Stochastic Liouville equations for coherent multidimensional spectroscopy of excitons

Signatures of chemical exchange and spectral diffusion in 2D photon-echo line shapes of molecular aggregates are studied using model calculations for a dimer whose Hamiltonian parameters are stochastically modulated. Cross peaks induced by chemical exchange and by exciton transport have different dynamics and distinguish two models which have the same absorption spectrum (a two-state jump bath modulation model of a dimer and a four-state jump bath model of a single chromophore). Slow Gaussian-Markovian spectral diffusion of a symmetric dimer induces new peaks which are damped as the dipole moment is equilibrated. These effects require an explicit treatment of the bath and may not be described by lower-level theories such as the Redfield equations, which eliminate the bath.     

Application of MEKC and monolithic CEC for the analysis of bioactive naphthoquinones in Eleutherine americana

Two microscale separation techniques for the analysis of bioactive naphthoquinones in Eleutherine americana were developed and validated. By MEKC four compounds (eleuthoside B, isoeleutherin, eleutherol and eleutherinoside A) could be determined in plant extracts using an aqueous electrolyte solution composed of 25 mM sodium tetraborate, 50 mM sodium cholate and 20% THF. CEC on a polymeric methacrylate‐based monolith with strong cationic properties showed promising results, as it additionally enabled the separation of two enantiomers, eleutherin and isoeleutherin. The mobile phase for CEC experiments comprised 3 mM ammonium formate in a mixture of ACN and water. At an applied voltage of ?25 kV, all five markers were baseline separated in less than 12 min. Both methods were successfully validated for linearity (MEKC: R²≥0.999; CEC: R²≥0.997), sensitivity (MEKC: LOD=4–5 μg/mL; CEC: LOD=2–8 μg/mL), accuracy (MEKC: 96.5–102.7% recovery; CEC: 97.1–103.5% recovery) and precision (MEKC: σ_rel≤2.43%; CEC: σ_rel≤2.21%). The quantitative analysis of naphthoquinone derivatives in several E. americana samples showed that both methods are suitable for practical applications, because the results were well comparable to those obtained by established techniques such as HPLC.     

Monolithic porous polymer stationary phases in polyimide chips for the fast high-performance liquid chromatography separation of proteins and peptides

Poly(lauryl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) and poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) stationary phases in monolithic format have been prepared by thermally initiated free radical polymerization within polyimide chips featuring channels having a cross-section of 200micromx200microm and a length of 6.8cm. These chips were then used for the separation of a mixture of proteins including ribonuclease A, myoglobin, cytochrome c, and ovalbumin, as well as peptides. The separations were monitored by UV adsorption. Both the monolithic phases based on methacrylate and on styrene chemistries enabled the rapid baseline separation of most of the test mixtures. Best performance was achieved with the styrenic monolith leading to fast baseline separation of all four proteins in less than 2.5min. The in situ monolith preparation process affords microfluidic devices exhibiting good batch-to-batch and injection-to-injection repeatability.     

Bonding Properties of a Novel Inorganometallic Complex, Ru(SnPh(3))(2)(CO)(2)(iPr-DAB) (iPr-DAB = N,N'-Diisopropyl-1,4-diaza-1,3-butadiene), and its Stable Radical-Anion, Studied by UV-Vis, IR, and EPR Spectroscopy, (Spectro-) Electrochemistry, and Density Functional Calculations

Ru(SnPh(3))(2)(CO)(2)(iPr-DAB) was synthesized and characterized by UV-vis, IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, (119)Sn NMR, and mass (FAB(+)) spectroscopies and by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, which proved the presence of a nearly linear Sn-Ru-Sn unit. Crystals of Ru(SnPh(3))(2)(CO)(2)(iPr-DAB).3.5C(6)H(6) form in the triclinic space group P&onemacr; in a unit cell of dimensions a = 11.662(6) ?, b = 13.902(3) ?, c = 19.643(2) ?, alpha = 71.24(2) degrees, beta = 86.91(4) degrees, gamma = 77.89(3) degrees, and V = 2946(3) ?(3). One-electron reduction of Ru(SnPh(3))(2)(CO)(2)(iPr-DAB) produces the stable radical-anion [Ru(SnPh(3))(2)(CO)(2)(iPr-DAB)](*-) that was characterized by IR, and UV-vis spectroelectrochemistry. Its EPR spectrum shows a signal at g = 1.9960 with well resolved Sn, Ru, and iPr-DAB (H, N) hyperfine couplings. DFT-MO calculations on the model compound Ru(SnH(3))(2)(CO)(2)(H-DAB) reveal that the HOMO is mainly of sigma(Sn-Ru-Sn) character mixed strongly with the lowest pi orbital of the H-DAB ligand. The LUMO (SOMO in the reduced complex) should be viewed as predominantly pi(H-DAB) with an admixture of the sigma(Sn-Ru-Sn) orbital. Accordingly, the lowest-energy absorption band of the neutral species will mainly belong to the sigma(Sn-Ru-Sn)-->pi(iPr-DAB) charge transfer transition. The intrinsic strength of the Ru-Sn bond and the delocalized character of the three-center four-electron Sn-Ru-Sn sigma-bond account for the inherent stability of the radical anion.     

