Vibrational Properties of [FeH(N2)(depe)2]+ and [FeCl(N2)(depe)2]+]: Dinitrogen Bonding in the Low Activation Limit

The vibrational properties of the two octahedral Fe^II dinitrogen complexes [FeH(N₂)(depe)₂]⁺ ( 1 ) and [FeCl(N₂)(depe)₂]⁺ ( 2 , depe = 1, 2‐bis(diethylphosphino)ethane) are investigated with the help of infrared and Raman spectroscopies. Vibrational data are evaluated with a Quantum Chemistry Assisted Normal Coordinate Analysis (QCA‐NCA; N. Lehnert, F. Tuczek, Inorg. Chem. 1999 , 38, 1659). In agreement with high values found for ν(NN) and the corresponding force constants f(NN), the N₂ ligands in compounds 1 and 2 are non‐activated which corresponds to the observation that N₂ is not protonable in Fe^II systems. Taking into account the short Fe‐N bond lengths, the values of the Fe‐N stretching force constants (2.55mdyn/Å for 1 and 2.58mdyn/Å for 2 ) are found to be compatible with those of other Fe^II low‐spin compounds coordinated to backbonding N‐coordinating ligands. The force fields obtained for the Fe‐N₂ units of 1 and 2 are almost identical although the thermal stability of 1 and 2 with respect to loss of N₂ is different. This indicates that the zero‐point vibrational levels are unaffected by possible ground‐state level crossing processes occuring at larger Fe‐N bond lengths, as observed for 2 (O. Franke, B. E. Wiesler, N. Lehnert, C. Näther, V. Ksenofontov, J. Neuhausen, F. Tuczek, Inorg. Chem. 2002 , 41, 3491).     

Selectivity issues in targeted metabolomics: Separation of phosphorylated carbohydrate isomers by mixed-mode hydrophilic interaction/weak anion exchange chromatography

Phosphorylated carbohydrates are important intracellular metabolites and thus of prime interest in metabolomics research. Complications in their analysis arise from the existence of structural isomers that do have similar fragmentation patterns in MS/MS and are hard to resolve chromatographically. Herein, we present selective methods for the liquid chromatographic separation of sugar phosphates, such as hexose and pentose phosphates, 2‐ and 3‐phosphoglycerate, dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3‐phosphate, as well as glucosamine 1‐ and 6‐phosphate utilizing mixed‐mode chromatography with reversed‐phase/weak anion‐exchangers and a charged aerosol detector. The best results were obtained when the reversed‐phase/weak anion‐exchanger column was operated under hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography elution conditions. The effects of various chromatographic parameters were examined and are discussed on the basis of a simple stoichiometric displacement model for explaining ion‐exchange processes. Employed acidic conditions have led to the complete separation of α‐ and β‐anomers of glucose 6‐phosphate at low temperature. The anomers coeluted in a single peak at elevated temperatures (>40°C) (peak coalescence), while at intermediate temperatures on‐column interconversion with a plateau in‐between resolved anomer peaks was observed with apparent reaction rate constants between 0.1 and 27.8×10^?4 s^?1. Dynamic HPLC under specified conditions enabled to investigate mutarotation of phosphorylated carbohydrates, their interconversion kinetics, and energy barriers for interconversion. A complex mixture of six hexose phosphate structural isomers could be resolved almost completely.     

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Relation and Bell Inequalities in High Energy Physics

An effective formalism is developed to handle decaying two-state systems. Herewith, observables of such systems can be described by a single operator in the Heisenberg picture. This allows for using the usual framework in quantum information theory and, hence, to enlighten the quantum features of such systems compared to non-decaying systems. We apply it to systems in high energy physics, i.e. to oscillating meson–antimeson systems. In particular, we discuss the entropic Heisenberg uncertainty relation for observables measured at different times at accelerator facilities including the effect of CP\mathcal{CP} violation, i.e. the imbalance of matter and antimatter. An operator-form of Bell inequalities for systems in high energy physics is presented, i.e. a Bell-witness operator, which allows for simple analysis of unstable systems.     

