A synthetic strategy for the preparation of cyclic peptide mimetics based on SET-promoted photocyclization processes

A novel method for the synthesis of cyclic peptide analogues has been developed. The general approach relies on the use of SET-promoted photocyclization reactions of peptides that contain N-terminal phthalimides as light absorbing electron acceptor moieties and C-terminal alpha-amidosilane or alpha-amidocarboxylate centers. Prototypical substrates are prepared by coupling preformed peptides with the acid chloride of N-phthalimidoglycine. Irradiation of these substrates results in the generation of cyclic peptide analogues in modest to good yields. The chemical efficiencies of these processes are not significantly affected by (1) the lengths of the peptide chains separating the phthalimide and alpha-amidosilane or alpha-amidocarboxylate centers and (2) the nature of the penultimate cation radical alpha-heterolytic fragmentation process (i.e., desilylation vs decarboxylation). An evaluation of the effects of N-alkyl substitution on the amide residues in the peptide chain showed that N-alkyl substitution does not have a major impact on the efficiencies of the photocyclization reactions but that it profoundly increases the stability of the cyclic peptide.     

Atmospheric degradation of 2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol: OH kinetics and UV absorption cross sections

The absolute rate coefficients for the reactions of hydroxyl radical (OH) with 2-butanol (k(1)), 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)), and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol (k(3)) were measured as a function of temperature (263-354 K) and pressure (41-193 Torr of He, Ar, and N(2)) by the pulsed laser photolysis/laser-induced fluorescence technique. This work represents the first absolute determination of k(1)(-)k(3) and their temperature dependence. No pressure dependence of the rate coefficients was observed in the range studied. Thus, k(i)(298 K) values (x10(-12) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) with an uncertainty of +/-2sigma) were averaged over the pressure range studied yielding 8.77 +/- 1.46, 3.64 +/- 0.60, and 9.01 +/- 1.00 for 2-butanol (k(1)), 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)), and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol (k(3)), respectively. k(1) and k(3) exhibit a slightly negative temperature dependence over the temperature range studied. In contrast, the rate coefficient for the reaction of OH with 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)) did not show any temperature dependence. Some deviation of the conventional Arrhenius behavior was clearly observed for k(3). In this case, the best fit to our data was found to be described by the three-parameter expression k(T) = A + B exp(-C/T). The UV absorption cross sections of 2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol have also been measured at room temperature between 208 and 230 nm. The values reported constitute the first determination of the UV cross sections of those alcohols. Our results are compared with previous studies, when possible, and are discussed in terms of the H-abstraction by OH radicals. The atmospheric implications of these reactions and the photochemistry of these alcohols are also discussed.     

Syntheses, structures, and magnetic properties of mixed-valent diruthenium(II,III) diphosphonates with discrete and one-dimensional structures

Four mixed-valent ruthenium diphosphonates, namely, Na(4)[Ru(2)(hedp)(2)X]x16H(2)O [X = Cl (1), Br (2)], K(3)[Ru(2)(hedp)(2)(H(2)O)(2)]x6H(2)O (3), and Na(7)[Ru(2)(hedp)(2)Fe(CN)(6)]x24H(2)O (4), where hedp represents 1-hydroxyethylidenediphosphonate [CH(3)C(OH)(PO(3))(2)](4-), were synthesized and structurally characterized. Compounds 1, 2, and 4 show linear chain structures in which the mixed-valent [Ru(2)(hedp)(2)](3-) dimers are linked by X(-) or [Fe(CN)(6)](4-) bridges. Compound 3 contains discrete species of [Ru(2)(hedp)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](3-) where the axial positions of [Ru(2)(hedp)(2)](3-) paddlewheel are terminated by water molecules. Magnetic studies show that significant antiferromagnetic exchanges are mediated between the [Ru(2)(hedp)(2)](3-) (S = 3/2) units through halide bridges in compounds 1 and 2.     

Synthesis of cationic carbonyl complexes of manganese(I) with bidentate ligands

Summary Bidentate ligands can readily replace acetone in thefac-[Mn(CO)₃(chel)(OCMe₂)]⁺ complexes or the perchlorate group fromfac-[Mn(CO)₃(chel)(OClO₃)] yieldingfac-[Mn(CO)₃(chel)(L-L)]⁺ or [{fac-Mn(CO)₃(chel)}₂(L-L)]²⁺ [chel = 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), 2,2-bipyridine (bipy), 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphine)ethane (dpe); L-L = bis(diphenylphosphine)methane (dpm), dpe, 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphine)butane (dpb), succinonitrile (suc), and glutaronitrile (glu)]. Some of these mononuclear complexes are precursors for binuclear complexes which are linked by bridging phosphines or nitriles.     

Physical and electrochemical characterizations of microwave-assisted polyol preparation of carbon-supported PtRu nanoparticles

PtRu nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon and carbon nanotubes were prepared by a microwave-assisted polyol process. The catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The PtRu nanoparticles, which were uniformly dispersed on carbon, were 2-6 nm in diameter. All PtRu/C catalysts prepared as such displayed the characteristic diffraction peaks of a Pt face-centered cubic structure, excepting that the 2theta values were shifted to slightly higher values. XPS analysis revealed that the catalysts contained mostly Pt(0) and Ru(0), with traces of Pt(II), Pt(IV), and Ru(IV). The electro-oxidation of methanol was studied by cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. It was found that both PtRu/C catalysts had high and more durable electrocatalytic activities for methanol oxidation than a comparative Pt/C catalyst. Preliminary data from a direct methanol fuel cell single stack test cell using the Vulcan-carbon-supported PtRu alloy as the anode catalyst showed high power density.     

