Thermodynamic and kinetic studies on reactions of Pt(II) complexes with biologically relevant nucleophiles

The effect of different N-N spectator ligands on the reactivity of platinum(II) complexes was investigated by studying the water lability of [Pt(diaminocyclohexane)(H2O)2]2+ (Pt(dach)), [Pt(ethylenediamine)(H2O)2]2+ (Pt(en)), [Pt(aminomethylpyridine)(H2O)2]2+ (Pt(amp)), and [Pt(N,N'-bipyridine)(H2O)2]2+ (Pt(bpy)). Some of the selected N-N chelates form part of the coordination sphere of Pt(II) drugs in clinical use, as in Pt(dach) (oxaliplatin), or are models, regarding the nature of the amines, with higher stability in terms of substitution and hydrolysis of the diamine moiety, as in Pt(en) (cisplatin) and Pt(amp) (AMD473). The effect of pi-acceptors on the reactivity was investigated by introducing one (Pt(amp)) or two pyridine rings (Pt(bpy)) in the system. The pK(a) values for the two water molecules (viz., Pt(dach) (pK(a1) = 6.01, pK(a2) = 7.69), Pt(en) (pK(a1) = 5.97, pK(a2) = 7.47), Pt(amp) (pK(a1) = 5.82, pK(a2) = 6.83), Pt(bpy) (pK(a1) = 4.80, pK(a2) = 6.32) show a decrease in the order Pt(dach) > Pt(en) > Pt(amp) > Pt(bpy). The substitution of both coordinated water molecules by a series of nucleophiles (viz., thiourea (tu), L-methionine (L-Met), and guanosine-5'-monophosphate (5'GMP-) was investigated under pseudo-first-order conditions as a function of concentration, temperature, and pressure using UV-vis spectrophotometric and stopped-flow techniques and was found to occur in two subsequent reaction steps. The following k1 values for Pt(dach), Pt(en), Pt(amp), and Pt(bpy) were found: tu (25 degrees C, M(-1) s(-1)) 21 +/- 1, 34.0 +/- 0.4, 233 +/- 5, 5081 +/- 275; L-Met (25 degrees C) 0.85 +/- 0.01, 0.70 +/- 0.03, 2.15 +/- 0.05, 21.8 +/- 0.6; 5'GMP- (40 degrees C) 5.8 +/- 0.2, 3.9 +/- 0.1, 12.5 +/- 0.5, 24.4 +/- 0.3. The results for k2 for Pt(dach), Pt(en), Pt(amp), and Pt(bpy) are as follows: tu (25 degrees C, M(-1) s(-1)) 11.5 +/- 0.5, 10.2 +/- 0.2, 38 +/- 1, 1119 +/- 22; L-Met (25 degrees C, s(-1)) 2.5 +/- 0.1, 2.0 +/- 0.2, 1.2 +/- 0.3, 290 +/- 4; 5'GMP- (40 degrees C, M(-1) s(-1)) 0.21 +/- 0.02, 0.38 +/- 0.02, 0.97 +/- 0.02, 24 +/- 1. The activation parameters for all reactions suggest an associative substitution mechanism. The pK(a) values and substitution rates of the complexes studied can be tuned through the nature of the N-N chelate, which is important in the development of new active compounds for cancer therapy.     

Silicon surface morphology study after exposure to tailored femtosecond pulses

Temporal pulse shaping of ultrashort laser pulses has been used for laser ablation of semiconductors. Even the simplest double pulse sequence with a delay of several picoseconds shows remarkable differences in the interaction process, compared to a single pulse of the same total energy. We discuss the interaction of double pulses with single crystal silicon sample in the context of crater morphology for multiple pulses on the same spot. The growth of the typical columnar structures in helium at atmospheric pressure is suppressed and the crater bottom is flat despite the Gaussian beam profile. The influence of the temporal pulse shape has to be treated in conjunction with the influence of the other ablation parameters.     

