A pyrazolato-bridged dinuclear platinum(II) complex induces only minor distortions upon DNA-binding

The cytotoxic, pyrazolato-bridged dinuclear platinum(II) complex [(cis-{Pt(NH3)2})2(mu-OH)(mu-pz)]2+ (pz=pyrazolate) has been found to cross-link two adjacent guanines of a double-stranded DNA decamer without destabilizing the duplex and without changing the directionality of the helix axis. A 1H NMR study of the oligonucleotide d(CTCTG*G*TCTC)-d(GAGACCAGAG), cross-linked at the two G* guanines by [(cis-{Pt(NH3)2})2(mu-pz)]3+, and molecular dynamics simulations of the explicitly solvated duplex were performed to characterize the structural details of the adduct. The dinuclear platinum cross-link unwinds the helix by approximately 15 degrees , that is, to a similar extent as the widely used antitumor drug cisplatin, but, in contrast to the latter, induces no significant bend in the helix axis. The Watson-Crick base-pairing remains intact, and the melting temperature of the duplex is unaffected by the cross-link. The helical twist is considerably reduced between the two platinated bases, as becomes manifest in an unusually short sequential H1'-H1' distance. This unwinding also affects the sugar ring of the guanosine in the 3'-position to the cross-link, which presents an N<-->S equilibrium. This is the first cytotoxic platinum complex that has been successfully designed by envisioning the structural consequences of its binding to DNA.     

Fusion using fast heating of a compactly imploded CD core

A compact fast core heating experiment is described. A 4-J 0.4-ns output of a laser-diode-pumped high-repetition laser HAMA is divided into four beams, two of which counterilluminate double-deuterated polystyrene foils separated by 100 μm for implosion. The remaining two beams, compressed to 110 fs for fast heating, illuminate the same paths. Hot electrons produced by the heating pulses heat the imploded core, emitting x-ray radiations >20 eV and yielding some 10(3) thermal neutrons.     

The Weierstrass semigroup of a pair of GaloisWeierstrass points with prime degree on a curve

We describe the Weierstrass semigroup of a Galois Weierstrass point with prime degree and the Weierstrass semigroup of a pair of Galois Weierstrass points with prime degree, where a Galois Weierstrass point with degree n means a total ramification point of a cyclic covering of the projective line of degree n.*Supported by Korea Research Foundation Grant (KRF-2003-041-C20010).**Partially supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (15540051), JSPS.     

Weierstrass semigroups whose minimum positive integers are even

We consider three subsets of the set of 2n-semigroups, where for a positive integer n a 2n-semigroup means a numerical semigroup whose minimum positive integer is 2n. These three subsets are obtained by the Weierstrass semigroups of total ramification points on a cyclic covering of the projective line, the Weierstrass semigroups of ramification points on a double covering of a non-singular curve and the Weierstrass semigroups of points on a non-singular curve. We show that the three subsets are different for n ≧ 3. Partially supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (17540046), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Received: 19 June 2006     

Structural and Electrochemical Comparison of Copper(II) Complexes with Tripodal Ligands

A series of copper(II) complexes with tripodal polypyridylmethylamine ligands, such as tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (tpa), ((6-methyl-2-pyridyl)methyl)bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (Me(1)tpa), bis((6-methyl-2-pyridyl)methyl)(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (Me(2)tpa), and tris((6-methyl-2-pyridyl)methyl)amine (Me(3)tpa), have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. [Cu(H(2)O)(tpa)](ClO(4))(2) (1) crystallized in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1)/a, with a = 15.029(7) ?, b = 9.268(2) ?, c = 17.948(5) ?, beta = 113.80(3) degrees, and Z = 4 (R = 0.061, R(w) = 0.059). [CuCl(Me(1)tpa)]ClO(4) (2) crystallized in the triclinic system, space group P&onemacr;, with a = 13.617(4) ?, b = 14.532(4) ?, c = 12.357(4) ?, alpha = 106.01(3) degrees, beta = 111.96(2) degrees, gamma = 71.61(2) degrees, and Z = 4 (R = 0.054, R(w) = 0.037). [CuCl(Me(2)tpa)]ClO(4) (3) crystallized in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1)/n, with a = 19.650(4) ?, b = 13.528(4) ?, c = 8.55(1) ?, beta = 101.51(5) degrees, and Z = 4 (R = 0.071, R(w) = 0.050). [CuCl(Me(3)tpa)][CuCl(2)(Me(3)tpa)]ClO(4) (4) crystallized in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1)/a, with a = 15.698(6) ?, b = 14.687(7) ?, c = 19.475(4) ?, beta = 97.13(2) degrees, and Z = 4 (R = 0.054, R(w) = 0.038). All the Cu atoms of 1-4 have pentacoordinate geometries with three pyridyl and one tertiary amino nitrogen atoms, and a chloride or aqua oxygen atom. Nitrite ion coordinated to the Cu(II) center of Me(1)tpa, Me(2)tpa, and Me(3)tpa complexes with only oxygen atom to form nitrito adducts. The cyclic voltammograms of [Cu(H(2)O)(Me(n)()tpa)](2+) (n = 0, 1, 2, and 3) in the presence of NO(2)(-) in H(2)O (pH 7.0) revealed that the catalytic activity for the reduction of NO(2)(-) increases in the order Me(3)tpa < Me(2)tpa < Me(1)tpa < tpa complexes.     

Estimation of friction of a single chemisorbed molecule on a surface using incident atoms

Friction of a single molecule chemisorbed on a surface is a very fundamental property related to the dynamics of the diffusion of the molecule. We used a newly developed method, in which energy-controlled rare gas atoms collide with CO molecules on a stepped surface to displace CO molecules from initial terrace sites to final step sites. The friction coefficient of CO molecules on the surface was determined directly by comparing the experimentally measured increase in the number of CO molecules at step sites with classical molecular dynamics simulation results.     

Ammonia adsorption on and diffusion into thin ice films grown on Pt(111)

Ammonia adsorption on and diffusion into thin ice films grown on a Pt(111) surface were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermal desorption spectroscopy. After exposing the crystalline ice film to ammonia molecules at 45 K (ammonia/ice film), we have detected an intriguing feature at 1470 cm(-1) in the FTIR spectra, which is derived from the adsorption of ammonia on the ice with a characteristic structure which appears in thin film range. The peak intensity of this feature decreases gradually as the thickness of the substrate ice increases. In addition, we have detected a feature at 1260 cm(-1) which appears after annealing the ammonia/ice film. The feature corresponds to the ammonia molecules which reach the ice/Pt(111) interface through the ice film. Intriguingly, the intensity of this feature decreases with the ice thickness and there is a linear relation of the peak intensity of the features at 1470 and 1260 cm(-1). We propose a model in which the solubility of the ammonia molecules is much higher for the thin ice film than that for the ideal ice.