1,1,3,3-Tetramethylguanidine-gallane, (Me2N)2CN(H).GaH3: an unusually strongly bound gallane adduct

The novel adduct 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine-gallane, (Me2N)2CN(H).GaH3, has been prepared by the reaction of [(Me2N)2CNH2]+Cl- with LiGaH4 in Et2O solution. Its spectroscopic properties indicate a monomeric species with an unusually strong coordinate link between the imido function and GaH3, an inference confirmed by the crystal structure at 150 K which also reveals significant secondary interactions through non-classical N-H...H-Ga bridges. Despite the intrinsic strength of the Ga-N bond, however, vaporisation at ca. 310 K occurs with partial dissociation, and decomposition via more than one pathway proceeds at temperatures >330-350 K to give a variety of products, including the free base, Me2NH, H2, and a novel gallium-nitrogen compound composed of a Ga4N4 cubane-like core bridged on three edges by -N{C(NMe2)2}GaH2- units.     

A cation-pi binding interaction with a tyrosine in the binding site of the GABAC receptor

GABA(C) (rho) receptors are members of the Cys-loop superfamily of neurotransmitter receptors, which includes nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh), 5-HT(3), and glycine receptors. As in other members of this family, the agonist binding site of GABA(C) receptors is rich in aromatic amino acids, but while other receptors bind agonist through a cation-pi interaction to a tryptophan, the GABA(C) binding site has tyrosine at the aligning positions. Incorporating a series of tyrosine derivatives at position 198 using unnatural amino acid mutagenesis reveals a clear correlation between the cation-pi binding ability of the side chain and EC(50) for receptor activation, thus demonstrating a cation-pi interaction between a tyrosine side chain and a neurotransmitter. Comparisons among four homologous receptors show variations in cation-pi binding energies that reflect the nature of the cationic center of the agonist.     

Translational isomerism in a [3]catenane and a [3]rotaxane

[structure: see text] Post-assembly covalent modification using Wittig chemistry of [2]rotaxane ylides, wherein NH(2)(+) centers in the dumbbell-shaped components are recognized by dibenzo[24]crown-8 (DB24C8) rings, has afforded a [3]catenane and a [3]rotaxane with a precise and synthetically prescribed shortage of DB24C8 rings. The nondegenerate pairs of translational isomers present in both of these interlocked molecular compounds provide the fundamental platform on which to construct sensory devices and nanochemomechanical systems.     

Controllable donor-acceptor neutral [2]rotaxanes

In pursuit of a neutral bistable [2]rotaxane made up of two tetraarylmethane stoppers--both carrying one isopropyl and two tert-butyl groups located at the para positions on each of three of the four aryl rings--known to permit the slippage of the pi-electron-donating 1,5-dinaphtho[38]crown-10 (1/5DNP38C10) at the thermodynamic instigation of pi-electron-accepting recognition sites, in this case, pyromellitic diimide (PmI) and 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylate diimide (NpI) units separated from each other along the rod section of the rotaxane's dumbbell component, and from the para positions of the fourth aryl group of the two stoppers by pentamethylene chains, a modular approach was employed in the synthesis of the dumbbell-shaped compound NpPmD, as well as of its two degenerate counterparts, one (PmPmD) which contains two PmI units and the other (NpNpD) which contains two NpI units. The bistable [2]rotaxane NpPmR, as well as its two degenerate analogues PmPmR and NpNpR, were obtained from the corresponding dumbbell-shaped compounds NpPmD, PmPmD, and NpNpD and 1/5DNP38C10 by slippage. Dynamic 1H NMR spectroscopy in CD2Cl2 revealed that shuttling of the 1/5DNP38C10 ring occurs in NpNpR and PmPmR, with activation barriers of 277 K of 14.0 and 10.9 kcal mol(-1), respectively, reflecting a much more pronounced donor-acceptor stabilizing interaction involving the NpI units over the PmI ones. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of the three neutral [2]rotaxanes and their dumbbell-shaped precursors have also been investigated in CH2Cl2. Interactions between 1/5DNP38C10 and PmI and NpI units located within the rod section of the dumbbell components of the [2]rotaxane give rise to the appearance of charge-transfer bands, the energies of which correlate with the electron-accepting properties of the two diimide moieties. Comparison between the positions of the visible absorption bands in the three [2]rotaxanes shows that, in NpPmR, the major translational isomer is the one in which 1/5DNP38C10 encircles the NpI unit. Correlations of the reduction potentials for all the compounds studied confirm that, in this non-degenerate [2]rotaxane, one of the translational isomers predominates. Furthermore, after deactivation of the NpI unit by one-electron reduction, the 1/5DNP38C10 macrocycle moves to the PmI unit. Li+ ions have been found to strengthen the interaction between the electron-donating crown ether and the electron-accepting diimide units, particularly the PmI one. Titration experiments show that two Li+ ions are involved in the strengthening of the donor-acceptor interaction. Addition of Li+ ions to NpPmR induces the 1/5DNP38C10 macrocycle to move from the NpI to the PmI unit. The Li+-ion-promoted switching of NpPmR in a 4:1 mixture of CD2Cl2 and CD3COCD3 has also been shown by 1H NMR spectroscopy to involve the mechanical movement of the 1/5DNP38C10 macrocycle from the NpI to the PmI unit, a process that can be reversed by adding an excess of [12]crown-4 to sequester the Li+ ions.     

