Comparison of Methionine α,γ‐Lyase and Homocysteine α,γ‐Lyase for Electrochemical Determination of Homocysteine

Recently, a novel enzymatic method was developed for determination of homocysteine. This method utilizes the electrochemical hydrogen sulfide sensor along with methionine α,γ‐lyase to accomplish the fast, accurate, sensitive and selective measurements. As a continuation of this work, another enzyme, homocysteine α,γ‐lyase, was used and the parallel experiments of using both enzymes were carried out against the effect of pH, sensitivity, linearity, and interferences, in an intended comparison between these two enzymes. The excellent linearity of amperometric currents against homocysteine concentrations, high sensitivities and low detection limits for both enzymes reconfirmed that the electrochemical method is superior over other analytical means. The high enzymatic activity of methionine α,γ‐lyase surpassing homocysteine α,γ‐lyase endowed the former higher sensitivity, lower detection limit and faster response than the latter, suggesting methionine α,γ‐lyase a better candidate for homocysteine measurement by electrochemical method. The differences between these two enzymes on the trends of response time and sensitivity at different pH environments, reactivity toward several forms of homocysteine as well as on the interference from several agents were also addressed and discussed.     

Nuclear electric quadrupole moment of gold

The nuclear quadrupole moment for (197)Au has been determined on the base of the state-of-art relativistic molecular calculations. The experimental shifts in the nuclear coupling constants in the series of molecules AuF, XeAuF, KrAuF, ArAuF, (OC)AuF, and AuH have been combined with highly accurate determinations of the electric field gradient (EFG) at the gold nucleus, obtained by molecular relativistic Dirac-Coulomb-Gaunt Hartree-Fock calculations. The electronic correlation contribution to the EFG is included with the CCSD(T) and CCSD-T approaches, also in the four-component framework, using a finite-difference method. In order to estimate the accuracy of their approach the authors have thoroughly investigated the convergence of the results with respect to the basis set employed and the size of the correlated orbital space. The effect of the full Breit electron-electron interaction on the nuclear quadrupole moment of gold has also been considered explicitly for the AuF molecule. They obtain for (197)Au a nuclear quadrupole moment of 510+/-15 mb, which deviates by about 7% from the currently accepted muonic value.     

Computational strategies for a four-component Dirac-Kohn-Sham program: implementation and first applications

An implementation of the generalized gradient approximation within the four-component formulation of relativistic density-functional theory using G-spinor basis sets is presented. This approach is based on the direct evaluation of the relativistic density and its gradient from the G-spinor amplitudes and gradients without explicit reference to the total density matrix. This proves to be a particularly efficient scheme, with an intrinsic computational cost that scales linearly with the number of G-spinor basis functions. In order to validate this new implementation, incorporated in the parallel version of the program BERTHA, a detailed study of the diatomic system CsAu is also reported. The spectroscopic constants D(e),r(e),omega(e), and x(e)omega(e) and the dipole moment mu have been calculated and compared with the best available theoretical and experimental data. The sensitivity of our results to the details of the numerical schemes used to evaluate the matrix elements is analyzed in detail. Also presented is a comparative study of molecular properties in the alkali auride series which have been obtained using several standard non-relativistic density functionals.     

Synthesis, characterization and Schlenk equilibrium studies of methylmagnesium compounds with O- and N-donor ligands - the unexpected behavior of [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (pmdta = N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine)

MgMe₂ (1) was found to react with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (dabco) in tetrahydrofuran (thf) yielding a binuclear complex [{MgMe₂(thf)}₂(μ-dabco)] (2). Furthermore, from reactions of MgMeBr with diglyme (diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), NEt₃, and tmeda (N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine) in etheral solvents compounds MgMeBr(L), (L = diglyme (5); NEt₃ (6); tmeda (7)) were obtained as highly air- and moisture-sensitive white powders. From a thf solution of 7 crystals of [MgMeBr(thf)(tmeda)] (8) were obtained. Reactions of MgMeBr with pmdta (N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine) in thf resulted in formation of [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (9) in nearly quantitative yield. On the other hand, the same reaction in diethyl ether gave MgMeBr(pmdta) · MgBr₂(pmdta) (10) and [{MgMe₂(pmdta)}₇{MgMeBr(pmdta)}] (11) in 24% and 2% yield, respectively, as well as [MgMe₂(pmdta)] (12) as colorless needle-like crystals in about 26% yield. The synthesized methylmagnesium compounds were characterized by microanalysis and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The coordination-induced shifts of the ¹H and ¹³C nuclei of the ligands are small; the largest ones were found in the tmeda and pmdta complexes. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses revealed in 2 a tetrahedral environment of the Mg atoms with a bridging dabco ligand and in 8 a trigonal-bipyramidal coordination of the Mg atom. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of [MgMe₂(pmdta)] (12) and [MgBr₂(pmdta)] (13) showed them to be monomeric with five-coordinate Mg atoms. The square-pyramidal coordination polyhedra are built up of three N and two C atoms in 12 and three N and two Br atoms in 13. The apical positions are occupied by methyl and bromo ligands, respectively. Temperature-dependent ¹H NMR spectroscopic measurements (from 27 to −80 °C) of methylmagnesium bromide complexes MgMeBr(L) (L = thf (4); diglyme (5); NEt₃ (6); tmeda (7)) in thf-d₈ solutions indicated that the deeper the temperature the more the Schlenk equilibria are shifted to the dimethylmagnesium/dibromomagnesium species. Furthermore, at −80 °C the dimethylmagnesium compounds are predominant in the solutions of Grignard compounds 4-6 whereas in the case of the tmeda complex7 the equilibrium constant was roughly estimated to be 0.25. In contrast, [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (9) in thf-d₈ revealed no dismutation into [MgMe₂(pmdta)] (12) and [MgBr₂(pmdta)] (13) even up to −100 °C. In accordance with this unexpected behavior, 1:1 mixtures of 12 and 13 were found to react in thf at room temperature yielding quantitatively the corresponding Grignard compound 9. Moreover, the structures of [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (9c), [MgMe₂(pmdta)] (12c), and [MgBr₂(pmdta)] (13c) were calculated on the DFT level of theory. The calculated structures 12c and 13c are in a good agreement with the experimentally observed structures 12 and 13. The equilibrium constant of the Schlenk equilibrium (2 9c ? 12c + 13c) was calculated to be K_gas = 2.0 × 10⁻³ (298 K) in the gas phase. Considering the solvent effects of both thf and diethyl ether using a polarized continuum model (PCM) the corresponding equilibrium constants were calculated to be K_thf = 1.2 × 10⁻³ and K_ether = 3.2 × 10⁻³ (298 K), respectively.     

