Solvothermal Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Properties of the First Zinc Containing Thioantimonate(III) [Zn( tren)] 2Sb 4S 8·0.75 H 2O

Yellow crystals of the title compound were obtained under solvothermal conditions reacting elemental Zn, Sb, and S in a solution of tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (=tren) and water. The compound crystallises in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c with a=13.0247(7), b=22.308(2), c=12.1776(6) Å, and =105.352(6)°. In the structure of [Zn(tren)]₂Sb₄S₈·0.75 H₂O two [Zn(tren)]²⁺ cations are bound to the [Sb₄S₈]^4– anion via S atoms. The Zn²⁺ ions are in a trigonal bipyramidal environment of four N atoms of the tetradentate tren ligand and one S atom of the [Sb₄S₈]^4– anion. The anion is formed by SbS₃ and SbS₄ units which share common corners and edges. The interconnection mode yields three different non-planar Sb₂S₂ heterorings. The shortest intermolecular Sb–S distance amounts to about 3.7Å, and taking this long separation into account undulated chains running along [001] are formed with the water molecules residing in the pocket-like cavities. Upon heating the compound decomposes in one step starting at about 240°C. The final decomposition product was identified as ZnS and Sb₂S₃ by X-ray powder diffractometry. Additionally, spectroscopic data as well as synthetic procedures for [Zn(tren)]₂Sb₄S₈·0.75 H₂O are reported.     

Determination of the thiol redox state of organisms: new oxidative stress indicators

This study describes a new methodology by which the concentrations of non-protein (NP) thiols glutathione (GSH), cysteine (CSH), N-acetylcysteine (AcCSH), and protein (P) thiols (PSH), as well as the contribution of these components to symmetric and mixed disulfides (NPSSR, NPSSC, NPSSCAc, PSSR, PSSC, PSSCAc, PSSP) can reliably be measured. The methodology consists of a strict sequence of methods which are applied to every sample. Free thiols at any given state of the procedure are measured by Ellmans assay, the CSH fraction is measured by its unique response in the ninhydrin assay, AcCSH is selectively measured with ninhydrin after enzymatic deacylation, proteins are separated from non-protein thiols/disulfides by precipitation with trichloroacetic or perchloric acid, disulfides are reduced into free thiols with borohydride, mixed disulfides between a protein and a non-protein component are measured by extracting the non-protein thiol from the protein pellet after borohydride treatment, and protein thiols/disulfides are measured after resolubilization of the protein pellet.When this method was applied to animal and fungal tissue, new molecular indicators of the thiol redox state of living cells were identified. The findings of the present study clearly show that the new parameters are very sensitive indicators of redox state, while at the same time the traditional parameters GSH and GSSG often remain constant even upon dramatic changes in the overall redox state of biological tissue. Therefore, unbiased assessment of the redox state also requires explicit measurement of its most sensitive thiol indicators.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

Oxygenolysis of flavonoid compounds: DFT description of the mechanism for quercetin.

Flavonoids are naturally occurring phenol derivatives present in substantial amounts in a large variety of plants, fruits and vegetables daily eaten by humans. Most of these compounds exhibit several interesting biological activities, such as antiradical and antioxidant actions. Indeed, by complexation with specific enzymes, flavonoids are notably liable to metabolize molecular dioxygen. On the basis of experimental results describing oxygenolysis of the flavonoid quercetin, activated by the enzyme quercetin 2,3-dioxygenase (2,3-QD),ur attention has focused on the role of metal center in the activation of the substrate quercetin. Thus, in the present study, by means of DFT calculations at the B3LYP/ 6-31(+)G* level on model molecular systems, we describe different mechanisms for dioxygen metabolization by quercetin. Stationary points are described, and energetic and structural analyses along the reaction paths are reported. Our calculations show that the copper cation must act as an oxidant towards the substrate and that the reaction proceeds through a 1,3-cycloaddition.     

