Investigations of the EPR parameters for Sm3+ ions in KY3F10 and LiYF4 crystals

In this paper, we calculate the EPR parameters (g factors g parallel, g perpendicular and hyperfine structure constants A parallel, A perpendicular) of rare earth ion Sm3+ in fluoride crystals KY3F10 and LiYF4 from the perturbation formulas of EPR parameters for a 4f5 ion in tetragonal symmetry. In these formulas, the crystal-field J-mixing of the first and second excited-state multiplets 6H(7/2) and 6H(9/2) into the ground state multiplet 6H(5/2), the mixtures among the states with the same J value via spin-orbit coupling interaction and the interactions between the ground Kramers doublet Gammagamma and the same irreducible representation as Gammagamma in other 11 Kramers doublets Gammax within 6HJ (J=5/2, 7/2, 9/2) states via crystal-field and orbital angular momentum (or hyperfine structure) are considered. The calculated results (which are in agreement with the observed values) are discussed.     

Ultrathin polymer film formation by collision-induced cross-linking of adsorbed organic molecules with hyperthermal protons

A new synthetic approach for the formation of ultrathin polymer films with customizable properties was developed. In this approach, the kinematic nature of proton collisions with simple organic molecules condensed on a substrate is exploited to break C-H bonds preferentially. The subsequent recombination of carbon radicals gives a cross-linked polymer thin film, and the selectivity of C-H cleavage preserves the chemical functionalities of the precursor molecules. The nature and validity of the method are exemplified with theoretical results from ab initio molecular dynamics calculations and experimental evidence from a variety of characterization techniques. Its applicability is demonstrated by the synthesis of ultrathin polymer films with precursor molecules such as dotriacontane, docosanoic acid, poly(acrylic acid) oligomer, and polyisoprene. The approach is fundamentally different from conventional chemical synthesis as it involves an unusual mix of physical and chemical processes including charge exchange, projectile penetration, kinematics, collision-induced dissociation, inelastic energy transfer, chain transfer, and chain cross-linking.     

Direct observation of the protonation state of an imino sugar glycosidase inhibitor upon binding

Glycosidases are some of the most ubiquitous enzyme in nature. Their biological significance, coupled to their enormous catalytic prowess derived from tight binding of the transition state, is reflected in their importance as therapeutic targets. Many glycosidase inhibitors are known. Imino sugars are often potent inhibitors, yet many facets of their mode of action, such as their degree, if any, of transition-state "mimicry" and their protonation state when bound to the target glycosidase remain unclear. Atomic resolution analysis of the endoglucanase, Cel5A, in complex with a cellobio-derived isofagomine in conjunction with the pH dependence of Ki and kcat/KM reveals that this compound binds as a protonated sugar. Surprisingly, both the enzymatic nucleophile and the acid/base are unprotonated in the complex.     

Investigations of the g factors and hyperfine structure parameters for Er3+ ion in zircon-type compounds

The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) g factors g(parallel), g(perpendicular) and hyperfine structure parameters A(parallel), A(perpendicular) of the tetragonal Er3+ centers in zircon-type compounds YXO4 (X = As, P, V), ScVO4 and RSiO4 (R = Zr, Hf, Th) are calculated from the perturbation formulas of EPR parameters for 4f11 ion in tetragonal symmetry. In these formulas, the second-order perturbation contributions are included in addition to the first-order perturbation contributions considered in the previous papers. The crystal-field parameters used in the calculations are obtained by analyzing the optical spectral data from the superposition model. Although the superposition model intrinsic parameters An(R0) used in this paper for Er3+ in various zircon-type compounds are not as scattered as those in the previous paper, the calculated results of both the optical spectra and EPR parameters show better agreement than those in the previous paper with the observed values, suggesting that the above calculation method and parameters are more reasonable. The contributions of the second-order perturbation terms to EPR parameters are also discussed.     

Computational studies of the 3-Dimensional structure of cyclopenta polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons containing a gulf region

Recently, some cyclopenta-fused polyaromatic hydrocarbons, an environmentally relevant subclass of chemicals, have been shown to have carcinogenic activity in animals. It has been suggested that benz[l] aceanthrylene ( I ), an active member of this subclass with a gulf region, has a trans dihydrodiol metabolite that is nonplanar and has two distinct spatial configurations. We have used MMP 2(85) and AM 1 to investigate the three-dimensional structure of this dihydrodiol and other similar derivatives of ( I ) and have found that although ( I ) is somewhat nonplanar the relevant derivatives are all nearly planar. Further, we have computed potential functions for the bending of the angular ring in the gulf region using MMP 2(85), AM 1, and ab initio computed energies for AM 1 spatial configurations and find that these molecules all have only a single potential minimum. We have performed the same calculations for benzo[c]phenanthren and its 1,12 dimethyl derivative, molecules with a similar gulf region for which crystallographic data exists. In agreement with that data, we find that two distinct spatial configurations exist separated by significant barries. The differences between the results generated by the three different methods of computation will be discussed.     

