Further studies on the application of vinylogous amides and β-halovinylaldehydes to the regiospecific synthesis of unsymmetrical,polyfunctionalized 2,3,4- and 1,2,3,4- substituted pyrroles

Highly functionalized pyrroles with appropriate regiochemical functionality represent an important class of marine natural products and potential drug candidates. We describe herein a detailed study of the reaction of α-aminoacid esters with vinylogous amides and also β-halovinylaldehydes for the regiospecific synthesis of 2,3,4-trisubstituted and 1,2,3,4-tetrasubstituted pyrroles. Since the vinylogous amides and β-halovinylaldehydes are readily available precursors, rapid access to a wide variety of unsymmetrically substituted pyrroles is accomplished via this methodology.     

Paired Electrolysis of Aldoses in a Divided Flow Cell

Simultaneous anodic oxidation and cathodic reduction of aldoses in a divided flow cell were studied. The stream of the anolyte was an aqueous solution containing D-glucose, sodium bromide, and sodium bicarbonate. The stream of the catholyte was also an aqueous solution containing xylose and sodium sulfite. The factors which affected both the anodic and cathodic reactions were studied. The results indicate that the flow rates and temperatures of the anolyte and the catholyte, concentrations of the aldoses, pH values and the material of electrodes significantly affect both anodic and cathodic yields. The selectivities of gluconic acid in the anode and xylitol in the cathode were very high. The power consumption of paired electrolysis in the flow system was less than paired electrolysis in a batch system.     

The statistical overlap theory of chromatography using power law (fractal) statistics

The chromatographic dimensionality was recently proposed as a measure of retention time spacing based on a power law (fractal) distribution. Using this model, a statistical overlap theory (SOT) for chromatographic peaks is developed that estimates the number of peak maxima as a function of the chromatographic dimension, saturation and scale. Power law models exhibit a threshold region whereby below a critical saturation value no loss of peak maxima due to peak fusion occurs as saturation increases. At moderate saturation, behavior is similar to the random (Poisson) peak model. At still higher saturation, the power law model shows loss of peaks nearly independent of the scale and dimension of the model. The physicochemical meaning of the power law scale parameter is discussed and shown to be equal to the Boltzmann-weighted free energy of transfer over the scale limits. The scale is discussed. Small scale range (small β) is shown to generate more uniform chromatograms. Large scale range chromatograms (large β) are shown to give occasional large excursions of retention times; this is a property of power laws where "wild" behavior is noted to occasionally occur. Both cases are shown to be useful depending on the chromatographic saturation. A scale-invariant model of the SOT shows very simple relationships between the fraction of peak maxima and the saturation, peak width and number of theoretical plates. These equations provide much insight into separations which follow power law statistics.     

Intramolecular charge delocalization and nonlinear optical properties of push-pull chromophore 1-(4-N,N-dimethylaminopyridinium) acetic acid bromide monohydrate from vibrational spectra

FT-Raman and FT-IR spectra of the nonlinear optical crystal 1-(4-N,N-dimethylaminopyridinium) acetic acid bromide monohydrate have been recorded and analyzed. The equilibrium geometry, vibrational wavenumbers and the first order hyperpolarizability of the crystal have been calculated with the help of density functional theory computations. The assignments of the vibrational spectra have been carried out with the help of Scaled Quantum Mechanic force field theory. Optimized geometry gives the charge transfer interaction of the pyridine ring and the amino group in the electron-donor side of the nonlinear optic chromophore. Electron–phonon coupling and O–H?O interactions in making the molecule nonlinear optical active have been analyzed based on the vibrational spectral features. The Natural Bond Orbital analysis confirms the occurrence of strong intermolecular O–H?O hydrogen bonding.     

Characterization of a single molecule DNA switch in free solution

We have studied a donor-acceptor fluorophore-labeled DNA switch where the acceptor is Alexa-647, a carbocyanine dye, in solution at the single molecule level to elucidate the fluorescence switching mechanism. The acceptor, which is in an initial high fluorescence trans state, undergoes a photoisomerization reaction resulting in two additional states during its sub-millisecond transit across the probe volume. These two states are assigned to a nonfluorescent triplet trans state that strongly quenches the donor emission and a singlet cis state that blocks the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) pathway and gives rise to donor-only fluorescence. The formation of these states is faster than the transit time, so that all three states are approximately equally populated under our experimental conditions. The acceptor dye can stick to the DNA in all these states, with the rate of unsticking determining the rate of isomerization into the other states. Measurement of the rate of change of the FRET signal therefore provides information about the fluorophore-DNA intramolecular dynamics. These results explain the large zero peak in the proximity ratio, often seen in single molecule FRET experiments, and suggest that photoinduced effects may be important in single molecule FRET experiments using carbocyanine dyes. They also suggest that for fast photoinduced switching the interactions of the acceptor dye with the DNA and other surfaces should be prevented.     

