Variation in coordinative property of two different N<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> donor Schiff base ligands with nickel(II) and cobalt(III) ions: characterisation and single crystal structure elucidation

A nickel(II) and a cobalt(III) complex of two different potentially tetradentate Schiff bases with different binding modes have been synthesised. The nickel(II) complex [NiL¹] · CH₃OH (1) was formed, on reacting the metal salt with a perfectly symmetrical N₂O₂ tetradentate Schiff base ligand H ₂ L ¹ , which is the 1:2 condensation product of 1,3-diamino propane and 2-hydroxyacetophenone. The cobalt(III) complex [Co(HL²)₃] · (ClO₄)₃ · H₂O (2) was synthesised using an asymmetric N₂O₂ tetradentate Schiff base ligand HL ² on condensing N,N-dimethyl-1,3-diamino propane with o-vanillin in 1:1 mmol ratio. Although both Schiff bases are N₂O₂ functionalised, they showed variation in their coordinative property with nickel(II) and cobalt(III) ions. Both the complexes were characterised by IR spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry and their single crystal structures clearly indicate that 1 is a mononuclear species whereas 2 is a hydrogen-bonded dimer.     

Antioxidant activity of 5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-dihydro-1,4-methanonaphthalene

5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-dihydro-1,4-methanonaphthalene (DDMN), a substituted phenol, is synthesized by reduction of a cyclic dione, 1,4,4a,8a-tetrahydro-endo-1,4-methano-naphtha-5,8-dione (THMND). Pulse radiolysis technique has been employed to understand the nature of transient species formed on reaction of radiolytic species of water radiolysis with DDMN.^•OH radicals were observed to react with DDMN with a bimolecular rate constant of 1.5×10¹⁰ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹. Inhibition of radiation induced lipid-peroxidation by DDMN was studied in rat liver microsomes by assessing the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). It was found to be strongly inhibitory. The results suggest that DDMN has very good antioxidant activity and may possibly emerge as a good radio-protector.     

Mimicking biological cation-transport based on sphere-surface supramolecular chemistry: simultaneous interaction of porous capsules with molecular plugs and passing cations

Spherical capsules of the type [{(Mo)Mo(5)}(12){Mo(2)(ligand)}(30)](n-) exhibiting 20 {Mo(9)O(9)} pores with crown ether functions allowed us to perform a sophisticated study of the title phenomenon based on synthetic work as well as NMR spectroscopy. The pores of the host system interact in solution specifically with guests that can be noncovalently bonded, such as formamidinium and acetamidinium cations, while having different affinities to the pores. The exchange between the guest species present in solution and in the pores was investigated, including, besides the extreme scenarios of complete pore closing and complete opening, that of stepwise pore plugging. Because of this option it was possible to model for the first time passive transmembrane cation transport based on gated pores/channels. These have the appropriate dimensions and can even adopt different structure flexibilities in response to different cations. The present investigation is based on related syntheses as well as on numerous detailed (7)Li NMR studies of Li(+) transport/exchange equilibria in dependence of the pore environment/guest situations. One compound containing capsules with sulfate ligands (2) could be obtained in which all the pores are plugged with formamidinium cations and another corresponding one was obtained with additionally encapsulated Ca(2+) ions (3); these were taken up after temporary release of some of the formamidinium plugs/guests upon short heating of the related solution.     

Hydration in protein folding: thermal unfolding/refolding of human serum albumin

Human serum albumin (HSA) is known to undergo both reversible and irreversible thermal unfolding and refolding, depending upon the experimental conditions (end temperature) at neutral pH. In this report we have used high precision densimetric and ultrasonic measurements to determine the apparent specific volume (phi v) and compressibility (phi k) of HSA at different unfolded and refolded states at two different end temperatures, 55 degrees C and 70 degrees C. The unfolded and refolded states were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS), circular dichroism (CD), picosecond-resolved fluorescence decay, and anisotropy of the single-tryptophan residue in HSA (Trp214). Both the unfolded states were allowed to refold by cooling wherein the former and latter processes were found to be reversible and irreversible, respectively, in nature. The results obtained from the densimetric and ultrasonic measurements reveal that the apparent specific volume and compressibility of the protein in the reversible protein unfolding process is preserved upon restoration of HSA to ambient temperature. However, a significant change in phi v and phi k occurs in the process of irreversible protein refolding (from 70 to 20 degrees C). The experimental observation is rationalized in terms of the exposure of domain IIA to an aqueous environment, resulting in the swelling of the protein to a higher hydrodynamic diameter. Our studies attempt to explore the extent of hydration associated with the structural integrity of the popular protein HSA.     

Magnetic behaviour of spin-mixed iron(III) porphyrins

Detailed average magnetic susceptibility (295-4.2 K) and average magnetisation (20-2 K, 50-10 kOe) are reported for two novel spin-mixed iron(III) porphyrins, namely Fe(TPP)ClO4 and Fe(OEP)ClO4. The results confirm an S = 3/2 ground state substantially spin-mixed with a low-lying S = 5/2 state, but do not agree in detail with the crystal-field model of Maltempo.     

Crystal field interactions in DyFe2Si2 and DyFe2Ge2

Two sets of crystal field (CF) parameters have been proposed for DyFe₂Si₂, none of which could provide a simultaneous explanation of the available experimental data, particularly at low temperatures (below 100 K). The set derived from magnetic studies could not even explain the thermal variation of the magnetic specific heat reported in the same work. Although the set of CF parameters, obtained from a fit to the Mossbauer spectra, could provide a fairly good explanation of the thermal variation of the magnetic susceptibilities along the c-axis, it could not explain the observed thermal variation of other reported experimental findings. In the present work, an appraisal of the CF parameters proposed earlier has been done and a set of CF parameters has been derived, which provide a simultaneous explanation of all the available experimental data. The effect of substitution of Ge for Si on the magnetic properties and the magnetic specific heat of DyFe₂Si₂ has been studied in the framework of one electron crystal field model. The inelastic neutron scattering studies and EPR measurements are required to check the predicted Stark energies and the paramagnetic resonance g-values.