Artificial lantipeptides from in vitro translations

We have devised a protocol for enzyme-free insertion of dehydroalanine, dehydrobutyrine and thioether crosslinks into translated peptides. In vitro translation using 4-selenalysine and 4-selenoisoleucine as substitutes for lysine and isoleucine yields peptides that can be converted to polycyclic structures using mild chemistry in water. This methodology presents a gateway for exploring the potential of artificial lantipeptides as scaffolds for drug development.     

A phosphoarginine containing peptide as an artificial SH2 ligand

We have developed a synthesis of phosphoarginine containing peptides using a bis(2,2,2-trichloroethyl) protected phosphoarginine derivative as building block. Binding studies and computer modelling demonstrate the ability of the SH2 domain from Src kinase to recognize a phosphoarginine-containing peptide in a phosphoryl group-dependent manner.     

Improvement of (bipy)Pt(XR)2 (X=O, S) type photosensitizers by covalent dye attachment

Irradiation into the dye-based absorption band of complexes ((t)Bu(2)bipy)Pt(SR)(2) and ((t)Bu(2)bipy)Pt(OR)(2) where R denotes a coumarine-based thiolate and alkoxolate substituent populates the same excited triplet state as is obtained by excitation into the much weaker (RX)(2)Pt→(t)Bu(2)bipy (X = O, S) charge-transfer band. This paves the way toward more efficient photosensitizers.     

Optical and vibrational properties of toroidal carbon nanotubes

Toroidal carbon nanotubes (TCNTs), which have been evaluated for their potential applications in terahertz communication systems, provide a challenge of some magnitude from a purely scientific perspective. A design approach to TCNTs, as well as a classification scheme, is presented based on the definition of the six hollow sections that comprise the TCNT, slicing each of them to produce a (possibly creased) planar entity, and projecting that entity onto a graphene lattice. As a consequence of this folding approach, it is necessary to introduce five- and seven-membered rings as defect sites to allow the fusing together of the six segments into final symmetric TCNTs. This analysis permits the definition of a number of TCNT geometry families containing from 108 carbons up to much larger entities. Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the energies of these structural candidates have been investigated and compared with [60]fullerene. The structures with the larger tube diameters are computed to be more stable than C(60) , whereas the smaller diameter ones are less stable, but may still be within synthetic reach. Computational studies reveal that, on account of the stiffness of the structures, the vibrational frequencies of characteristic low-frequency modes decrease more slowly with increasing ring diameter than do the lowest optical excitation energies. It was found that this particular trend is true for the "breathing mode" vibrations when the diameter of the tubes is small, but not for more flexible toroidal nanotubes with larger diameters.     

Ruthenium-catalysed synthesis of fluorinated bicyclic amino esters through tandem carbene addition/cyclopropanation of enynes

The reaction of fluorinated 1,6- and 1,7-enynes, containing the moiety N(PG)C(CF(3))(CO(2)R), with diazo compounds in the presence of [RuCl(cod)(Cp*)] (cod=cycloocta-1,5-diene, Cp*=C(5)Me(5) , PG=protecting group) as the catalyst precursor leads to the formation of fluorinated 3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2-carboxylates and 4-azabicyclo-[4.1.0]heptane-3-carboxylates. This catalytic transformation was applied to various protecting groups and has proved to be a selective and a general synthetic tool to form constrained proline or homoproline derivatives in good yields. Z stereoselectivity of the created alkenyl group is obtained with N(2)CHSiMe(3), whereas N(2)CHCO(2)Et favours selectively the E configuration for the same double bond. The diastereoselectivity exo/endo depends on the size of the created ring. The X-ray structures of two products have been determined, showing the stereochemistry of the compounds. The reaction can be understood by initial [2+2] addition of the Ru=CHY bond, generated from diazoalkane, with the C≡CH bond of the enyne leading to a key bicyclic ruthenacyclobutane, which promotes the cyclopropanation, rather than metathesis. This selective formation of bicyclic [n.1.0] compounds results from the ruthenium-catalysed creation of three carbon-carbon bonds in a single step under mild conditions.     

