Psoralen and coumarin photochemistry in HSA complexes and DMPC vesicles

The photochemistry and photophysics of several psoralens and coumarins have been examined in human serum albumin (HSA) complexes and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) vesicles. Fluorescence spectroscopy indicates that there are multiple binding sites with polarities that are intermediate between those of acetonitrile and water for the substrates complexed to HSA. In the case of the 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin-HSA complex, laser flash photolysis experiments provide evidence for the formation of radical cation in addition to triplet. Radical cations are not detected for other coumarin-HSA complexes, either due to a lower yield of formation or to rapid reaction of an initial radical cation with adjacent amino acids. Fluorescence spectra for coumarins indicate that they are primarily solubilized in the polar headgroup region in DMPC vesicles. Consistent with this, radical cations generated by photoionization are detected in transient experiments. For dimethoxycoumarins the radical cation is long-lived, indicating rapid exit from the vesicle and decay in the aqueous phase. However, 4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen and 7-ethoxy-4-hexadecylcoumarin radical cations are much shorter-lived, presumably due to rapid decay by electron recombination in the vesicle. The results for both HSA complexes and vesicles indicate that radical ions may play a role in psoralen and coumarin photochemistry in a cellular environment.     

Long-ranged electrostatic repulsion and crystallization of emulsion droplets in an ultralow dielectric medium supercritical carbon dioxide

Electrostatic repulsion stabilizes micrometer-sized water droplets with spacings greater than 10 microm in an ultralow dielectric medium, CO2 (epsilon = 1.5), at elevated pressures. The morphology of the water/CO2 emulsion is characterized by optical microscopy and laser diffraction as a function of height. The counterions, stabilized with a nonionic, highly branched, stubby hydrocarbon surfactant, form an extremely thick double layer with a Debye screening length of 8.9 microm. As a result of the balance between electrostatic repulsion and the downward force due to gravity, the droplets formed a hexagonal crystalline lattice at the bottom of the high-pressure cell with spacings of over 10 microm. The osmotic pressure, calculated by solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation in the framework of the Wigner-Seitz cell model, is in good agreement with that determined from the sedimentation profile measured by laser diffraction. Thus, the long-ranged stabilization of the emulsion may be attributed to electrostatic stabilization. The ability to form new types of colloids in CO2 with electrostatic stabilization is beneficial because steric stabilization is often unsatisfactory because of poor solvation of the stabilizers.     

High internal phase CO2-in-water emulsions stabilized with a branched nonionic hydrocarbon surfactant

A nonionic-methylated branched hydrocarbon surfactant, octa(ethylene glycol) 2,6,8-trimethyl-4-nonyl ether (5b-C12E8) emulsifies up to 90% CO2 in water with polyhedral cells smaller than 10 microm, as characterized by optical microscopy. The stability of these concentrated CO2/water (C/W) emulsions increases with pressure and in some cases exceeds 24 h. An increase in pressure weakens the attractive van der Waals interactions between the CO2 cells across water and raises the disjoining pressure. It also enhances the solution of the surfactant tail and drives the surfactant from water towards the water-CO2 interface, as characterized by the change in emulsion phase behavior and the decrease in interfacial tension (gamma) to 2.1 mN/m. As the surfactant adsorption increases, the greater tendency for ion adsorption is likely to increase the electrostatic repulsion in the thin lamellae and raise the disjoining pressure. As pressure increases, the increase in disjoining pressure and decrease in the capillary pressure (due to the decrease in gamma) each favor greater stability of the lamellae against rupture. The electrical conductivity is predicted successfully as a function of Bruggeman's model for concentrated emulsions. Significant differences in the stability are observed for concentrated C/W emulsions at elevated pressure versus air/W or C/W foams at atmospheric pressure.     

Synthesis of sulfonium sulfate analogues of disaccharides and their conversion to chain-extended homologues of salacinol: new glycosidase inhibitors

Four chain extended homologues of salacinol, a naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor, were prepared for evaluation as inhibitors of glucosidase enzymes involved in the breakdown of carbohydrates. The syntheses involved the reactions of 1,4-anhydro-2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-4-thio-D-arabinitol with cyclic sulfate derivatives of different monosaccharides. Debenzylation of the products afforded the novel sulfonium sulfate derivatives of D-glucose, D-galactose, D-arabinose, and D-xylose that are of interest in their own right as glycosidase inhibitors. Reduction to the corresponding alditols then afforded the homologues of salacinol containing polyhydroxylated, acyclic chains of 5- and 6-carbons, differing in stereochemistry at the stereogenic centers. Three of the chain-extended homologues inhibited recombinant human maltase glucoamylase, one of the key intestinal enzymes involved in the breakdown of glucose oligosaccharides in the small intestine, with Ki values in the low micromolar range, of approximately the same magnitude as salacinol, thus providing lead candidates for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.     

Rooms with a view: A novel approach to iterated multidimensional wave conversion

Ray tracing in the presence of linear mode conversion leads to a ‘splitting’ of an incoming ray into two outgoing rays. When the rays are confined to a cavity, the rays can re-enter the conversion region many times, leading to iterated conversion. In this paper, we present new methods for the analysis of this problem. These involve a shift from local to global methods of analysis, and a shift in emphasis from the study of ray evolution in the dispersion surface to the study of the iterated dynamics of rays crossing the conversion surface. The analytical methods are quite general and can be applied in phase spaces of arbitrary dimension. In two spatial dimensions, (x, y), i.e. with a four-dimensional ray space, (x, y, k_x, k_y), rays are confined to three-dimensional regions called rooms, with one room for each wave type. In these rooms the rays do not cross, but when they intersect the conversion surface a family of converted rays is produced in the other room. The use of rooms allows a full view of the phase space dynamics of the iterated conversion of ray families. A simple two-dimensional model, inspired by the Budden resonance model, is presented as an example of these ideas.     

Gel growth of α and γ glycine and their characterization

The microbial free single crystals of α and γ glycine were grown from gel at room temperature in a new chemical route. These crystals showed a superior quality than the solution grown crystals. The metastable α-form and the stable γ-form of glycine were crystallized in silica gel by solubility reduction method. The form of crystallization is confirmed by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses. The crystals of α and γ glycine were found to crystallize in monoclinic and hexagonal crystal systems, respectively. For analyzing the functional group and thermal stability of α and γ glycine crystals, spectroscopic and thermal analyses have been carried out. The dielectric studies were performed to find the dielectric constant of the grown crystals and the results are discussed. Second harmonic generation efficiency of the crystal was measured by Kurtz’s powder method using Nd:YAG laser and it was found to be 2.68 times that of potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystals.