Altering the emission behavior with the turn of a thiophene ring: the photophysics of condensed ring systems of alternating benzenes and thiophenes

Six aromatic compounds with embedded thiophenes differing in the number of rings (2-5) and thiophene orientation along the long axis of the molecule (syn, anti) were investigated. Photophysical properties, steady-state absorption, fluorescence, phosphorescence, lifetimes, quantum yields, and a comprehensive time-resolved spectroscopic analysis (femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy) have been studied as a function of molecular structure.     

Efficient refolding of a hydrophobic protein with multiple S-S bonds by on-resin immobilized metal affinity chromatography

The efficient refolding of recombinant proteins produced in the form of inclusion bodies (IBs) in Escherichia coli still is a complicated experimental problem especially for large hydrophobic highly disulfide-bonded proteins. The aim of this work was to develop highly efficient and simple refolding procedure for such a protein. The recombinant C-terminal fragment of human alpha-fetoprotein (rAFP-Cterm), which has molecular weight of 26 kDa and possesses 6 S-S bonds, was expressed in the form of IBs in E. coli. The C-terminal 7× His tag was introduced to facilitate protein purification and refolding. The refolding procedure of the immobilized protein by immobilized metal chelating chromatography (IMAC) was developed. Such hydrophobic highly disulfide-bonded proteins tend to irreversibly bind to traditionally used agarose-based matrices upon attempted refolding of the immobilized protein. Indeed, the yield of rAFP-Cterm upon its refolding by IMAC on agarose-based matrix was negligible with bulk of the protein irreversibly stacked to the resin. The key has occurred to be using IMAC based on silica matrix. This increased on-resin refolding yield of the target protein from almost 0 to 60% with purity 98%. Compared to dilution refolding of the same protein, the productivity of the developed procedure was two orders higher. There was no need for further purification or concentration of the renatured protein. The usage of silica-based matrix for the refolding of immobilized proteins by IMAC can improve and facilitate the experimental work for difficult-to-refold proteins.     

Understanding the Anomalous Alkane Selectivity of ZIF-7 in the Separation of Light Alkane/Alkene Mixtures

C2 and C3 alkanes are selectively adsorbed from mixtures over the corresponding alkenes on the zeolite imidazolate framework ZIF-7 through a gate-opening mechanism. As a result, the direct production of the pure alkene upon adsorption and the pure alkane upon desorption in packed columns is possible. Herein, a detailed investigation of the step-wise adsorption and separation of alkanes and alkenes is presented, together with a rigorous performance assessment. A molecular picture of the gate-opening mechanism underlying the unprecedented selectivity towards alkane adsorption is proposed based on DFT calculations and a thermodynamic analysis of the adsorption-desorption isotherms.     

Nanoporous Network Channels from Self‐Assembled Triblock Copolymer Supramolecules

Supramolecular complexes of a poly(tert‐butoxystyrene)‐block‐polystyrene‐block‐poly(4‐vinylpyridine) triblock copolymers and less than stoichiometric amounts of pentadecylphenol (PDP) are shown to self‐assemble into a core–shell gyroid morphology with the core channels formed by the hydrogen‐bonded P4VP(PDP)complexes. After structure formation, PDP was removed using a simple washing procedure, resulting in well‐ordered nanoporous films that were used as templates for nickel plating.

     

Bacteria-based AND logic gate: a decision-making and self-powered biosensor

We developed a bacteria-based AND logic gate using a Pseudomonas aeruginosa lasI/rhlI double mutant with two quorum-sensing signaling molecules as the input signals. We showed a distinct electrical output signal, despite the complexity and continuous regulation of metabolic reactions of living cells.     

An important role of intramolecular free radical reactions in antimalarial activity of artemisinin and its analogs

The kinetic schemes of intramolecular reactions of five analogs of artemisinin were built. The method of intersecting parabolas was used for the calculation of activation energies and rate constants of each elementary step of these schemes. The competition between monomolecular and bimolecular free radicals was taken into account. It was evidenced that the intramolecular oxidation of these compounds proceeds as a cascade of consecutive free radical reactions with the formation of hydroperoxide groups. The latter decompose via reactions with the Fe(II) complexes generating free radicals. Among the radicals formed, the hydroxyl radical was proved to play the key role. A correlation between the yield of hydroxyl radicals n(OH) and antimalarial activity of compounds (IC(50)) was observed. The dependence of index IC(50) on n(OH) is linear in the logarithmic coordinates: ln[IC(50)(Artemisinin)/IC(50)(Compound)] = -14.10 + 3.85 ×n(OH). The proposed scheme explains and demonstrates a strong dependence of the antimalarial effectiveness of a drug on the chemical structure.     

Pd(II) and Pt(II) complexes of 2-(2'-pyridyl)-4,6-diphenylphosphinine: synthesis, structure, and reactivity

The coordination chemistry of the bidentate P,N hybrid ligand 2-(2'-pyridyl)-4,6-diphenylphosphinine (1) towards Pd(II) and Pt(II) has been investigated. The molecular structures of the complexes [PdCl(2)(1)] and [PtCl(2)(1)] were determined by X-ray diffraction, representing the first crystallographically characterized λ(3)-phosphinine-Pd(II) and -Pt(II) complexes. Both complexes reacted with methanol at the P=C double bond at an elevated temperature, leading to the corresponding products [MCl(2)(1H·OCH(3))]. The molecular structure of [PdCl(2)(1H·OCH(3))] was determined crystallographically and revealed that the reaction with methanol proceeds selectively by syn addition and exclusively to one of the P=C double bonds. Strikingly, the reaction of [PdCl(2)(1H·OCH(3))] with the chelating diphosphine DPEphos at room temperature in CH(2)Cl(2) led quantitatively to [PdCl(2)(DPEphos)] and phosphinine 1 by elimination of CH(3)OH and rearomatization of the phosphorus heterocycle.     

Surprising coordination for plutonium in the first plutonium(III) borate

The first plutonium(III) borate, Pu(2)[B(12)O(18)(OH)(4)Br(2)(H(2)O)(3)]·0.5H(2)O, has been prepared by reacting plutonium(III) with molten boric acid under strictly anaerobic conditions. This compound contains a three-dimensional polyborate network with triangular holes that house the plutonium(III) sites. The plutonium sites in this compound are 9- and 10-coordinate and display atypical geometries.     

Finite element investigation of the ground states of the helium trimers 4He3 and 4He2–3He

A three‐dimensional finite element method is applied to the ground states of the symmetric and asymmetric atomic helium trimers ⁴He₃ and ⁴He₂–³He. Three different He–He interaction potentials of hard‐core nature were studied. Two extrapolation procedures based on the convergence properties of the finite element method are investigated. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007     

Role of resonances in building cross sections: Comparison between the Mittag–Leffler and the T‐matrix Green function expansion approaches

Peaks in collision cross sections are often interpreted as resonances. The complex dilation method, as well as other methods relying on analytic continuation of the scattering formalism, can be used to clarify whether these structures are true resonances in the sense that they are poles of the S‐matrix and the associated Green function. The performance of the Mittag–Leffler expansion and T‐matrix Green function expansion methods are formally and computationally compared. The two methods are applied to two model potentials. Eigenenergies, s‐wave residues, and cross sections are computed with both methods. The resonance contributions to the cross sections are further analyzed by removing the residue contributions from the Mittag–Leffler and Green function expansion sums, respectively. It is suggested that the contribution of a resonance to a cross section should be defined through its S‐matrix residue. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007