Structure and properties of a new double-stranded tetranuclear [Cu(II)2]2 helicate

A novel double-stranded tetranuclear helicate composed of a pair of [Cu(II)(2)] dimers has been prepared and characterized by exploiting the flexibility, chelating ability and bridging potential of a hexadentate bis-oximate ligand.     

Studies of substituent effect on asymmetric epoxidation of chromenes by chiral dioxirane

A series of 6- and 8-substituted chromenes has been investigated for asymmetric epoxidation using chiral ketone catalysts. Up to 93% ee was achieved. Higher ee's are obtained when substrates are substituted at the 6-position. The enhanced enantioselectivity is likely due to the beneficial interaction between the 6-substituent of the substrate and the N-aryl or alkyl group of the ketone catalyst.     

Design and synthesis of a near infra-red luminescent hexanuclear Zn-Nd prism

The use of the Schiff-base ligand N,N'-bis(5-bromo-3-methoxysalicylidene)propylene-1,3-diamine (H2L) and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate (BDC) enables the construction of the hexanuclear luminescent Zn-Nd complex [Zn4Nd2L4(1,4-BDC)2].[Nd(NO3)5(H2O)].Et2O.2EtOH.3H2O.     

Unprecedented formation of an acetamidate-bridged dinuclear platinum(II) terpyridyl complex-correlation of luminescence properties with the crystal forms and dimerization studies in solution

An [corrected] acetamidate-bridged dinuclear platinum(ii) terpyridyl complex has been isolated in two crystal forms, a red form and a dark form, with different luminescence properties; electronic absorption, emission and (1)H NMR studies revealed the presence of a dimerization process in the solution state.     

The diversity challenge in directed protein evolution

Over the past decade, we have witnessed a bloom in the field of evolutive protein engineering which is fueled by advances in molecular biology techniques and high-throughput screening technology. Directed protein evolution is a powerful algorithm using iterative cycles of random mutagenesis and screening for tailoring protein properties to our needs in industrial applications and for elucidating proteins' structure function relationships. This review summarizes, categorizes and discusses advantages and disadvantages of random mutagenesis methods used for generating genetic diversity. These random mutagenesis methods have been classified into four main categories depending on the method employed for nucleotide substitutions: enzyme based methods (Category I), synthetic chemistry based methods (Category II), whole cell methods (Category III) and combined methods (Category I-II, I-III and II-III). The basic principle of each method is discussed and varied mutagenic conditions are summarized in Tables and compared (benchmarked) to each other in terms of: mutational bias, controllable mutation frequency, ability to generate consecutive nucleotide substitutions and subset diversity, dependency on gene length, technical simplicity/robustness and cost-effectiveness. The latter comparison shows how highly-biased and limited current diversity creating methods are. Based on these limitations, strategies for generating diverse mutant libraries are proposed and discussed (RaMuS-Flowchart; KISS principle). We hope that this review provides, especially for researchers just entering the field of directed evolution, a guide for developing successful directed evolution strategies by selecting complementary methods for generating diverse mutant libraries.     

A new eudesmane derivative and a new fatty acid ester from Sambucus williamsii

1,4,13-Trihydroxy-eudesm-11(12)-ene, a new eudesmane derivative (3), (9E)-8,11,12-trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid methyl ester, a new fatty acid ester (2) and tianshic acid (1) were obtained from the stems of Sambucus williamsii. Their structures were elucidated by physiochemical properties and spectroscopic analysis. Both compounds 1 and 2 showed stimulating effects on alkaline phosphatase activity of the osteoblastic UMR106 cell about 1.5 fold at 30 mumol/l while they had no effects on cell proliferation.     

