Kinetics of Iterative Carbohydrate Transfer to Polysaccharide Catalyzed by Chondroitin Polymerase on a Highly Sensitive Flow‐Type 27 MHz Quartz‐Crystal Microbalance

Using a highly sensitive flow‐type 27 MHz quartz crystal microbalance, we could detect a small mass change during stepwise and alternating one‐sugar transfer of glucuronic acid (GlcA) and N‐acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) to an acceptor, catalyzed by chondroitin polymerase from Escherichia coli strain K4 (K4CP), and analyze the elongation mechanism of K4CP. K4CP was found to bind strongly to a chondroitin acceptor (K_d=0.97 μM ). Although the binding affinity and the catalytic rate constant for each monomer were considerably different, the apparent catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_m) was similar (6.3×10⁴ M ^?1 s^?1 for GlcA transfer and 3.4×10⁴ M ^?1 s^?1 for the GalNAc transfer). This is reasonable for the smooth alternating elongation of GlcA and GalNAc on the acceptor. This is the first study to report the determination of kinetic parameters for enzymatic, alternated, sugar elongation.     

Magnetism‐Tunable Oligoacene Dioxide Diradicals: Promising Magnetic Oligoacene‐Like Molecules

Graphene oxide has attracted intense research interest recently because the graphene oxide synthesis route, as a promising alternative for cost‐effective mass production of graphene, has been explored. To further study the oxidation process and possible mechanism and to explore applicability of the oxidized products, we have performed a computational study on three series of oligoacene dioxides, focusing on their structures and electronic properties. Taking 1,5‐dioxidized naphthalene as a starting point, three series of oligoacene dioxides are considered as follows: 1) middle insertion by 1–2 benzene rings; 2) single‐side expansion using 1–2 benzene rings; 3) double‐side expansion using two benzene rings. On the basis of density functional theory and complete active space self‐consistent field (CASSCF) calculations, we reveal that oligoacene dioxides in the middle insertion series have a triplet ground state, whereas those in the single‐side expansion series and the double‐side expansion series have open‐shell broken‐symmetry singlet diradical ground states except for their common origin naphthalene‐1,5‐dioxide whose ground state is triplet and which is also viewed as the origin of the middle insertion series. Magnetic coupling interactions of these oligoacene dioxides are also determined. This work should help people toward an atomistic understanding of the electronic structures and properties of possible intermediates or products and even the oxidation mechanism of graphene sheets, and provides a reasonable strategy of designing novel graphene‐oxide‐based magnetic materials.     

Effect of Residual Water and Microwave Heating on the Half‐Life of the Reagents and Reactive Intermediates in Peptide Synthesis

Precise microwave heating has changed the way many small molecules are being synthesized and, currently, the field of solid‐phase peptide synthesis is undergoing dramatic changes owing to the use of microwave heating. To fully reap the benefits of precise microwave heating for the formation of amide bonds in peptide synthesis, it is important to understand the kinetics of formation and break‐down of activated esters and their N‐acylation of the nascent peptide chain at elevated temperatures. Herein, we present systematic studies of, first, the rate of formation of activated esters by NMR spectroscopy and, second, their N‐acylation during peptide synthesis. A study of the amount of residual water in the solvents revealed a significant effect on electrophilic reagents and intermediates. This observation was expanded into a general study of microwave heating in peptide synthesis.     

Observable Structures of Small Neutral and Anionic Gold Clusters

Since gold clusters have mostly been studied theoretically by using DFT calculations, more accurate studies are of importance. Thus, small neutral and anionic gold clusters (Au_n and Au_n^?, n=4–7) were investigated by means of coupled cluster with singles, doubles, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)] calculations with large basis sets, and some differences between DFT and CCSD(T) results are discussed. Interesting isomeric structures that have dangling atoms were obtained. Structures having dangling atoms appear to be stable up to n=4 for neutral gold clusters and up to n=7 for anionic clusters. The relative stabilities and electronic properties of some isomers and major structures are discussed on the basis of the CCSD(T) calculations. This accurate structure prediction of small gold clusters corresponding to experimental photoelectron spectral peaks is valuable in the field of atom‐scale materials science including nanocatalysts.     

