SPECTROSCOPY OF CHLOROPHYLL IN BIOLOGICAL AND SYNTHETIC SYSTEMS*

Abstract. –This review discusses recent spectroscopic studies aimed at discovering the structure, orientation, and function of chlorophyll in vivo. In plant membranes there appear to be at least two distinct types of chlorophyll a. The greater part, over 99%, is antenna chlorophyll which absorbs and transfers radiant energy to a few specialized chlorophyll molecules in a reaction center where the actual charge separation occurs. A dimer-oligomer model for antenna chlorophyll has been proposed on the basis of comparative studies of the absorption spectra of chlorophyll in various dry solvents and in vivo. Unfortunately a similarity between essentially structureless broad spectra is very weak evidence for their original identity. Also the requirement of an anhydrous environment for most of the chlorophyll in biological material is an unlikely postulate. A cross-linked, linear polymer model of chlorophyll in vivo has also been proposed. Recent Resonance Raman spectroscopic results appear to rule out, in large part, either polymer model and once again suggest that it is the various attachments of chlorophyll to proteins which determine its function as antenna pigment in vivo. Circular dichroism measurements of chlorophyll in various plant materials have also led to the conclusion that antenna chlorophyll has strong interaction with protein. However, some doubt still exists as to the interpretation of these CD results. New studies of fluorescence, polarized fluorescence and Resonance Raman spectroscopy of various plant species corroborate the original proposition, based upon deconvolution of absorption spectra, that antenna chlorophyll occurs in vivo in at least five discrete pools, and that each pool is likely to be located in the same environment in different plants. A new model-systems approach to simulating chlorophyll in vivo has come through the use of lipid bilayers and liposomes. Charge transfer has been observed between chlorophyll in a lipid phase and phycobiliproteins or cytochrome c. The most promising, newly synthesized model for the reaction center, P700, is a covalently bound dimeric derivative of pyrochlorophyllide a. Its properties are similar to P700 in several respects except for reversible photooxidation which has not yet been observed. By detergent treatments chlorophyll-protein complexes having about 20–40 chlorophyll a molecules for every P700 have been isolated from different plants, and their spectroscopic properties are under investigation in several laboratories. The several hypotheses to explain the shape of the oxidized minus reduced absorption difference spectrum of P700 have not yet been reconciled. The nature of the photosystem II reaction center chlorophyll, P680, is also a subject of active investigation. Its absorption difference spectrum appears to have two kinetic components.     

Farnesic acid glycerides from the nudibranch Archidoris odhneri

The dorid nudibranch Archidoris odhneri produces (all E)-2,3-dihydroxypropylfarnesate and its two monoacetoxy derivatives.     

Preparation and photoelectron spectrum of the glycine molecular anion: assignment to a dipole-bound electron species with a high-dipole moment, non-zwitterionic form of the neutral core

We report the gas-phase preparation of negatively charged glycine as well as the Gly(H(2)O)(1,2) (-) complexes by entrainment of the neutral precursor into an ionized supersonic expansion tuned to optimize the (H(2)O)(n) (-)Ar(m) clusters. The photoelectron spectrum of Gly(-) displays the signature of a dipole-bound species, with sufficient vibrational fine structure to characterize the core neutral as a higher energy, non-zwitterionic isomer of the amino acid.     

Capillary and microelectrophoretic separations of ligase detection reaction products produced from low-abundant point mutations in genomic DNA

Capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) and polymer-based microelectrophoretic platforms were investigated to analyze low-abundant point mutations in certain gene fragments with high diagnostic value for colorectal cancers. The electrophoretic separations were carried out on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) products generated from an allele-specific ligation assay (ligase detection reaction, LDR), which was used to screen for a single base mutation at codon 12 in the K-ras oncogene. The presence of the mutation generated a ssDNA fragment that was >40 base pairs (bp) in length, while the primers used for the ligation assay were <30 bp in length. Various separation matrices were investigated, with the success of the matrix assessed by its ability to resolve the ligation product from the large molar excess of unligated primers when the mutant allele was lower in copy number compared to the wild-type allele. Using CGE, LDR product models (44 and 51 bp) could be analyzed in a cross-linked polyacrylamide gel with a 1000-fold molar excess of LDR primers (25 bp) in approximately 45 min. However, when using linear polyacrylamide gels, these same fragments could not be detected due to significant electrokinetic biasing during injection. A poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) microchip of 3.5 cm effective column length was used with a 4% linear polyacrylamide gel to analyze the products generated from an LDR. When the reaction contained a 100-fold molar excess of wild-type DNA compared to a G12.2D mutant allele, the 44 bp ligation product could be effectively resolved from unligated primers in under 120 s, nearly 17 times faster than the CGE format. In addition, sample cleanup was simplified using the microchip format by not requiring desalting of the LDR prior to loading.     

