Non‐Planar Lithium‐Phthalocyanine in the Double Salt (nBu4N)2[Lipc]PF6

We report the synthesis of the diamagnetic double salt bis(tetra(n‐butyl)ammonium) phthalocyanato(2‐)lithate hexafluorophosphate (nBu₄N)₂[Lipc]PF₆ [pc = phthalocyanine, nBu₄N⁺ = tetra(n‐butyl)ammonium] in dme (dme = dimethoxyethane). According to single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction structure analysis [P$\bar{1}$ , a = 8.642(2) Å, b = 12.820(3) Å, c = 15.019(3) Å, α = 83.01(3)°, β = 87.87(3)°, γ = 74.45(3)°, Z = 1, R₁ = 6.4 %], the phthalocyanine building bloc shows a substantial distortion of the macrocyclic ring from planarity. The deviation from D_4h symmetry originates from packing effects induced by the two tetra(n‐butyl)ammonium cations located above and below the macrocycle. DFT structure optimization starting from the experimental non‐planar configuration produces a fully planar complex anion [Lipc]^–.     

A mass spectrometric investigation of non-covalent interactions between ruthenium complexes and DNA

Electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry was used to investigate reactions between six ruthenium compounds and three different non self-complementary duplex oligonucleotides containing 16 base pairs. Each of the compounds studied formed non-covalent complexes containing between one and five ruthenium molecules bound to DNA. Competition experiments involving duplex 16mers and pairs of ruthenium compounds were used to determine the order of relative binding affinities of the metal compounds. Other competition experiments involving ruthenium compounds, and the organic DNA binding agents daunomycin and distamycin, provided information about the sites and modes of DNA binding of the ruthenium compounds.     

Phase dependent electrochemical properties of polar self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) modified via the fusion of mixed phospholipid vesicles

Unilamellar vesicles of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) and varying quantities of either 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-[phospho-rac-(1-glycerol) (sodium salt) (DMPG) or 1,2-dimyristoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (chloride salt) (DMTAP) were used to deposit lipid bilayer assemblies on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold. The supporting SAMs in turn were composed of ferrocene-functionalized hexadecanethiol chains (FcC16SH) diluted to low coverage in 1-hydroxylhexadecanethiol (HOC16SH) or a single-component monolayer phase of the latter. The mass coverages of the DMPC/DMPG layers deposited in this way were measured using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and found to decrease with an increasing content of DMPG in the vesicles. The SPR data show that the lipid assembly, while stable with respect to gentle rinsing in aqueous buffer, is reversible and the lipid adlayer is removable by immersion in a solvent such as ethanol. The effects of the adsorbed lipid layer on the electrochemical interactions of the hybrid lipid/SAM with several redox probes [e.g., K4Fe(CN)6, Ru(NH3)6Cl3, and CsHsFe-[(C5H4CH2N+H(CH3)2] were characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV). At a composition of 5% DMPG in DMPC, the permeabilities of the probes through the lipid layer were affected significantly relative to that observed with a pure DMPC layer. These effects include a striking observation of an enhanced, ionic-charge-specific molecular discrimination of the electrochemical probes. At higher concentrations of the DMPG, significant permeation of the lipid adlayer was seen for all the probes. These latter changes are also attended by a significant increase in the capacitive currents measured in CV experiments as compared to those observed for either a pure SAM or one modified by only DMPC. This effect likely results from the influence of the charged lipid on the diffuse Gouy-Chapman electrolyte layer at the SAM interface. In contrast to the behaviors seen with DMPG, the incorporation of DMTAP into the adsorbed DMPC had no impact on the permeation of the adlayer by soluble redox probes as judged by the observed electrochemistry, a result that appears to correlate with a less ideal mixing of lipids in the DMPC/DMTAP system relative to that of a DMPC/DMPG mixture.     