Monolithic silica-based capillary column with strong chiral cation-exchange type surface modification for enantioselective non-aqueous capillary electrochromatography

A silica-based monolithic stationary phase prepared by the sol-gel process in a 100 microm I.D. fused-silica (FS) capillary has been modified chemically with 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane followed by immobilization of a strong cation-exchange (SCX) type chiral selector, (S)-N-(4-allyloxy-3,5-dichlorobenzoyl)-2-amino-3,3-dimethylbutane phosphonic acid, by radical addition reaction onto the reactive sulfhydryl surface. After a fine-tuning of the mobile phase composition, the enantioselective capillary column was evaluated for the separation of various chiral basic drugs by enantioselective non-aqueous capillary electrochromatography (CEC), in comparison to capillary column analogs packed with 3.5 microm silica particles having attached the same selector. The performance of the monolithic silica column was further compared to corresponding polymethacrylate-based organic polymer monoliths. The study indicated that strong counter-ions such as 2-aminobutanol or N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine are needed, although they reduce the electroosmotic flow velocity and separation factors in comparison to less efficient counter-ions, in order to allow the elution of the oppositely charged solutes in the ion-exchange retention mode within reasonable run time and as sharp zones. In contrast, weak counter-ions such as N,N-diisopropylethylamine (Huenig base) provided stronger electroosmotic flow and much better separation factors, but relatively poor peak efficiencies. Overall, with the chemically functionalized monolithic silica column the high quality separations of packed column analogs could be approximated, with regards to both separation factors and peak performances. On the other hand, the monolithic capillary column certainly outperformed the packed column in terms of system robustness under capillary electrochromatography conditions and showed excellent column longevity. The enantioselective strong cation-exchange-type monolithic silica column performed also well in comparison to the organic polymer monolith.     

New Thioantimonates(III) with Different Sb:S Ratios: Solvothermal Syntheses and Crystal Structures of [(C3H10NO)(C3H10N)][Sb8S13], [(C2H8NO)(C2H8N)(CH5N)][Sb8S13], [(C6H16N2)(C6H14N2)][Sb6S10], and [C8H22N2][Sb4S7]

Four new thioantimonates(III) with compositions [(C₃H₁₀NO)(C₃H₁₀N)][Sb₈S₁₃] ( 1 ) (C₃H₉NO = 1‐amino‐3‐propanol, C₃H₉N = propylamine), [(C₂H₈NO)(C₂H₈N)(CH₅N)][Sb₈S₁₃] ( 2 ) (C₂H₇NO = ethanolamine, C₂H₇N = ethylamine, CH₅N = methylamine), [(C₆H₁₆N₂)(C₆H₁₄N₂)][Sb₆S₁₀] ( 3 ) (C₆H₁₄N₂ = 1,2‐diaminocyclohexane) and [C₈H₂₂N₂][Sb₄S₇] ( 4 ) (C₈H₂₀N₂ = 1,8‐diaminooctane) were synthesized under solvothermal conditions. Compound 1 : triclinic space group P$\bar{1}$ , a = 6.9695(6) Å, b = 13.8095(12) Å, c = 18.0354(17) Å, α = 98.367(11), β = 96.097(11) and γ = 101.281(11)°; compound 2 : monoclinic space group P2₁/m, a = 7.1668(5), b = 25.8986(14), c = 16.0436(11) Å, β = 96.847(8)°; compound 3 : monoclinic space group P2₁/n, a = 11.6194(9), b = 10.2445(5) Å, c = 27.3590(18) Å, β = 91.909(6)°; compound 4 : triclinic space group P$\bar{1}$ , a = 7.0743(6), b = 12.0846(11), c = 13.9933(14) Å, α = 114.723(10), β = 97.595(11), γ = 93.272(11)°. The main structural feature of the two atoms thick layered [Sb₈S₁₃]^2– anion in 1 are large nearly rectangular pores with dimensions 11.2 × 11.7 Å. The layers are stacked perpendicular to [100] to form tunnels being directed along [100]. In contrast to 1 the structure of 2 contains a [Sb₈S₁₃]^2– chain anion with Sb₁₂S₁₂ pores measuring about 8.9 × 11.5 Å. Only if longer Sb–S distances are considered as bonding interactions a layered anion is formed. The chain anion [Sb₆S₁₀]^2– in compound 3 is unique and is constructed by corner‐sharing SbS₃ pyramids. Two symmetry‐related single chains consisting of alternating SbS₃ units and Sb₃S₃ rings are bound to Sb₄S₄ rings in chair conformation. Finally, in the structure of 4 the SbS₃ and SbS₄ moieties are joined corner‐linked to form a chain of alternating SbS₄ units and (SbS₃)₃ blocks. Neighboring chains are connected into sheets that contain relatively large Sb₁₀S₁₀ heterorings. The sheets are further connected by sulfur atoms generating four atoms thick double sheets.     

