Mimicking photosynthesis in a computationally designed synthetic metalloprotein

While advances in protein design have made possible the construction of protein architectures with nativelike properties and predictable structures and function, there are as of yet no examples of functional, protein-based, solar energy conversion systems. This communication describes the design and characterization of an artificial reaction center (RC) protein that closely resembles the function of the natural photosynthetic RC. The synthetic protein, designed by the protein design program CORE, participates in multiple reduction/oxidation cycles with exogenous acceptors/donors following photoexcitation. The designed metalloprotein, aRC, consists of a tetrahelical bundle functionalized with two bis-histidine bound metal cofactors: a Ru(bpy)2 moiety and a heme group. Two distinct bis-histidine binding sites were engineered for each of these metal centers. Photoexcitation of aRC results in rapid ET from the RuII complex to the heme group (kET >/= 5 x 1010 s-1) yielding a long-lived (70 ns) charge-separated state (CSS), RuIII/FeII. This long-lived CSS participates in subsequent ET reactions with exogenous donors and acceptors in multiple photocycles, thus mimicking the basic function of native photosynthetic RCs. This study illustrates the successful design and construction of a protein-based functional charge separation device using a combination of automated computational protein design and knowledge of the engineering principles of biological electron tunneling extracted from natural electron-transfer systems. To our knowledge, this represents the first example of a functional protein-based artificial reaction center.     

Salinity and pH as factors affecting the passive sampling and extraction of pharmaceuticals from water

Passive sampling is an attractive technique for the long‐term monitoring of pharmaceuticals in the water environment. The reliability of the received results depends on the properly performed calibration, namely the determination of analyte sampling rates. This step can be the source of a systematic error, as the sampling rate values are dependent on the water donor phase parameters. This is especially important for pharmaceuticals, since their chemical characteristics and ionic form change with pH. In this study, the cross‐effect of pH (3, 7, and 9) and salinity (0, 7, and 35 practical salinity unit, using artificial sea water) on the passive sampling of 21 pharmaceuticals (antiparasitics, beta‐blockers, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs, sulfonamides) was tested. The primarily determined parameter was the sampling rate. In addition, the extraction efficiency, partitioning coefficient, and the concentration of the analytes on the sorbent were calculated. Generally, for the non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs, beta‐blockers, and antiparasitics, the change both in pH and salinity had a negligible impact on the mentioned experimental parameters. In contrast, the extraction of sulfonamides was impacted by both pH and salinity, while lipophilicity was not a decisive parameter.     

Stereocontrolled Synthesis of Chiral Heteroaromatic Propellers with Small Optical Bandgaps

Chiral heteroaromatic propellers based on radially π‐extended hexapyrrolohexaazacoronenes were obtained in a concise synthesis from suitably functionalized donor–acceptor monopyrroles. To overcome steric hindrance, a new cyclodehydrogenation method was developed, and it uses bromine electrophiles as oxidative coupling agents instead of the commonly employed high‐potential oxidants. The new reaction offers high yields of propeller‐shaped targets, even for electron‐deficient precursors, and shows electrophile‐dependent stereoselectivity, with N‐bromosuccinimide and dibromine yielding, respectively D₆‐ and C₂‐symmetric products. The propeller azacoronenes are chiral and can be separated into configurationally stable enantiomers. In addition to providing steric bulk, peripheral functionalization considerably affects the electronic properties of the propellers, which exhibit reduced optical and electrochemical band gaps, and a more clearly defined electroreduction behavior.     