THE CRYSTAL STRUCTURES OF 10,10′-BIS(PHENOXARSINE) OXIDE AND SELENIDE

Abstract

The reaction between 10,10′-bis(phenoxarsine) oxide (I) and HI gives 10-iodophenoxarsine. The latter, on treatment with H₂Se give 10,10′-bis(phenoxarsine) selenide (II). The crystal structures of I and II have been determined from single crystal X-ray data. The unit cell for I is monoclinic, P2₁/c (No. 14) with a = 15.976(3) Å, b = 10.582(2) Å, c = 12.581(2) Å, β = 111.70(1)° V = 2018.6 ų; d(calc.) = 1.65Mg/m³ at 23°C for four molecules per unit cell. From 3279 reflections for which I>0.5σ(I), F>σ(F), R = 0.041 with anisotropic thermal parameters for all non-hydrogen atoms and with fixed positions and thermal parameters for hydrogens. One of the phenoxarsina rings deviates from planarity by approximately 5° while the other deviates by more than 24°. The (As[sbnd]O) distances are 1.810(3) and 1.821(3) Å for the flat and bent ring and the (As[sbnd]O[sbnd]As) angle is 122.3(1)°. The bond distances to As and O from C are nearly the same for both rings, but the bond angles with As and the ring O as the apex are systematically larger for the flat ring. For II the unit cell is triclinic, P1 (No. 2) with a = 9.368(1) Å, b = 14.089 Å, c = 9.269(2) Å, α = 111.37(2), β = 113.11(2), γ = 74.76(1); V = 1037.5 ų, d(calc) = 1.81 Mg/m³ for two molecules per unit cell at 23°C. From 2945 reflections for which I > 0.5σ(I), F > σ(F), R = 0.055 with anisotropic thermal parameters for all non-hydrogen atoms and with fixed positions and thermal parameters for hydrogen. One of the phenoxarsina rings deviates by 3° from planarity and the other by 8°. The (As[sbnd]Se) bond distances are 2.416(1) and 2.406(1) Å. The (As[sbnd]Se[sbnd]As) bond angle is 96.66(4)° and the corresponding (As[sbnd]C) and (C[sbnd]C) distances in the two rings are nearly the same. In comparison with I, the angles with As or O as the central atoms are about the same in both rings of II.     

SAXS in combination with a free liquid jet for improved time-resolved in situ studies of the nucleation and growth of nanoparticles

A new setup for fast in situ SAXS studies of early stages in the nucleation and growth of colloidal nanoparticles is presented. Evading the disturbing influence of container walls and minimizing the possibility of beam-induced reactions, the benefits of the setup are demonstrated exemplarily for the well-known synthesis of gold nanoparticles via the Turkevich method. Analysis with the new experimental setup reveals the initial rate of particle formation, and enables analysis of particle growth rates.     

One-pot synthesis of new symmetric and asymmetric xanthene dyes

Symmetric and asymmetric xanthene dyes have been prepared by a convenient one-step procedure from aldehyde and diol or m-aminophenol precursors using concentrated phosphoric acid as a solvent. This protocol provides access to water-soluble dyes with large Stoke’s shifts and far-red fluorescence emission. These compounds are envisioned as components of fluorescence-based sensors for a variety of imaging applications.     

A fluorescent probe for the detection of myeloperoxidase activity in atherosclerosis-associated macrophages

The myeloperoxidase (MPO)-derived oxidant hypochlorous acid (HOCl/OCl(-)) is implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and other inflammatory states. We have synthesized an imaging probe, sulfonaphthoaminophenyl fluorescein (SNAPF), that selectively reacts with HOCl. SNAPF detects HOCl produced by stimulated MPO-expressing cells cultured from human whole blood, as well as HOCl from bone marrow (BM)-derived macrophages isolated from transgenic mice that express human MPO. Two lines of evidence indicate that SNAPF permits the in vivo imaging of HOCl production. First, we used this approach to demonstrate HOCl production by neutrophils in experimental murine peritonitis. Second, we detected HOCl production by MPO expressing cells in human atherosclerotic arteries. Thus, fluorescence reflectance imaging by SNAPF may provide a valuable noninvasive molecular imaging tool for implicating HOCl and MPO in the damage of inflamed tissues.     

