Characterization of silsesquioxanes by size-exclusion chromatography and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Liquid chromatography in combination with spectroscopic methods like matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful method to characterize silsesquioxanes and silsesquioxane mixtures. As new examples, the formation of silsesquioxyl-substituted silsesquioxanes [(n-octyl)(7)(SiO(1.5))(8)](2)O and [(n-octyl)(7)(SiO(1.5))(8)O](2)[(n-octyl)(6)(SiO(1.5))(8)] as well as the cage rearrangement of octa-[(n-heptyl)silsesquioxane] to larger structures [(n-heptyl)SiO(1.5))](n) up to n=28 are shown.     

In situ studies of methanol decomposition and oxidation on Pd(111) by PM-IRAS and XPS spectroscopy

Methanol decomposition and oxidation on Pd(111) at millibar pressure were studied by in situ polarization-modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRAS), on-line gas chromatography and pre- and postreaction X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Various dehydrogenation products such as methoxy CH3O, formaldehyde CH2O, formyl CHO, and CO could be spectroscopically identified. Methanol oxidation proceeds via dehydrogenation to formaldehyde CH2O, which either desorbs or is further dehydrogenated to CO, which is subsequently oxidized to CO2. Carbonaceous overlayers that are present during the reaction may favorably affect the selectivity toward CH2O. The reaction takes place on metallic Pd, and no indications of an involvement of Pd surface oxide were observed.     

Coagulation of silver halide sols by thorium nitrate in the presence of potassium nitrate and potassium sulfate

Summary When silver iodide, silver bromide and silver chloride solsin statu nascendi are coagulated by thorium nitrate in the presence of potassium nitrate, three coagulation maxima appear. Two of them are identical with maxima that are found in absence of KNO₃, denoted with (II) and (IV) in fig. 1. The new maximum appears in the stability region of recharged sols (III). It is believed that this maximum is also—as maximum (IV)—caused by the coagulation of recharged silver halide sols by nitrate ions. Appearance of two nitrate coagulation maxima is explained by different charge densities on sol particles at various concentrations of Th(NO₃)₄ where they are formed. The new maximum indicates a lower charge density of sol particles. The possibility that the new maximum could have been caused by ionic complex species between thorium and nitrate ions has been rejected for data are available that the equilibrium constant for such complexes is small. In the presence of K₂SO₄ the coagulation effects of thorium nitrate on silver halide sols are markedly different. In acidified solutions only one coagulation maximum appears at rather high thorium nitrate concentrations [∼ 10⁻³ N Th (NO₃)₄] and the sol remains negatively charged [up to ∼ 10⁻² N Th (NO₃)₄] This is explained by complex formation of Th-ions and sulfate ions whereby ionic species of lower charge are formed, which exert a weaker coagulation effect. In neutral solutions another maximum at lower concentration of Th (NO₃)₄ is formed which appears to be the usual coagulation maximum produced by hydrolyzed thorium ions. The antagonistic effects of the salt pair Th (NO₃)₄-K₂SO₄ upon the coagulation of silver halides has been discussed and we have concluded that the large effects repeatedly reported can be explained not by simple electrostatic effects of ions in solution but rather by the formation of complexes between Th- and SO₄-ions.

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Zusammenfassung Die Koagulationseffekte des Thoriumnitrats in Anwesenheit von Kaliumnitrat und Kaliumsulfat an Silberhalogenid-Solenin statu nascendi wurden ausführlich untersucht. Wenn Silberhalogenid-Sole durch Thoriumnitrat-L?sungen koaguliert werden, bilden sich zwei Koagulationsmaxima (II und IV, Abb. 1). Bei sehr niedrigen Konzentrationen des Thoriumnitrats koaguliert das Thorium-Ion (oder Komplex) die negativen Silberhalogenid-Sole, w?hrend bei h?heren Thoriumnitrat-Konzentrationen die ungeladenen Sole durch die NitratIonen koaguliert werden. Zwischen den zwei Maxima besteht ein weites Gebiet der stabilen umgeladenen Sole (III). Unter dem Zusatz von konstanten Mengen des Kaliumnitrats wird in diesem Gebiet ein neues (drittes) Maximum gebildet (Abb. 2–5), das auch als Koagulationsmaximum identifiziert wurde. Es wird angenommen, da? dieses Maximum wieder eine Koagulation der umgeladenen Silberhalogenid-Sole durch Nitrat-Ionen darstellt. Das Auftreten von zwei Koagulationsmaxima, verursacht durch Nitrat-Ionen, wird durch die verschiedenen Ladungsdichten an Solteilchen in Gebieten der Thoriumnitrat-Konzentrationen, in denen Maxima erscheinen, erkl?rt. Die M?glichkeit eines Koagulationseffektes der komplexen Ionen zwischen Thorium und Nitrat wurde ausgeschlossen, da die Gleichgewichtskonstante solcher Komplexe ziemlich niedrig ist. In Anwesenheit von Kaliumsulfat sieht die Koagulationskurve für Silberhalogenid Sole sehr unterschiedlich aus (Abb. 6–8). In den mit Salpeters?ure (0,001N) versetzten Solen erscheint nur ein Maximum bei ziemlich hohen Thoriumnitrat-Konzentrationen [∼ 10⁻³ N Th (NO₃)₄], wobei die Solteilchen noch immer negativ sind. Da Thorium- und Sulfat-Ionen sehr stabile Ionen-Komplexe bilden, die eine niedrigere Valenz aufweisen, kann das Maximum als Folge der Koagulationseffekte solcher Komplexe an die Silberhalogenid-Sole angesehen werden. In neutralen L?sungen zeigt sich neben dem beschriebenen Maximum noch ein anderes Maximum bei niedrigerer Thoriumnitrat-Konzentration. Dieses Maximum, hervorgerufen durch die hydrolysierten Thorium-Ionen, scheint das „normale“ Koagulationsmaximum zu sein. Dieantagonistischen Effekte des Salzpaares Th (NO₃)₄-K₂SO₄ bei der Koagulation der Silberhalogenide wurden diskutiert, und es wurde geschlossen, da? die gro?en Effekte, die wiederholt ver?ffentlicht worden waren, sehr schwer nur durch die elektrostatischen Anziehungen zwischen den Ionen erkl?rt werden k?nnen. Die Komplexbildung zwischen Thorium- und Sulfat-Ionen wird für den sogenannten antagonistischen Effekt in diesem Falle als verantwortlich angesehen.

