Potential energy surfaces for HenNe+ ions: ab initio and diatomics-in-molecule results

The potential energy surface of He2Ne+ has been reinvestigated using a combination of ab initio and diatomics-in-molecule (DIM) calculations. In contrast to the reports of two recent studies the ion is found to have an asymmetric linear He-Ne-He structure, with no barrier to formation from the separated atoms on the ground-state surface. The He-Ne+ bond lengths at the potential minimum are 1.51 and 1.81 A, and the total bonding energy is 0.717 eV. Comparing the He2Ne+ energy to that of HeNe+, the bonding energy for the second helium atom is 0.06 eV, about 10% of that of the first He atom. The saddle point between the two equivalent minima is a symmetric structure, 0.0074 eV above the potential minimum. A symmetric geometry becomes the overall potential minimum if the 2s hole on the Ne is excluded from the reference states of a multireference configuration interaction calculation. A DIM potential was created for the HenNe+ family of ions. The DIM potential is consistent with the asymmetric He2Ne+ ion serving as a core; it predicts a slightly more asymmetric geometry than the ab initio results. Additional helium atoms form five-membered rings around the bonds of the core ion to fill the first shell and then add to the ends of the cluster. The asymmetric core ion and the highly compact structure help to account for the lack of apparent shell structure in the mass spectrometry of HenNe+ clusters. Finally, we recommend that the value De=0.63+/-0.04 eV be adopted for the ground state of HeNe+.     

Determination of panaxadiol and panaxatriol in ginseng and its preparations by capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC).

Capillary supercritical fluid chromatographic (SFC) method has been developed for the determination of panaxadiol and panaxatriol in ginseng and its preparations. 0.1 g ginseng or an appropriate amount of its preparations was hydrolysed by 15% H2SO4 in an ethanol:water (1:1 v/v) solution for 4 h followed by 15% NaOH for 0.5 h. The mixture was extracted by cyclohexane. The cyclohexane extracts were purified by a partition column and concentrated by an adsorption column and then analysed by SFC. Methyltestosterone was used as the internal standard.     

Determination of gentamycin by synchronous derivative fluorimetry

Use of synchronous first-derivative fluorimetry for determination of gentamycin is described. Gentamycin reacts with acetylacetone and formaldehyde in pH 5.6 HOAc/NaOAc buffer solution to form N-gentamyl-2,6-dimethyl-3,5-diacethyl-1,4-dihydropyridine[I] which is a fluorescent substance. Spectra of [I] and the reagent blank can be separated with synchronous derivative fluorimetry, and gentamycin can be determined directly. The synchronous spectral peaks of [I] and the reagent blank are at 434 and 411 nm, respectively. The first-derivative peak of [I] is at 425 nm. Effects of pH, foreign ions, buffer system, and heating time on the determination of gentamycin have been examined. The linear regression equation of the calibration graph is C=0.0513H-0.0416, with a correlation coefficient of linear regression of 0.9978. C means total potency of gentamycin: U ml(-1); H means peak height in the linear regression equation calibration graph. The linear range for the determination of gentamycin is from 0.00 to 3.00 U ml(-1). Recovery is from 95.06 to 112.0%, R.S.D. of 3.8%. The results determined by the fluorimetric method agreed roughly with those by the microbiological method. The method is simple and has low detection limit.     

Indo study of some cyclic carbenes

INDO calculations, with geometry optimization, have been performed on the cyclic carbenes cyclopropenylidene (I) cyclopropylidene (II), and cyclopentadienylidene (III). It is found that all three systems have a singlet ground state and, due to aromaticity, the triplet-singlet energy separations for I and III are particularly large. In addition, for each system, the electronic structure and its influences on geometry and reactivity are discussed.     

High-pressure silicate pyrochlores,Sc2Si2O7 and In2Si2O7

The silicate compounds Sc₂Si₂O₇ and In₂Si₂O₇ have been converted from thortveitite type to pyrochlore type at 1000°C, 120 kbar, with resulting cell constants of 9.287(3) and 9.413(3) Å, respectively. Invariant reflection intensities in the X-ray powder diffraction patterns allowed precise absorption corrections to be made, and refinement of thermal parameters and of the single structural parameter x gave values of 0.4313(21) and 0.4272(15), respectively. The corresponding six-coordinate SiO distances were 1.761(7) and 1.800(5) Å, and the average eight-coordinate distances for ScO₈ and InO₈ were 2.267 and 2.275 Å. Values of structure-refined bond lengths for compounds containing six-coordinate silicon are surveyed, and overall weighted average octahedral distances of 1.782(14) Å for SiO and 2.520(18) Å for OO are derived. Pyrochlore phases were not produced from rare-earth disilicate or monosilicate phases subjected to the same reaction conditions as the Sc and In compounds.     