An analysis of avidin, biotin and their interaction at attomole levels by voltammetric and chromatographic techniques

The electroanalytical determination of avidin in solution, in a carbon paste, and in a transgenic maize extract was performed in acidic medium at a carbon paste electrode (CPE). The oxidative voltammetric signal resulting from the presence of tyrosine and tryptophan in avidin was observed using square-wave voltammetry. The process could be used to determine avidin concentrations up to 3 fM (100 amol in 3 l drop) in solution, 700 fM (174 fmol in 250 l solution) in an avidin-modified electrode, and 174 nM in a maize seed extract. In the case of the avidin-modified CPE, several parameters were studied in order to optimize the measurements, such as electrode accumulation time, composition of the avidin-modified CPE, and the elution time of avidin. In addition, the avidin-modified electrode was used to detect biotin in solution (the detection limit was 7.6 pmol in a 6 l drop) and to detect biotin in a pharmaceutical drug after various solvent extraction procedures. Comparable studies for the detection of biotin were developed using HPLC with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and flow injection analysis with electrochemical detection, which allowed biotin to be detected at levels as low as 614 pM and 6.6 nM, respectively. The effects of applied potential, acetonitrile content, and flow rate of the mobile phase on the FIA-ED signal were also studied.     

Amplifying vibrational circular dichroism by manipulation of the electronic manifold

Vibrational circular dichroism is a powerful technique to study the stereochemistry of chiral molecules, but often suffers from small signal intensities. Electrochemical modulation of the energies of the electronically excited state manifold is now demonstrated to lead to an order of magnitude enhancement of the differential absorption. Quantum-chemical calculations show that increased mixing between ground and excited states is at the origin of this amplification.     

Absorption linear dichroism measured directly on a single light-harvesting system: the role of disorder in chlorosomes of green photosynthetic bacteria

Chlorosomes are light-harvesting antennae of photosynthetic bacteria containing large numbers of self-aggregated bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) molecules. They have developed unique photophysical properties that enable them to absorb light and transfer the excitation energy with very high efficiency. However, the molecular-level organization, that produces the photophysical properties of BChl molecules in the aggregates, is still not fully understood. One of the reasons is heterogeneity in the chlorosome structure which gives rise to a hierarchy of structural and energy disorder. In this report, we for the first time directly measure absorption linear dichroism (LD) on individual, isolated chlorosomes. Together with fluorescence-detected three-dimensional LD, these experiments reveal a large amount of disorder on the single-chlorosome level in the form of distributions of LD observables in chlorosomes from wild-type bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum . Fluorescence spectral parameters, such as peak wavelength and bandwidth, are measures of the aggregate excitonic properties. These parameters obtained on individual chlorosomes are uncorrelated with the observed LD distributions and indicate that the observed disorder is due to inner structural disorder along the chlorosome long axis. The excitonic disorder that is also present is not manifested in the LD distributions. Limiting values of the LD parameter distributions, which are relatively free of the effect of structural disorder, define a range of angles at which the excitonic dipole moment is oriented with respect to the surface of the two-dimensional aggregate of BChl molecules. Experiments on chlorosomes of a triple mutant of Chlorobaculum tepidum show that the mutant chlorosomes have significantly less inner structural disorder and higher symmetry, compatible with a model of well-ordered concentric cylinders. Different values of the transition dipole moment orientations are consistent with a different molecular level organization of BChl's in the mutant and wild-type chlorosomes.