DMT-MM mediated functionalisation of the non-reducing end of glycosaminoglycans

Efficient functionalisation of the non-reducing end of uronic acid derivatives and glycosaminoglycan-derived disaccharides using peptide coupling has been achieved, mediated by the water-soluble agent DMT-MM.     

Neutrons produced by 1.22 GeV antiproton interactions with nuclei

Inclusive neutron energy spectra were measured by time of flight using 1.22 GeV antiprotons from LEAR, CERN, as projectiles and targets from natural Al, Cu, Ag, Ho, Ta, Au, Pb, Bi, U. The sum of two Maxwellian distributions was fitted to the spectra obtained at several forward and backward angles yielding neutron multiplicities M_i and slope or temperature parameters T _i for the low-energy (evaporative, i=1) and high-energy (pre-equilibrium,i=2) parts, respectively. M ₁ increases with A, proportional to the nuclear volume, and M ₂ is growing with A , proportional to the nuclear radius. The T parameters are nearly independent of A. The results are compared with previous multiplicity measurements with a neutron detector, intranuclear cascade calculations and neutron spectra from stopped antiproton annihilation on nuclei. With the measured proton spectra also the ratio of emitted neutrons to protons was determined for Au. Received: 25 February 2000 / Accepted: 19 May 2000     

Direct Measurement of Dihedral Angles with High-Resolution NMR Spectroscopy

Help in determining biomolecular structure by NMR spectroscopy is found in a new method recently proposed by Reif, Hennig, and Griesinger, which enables the direct measurement of angles between bond vectors (see picture; X, Y=¹³C, ¹⁵N). This work may be another milestone in the progress of NMR spectroscopy toward simpler and more generally applicable structure determination of biomolecules.     

Synthesis of pyrazine-bridged diimidazolium salts and their application in palladium catalyzed Heck-type coupling reactions

Reaction of imidazole derivatives with 2,3-di(bromomethyl)pyrazine results in the formation of the new pyrazine-bridged diimidazolium salts 1-8. These salts proved to be valuable precursors for dinuclear complexes with mixed NHC/pyrazine ligands. Two of the pyrazine-bridged diimidazolium salts 3·H₂O and 8·2H₂O have been characterized by X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, the first catalytic studies with mixtures of palladium acetate and the imidazolium salts have been carried out. The in situ prepared palladium complexes derived from the diimidazolium salts 1-8 exhibit a modest catalytic activity in Heck-type coupling reactions between 4-bromo benzaldehyde and styrene or n-butyl acrylate.     

A new dimension in cyclic coinage metal pyrazolates: decoration with a second ring of coinage metals supported by inter-ring metallophilic interactions

When pyrazolate ligands with thioether chelate arms are used in cyclic coinage metal pyrazolates [Au(μ-pz)](n), the inner gold ring can be framed with an outer silver ring to give novel heterometallic double-crowned complexes [AuAg(μ-L(x))(BF(4))](4). They feature short intramolecular in-plane Ag-Au interactions, are stable as octanuclear species in solution, and show promising luminescence properties.     

Influence of interparticle interactions on the kinetics of self-assembly and mechanical strength of nanoparticulate aggregates

Computer simulations based on Discrete Element Method have been performed in order to investigate the influence of interparticle interactions on the kinetics of self-assembly and the mechanical strength of nanoparticle aggregates.Three different systems have been considered.In the first system the interaction between particles has been simulated using the JKR (Johnson,Kendall and Roberts) contact theory,while in the second and third systems the interaction between particles has been simulated using van der Waals and electrostatic forces respectively.In order to compare the mechanical behaviour of the three systems,the magnitude of the maximum attractive force between particles has been kept the same in all cases.However,the relationship between force and separation distance differs from case to case and thus,the range of the interparticle force.The results clearly indicate that as the range of the interparticle force increases,the self-assembly process is faster and the work required to produce the mechanical failure of the assemblies increases by more than one order of magnitude.     

Search for neutrons from ‘cold nuclear fusion’

We have searched for neutrons from a Pd-electrode loaded with deuterium in electrolysis setups similar to those of Fleischmann and Pons [1] and Jones et al. [2]. Within the sensitivity of our neutron detection system corresponding to a neutron source strength of 5 x 10^{? 2} neutrons/s we did not find any neutrons due to ‘cold nuclear fusion’. We emphasize the necessity of using several independent neutron detectors.