PHOTOCHEMICAL QUANTUM EFFICIENCY AND ABSORPTION SPECTRA OF REACTION CENTERS FROM RHODOPSEUDOMONAS SPHAEROIDES AT LOW TEMPERATURE

Abstract— The quantum efficiency of bacteriochlorophyll photo-oxidation in reaction centers from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides is independent of temperature, within experimental accuracy of ± 15%, from 300 K to 5 K. Absorption spectra at low temperature show maxima at 532 and 544 nm corresponding to the two molecules of bacteriopheophytin in the reaction center. Comparison with the spectrum of the transient light-induced state P ^F indicates that of these two molecules, only the one absorbing at 544 nm participates in forming P ^F.     

Effect of humic acid on the bioavailability of radionuclides to rice plants

We investigated the effect of humic acid and solution pH on the uptake of the radionuclides, (83)Rb, (137)Cs, (54)Mn, (65)Zn, (88)Y, (102)Rh, and (75)Se in rice plants by the multitracer technique. The addition of humic acid to a culture medium containing SiO(2) increased the uptake of Mn and Zn at pH 4.3, whereas their uptake was decreased at pH 5.3. Humic acid depressed the uptake of Y at both pHs. The uptake of Se, which does not interact with humic acid, was not affected by its presence. These results suggest that uptake of the radionuclides by the rice plant is regulated by the affinity of radioactive nuclides for humic acid, as well as by the soil solution's pH.     

Correlation analysis of substituent effects on the acidity of benzoic acids by the AM1 method

Theoretical analysis of the electronic effect of aromatic substituents was done with the use of the AM1 computational procedure. The gas-phase acidity of substituted benzoic acids was linear with the difference in the heat of formation between corresponding benzoic acids and benzoate anions, the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital, and the net charge on the acidic oxygen atoms of the corresponding benzoate anions. The Hammett σ constant was linearly correlated with the net charge on the atoms of the acid moiety of substituted benzoic acids. The AM1 computational procedure satisfactorily reproduced the electronic properties of a wide variety of substituents.     

Acid-labile surfactant improves in-sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel protein digestion for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric peptide mapping

Mass spectrometry (MS) together with genome database searches serves as a powerful tool for the identification of proteins. In proteome analysis, mixtures of cellular proteins are usually separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel-based two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) or one-dimensional gel electrophoresis (1-DE), and in-gel digested by a specific protease. In-gel protein digestion is one of the critical steps for sensitive protein identification by these procedures. Efficient protein digestion is required for obtaining peptide peaks necessary for protein identification by MS. This paper reports a remarkable improvement of protein digestion in SDS polyacrylamide gels using an acid-labile surfactant, sodium 3-[(2-methyl-2-undecyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)methoxy]-1-propanesulfonate (ALS). Pretreatment of gel pieces containing protein spots separated by 2-DE with a small amount of ALS prior to trypsin digestion led to increases in the digested peptides eluted from the gels. Consistently, treatment of gel pieces containing silver-stained standard proteins and those separated from tissue extracts resulted in the detection of increased numbers of peptide peaks in spectra obtained by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). Hence the present protocol with ALS provides a useful strategy for sensitive protein identification by MS.     

Syndiospecific living propylene polymerization catalyzed by titanium complexes having fluorine-containing phenoxy-imine chelate ligands

The propylene polymerization behavior of a series of Ti complexes featuring fluorine-containing phenoxy-imine chelate ligands is reported. The Ti complexes combined with methylalumoxane (MAO) can be catalysts for living and, at the same time, stereospecific polymerization of propylene at room temperature or above. DFT calculations suggest that the attractive interaction between a fluorine ortho to the imine nitrogen and a beta-hydrogen of a growing polymer chain is responsible for the achievement of room-temperature living propylene polymerization. Although the Ti complexes possess C(2) symmetry, they are capable of producing highly syndiotactic polypropylenes. (13)C NMR is used to demonstrate that the syndiotacticity is governed by a chain-end control mechanism and that the polymerization is initiated exclusively via 1,2-insertion followed by 2,1-insertion as the principal mode of polymerization. (13)C NMR spectroscopy also elucidated that the polypropylenes produced with the Ti complexes possess regio-block structures. Substitutions on the phenoxy-imine ligands have profound effects on catalytic behavior of the Ti complexes. The steric bulk of the substituent ortho to the phenoxy oxygen plays a decisive role in achieving high syndioselectivity for the chain-end controlled polymerization. Over a temperature range of 0-50 degrees C, Ti complex having a trimethylsilyl group ortho to the phenoxy oxygen forms highly syndiotactic, nearly monodisperse polypropylenes (94-90% rr) with extremely high peak melting temperatures (T(m) = 156-149 degrees C). The polymerization behavior of the Ti complexes can be explained well by the recently proposed site-inversion mechanism for the formation of syndiotactic polypropylene by a Ti complex having a pair of fluorine-containing phenoxy-imine ligands.     

