Characterization of molecular transport in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchannels for electrophoresis fabricated with synchrotron radiation-lithography and UV-photolithography

In the present paper, a study was undertaken of molecular transport in ploy(dimethylsiloxane) microchannels that were fabricated by ultraviolet (UV)-photolithography and synchrotron radiation (SR)-lithography characterized and compared for microchip capillary electrophoresis by evaluating in-channel molecular dispersion. A fluorescent tag, sulforhodamine B was used as the probing molecule. It was found that microchannels made by SR-lithography fabrication were superior to those made by UV-photolithography fabrication in terms of molecular transport performance. A deep insight into surface conditions characterized by scanning electron microscopy suggested it was related to the difference in surface roughness. Chromatographic retention in electropherograms further supported such a conclusion, which depended on the phase ratio of the channel surface. The results revealed for PDMS microchannels in this work were in good agreement with the phenomenon found for glass microchannels in the literature.     

Adsorption and reactions of NO on clean and CO-precovered Ir(111)

Adsorption and reactions of NO on clean and CO-precovered Ir(111) were investigated by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HR-EELS), infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS), and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). Two NO adsorption states, indicative of fcc-hollow sites and atop sites, were present on the Ir(111) surface at saturation coverage. NO adsorbed on hollow sites dissociated to Na and Oa at temperatures above 283 K. The dissociated Na desorbed to form N2 by recombination of Na at 574 K and by a disproportionation reaction between atop-NO and Na at 471 K. Preadsorbed CO inhibited the adsorption of NO on atop sites, whereas adsorption on hollow sites was not affected by the coexistence of CO. The adsorbed CO reacted with dissociated Oa and desorbed as CO2 at 574 K.     

Catalytic Active Site for NO Decomposition Elucidated by Surface Science and Real Catalyst

Comprehensive studies combining surface science and real catalyst were performed to get further insight into catalytic active site and reaction mechanism for NO decomposition over supported palladium and cobalt oxide-based catalysts. On palladium single-crystal model catalysts, adsorption, dissociation and desorption behavior of NO was found to be closely related to the surface structures, the stepped surface palladium being active for dissociation of NO. In accordance with this result, the activity of powder Pd/Al₂O₃ catalysts for NO decomposition was directly related to the number of step sites exposed on the surface, suggesting that the step sites act as the catalytic active site for NO decomposition on Pd/Al₂O₃. NO decomposition over cobalt oxide was found to be significantly promoted by addition of alkali metals. Surface science study and catalyst characterization led to the same conclusion that the interface between the alkali metal and Co₃O₄ serves as the catalytic active site. From the results of in situ Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and isotopic transient kinetic analysis, a reaction mechanism was proposed in which the reaction is initiated by NO adsorption onto alkali metals to form NO₂⁻ species and then NO₂⁻ species react with the adsorbed NO species to form N₂ over the interface between the alkali metal and Co₃O₄.     

Cobalt(III) complexes of monodentate N9-bound adeninate (ade-), [Co(ade-kappaN9)Cl(en)2]+ (en = 1,2-diaminoethane): syntheses, crystal structures, and protonation behaviors of the geometrical isomers

