The Near-Infrared (3)Phi --> (1)(3)Delta Transition of LaF

Rotational analyses of 32 subbands of the near-infrared (3)Phi --> (1)(3)Delta system of LaF have been carried out, involving the levels v = 0-7 of the two states. The three subsystems were first treated as separate singlet systems, directly at equilibrium. Perturbations were revealed in the lower state, ascribed to spin-uncoupling interactions between (1)(3)Delta(3)(v) and (1)(3)Delta(2)(v + 1) levels. A 21 x 21 matrix representation at equilibrium of the complex of interacting levels (v = 0-6) was then constructed, each diagonal v-block corresponding to a triplet model of the rovibrational (3)Delta Hamiltonian. The observed perturbations were completely reduced in the harmonic oscillator approximation with an experimental value of the interaction parameter B(Delta)(0,1) = 0.01322(2) cm(-1). The wavenumbers of some 4500 lines of the system were fitted with an rms error of about 0.005 cm(-1). (Line lists are available in electronic form via http://www-obs.univ-lyon1.fr/~ABernard/index.html.) Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

A stochastic theory of chemical reaction rates. II. Applications

A formalism developed for the treatment of chainlike models of reaction dynamics is applied to simple reacting systems and generalized to treat a reaction with a branching process. The models can be solved exactly, and the overall rates of the reactions are studied as a function of the rates arising from different dynamical regimes involved in the microscopic mechanisms.     

The electrostatic molecular potential of yeast tRNAPhe. III. The molecular potential and the steric acessibility associated with the phosphate groups

The molecular electrostatic potential of yeast tRNA^Phe is calculated at sites bridging the anionic oxygens of each of the 76 phosphate groups of the molecule. A quantitative measure of the steric accessibility of the anionic oxygens of the phosphates toward a spherical cation is presented. Both the resulting potentials and accessibilities are discussed in terms of the molecular and electronic structure of tRNA.     

DNA separation at a liquid-solid interface

We demonstrate that it is possible to separate a broad band of DNA on a solid substrate without topological obstacles. The mobility was found to scale with molecular size (N) as N(-0.25), while the resolution scaled as N(0.75) indicating that diffusivity on this substrate was minimal. By varying the buffer concentration we were able to show that the mobility for a given chain length scaled with the persistent length (p) as p(1/2). This could be shown to be related to the Gaussian conformation of the chains adsorbed on the surface. A two-dimensional corrugated surface of nonporous silica beads was produced using a self-assembling process at the air/water interface. Even though the surface corrugations were comparable to persistence length we show that they do not affect the mobility, indicating that surface friction rather than topological constraints are the predominant mechanism of separation on a surface.     

Macrocyclic Ethers by Free Radical Cyclizations

Tin hydride reduction of ω-iodo-polyoxaalkyl acrylates 1 using syringe pump addition of both reactants to a solution of AIBN in benzene at 80°C afforded the corresponding cyclic polyethers in excellent yields.     

Electronic and Conformational Effects on the Lipophilicity of Isomers and Analogs of the Neurotoxin 1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)

A number of isomers and analogs of the neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP⁺) were examined for their lipophilic behavior. Their partition coefficients in the 1-octanol/H₂O system were measured by centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC), which, being much faster and markedly more precise than the classical shake-flask method, proved a very promising alternative for assessing lipophilicity. A smaller-than-expected lipophilicity was shown by the ortho-isomer of MPP⁺ (M2PP⁺) and is explained in terms of electronic effects and rigidity, as revealed by UV and NMR spectroscopy, and conformational analysis. Implications of lipophilicity in modulating the in vivo dopaminergic neurotoxicity of the examined compounds are also discussed.     

Synthesis and Antimalarial Activities of New Hybrid Atokel Molecules

The currently spreading resistance of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to artemisinin-based combination therapies makes an urgent need for new efficient drugs. Aiming to kill artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium, a series of novel hybrid drugs named Atokels were synthesized and characterized. Atokels are based on an 8-amino- or 8-hydroxyquinoline entity covalently bound to a 1,4-naphthoquinone through a polyamine linker. These drugs have been designed to target the parasite mitochondrion by their naphthoquinone moiety reminiscent of the antimalarial drug atovaquone, and to trigger a damaging oxidative stress due to their ability to chelate metal ions in order to generate redox active complexes in situ. The most effective Atokel drug shown a promising antimalarial activity (IC₅₀=622 nm on an artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum strain) and no cytotoxicity at 50 μm indicating a specific antiplasmodial mode of action.     

Electrochemistry of phosphaferrocenes: II. Electrochemical behavior of 3,3′,4,4′-tetramethyl-1,1′- diphosphaferrocene bonded to M(CO)5 (M = Cr,Mo, W) fragments forming heterometallic complexes with multiple redox centers

The redox behaviour of a series of heterometallic phosphaferrocenes (hereafter refered to as I, II and III) has been studied in propylene carbonate containing 0.1 M (C₂H₅)₄N⁺ ClO₄^? both mercury and platinum electrodes.Complex I (DPF) undergoes a reversible one-electron reduction. Complexes II and III exhibit the same reversible reduction step and one (species II) or two (species III) additional irreversible reduction step(s) generating [M(CO)₅]^? anions (M = Cr, Mo, W).Oxidation of the complexes II and III indicates that fragment I is involved in the first, easiest, oxidation step, whereas further step(s) involve the M(CO)₅ moieties. The redox characteristics of the complexes I, II, III, clearly indicate the absence of cooperation between metallic centers in II and III and the very effective barrier provided by the central iron in moiety I towards mutual effects of both phospholyl rings.     

The Electronic Structure of Dopamine. An ab initio Electrostatic Potential Study of the Catechol Moiety

Electronic properties of dopamine were studied by the ab initio STO-3G MO method. The molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) around the aromatic ring and the catechol group remains practically the same in 3,4-dihydroxytoluene (a model compound) and in neutral dopamine examined in its two extended conformations, namely that found in the crystal (side-chain and aromatic ring almost perpendicular) and the one corresponding to 2-amino-6,7-dihydroxytetralin (6,7-ADTN) (side-chain and aromatic ring almost coplanar). In protonated dopamine and in dopamine hydrochloride, the electrostatic potential of the catechol moiety is overshadowed by the positive charge, but the main features remain discernible. The catechol moiety was examined in its two coplanar conformations containing a ‘flip-flop H-bond’. The electrostatic potential around the catechol moiety is quite complex, with alternating positive and negative maxima. At increasing distances above and away from the catechol moiety, only two peripheral maxima, one negative and one positive, remain perceptible. The ‘flip-flop’ mechanism results in an approximate interchange of these two potential maxima, a fact which tends to level out the structural differences between the α- and β-rotamer of dopamine. Based on these results and on the structure of rigid agonists, some pharmacophoric features of dopamine agonists are proposed.