Free energy perturbation approach to the critical assessment of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors

The discovery of selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors represents a major achievement of the efforts over the past few decades to develop therapeutic treatments for inflammation. To gain insights into designing new COX-2-selective inhibitors, we address the energetic and structural basis for the selective inhibition of COX isozymes by means of a combined computational protocol involving docking experiment, force field design for the heme prothetic group, and free energy perturbation (FEP) simulation. We consider both COX-2- and COX-1-selective inhibitors taking the V523I mutant of COX-2 to be a relevant structural model for COX-1 as confirmed by a variety of experimental and theoretical evidences. For all COX-2-selective inhibitors under consideration, we find that free energies of binding become less favorable as the receptor changes from COX-2 to COX-1, due to the weakening and/or loss of hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interactions that stabilize the inhibitors in the COX-2 active site. On the other hand, COX-1-selective oxicam inhibitors gain extra stabilization energy with the change of residue 523 from valine to isoleucine because of the formations of new hydrogen bonds in the enzyme-inhibitor complexes. The utility of the combined computational approach, as a valuable tool for in silico screening of COX-2-selective inhibitors, is further exemplified by identifying the physicochemical origins of the enantiospecific selective inhibition of COX-2 by -substituted indomethacin ethanolamide inhibitors.     

New Ba5M5−xPtxClO13 (M=Fe, Co) oxychlorides with layered perovskite-related structure

Crystals of Ba₅Fe_5−xPt_xClO₁₃ and Ba₅Co_5−yPt_yClO₁₃ were prepared for x=1.31, 1.51, 1.57, 1.59 and y=0, 0.97 and 1.08 in a BaCl₂ flux and investigated by X-ray diffraction methods. These compounds adopt a 10H perovskite structure built from the stacking of BaO₃ and BaOCl layers in the sequence (BaO₃)₄(BaOCl) with space group P6₃/mmc. The cation sites within the trimeric unit of face-sharing octahedra are occupied by Co or Fe and Pt ions, while the tetrahedral sites formed between BaO₃ and BaOCl layers are only occupied by Fe or Co. Moreover, oxygen stoichiometry indicates an average oxidation state for Co and Fe higher than +III, indicating the stabilization of Co⁴⁺ and Fe⁴⁺.     

Isothermal titration calorimetric studies of surfactant interactions with negatively charged, ‘hairy’ latex nanoparticles

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) measurements of the mixture of the cationic surfactant cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) with negatively charged, hairy copolymer latices (poly-(2,3-epoxypropylmethacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) in different ratio) at high water excess indicate a monomer adsorption mechanism of CTAB by the polymer particles. The number of adsorbed CTAB molecules at saturation corresponds approximately to the number of negative elementary charges bound at the surface of the latices. The mixing enthalpy is the sum of demicellization and sorption enthalpies. At 25 °C for CTAB the demicellization enthalpy amounts to 10 kJ/mol, whereas the adsorption enthalpy varies from –7 kJ/mol (surface charge density of the latices =–0.37 C/m²) to +3 kJ/mol (=–0.085 C/m²). The hydrodynamic radius R_H of the latex particles upon titration of cationic detergent and salt (NaBr) decreases by about 2 nm until the onset of aggregation near the isoelectric point. Titration of nonionic or anionic detergents has much less influence on the hydrodynamic radius and produces no measurable adsorption heat. The results are consistent within a model of latex particles with extended negatively charged polymer chains interacting predominantly via Coulombic forces with detergents.     

The Influence of Cobalt (II) in Carboxymethyl Cellulose Processing

Controlling the reduction in molecular weight of the cellulose chains is essential in the production of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Such a reduction can be achieved by the addition of cobalt during the process of cobalt(II) ions, which act as a catalyst for oxidative cleavage, and the influence thereof has been studied under a variety of conditions. This study has resulted in a model that summarises the effects of the added amount of cobalt, the time for the cobalt reaction, the temperature in the mercerisation stage of the CMC-manufacturing process and finally the effect of the temperature in the etherification stage. It is shown that it is important for cobalt to be present during the mercerisation stage in order to achieve the desired viscosity.