N → Sn coordination in the complexes of tin halides with pyridine: A comparison between Sn(II) and Sn(IV)

The experimentally well‐known complexation of tin(II) and tin(IV) halides with pyridine (py) leads to structures showing N → Sn coordination. In the present work, the complexes SnX_n·mpy (where X = F, Cl, Br, I; n = 2, 4; m = 1, 2) possessing this kind of coordination were studied using a computational quantum chemical approach. Various aspects in the theoretical picture of these complexes were examined to find similarities and differences in their N → Sn coordination. The aspects included, among others, the physical nature of intermolecular interactions, and their role in establishing the structure and energetic stabilization of the complexes. In this context, the effect of tin valency was inspected in great detail. As proven by several theoretical methods, a largely ionic character with a certain covalent component can be attributed to the studied N → Sn coordination, irrespective of tin valency. All complexes are destabilized by py‐py and three‐body interactions, but the Sn(II) complexes experience it to a greater extent. Marked differences are observed in the structural behavior of N → Sn and SnX_n during complex formation. This affects the energetics of complexation and, in consequence, the penta‐coordinated Sn(IV) center shows a higher propensity to expand its coordination number, compared with the tri‐coordinated Sn(II) center. The present study supplements the experimental characterization of SnX_n·mpy and, in general, it sheds light on the coordination of heteroaromatic nitrogen to tin. The survey of the Cambridge Structural Database revealed that such coordination occurred in a number of crystal structures.     

Donor–acceptor nonradiative energy transfer mediated by surface plasmons on ultrathin metallic films

Selected properties of donor–acceptor energy transfer in the presence of surface plasmon coupled emission (SPCE) on metallic nanofilms are demonstrated. These properties of surface plasmon mediated energy transfer (SPMET) are for the first time compared to those of traditional energy transfer (ET) based on the same donor–acceptor system. The presence of plasmons significantly accelerates energy transfer as revealed by the results of fluorescence intensity decay. In particular, the rise time of acceptor fluorescence intensity upon donor excitation is 10 times shorter in the presence of SPCE. It is also observed that contrary to ET the sensibilized acceptor emission in SPMET is totally linearly polarized.     

An Analysis of Low Frequency Discharge in a CH3SiCl3-Ar-H2 Mixture by Optical Emission Spectroscopy and Actinometry

Low frequency (100 kHz) discharge in Ar-H₂ and CH₃SiCl₃-Ar-H₂ mixtures was studied to obtain information on the processes involved in plasma deposition of Si_xC_y:H films from CH₃SiCl₃-Ar-H₂ plasma once the properties of Ar-H₂ plasma are known. The plasmas were studied using optical emission spectroscopy. The addition of small amounts of nitrogen to the plasma mixtures also permitted the use of an actinometry technique. First, plasma parameters (electron density and temperature) and actinometric concentrations of atomic hydrogen in an argon–hydrogen plasma were investigated as a function of the hydrogen content in the feed. Second, the emission intensities of Si, Si⁺, CH, H, Ar and Ar⁺ species produced in the CH₃SiCl₃-Ar-H₂ discharge were analysed as a function of time following the introduction of CH₃SiCl₃ (methyltrichlorosilane, MTCS) to the argon–hydrogen plasmas with various proportions of the feed gasses. The results reveal a rapid decay of the Si-excited state number density versus time, while those of Si⁺ and CH fell off more slowly. The emission of atomic silicon was believed to be a result of electron impact dissociative and excitation processes occurring in the bulk of the discharge, whereas the Si⁺ and CH seemed to originate mainly from products of sputtering of the growing film surface. The fragmentation of the MTCS associated with HCl formation and enhanced atomic hydrogen production as a result of HCl dissociation are proposed. Variations in the radical densities of H and CH₃ were determined using an actinometry technique. The results indicate a significant role for H₂ in gas-phase reactions occurring in the CH₃SiCl₃-Ar-H₂ plasma, as well as in gas-surface interactions, leading to competition between deposition and chemical sputtering of already deposited material.     

