Physical preseparation for chemistry experiments

The availability of physically preseparated isotopes for chemistry experiment opens up completely new possibilities, especially for chemical investigations of transactinide elements. Many restrictions present in conventional methods that were used very successfully in the past can be overcome by using preseparated isotopes. An overview of experiments that were performed with preseparated isotopes is given. Studies of β-diketonates of group 4 elements are described in some more detail and used as an example to demonstrate the power of the method. Production of preseparated long-lived transactinide isotopes is outlined and, lastly, the new preseparator TASCA which is currently being installed at GSI, Darmstadt, is briefly described.     

Discreteness in time

In this paper we discuss the joint propagation of a periodically modulated field and a pulse of different frequency in an optical fiber. The pulse experiences the action of an index lattice induced via cross-phase modulation by the periodic field. We predict effects of discreteness to show up both in the temporal and in the spatial domain. For large walk-off between the two fields one should observe Bloch oscillations in frequency space, where discrete diffraction is expected to occur for equal velocities of both waves. Presented at 9-th International Workshop on Nonlinear Optics Applications, NOA 2007, May 17–20, 2007, Świnoujscie, Poland     

First Isolation and Structure Elucidation of GDNT-β-Glu – Tetraether Lipid Fragment from Archaeal Sulfolobus Strains

Due to their special chemical structure, tetraether lipids (TEL) represent essential elements of archaeal membranes, providing these organisms with extraordinary properties. Here we describe the characterization of a newly isolated structural element of the main lipids. The TEL fragment GDNT-β-Glu was isolated from Sulfolobus metallicus and characterized in terms of its chemical structure by NMR- and MS-investigations. The obtained data are dissimilar to analogically derived established structures – in essence, the binding relationships in the polar head group are re-determined and verified. With this work, we provide an important contribution to the structure elucidation of intact TEL also contained in other Sulfolobus strains such as Solfulobus acidocaldarius and Sulfolobus solfataricus.     

An Oxygen Sensation: Progress in Macromolecule Hydroxylation Triggered by the Elucidation of Cellular Oxygen Sensing

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine honours three scientists that devoted their careers to pursuing an audacious basic science question: by what mechanisms do animals sense oxygen, and how can cells adapt to a lack of oxygen? The identification of the human hypoxia inducible factor pathway has enabled new approaches for the therapy of related diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, anaemia, and stroke. The intricate molecular details of oxygen sensing broadened interest in the family of iron‐ and 2‐oxoglutarate‐dependent oxygenases known from elaborate natural product chemistry, and catalysed major progress in macromolecule hydroxylation. The laureates’ work enables numerous avenues for molecular scientists, from C?H activation chemistry to PROTAC technology, medicinal chemistry, and epigenetics.     

Cyanohydridoborate Anions: Synthesis,Salts, and Low-Viscosity Ionic Liquids

High-yield syntheses up to molar scales for salts of [BH(CN)₃]⁻ ( 2 ) and [BH₂(CN)₂]⁻ ( 3 ) starting from commercially available Na[BH₄] (Na 5 ), Na[BH₃(CN)] (Na 4 ), BCl₃, (CH₃)₃SiCN, and KCN were developed. Direct conversion of Na 5 into K 2 was accomplished with (CH₃)₃SiCN and (CH₃)₃SiCl as a catalyst in an autoclave. Alternatively, Na 5 is converted into Na[BH{OC(O)R}₃] (R=alkyl) that is more reactive towards (CH₃)₃SiCN and thus provides an easy access to salts of 2 . Some reaction intermediates were identified, for example, Na[BH(CN){OC(O)Et}₂] (Na 7 b ) and Na[BH(CN)₂{OC(O)Et}] (Na 8 b ). A third entry to 2 and 3 uses ether adducts of BHCl₂ or BH₂Cl such as the commercial 1,4-dioxane adducts that react with KCN and (CH₃)₃SiCN. Alkali metal salts of 2 and 3 are convenient starting materials for organic salts, especially for low viscosity ionic liquids (ILs). [EMIm] 3 has the lowest viscosity and highest conductivity with 10.2 mPa s and 32.6 mS cm⁻¹ at 20 °C known for non-protic ILs. The ILs are thermally, chemically, and electrochemically robust. These properties are crucial for applications in electrochemical devices, for example, dye-sensitized solar cells (Grätzel cells).