Correction for Inner Filter Effects in Fluorescence Spectroscopy

A method is proposed for correcting experimental fluorescence readings for inner filter effects, i.e. the absorption of the exciting light and/or the absorption of the emitted radiation, which cause the non-linearity between fluorescence intensity and fluorophor concentration. Basically the method consists of measuring the fluorescence intensity at two different points along the diagonal in the cell. Unlike similar methods proposed in the literature, the two points are corrected simultaneously for both absorption of excitation and of emission radiation without the necessity of reading the optical density of the solution, and with a very simple data elaboration.     

Self-Replication of Oligonucleotides in Reverse Micelles

The coupling between the tri(deoxynucleotides) d[(MeO)C-G-Ap] ( 1 ) and d[(NH₂)T_d5′-C-G-] ( 2 ) to yield the phosphoramidate-linked (hexadeoxy-nucleotide) d[(MeO)C-G-Anh⁵′T_d5′-C-G] ( 3 ) was investigated both in aqueous solution and in reverse micelles constituted of CTAB (cetyl(trimethyl)ammonium bromide) in hexane/pentan-1-ol 9:1. No siginificant difference was found concerning the yield and the kinetics of the reaction in the two systems. The coupling between 1 and 2 was also carried out in the presence of the template d[(MeO)C-G-A-T-C-G] ( 4 ), an analogue of 3 , so as to reproduce the conditions of template-directed self replication. It was shown that the trinucleotide coupling in the presence of a template obeys the so-called square-root law both in H₂O and in reverse micelles. No significant difference of the time course of the reaction in H₂O and in reverse micelles was observed. This shows that self-replication of oligonucleotides occurs within geometrically bounded structures, which represents a step forward in the mimicking of minimal life processes.     

Condensed DNA in lipid microcompartments

DNA was studied in lipid reverse micelles with the aim of investigating the interactions of DNA with lipids in a restricted compartment with minimal water content. Circular dichroic (CD) spectra of DNA at low water content showed the characteristic polymer-salt-induced (psi) spectra of condensed DNA. Dynamic light scattering showed a peak around a radius of 400 nm (corresponding to DNA-containing micelles), and a peak around 2.5 nm (corresponding to "empty" micelles). Fourier Transform-IR (FT-IR) spectroscopy was carried out and analyzed in terms of three distinct states of water inside the micelle water pool, where the local concentration of DNA reached an estimated value of ca. 600 mg/mL, comparable to that found in restricted biological compartments.     

Chiral Amplification of Oligopeptides in the Polymerization of α‐Amino Acid N‐Carboxyanhydrides in Water

This article is concerned with the chiral amplification of oligopeptides formed in the polymerization of chiral, nonracemic mixtures of the N‐carboxyanhydride (NCA) of Leu and Glu in aqueous solution. Labeling (deuteration) of one enantiomer and reversed‐phase and normal‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (RP‐ and NP‐HPLC/MS, respectively) were used to determine the product distribution, both with respect to oligopeptide chain length and stereoisomer distribution. Starting the polymerization with an enantiomeric excess (ee) of 20% of the L ‐enantiomer (L ‐amino acid/D ‐amino acid 6 : 4) leads to an ee of 73% at the level of the homochiral enantiomeric (Leu)₅, and of 71% at the level of the homochiral enantiomeric (Glu)₇. For the Leu system and in the presence of a solid support (quartz), the ee reached values of up to 100%. We argue that such amplification processes could be relevant for the chemical evolution towards single‐handedness.     

Metalation of 2-chloromethyl-2-oxazolines: synthesis of 1,2,3-tris(oxazolinyl)cyclopropanes and derivatives

2-Chloromethyl-2-oxazoline converts cleanly into trans-1,2,3-tris(oxazolinyl)cyclopropane upon treatment with strong bases such as LDA or KN(SiMe(3))(2). Deprotonation of the above cyclopropane followed by the addition of electrophiles allows the preparation of more functionalized tris(oxazolinyl)cyclopropanes.     

A stereospecific synthesis of oxazolinyloxiranes

Lithiooxiranes 3a and 3b, generated by deprotonation of oxiranes 2a and 2b with s-BuLi at -100 degrees C in Et(2)O, were found to be chemically very stable. trans-Lithiooxirane 3a was also configurationally stable and reacted stereospecifically with electrophiles to give 4a--k. In contrast, cis-lithiooxirane 3b was found to be configurationally much less stable and reacted with electrophiles affording mixtures of diastereomers 4, 7, and 8. After only a very short reaction time, 3b too reacted with electrophiles highly stereospecifically. Deprotonation--deuteration and deprotonation--alkylation of chiral oxazolinyloxiranes 12a and 12b to give oxiranes 12c and 12d were also examined. Semiempirical and ab initio calculations were carried out in an effort to explain the observed stereochemistry.     