Short synthesis of 4-aryl-3-pyrrolin-2-ones

A three step, convergent synthesis of 4-aryl-3-pyrrolin-2-ones from a tetramic acid has been developed. The key transformation utilized a Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction between a 4-tosyloxy-3-pyrrolin-2-one and an arylboronic acid. This work also provides access to 4-arylpyrrolidin-2-ones, cyclic analogs of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Hydrogenation of 4-(4′-chlorophenyl)-3-pyrrolin-2-one proceeded smoothly to give baclofen lactam.     

Epoxy‐functionalized,low‐glass‐transition‐temperature latex. II. Interdiffusion versus crosslinking in the presence of a diamine

This article describes the results of experiments examining the competition between the polymer diffusion rate and the crosslinking rate in low‐glass‐transition‐temperature, epoxy‐containing latex films in the presence of a diamine. We examined films formed from donor‐ and acceptor‐labeled poly(butyl acrylate‐co‐methyl methacrylate‐co‐glycidyl methacrylate) copolymer latex and studied the influence of several parameters on the growth rate of gel content and the rate of polymer diffusion. These factors include the molecular weight of the latex polymer, the presence or absence of a diamine crosslinking agent, and the cure protocol. The results were compared to the predictions of a recent theory of the competition between crosslinking and polymer diffusion across interfaces. In the initially formed films, polymer diffusion occurs more rapidly than the chemical reaction rate. Therefore, these films fall into the fast‐diffusion category of this model. In our system (unlike in the model), the latex polymer has a broad distribution of molecular weights and a distribution of diffusivities. The shortest chains contribute to the early time diffusion that we measure. At later stages of our experiment, slower diffusing species contribute to the signal that we measure. The diffusion time decreases substantially, and we observe a crossover to a regime in which the chemical reaction dominates. The increases in chain branching and gel formation bring polymer diffusion to a halt. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 4098–4116, 2002     

Structures and properties of self-assembled monolayers of bistable [2]rotaxanes on Au (111) surfaces from molecular dynamics simulations validated with experiment

