ChemInform Abstract: Structure and Conformational Properties of Azido(difluoro)phosphane,F2PN3.

The title compound is characterized by IR (gas phase, Ar matrix), Raman (liquid, amorphous, and crystalline solid), and ¹⁹F, ³¹P, ¹⁴N and ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy, as well as by quantum chemical DFT calculations.     

Reversible Optical Writing and Data Storage in an Anthracene‐Loaded Metal–Organic Framework

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) enable the design of host–guest systems with specific properties. In this work, we show how the confinement of anthracene in a well‐chosen MOF host leads to reversible yellow‐to‐purple photoswitching of the fluorescence emission. This behavior has not been observed before for anthracene, either in pure form or adsorbed in other porous hosts. The photoresponse of the host–guest system is caused by the photodimerization of anthracene, which is greatly facilitated by the pore geometry, connectivity, and volume as well as the structural flexibility of the MOF host. The photoswitching behavior was used to fabricate photopatternable and erasable surfaces that, in combination with data encryption and decryption, hold promise in product authentication and secure communication applications.     

Synthesis and characterization of sulfuryl diazide, O2S(N3)2

Sulfuryl diazide, O(2)S(N(3))(2), previously described as an "exceedingly explosive" compound, has been isolated and characterized by IR (Ar matrix, gas) and Raman (solid) spectroscopy, and its structure has been determined by X-ray crystallography. It has a melting point of -15 °C and can be handled in small quantities in gas, liquid, and solid states. Vibrational spectroscopic studies suggest the presence of only one conformer in both gas and solid states, and the X-ray crystallography revealed an anti conformation of the two azido groups with respect to the NSN plane. Calculations predict the anti (C(2)) conformer to be 6.6 kJ mol(-1) lower in energy than the syn (C(s)) one at the CBS-QB3 level of theory. The related chlorosulfuryl azide, ClSO(2)N(3), has also been prepared and characterized by IR and Raman spectroscopy.     

Direct Evidence of Significantly Different Chemical Behavior and Excited‐State Dynamics of 1,7‐ and 1,6‐Regioisomers of Pyrrolidinyl‐Substituted Perylene Diimide

Novel bay‐functionalized perylene diimides with additional substitution sites close to the perylene core have been prepared by the reaction between 1,7(6)‐dibromoperylene diimide 6 (dibromo‐PDI) and 2‐(benzyloxymethyl)pyrrolidine 5 . Distinct differences in the chemical behaviors of the 1,7‐ and 1,6‐regioisomers have been discerned. While the 1,6‐dibromo‐PDI produced the corresponding 1,6‐bis‐substituted derivative more efficiently, the 1,7‐dibromo‐PDI underwent predominant mono‐debromination, yielding a mono‐substituted PDI along with a small amount of the corresponding 1,7‐bis‐substituted compound. By varying the reaction conditions, a controlled stepwise bis‐substitution of the bromo substituents was also achieved, allowing the direct synthesis of asymmetrical 1,6‐ and 1,7‐PDIs. The compounds were isolated as individual regioisomers. Fullerene (C₆₀) was then covalently linked at the bay region of the newly prepared PDIs. In this way, two separate sets of perylene diimide–fullerene dyads, namely single‐bridged (SB‐1,7‐PDI‐C₆₀ and SB‐1,6‐PDI‐C₆₀) and double‐bridged (DB‐1,7‐PDI‐C₆₀ and DB‐1,6‐PDI‐C₆₀), were synthesized. The fullerene was intentionally attached at the bay region of the PDI to achieve close proximity of the two chromophores and to ensure an efficient photoinduced electron transfer. A detailed study of the photodynamics has revealed that photoinduced electron transfer from the perylene diimide chromophore to the fullerene occurs in all four dyads in polar benzonitrile, and also occurs in the single‐bridged dyads in nonpolar toluene. The process was found to be substantially faster and more efficient in the dyads containing the 1,7‐regioisomer, both for the singly‐ and double‐bridged molecules. In the case of the single‐bridged dyads, SB‐1,7‐PDI‐C₆₀ and SB‐1,6‐PDI‐C₆₀, different relaxation pathways of their charge‐separated states have been discovered. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first observation of photoinduced electron transfer in PDI‐C₆₀ dyads in a nonpolar medium.     

Structure Elucidation and Activity of Kolossin A,the D‐/L‐Pentadecapeptide Product of a Giant Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase

The largest continuous bacterial nonribosomal peptide synthetase discovered so far is described. It consists of 15 consecutive modules arising from an uninterrupted, fully functional gene in the entomopathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens. The identification of its cryptic biosynthesis product was achieved by using a combination of genome analysis, promoter exchange, isotopic labeling experiments, and total synthesis of a focused collection of peptide candidates. Although it belongs to the growing class of D ‐/ L ‐peptide natural products, the encoded metabolite kolossin A was found to be largely devoid of antibiotic activity and is likely involved in interspecies communication. A stereoisomer of this peculiar natural product displayed high activity against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, a recalcitrant parasite that causes the deadly disease African sleeping sickness.     

