Theoretical study of stable structures and photoelectron spectra of mass-selected Al12Cs-, Al11Cs2-, and Al10Cs3- clusters

The geometric and electronic structures of the ground and low-lying states for the Al(12)Cs(-), Al(11)Cs(2) (-), and Al(10)Cs(3) (-) clusters were examined using the density functional theory. Semi-icosahedral structures of the Al(12)Cs(-) and Al(11)Cs(2) (-) clusters were found as the ground state. The most stable structure of the Al(10)Cs(3) (-) cluster is a distorted icosahedron structure. The vertical detachment energy of these clusters and the anion photoelectron spectra (PES) were compared. The peaks of the anion PES were assigned on the basis of the shell model. The single peak of 3.1-3.2 or 2.5-2.7 eV for the Al(12)Cs(-) or Al(11)Cs(2) (-) cluster, respectively, is observed due to the electron detachment from the 2p or 1f or 1f+2p shells. Two large peaks of 2.1 eV and 3.1-3.3 eV correspond to the electron detachments from the 1f+2p and 2p, and 1d+1f shells, respectively. It was found that a second peak appears with the hybridization of the 1d and 1f shells due to the distortion from the icosahedral structure in the Al(10)Cs(3) (-) cluster.     

Triarylantimony dicarboxylates as pseudo-halides for palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction with arylboronic acids and triarylbismuthanes without any base

The reaction of triarylantimony diacetates (6) with organoboron reagents (9) in the presence of Pd(PPh₃)₄ led to the formation of cross-coupling products, biaryls (10, 12 and 14-17), in moderate to excellent yields under mild conditions without any base. Similar reaction of 6 with triarylbismuthanes (18) also gave the corresponding cross-coupling products. Single crystal X-ray analysis of tri(p-tolyl)antimony diacetate (6b) and tris(p-trifluoromethylphenyl)antimony diacetate (6e) revealed the geometry of both central antimony atoms being intermediate between trigonal bipyramidal and pentagonal bipyramidal arrangement with intramolecular coordination between the antimony and two carbonyl oxygen atoms with cis orientation.     

Covalent split protein fragment-DNA hybrids generated through N-terminus-specific modification of proteins by oligonucleotides

Semisynthetic protein-DNA hybrid molecules have recently attracted much attention as valuable tools for bioanalytical chemistry and nanobiotechnology. Here we describe a synthetic method for conjugating oligonucleotides to the N-terminus of recombinant proteins. Our strategy involves the conversion of amine-terminated oligonucleotides to thioester-functionalized oligonucleotides by using a bifunctional reagent bearing an N-hydroxysuccinimide ester and benzyl thioester group, followed by native chemical ligation with proteins containing an N-terminal cysteine. We applied this technique to construct split luciferase fragment-DNA hybrid systems in which the catalytic activity of split luciferase is restored by the re-assembly of each fragment through a specific DNA-protein or DNA-DNA interaction. Split protein fragment-DNA hybrids will offer new opportunities to explore the potential of protein-DNA conjugates for various applications.     

Hybridization‐Sensitive On–Off DNA Probe: Application of the Exciton Coupling Effect to Effective Fluorescence Quenching

The design of dyes that emit fluorescence only when they recognize the target molecule, that is, chemistry for the effective quenching of free dyes, must play a significant role in the development of the next generation of functional fluorescent dyes. On the basis of this concept, we designed a doubly fluorescence‐labeled nucleoside. Two thiazole orange dyes were covalently linked to a single nucleotide in a DNA probe. An absorption band at approximately 480 nm appeared strongly when the probe was in a single‐stranded state, whereas an absorption band at approximately 510 nm became predominant when the probe was hybridized with the complementary strand. The shift in the absorption bands shows the existence of an excitonic interaction caused by the formation of an H aggregate between dyes, and as a result, emission from the probe before hybridization was suppressed. Dissociation of aggregates by hybridization with the complementary strand resulted in the disruption of the excitonic interaction and strong emission from the hybrid. This clear change in fluorescence intensity that is dependent on hybridization is useful for visible gene analysis.     

Effect of dehydration on the interfacial water structure at a charged polymer surface: negligible χ(3) contribution to sum frequency generation signal

Interfacial water structure at charged surfaces plays a key role in many physical, chemical, biological, environmental, and industrial processes. Understanding the release of interfacial water from the charged solid surfaces during dehydration process may provide insights into the mechanism of protein folding and the nature of weak molecular interactions. In this work, sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS), supplemented by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements, has been applied to study the interfacial water structure at polyelectrolyte covered surfaces. Poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA) chains are grafted on solid surfaces to investigate the change of interfacial water structure with varying surface charge density induced by tuning the solution pH. At pH ≤ 7.1, SFG-VS intensity is linear to the loss of mass of interfacial water caused by the dehydration of PDMAEMA chains, and no reorientation of the strongly bonded water molecules is observed in the light of χ(ppp)/χ(ssp) ratio. χ((3)) contribution to SFG signal is deduced based on the combination of SFG and QCM results. It is the first direct experimental evidence to reveal that the χ((3)) has a negligible contribution to SFG signal of the interfacial water at a charged polymer surface.     

Heteropolyacid-catalyzed direct deoxygenation of propargyl and allyl alcohols

The combination of H(3)[PW(12)O(40)]·nH(2)O (1 mol %) and Et(3)SiH led to the direct catalytic deoxygenation of propargyl alcohols, in which proper solvent selection Cl(CH(2))(2)Cl vs CF(3)CH(2)OH was the key to obtaining better product yields. Under similar conditions, the deoxygenation of allyl alcohols proceeded to give thermodynamically stable alkenes with migration of the double bonds in good yields.     

On the initial value problem of the semilinear beam equation with weak damping II: Asymptotic profiles

We study the initial value problem for some semilinear damped beam equation. In Takeda and Yoshikawa (submitted for publication) [9] unique global existence of a decaying solution for the problem and the smoothing effect of the solution was shown. In this article we shall give the asymptotic profiles of the solution. As a result, we observe that the decay estimates are optimal. Moreover, considering the higher order expansion of the solution, we observe more detailed information such as the contribution of the nonlinear term to the solution as $t\to \infty$.