EFFECT OF METAL IONS ON THE LUMINESCENCE OF ACRIDINE DYES BOUND TO DNA

Abstract— The luminescence of acridine dyes intercalated in DNA was studied as a function of the concurrent binding of metal ions to DNA, in an effort to deduce specific site interactions of the dyes. Two dyes, proflavine (PF) and acridine orange (AO), and two metal ions, silver and mercuric, were used. Both ions quench the fluorescence of the dyes in aqueous solution at room temperature. The metal ions have a different effect on the fluorescence of these dyes when they are intercalated between the base pairs of DNA. The fluorescence of AO is decreased when silver is bound, while the fluorescence of PF is enhanced. Since Ag⁺ initially binds to GC sites in DNA, which quench the PF fluorescence, it ostensibly 'turns off' the quenching by DNA at these sites, and this effect is greater than the quenching effect of the silver ion itself. Hg²⁺ ion initially binds to AT sites in DNA. Since both dyes fluoresce from AT sites, Hg²⁺ is expected to quench their fluorescence. This behavior is observed at low r (metal ion/base). At higher r values, however, where Hg²⁺ is expected to begin binding to GC sites, the fluorescence of PF is enhanced. These quenching turn-off effects are tentatively interpreted in terms of a change in the structure of the dye/DNA complex which occurs when a metal ion binds at the intercalation site. At 77 K. no fluorescence enhancement is observed when metal ions bind; Ag⁺ quenches the fluorescence and enhances the phosphorescence of both dyes. Qualitatively similar results are obtained with Hg²⁺.     

Studies of lambert's reaction: The formation of [Mn2(CO)8(μ-AsR2)2] complexes from tertiary arsines and [Mn2(CO)10] at high temperatures

Although very bulky ligands e.g.(o-MeC₆H₄)₃E or (μ-C₁₀H₇)₃E (E = P or As) are inert, the normal photochemical or thermal reaction of tertiary phosphines or arsines, L, with [Mn₂(CO)₁₀] is CO substitution with the formation of [Mn₂(CO)₈(L)₂] derivatives (I). At elevated temperatures some triarylarsines, R₃As, undergo Lambert's reaction with ligand fragmentation to give [Mn₂(CO)₈(μ-AsR₂)₂] complexes (II) (R = Ph, p-MeOC₆H₄, p-FC₆H₄, or p-CIC₆H₄) even though, in the absence of [Mn₂(CO)₁₀] R₃As are stable under the same conditions. Exceptional behaviour is exhibited by (p-Me₂NC₆H₄)_3- As which forms a product of type I; by some HN(C₆H₄)₂AsR which give a product of type II as a result of loss of the non-aryl groups R = PhCH₂, cyclo-C₆H₁₁, or MeO; and by Ph(α-C₁₀H₇₂P which is the only phosphine to form a product of type II, albeit in trace amounts only. The thermal decomposition of a n-butanol solution of [Mn₂(CO)₈(AsPh₃)₂] in a sealed tube gives C₆H₆ and [Mn₂(CO)₈(α-AsPh₂)₂], whilst in an open system in the presence of various tertiary phosphines, L, [Mn(H)(CO)₃(L)₂] are obtained. It is suggested that Lambert's reaction is a thermal fragmentation of [Mn(CO)₄(AsR₃]^* radicals, the first to be recognised. They lose the radical R^* which abstracts hydrogen from the solvent. The resulting [Mn(CO)₄(AsR₂)] moiety dimerises to [Mn₂(CO)_8-(α-AsR₂)₂]. the reaction is facilitated by the stability of the departing radical (e.g. PhCH₂ or MeO) and, as the crowding about As is relieved, by its size (e.g. Ph, cyclo-C₆H₁₁, o-MeC₆H₄, or α-C₁₀H₇). In general, phosphine-substituted radicals [Mn(CO)₄(PR)₃]^* do not undergo this decomposition, probably because the PC bonds are much stronger than AsC.     