The polarized electronic spectra and electric field spectra of benzo-diazoles. II. 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole

The S₁ ← S₀ absorption spectra of 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BTD) have been measured at 4.2 K in four different host crystals: naphthalene, durene, p-dichlorobenzene (DCB) and p-dibromobenzene. Detailed vibrational analyses are given for BTD imbedded in napthalene and DCB. The polarization measurements show that the S₁ state has B₂ symmetry, like its selenium analogue (BSD). The transition is dominated by a single totally symmetric mode - 484 cm^?1. The Herzberg-Teller coupling contributes only a very small fraction of the total intensity. The Stark measurements of a DCB sample containing both BTD and BSD enabled us to compare the charge distribution of BTD and BSD in the state S₁. The Stark splittings of BTD are 17% greater than the splittings of BSD. Reorganization of the σ-core during the excitation is used to explain the difference. The drastic change in dipole moment upon excitation implies that the S₁←S₀ transitions of BTD and BSD are not localized in the six-membered ring as suggested by previous workers. Weak phosphorescence of BTD in napthalene and DCB and singlet-triplet absorption spectrum of neat BTD have been observed. The heavy atom effect of spin-orbit coupling is to explain the ST absorption intensity of BTD and BSD.     

Molecular simulation of surfactant-assisted protein refolding

Protein refolding to its native state in vitro is a challenging problem in biotechnology, i.e., in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, and food industry. Protein aggregation and misfolding usually inhibit the recovery of proteins with their native states. These problems can be partially solved by adding a surfactant into a suitable solution environment. However, the process of this surfactant-assisted protein refolding is not well understood. In this paper, we wish to report on the first-ever simulations of surfactant-assisted protein refolding. For these studies, we defined a simple model for the protein and the surfactant and investigated how a surfactant affected the folding behavior of a two-dimensional lattice protein molecule. The model protein and model surfactant were chosen such that we could capture the important features of the folding process and the interaction between the protein and the surfactant, namely, the hydrophobic interaction. It was shown that, in the absence of surfactants, a protein in an "energy trap" conformation, i.e., a local energy minima, could not fold into the native form, which was characterized by a global energy minimum. The addition of surfactants created folding pathways via the formation of protein-surfactant complexes and thus enabled the conformations that fell into energy trap states to escape from these traps and to form the native proteins. The simulation results also showed that it was necessary to match the hydrophobicity of surfactant to the concentration of denaturant, which was added to control the folding or unfolding of a protein. The surfactants with different hydrophobicity had their own concentration range on assisting protein refolding. All of these simulations agreed well with experimental results reported elsewhere, indicating both the validity of the simulations presented here and the potential application of the simulations for the design of a surfactant on assisting protein refolding.     

A universal temperature controlled membrane interface for the analysis of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds

A universal temperature controlled membrane interface (TCMI) has been constructed for hollow-fibre membranes. The membrane temperature is controllable in the range -70 to 250 degrees C using an electric heater and a flow of cooled nitrogen or helium gas. Volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds may be detected either by continuous diffusion across the membrane or by in-membrane pre-concentration followed by thermal desorption into the detector. The TCMI interface is demonstrated in combination with mass spectrometry and GC-MS, for the determination of VOCs and SVOCs in aqueous and air samples and for the on-line monitoring of a bioreactor.     

Copper(II), nickel(II) and cobalt(II) complexes of 4-cyanobenzonic acid: syntheses, crystal structures and spectral properties

Three new metal complexes, Cu(4-Hcba)₂(4-cba)₂(Py)₂ (4-Hcba=4-cyanobenzoic acid) 1 and M[H(4-cba)₂]₂(Py)₂ (M=Ni 2, Co 3), have been prepared by the treatment of 4-Hcba with the respective metal nitrate M(NO₃)₂ (M=Cu, Ni, Co) in the presence of pyridine (Py). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses (3 is isostructural to 2) show that the obtained complexes are of isolated mononuclear and the metal atoms have distorted octahedral coordination environment. Two different types of intramolecular hydrogen bonds exist: asymmetrical O–HO for 1 and symmetrical OHO for 2 and 3. The crystal packing between the molecular complexes is controlled mainly by T-shaped C–Hπ interactions between pyridine and phenyl rings. Preliminary discussions on IR, UV–VIS and fluorescent spectra have also been carried out.