II) dimeric complex, [Cu({C(8)F(17)(CH(2))(2)}(2)CHCO(2))(2)](2), 1. Moreover, the reaction of nonfluoroponytailed ligands 2 and 3 with 1 afforded new perfluoroheptane-soluble Cu(II) complexes, [Cu({C(8)F(17)(CH(2))(2)}(2)CHCO(2))(2)(2)], 4, and [Cu({C(8)F(17)(CH(2))(2)}(2)CHCO(2))(2) (3)], 5, respectively. The known Cu(II) complex, 1, was further characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy confirming its dimeric structure, while 4 and 5 were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, diffuse reflectance UV-vis, and EPR spectroscopy. Furthermore, 1, 4, and 5 were evaluated as precatalysts for alkenol and alcohol oxidation. The oxidation reactions of alkenols and alcohols in the presence of TEMPO/O(2) proceeded under FBC conditions for 1, 4, and 5, but 1-octanol was unreactive under single-phase FBC conditions at 90 degrees C with TEMPO/O(2). The thermomorphic property of 5, soluble in chlorobenzene/toluene at 90 degrees C but insoluble at room temperature, was also evaluated in the selective oxidation of p-nitrobenzyl alcohol to p-nitrobenzaldehyde. Plausible mechanisms concerning these FBC/thermomorphic oxidation reactions will be discussed.     

A stable enol in small ring systems: clear differentiation between penta- and tri-valency of phosphorus atoms

The first stable enols in 1,2-dihydrophosphetes and were synthesized and structurally characterized with intermolecular hydrogen bonds to phosphoryl groups in 10-membered dimeric structures; in contrast, trivalent analogue exists in keto-form, where such stabilization by hydrogen bonds is not feasible.     

Solution and solid-state hydrogen bond patterns ofo-methoxy- ando-ethoxybenzoic acids

The hydrogen bond patterns ofo-alkoxybenzoic acids have been shown previously to involve intramolecular hydrogen bonds. In this paper we show thato-methoxybenzoic acid (I) and o-ethoxybenzoic acid (II) both exist as monomers with intramolecular hydrogen bonds in solution but that, in the solid-state,I crystallizes as hydrogen-bonded dimers whileII crystallizes with an intramolecular hydrogen bond. The correlation between solution and solid-state hydrogen bond patterns is made using solution and solid-state IR and NMR methods and by correlating the solid-state patterns with known X-ray crystal structures. The crystal structure ofI is reported here. Crystal data: monoclinicP2₁/n;a=7.002(2),b=14.945(9),c=7.719(4) Å,=115.44(3)°,Z=4,V=729.4 ų, andR=0.046 (1660 reflections).     

Solvability of linear equations within weak mixing sets

We introduce a new class of “random“ subsets of natural numbers, WM sets. This class contains normal sets (sets whose characteristic function is a normal binary sequence). We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for solvability of systems of linear equations within every WM set and within every normal set. We also show that any partition-regular system of linear equations with integer coefficients is solvable in any WM set.     

Binding of the J-Binding Protein to DNA Containing Glucosylated hmU (Base J) or 5-hmC: Evidence for a Rapid Conformational Change upon DNA Binding

Base J (β-d-glucosyl-hydroxymethyluracil) was discovered in the nuclear DNA of some pathogenic protozoa, such as trypanosomes and Leishmania, where it replaces a fraction of base T. We have found a J-Binding Protein 1 (JBP1) in these organisms, which contains a unique J-DNA binding domain (DB-JBP1) and a thymidine hydroxylase domain involved in the first step of J biosynthesis. This hydroxylase is related to the mammalian TET enzymes that hydroxylate 5-methylcytosine in DNA. We have now studied the binding of JBP1 and DB-JBP1 to oligonucleotides containing J or glucosylated 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (glu-5-hmC) using an equilibrium fluorescence polarization assay. We find that JBP1 binds glu-5-hmC-DNA with an affinity about 40-fold lower than J-DNA (～400 nM), which is still 200 times higher than the JBP1 affinity for T-DNA. The discrimination between glu-5-hmC-DNA and T-DNA by DB-JBP1 is about 2-fold less, but enough for DB-JBP1 to be useful as a tool to isolate 5-hmC-DNA. Pre-steady state kinetic data obtained in a stopped-flow device show that the initial binding of JBP1 to glucosylated DNA is very fast with a second order rate constant of 70 μM(-1) s(-1) and that JBP1 binds to J-DNA or glu-5-hmC-DNA in a two-step reaction, in contrast to DB-JBP1, which binds in a one-step reaction. As the second (slower) step in binding is concentration independent, we infer that JBP1 undergoes a conformational change upon binding to DNA. Global analysis of pre-steady state and equilibrium binding data supports such a two-step mechanism and allowed us to determine the kinetic parameters that describe it. This notion of a conformational change is supported by small-angle neutron scattering experiments, which show that the shape of JBP1 is more elongated in complex with DNA. The conformational change upon DNA binding may allow the hydroxylase domain of JBP1 to make contact with the DNA and hydroxylate T's in spatial proximity, resulting in regional introduction of base J into the DNA.