Direct α-hydroxylation of ketones using iodosobenzene

Ketones are converted smoothly into the corresponding acyloin with a high degree of selectivity upon treatment with iodosobenzene or phenyliodosodiacetate in methanolic sodium hydroxide.     

Ion-selective electrodes for basic drugs

Coated-wire ion-selective electrodes based on dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid (DNNS) are prepared for methadone, methylamphetamine, cocaine and protriptyline in protonated form. In each set, nearly-Nernstian responses are obtained while detection limits range from 10^-5.5M for cocaine and methylamphetamine electrodes, to 10^-6.0M for methadone, and 10^-6.5 M for protriptyline electrodes. Selectivity is found to decrease in the order methadone, protriptyline, cocaine and methylamphetamine; these results are consistent with systematic selectivity studies reported earlier for electrodes in this family.     

Studying the Suitability of Nineteen Lignins as Partial Polyol Replacement in Rigid Polyurethane/Polyisocyanurate Foam

In this study, nineteen unmodified lignins from various sources (hardwood, softwood, wheat straw, and corn stover) and isolation processes (kraft, soda, organosolv, sulfite, and enzymatic hydrolysis) were used to replace 30 wt.% of petroleum-based polyol in rigid polyurethane/polyisocyanurate (PUR/PIR) foam formulations. Lignin samples were characterized by measuring their ash content, hydroxyl content (Phosphorus Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy), impurities (Inductively Coupled Plasma), and pH. After foam formulation, properties of lignin-based foams were evaluated and compared with a control foam (with no lignin) via cell morphology, closed-cell content, compression strength, apparent density, thermal conductivity, and color analysis. Lignin-based foams passed all measured standard specifications required by ASTM International C1029-15 for type 1 rigid insulation foams, except for three foams. These three foams had poor compressive strengths, significantly larger cell sizes, darker color, lower closed-cell contents, and slower foaming times. The foam made with corn stover enzymatic hydrolysis lignin showed no significant difference from the control foam in terms of compressive strength and outperformed all other lignin-based foams due to its higher aliphatic and p-hydroxyphenyl hydroxyl contents. Lignin-based foams that passed all required performance testing were made with lignins having higher pH, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and aliphatic/p-hydroxyphenyl hydroxyl group contents than those that failed.     

Light-induced cis/trans isomerization of cis-[Pd(L-S,O)2] and cis-[Pt(L-S,O)2] complexes of chelating N,N-dialkyl-N′-acylthioureas: key to the formation and isolation of trans isomers

Irradiation cis-[M(Lⁿ-S,O)₂] complexes (M = Pt^II, Pd^II) derived from N,N-dialkyl-N′-benzoylthioureas (HLⁿ) with various sources of intense visible polychromatic or monochromatic light with λ < 500 nm leads to light-induced cis?→?trans isomerization in organic solvents. In all cases, white light derived from several sources or monochromatic blue-violet laser 405 nm light, efficiently results in substantial amounts of the trans isomer appearing in solution, as shown by ¹H NMR and/or reversed-phase HPLC separation in dilute solutions at room temperature. The extent and relative rates of cis/trans isomerization induced by in situ laser light (λ = 405 nm) of cis-[Pd(L²-S,O)₂] was directly monitored by ¹H NMR and ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR spectroscopy of selected cis-[Pt(L-S,O)₂] compounds in chloroform-d; both with and without light irradiation allows the δ(¹⁹⁵Pt) chemical shifts cis/trans isomer pairs to be recorded. The cis/trans isomers appear to be in a photo-thermal equilibrium between the thermodynamically favored cis isomer and its trans counterpart. In the dark, the trans isomer reverts back to the cis complex in what is probably a thermal process. The light-induced cis/trans process is the key to preparing and isolating the rare trans complexes which cannot be prepared by conventional synthesis as confirmed by the first example of trans-[Pd(L-S,O)₂] characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, deliberately prepared after photo-induced isomerization in acetonitrile solution.     