Highly Enantioselective Iridium‐Catalyzed Hydrogenation of α,β‐Unsaturated Esters

α,β‐Unsaturated esters have been employed as substrates in iridium‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation. Full conversions and good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99 % ee) were obtained for a broad range of substrates with both aromatic‐ and aliphatic substituents on the prochiral carbon. The hydrogenated products are highly useful as building blocks in the synthesis of a variety of natural products and pharmaceuticals.     

Elucidation of the Active Conformation of Vancomycin Dimers with Antibacterial Activity against Vancomycin‐Resistant Bacteria

Covalently linked vancomycin dimers have attracted a great deal of attention among researchers because of their enhanced antibacterial activity against vancomycin‐resistant strains. However, the lack of a clear insight into the mechanisms of action of these dimers hampers rational optimization of their antibacterial potency. Here, we describe the synthesis and antibacterial activity of novel vancomycin dimers with a constrained molecular conformation achieved by two tethers between vancomycin units. Conformational restriction is a useful strategy for studying the relationship between the molecular topology and biological activity of compounds. In this study, two vancomycin units were linked at three distinct positions of the glycopeptide (vancosamine residue (V), C terminus (C), and N terminus (N)) to form two types of novel vancomycin cyclic dimers. Active NC‐VV‐linked dimers with a stable conformation as indicated by molecular mechanics calculations selectively suppressed the peptidoglycan polymerization reaction of vancomycin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus in vitro. In addition, double‐disk diffusion tests indicated that the antibacterial activity of these dimers against vancomycin‐resistant enterococci might arise from the inhibition of enzymes responsible for peptidoglycan polymerization. These findings provide a new insight into the biological targets of vancomycin dimers and the conformational requirements for efficient antibacterial activity against vancomycin‐resistant strains.     

Activation and Coordination of Ammonia at [Cp*Ir(H)2]: NMR and Matrix Isolation Studies

¹H NMR exchange spectroscopy of a reaction mixture of [Cp*Ir(H)₄] ( 1 ; Cp*=1,2,3,4,5‐pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) and ammonia suggests an exchange of hydrogen atoms between the hydrido ligands and ammonia. Treatment of 1 with ND₃ led to an H/D exchange between ND₃ and the hydrido ligands of 1 . Subsequent studies showed that photolysis of 1 isolated in frozen argon matrices leads to the formation of the iridium compounds [Cp*Ir(H)₂] ( 2 ) and [Cp*Ir(H)₃] ( 4 ), as it was confirmed by IR spectroscopy. In the presence of water the aqua complex [Cp*Ir(H)₂(OH₂)] ( 3 ) was generated simultaneously. Accordingly, photolysis of 1 in an argon matrix doped with ammonia gave rise to the ammine complex [Cp*Ir(H)₂(NH₃)] ( 5 ). IR assignments were supported by calculations of the gas‐phase IR spectra of 1 – 5 by DFT methods.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Intermolecular Acylation of Aryl Diazoesters with ortho‐Bromobenzaldehydes

In this work, we describe a palladium‐catalyzed intermolecular O acylation of α‐diazoesters with ortho‐bromobenzaldehydes. The C(sp²)?H bond activation of the aldehyde is enabled by migratory insertion of a palladium carbene intermediate. The diazoesters act as modular three‐atom units to build up key seven‐membered palladacycles, which are transformed into a variety of isocoumarin derivatives upon reductive elimination. Mechanistic experiments and DFT calculations provide insight into the reaction pathway.     

The Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Solution: From Theory,Single Crystal Models,to Practical Electrocatalysts

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a fundamental process in electrocatalysis and plays an important role in energy conversion for the development of hydrogen‐based energy sources. However, the considerably slow rate of the HER in alkaline conditions has hindered advances in water splitting techniques for high‐purity hydrogen production. Differing from well documented acidic HER, the mechanistic aspects of alkaline HER are yet to be settled. A critical appraisal of alkaline HER electrocatalysis is presented, with a special emphasis on the connection between fundamental surface electrochemistry on single‐crystal models and the derived molecular design principle for real‐world electrocatalysts. By presenting some typical examples across theoretical calculations, surface characterization, and electrochemical experiments, we try to address some key ongoing debates to deliver a better understanding of alkaline HER at the atomic level.