Chlorine nitrate photolysis by a new technique: very low pressure photolysis

Very low pressure photolysis (VLPØ) of chlorine nitrate was performed in a quartz Knudsen cell. The light source was a 2500 W high-pressure xenon lamp, and a modulated molecular-beam mass spectrometer was used to monitor the concentration of ClONO₂ and photolysis products. Because of the low pressures used (? 10^?3 torr) and the short residence time in the cell (≈1 s), secondary reactions were unimportant and the primary products could be directly identified. The primary photolysis products (λ ≈ 2700 Å) are atomic chlorine and NO₃ free radical. Chlorine atoms were identified both by the appearance of Cl₂ (wall recombination product; the walls were not poisoned) and by HCl produced when C₂H₆ was added to the cell. Nitrate free radical was directly identified as a mass peak at m/e = 62, as well as by chemical titration with nitric oxide: NO₃ + NO → 2NO₂. It was verified by direct tests that the peak at m/e = 62 did not arise from possible HNO₃ contamination or from N₂O₅, a possible secondary product. This titration reaction was used to measure quantitatively a lower limit to the primary quantum yield, φ ? 0.5 ± 0.3. This represents a lower limit because of the unknown extent of the secondary photolysis of NO₃ under our conditions. We believe this to be the first observation using mass spectrometry of the NO₃ free radical. The quantum yield for atomic chlorine is φ = 1.0 ± 0.2. N₂O was used to test for O(¹D) according to the reaction, O(¹D) + N₂O → products; none was observed. Triplet oxygen, O(³P) was observed to the extent of ≈ 10% by the reaction O(³P) + NO₂ → NO + O₂, but this yield can also be due to the photolysis of NO₃ free radical produced in the primary step. We conclude that the predominant reaction pathway is

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Syntheses of 6-sulfo sialyl Lewis X glycans corresponding to the L-selectin ligand "sulfoadhesin"

[structure: see text] Divergent syntheses of sulfated sialyl Lewis X oligosaccharides corresponding to the core 1 and core 6 branches of the L-selectin ligand are reported. These synthetic targets incorporate a selectively protected serine residue at the reducing terminus, providing a functional handle for further conjugation.     

Ca(2.5)Sr(0.5)GaMn2O8: diamagnetic Ga in control of the structural and electronic properties of a bilayered manganate

The temperature dependence of the crystal structure and electronic properties of brownmillerite-like Ca(2.5)Sr(0.5)GaMn(2)O(8) has been studied by neutron powder diffraction and muSR spectroscopy. The results show that short-range 2D magnetic order begins to develop within the perovskite-like bilayers of MnO(6) octahedra approximately 50 K above the 3D Néel temperature of approximately 150 K. The bilayers show a structural response to the onset of magnetism throughout this temperature range whereas the GaO(4) layers that separate the bilayers only respond below the 3D ordering temperature. XANES spectroscopy shows that the sample contains Mn(3+) and Mn(4+) cations in a 1:1 ratio, and the behavior in the region of the Néel transition is interpreted as a local charge ordering. Electron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy have been used to show that the local microstructure is more complex than the average structure revealed by neutron diffraction, and that microdomains exist in which the GaO(4) tetrahedra show different orientations. It is argued that the bonding requirements of diamagnetic gallium control the electronic behavior within the perovskite-like bilayers.     