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Supported in part by U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Contract No. AT (30-1)-1801.     

Chemie der Pleuromutiline,IX. Konfigurationsumkehr der Methylgruppe am Kohlenstoff 6 im tricyclischen Gerüst des Diterpens Pleuromutilin

The contact of pleuromutilin derivatives with the protein moiety of cytochrome P-450 as well as its orientation towards the heme iron is mainly dependent on the steric environment of the hydrindanone-part of the tricyclus. The apparent affinity between substrate and enzyme, which is correlated with the rate of metabolism can be reduced by inversion of configuration at carbon 6. This inversion is achieved by equilibrating the diastereomeric ketones12 and13 followed by a selective reduction of the keto group at position 7. The 6-methylgroup of14 was assigned α-configuration on the basis of spectroscopic data in comparison to those of the naturally configurated compound14a.     

Sodium hexadecanoate micellar aggregation number

The diffusion coefficient of sodium hexadecanoate micelles was studied by polarography at 63°C, and the size and aggregation number of the micelles was computed. At concentrations above 0.01 mol·L^–1 rodlike micelles exist, which become flexible at 0.040 mol·L^–1 and entangle at 0.043 mol·L^–1     

Characterization of SiO2 protective coatings on polycarbonate

SiO₂ protective coatings have been deposited on polycarbonate substrates by plasma ion assisted deposition. The influence of ion energy on the water permeability and the surface topography of the coatings was studied by infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Coatings deposited at sufficiently high ion energies show a barrier effect against moisture uptake and considerably reduced film roughness. Both effects are attributed to an increase of the packing densities of the coatings.     

Carbohydrate chain of ganglioside GM1 as a ligand: identification of the binding strategies of three 15 mer peptides and their divergence from the binding modes of growth-regulatory galectin-1 and cholera toxin

The branched pentasaccharide chain of ganglioside GM1 is a prominent cell surface ligand, for example, for cholera toxin or tumor growth-regulatory homodimeric galectins. This activity profile via protein recognition prompted us to examine the binding properties of peptides with this specificity. Our study provides insights into the mechanism of molecular interaction of this thus far unexplored size limit of the protein part. We used three pentadecapeptides in a combined approach of mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy and molecular modelling to analyze the ligand binding in solution. Availability of charged and hydrophobic functionalities affected the intramolecular flexibility of the peptides differently. Backfolding led to restrictions in two cases; the flexibility was not reduced significantly by association of the ligand in its energetically privileged conformations. Major contributions to the interaction energy arise from the sialic acid moiety contacting Arg/Lys residues and the N-terminal charge. Considerable involvement of stacking between the monovalent ligand and aromatic rings could not be detected. This carbohydrate binding strategy is similar to how an adenoviral fiber knob targets sialylated glycans. Rational manipulation for an affinity enhancement can now be directed to reduce the flexibility, exploit the potential for stacking and acquire the cross-linking capacity of the natural lectins by peptide attachment to a suitable scaffold.     

Gezielte Synthese von Kohlenwasserstoff-verbrückten Komplexen. Nucleophile addition von Pentacarbonylrhenat und -manganat an π-gebundene Dien-, Cyclodien-, Trimethylenmethan-, Cycloheptatrienyl- und Alkin-Liganden

Pentacarbonyl-rhenate and -manganate react with the cationic complexes [cpMo(CO)₂(diene)]⁺, [cpMo(CO)₂(cyclopentadiene]⁺, [cpMo(CO)₂(cyclohexadiene)]⁺, [cpMo(CO)₂(trimethylenemethane]⁺, [(OC)₃Mo(η⁷-C₇H₇)]⁺, [cp(OC)-(Ph₃P)Mo(alkyne)]⁺ to give the corresponding heteronuclear hydrocarbon-bridged complexes.     

The computer program LUDI: A new method for the de novo design of enzyme inhibitors

Summary A new computer program is described, which positions small molecules into clefts of protein structures (e.g. an active site of an enzyme) in such a way that hydrogen bonds can be formed with the enzyme and hydrophobic pockets are filled with hydrophobic groups. The program works in three steps. First it calculates interaction sites, which are discrete positions in space suitable to form hydrogen bonds or to fill a hydrophobic pocket. The interaction sites are derived from distributions of nonbonded contacts generated by a search through the Cambridge Structural Database. An alternative route to generate the interaction sites is the use of rules. The second step is the fit of molecular fragments onto the interaction sites. Currently we use a library of 600 fragments for the fitting. The final step in the present program is the connection of some or all of the fitted fragments to a single molecule. This is done by bridge fragments. Applications are presented for the crystal packing of benzoic acid and the enzymes dihydrofolate reductase and trypsin.