Synthetic approach to substituted cyclopropanes based on the coupling reaction of lithiated chloroalkyloxazolines with Fischer carbene complexes

Regioselective addition of lithiated oxazoline 2a, easily available from 2-(1-chloroethyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazoline 1a (LDA, THF, -98 degrees C), to alpha,beta-unsaturated Fischer carbene complexes 3 afforded cyclopropylcarbene complexes 4 as sole diastereoisomers. Exposure of carbene complexes 4a-c (M = Cr) to air and sunlight gave cyclopropane carboxylate derivatives 5a-c. A plausible mechanistic explanation is proposed. Moreover, when lithiated oxazoline 2b was generated from 1b in the presence of the carbene complex 3a,b, the oxazolinylcyclopropane carboxylates 6a,b formed as a 1:1 mixture of diastereoisomers. Chiral lithiated oxazoline 2c added regioselectively and diastereoselectively to chromium complexes 3a,b and to tungsten complexes 3d,e, leading, after oxidation of the metal fragment, to esters 7a,b with good diastereoselectivity (dr = 4:1). The reaction of lithiated oxazoline 2d with chromium complex 3b and tungsten complex 3e proceeded less diastereoselectively, furnishing, in both cases, after oxidation, the ester 7c as a 3:2 diastereoselective mixture.     

Michael addition of chloroalkyloxazolines to electron-poor alkenes: synthesis of heterosubstituted cyclopropanes

Lithiated 2-(1-chloroethyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazoline 7 adds to electron-poor alkenyl heterocycles to afford substituted cyclopropanes in excellent yields. A route to chiral nonracemic heterosubstituted cyclopropanes, starting from optically active 2-chloromethyl-2-oxazolines, is highlighted as well.     

RNA selectively interacts with vesicles depending on their size

RNA and vesicles are two important molecular classes in the origin of life and early evolution, but they are not generally considered as interacting partners. The present paper reports about the interaction between tRNA (Esherichia coli) and vesicles made of the zwitterionic surfactant POPC (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine), partially positively charged with small molar fractions (max 10%) of the single-chained CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide). CTAB is capable to insert efficiently in POPC vesicles (as determined by zeta-potential measurements), and the binding of tRNA to such charged vesicles operates a strong selection being critically dependent upon the vesicle size. The binding of tRNA to the vesicles is size-selective as it induces a strongly pronounced process of aggregation of large vesicles (ca. 160-nm diameter) but not of small ones (ca. 80-nm diameter) that are stable against vesicle aggregation (as followed by dynamic light-scattering and optical density measurements). The aggregation of the large vesicles is fully reversible upon the addition of RNase A. The selective behavior of tRNA with respect to differently sized vesicles is observable in separated samples as well as in a mixture of both populations. In the latter case, the fraction of large vesicles readily aggregates in the presence of the small ones that remain unaltered in the mixture. This kind of discrimination capability of RNA might have been of importance in the early phases of the formation of the protocells.     

Amide-Bond Syntheses Catalyzed by Penicillin Acylase

The enzymatic synthesis of amide bonds catalyzed by penicillin acylase is investigated both in H₂O solution and in organic solvents containing reverse micelles. The specificity of the reaction is rather high on the side of the acyl component, practically only phenylacetic acid gives sizeable yields. On the contrary, a variety of amino-acid esters, dipeptides, and tripeptides can be used as amino component, e.g., serine methyl ester, methionine ethyl ester, tyrosine ethyl ester, Gly–Asp, Ala–Tyr, Gly–Tyr–Gly etc. However, Many other amino-acid residues do not react, and the possible reasons for this are discussed. Yields varyin rang the 10–80%. A. systematic study to optimize yields by varying the solvent composition is presented for one model reaction. The enzyme is also able to couple certain D-amino-acid residues (e.g. D-methionine ethyl ester or Gly-D -Asp) though at lower rate. Reverse micelles formed by the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in CHCl₃/isooctane are used to host penicillin acylase and to perform amide synthesis in which the product is perferentially soluble in the organic solvent mixture. The reaction is studied as a function of pH and certain micellar parameters, e. g. w_o (w_o = [H₂O]/[CTAB]). A new membrane enzyme reactor is utilized to separate the product from the enzyme-containing micelles. The adavantges and the limits of this approach are discussed.