ENDOR investigation of Ni3+ in GaP

With ENDOR measurements the ligand hyperfine and quadrupole interactions of Ni³⁺ in GaP with 3 shells of P neighbours and 3 shells of Ga neighbours could be resolved. It was established that the effective spin is $\text{3}\text{2}$, thus the defect is in the 3d⁷ state, which confirms the earlier assignment of the centre as an Ni³⁺ from ESR measurements. From the quadrupole interaction of the nearest Ga neighbours it can be concluded that Ni³⁺ is substitutional for Ga. From ENDOR-induced ESR experiments an upper limit for the u-parameter of the B·S³ term in the Spin Hamiltonian was determined. The unpaired spin density distribution shows a pronounced tetrahedral symmetry along the [111]-directions.     

The chemistry of nitrogen coordinated tertiary carboxamides: a spectroscopic study on bis(picolyl)amidecopper(II) complexes

Metal coordination of the electrically neutral nitrogen atom of a tertiary carboxamide reduces the barrier to C-N-bond rotation and activates the amide towards methanolysis. X-Ray crystallographic studies indicate that this reactivity is correlated to a lifting of the amide resonance structure and concurrent pyramidalization at nitrogen. However, mechanistic data in solution have not been obtained. It became evident that structural mobility is characteristic of the complexes and the crystallographic data do not fully account for relevant reactive species. In this report we summarize IR, UV-vis, and EPR spectra of amide nitrogen coordinated bis(picolyl)amide complexes with copper(II) triflate and copper(II) chloride. A comparison between spectra sampled in the aprotic solvents dichloromethane and acetonitrile, as well as under methanolysis conditions reveals the nature of several species formed in solution. The key reactions are (I) ligand exchange involving either CH3CN or CH3OH, or, in IR experiments, bromide ions from KBr, (II) coordination-dissociation equilibria involving the urethane protecting groups of amino acid substituted ligands Boc-Xaa-bpa (Boc = tert-butoxycarbonyl, Xaa = glycine, alanine, and leucine, respectively, bpa = bis(picolyl)amine), (III) dissociation of a chloro ligand from LCuCl2 complexes and formation of square-pyramidal complex cations [LCuCl]+, and finally (IV) complete dissociation of the polydentate tertiary amide ligand to produce free copper ions in solution. Taken together, the results provide a fairly detailed qualitative picture of the processes which accompany the amide bond methanolysis.     

Covalent‐Allosteric Inhibitors to Achieve Akt Isoform‐Selectivity

Isoforms of protein kinase Akt are involved in essential processes including cell proliferation, survival, and metabolism. However, their individual roles in health and disease have not been thoroughly evaluated. Thus, there is an urgent need for perturbation studies, preferably mediated by highly selective bioactive small molecules. Herein, we present a structure‐guided approach for the design of structurally diverse and pharmacologically beneficial covalent‐allosteric modifiers, which enabled an investigation of the isoform‐specific preferences and the important residues within the allosteric site of the different isoforms. The biochemical, cellular, and structural evaluations revealed interactions responsible for the selective binding profiles. The isoform‐selective covalent‐allosteric Akt inhibitors that emerged from this approach showed a conclusive structure–activity relationship and broke ground in the development of selective probes to delineate the isoform‐specific functions of Akt kinases.     

An imaging pH optode for cell studies based on covalent attachment of 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonate to amino cellulose acetate films

The objective of this study was to create a thin film optode for fast pH measurements that meets the requirements for imaging pH-responses from cells as well as for a future hybrid design for detection of multiple analytes simultaneously. The sensor is based on the covalent attachment of 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonate (HPTS) to a film forming cellulose acetate material through a sulfonamide linkage. The synthesis routes of the cellulose material and regio-specific covalent attachment of the dye are described in detail. The sensor was sterilized in two different ways and showed excellent biocompatibility with Chinese hamster ovary cells. Imprints from cells and μm thin cell extensions were visualized when altering pH of the surrounding solution. The sensor was tested together with time-dependent sigmoidal calibrations giving pH determinations with an exceptional precision and accuracy during measurement within pH 6-8. The precision of the optode, calculated as pooled S.D. (n = 8) according to IUPAC recommendations between pH 6.641 and 7.742 was 0.0029. The accuracy was significantly better than the electrode used as reference during the measurements. The response time (0-95%) was 100 s between pH 6.641 and 7.742 and the reverse response (95-0%) was 80 s. The sensor shows great potential for extra-cellular pH determination over time during cell growth and pharmacological exposure.     

Total synthesis and structural confirmation of chlorodysinosin A

The first enantiocontrolled total synthesis of the marine sponge metabolite chlorodysinosin A is described. The structure and absolute configuration are identical to those of dysinosin A except for the presence of a novel 2S,3R-3-chloroleucine residue in the former. A concise stereocontrolled synthesis of the new chlorine-containing amino acid fragment was developed. An X-ray cocrystal structure of synthetic chlorodysinosin A with the enzyme thrombin confirms the structure and configuration assignment achieved through total synthesis. Within the aeruginosin family of natural products, chlorodysinosin A is the most potent inhibitor of the serine proteases thrombin, factor VIIa, and factor Xa, which are critical enzymes in the process leading to platelet aggregation and fibrin mesh formation in humans.     

Capture of CO2 by a Cationic Nickel(I) Complex in the Gas Phase and Characterization of the Bound,Activated CO2 Molecule by Cryogenic Ion Vibrational Predissociation Spectroscopy

We describe a systematic method for the preparation and spectroscopic characterization of a CO₂ molecule coordinated to an activated bisphenoidal nickel(I) compound containing a tetraazamacrocyclic ligand in the gas phase. The resulting complex was then structurally characterized by using mass‐selected vibrational predissociation spectroscopy. The results indicate that a highly distorted CO₂ molecule is bound to the metal center in an η²‐C,O coordination mode, thus establishing an efficient and rational method for the preparation of metal‐activated CO₂ for further studies using ion chemistry techniques.     

An Isoreticular Family of Microporous Metal-Organic Frameworks Based on Zinc and 2-Substituted Imidazolate-4-amide-5-imidate: Syntheses, Structures and Properties

We report on a new series of isoreticular frameworks based on zinc and 2-substituted imidazolate-4-amide-5-imidate (IFP-1-4, IFP=imidazolate framework Potsdam) that form one-dimensional, microporous hexagonal channels. Varying R in the 2-substitued linker (R=Me (IFP-1), Cl (IFP-2), Br (IFP-3), Et (IFP-4)) allowed the channel diameter (4.0-1.7??), the polarisability and functionality of the channel walls to be tuned. Frameworks IFP-2, IFP-3 and IFP-4 are isostructural to previously reported IFP-1. The structures of IFP-2 and IFP-3 were solved by X-ray crystallographic analyses. The structure of IFP-4 was determined by a combination of PXRD and structure modelling and was confirmed by IR spectroscopy and (1) H?MAS and (13) C?CP-MAS?NMR spectroscopy. All IFPs showed high thermal stability (345-400?°C); IFP-1 and IFP-4 were stable in boiling water for 7?d. A detailed porosity analysis was performed on the basis of adsorption measurements by using various gases. The potential of the materials to undergo specific interactions with CO(2) was investigated by measuring the isosteric heats of adsorption. The capacity to adsorb CH(4) (at 298?K), CO(2) (at 298?K) and H(2) (at 77?K) at high pressure were also investigated. In situ IR spectroscopy showed that CO(2) is physisorbed on IFP-1-4 under dry conditions and that both CO(2) and H(2) O are physisorbed on IFP-1 under moist conditions.