Thermal decomposition of peroxy acetyl nitrate CH3C(O)OONO2

The thermal decomposition of peroxy acetyl nitrate (PAN) is investigated by low pressure flash thermolysis of PAN highly diluted in noble gases and subsequent isolation of the products in noble gas matrices at low temperatures and by density functional computations. The IR spectroscopically observed formation of CH3C(O)OO and H2CCO (ketene) besides NO2, CO2, and HOO implies a unimolecular decay pathway for the thermal decomposition of PAN. The major decomposition reaction of PAN is bond fission of the O-N single bond yielding the peroxy radical. The O-O bond fission pathway is a minor route. In the latter case the primary reaction products undergo secondary reactions whose products are spectroscopically identified. No evidence for rearrangement processes as the formation of methyl nitrate is observed. A detailed mapping of the reaction pathways for primary and secondary reactions using quantum chemical calculations is in good agreement with the experiment and predicts homolytic O-N and O-O bond fissions within the PAN molecule as the lowest energetic primary processes. In addition, the first IR spectroscopic characterization of two rotameric forms for the radical CH3C(O)OO is given.     

Structure,Biosynthesis, and Occurrence of Bacterial Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are widespread plant natural products with potent toxicity and bioactivity. Herein, the identification of bacterial PAs from entomopathogenic bacteria using differential analysis by 2D NMR spectroscopy (DANS) and mass spectrometry is described. Their biosynthesis was elucidated to involve a non‐ribosomal peptide synthetase. The occurrence of these biosynthesis gene clusters in Gram‐negative and Gram‐positive bacteria indicates an important biological function in bacteria.     

Er4F2[Si2O7][SiO4]: Das erste Selten‐Erd‐Fluoridsilicat mit zwei verschiedenen Silicat‐Anionen

Er₄F₂[Si₂O₇][SiO₄]: The First Rare‐Earth Fluoride Silicate with Two Different Silicate Anions By the reaction of Er₂O₃ with ErF₃ and SiO₂ at 700 °C in sealed tantalum capsules using CsCl as flux (molar ratio 5 : 2 : 3 : 20), the compound Er₄F₂[Si₂O₇][SiO₄] (triclinic, P 1; a = 648.51(5), b = 660.34(5), c = 1324.43(9) pm, α = 87.449(8), β = 85.793(8), γ = 60.816(7)°; V_m = 148.69(1) cm³/mol, Z = 2) is obtained as pale pink platelets or lath‐shaped single crystals. It consists of disilicate anions [Si₂O₇]^6– in eclipsed conformation, ortho‐silicate anions [SiO₄]^4– and isolated [Er₄F₂]¹⁰⁺ units comprising two edge‐shared [Er₃F] triangles. Er³⁺ is surrounded by 7 + 1 (Er1) or 7 (Er2–Er4) anionic neighbors, respectively, of which two are F^– in the case of Er1 and Er4 but only one for Er2 and Er3. The other ligands recruit from oxygen atoms of the different oxosilicate groups. The crystal structure can be described as simple rowing up of the three building groups ([SiO₄]^4–, [Er₄F₂]¹⁰⁺, and [Si₂O₇]^6–) along [001]. The necessity of a large excess of fluoride for a successful synthesis of Er₄F₂[Si₂O₇][SiO₄] will be discussed.     

Interaction of cephalosporins with outer membrane channels of Escherichia coli. Revealing binding by fluorescence quenching and ion conductance fluctuations

Outer membrane channels in gram-negative bacteria are implicated in the influx of the latest generation of cephalosporins. We have measured the interaction strengths of ceftriaxone, cefpirome and ceftazidime in the two most abundant outer membrane porins of Escherichia coli, OmpF and OmpC, by both ion current fluctuations through single protein channels and fluorescence quenching. Statistical analysis of individual antibiotic entry events in membrane-incorporated porins yielded the kinetic rates and the equilibrium binding constant of each antibiotic-porin pair. Affinity constants were independently obtained by measuring the static quenching of inherent tryptophan fluorescence in the porins in the presence of the antibiotics. Through an empirical inner filter effect correction we have succeeded in measuring the chemical interaction of these strongly absorbing antibiotics, and obtained a qualitative agreement with conductance measurements. The interaction of all three antibiotics is smaller for OmpC than OmpF, and in the case of each porin the interaction strength series ceftriaxone > cefpirome > ceftazidime is maintained.     

Photochemistry of dithiocarbamate Cu(II) complex in CCl4

Laser pulse photolysis was used to study the nature and reactions of intermediates in the photochemistry of the flat dithiocarbamate complex Cu(Et(2)dtc)(2) in CCl(4). A nanosecond laser pulse (355 nm) is shown to induce intermediate absorption bands of bivalent copper complex whose coordination sphere contains a dithiocarbamate radical Et(2)dtc(?) and a chloride ion at the axial position ([(Et(2)dtc)Cu(Et(2)dtc(?))Cl(a)]). At room temperature during some microseconds after the laser pulse, this intermediate interacts with the initial complex to form presumably a dimer [Cu(2)(Et(2)dtc)(3)(Et(2)dtc(?))Cl]. The latter vanishes in the second-order reaction. Analysis of kinetic and spectral features gives the arguments for the formation of a cluster [Cu(2)(Et(2)dtc)(3)Cl-tds-Cu(2)(Et(2)dtc)(3)Cl], which produces a new absorption band at 345 nm. The cluster decomposes in ～5 ms into final products, a binuclear complex [Cu(2)(Et(2)dtc)(3)Cl] and tetraethylthiuramdisulfide (Et(4)tds).