Benzoyl Group Migrations in Methyl 2,3,6-Trio-O-Benzoyl-4-deoxy-4-(N-Hydroxyamino)-α-D-Gluco and α-D-Galacto-Pyranosides

Abstract

Deoxy-N-hydroxyaminosugars constitute a novel family of sugars. The interest in them is mainly due to their close structural similarity to natural sugars, coupled, with their easy oxidation to nitroxide free radicals, enabling their study by ESR spectroscopy.¹ From the point of view of their chemical reactivity, the hydroxyamino group is an ambident nucleophile possessing complex orbital and topographical factors, which direct its reactivity to either of its heteroatoms.     

Evidence for PSII donor-side damage and photoinhibition induced by cadmium treatment on rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The effects of cadmium (from 7.5 to 75 microM) on chloroplasts of rice were studied at the structural and biochemical level. Loss of pigments, reduction of thylakoids and decrease in oxygen evolution and Fv/Fm ratio occur in leaves following cadmium treatment. However, the amount of photosystem II reaction center proteins and that of its light harvesting complex is not affected, indicating that cadmium does not adversely influence the structural organization of this photosystem. In thylakoids isolated from cadmium-treated plants a loss in the capability to reduce 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol is observed, which is partially restored if diphenylcarbazide is used as an electron donor, indicating that cadmium affects water splitting activity. In thylakoids isolated from control plants and treated with cadmium, diphenylcarbazide preserves most of the photosystem II activity lost after incubation with cadmium; most of the S(2) multiline electron paramagnetic resonance signal from the manganese cluster is lost, whereas the TyrD(+) and other signals are retained. Light-induced photosystem II damage, in vitro, is promoted by Cd-treatment as deduced from the mobility shift of the D1 protein observed by immunoblot.     

Alpha-cyclodextrin functionalized CdS nanocrystals for fabrication of 2/3 D assemblies

Different types of cyclodextrins (CDs) have been tested as mediators for the water phase transfer of organic-capped CdS nanocrystals (NCs), and alphaCD has been demonstrated to be the most effective system. The formation of a complex based on alphaCDs and colloidal NCs has been considered to be responsible for the phase transfer process and extensively investigated by optical, structural, and calorimetric measurements, as a function of the experimental parameters (pH and NC and CD concentration). A mechanism for the complexation phenomena has been suggested. The fabrication of 2/3 D supramolecular architectures has been proposed according to two different strategies. First, a layer-by-layer procedure has been used to obtain multilayered structures where polyelectrolyte layers have been intercalated with negatively charged alphaCD-CdS NC complexes by exploiting electrostatic interaction between polyelectrolyte and cyclodextrin OH groups. Second, a monolayer of CdS NCs has been deposited onto a self-assembled monolayer of sulfated CDs, thus combining the use of an electrostatic-force-based approach and host-guest chemistry. The important role played by host-guest interactions has then been revealed.     

Study of conformational properties of a biologically active peptide of fibronectin by circular dichroism, NMR and molecular dynamics simulation

Circular dichroism (CD), and NMR spectra have been recorded and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed in water and water-trifluoroethanol (TFE) mixed solvent for a synthetic biologically active 13-amino-acid fragment of human fibronectin and two related peptides. The CD results are interpreted on the basis of statistical analyses of MD trajectories and of ensuing calculations of CD spectra based on Schellman's matrix method. It is observed that the peptide conformation is quite variable in water and loses its mobility with the addition of TFE. (1)H-NOE data were found to be consistent with the most abundant calculated conformation.     

Polyelectrolyte multilayers as a platform for luminescent nanocrystal patterned assemblies

The fabrication of uniform and patterned nanocrystal (NC) assemblies has been investigated by exploiting the possibility of carefully tailoring colloidal NC surface chemistry and the ability of polyelectrolyte (PE) to functionalize substrates through an electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) strategy. Appropriate deposition conditions, substrate functionalization, and post-preparative treatments were selected to tailor the substrate surface chemistry to effectively direct the homogeneous electrostatic-induced assembly of NCs. Water-dispersible luminescent NCs, namely, (CdSe)ZnS and CdS, were differently functionalized by (1) ligand-exchange reaction, (2) growth of a hydrophilic silica shell, and (3) formation of a hydrophilic inclusion complex, thus providing functional NCs stable in a defined pH range. The electrostatically charged functional NCs represent a comprehensive selection of examples of surface-functionalized NCs, which enables the systematic investigation of experimental parameters in NC assembly processes carried out by combining LbL procedures with microcontact printing and also exploiting NC emission, relevant for potential applications, as a prompt and effective probe for evaluating assembly quality. Thus, an ample showcase of combinations has been investigated, and the spectroscopic and morphological features of the resulting NC-based structures have been discussed.     

Flow-induced grating from cholesteric mixtures

In this work we present a new technique for obtaining large diffraction gratings (some cm) by means of a simple filling of cells having a planar treatment of their inner surfaces. A homogeneous mixture, composed of a cholesteric liquid crystal and a nematic liquid crystal monomer, was used. During the filling process, the flow induces a phase separation between the cholesteric liquid crystal and the liquid crystal monomer and, at the same time, the latter is oriented planar to the surfaces of the cell. Phase separation produces alternate arrays constituted by the cholesteric liquid crystal and the nematic liquid crystal monomer. Successive UV polymerization of these films yields a permanent grating. We have investigated the transmitted and first order diffracted beam efficiency for films obtained at different temperatures. The morphology of the films was studied by using an optical microscope equipped with crossed polarizers and by electron microscopy in order to control the shape of the arrays and the alignment of the oriented polymer.     

