Rearrangement of some chlorosubstituted 3-amino-3,4-dihydro-1-hydroxycarbostyrils in hydrogen halide acids

The general conditions and results of rearrangement studies of the 5-, 6-, 7-, and 8-chloro-substituted 3-amino-3,4-dihydro-1-hydroxycarbostyrils in concentrated hydrochloric and hydro-bromic acids to the corresponding dihalosubstituted 3-amino-3,4-dihydrocarbostyrils have been described. The 5-, 7- and 8-chlorocarbostyrilhydroxamic acids undergo nucleophilic displacement by either chloride or bromide ion preferentially at the 6-position to form the respective 5,6-, 6,7- and 6,8-dihalolactams. However, with the 3-amino-6-chloro-3,4-dihydro-1-hydroxycarbo-styril where the 6-position is blocked, nucleophilic displacement by halide ions occurs at the 8-position to afford the 6,8-dihalolactams. The 6,8-dichloro- and 6,8-dibromolactams were also prepared by alternative halogenation procedures for purposes of comparison with the rearrangement products.     

Collisional relaxation of transient vibrational energy distributions in a thermal unimolecular system. The variable encounter method

A method has been developed, called the Variable Encounter Method, for the study of the relaxation of an initial vibrationally cold ensemble of molecules into a vibrationally hot distribution by a known and variable number of successive collisions with a hot wall. The theory of the experiment is presented. The system studied was the isomerization of 1,1-cyclopropane-d₂ with a fused quartz wall temperature of 800 K to 1175 K, and average number of collisions from 2.3 to 22.3. Various modified gaussian and exponential models of energy transfer were found to give agreement with the data. The average down-step size was found to decline from ≤ 3500 cm^?1 at the lowest temperature to ≈ 2500 cm^? at the highest on the basis of a gaussian model. A mathematical analysis of the relation between mean first passage times and incubation times is given. Incubation times increase from ≈ 7 to ≈ 12 collisions with increasing temperature. Transient population distributions and the sequential reaction probabilities as a function of collision number are calculated.     

An analytical expression for the H matrix relevant to Rayleigh scattering

The matrix Riemann-Hilbert problem relevant to the scattering of polarized light is solved up to the resolution of two existence questions. The solution obtained is used to establish an explicit expression for the related H matrix, and evidence that the mentioned existence questions can be answered in the affirmative is provided by a numerical evaluation of the final result.     

Electron-transfer dynamics of photosynthetic reaction centers in thermoresponsive soft materials

Poly(ethylene glycol)-grafted, lipid-based, thermoresponsive, soft nanostructures are shown to serve as scaffolding into which reconstituted integral membrane proteins, such as the bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers (RCs) can be stabilized, and their packing arrangement, and hence photophysical properties, can be controlled. The self-assembled nanostructures exist in two distinct states: a liquid-crystalline gel phase at temperatures above 21 degrees C and a non-birefringent, reduced viscosity state at lower temperatures. Characterization of the effect of protein introduction on the mesoscopic structure of the materials by 31P NMR and small-angle X-ray scattering shows that the expanded lamellar structure of the protein-free material is retained. At reduced temperatures, however, the aggregate structure is found to convert from a two-dimensional normal hexagonal structure to a three-dimensional cubic phase upon introduction of the RCs. Structural and functional characteristics of the RCs were determined by ground-state and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Time-resolved results indicate that the kinetics of primary electron transfer for the RCs in the low-viscosity cold phase of the self-assembled nanostructures are identical to those observed in a detergent-solubilized state in buffered aqueous solutions (approximately 4 ps) over a wide range of protein concentrations and experimental conditions. This is also true for RCs held within the lamellar gel phase at low protein concentrations and at short sample storage times. In contrast are kinetics from samples that are prepared with high RC concentrations and stored for several hours, which display additional kinetic components with extended electron-transfer times (approximately 10-12 ps). This observation is tentatively attributed to energy transfer between RCs that have laterally (in-plane) organized within the lipid bilayers of the lamellar gel phase prior to charge separation. These results not only demonstrate the use of soft nanostructures as a matrix in which to stabilize and organize membrane proteins but also suggest the possibility of using them to control the interactions between proteins and thus to tune their collective optical/electronic properties.     

A high-temperature inert gas fusion apparatus

A high-temperature inert gas fusion apparatus capable of operating at crucible temperatures as high as 3,100 degrees is described. While this apparatus has been used primarily for the determination of oxygen in pyrolytic carbon-coated uranium carbide particles, its usefulness is not limited to this type of material. It can be generally applied to the determination of oxygen and nitrogen in metals, alloys and other materials amenable to analysis by vacuum-fusion techniques. Analytical results obtained on steel and uranium carbide samples are presented. The apparatus, in its present form, has been in daily use for nearly 2 years. Down time during this period has been negligible. A total of 20 samples can be run in duplicate in an 8-hr shift.