Synthesis, crystal structure, and nonlinear optical behavior of beta-unsubstituted meso-meso E-vinylene-linked porphyrin dimers

[structure: see text] A vinylene-linked porphyrin dimer, with no substituents at the beta-positions, has been synthesized by CuI/CsF promoted Stille coupling. In the crystal structure of this dimer, the C(2)H(2) bridge is twisted by 45 degrees relative to the plane of the porphyrins. The absorption, emission spectra, and electrochemistry reveal substantial porphyrin-porphyrin pi-conjugation. The triplet excited-state absorption spectrum of this dimer makes it suitable for reverse saturable absorption at 710-900 nm.     

Tertiary contact formation in alpha-synuclein probed by electron transfer

To explore tertiary contact formation in alpha-synuclein, a natively unfolded protein implicated in Parkinson's disease, we have measured the rates of reaction between a powerful electron donor, the tryptophan (W) triplet excited state, and an acceptor, 3-nitro-tyrosine (Y(NO2)) in six different variants, probing loop sizes between 15 and 132 residues. Electron transfer rates decrease with loop size with the fastest contact time of 140 ns for the N-terminal pair and the slowest of 1.2 mus for the N- to C-terminal pair. Diffusion coefficients ranging from approximately 2 x 10-6 to approximately 10-5 cm2 s-1 were extracted from simultaneous fits of the W to Y(NO2) electron (triplet excited state) and energy transfer (singlet excited state) kinetics.     

Isolation and Crystallographic Characterization of Two,Nonisolated Pentagon Endohedral Fullerenes: Ho3N@C2(22010)-C78 and Tb3N@C2(22010)-C78

Purified samples of Ho₃N@C₂(22010)-C₇₈ and Tb₃N@C₂(22010)-C₇₈ have been isolated by two distinct processes from the rich array of fullerenes and endohedral fullerenes present in carbon soot from graphite rods doped with Ho₂O₃ or Tb₄O₇. Crystallographic analysis of the endohedral fullerenes as cocrystals with Ni(OEP) (in which OEP is the dianion of octaethylporphyrin) shows that both molecules contain the chiral C₂(22010)-C₇₈ cage. This cage does not obey the isolated pentagon rule (IPR) but has two sites where two pentagons share a common C−C bond. These pentalene units bind two of the metal ions, whereas the third metal resides near a hexagon of the cage. Inside the cages, the Ho₃N or Tb₃N unit is planar. Ho₃N@C₂(22010)-C₇₈ and Tb₃N@C₂(22010)-C₇₈ use the same cage previously found for Gd₃N@C₂(22010)-C₇₈ rather than the IPR-obeying cage found in Sc₃N@D_3h-C₇₈.     

A supramolecular poly[3]pseudorotaxane by self-assembly of a homoditopic cylindrical bis(crown ether) host and a bisparaquat derivative

A supramolecular poly[3]pseudorotaxane was prepared by self-assembly of a homoditopic cylindrical bis(crown ether) host and a bisparaquat derivative in solution by host-guest complexation.     

Bis(m-phenylene)-32-crown-10-based cryptands, powerful hosts for paraquat derivatives

Four new bis(m-phenylene)-32-crown-10-based cryptands with different third bridges were prepared. Their complexes with paraquat derivatives were studied by proton NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray analysis. It was found that these cryptands bind paraquat derivatives very strongly. Specifically, a diester cryptand with a pyridyl nitrogen atom located at a site occupied by either water or a PF(6) anion in analogous complexes exhibited the highest association constant K(a) = 5.0 x 10(6) M(-1) in acetone with paraquat, 9000 times greater than the crown ether system. X-ray structures of this and analogous complexes demonstrate that improved complexation with this host is a consequence of preorganization, adequate ring size for occupation by the guest, and the proper location of the pyridyl N-atom for binding to the beta-pyridinium hydrogens of the paraquat guests. This readily accessible cryptand is one of the most powerful hosts reported for paraquats.