Fibronectin conformation switch induced by coadsorption with human serum albumin

The dynamic adsorption of human serum albumin (HSA) and plasma fibronectin (Fn) onto hydrophobic poly(hydroxymethylsiloxane) (PHMS) and the structures of adsorbed protein layers from single and binary protein solutions were studied. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) together with atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to measure the effective mass, thickness, viscoelastic properties, and morphology of the adsorbed protein films. Adsorbed HSA formed a rigid, tightly bound monolayer of deformed protein, and Fn adsorption yielded a thick, very viscoelastic layer that was firmly bound to the substrate. The mixed protein layers obtained from the coadsorption of binary equimolecular HSA-Fn solutions were found to be almost exclusively dominated by Fn molecules. Further sequential adsorption experiments showed little evidence of HSA adsorbed onto the predeposited Fn layer (denoted as Fn ? HSA), and Fn was not adsorbed onto predeposited HSA (HSA ? Fn). The conformational arrangement of the adsorbed Fn was analyzed in terms of the relative availability of two Fn domains. In particular, (4)F(1)·(5)F(1) binding domains in the Hep I fragment, close to the amino terminal of Fn, were targeted using a polyclonal antifibronectin antibody (anti-Fn), and the RGD sequence in the 10th segment, in the central region of the molecule, was tested by cell culture experiments. The results suggested that coadsorption with HSA induced the Fn switch from an open conformation, with the amino terminal subunit oriented toward the solution, to a close conformation, with the Fn central region oriented toward the solution.     

Rapid and quantitative detection of the microbial spoilage in milk using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

Microbiological safety plays a very significant part in the quality control of milk and dairy products worldwide. Current methods used in the detection and enumeration of spoilage bacteria in pasteurized milk in the dairy industry, although accurate and sensitive, are time-consuming. FT-IR spectroscopy is a metabolic fingerprinting technique that can potentially be used to deliver results with the same accuracy and sensitivity, within minutes after minimal sample preparation. We tested this hypothesis using attenuated total reflectance (ATR), and high throughput (HT) FT-IR techniques. Three main types of pasteurized milk - whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed - were used and milk was allowed to spoil naturally by incubation at 15 degrees C. Samples for FT-IR were obtained at frequent, fixed time intervals and pH and total viable counts were also recorded. Multivariate statistical methods, including principal components-discriminant function analysis and partial least squares regression (PLSR), were then used to investigate the relationship between metabolic fingerprints and the total viable counts. FT-IR ATR data for all milks showed reasonable results for bacterial loads above 10(5) cfu ml(-1). By contrast, FT-IR HT provided more accurate results for lower viable bacterial counts down to 10(3) cfu ml(-1) for whole milk and, 4 x 10(2) cfu ml(-1) for semi-skimmed and skimmed milk. Using FT-IR with PLSR we were able to acquire a metabolic fingerprint rapidly and quantify the microbial load of milk samples accurately, with very little sample preparation. We believe that metabolic fingerprinting using FT-IR has very good potential for future use in the dairy industry as a rapid method of detection and enumeration.     

Synthesis, characterisation and molecular structure of Re(III) 2-oxacyclocarbenes stabilised by a benzoyldiazenido ligand

A family of new Fischer-type rhenium(III) benzoyldiazenido-2-oxacyclocarbenes of formula [(ReCl2[eta1-N2C(O)Ph][=C(CH2)nCH(R)O](PPh3)2][n = 2, R = H (2), R = Me (3); n = 3, R = H (4), R = Me (5)] have been prepared by reaction of [ReCl2[eta2-N2C(Ph)O](PPh3)2] (1) with omega-alkynols, such as 3-butyn-1-ol, 4-pentyn-1-ol, 4-pentyn-2-ol, 5-hexyn-2-ol in refluxing THF. The correct formulation of the carbene derivatives 2-5 has been unambiguously determined in solution by NMR analysis and confirmed for compounds 2-4 by X-ray diffraction methods in the solid state. All complexes are octahedral with the benzoyldiazenido ligand, Re[N2C(O)Ph], adopting a "single bent" conformation. The coordination basal plane is completed by an oxacyclocarbene ligand and two chlorine atoms. Two triphenylphosphines in trans positions with respect to each other complete the octahedral geometry around rhenium. The reactivity of 1 towards different alkynes and alkenes including propargyl- and allylamine has been also studied. With propargyl amine, monosubstituted or bisubstituted complexes, [(ReCl2[eta1-N2C(O)Ph][eta1-NH2CH2C triple bond CH]n(PPh3)(3-n)][n= 1 (6); n = 2 (7)], have been isolated depending on the reaction conditions. In contrast, the reaction with allylamine gave only the disubstituted complex [(ReCl2[eta1-N2C(O)Ph][eta1-NH2CH2CH=CH2]2(PPh3)] (8). The molecular structure of the monosubstituted adduct has been confirmed by X-ray analysis in the solid state.     

Synthesis and characterization of new poly(arylene ether)s containing heterocyclic units. II.

A series of new poly(arylene ether)s, containing naphthalene, pyridine, and quinoline units have been prepared by solution condensation polymerization. The synthesis involves nucleophilic displacement of aromatic dihalides with aromatic potassium bisphenates in an anhydrous dipolar aprotic solvent at elevated temperatures. The polymers, having inherent viscosity from 0.24 to 1.32 dL/g, were obtained in quantitative yield, have excellent thermal stability as shown by 10% weight loss temperatures in nitrogen and air (above 450 and 430°C, respectively) and high glass transition temperatures (in the range of 150–220°C). The introduction of quinoline moieties in the polymer backbone positively influences the thermal properties, such as high T_g/T_m ratios. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.