Bistable [2]rotaxanes display controllable switching properties in solution, on surfaces, and in devices. These phenomena are based on the electrochemically and electrically driven mechanical shuttling motion of the ring-shaped component, cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) (CBPQT(4+)) (denoted as the ring), between a tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) unit and a 1,5-dioxynaphthalene (DNP) ring system located along a dumbbell component. When the ring is encircling the TTF unit, this co-conformation of the rotaxane is the most stable and thus designated the ground-state co-conformer (GSCC), whereas the other co-conformation with the ring surrounding the DNP ring system is less favored and so designated the metastable-state co-conformer (MSCC). We report here the structure and properties of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of a bistable [2]rotaxane on Au (111) surfaces as a function of surface coverage based on atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) studies with a force field optimized from DFT calculations and we report several experiments that validate the predictions. On the basis of both the total energy per rotaxane and the calculated stress that is parallel to the surface, we find that the optimal packing density of the SAM corresponds to a surface coverage of 115 A(2)/molecule (one molecule per 4 x 4 grid of surface Au atoms) for both the GSCC and MSCC, and that the former is more stable than the latter by 14 kcal/mol at the optimum packing density. We find that the SAM retains hexagonal packing, except for the case at twice the optimum packing density (65 A(2)/molecule, the 3 x 3 grid). For the GSCC and MSCC, investigated at the optimum coverage, the tilt of the ring with respect to the normal is theta = 39 degrees and 61 degrees, respectively, while the tilt angle of the entire rotaxane is psi = 41 degrees and 46 degrees , respectively. Although the tilt angle of the ring decreases with decreasing surface coverage, the tilt angle of the rotaxane has a maximum at 144 A(2)/molecule (the 4 x 5 grid/molecule) of 50 degrees and 51 degrees for the GSCC and MSCC, respectively. The hexafluorophosphate counterions (PF(6)(-)) stay localized around the ring during the 2 ns MD simulation. On the basis of the calculated density profile, we find that the thickness of the SAM is 40.5 A at the optimum coverage for the GSCC and 40.0 A for MSCC, and that the thicknesses become less with decreasing surface coverage. The calculated surface tension at the optimal packing density is 45 and 65 dyn/cm for the GSCC and MSCC, respectively. This difference suggests that the water contact angle for the GSCC is larger than for the MSCC, a prediction that is verified by experiments on Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers of amphiphilic [2]rotaxanes.     

Synthetic routes for a new family of chiral tetradentate ligands containing pyridine rings

A series of new tetradentate ligands containing two bipyridine groups or two pyridine moieties carrying amine substituents has been synthesised either from 5'- and 6'-substituted chiral bipyridines, or from chiral pyridine derivatives. These precursors have been prepared from (-)-alpha-pinene or (-)-myrtenal, respectively. The structures of three tetradentate-, and of five chiral bipyridine ligands have been determined by X-ray diffraction.     

Determination of cocaine contamination on banknotes using tandem mass spectrometry and pattern recognition

Tandem mass spectrometry is used to monitor the contamination of banknotes by cocaine. By introducing a series of banknotes into an instrument a distribution of contamination can be obtained. The distribution of samples arising from defendants where the banknotes have been in close proximity to cocaine should differ from the distribution from the general background population. Peak picking and integration is used to produce a series of intensity readings for a batch of banknotes. By visually inspecting these distribution, and applying a variety of chemometric methods (principal components analysis, cluster analysis and class modelling via Mahalanobis distance) it is possible to discriminate effectively between the two classes of distribution (7157 background notes and 4826 case notes alleged to be from drug dealers). By calculating the Mahalonobis distance over 100 bootstrap iterations, background samples were correctly classified 96.48% of the time, while case samples were correctly classified 89.37% of the time.     

Use of mobile phase 18-crown-6 to improve peak resolution between mono- and divalent metal and amine cations in ion chromatography

It is difficult to quantify NH4+ by ion chromatography in the presence of high concentrations of Na+ due to peak overlap. The Dionex IonPac CS15 column, which contains phosphonate, carboxylate, and 18-crown-6 functional groups, was originally developed to overcome this problem. We have found that the addition of 18-crown-6 to the eluent promotes improved peak resolution between Na+ and NH4+ even at concentrations as high as 60,000 to 1 using this column. Its use also improves the separation of alkali and alkaline earth metal and amine cations. Mobile phase 18-crown-6 increased the retention times of CH3NH3+, NH4+, and K+, and decreased the retention time of Sr2+. The retention times of Li+, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, (CH3)2NH2+, and (CH3)3NH+ were not affected. This method makes possible the direct analysis of ammonia from nitrogenase, the enzyme responsible for biological nitrogen fixation. The resolution of the NH4+ peak from the Na+ and Mg2+ peaks improved from zero resolution to values of 6.19 and 5.65, respectively. This technique considerably reduces the analysis time of NH4+ in the presence of high concentrations of Mg2+ and Na+ over traditional indophenol measurements.