Automated system for simultaneous analysis of delta(13)C, delta(18)O and CO(2) concentrations in small air samples

In this paper we present an automated system for simultaneous measurement of CO(2) concentration, delta(13)C and delta(18)O from small (<1 mL) air samples in a short period of time (approximately 1 hour). This system combines continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry (CF-IRMS) and gas chromatography (GC) with an inlet system similar to conventional dual-inlet methods permitting several measurement cycles of standard and sample air. Analogous to the dual-inlet method, the precision of this system increases with the number of replicate cycles measured. The standard error of the mean for a measurement with this system is 0.7 ppm for the CO(2) concentration and 0.05 per thousand for the delta(13)C and delta(18)O with four replicate cycles and 0.4 ppm and 0.03 per thousand respectively with nine replicate cycles. The mean offset of our measurements from NOAA/CMDL analyzed air samples was 0.08 ppm for the CO(2) concentration, 0.01 per thousand for delta(13)C and 0.00 per thousand for delta(18)O. A specific list of the parts and operation of the system is detailed as well as some of the applications for micrometeorological and ecophysiological applications.     

Synthesis and structural,electrochemical, and optical properties of Ru(II) complexes with azobis(2,2'-bipyridine)s

Two new ditopic ligands, 5,5"-azobis(2,2'-bipyridine) (5,5"-azo) and 5,5"-azoxybis(2,2'-bipyridine) (5,5"-azoxy), were prepared by the reduction of nitro precursors. Mononuclear and dinuclear Ru(II) complexes having one of these bridging ligands and 2,2'-bipyridine terminal ligands were also prepared, and their properties were compared with previously reported Ru(II) complexes having 4,4"-azobis(2,2'-bipyridine) (4,4"-azo). The X-ray crystal structure showed that 5,5"-azo adopts the trans conformation and a planar rodlike shape. The X-ray crystal structure of [(bpy)(2)Ru(5,5"-azo)Ru(bpy)(2)](PF(6))(4) (Ru(5,5"-azo)Ru) showed that the bridging ligand is in the trans conformation and nearly planar also in the complex and the metal-to-metal distance is 10.0 A. The azo or azoxy ligand in these complexes exhibits reduction processes at less negative potentials than the terminal bpy's due to the low-lying pi level. The electronic absorption spectra for the complexes having 5,5"-azo or 5,5"-azoxy exhibit an extended low-energy metal-to-ligand charge-transfer absorption. The ligands, 5,5"-azo and 5,5"-azoxy, and the mononuclear complex, [(bpy)(2)Ru(5,5"-azo)](2+), isomerize reversibly upon light irradiation. The low-energy MLCT state sensitizes the isomerization of the azo moiety in this complex. While [(bpy)(2)Ru(4,4"-azo)Ru(bpy)(2)](PF(6))(4) exhibits light switch properties, namely, significant electrochromism and a large luminescence enhancement, upon reduction, Ru(5,5"-azo)Ru does not show these properties. The radical anion formation upon reduction of these complexes has been confirmed by ESR spectroscopy.     

A resonance Raman,surface-enhanced resonance Raman,IR, and ab initio vibrational spectroscopic study of nickel(II) tetraazaannulene complexes

The IR and resonance Raman spectra of the nickel(II) complexes of dibenzo[b,i][1,4,8,11]tetraaza[14]annulene (TAA) and 5,7,12,14-tetramethyldibenzo[b,i][1,4,8,11]tetraaza[14]annulene (TMTAA) have been measured and compared with ab initio calculations of the vibrational wavenumbers at the B3-LYP level using the LanL2DZ basis set. An excellent fit is found between the experimental and calculated data, enabling precise vibrational assignments to be made. Surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectra were obtained following adsorption on Ag electrodes, with potentials in the range -0.1 to -1.1 V vs Ag/AgCl. There is evidence for contributions from both the electromagnetic and charge transfer (CT) surface enhancement mechanisms. The data indicate that variations in band intensities with electrode potential can be interpreted in terms of the CT mechanism.