Stability of Plasma Treated Non-vulcanized Polybutadiene Surfaces: Role of Plasma Parameters and Influence of Additives

Surface modification studies of non-vulcanized BR elastomers (butadiene rubber) by low-pressure air plasma treatment and the effect on ageing and adhesion performances are presented in this paper. In particular, the influence of discharge power and distance from the glow discharge, and impact of antioxidant molecules in the BR formulation were examined. To characterize the changes to the BR surface, XPS spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, AFM nanoindentation experiments and tack measurements were utilized. Oxidation and crosslinking were the main mechanisms observed on the polymer chains regardless of the plasma conditions used. Beyond a certain threshold of plasma energy (in our case, discharge power of ~60 W and exposure time of ~30 s), a steady state was reached irrespective of the distance from the glow discharge. The presence of antioxidant molecules considerably reduced crosslinking phenomena while maintaining oxidation processes on polymer chains and increasing the nitrogen content in the near surface region. The mechanisms responsible for these differences have been identified. Interestingly, the COOH/C=O ratio changed according to the balance between oxidation and crosslinking. The hydrophobic recovery rate was mainly driven by temperature-dependent dynamics and varied according to the degree of crosslinking in the surface region. It was found to be lower in air atmosphere in the presence of antioxidant molecules. Finally, the presence of antioxidant molecules in the BR formulation allowed the adhesion performances after plasma exposure to significantly increase.     

On the convergence of Z-averaged perturbation theory

Very high order open-shell Z-averaged perturbation theory (ZAPT) energies, equilibrium bond lengths, and harmonic vibrational frequencies have been computed for a suite of small molecules using a determinantal algorithm. The convergence of ZAPTn energies is compared to alternative Moller-Plesset (MP) perturbation theories built on restricted open-shell Hartree-Fock (ROMP, RMP, OPT1, and OPT2) and unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UMP) reference wave functions for NH(2) at three N-H bond lengths and for CN. The ZAPTn energy series closely parallel those of RMPn and ROMPn theories for these systems. Further, we examine the convergence of ZAPTn energies, equilibrium bond lengths (r(e)), and harmonic vibrational frequencies (omega(e)) for X (2)Sigma(g)(+) CN, X (4)Sigma(g) (-) C(2)(+), and b (2)Delta(g) C(2)(+), tracking oscillations in the energy series for the challenging latter system to order 1000. Finally, we obtain r(e) and omega(e) values from explicit ZAPT2 and ZAPT4 computations with a triple-zeta plus double polarization basis set. The ensuing results are very close to those from second- and fourth-order RMP and ROMP for the NO and CN molecules but are significantly closer to experiment in the case of (3)Sigma(g)(-) O(2). The ZAPTn series exhibit all the fascinating diversity of behavior previously observed for closed-shell MPn theory. Particularly encouraging is the ability of Feenberg transformations to remove erratic, strongly oscillatory, and divergent behavior that may occur in ZAPTn series and provide systematic improvements toward the full configuration interaction limit. In light of the appealing mathematical properties of ZAPT and similarity of results to those from the oft-applied RMP theory, coupled with the reductions in computational cost inherent in the ZAPT method relative to theories requiring different orbitals for different spins, we recommend low-order ZAPT for general applications to open-shell systems, particularly in cases where spin contamination is of concern.     

Enzymatic and electrochemical oxidation of uric acid: A mechanism for the peroxidase catalyzed oxidation of uric acid

The oxidation of uric acid has been studied by thin-layer spectroelectrochemistry using an optically transparent gold minigrid electrode and enzymatically using peroxidase. Under both enzymatic and electrochemical conditions a u.v.-absorbing intermediate (λ_max=302–304 nm between pH 7–9.3) is observed. This intermediate is proposed to be an imine-alcohol species formed by rapid hydration of the primary reaction product which is a diimine. Under the conditions employed in both the enzymatic electrochemical studies the imine-alcohol intermediate is hydrated in a first order reaction with an observed rate constant of 3.5×10^?3s^?1 between pH 7–9.3. This study establishes the similarity between the electrochemical and enzymatic oxidation of uric acid and indicates that electrochemical investigations of the redox behavior of purines can provide unique insights into their biological redox properties.