Highly specific spectrophotometric method for palladium(II) determination with 3-(5'-tetrazolylazo)-2,6-Diaminotoluene in the presence of chlorides. Kinetic and equilibrium study of reactions

3-(5'-tetrazolylazo)-2,6-Diaminotoluene (TEADAT, H(3)L(2+)) forms stable 1:1 and 1:2 (metal:ligand) pink-red complexes (lambda(max) 506 and 536 nm) with palladium(II). The apparent molar absorptivity of 1:2 complex is 5.2 x 10(4) 1.mol(-1). cm(-1) at 536 nm. Equilibrium constants beta*(nl) for reactions PdCl(2-)(4) + nH(3)L(2+) right harpoon over left harpoonright harpoon over left harpoon PdCl(4-n) (H(2)L)(2n-2)(n) + n Cl(-) + n H(+) were determined: logbeta*(1) = 4.09 +/- 0.05, logbeta*(2) = 8.40 +/- 0.02, corresponding stability conditional constants of PdCl(3)(H(2)L) and PdCl(2)(H(2)L)(2+)(2) were log beta(1) = 19.03, log beta(2) = 26.74. The formation of complexes was rather slow but could be speeded up considerably by the catalytic effect of trace amounts of thiocyanate. Constant absorbance values were thus reached in 2-5 min. A rapid, sensitive and highly specific method for the determination of palladium(II) at pH 1.42 in 0.25M NACl has been worked out with a detection limit of 0.54 mug. Interference of precious and common metal ions have been studied and the method has been applied for the determination of palladium in Pd asbestos, oakay alloys and various catalysts and for the determination of palladium in precious metals.     

THE MECHANISM OF ENERGY TRANSFER FROM POLY-p-BENZOYLPHENYLACETIMIDO-BOVINE SERUM ALBUMIN TO SMALL-MOLECULE QUENCHERS

Abstract— Results of a quantitative photochemical study of poly- p -benzoylphenylacetimido-bovine serum albumin in the presence of small-molecule triplet quenchers are reported. The efficiency of quenching by organic salts containing low triplet energy chromophores is shown to be qualitatively dependent on their predicted association constants to the modified protein. In addition, quenching is inhibited by salts of organic acids which possess high binding affinities for the protein but do not contain chromophores of low triplet energy. Quantitative treatment of the quenching and inhibition data yields results which strongly support the operation of an 'affinity controlled' mechanism for triplet energy transfer from the benzophenone moieties of the modified-bovine serum albumin to quenchers such as α-naphthylacetate and trans -cinnamate.     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of cisatracurium and mivacurium in spiked human serum and pharmaceuticals

Spectrofluorimetric methods to determine cisatracurium and mivacurium are proposed and applied to the determination of both substances in human serum and to the determination of mivacurium in pharmaceuticals. The fluorimetric methods allow the determination of 5-500 ng ml(-1) of mivacurium in aqueous solutions and 5-500 ng ml(-1) of cisatracurium in water-acetonitrile solutions, both containing acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.5) with lambda(exc)=230 nm and lambda(em)=324 nm.     

Limited flexibility of lactose detected from residual dipolar couplings using molecular dynamics simulations and steric alignment methods

The conformational flexibility of lactose in solution has been investigated by residual dipolar couplings (RDCs). One-bond carbon-proton and proton-proton coupling constants have been measured in two oriented media and interpreted in combination with molecular dynamics simulations (MD). Two different approaches, known as PALES (Zweckstetter et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 3791-3792) and TRAMITE (Azurmendi et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 2426-2427), have been used to determine the alignment tensor from a shape-induced alignment model with the oriented medium. The steric alignment of the structures from several MD trajectories has provided ensemble averaged RDCs that have been compared with the experimental ones. The obtained results reveal the almost exclusive presence of a major low energy region defined as syn-phi/syn-psi (> 97%), for which sampling occurs in a dynamic manner. This result satisfactorily agrees with that determined by standard NOE-based methods.     

Temperature Dependence of the Solubility of Acetaminophen in Propylene Glycol + Ethanol Mixtures

The thermodynamic functions Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy of solution, mixing and solvation of acetaminophen in propylene glycol (PG) + ethanol (EtOH) cosolvent mixtures were evaluated from solubility data measured at several temperatures, using the van't Hoff and Gibbs equations. The solubility was greater at 50% m/m of PG at 20.0^C, while it was greater at 80% of PG at 40.0 ^C where m/m refers to mass percent. The solvation of this drug is appreciably greater in the mixtures than in the pure solvents. By means of an enthalpy–entropy compensation analysis, complex behavior was found for the solution. From 0 up to 20% of PG and from 60 up to 100% of PG the solution process is enthalpy driven, whereas from 20 up to 60% of PG it is entropy driven. These facts can be explained in terms of a decrease in the energy required for cavity formation in the solvent for mixtures containing 20–60% of PG.