In acidic aqueous solution, a cobalt(III) complex containing monodentate N(9)-bound adeninate (ade(-)), cis-[Co(ade-kappaN(9))Cl(en)(2)]Cl (cis-[1]Cl), underwent protonation to the adeninate moiety without geometrical isomerization or decomposition of the Co(III) coordination sphere, and complexes of cis-[CoCl(Hade)(en)(2)]Cl(2) (cis-[2]Cl(2)) and cis-[Co(H(2)ade)Cl(en)(2)]Cl(3) (cis-[3]Cl(3)) could be isolated. The pK(a) values of the Hade and H(2)ade(+) complexes are 6.03(1) and 2.53(12), respectively, at 20 degrees C in 0.1 M aqueous NaCl. The single-crystal X-ray analyses of cis-[2]Cl(2).0.5H(2)O and cis-[3]Cl(2)(BF(4)).H(2)O revealed that protonation took place first at the adeninate N(7) and then at the N(1) atoms to form adenine tautomer (7H-Hade-kappaN(9)) and cationic adeninium (1H,7H-H(2)ade(+)-kappaN(9)) complexes, respectively. On the other hand, addition of NaOH to an aqueous solution of cis-[1]Cl afforded a mixture of geometrical isomers of the hydroxo-adeninato complex, cis- and trans-[Co(ade-kappaN(9))(OH)(en)(2)](+). The trans-isomer of chloro-adeninato complex trans-[Co(ade-kappaN(9))Cl(en)(2)]BF(4) (trans-[1]BF(4)) was synthesized by a reaction of cis-[2](BF(4))(2) and sodium methoxide in methanol. This isomer in acidic aqueous solution was also stable toward isomerization, affording the corresponding adenine tautomer and adeninium complexes (pK(a) = 5.21(1) and 2.48(9), respectively, at 20 degrees C in 0.1 M aqueous NaCl). The protonated product of trans-[Co(7H-Hade-kappaN(9))Cl(en)(2)](BF(4))(2).H(2)O (trans-[2](BF(4))(2).H(2)O) could also be characterized by X-ray analysis. Furthermore, the hydrogen-bonding interactions of the adeninate/adenine tautomer complexes cis-[1]BF(4), cis-[2](BF(4))(2), and trans-[2](BF(4))(2) with 1-cyclohexyluracil in acetonitrile-d(3) were investigated by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structure of trans-[Co(ade)(H(2)O)(en)(2)]HPO(4).3H(2)O, which was obtained by a reaction of trans-[Co(ade)(OH)(en)(2)]BF(4) and NaH(2)PO(4), was also determined.     

Epoxyquinol A, a highly functionalized pentaketide dimer with antiangiogenic activity isolated from fungal metabolites

A unique pentaketide dimer structure of a novel fungal metabolite with antiangiogenic activity, designated as epoxyquinol A (1), was determined on the basis of NMR spectral data as well as the X-ray crystallographic analysis. 1 inhibits the endothelial migration induced by vascular endothelial growth factor (ED100 = 3 mug/mL).     

Proposed mechanism for the reaction catalyzed by a diterpene cyclase,aphidicolan-16beta-ol synthase: experimental results on biomimetic cyclization and examination of the cyclization pathway by ab initio calculations

To examine the mechanism of the cyclization reaction catalyzed by aphidicolan-16beta-ol synthase (ACS), which is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of diterpene aphidicolin, a specific inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha, skeletal rearrangement of 2a and biomimetic cyclization of 4b were employed. The structures of the reaction products, which reflect penultimate cation intermediates, allowed us to propose a detailed reaction pathway for the Lewis acid-catalyzed cyclizations and rearrangements. Isolation of these products in an aphidicolin-producing fungus led us to speculate that the mechanism of the ACS-catalyzed cyclization reaction is the same as that of a nonenzymatic reaction. Ab initio calculations of the acid-catalyzed reaction intermediates and the transition states indicate that the overall reaction catalyzed by ACS is an exothermic process though the reaction proceeds via an energetically disfavored secondary cation-like transition state. In conjunction with the solvent effect in the acid-catalyzed reactions, this indicates that the actual role of ACS is to provide a template which enforces conformations of the intermediate cations leading to the productive cyclization although it has been believed that the cation-pi interaction between cation intermediates and aromatic amino acid residues in the active site is important for the enzymatic catalysis. This study provided important information on the role of various cationic species, especially secondary cation-like structures, in both nonenzymatic and enzymatic reactions.     

Reagentless biosensor for isocitrate using one step modified Pt-Ir microelectrode

The Pt-Ir microelectrode modified through one step electropolymerization is proposed for the isocitrate amperometric biosensor construction. The enzyme (isocitrate dehydrogenase-ICDH), coenzyme (NADP(+)) and mediator (Meldola's Blue) were immobilized onto the microelectrode surface in one step from a PIPES buffer solution containing pyrrole. The optimized experimental conditions were 25 cycles of cyclic voltammetric in a solution containing 3.58 10(-5) mol l(-1) of mediator, 3.51 10(-4) mol l(-1) of coenzyme and 2.68 U ml(-1) of enzyme. In contrast to the biosensor for isocitrate reported in literature, just one enzyme was immobilized and no coenzyme addition in the solution of analysis was necessary. Catalytic currents were proportional to the isocitrate concentration between 7.7 10(-6) and 1.04 10(-4) mol l(-1), showing good repeatability. The detection limit of the proposed biosensor was 3.50 10(-6) mol l(-1), the response time was lower than 20 s, the lifetime was about 30 determinations and no significant interference of sugars and citric acid was verified. Orange juice samples were analysed by both methodology biosensor and spectrophotometric commercial kit, and the obtained results presented a good correlation. The data demonstrated that the developed biosensor is suitable for isocitrate determination in orange juice without matrix interferences.     