Structural basis for recognition of bacterial cell wall teichoic acid by pseudo-symmetric SH3b-like repeats of a viral peptidoglycan hydrolase

Endolysins are bacteriophage-encoded peptidoglycan hydrolases targeting the cell wall of host bacteria via their cell wall-binding domains (CBDs). The molecular basis for selective recognition of surface carbohydrate ligands by CBDs remains elusive. Here, we describe, in atomic detail, the interaction between the Listeria phage endolysin domain CBD500 and its cell wall teichoic acid (WTA) ligands. We show that 3′O-acetylated GlcNAc residues integrated into the WTA polymer chain are the key epitope recognized by a CBD binding cavity located at the interface of tandem copies of beta-barrel, pseudo-symmetric SH3b-like repeats. This cavity consists of multiple aromatic residues making extensive interactions with two GlcNAc acetyl groups via hydrogen bonds and van der Waals contacts, while permitting the docking of the diastereomorphic ligands. Our multidisciplinary approach tackled an extremely challenging protein–glycopolymer complex and delineated a previously unknown recognition mechanism by which a phage endolysin specifically recognizes and targets WTA, suggesting an adaptable model for regulation of endolysin specificity.

Combining genetic, biochemical and computational approaches, we elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying the recognition of Listeria wall teichoic acid by bacteriophage-encoded SH3b repeats.     

The use of bis(diphenylphosphino)amines with N-aryl functionalities in selective ethylene tri- and tetramerisation

A systematic study was conducted on the Cr catalysed tri- and tetramerisation of ethylene using bis(diphenylphosphino)amine ligands with N-aryl functionality. This study revealed that the oligomerisation reaction product selectivity is primarily dependent on the structure and size of the N-aryl groups.

Addition of sufficient steric bulk to the N-phenyl group via ortho-alkyl substitution increased the combined 1-hexene and 1-octene selectivity (overall alpha selectivity) to above 82% at an overall 1-octene selectivity of 56%. The introduction of a single carbon spacer between the N-atom and the aryl-moiety, as well as the addition of branching on this carbon, resulted in further selectivity improvements, achieving an overall 1-octene selectivity of 64% and an overall alpha selectivity of 84%. This was obtained at catalyst productivities in excess of 1,000,000 g/g Cr/h.     

Preparation and dilute solution properties of model gemini nonionic surfactants

Dimeric poly(ethylene oxide) surfactants (or nonionic gemini surfactants) with the structure (Cn-2H2n-3CHCH2O(CH2CH2O)mH)2(CH2)6 (or GemnEm), where n is the alkyl length and m is the average number of ethylene oxides per head group, were synthesized. Surfactants were synthesized with alkyl chain lengths n = 12, 14, and 20 and m = 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30. Water solubilities and cloud temperatures at 1 wt% were determined by measuring turbidity as a function of temperature. Cloud temperatures increase with m and decrease with n, as observed for conventional surfactants. For large m the cloud temperatures were all above 100 degrees C. Surfactants with small m (i.e., n = 12, 14, m = 5 and n = 20, m = 10) were insoluble at room temperature, forming two-phase mixtures. Critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) were measured using a pyrene fluorescence method and are all in the range of 10(-7) to 10(-6) M, with the lowest values from the surfactants with large n and small m. CMCs of mixtures with both anionic and nonionic conventional (monomeric) surfactants were well described by an ideal mixing model.     

Intermolecular potential and second virial coefficient of the water-hydrogen complex

We construct a rigid-body (five-dimensional) potential-energy surface for the water-hydrogen complex using scaled perturbation theory (SPT). An analytic fit of this surface is obtained, and, using this, two minima are found. The global minimum has C2v symmetry, with the hydrogen molecule acting as a proton donor to the oxygen atom on water. A local minimum with Cs symmetry has the hydrogen molecule acting as a proton acceptor to one of the hydrogen atoms on water, where the OH bond and H2 are in a T-shaped configuration. The SPT global minimum is bound by 1097 microEh (Eh approximately 4.359744 x 10(-18) J). Our best estimate of the binding energy, from a complete basis set extrapolation of coupled-cluster calculations, is 1076.1 microEh. The fitted surface is used to calculate the second cross virial coefficient over a wide temperature range (100-3000 K). Three complementary methods are used to quantify quantum statistical mechanical effects that become significant at low temperatures. We compare our results with experimental data, which are available over a smaller temperature range (230-700 K). Generally good agreement is found, but the experimental data are subject to larger uncertainties.