Controlling the nature of mixed (phthalocyaninato)(porphyrinato) rare-earth(III) double-decker complexes: the effects of nonperipheral alkoxy substitution of the phthalocyanine ligand

The half-sandwich rare-earth complexes [M(III)(acac)(TClPP)] (M = Sm, Eu, Y; TClPP = meso-tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)porphyrinate; acac = acetylacetonate), generated in situ from [M(acac)3] x n H2O and H2(TClPP), were treated with 1,8,15,22-tetrakis(3-pentyloxy)phthalocyanine [H2{Pc(alpha-OC5H11)4}] (Pc = phthalocyaninate) under reflux in n-octanol to yield both the neutral nonprotonated and protonated (phthalocyaninato)(porphyrinato) rare-earth double-decker complexes, [M(III){Pc(alpha-OC5H11)4}(TClPP)] (1-3) and [M(III)H{Pc(alpha-OC5H11)4}(TClPP)] (4-6), respectively. In contrast, reaction of [Y(III)(acac)(TClPP)] with 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octakis(1-butyloxy)phthalocyanine [H2Pc(alpha-OC4H9)8] gave only the protonated double-decker complex [Y(III)H{Pc(alpha-OC4H9)8}(TClPP)] (7). These observations clearly show the importance of the number and positions of substituents on the phthalocyanine ligand in controlling the nature of the (phthalocyaninato)(porphyrinato) rare-earth double-deckers obtained. In particular, alpha-alkoxylation of the phthalocyanine ligand is found to stabilize the protonated form, a fact supported by molecular-orbital calculations. A combination of mass spectrometry, NMR, UV-visible, near-IR, MCD, and IR spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analyses, facilitated the differentiation of the newly prepared neutral nonprotonated and protonated double-decker complexes. The crystal structure of the protonated form has been determined for the first time.     

Low-temperature heat capacity of triangle antiferromagnetic molecular clusters K12[(VO)3(SbW9O33)2]·15H2O and K12[(VO)3(BiW9O33)2]·29H2O

Energy level diagrams have been determined for two molecular clusters, K₁₂[(VO)₃(SbW₉O₃₃)₂]·15H₂O and K₁₂[(VO)₃(BiW₉O₃₃)₂]·29H₂O, by low-temperature heat capacity measurements down to 85 mK under magnetic field strengths up to 9 T. Both compounds exhibit a broad heat capacity peak dependent upon the magnetic field, which can be explained by the thermal excitation in the magnetic energy levels. A detailed analysis based on the numerical calculation reveals that the spin-spin interaction between the V⁴⁺ ions includes a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.     

Application of the Perimeter Model to the Assignment of the Electronic Absorption Spectra of Gold(III) Hexaphyrins with [4n+2] and [4n] π‐Electron Systems

Expanded porphyrins : The electronic excited states of two forms of meso‐hexakis(pentafluorophenyl)‐substituted gold(III) hexaphyrin(1.1.1.1.1.1), such as that depicted, have been investigated by density functional calculations and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy to assign their low‐energy excited singlet states.

     

Thermodynamic Control of Domain Swapping by Modulating the Helical Propensity in the Hinge Region of Myoglobin

Domain swapping is an exception to Anfinsen's dogma, and more than one structure can be produced from the same amino acid sequence by domain swapping. We have previously shown that myoglobin (Mb) can form a domain‐swapped dimer in which the hinge region is converted to a helical structure. In this study, we showed that domain‐swapped dimerization of Mb was achieved by a single Ala mutation of Gly at position 80. Multiple Ala mutations at positions 81 and 82 in addition to position 80 facilitated dimerization of Mb by stabilization of the dimeric states. Domain swapping tendencies correlated well with the helical propensity of the mutated residue in a series of Mb mutants with amino acids introduced to the hinge region. These findings demonstrate that a single mutation in the hinge loop to modify helical propensity can control oligomer formation, providing new ideas to create high‐order protein oligomers using domain swapping.     

Synthesis and electronic structures of D2h-symmetry tetrabenzoporphyrins

A novel low-symmetry tetrabenzoporphine with D_2h symmetry (1) and its zinc complex (2) were prepared via mixed condensation reaction of 5,6-dimethyl phthalimide and 4,5,6,7-tetraphenyl phthalimide with sodium acetate in the presence of zinc acetate. The zinc complex 2 exhibited a split Q band at 640 and 623 nm and a single Soret band at 435 nm. The absorption spectra of 1 and 2 were calculated and analyzed using Hartree-Fock theory based on INDO/S Hamiltonian.     

Distribution and behavior of long-lived radioiodine in soil

The concentration of¹²⁹I in soil in Japan was determined by neutron activation analysis. For the activation analysis, pre-irradiation chemical separation of the iodine was carried out by acid decomposition and distillation and post-irradiation treatment was performed by ion exchange and solvent extraction. The concentration of stable iodine and¹³⁷Cs were also determined and compared with the behavior of¹²⁹I in soil.Soil samples from Ibaraki, Fukui, Fukushima, and Nagasaki Prefectures were analyzed and¹²⁹I was detected in amounts ranging from 10^–7 to 10^–5 Bq/g soil in uncultivated surface soil. There are apparently small variations in the¹²⁹I concentrations in each of the regions analyzed.From depth profile studies in sandy soil, the iodide form of¹²⁹I was found to migrate downward at a relatively rapid rate while other species remain longer in the surface soil.     

Formation and stabilization model of the 42-mer Abeta radical: implications for the long-lasting oxidative stress in Alzheimer's disease

Amyloid fibrils mainly consist of 40-mer and 42-mer peptides (Abeta40, Abeta42). Abeta42 is believed to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease because its aggregative ability and neurotoxicity are considerably greater than those of Abeta40. The neurotoxicity of Abeta peptides involving the generation of free radicals is closely related to the S-oxidized radical cation of Met-35. However, the cation's origin and mechanism of stabilization remain unclear. Recently, structural models of fibrillar Abeta42 and Abeta40 based on systematic proline replacement have been proposed by our group [Morimoto, A.; et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2004, 279, 52781] and Wetzel's group [Williams, A. D.; et al. J. Mol. Biol. 2004, 335, 833], respectively. A major difference between these models is that our model of Abeta42 has a C-terminal beta-sheet region. Our biophysical study on Abeta42 using electron spin resonance (ESR) suggests that the S-oxidized radical cation of Met-35 could be generated by the reduction of the tyrosyl radical at Tyr-10 through a turn structure at positions 22 and 23, and stabilized by a C-terminal carboxylate anion through an intramolecular beta-sheet at positions 35-37 and 40-42 to form a C-terminal core that would lead to aggregation. A time-course analysis of the generation of radicals using ESR suggests that stabilization of the radicals by aggregation might be a main reason for the long-lasting oxidative stress of Abeta42. In contrast, the S-oxidized radical cation of Abeta40 is too short-lived to induce potent neurotoxicity because no such stabilization of radicals occurs in Abeta40.     

Facile radical trifluoromethylation of lithium enolates

[reaction: see text] Highly basic lithium enolates are shown to be applicable to radical trifluoromethylation. The reaction is extremely fast, and the minimum reaction time is approximately 1 s.