THE CHLOROPHYLL-SENSITIZED REACTION BETWEEN BENZOQUINONE AND ETHANOL*

The electron-transfer reaction between triplet excited chlorophyll and quinones has been extensively studied as a model of the primary reaction in photosystem II. There has also been reported a minor reaction in which the chlorophyll cation radical ostensibly oxidizes the alcohol solvent or even water, leading to a gradual net reduction of quinone, but the exact mechanism and even the existence of this reaction has been uncertain. We have examined the consequences of prolonged irradation of ethyl chlorophyllide and benzoquinone in acidulated ethanol, and find a chlorophyllide-sensitized reaction which is not analogous to the better-known autosensitized reduction of quinones in blue or UV light. In the chlorophyllide-sensitized reaction, benzoquinone is apparently converted to ethoxy-substituted quinones and quinols, and polymeric material. Ethyl chlorophyllide (or chlorophyll) is simultaneously oxidized to more polar products which themselves continue to photosensitize the reaction of quinones. The production of acetaldehyde could not be demonstrated in the sensitized reaction. Chlorophyllide-sensitized reaction of (l-hydroxyethyl)benzoquinone, ethoxybenzoquinone and 2.5-diethoxybenzo-quinone were examined for additional information. A reaction sequence, tentatively proposed to accommodate the known facts, starts with oxidative attack by quinone on an oxidized chlorophyllide radical formed by loss of a hydroxyl proton from alcohol bound as a ligand to Mg²⁺. It is not likely that this reaction is closely related to events at the oxidizing side of photosystem II.     

Palladium salicylaldimine complexes containing boronate esters

Reactions of salicylaldehydes with boronate ester derivatives of aniline have been examined. Addition of these Schiff base ligands to palladium acetate or Na₂PdCl₄ afforded novel boron-containing trans-bis(N-arylsalicylaldiminato) palladium complexes.Condensation of salicylaldehyde (2-HOC₆H₄C(O)H) with H₂NC₆H₄Bpin (pin=1,2-O₂C₂Me₄) afforded the boron-containing Schiff bases, 2-HOC₆H₄C(H)=NC₆H₄Bpin (1–3a). Similar reactivity with 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzaldehyde and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde gave the corresponding Schiff bases (1-3b) and (1-3c), respectively. Reaction of Schiff bases (2) and (3) with palladium acetate or Na₂PdCl₄ afforded complexes of the type PdL₂ (4,5), where L=deprotonated Schiff base. The molecular structure of the nitro-salicylaldehyde 4-Bpin palladium complex (5b) was characterized by an X-ray diffraction study. All new palladium compounds have been characterized fully and tested for their antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus.     

Transition metalcarbon bonds XXXVII. platinum acetylide complexes formed from ethynyl alcohols or ethers

Several new platinum(II) acetylide complexes, trans-{Pt[CCCR₁R₂(OR₃)]₂-L₂} (R₁, R₂  H, Me, Et; CR₁R₂  cyclohexylidene; R₃  H, Me or Ph), trans-[Pt(CCCH₂CH₂OH)₂L₂], trans-[Pt(p-tolylacetylide)₂L₂] and trans-[PtX(p-tolylacetylide)L₂] (L  PMe₂Ph or in one case, AsMe₂Ph) have been prepared. Platinum(II) acetylide complexes with tertiary hydroxyl groups are easily dehydrated by acetic anhydride/pyridine to give platinum-enyne complexes. Analogous compounds with primary hydroxyl groups do not dehydrate but give acetates. ¹H and ¹³C NMR data are given and the shift reagent Eu(fod)₃ was used to analyse the ¹H NMR spectrum of trans-[Pt(CCCH₂CH₂OH)₂(PMe₂Ph)₂].     