Structure and phase behavior of archaeal lipid monolayers

We report X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) measurements of archaeal bipolar tetraether lipid monolayers at the air-water interface. Specifically, Langmuir films made of the polar lipid fraction E (PLFE) isolated from the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius grown at three different temperatures, i.e., 68, 76, and 81 °C, were examined. The dependence of the structure and packing properties of PLFE monolayers on surface pressure were analyzed in a temperature range between 10 and 50 °C at different pH values. Additionally, the interaction of PLFE monolayers (using lipids derived from cells grown at 76 °C) with the ion channel peptide gramicidin was investigated as a function of surface pressure. A total monolayer thickness of approximately 30 ? was found for all monolayers, hinting at a U-shaped conformation of the molecules with both head groups in contact with the interface. The monolayer thickness increased with rising film pressure and decreased with increasing temperature. At 10 and 20 °C, large, highly crystalline domains were observed by GIXD, whereas at higher temperatures no distinct crystallinity could be observed. For lipids derived from cells grown at higher temperatures, a slightly more rigid structure in the lipid dibiphytanyl chains was observed. A change in the pH of the subphase had an influence only on the structure of the lipid head groups. The addition of gramicidin to an PLFE monolayer led to a more disordered state as observed by XRR. In GIXD measurements, no major changes in lateral organization could be observed, except for a decrease of the size of crystalline domains, indicating that gramicidin resides mainly in the disordered areas of the monolayer and causes local membrane perturbation, only.     

Detection of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) as a model system for nitroaromatic compounds via molecularly imprinted short-alkyl-chain SAMs

A 2-D molecularly imprinted monolayer (2-D MIM) approach was used to prepare a simple and robust sensor for nitroaromatic compounds with 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) as the model compound, which is a precursor and analog for explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). In contrast to studies utilizing long-chain hexadecylmercaptan self-assembled monolayers (SAM)s for sensing, a shorter-chain alkylthiol (i.e., butanethiol SAM) was utilized for DNT detection. The role of the chain length of the coadsorbed alkylthiol was emphasized with a matched template during solution adsorption. Semiempirical PM3 quantum calculations were used to determine the molecular conformation and complexation of the adsorbates. A switching mechanism was invoked on the basis of the ability of the template analyte to alter the packing arrangement of the alkylthiol SAMs near defect sites as influenced by the DNT-ethanol solvent complex. A 2-D MIM was formed on the Au surface electrode of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), which was then used to sense various concentrations of the analyte. Interestingly, the 2-D MIM QCM also enabled the selective detection of DNT even in a mixed solution of competing molecules, demonstrating the selectivity figure of merit. Likewise, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data at different concentrations of DNT confirmed the 2-D MIM effectiveness for sensing based on the interfacial conformation and electron-transport properties of the imprinted butanethiol SAM.     

Defects in oxygen-depleted titanate nanostructures

The identification of defects and their controlled generation in titanate nanostructures is a key to their successful application in photoelectronic devices. We comprehensively explored the effect of vacuum annealing on morphology and composition of Na(2)Ti(3)O(7) nanowires and protonated H(2)Ti(3)O(7) nanoscrolls using a combination of scanning electron microscopy, Auger and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, as well as ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The observation that H(2)Ti(3)O(7) nanoscrolls are more susceptible to electronic reduction and annealing-induced n-type doping than Na(2)Ti(3)O(7) nanowires is attributed to the position of the conduction band minimum. It is close to the vacuum level and, thus, favors the Fermi level-induced compensation of donor states by cation vacancies. In agreement with theoretical predictions that suggest similar formation energies for oxygen and sodium vacancies, we experimentally observed the annealing induced depletion of sodium from the surface of the nanowires.