Analysis and interpretation of excess molar properties of amphiphile + water systems : Part 3. Excess molar volumes of isopropoxyethanol + water and isobutoxyethanol + water

Excess molar volumes at 25°C, are reported for the systems isoPrOEtOH + water and isoBuOEtOH + water across their entire composition ranges. These data have been compared to those for their normal alkyl analogs in order to assess the effects of both - and β-chain branching.

The results are discussed in terms of the relative abilities of the amphiphiles to form structured aggregates.     

A simple regioselective synthesis of ethyl 1,5-diarylpyrazole-3-carboxylates

Improved procedures for the regioselective preparation of ethyl 1,5-diarylpyrazole-3-carboxylates are described. The new procedures utilize readily prepared lithium aroylpyruvate intermediates which, when combined with arylphenylhydrazine hydrochlorides form 1,5-diarylpyrazole-3-carboxylates regioselectively in good to excellent yield.     

Methane conversion to C2 hydrocarbons in solid electrolyte membrane reactors

Solid electrolyte membrane reactors (SEMRs) have been used to both study and influence catalytic reaction rates. Methane coupling is the reaction most thoroughly and intensively studied in these membrane reactors. In the last 20 years, oxygen ion (O²⁻), proton (H⁺) and mixed (O²⁻-e⁻, H⁺-e⁻) conducting membranes have been tested in order to maximize the conversion of methane to C₂ compounds. The present review contains the fundamental operating principles of the various SEMR types and their applications in this reaction. The difficulties that should be overcome in order to promote this SEMR process to an industrial scale are discussed.     

Determination of affinity constants and response factors of the noncovalent dimer of gramicidin by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and mathematical modeling

The dimerization of gramicidin, a 15-residue membrane peptide, in solution can be viewed as a model for protein-protein interactions. We reported previously that the dimer can be observed when electrosprayed from organic solvents and that the abundances of the dimer depends on the dielectric constant of the solvent. Here, we report an effort to determine an affinity constant for the dimerization of gramicidin by using gas-phase abundance. Two issues affecting the determination are the electrospray-induced dissociation of the dimer and discrimination in the electrospray of the dimer compared with the monomer. Other methods developed for the purpose of determining affinity from mass spectral abundance do not address the dissociation of the complex in the gas phase or can not be applied for cases of low affinity constant, K(a). We present a mathematical model that uses the ratio of the signal intensities of the dimer and the monomer during a titration. The model also incorporates the dissociation and an electrospray ionization-response factor of the dimer for extracting the affinity constant for the dimerization of gramicidin. The dimerization constants from the new method agree within a factor of two with values reported in the literature.     

Organometallic chemistry, biology and medicine: ruthenium arene anticancer complexes

Our work has shown that certain ruthenium(II) arene complexes exhibit promising anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. The complexes are stable and water-soluble, and their frameworks provide considerable scope for optimising the design, both in terms of their biological activity and for minimising side-effects by variations in the arene and the other coordinated ligands. Initial studies on amino acids and nucleotides suggest that kinetic and thermodynamic control over a wide spectrum of reactions of Ru(II) arene complexes with biomolecules can be achieved. These Ru(II) arene complexes appear to have an altered profile of biological activity in comparison with metal-based anticancer complexes currently in clinical use or on clinical trial.     

Bound states and scattering resonances of OH(A)-He

The OH-He complex has been observed using laser excitation of the A 2sigma+-X 2pi transition. The bands of the complex were close to the monomer rotational lines that terminate on the n = 0, 1, and 2 levels of OH(A). The unresolved band associated with He.OH (A,n=0) was redshifted from the OH parent line by 1.6 cm(-1), providing a direct measurement of D0'-D0". The complex features associated with n = 1 and 2 were identified as scattering resonances. They have been assigned by comparison with resonance structures derived from close-coupling calculations. The ab initio potential energy surface of H.-S. Lee, A.B. McCoy, R.R. Toczylowski, and S.M. Cybulski, [J. Chem. Phys. 113, 5736 (2000)] was used in these calculations. The level of agreement between the observed and predicted resonances indicated that the ab initio surface is reasonably accurate.     

Substituent effects in the interconversion of phenylcarbene, bicyclo[4.1.0]hepta-2,4,6-triene, and 1,2,4,6-cycloheptatetraene

The effect of aryl substituents on the interconversion of phenylcarbene (PC), bicyclo[4.1.0]hepta-2,4,6-triene (BCT), and 1,2,4,6-cycloheptatetraene (CHTE) has been studied by density functional theory. It is found that substituents have a large effect on both the thermochemistry and activation energy of these rearrangements. For instance, para-substitution yields a range of overall activation energies for the formation of BCT from PC of 20.3 to 11.7 kcal/mol for the NH(2) and NO(2) substituents, respectively. In the syn-meta-substituted cases, all of the rearrangements to the substituted CHTE species are more exothermic than that of the parent PC. The proximity of the substituent to the carbene center can also affect the overall chemistry as in the case of ortho-substituted species. Here, formation of bicyclic structures and ylides, which can then rearrange to stable structures, can compete with the ring-expansion process. Also, as calculated herein, the ortho substituents can, by a combination of mesomeric and steric interactions with the carbene center, affect the overall barrier to reversible ring expansion. Most notably, in the anti-ortho-substituted species, halogens (F and Cl) raise the activation barrier to ring expansion by approximately 5 kcal/mol. This is reminiscent of the effect of fluorine substitution on the chemistry (inter- and intramolecular) of phenylnitrene.     

The computation of the representation matrices of the generators of the unitary group

A method is presented for the efficient computation of the representation matrices of the unitary group, U(n) in the Gelfand—Tsetlin basis (corresponding to the usual spin-symmetry adapted basis for an N electron CI). The present scheme is conceptually and computationally attractive in that it is formulated directly in terms of Weyl tableaux and also that it permits simultaneous basis vector generation and matrix element evaluation. In addition the basis vectors are ordered so that subsequent restriction to the three dimensional rotation group is facilitated. An illustrative example is also presented.Taken in part from a thesis submitted to the University of London in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD.     

Enterococcal cytolysin: a novel two component peptide system that serves as a bacterial defense against eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells

The cytolysin is a novel, two-peptide lytic toxin produced by some strains of Enterococcus faecalis. It is toxic in animal models of enterococcal infection, and associated with acutely terminal outcome in human infection. The cytolysin exerts activity against a broad spectrum of cell types including a wide range of gram positive bacteria, eukaryotic cells such as human, bovine and horse erythrocytes, retinal cells, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and human intestinal epithelial cells. The cytolysin likely originated as a bacteriocin involved with niche control in the complex microbial ecologies associated with eukaryotic hosts. However, additional anti-eukaryotic activities may have been selected for as enterococci adapted to eukaryotic cell predation in water or soil ecologies. Cytolytic activity requires two unique peptides that possess modifications characteristic of the lantibiotic bacteriocins, and these peptides are broadly similar in size to most cationic eukaryotic defensins. Expression of the cytolysin is tightly controlled by a novel mode of gene regulation in which the smaller peptide signals high-level expression of the cytolysin gene cluster. This complex regulation of cytolysin expression may have evolved to balance defense against eukaryotic predators with stealth.