Blue myoglobin reconstituted with an iron porphycene shows extremely high oxygen affinity

Myoglobin will be a good scaffold for engineering a function into proteins. To modulate the physiological function of myoglobin, almost all approaches have been demonstrated by site-directed mutagenesis, however, there are few studies which show a significant improvement in the function. In contrast, we focused on the replacement of heme in the protein with an artificial prosthetic group. Recently, we prepared a novel myoglobin reconstituted with an iron porphycene as a structural isomer of mesoheme. The bluish colored reconstituted myoglobin is relatively stable and the deoxymyoglobin reversibly binds ligands. Interestingly, the O2 affinity of the reconstituted myoglobin, 1.1 x 109 M-1, is a significant 1,400-fold higher than that of the native myoglobin. Furthermore, the unfavorable autoxidation kinetics show 7-fold decrease in rate for the reconstituted myoglobin relative to the native myoglobin, indicating the stable oxy-form against autoxidation. The net results come from the slow dissociation of the O2 ligand in the reconstituted myoglobin, koff = 0.11 s-1, because of the formation of strong hydrogen bond between His64 and negatively charged dioxygen. The present study indicates that the replacement of native heme with an artificially created prosthetic group will give us a unique function into a hemoprotein.     

Effect of pressure on the adsorption and micelle formation of aqueous dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride solution-hexane system

The interfacial tension of aqueous dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC) solution/hexane interface has been measured as a function of pressure at concentrations around the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The derivative of the interfacial tension with respect to pressure has been observed to change abruptly at the CMC as in the case of aqueous dodecylammonium chloride (DAC) solution-hexane system studied already. The volume changes associated with the adsorption of DTAC from its monomeric and micellar states have been calculated. The results have indicated that the micelle formation of surfactant is treated like the appearance of a new macroscopic phase in the system. It has also been concluded that the micelle solubilizing hexane bears resemblance to the adsorbed film in terms of the volume. The difference in the pressure dependence of the volume of micelle formation ^MW between DTAC and DAC has been attributed to a larger polar group of DTAC. The fact that the value of ^MW is larger than that estimated from the conductivity data has been explained by the solubilization of hexane into the micelle.     

Effect of intramolecular pi-pi and CH-pi interactions between ligands on structure, electrochemical and spectroscopic properties of fac-[Re(bpy)(CO)3(PR3)]+(bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; PR3= trialkyl or triarylphosphines)

Intramolecular pi-pi and CH-pi interactions between the bpy and PR3 ligands of fac-[Re(bpy)(CO)3(PR3)]+ affect their structure, and electrochemical and spectroscopic properties. Intramolecular CH-pi interaction was observed between the alkyl groups on the phosphine ligand (R =nBu, Et) and the bpy ligand, and intramolecular pi-pi and CH-pi interactions were both observed between the aryl group(s) on the phosphorus ligand (R =p-MeOPh, p-MePh, Ph, p-FPh, OPh) and the bpy ligand, while no such interactions were found in the trialkylphosphite complexes (R = OiPr, OEt, OMe). The intramolecular interactions distort the pyridine rings of the bpy ligand as long as 3.7 x 10(-2)A in crystals. Molecular orbital calculations of the bpy ligand suggest that this distortion decreases the energy gap between its pi and pi* orbitals. An absorption band attributed to the pi-pi*(bpy) transition of the distorted rhenium complexes, measured in a KBr pellet, was red-shifted by 1-5 nm compared to the complexes without the distorted bpy ligand. Even in solution, similar red shifts of the pi-pi*(bpy) absorption were observed. The redox potential E1/2(bpy/bpy*-) of the complexes with the trialkylphosphine and triarylphosphine ligand are shifted positively by 110-120 mV and 60-80 mV respectively, compared with those derived from the electron-attracting property of the phosphorus ligand. In contrast with these properties, three nu(CO) IR bands, which are sensitive to the electron density on the central rhenium because of pi-back bonding, were shifted to higher energy, and a Re(I/II)-based oxidation wave was observed at a more positive potential according to the electron-attracting property of the phosphorus ligand.