Intermolecular interactions and ­molecular geometry in molecular complexes of N,N‐di­methyl­aniline: the 1:1 complex with 1,2,4,5‐tetra­cyano­benzene

The partner mol­ecules of N,N‐di­methyl­aniline–1,2,4,5‐tetra­cyano­benzene (1/1), C₈H₁₁N·C₁₀H₂N₄, are stacked alternately in infinite columns. The N atom of the N,N‐di­methyl­aniline mol­ecule has a partially tetrahedral character and the distance between neighbouring mol­ecules in the stack is relatively short on the side where the lone‐pair electrons of this atom are located. Molecular‐packing analysis of this and three other complexes of N,N‐di­methyl­aniline shows that there is a close relationship between the strength of the intermolecular interaction on this side and the tetrahedral character of the N atom.     

The contributions of molecular framework to IMS collision cross-sections of gas-phase peptide ions

Molecular dynamics (MD) is an essential tool for correlating collision cross-section data determined by ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) with candidate (calculated) structures. Conventional methods used for ion structure determination rely on comparing the measured cross-sections with the calculated collision cross-section for the lowest energy structure(s) taken from a large pool of candidate structures generated through multiple tiers of simulated annealing. We are developing methods to evaluate candidate structures from an ensemble of many conformations rather than the lowest energy structure. Here, we describe computational simulations and clustering methods to assign backbone conformations for singly-protonated ions of the model peptide (NH₂-Met-Ile-Phe-Ala-Gly-Ile-Lys-COOH) formed by both MALDI and ESI, and compare the structures of MIFAGIK derivatives to test the ‘sensitivity’ of the cluster analysis method. Cluster analysis suggests that [MIFAGIK + H]⁺ ions formed by MALDI have a predominantly turn structure even though the low-energy ions prefer partial helical conformers. Although the ions formed by ESI have collision cross-sections that are different from those formed by MALDI, the results of cluster analysis indicate that the ions backbone structures are similar. Chemical modifications (N-acetyl, methylester as well as addition of Boc or Fmoc groups) to MIFAGIK alter the distribution of various conformers; the most dramatic changes are observed for the [M + Na]⁺ ion, which show a strong preference for random coil conformers owing to the strong solvation by the backbone amide groups.     

Efficient symmetry-based homonuclear dipolar recoupling of quadrupolar spins: double-quantum NMR correlations in amorphous solids

We report novel symmetry-based pulse sequences for exciting double-quantum (2Q) coherences between the central transitions of half-integer spin quadrupolar nuclei in the NMR of rotating solids. Compared to previous 2Q-recoupling techniques, numerical simulations and 23Na and 27Al NMR experiments on Na2SO4 and the open-framework aluminophosphate AlPO-CJ19 verify that the new dipolar recoupling schemes display higher robustness to both radio-frequency field inhomogeneity and to spreads in resonance frequencies. These advances allowed for the first demonstration of 2Q-recoupling in an amorphous solid for revealing its intermediate-range structural features, in the context of mapping 27Al-27Al connectivities between the aluminium polyhedra (AlO4, AlO5 and AlO6) of a lanthanum aluminate glass (La0.18Al0.82O1.5).     

DIRECT EXPOSURE OF MANNALIAN CELLS TO PURE EXOGENOUS SINGLET OXYGEN (ΔgO2

Mammalian cells attached to membrane filters or deposited on filters without attachment were exposed to gas-phase singlet oxygen (¹O₂) in the absence of any other reactants. Cells were exposed in a monolayer or less, in the absence of external medium, during steady-state ¹O₂ generation, ensuring that singlet oxygen impinged directly and equally on all cells simultaneously. The current methodology for cell exposure ensures that ¹O₂ is initially the only reactive species to which the cells are exposed. Results seen with this system can therefore be attributed solely and unambiguously to events initiated by ¹O₂. Further, all cells in the sample receive the same magnitude of exposure per surface area per time interval, which supports calculations of the amount of ¹O₂ required for irreversible cell damage, based on measured ¹O₂ flux and exposed cell surface area. Exposure to pure ¹O₂ irreversibly damaged a variety of cell types, including rat basophilic leukemia, human squamous carcinoma and Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cell lines, and murine primary hepatocytes. Cell survival curves following exposure to ¹O₂ followed apparent first-order kinetics. A large number of singlet oxygen collisions (? 10¹²-10¹³) were required to inactivate a cell, on average, indicating a low probability that singlet oxygen collision will reduce cell survival. Regardless of cell type or the survival endpoint measured, lethal toxicity required a fairly constant number of ¹O₂ collisions per cell. This poses a serious caveat in the assignment of causality in correlating ¹O₂-initiated cellular damage with mechanism of death, i.e. most damage observed will not be related to death. The importance of various toxic effects of ¹O₂, whether lethal or nonlethal, will depend on the magnitude of exposure and therefore on the context in which exposure occurs.     