Rapid catalytic oxidation of CO to CO(2) - On the development of a new approach to on-line oxygen isotope analysis of organic matter

A new approach to on-line oxygen isotope analysis has been developed which utilises existing elemental analyser and mass spectrometry technology to produce a sample of carbon dioxide gas for oxygen isotople analysis. The method relies on on-line high temperature pyrolysis of the sample over a carbon source followed by a rapid, non-contributive partial catalytic oxidation over nickel powder at between 550 and 600 degrees C. Initial results demonstrate both good precision (better than 0.2 per thousand) and accuracy for both cellulose and silver nitrate samples. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Flexible Terpyridine Derivative Interacts Specifically with G‐Quadruplexes

G‐quadruplexes formed by nucleic acids are implicated in pathologies ranging from cancers to neurodegenerative diseases. We evaluated interactions of 29 bi‐ and terpyridine derivatives with G‐quadruplexes and duplexes. FRET‐melting, circular dichroism, and ¹H NMR spectroscopy showed that one terpyridine derivative interacted very selectively with G‐quadruplexes. This G‐quadruplex ligand inhibited helicase activity and should influence G‐quadruplex‐related biological processes.     

Editorial for Focus Issue on Enabling Science and Technology for High-Speed Optical Communications

<正>Fiber optics underpins the communications infrastructure for the information society today. Cables consisting of hair-like fibers speed data around the globe in the form of rapid pulses of light. Modern telecom     

Synthesis of o-halogenophenylacetylenes via the dianion of phenylacetylene (1)

The o-halogenophenylacetylenes o-iodophenylacetylene,o-bromophenylacetylene and o-chlorophenylacetylene can be prepared by regiospecific reaction of iodine, bromine, and hexachloroethane respectively with the dianion of phenylacetylene.     

Nonlinear polarization effects and mitigation in polarization-division-multiplexed coherent transmission systems

Using numerical simulations, the nonlinear transmission performance of polarization-division-multiplexed quadrature-phase-shift-keying （PDM-QPSK） coherent systems is studied. It is found that inter-channel cross-polarization modulation （XPolM） induced nonlinear polarization scattering can significantly degrade the transmission performance of PDM-QPSK coherent systems and change the perspective of dispersion management in optical coherent transmission systems. Some techniques to mitigate nonlinear polarization scattering in dispersion-managed PDM coherent transmission systems are discussed, including the use of time-interleaved return-to-zero （RZ） PDM formats, the use of periodic-group-delay PGD dispersion compensators, and the judicious addition of some polarization-mode-dispersion （PMD） in the transmission link. It is shown that if nonlinear polarization scattering can be well mitigated, a polarization multiplexed optical coherent transmission system with dispersion management could perform better than that without it.     

Perfluorophenyl azide functionalization of electrospun poly(para‐dioxanone)

Strategies to surface‐functionalize scaffolds by covalent binding of biologically active compounds are of fundamental interest to control the interactions between scaffolds and biomolecules or cells. Poly(para‐dioxanone) (PPDO) is a clinically established polymer that has shown potential as temporary implant, eg, for the reconstruction of the inferior vena cava, as a nonwoven fiber mesh. However, PPDO lacks suitable chemical groups for covalent functionalization. Furthermore, PPDO is highly sensitive to hydrolysis, reflected by short in vivo half‐life times and degradation during storage. Establishing a method for covalent functionalization without degradation of this hydrolyzable polymer is therefore important to enable the surface tailoring for tissue engineering applications. It was hypothesized that treatment of PPDO with an N‐hydroxysuccinimide ester group bearing perfluorophenyl azide (PFPA) under UV irradiation would allow efficient surface functionalization of the scaffold. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier‐transformed infrared spectroscopy investigation revealed the successful binding, while a gel permeation chromatography study showed that degradation did not occur under these conditions. Coupling of a rhodamine dye to the N‐hydroxysuccinimide esters on the surface of a PFPA‐functionalized scaffold via its amine linker showed a homogenous staining of the PPDO in laser confocal microscopy. The PFPA method is therefore applicable even to the surface functionalization of hydrolytically labile polymers, and it was demonstrated that PFPA chemistry may serve as a versatile tool for the (bio‐)functionalization of PPDO scaffolds.