Mixed-valent diruthenium diphosphonate with kagomé structure

This paper reports the first example of diruthenium phosphonate with kagomé structure, namely, [NH3(CH2)4NH3][Ru2(hedpH(0.5))2].2H2O (hedp = 1-hydroxyethylidenediphosphonate). The compound contains kagomé layers that are linked by very strong hydrogen bonds into a nanoscale kagomé structure. Ferromagnetic interactions are mediated between the paramagnetic diruthenium units.     

Reversible binding of the HPLC6 isoform of type I antifreeze proteins to ice surfaces and the antifreeze mechanism studied by multiple quantum filtering-spin exchange NMR experiment

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) protect organisms from freezing damage by inhibiting the growth of seed-ice crystals. It has long been hypothesized that irreversible binding of AFPs to ice surfaces is responsible for inhibiting the growth of seed-ice crystals as such a mechanism supports the popularly accepted Kelvin effect for the explanation of local freezing-point depression. However, whether the binding is reversible or irreversible is still under debate due to the lack of direct experimental evidence. Here, we report the first direct experimental result, by using the newly developed multiple quantum (MQ) filtering-spin exchange NMR experiment, that shows that the binding of HPLC6 peptides to ice surfaces is reversible. It was found that the reversible process can be explained by the model of monolayer adsorption. These results suggest that the Kelvin effect is not suitable for explaining the antifreeze mechanism, and direct interactions between the peptides and the ice-surface binding sites are the driving forces for the binding of AFPs to ice surfaces. We propose that there exists a concentration gradient of AFP from an ice-binding surface to the solution due to the affinity of ice surfaces to AFPs. This concentration gradient creates a dense layer of AFP in contact with the ice-binding surface, which depresses the local freezing point because of the colligative property, but not the Kelvin effect.     

Comparative Study on the Structure of Water in Reverse Micelles Stabilized with Sodium Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Sulfosuccinate or Sodium Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Phosphate in n-Heptane

The microstructure of water solubilized in H(2)O/surfactant/n-heptane ternary systems has been investigated by employing (1)H-NMR and FT-IR spectroscopic techniques. Two reverse micellar systems were prepared and studied, i.e., sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate in n-heptane (H(2)O/AOT/n-heptane) and sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate in n-heptane (H(2)O/NaDEHP/n-heptane). (1)H-NMR data showed that the chemical shift of water protons for the AOT and NaDEHP reverse micelles varied downfield and upfield, respectively, with an increase of the water content. The opposite shift directions with increasing water content are interpreted as due to a composition change of the solubilized water associated with head-groups and sodium counterions in reverse micellar systems. On the basis of deconvolution results of FT-IR spectra, a four-component model is proposed to interpret the FT-IR and (1)H-NMR results. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Simple thiazocine-2-acetic acid derivatives via ring-closing metathesis

A new protocol for synthesis of 2-heterocylylacetic acid derivatives involving conjugate addition of allyl mercaptan to an acrylate containing a tethered olefinic site followed by RCM (ring-closing metathesis) is described. In this series, sulfanyl derivatives were unreactive, while sulfoxide and sulfone analogues provided the corresponding thiazocines in fair to excellent yields. Use of the sulfoxide oxidation state as a protecting group for sulfides inert to RCM is demonstrated also. Thus, oxidation of sulfide 9 [N-allyl-N-[2-(allylthio)-4-(1H-indol-1-yl)-4-oxobutyl]-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide] followed by cyclization yielded the corresponding thiazocine sulfoxide 12. Deprotection (deoxygenation) of 12 was accomplished using Lawesson's reagent, producing 1-[[4-[4-(methylphenyl)sulfonyl]-3,4,5,8-tetrahydro-2H-1,4-thiazocin-2-yl]acetyl]-1H-indole (21) in 67% unoptimized yield.