Steric control of the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer in 3-hydroxyquinolones: steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence study

3-Hydroxyquinolones (3HQs), similarly to their 3-hydroxychromone analogs, undergo excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) resulting in dual emission. In the ground state, 2-phenyl-3HQ derivatives are not flat due to a steric hindrance between the 2-phenyl group and the 3-OH group that participates in the ESIPT reaction. To study the effect of this steric hindrance on the ESIPT reaction, a number of 3HQ derivatives have been synthesized and characterized in different organic solvents by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques. According to our results, 2-phenyl-3HQ derivatives undergo much faster ESIPT (by nearly 1 order of magnitude) than their 2-methyl-3HQ analogs. Moreover, 1-methyl-2-phenyl-3HQ having a strongly twisted 2-phenyl group undergoes a two- to three-fold slower ESIPT compared to 2-phenyl-3HQ. These results suggest that the flatter conformation of 2-phenyl-3HQ, which allows a close proximity of the 2-phenyl and 3-OH groups, favors a fast ESIPT reaction. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of the 3HQ derivatives additionally confirm that the steric rather than the electronic effect of the 2-phenyl group is responsible for the faster ESIPT reaction. Based on the spectroscopic studies and quantum chemical calculations, we suggest that the 2-phenyl group decreases the rotational freedom of its proximal 3-OH group in the more planar conformation of 2-phenyl-3HQ. As a result, the conformations of 3HQ, where the 3-OH group orients to form an intramolecular H-bond with the 4-carbonyl group, are favored over those with a disrupted intramolecular H-bond. Therefore, the 2-phenyl group sterically favors the intramolecular H-bond and thus accelerates the ESIPT reaction. This conclusion provides a new understanding of the ESIPT process in 3-hydroxyquinolones and related systems and suggests new possibilities for the design of ESIPT based molecular sensors and switchers.     

Characterization of solutions of a class of ultraparabolic equations of the Kolmogorov type

For a class of ultraparabolic equations of the Kolmogorov type, we prove the theorems on the correct solvability and the integral representation of solutions of the Cauchy problem, whose initial data belong to special weight spaces of functions and generalized Borel measures. On the basis of these theorems, we obtained the full characterization of appropriate classes of solutions of the equations under consideration.     

Thermal properties of rare earth dodecaborides

We have measured heat capacity and thermal expansion of rare earth dodecaborides REB₁₂ (RE=Y, Tb-Tm, Lu). YB₁₂ and LuB₁₂ are diamagnetics whereas the other dodecaborides are ordered antiferromagnetically. The amplitude of the heat capacity discontinuity at the Néel temperature and the shape of the heat capacity variation in the critical region for all these antiferromagnetics are characteristics for amplitude-modulated magnetic structures. In the ordered state TbB₁₂ reveals two first-order phase transitions, most likely due to magnetic structure changes. The heat capacity of ErB₁₂ just below the Néel point shows an anomaly of unclear origin. From the Schottky contribution to the heat capacity we have determined crystal field parameters. They are completely different than that is estimated from Point Charge Model.     

Multifrequency electron paramagnetic resonance characterization of PpoA, a CYP450 fusion protein that catalyzes fatty acid dioxygenation

PpoA is a fungal dioxygenase that produces hydroxylated fatty acids involved in the regulation of the life cycle and secondary metabolism of Aspergillus nidulans . It was recently proposed that this novel enzyme employs two different heme domains to catalyze two separate reactions: within a heme peroxidase domain, linoleic acid is oxidized to (8R)-hydroperoxyoctadecadienoic acid [(8R)-HPODE]; in the second reaction step (8R)-HPODE is isomerized within a P450 heme thiolate domain to 5,8-dihydroxyoctadecadienoic acid. In the present study, pulsed EPR methods were applied to find spectroscopic evidence for the reaction mechanism, thought to involve paramagnetic intermediates. We observe EPR resonances of two distinct heme centers with g-values typical for Fe(III) S = (5)/(2) high-spin (HS) and Fe(III) S = (1)/(2) low-spin (LS) hemes. (14)N ENDOR spectroscopy on the S = (5)/(2) signal reveals resonances consistent with an axial histidine ligation. Reaction of PpoA with the substrate leads to the formation of an amino acid radical on the early millisecond time scale concomitant to a substantial reduction of the S = (5)/(2) heme signal. High-frequency EPR (95- and 180-GHz) unambiguously identifies the new radical as a tyrosyl, based on g-values and hyperfine couplings from spectral simulations. The radical displays enhanced T(1)-spin-lattice relaxation due to the proximity of the heme centers. Further, EPR distance measurements revealed that the radical is distributed among the monomeric subunits of the tetrameric enzyme at a distance of approximately 5 nm. The identification of three active paramagnetic centers involved in the reaction of PpoA supports the previously proposed reaction mechanism based on radical chemistry.     

