Oxythiamine hexafluorophosphate monohydrate,a thiamine antagonist with the same conformation as ­thiamine

In the title compound, 3‐[(3,4‐di­hydro‐2‐methyl‐4‐oxopyrimidin‐5‐yl)­methyl]‐5‐(2‐hydroxy­ethyl)‐4‐methyl­thia­zolium hexa­fluoro­phosphate monohydrate, C₁₂H₁₆N₃O₂S⁺·PF₆^?·H₂O, oxy­thi­amine is a monovalent cation with a neutral oxo­pyrimidine ring. The mol­ecule assumes the F conformation, which is a common form for thi­amine but which is substantially different from the unusual V conformation found in the chloride and hydro­chloride salts of oxy­thi­amine. The anion‐bridging interaction, C—H?anion?pyrimidine, is emphasized as being important for stabilization of the F conformation.     

Photocatalytic oxidation of acetaldehyde by hybrid Pt/WO3–MOR photocatalysts under visible or sunlight irradiation

A hybrid photocatalyst was prepared from visible light-responsive Pt/WO₃ and siliceous mordenite (MOR) zeolite by simple impregnation with an aqueous solution of (NH₄)₁₀W₁₂O₄₁·5H₂O. Unmodified Pt/WO₃ had low photocatalytic activity in gas phase oxidation of acetaldehyde because of its low surface area (3–5 m²/g). In contrast, the Pt/WO₃–MOR had higher photocatalytic activity under focused sunlight and Xe lamp irradiation. Pt/WO₃–MOR with low WO₃ content (<20 wt%) adsorbed sufficient acetaldehyde, but absorption of light in the visible region was low. The optimum zeolite content enhancing the photocatalytic activity of Pt/WO₃ was estimated to be 30–50 % (w/w). Adsorption of the gaseous reactants and the efficiency of absorption of incident light are both important aspects of high photocatalytic activity.     

Gadolinium tagging for high-precision measurements of 6 nm distances in protein assemblies by EPR

Double electron-electron resonance (DEER) distance measurements of a protein complex tagged with two Gd(3+) chelates developed for rigid positioning of the metal ion are shown to deliver outstandingly accurate distance measurements in the 6 nm range. The accuracy was assessed by comparison with modeled distance distributions based on the three-dimensional molecular structures of the protein and the tag and further comparison with paramagnetic NMR data. The close agreement between the predicted and experimentally measured distances opens new possibilities for investigating the structure of biomolecular assemblies. As an example, we show that the dimer interface of rat ERp29 in solution is the same as that determined previously for human ERp29 in the single crystal.