Phosphorescent platinum(II) complexes derived from multifunctional chromophores: synthesis, structures, photophysics, and electroluminescence

The synthesis and structural, photophysical, electrochemical, and electroluminescent properties of a novel class of trifunctional Pt(II) cyclometalated complexes are reported in which the hole-transporting triarylamine, electron-transporting oxadiazole, and electroluminescent metal components are integrated into a single molecule. These neutral metal chelates display good thermal stability (>250 degrees C under N2) and morphological stability. All of them exhibit intense ligand-centered fluorescence and phosphorescence in fluid solutions at room temperature, but the emission spectra become largely dominated by triplet emission bands in CH2Cl2 glass at 77 K. Substituents with different electronic properties were introduced into the bipolar cyclometalating ligands to fine-tune the absorption and emissive characteristics of the compounds, and the results were correlated with theoretical calculations using density functional theory. A comparison of the photophysics and electrochemistry of our multifunctional systems to those only derived from each of the constituent components was also made and discussed. These Pt complexes can be vacuum-sublimed and applied as emissive dopants for the fabrication of vapor-deposited electrophosphorescent organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs), which generally exhibit good device performance with efficiencies up to 3.6%, 11.0 cd A-1, and 5.8 lm W-1. While the electroluminescence energy resembles that recorded in fluid solutions for these Pt emitters, these monochromatic OLEDs can emit tunable colors by varying the aryl ring substituents and the level of doping. Saliently, single dopant white-light electroluminescence, triggered by the simultaneous fluorescence/phosphorescence emission of the metal complexes and a variation of applied driving voltages, has also been realized based on some of these multifunctional complexes with peak electrophosphorescence efficiencies of 6.8 cd A-1 and 2.6%.     

Oxidative amide synthesis and N-terminal alpha-amino group ligation of peptides in aqueous medium

A new method for oxidative synthesis of amides from alkynes and amines in high yields (up to 96%) using [Mn(2,6-Cl2TPP)Cl] 1 as a catalyst and Oxone/H2O2 as an oxidant in aqueous medium has been developed. This method could be used for N-terminal alpha-amino group ligation of unprotected peptides with aryl, aliphatic, and internal alkynes under mild conditions.     

Freezing a single distal motion in dihydrofolate reductase

Constraining a single motion between distal residues separated by approximately 28 A in hybrid quantum/classical molecular dynamics simulations is found to increase the free energy barrier for hydride transfer in dihydrofolate reductase by approximately 3 kcal/mol. Our analysis indicates that a single distal constraint alters equilibrium motions throughout the enzyme on a wide range of time scales. This alteration of the conformational sampling of the entire system is sufficient to significantly increase the free energy barrier and decrease the rate of hydride transfer. Despite the changes in conformational sampling introduced by the constraint, the system assumes a similar transition state conformation with a donor-acceptor distance of approximately 2.72 A to enable the hydride transfer reaction. The modified thermal sampling leads to a substantial increase in the average donor-acceptor distance for the reactant state, however, thereby decreasing the probability of sampling the transition state conformations with the shorter distances required for hydride transfer. These simulations indicate that fast thermal fluctuations of the enzyme, substrate, and cofactor lead to conformational sampling of configurations that facilitate hydride transfer. The fast thermal motions are in equilibrium as the reaction progresses along the collective reaction coordinate, and the overall average equilibrium conformational changes occur on the slower time scale measured experimentally. Recent single molecule experiments suggest that at least some of these thermally averaged equilibrium conformational changes occur on the millisecond time scale of the hydride transfer reaction. Thus, introducing a constraint that modifies the conformational sampling of an enzyme could significantly impact its catalytic activity.     

Syntheses and structures of novel heteroarene-fused coplanar pi-conjugated chromophores

We have synthesized a series of novel coplanar chromophores in which heteroarenes, namely, thiophene, benzothiophene, and carbazole, were fused to neighboring phenylene ring(s) through intramolecular annulation via sp(3)-hybridized carbon atoms bearing two p-tolyl groups as peripheral substituents. The molecular configurations of the pi-conjugated backbones were determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis; the heteroarene-fused molecular frameworks of these novel molecules exhibit nearly coplanar conformations. [structure: see text]