Sparse graphical models for exploring gene expression data

We discuss the theoretical structure and constructive methodology for large-scale graphical models, motivated by their potential in evaluating and aiding the exploration of patterns of association in gene expression data. The theoretical discussion covers basic ideas and connections between Gaussian graphical models, dependency networks and specific classes of directed acyclic graphs we refer to as compositional networks. We describe a constructive approach to generating interesting graphical models for very high-dimensional distributions that builds on the relationships between these various stylized graphical representations. Issues of consistency of models and priors across dimension are key. The resulting methods are of value in evaluating patterns of association in large-scale gene expression data with a view to generating biological insights about genes related to a known molecular pathway or set of specified genes. Some initial examples relate to the estrogen receptor pathway in breast cancer, and the Rb-E2F cell proliferation control pathway.     

Recent accomplishments in the field of enantiomer separation by CEC

The present review intends to summarize recent developments in the field of enantioselective separations and analysis by CEC. It covers studies published in English language in common peer-reviewed journals within the period between 2003 and 2006. Both, methods making use of chiral mobile phase additives as well as chiral stationary phases for electrochromatographic enantiomer separations, are reviewed. Achievements that have been made on the various column technologies, such as open-tubular, particle-packed, inorganic, organic and particle-fixed (hybrid-type) monolithic as well as molecularly imprinted polymer phases, are discussed.     

Structure elucidation of the thermal degradation products of the nucleotide cofactors NADH and NADPH by nano-ESI-FTICR-MS and HPLC-MS

Redox cofactors like NADH and NADPH are essential for the catalytic activity of several oxidoreductases. Here, we describe a comparative study of the thermal degradation products of both cofactors in the dry and liquid states. The degradation products were first separated, detected, and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Subsequently, selected main fractions were investigated by nanoelectrospray ionization–Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (MS). Additionally, HPLC-MS was used to elucidate the structure of all degradation products. From these data, degradation pathways for both the liquid and the solid states were elucidated. Thermal degradation in water is significantly faster compared to degradation in the solid state. Hydrolysis and oxidative ring opening of the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) were shown to be the main reaction paths. Surprisingly, no significant differences were observed between the degradation of both cofactors in solution and in the solid state. Our results demonstrate that the stability of both cofactors is not limiting at moderate temperatures if they are used in the dry state (e.g., solid/gas catalysis). Significant degradation of dry cofactors was only observed under conditions, which are usually not appropriate for biocatalysis (>95 °C). Besides, the situation is completely different in solution where degradation is already observed at moderate temperatures.     

Controlling Nucleation and Crystal Growth of a Distinct Polyoxovanadate Cluster: An In Situ Energy Dispersive X‐ray Diffraction Study under Solvothermal Conditions

The formation of the antimonato polyoxovanadates [V₁₄Sb₈(C₆H₁₅N₃)₄O₄₂(H₂O)] ? 4H₂O ( 1 ), (C₆H₁₇N₃)₂[V₁₅Sb₆(C₆H₁₅N₃)₂O₄₂(H₂O)] ? 2.5H₂O ( 2 ), {C₆H₁₅N₃}₄[V₁₆Sb₄O₄₂] 2H₂O ( 3 ) (C₆H₁₅N₃=1‐(2‐aminoethyl)piperazine, AEP) has been studied under solvothermal conditions by using in situ energy dispersive X‐ray diffraction (EDRXD). The syntheses were performed with an identical ratio for Sb₂O₃ and NH₄VO₃. If the reactions slurries are not stirred during the solvothermal reaction and by applying 70–75 % amine concentration, the products contain all three compounds, whereas 3 is observed at 80 %. Under stirring conditions, variation of the concentration of AEP led to crystallization of the three different compounds at distinct concentrations, that is, 1 is formed at 75 %, 1 and 2 between 75 and 80 % and 3 at 80 %. At an amine concentration of 77.5 %, first reflections of 2 occurred and at later stages, compound 1 started to crystallize. The sample with the lowest number of V^IV species was formed at the lowest amine concentration, whereas crystallization of 3 required the highest concentration. The formation of the compounds occurred without crystalline intermediates and/or precursors. With increasing reaction temperature, the incubation time was significantly reduced.