Basis set and correlation effects on computed positive ion hydrogen bond energies of the complexes AHn · AHn + 1+1: AHn = NH3, OH2, and FH

Basis set expansion and correlation effects on computed hydrogen bond energies of the positive ion complexes AH_n · AH_{n + 1}⁺¹, for AH_n = NH₃, OH₂ and FH, have been evaluated. The addition of diffuse functions on nonhydrogen atoms is the single most important enhancement of split-valence plus polarization basis sets for computing hydrogen bond energies. Basis set enhancement effects appear to be additive in these systems. The correlation energy contribution to the stabilization energies of these complexes is significant, with the second order term being the largest term and having a stabilizing effect. The third order term is smaller and of opposite sign, while the fourth order term is smaller yet and stabilizing. As a result, computed MP4 stabilization energies are bracketed by the MP2 and MP3 energies. The overall effect of basis set enhancement is to decrease hydrogen bond energies, whereas the addition of electron correlation increases stabilization energies.     

Quantitative determination of limonin in citrus juices by HPLC using computerized solvent optimization

The commercially available computer program, Drylab, for optimization of separations by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using binary solvent mixtures is used to improve an HPLC method for separation of the bitter principle, limonin, in grapefruit and navel orange juices. Best conditions for separation of limonin in a reasonable time are 30 to 32% acetonitrile in water at 0.9 mL/min using a 5-micron C18 column 10 cm long. These conditions are used to analyze grapefruit and navel orange juice samples, and these HPLC results are compared with values determined by enzyme immunoassay or thin-layer chromatography (TLC) on the same samples.     

Foaming and Structural Studies on the Acidic Subunit of Amaranth 11S Globulin Modified with Antihypertensive Peptides as a Function of pH and Ionic Strength

Some studies aimed at revealing the relationship between protein structure and their functional properties. However, the majority of these reports have been carried out using protein isolates. There are limited reports on the possible relationship between the functional properties and the structure of a purified protein. In this work the amaranth 11S globulin acidic subunit (AAC) and five mutations of the same protein that were modified in their variable regions with antihypertensive peptides (VYVYVYVY and RIPP), were analyzed at two ionic strength (2.9 and 17.6 g/L NaCl) and pH (3.0–7.0). Results revealed better solubility for the proteins mutated at the terminal ends (AACM.1 and AACM.4) and lower solubility for the protein inserted with RIPP peptide. Spectroscopy studies revealed an increase of β-sheet structure at high salt concentration for all proteins. It was also observed that salt concentration acted as a modulator, which allowed a better foam features for all modified proteins limiting movement of side chains and reducing red-shifted displacement of λmax. All proteins showed foam capacity ranging from 76 to 93% although foam stability was twofold better for modified proteins than for AAC at high salt concentration. This study allowed better understanding about the structural changes that influence the foaming properties of engineered proteins.     

Accuracy and precision of a laser-spectroscopy approach to the analysis of δ2H and δ18O in human urine

The isotope ratio analysis of body water often involves large sample numbers and lengthy sample processing. Here we demonstrate the ability of isotope ratio infrared spectroscopy (IRIS) to rapidly and accurately analyse the isotope ratios of water in urine. We analysed water extracted from human urine using traditional isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and compared those values with IRIS-analysed extracted water and un-extracted urine. Regression analyses for δ²H and δ¹⁸O values between (1) extracted water analysed via IRMS and IRIS and (2) urine and extracted water analysed via IRIS were significant (R ²=0.99). These results indicate that cryogenic distillation of urine was not required for an accurate estimate of the isotopic composition of urine when using IRIS.     

Development and Infrared Applications of Chalcogenide Glass Optical Fibers

Chalcogenide glass fibers based on sulphide, selenide, telluride, and their rare earth doped compositions are being actively pursued both at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. (NRL) and worldwide. Great strides have been made in reducing optical losses using improved chem ical purification techniques, but further improvements are needed in both purification and fiberization technology to attain the theoretical optical losses. Despite this, current singlemode and multimode chalcogenide glass fibers are enabling numerous applications. Some of these applications include laser power delivery, chemical sensing, imaging, scanning near field microscopy spectroscopy, fiber infrared (IR) sources lasers, amplifiers, and optical switches. The authors assert that the research and development of chalcogenide glasses will grow in the foreseeable future, especially with respect to improvements the optical quality of the fibers and the performance of the fibers in existing future applications.