Retention of configuration in the action of human plasma 3'-exonuclease on oligo(deoxynucleoside phosphorothioate). A new method for assignment of absolute configuration at phosphorus in isotopomeric deoxyadenosine 5'-O-[(18)O]phosphorothioate

A new method of analysis has allowed the exonucleolytic cleavage by human 3'-exonuclease to be determined. Hydrolysis by human plasma 3'-exonuclease proceeds with retention of configuration at phosphorus. The new method determines the sense of chirality at phosphorus in isotopomeric adenosine 5'-O-[(18)O]phosphorothioates. This is based on stereospecific two-step conversion of the mono-thionucleotide into the corresponding deoxyadenosine 5'-O-alpha-[(18)O]thiotriphosphate, followed by the use of terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase and MALDI TOF mass spectrometry of the resulting elongated primer. Retention of configuration in the reaction of plasma 3'-exonuclease implies a two-step mechanism with two displacements on phosphorus. Inversion at each step leads to overall retention.     

Factors Influencing the Course of the Macrocyclization of α,ω‐Diamines with Esters of α,ω‐Dicarboxylic Acids

The efficient synthesis of eight new macrocyclic amides (lactams) via reaction of diesters with diamines under normal dilution conditions is described. The role of intermolecular H‐bond formation and steric hindrance is discussed based on ¹H‐ and ¹⁵N‐NMR studies of appropriate model compounds. Principles for the optimal choice of esters that can be efficiently transformed into diamides have been developed.     

Rheological properties of multisticker associative polyelectrolytes in semidilute aqueous solutions

Multisticker associative polyelectrolytes of acrylamide (≈86 mol %) and sodium 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonate (≈12 mol %), hydrophobically modified with N,N‐dihexylacrylamide groups (≈2 mol %), were prepared with a micellar radical polymerization technique. This process led to multiblock polymers in which the length of the hydrophobic blocks could be controlled through variations in the surfactant‐to‐hydrophobe molar ratio, that is, the number of hydrophobes per micelle (N_H). The rheological behavior of aqueous solutions of polymers with the same molecular weight and the same composition but with two different hydrophobic block lengths (N_H = 7 or 3 monomer units per block) was investigated as a function of the polymer concentration with steady‐flow, creep, and oscillatory experiments. The critical concentration at the onset of the viscosity enhancement decreased as the length of the hydrophobic segments in the polymers increased. Also, an increase in the N_H value significantly enhanced the thickening ability of the polymers and affected the structure of the transient network. In the semidilute unentangled regime, the behavior of the polymer with long hydrophobic segments (N_H = 7) was studied in detail. The results were well explained by the sticky Rouse theory of associative polymer dynamics. Finally, the viscosity decreased with an increase in the temperature, mainly because of a lowering of the sample relaxation time. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1640–1655, 2004     

Estimating the pore size distribution of activated carbons from adsorption data of different adsorbates by various methods

Experimental adsorption isotherms of four adsorbates (N2, Ar, C6H6, and CCl4) as well as adsorption enthalpy (C6H6 and CCl4) measured on two strictly microporous carbons are used to evaluate the porosity of adsorbents (i.e., pore size distributions (PSDs) and average pore diameter ( Lav )). The influence of the diameter of adsorbates ( dA) as well as of the temperature ( T ) is analyzed in order to explain the differences or similarities between the above-mentioned quantities for all systems. Proposed previously, the general relationships between the parameters of the Dubinin-Astakhov (DA) isotherm equation (the characteristic energy of adsorption ( E0 ) and the exponent of this equation ( n )) and the average slit-width of carbon micropores are investigated. Moreover, the thermodynamic verification of the Horvath-Kawazoe (HK) theory and the ND model is presented based on data of the adsorption and enthalpy of adsorption of benzene and carbon tetrachloride on two carbons. Finally, the pore diameters calculated from calorimetry data using the Everett and Powl method and those calculated applying the recently developed equations are compared. In our opinion the change of apparent PSD should be monitored by performing a series of isotherm measurements from high (equal and higher than room temperature) to low temperatures (ca. 77.5 K) as was presented in the current study. Moreover, the analysis of the experimental data leads to the conclusion that the entropy of C6H6 and CCl4 can approach to the values characteristic of quasi-solid (a partially ordered structure). Therefore, this behavior of the adsorbate should be taken into consideration in the theoretical assumptions of model and its thermodynamic verification.