Interpolation by fast Wigner transform for rapid calculations of magnetic resonance spectra from powders

We introduce a novel interpolation strategy, based on nonequispaced fast transforms involving spherical harmonics or Wigner functions, for efficient calculations of powder spectra in (nuclear) magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The fast Wigner transform (FWT) interpolation operates by minimizing the time-consuming calculation stages, by sampling over a small number of Gaussian spherical quadrature (GSQ) orientations that are exploited to determine the spectral frequencies and amplitudes from a 10-70 times larger GSQ set. This results in almost the same orientational averaging accuracy as if the expanded grid was utilized explicitly in an order of magnitude slower computation. FWT interpolation is applicable to spectral simulations involving any time-independent or time-dependent and noncommuting spin Hamiltonian. We further show that the merging of FWT interpolation with the well-established ASG procedure of Alderman, Solum and Grant [J. Chem. Phys. 134, 3717 (1986)] speeds up simulations by 2-7 times relative to using ASG alone (besides greatly extending its scope of application), and between 1-2 orders of magnitude compared to direct orientational averaging in the absence of interpolation. Demonstrations of efficient spectral simulations are given for several magic-angle spinning scenarios in NMR, encompassing half-integer quadrupolar spins and homonuclear dipolar-coupled (13)C systems.     

Layer‐by‐Layer Nano‐Encapsulation of Microbes: Controlled Cell Surface Modification and Investigation of Substrate Uptake in Bacteria

LbL nano self‐assembly coating of A. vinosum with different polyelectrolyte combinations is presented as an example to investigate substrate uptake in bacteria. The effects of surface charge and the formation of a physical barrier provides new insights in the contact mechanisms between the cell surface and insoluble elemental sulfur. Furthermore, uptake of sulfide by encapsulated cells was investigated. Growth experiments of coated cells showed that surface charge did neither affect sulfide uptake nor the contact formation between the cells and solid sulfur. However, increasing layers slowed or inhibited the uptake of sulfide and elemental sulfur. This work demonstrates how defining surface properties of bacteria has potential for microbiological and biotechnological applications.

     

Sixty-Year Saga (1952–2013) of the Solid-State Structure of Triiron Dodecacarbonyl

This article presents the personal saga of one of the authors (LFD) in the determination of the solid-state structure of Fe₃(CO)₁₂. We also present the results of our recent determination of its solid-state structure at low temperature (100 K), in which we have used a modern area-detector diffractometer in order to examine more precisely its temperature-dependent structural variations reported by Braga et al. in 1994 from a point-detector diffractometer. These investigations provide a striking illustration of the remarkable advances over the last six decades in both computational hardware and software packages as well as the recent improvements in hardware data-collection instrumentation that have given rise to X-ray crystallography now being the most powerful (and in most cases the only unambiguous) physical method for elucidating the static structures of complex metal clusters. Other experimental measurements and resulting speculations concerning the dynamic/fluxional behavior of Fe₃(CO)₁₂ and closely related analogues in the solid state and in solution are briefly mentioned, as are recent theoretical analyses.     

TEM stereo-imaging of mesoporous zeolite single crystals

Mesoporous zeolite single crystals with intracrystalline mesopores and metal oxide particles located in the zeolite mesopore are characterised by direct TEM stereo-imaging.     

Supramolecular control of two-dimensional phase behavior

We have used directed two-component self-assembly to "pattern" organic monolayers on the nanometer scale at the liquid/solid interface. The ability of the scanning tunneling microscope to investigate structural details in these adlayers was used to gain insight into the two-component two-dimensional phase behavior. The components are symmetrically alkylated bisurea derivatives (R1-urea-spacer-urea-R2; R1, R2=alkyl, spacer=alkyl or bisthiophene). The bisthiophene unit acts as a marker and its bisurea derivative (T2) is a component in all the mixtures investigated. By varying the position of the hydrogen-bond forming urea groups along the molecule and the length of the alkyl chains of the other components, the effect of 1) hydrogen bonding, 2) molecule length, 3) odd-even effects, and 4) shape complementarity on the two-dimensional phase behavior was investigated. Insight into the effect of these parameters leads to the control of the two-dimensional patterning: from randomly intermixed systems to phase separation.     

Instantaneous SmI2/H2O/amine-mediated reductions in THF

The SmI(2)-mediated reductions of ketones, imines, and alpha,beta-unsaturated esters have been shown to be instantaneous in the presence of H(2)O and an amine in THF. The SmI(2)-mediated reductions are not only shown to be fast and quantitative by the addition of H(2)O and an amine, but the workup procedures are also simplified. Competing experiments with SmI(2)/H(2)O/amine confirmed that alpha,beta-unsaturated esters could be selectively reduced in the presence of ketones or imines. Comparison of analogue ligands showed that nitrogen and phosphorus ligands are superior to oxygen and sulfur ligands in these reductions. The trialkylphosphine 1,2-bis(dimethylphosphino)ethane (DMPE) provided a primary kinetic isotope effect, yielding a k(H)/k(D) of 4.5.