Supramolecular silanol chemistry in the gas phase. Topological (AIM) and population (NBO) analyses of hydrogen-bonded complexes between H3SiOH and selected O- and N-acceptor molecules

Hydrogen bonding of the type SiO-H...A (A = O, N) has been studied in the gas phase for simple H3SiOH.acceptor complexes with the acceptor molecules being O(H)SiH3, OH2, O(H)CH3, O(CH3)2, O(CH3)SiH3, O(SiH3)2, NH3, N(CH3)H2, N(CH3)2H, N(CH3)3, N(CH3)2C6H5, and NC5H5, respectively, at the B3LYP/6-311+(2d,p) level of theory, using Bader's atoms in molecules (AIM) and Weinhold's natural bond orbital (NBO) methodology. For all complexes (except H3SiOH.N(CH3)2C6H5) the complex energy Eadd. is a good estimate for the hydrogen bond energy EHB, which is generally higher in N-acceptor complexes (-5.52 to -7.17 kcal mol-1) than in O-acceptor complexes (-2.09 to -5.06 kcal mol-1). In case of H3SiOH.N(CH3)2C6H5, EHB and Eadd. differ by the energy associated with the loss of n(N)-->pi conjugation in N(CH3)2C6H5 upon complex formation. EHB shows no correlation with O...A distances and the red shifts Deltanu(OH) of the OH-stretching vibrations when different acceptors are compared, although both parameters are commonly used to estimate the strength of the hydrogen bond from spectroscopic and diffraction data. A good linear correlation of the hydrogen bond energy EHB has been established with parameters derived from the AIM and NBO analyses, namely, the electron densities rho(HA) and rho(OH) at the H...A and O-H bond critical points (BCPs) and the NLMO bond orders BONLMO(HA) of the H...A bonds of the H3SiOH.acceptor complexes as well as the change of natural charges DeltaqNPA(O) at the O-donor atom upon H3SiOH.acceptor complex formation. Hydrogen bonding of the type SiO-H...A (A = O, N) has been also studied in the related cyclic multiple H3SiOH.acceptor complexes (H3SiOH)3, (H3SiOH)2.NC5H5, and (H3SiOH)4, respectively, at the same level of theory. Cooperative hydrogen bonding is evident for all cyclic multiple H3SiOH.acceptor complexes, whereby the strongest concomitant strengthening of the hydrogen bonds is observed for (H3SiOH)4 and (H3SiOH)2.NC5H5.     

Searching for stable, five-coordinate aquated Al(III) species. Water exchange mechanism and effect of pH

Density functional theory calculations have been performed for the water exchange mechanism of aquated Al(III). The effect of pH was considered by studying the exchange processes for [Al(H2O)6]3+ and its conjugated base, [Al(H2O)5OH]2+. Both complexes were found to exchange water in a dissociative way with activation energies (EA) of 15.9 and 10.2 kcal/mol, respectively. The influence of solvent molecules on the gas-phase cluster model was considered by the addition of up to four water molecules to the model system. The stabilizing effect of the solvent on the transition state decreases EA to 8.6 (hexa-aqua complex) and 7.6 (monohydroxo complex) kcal/mol, whereas EA for all hydroxo species is consistently significantly lower than those for the related aqua systems, which indicates a much faster water exchange rate. For the hydroxo complex, all calculated five-coordinate intermediates, nH2O.[Al(H2O)4(OH)]2+ (n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), are more stable than the corresponding six-coordinate reactants. Our results therefore suggest the presence of a stable five-coordinate species of aquated Al(III), namely, the [Al(H2O)4(OH)]2+ complex.     

Distinguishing Protonation States of Histidine Ligands to the Oxidized Rieske Iron–Sulfur Cluster through 15N Vibrational Frequency Shifts

The Rieske [2Fe–2S] cluster is a vital component of many oxidoreductases, including mitochondrial cytochrome bc1; its chloroplast equivalent, cytochrome b6f; one class of dioxygenases; and arsenite oxidase. The Rieske cluster acts as an electron shuttle and its reduction is believed to couple with protonation of one of the cluster′s His ligands. In cytochromes bc1 and b6f, for example, the Rieske cluster acts as the first electron acceptor in a modified Q cycle. The protonation states of the cluster′s His ligands determine its ability to accept a proton and possibly an electron through a hydrogen bond to the electron carrier, ubiquinol. Experimental determination of the protonation states of a Rieske cluster′s two His ligands by NMR spectroscopy is difficult, due to the close proximity of the two paramagnetic iron atoms of the cluster. Therefore, this work reports density functional calculations and proposes that difference vibrational spectroscopy with ¹⁵N isotopic substitution may be used to assign the protonation states of the His ligands of the oxidized Rieske [2Fe–2S] complex.