Orientation of Na(3p) states excited in Na-He collisions

The orientation of Na(3p) states created in 3–13 keV Na(3s)-He collisions has been studied by the polarised photon-scattered particle coincidence technique at scattering angles corresponding to the impact-parameter range 1–2 a.u. In the standard geometry, at large impact parameters the excitation process exhibits a very high degree of orientation with about 90% of the Na(3p) states havingm ₁=?1. Strong reduction in this propensity is observed at impact parameters smaller than about 1.3 a.u., where a molecular curve crossing causes simultaneous He(n=2) excitation. In this region, also ionisation becomes important.     

Rheology of binary colloidal structures assembled via specific biological cross-linking

The selectivity and range of energies offered by specific biological interactions serve as valuable tools for engineering the assembly of colloidal particles into novel materials. In this investigation, high affinity biological interactions between biotin-coated "A" particles (RA = 0.475 microm) and streptavidin-coated "B" particles (RB = 2.75 microm) drive the self-assembly of a series of binary colloidal structures, from colloidal micelles (a large B particle coated by smaller A particles) to elongated chain microstructures (alternating A and B particles), as the relative number of small (A) to large (B) particles (2 < or = NA/NB < or = 200) is decreased at a low total volume fraction (10(-4) < or = phiT < or = 10(-3)). At a significantly higher total volume fraction (phiT > or = 10(-1)) and a low number ratio (NA/NB = 2), the rheological behavior of volume-filling particle networks connected by streptavidin-biotin bonds is characterized. The apparent viscosity (eta) as a function of the shear rate gamma, measured for networks at phiT = 0.1 and 0.2, exhibits shear-rate-dependent flow behavior, and both the apparent viscosity and the extent of shear thinning increase upon an increase of a factor of 2 in the total volume fraction. Micrographs taken before and after shearing show a structural breakdown of the flocculated binary particle network into smaller flocs, and ultimately a fluidlike suspension, with increasing shear rate. Rheological measurements provide further proof that suspension microstructure is governed by specific biomolecular interactions, as control experiments in which the streptavidin molecules on particles were blocked displayed Newtonian flow behavior. This investigation represents the first attempt at measuring the rheology of colloidal suspensions where assembly is driven by biomolecular cross-linking.     

Infrared and Raman spectroscopic investigations of the Nb(V) fluoro and oxofluoro complexes in the LiF-NaF-KF eutectic melt with development of a diamond IR cell

A vacuum-tight cell for infrared spectroscopic investigations of extremely corrosive melts, e.g., molten fluorides, has been constructed and tested up to 750 degrees C. The cell has a gold-lined sample chamber and a diamond window transparent for the infrared light. It can be furnished with a gold piston that enables the recording of short-path-length FTIR spectra of liquid samples. Solutions of Nb(V) in LiF-NaF-KF eutectic (FLINAK) with and without oxide additions have been investigated by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. The presence of NbF7(2-), NbOF5(2-), and NbO2F4(3-) complexes was established in the molten state at 600 degrees C. After solidification NbF7(2-) was still the only Nb(V) all-fluoro complex present. Three oxofluoro complexes, NbOF6(3-), NbOF5(2-), and NbO2F4(3-), have been identified in the solid state. Typical frequency regions for the different complexes are established. Finally, it was shown that K2NbF7 can be used as an indicator to determine the oxide content of the sample melts.     

Diagrammatic formulation of the kinetic theory of fluctuations in equilibrium classical fluids. V. The short time approximation for the memory function

The correlation function for density fluctuations in a monatomic fluid obeys a formally exact kinetic equation containing a memory function. A previously derived short time approximation (STA) for this memory function is tested by comparing its predictions with the results of molecular dynamic simulations of a dense Lennard-Jones fluid at a variety of temperatures. This approximation takes into account the contribution to the correlation function of uncorrelated repulsive binary collisions. The qualitative changes of predicted correlation functions with temperature and wave vector are generally correct. The major exception to this is the transverse current correlation function for small wave vector. The quantitative accuracy is better at short times than long times and better at high temperatures than low temperatures. The major failing of the STA is its underestimation of the amplitudes of the negative dips in the current autocorrelation functions and of the temperature dependence of the amplitudes of the dips. Despite its deficiencies in predicting the time dependence of current correlation functions, the STA gives accurate results for the self-diffusion coefficient and the shear viscosity coefficient at the highest temperatures studied.     

Synthesis, resolution, and applications of 2, 2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-3,3'- binaphtho[2,1-b]furan

[structure: see text] A short five-step synthesis of (+/-)-2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-3, 3'-binaphtho[2,1-b]furan (BINAPFu, 1) starting from 2-naphthoxyacetic acid is reported. The resolution of BINAPFu 1 was possible using our newly developed resolution procedure for phosphines wherein (1S)-camphorsulfonyl azide was used to prepare the bisphosphinimine of BINAPFu via the Staundinger reaction. BINAPFu consistently outperformed BINAP in an asymmetric Heck reaction between 2,3-dihydrofuran and phenyl triflate.