Synthesis of Polymers Containing Potassium Acyltrifluoroborates (KATs) and Post-polymerization Ligation and Conjugation

We report the synthesis of monomers for atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) agent bearing trifluoroborate iminiums (TIMs), which are quantitatively converted into potassium acyltrifluoroborates (KATs) after polymerization. The resulting KAT-containing polymers are suitable for rapid amide-forming ligations for both post-polymerization modification and polymer conjugation. The polymer conjugation occurs rapidly, even under dilute (micromolar) aqueous conditions at ambient temperatures, thereby enabling the synthesis of a variety of linear and star-shaped block copolymers. In addition, we applied post-polymerization modification to the covalent linking of a photocaged cyclic antibiotic (gramicidin S) to the side chains of the KAT-containing copolymer. Cellular assays revealed that the polymer–antibiotic conjugate is biocompatible and provides efficient light-controlled release of the antibiotic on demand.     

Invariance of the Spectrum for Hypoelliptic Operators

We show that the spectra of the -realizations for a class of hypoelliptic (pseudo-)differential operators are independent of in an interval around depending on the growth properties of the symbol. For elliptic operators we obtain the classical boundedness interval of Fefferman; in the general case we obtain a smaller interval which is as large as one can possibly expect it to be.

     

Leitfähigkeitsmessungen in flüssigem Ammoniak

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Electrophoresis on a microfluidic chip for analysis of fluorescence-labeled human rhinovirus

We report the analysis of human rhinovirus serotype 2 (HRV2) on a commercially available lab-on-a-chip instrument. Due to lack of sufficient native fluorescence, the proteinaceous capsid of HRV2 was labeled with Cy5 for detection by the red laser (lambda ex 630 nm) implemented in the instrument. On the microdevice, electrophoresis of the labeled virus was possible in a BGE without stabilizing detergents, which is in contrast to conventional CE; moreover, analysis times were drastically shortened to the few 10 s range. Resolution of the sample constituents (virions, a contaminant present in all virus preparations, and excess dye) was improved upon adaptation of the separation conditions, mainly by adjusting the SDS concentration of the BGE. Purity of fractions from size-exclusion chromatography after labeling of virus was assessed, and affinity complex formation of the labeled virus with various recombinant very-low-density lipoprotein receptor derivatives differing in the number of concatenated V3 ligand binding repeats was monitored. Virus analysis on microchip devices is of particular interest for experiments with infectious material because of easy containment and disposal of samples. Thus, the employment of microchip devices in routine analysis of viruses appears to be exceptionally attractive.     

Microwave spectra of O(2)-HF and O(2)-DF: hyperfine interactions and global fitting with infrared data

Spectra of the open shell complexes O(2)-HF and O(2)-DF were recorded using Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. A complete analysis of the hyperfine structure and a global fit including microwave and infrared frequencies [W. M. Fawzy, C. M. Lovejoy, D. J. Nesbitt, and J. T. Hougen, J. Chem. Phys. 117, 693 (2002)] are reported. The Fermi contact interaction between the electron and nuclear spins, the electron spin-nuclear spin dipolar interaction, the nuclear spin-nuclear spin dipolar interaction, and the nuclear electric quadrupole interaction (for O(2)-DF) were considered in the analysis. The correspondence between the magnetic hyperfine constants and the two nuclei of the H(D)F is unambiguously established. In both O(2)-HF and O(2)-DF, the Fermi contact parameter is larger for the fluorine than for the hydrogen, while for the nuclear spin-electron spin dipolar hyperfine constants, the reverse is true. The effective angle between the HF bond and the a axis of the complex, determined from the nuclear spin-nuclear spin interaction constant, is 38(4) degrees. The same angle for the DF complex, derived from the deuterium nuclear quadrupole coupling constant, is 31(4) degrees.     

Chemistry of 4-alkylaryloxenium ion "precursors": sound and fury signifying something?

Quinol esters 2b, 2c, and 3b and sulfonamide 4c were investigated as possible precursors to 4-alkylaryloxenium ions, reactive intermediates that have not been previously detected. These compounds exhibit a variety of interesting reactions, but with one possible exception, they do not generate oxenium ions. The 4-isopropyl ester 2b predominantly undergoes ordinary acid- and base-catalyzed ester hydrolysis. The 4-tert-butyl ester 2c decomposes under both acidic and neutral conditions to generate tert-butanol and 1-acetyl-1,4-hydroquinone, 8, apparently by an SN1 mechanism. This is also a minor decomposition pathway for 2b, but the mechanism in that case is not likely to be SN1. Decomposition of 2c in the presence of N3- leads to formation of the explosive 2,3,5,6-tetraazido-1,4-benzoquinone, 14, produced by N3--induced hydrolysis of 8, followed by a series of oxidations and nucleophilic additions by N3-. No products suggestive of N3--trapping of an oxenium ion were detected. The 4-isopropyl dichloroacetic acid ester 3b reacts with N3- to generate the two adducts 2-azido-4-isopropylphenol, 5b, and 3-azido-4-isopropylphenol, 11b. Although 5b is the expected product of N3- trapping of the oxenium ion, kinetic analysis shows that it is produced by a kinetically bimolecular reaction of N3- with 3b. No oxenium ion is involved. The sulfonamide 4c predominantly undergoes a rearrangement reaction under acidic and neutral conditions, but a minor component of the reaction yields 4-tert-butylcresol, 17, and 2-azido-4-tert-butylphenol, 5c, in the presence of N3-. These products may indicate that 4c generates the oxenium ion 1c, but they are generated in very low yields (ca. 10%) so it is not possible to definitively conclude that 1c has been produced. If 1c has been generated, the N3--trapping data indicate that it is a very short-lived and reactive species in H2O. Comparisons with similarly reactive nitrenium ions indicate that the lifetime of 1c is ca. 20-200 ps if it is generated, so it must react by a preassociation process. Density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G*//HF/6-31G* level coupled with kinetic correlations also indicate that the aqueous solution lifetimes of 1a-c are in the picosecond range.     

Mixed boundary elements for laminar flows

This paper presents a mixed boundary element formulation of the boundary domain integral method (BDIM) for solving diffusion–convective transport problems. The basic idea of mixed elements is the use of a continuous interpolation polynomial for conservative field function approximation and a discontinuous interpolation polynomial for its normal derivative along the boundary element. In this way, the advantages of continuous field function approximation are retained and its conservation is preserved while the normal flux values are approximated by interpolation nodal points with a uniquely defined normal direction. Due to the use of mixed boundary elements, the final discretized matrix system is overdetermined and a special solver based on the least squares method is applied. Driven cavity, natural and forced convection in a closed cavity are studied. Driven cavity results at Re=100, 400 and 1000 agree better with the benchmark solution than Finite Element Method or Finite Volume Method results for the same grid density with 21×21 degrees of freedom. The average Nusselt number values for natural convection 10³≤Ra≤10⁶ agree better than 0.1% with benchmark solutions for maximal calculated grid densities 61×61 degrees of freedom. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.