Analysis of the conserved P9-G10.1 metal-binding motif in hammerhead ribozymes with an extra nucleotide inserted between A9 and G10.1 residues

Hammerhead ribozymes (Rz) have catalytically important tandem G:A pairs in the core region, and we recently demonstrated that the P9-G10.1 motif (a sheared-type G:A pair with a guanine residue on the 3' side of the adenine residue) with several flanking base pairs is sufficient for capture of divalent cations, such as Mg(2+) and Cd(2+) ions that are important to maintain full activities (Tanaka et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 4595-4601; Tanaka et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 744-752). We also found that mutant hammerhead ribozymes that have an additional G residue inserted between A9 and G10.1 residues (the metal-binding P9-G10.1 motif) have significant catalytic activities. In this study, we demonstrate that the hammerhead ribozymes are capable of maintaining the catalytically competent structure even when the tandem, sheared-type G:A pairs were perturbed by an insertion of an additional nucleotide, whereas the chirality of the phosphorothioate at the P9 position significantly influenced the enzymatic activity for both the natural and G-inserted ribozymes.     

Ab initio molecular orbital study on the G-selectivity of GGG triplet in copper(I)-mediated one-electron oxidation

The G-selectivity for Cu(I)-mediated one-electron oxidation of 5'-TG(1)G(2)G(3)-3' and 5'-CG(1)G(2)G(3)-3' has been examined by ab initio molecular orbital calculations. It was confirmed that G(1) is selectively damaged by Cu(I) ion for both 5'-TG(1)G(2)G(3)-3' and 5'-CG(1)G(2)G(3)-3', being good agreement with experimental results. The Cu(I)-mediated G(1)-selectivity is primarily due to the stability of the Cu(I)-coordinated complex, [-XG(1)G(2)G(3)-,-Cu(I)(H(2)O)(3)](+). The Cu(I) ion coordinates selectively to N7 of G(2) of 5'-G(1)G(2)G(3)-3' rather than N7 of G(1). The G(2)-selective coordination induces the G(1)-selective trap of a hole that is created by one-electron oxidation and migrates to GGG triplet. Therefore, the radical cation of G(1) is selectively created in both 5'-TG(1)G(2)G(3)-3' and 5'-CG(1)G(2)G(3)-3', giving the G(1)-selective damage of 5'-G(1)G(2)G(3)-3'.     

Zirconocene-Catalyzed Silylation of Alkenes with Chlorosilanes

Vinylsilanes and/or allylsilanes are formed upon silylation of terminal alkenes with R₃^′SiCl in the presence of a Grignard reagent and a catalytic amount of [Cp₂ZrCl₂] [Eq. (a)]. The reaction also proceeds under mild conditions when silylsulfides (X=SPh), silylselenides (X=SePh), and silyltellurides (X=TePh) are used in place of chlorosilanes (X=Cl). R″=alkyl, aryl, alkylsilyl; R′=Me, Et, nPr; R=CH₂R″, aryl, H.     

Macromolecular Organization of Poly(L‐lactide)‐block‐Polyoxyethylene into Bio‐Inspired Nano‐Architectures

Block copolymers create various types of nano‐structures, e. g., spheres, rods, cubes, and lamellae. This review discloses the dynamic macromolecular organization of block copolymers comprising poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA) and poly(oxyethylene) (PEG) that allows to simulate elaborate biological systems. The block copolymers, AB‐ (PLLA‐PEG) and ABA‐type (PLLA‐PEG‐PLLA), are synthesized by ordinary lactide polymerization to have a controlled block length. They are dispersed into an aqueous medium to prepare nano‐scale particles, consisting of hydrophobic PLLA and hydrophilic PEG in the core and shell, respectively. Then, the particles are placed on a flat substrate by the casting method. The particles are detected as discoids by AFM, having shrunk with loss of water. Heat‐treatment of these particles at 60°C (above T_g of PLLA) gives rise to a collapse into small fragments, which then aggregate into bands with nano‐size width and thickness. The PLLA‐PEG bands align parallel to each other, while the PLLA‐PEG‐PLLA bands form a characteristic network resembling the neuron system created in animal tissue. As analyzed by TEM diffraction, each is composed of α‐crystal of PLLA whose c‐axis (molecular axis) is perpendicular to the substrate surface. Based on this fact, a doubly twisted chain structure of PLLA is proposed in addition to a plausible mechanism for the self‐organization of the block copolymers. Derivatives of the PLLA‐PEG block copolymers can form far more interesting nano‐architectures. An equimolar mixture of enantiomeric copolymers, PLLA‐PEG‐PLLA and PDLA‐PEG‐PDLA, forms a hydrogel that is thermo‐responsive. The terminal‐modified poly(L ‐lactide)‐block‐polyoxyethylene monocinnamate (PLLA‐PEG‐C) forms a highly stabilized nanofiber by the photo‐reaction of the cinnamates placed in the outer layer of the nanobands.     

The reaction of stable phosphorus ylides with elemental sulfur. Formation of olefins; cis-trans selectivity

Metal and temperature effects on thio-Wittig reactions have been studied. Stabilized phosphorus ylides, such as carbomethoxymethylenetriphenylphosphorane, reacted with sulfur to afford dimethyl maleate and dimethyl fumarate in a 1:4 ratio. As in the case of conventional Wittig reactions with semistabilized ylides, it has been shown that the stereochemistry (E:Z ratio) of alkene formation is determined at the point that a new carbon–carbon bond has been formed to give a thiaphosphetane intermediate. The temperature dependence of this reaction is also discussed.