Synthesis, structure and biological activity of nitroxide malonate methanofullerenes

Two nitroxide methanofullerenes was synthesized for the first time, and their structures and biological activities studied. It was shown by X-ray single crystal analysis that the methanofullerene with two nitroxide groups forms a 1 : 2 inclusion complex with chloroform and has a nearly tetrahedral (diamond-like) arrangement of fullerene-fullerene interactions in the crystal. For the first time, it has been found that malonate nitroxide methanofullerene in combination with the known anticancer drug cyclophosphamide (CPA) shows high antitumor activity against leukemia P-388.     

Headspace solid-phase microextraction of cannabinoids in human head hair samples

A fast method was optimized and validated with the aim to detect cannabinoids (cannabidiol, cannabinol, and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) in human head hair samples. The method was based on an initial procedure of external decontamination of hair samples (10 mg) with petroleum ether, followed by alkaline digestion and further extraction of cannabinoids by means of a headspace solid-phase microextraction technique (HS-SPME). GC-MS was used to identify and quantify the analytes in SIM mode. The LOQs and LODs obtained were 0.07 and 0.12 ng/mg, respectively, for all the studied cannabinoids. The method proved to be simple, rapid, and precise. By using the weighted least squares linear regression (weighting factor 1/x2), the accuracy of the analytical method was improved at the lower end of the calibration curve (from 0.12 to 12 ng/mg; r >0.98). Hair samples collected from eight volunteers (in-patients of a drug abuse rehabilitation clinic) were submitted to the proposed method. Detection of the drugs was observed in samples of the volunteers who reported frequent marijuana use (at least ten times a week).     

Uptake, degradation and chiral discrimination of N-acyl-D/L-homoserine lactones by barley (Hordeum vulgare) and yam bean (Pachyrhizus erosus) plants

Bacterial intraspecies and interspecies communication in the rhizosphere is mediated by diffusible signal molecules. Many Gram-negative bacteria use N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) as autoinducers in the quorum sensing response. While bacterial signalling is well described, the fate of AHLs in contact with plants is much less known. Thus, adsorption, uptake and translocation of N-hexanoyl- (C6-HSL), N-octanoyl- (C8-HSL) and N-decanoyl-homoserine lactone (C10-HSL) were studied in axenic systems with barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and the legume yam bean (Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urban) as model plants using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) and tritium-labelled AHLs. Decreases in AHL concentration due to abiotic adsorption or degradation were tolerable under the experimental conditions. The presence of plants enhanced AHL decline in media depending on the compounds' lipophilicity, whereby the legume caused stronger AHL decrease than barley. All tested AHLs were traceable in root extracts of both plants. While all AHLs except C10-HSL were detectable in barley shoots, only C6-HSL was found in shoots of yam bean. Furthermore, tritium-labelled AHLs were used to determine short-term uptake kinetics. Chiral separation by GC-MS revealed that both plants discriminated D-AHL stereoisomers to different extents. These results indicate substantial differences in uptake and degradation of different AHLs in the plants tested.     

Structural and analytical studies of silica accumulations in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Equisetum hyemale</Emphasis>

Horsetail (Equisetum spp.) is known as one of the strongest accumulators of silicon among higher terrestrial plants. We use the combination of position-resolved analytical techniques, namely microtomography, energy-dispersive X-Ray elemental mapping, Raman microscopy, as well as small-angle and wide-angle scattering of X-rays, to study the type, distribution and nanostructure of silica in the internodes of Equisetum hyemale. The predominant silicification pattern is a thin continuous layer on the entire outer epidermis with the highest density in particular knob regions of the long epidermal cells. The knob tips contain up to 33 wt% silicon in the form of pure hydrated amorphous silica, while the silica content is lower in the inner part of the knobs and on the continuous layer. In contrast to the knob tips, the silica in these regions lacks silanol groups and is proposed to be in close association with polysaccharides. No mentionable amount of crystalline silica is detected by wide-angle X-ray scattering. The small-angle X-ray scattering data are consistent with the presence of colloidal, sheet-like silica agglomerates with a thickness of about 2 nm. From these results we conclude that there are at least two distinct forms of silica in E. hyemale which may have different functions. The close association of silica with cell wall polymers suggests that they may act as a polymeric template that controls the shape and size of the colloidal silica particles similar to many other biominerals and mineralised tissues. We propose that owing to its specific distribution in E. hyemale, a protective role and possibly also an important biomechanical role are among the most likely functions of silica in these plants. Figure 3D rendering of X-ray microtomography data from a dry Equisetum hyemale stalk. The red colour indicates high X-ray absorption values due to local silica accumulations     

Understanding correlations in vanadium dioxide from first principles

Vanadium dioxide is a prototype material for the discussion of correlation effects in solids. First-principles density-functional theory does not describe the metal-insulator transition, whereas strongly correlated models reproduce the main features. Here we present a parameter-free GW calculation of VO2 and show that the correlation effects in the band structure of both the metallic and the insulating phases are correctly reproduced, provided that quasiparticle energies and wave functions are calculated self-consistently. Our calculations explain the satellite in the photoemission spectrum of the metal as due to a plasmon resonance in the energy-loss function and show that this feature disappears in the insulator.     

Comprehensive analysis of the FASSST rotational spectrum of S(CN)2

Results are reported of a comprehensive investigation of an almost continuous rotational spectrum of S(CN)₂ recorded over the frequency region 110-374 GHz by means of the FASSST spectroscopic technique. The spectrum was analysed in detail and over 22 000 transitions were assigned in total. Precise, octic order spectroscopic constants in the asymmetric rotor Hamiltonian have been determined for the ground state and 12 different vibrationally excited states of the parent isotopologue, including first excited states of five different normal modes. Three states near 370 cm⁻¹ and four states near 490 cm⁻¹ above the ground state were found to be mutually interacting and were successfully analysed in terms of a triad and a tetrad of coupled states, respectively. Rotational transitions in the ³⁴S, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N isotopologues of S(CN)₂ have also been assigned and fitted, and newly determined rotational constants were used to derive the geometry of the molecule. The complex multistate analysis of the spectrum was carried out with the newly developed AABS software package for Assignment and Analysis of Broadband Spectra.     

Defect-controlled transport properties of metallic atoms along carbon nanotube surfaces

The diffusion mechanism of indium atoms along multiwalled carbon nanotubes is studied by means of photoemission spectromicroscopy and density functional theory calculations. The unusually high activation temperature for diffusion (approximately 700 K), the complex C 1s and In 3d5/2 spectra, and the calculated adsorption energies and diffusion barriers suggest that the indium transport is controlled by the concentration of defects in the C network and proceeds via hopping of indium adatoms between C vacancies.