Reactions of ((i)PrO)3M≡M(O(i)Pr)3 (M = Mo, W) with low-coordinate phosphorus compounds. Formation of the first four-membered planar metallacycles, containing an M≡M triple bond

The low-coordinate phosphorus compounds (Me(3)Si)(2)N-P=NSiMe(3), (Me(3)Si)(2)N-P(=S)=N(t)Bu and (Me(3)Si)(2)N-P(=NSiMe(3))(2) react with ((i)PrO)(3)M≡M(O(i)Pr)(3) (M = Mo, W) to form four- and five-membered metallacycles with intact endocyclic or exocyclic M≡M triple bonds. The first four-membered planar metallacycles, containing an M≡M triple bond were obtained in reaction with (Me(3)Si)(2)N-P=NSiMe(3).     

Crotonic,cynnamic, and propiolic acids motifs in the synthesis of thiopyrano[2,3-d][1,3]thiazoles via hetero-Diels–Alder reaction and related tandem processes

Various novel thiopyrano[2,3-d][1,3]thiazol-2-one-6-carboxylic acids derivatives were synthesized in 54–86% yields via hetero-Diels–Alder reactions and related acylation-based tandem processes of 5-arylidene-4-thioxo-2-thiazolidinones with crotonic, propiolic, and cynnamic acids derivatives. Stereo- and regioselectivity of cycloaddition were investigated.     

Solution 1H NMR characterization of the axial bonding of the two His in oxidized human cytoglobin

Solution 1H NMR spectroscopy has been used to determine the relative strengths (covalency) of the two axial His-Fe bonds in paramagnetic, S = 1/2, human met-cytoglobin. The sequence specific assignments of crucial portions of the proximal and distal helices, together with the magnitude of hyperfine shifts and paramagnetic relaxation, establish that His81 and His113, at the canonical positions E7 and F8 in the myoglobin fold, respectively, are ligated to the iron. The characterized complex (approximately 90%) in solution has protohemin oriented as in crystals, with the remaining approximately 10% exhibiting the hemin orientation rotated 180 degrees about the alpha-, gamma-meso axis. No evidence could be obtained for any five-coordinate complex (<1%) in equilibrium with the six-coordinate complexes. Extensive sequence-specific assignments on other dipolar shifted helical fragments and loops, together with available alternate crystal coordinates for the complex, allowed the robust determination of the orientation and anisotropies of the paramagnetic susceptibility tensor. The tilt of the major axis is controlled by the His-Fe-His vector, and the rhombic axes are controlled by the mean of the imidazole orientations for the two His. The anisotropy of the paramagnetic susceptibility tensor allowed the quantitative factoring of the hyperfine shifts for the two axial His to reveal an indistinguishable pattern and magnitudes of the contact shifts or pi spin densities, and hence, indistinguishable Fe-imidazole covalency for both Fe-His bonds.     

Isomorphism criterion for monomial graphs

Let q be a prime power, ??_q be the field of q elements, and k, m be positive integers. A bipartite graph G = G_q(k, m) is defined as follows. The vertex set of G is a union of two copies P and L of two‐dimensional vector spaces over ??_q, with two vertices (p₁, p₂) ∈ P and [ l₁, l₂] ∈ L being adjacent if and only if p₂ + l₂ = pl. We prove that graphs G_q(k, m) and G_q′(k′, m′) are isomorphic if and only if q = q′ and {gcd (k, q ? 1), gcd (m, q ? 1)} = {gcd (k′, q ? 1),gcd (m′, q ? 1)} as multisets. The proof is based on counting the number of complete bipartite INFgraphs in the graphs. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 48: 322–328, 2005     

Barker–Larman Problem for Convex Polygons in the Hyperbolic Plane

We solve an analogue of the Barker–Larman problem for convex polygons in the hyperbolic plane.     

Aqua(phthalocyaninato‐κ4N)magnesium(II) 3‐chloropyridine disolvate

The structure of the title compound, [Mg(C₃₂H₁₆N₈)(H₂O)]·2C₅H₄ClN, comprises MgPcH₂O [Pc is phthalocyaninate(2−)] and 3‐chloropyridine solvent molecules interacting via O—H...N hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions. The central Mg atom is (4+1)‐coordinated by four equatorial isoindole N atoms of the macrocycle and by the O atom of an axial water molecule. The MgPcH₂O molecule is not planar, the Mg atom being displaced by 0.496 (2) Å from the isoindole N₄ plane towards the water O atom. MgPcH₂O molecules related by a twofold screw axis interact via O—H...N_azamethine hydrogen bonds, forming a polymeric chain along the b axis, while those related by inversion centres form π–π interacting dimers.