High-spin to low-spin relaxation kinetics in the [Fe(TRIM)2]Cl2 complex

A quasi-quantitative photo-induced low-spin (LS)-->high-spin (HS) conversion of FeII ions has been observed in the [Fe(TRIM)2]Cl2 complex by irradiating the sample with blue light (488 nm) at 10 K. The time dependence of the HS-->LS relaxation has been studied between 10 K and 44 K by means of magnetic susceptibility measurements. These relaxation curves could be satisfactorily fitted by mono-exponential decays including tunnelling effect except for temperatures below 30 K. The introduction of a distribution of vibrational frequencies into this model improved significantly the fits in the low-temperature range and gave a good agreement with the experimental data in the whole temperature range suggesting a multi-rate relaxation process in this complex.     

Analysis of monoclonal antibody by a novel CE‐UV/MALDI‐MS interface

mAbs are highly complex proteins that present a wide range of microheterogeneity that requires multiple analytical methods for full structure assessment and quality control. As a consequence, the characterization of mAbs on different levels is particularly product‐ and time‐consuming. CE‐MS couplings, especially to MALDI, appear really attractive methods for the characterization of biological samples. In this work, we report the last instrumental development and performance of the first totally automated off‐line CE‐UV/MALDI‐MS/MS. This interface is based on the removal of the original UV cell of the CE apparatus, modification of the spotting device geometry, and creation of an integrated delivery matrix system. The performance of the method was evaluated with separation of five intact proteins and a tryptic digest mixture of nine proteins. Intact protein application shows the acquisition of electropherograms with high resolution and high repeatability. In the peptide mapping approach, a total number of 154 unique identified peptides were characterized using MS/MS spectra corresponding to average sequence coverage of 64.1%. Comparison with NanoLC/MALDI‐MS/MS showed complementarity at the peptide level with an increase of 42% when using CE/MALDI‐MS coupling. Finally, this work represents the first analysis of intact mAb charge variants by CZE using an MS detection. Moreover, using a peptide mapping approach CE‐UV/MALDI‐MS/MS fragmentation allowed 100% sequence coverage of the light chain and 92% of the heavy chain, and the separation of four major glycosylated peptides and their structural characterization.     

Rationalization of the behavior of M2(CH3CS2)4I (M = Ni,Pt) chains at room temperature from periodic density functional theory and ab initio cluster calculations

The electrical conductivities and plausible charge‐ordering states in the room temperature (r.t.) phase for MMX chains [Ni₂(dta)₄I]_∞ and [Pt₂(dta)₄I]_∞ (dta = CH₃CS) have been analyzed with periodic density functional theory (DFT) and correlated ab initio calculations combined with the effective Hamiltonian theory. Periodic DFT calculations show a more delocalized nature of the ground state in [Pt₂(dta)₄I]_∞ compared to [Ni₂(dta)₄I]_∞, which features a rather large energy gap between the occupied and empty bands, and charge polarized dimer units. A larger electrical conductivity for the Pt chain can be expected, especially because the Fermi level lies within a band with contributions from Pt and I orbitals. Electronic structure parameters extracted from ab initio cluster calculations show that the large difference between the observed conductivities at 300 K for Ni and Pt compounds, of 3 orders of magnitude, cannot be explained from the parameters extracted from an embedded M₂(dta)₄I₂ dimer fragment alone. When tetramer fragments are considered, we observe that the interdimer transfer integral (t) between neighboring M₂ units connected by an iodine atom at correlated level is comparable in both chains. On the other hand, the energy to transfer an electron from a dimer to the neighboring one (Coulomb repulsion U) is three times larger in the Ni compound with respect to the Pt chain, in line with the poor conductivity of the former. The electronic structure of the M₄(dta)₈I₃ fragment points to an alternate charge‐polarization state for Ni and an average valence state for Pt when the r.t. X‐ray structure is considered. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Comparison of fast field-cycling magnetic resonance imaging methods and future perspectives

ABSTRACT

Fast field-cycling (FFC) nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry is a well-established method to determine the relaxation rates as a function of magnetic field strength. This so-called nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion gives insight into the underlying molecular dynamics of a wide range of complex systems and has gained interest especially in the characterisation of biological tissues and diseases. The combination of FFC techniques with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers a high potential for new types of image contrast more specific to pathological molecular dynamics. This article reviews the progress in FFC-MRI over the last decade and gives an overview of the hardware systems currently in operation. We discuss limitations and error correction strategies specific to FFC-MRI such as field stability and homogeneity, signal-to-noise ratio, eddy currents and acquisition time. We also report potential applications with impact in biology and medicine. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future applications in transferring the underlying molecular dynamics into novel types of image contrast by exploiting the dispersive properties of biological tissue or MRI contrast agents.     

Understanding P450‐mediated Bio‐transformations into Epoxide and Phenolic Metabolites

Adverse drug reactions are commonly the result of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) converting the drugs into reactive metabolites. Thus, information about the CYP bioactivation of drugs would not only provide insight into metabolic stability, but also into the potential toxicity. For example, oxidation of phenyl rings may lead to either toxic epoxides or safer phenols. Herein, we demonstrate that the potential to form reactive metabolites is encoded primarily in the properties of the molecule to be oxidized. While the enzyme positions the molecule inside the binding pocket (selects the site of metabolism), the subsequent reaction is only dependent on the substrate itself. To test this hypothesis, we used this observation as a predictor of drug inherent toxicity. This approach was used to successfully identify the formation of reactive metabolites in over 100 drug molecules. These results provide a new perspective on the impact of functional groups on aromatic oxidation of drugs and their effects on toxicity.     

Nuclear proteome analysis of undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem and germ cells

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and embryonic germ cells (EGCs) provide exciting models for understanding the underlying mechanisms that make a cell pluripotent. Indeed, such understanding would enable dedifferentiation and reprogrammation of any cell type from a patient needing a cell therapy treatment. Proteome analysis has emerged as an important technology for deciphering these biological processes and thereby ESC and EGC proteomes are increasingly studied. Nevertheless, their nuclear proteomes have only been poorly investigated up to now. In order to investigate signaling pathways potentially involved in pluripotency, proteomic analyses have been performed on mouse ESC and EGC nuclear proteins. Nuclei from ESCs and EGCs at undifferentiated stage were purified by subcellular fractionation. After 2‐D separation, a subtractive strategy (subtracting culture environment contaminating spots) was applied and a comparison of ESC, (8.5 day post coïtum (dpc))‐EGC and (11.5 dpc)‐EGC specific nuclear proteomes was performed. A total of 33 ESC, 53 (8.5 dpc)‐EGC, and 36 (11.5 dpc)‐EGC spots were identified by MALDI‐TOF‐MS and/or nano‐LC‐MS/MS. This approach led to the identification of two isoforms (with and without N‐terminal acetylation) of a known pluripotency marker, namely developmental pluripotency associated 5 (DPPA5), which has never been identified before in 2‐D gel‐MS studies of ESCs and EGCs. Furthermore, we demonstrated the efficiency of our subtracting strategy, in association with a nuclear subfractionation by the identification of a new protein (protein arginine N‐methyltransferase 7; PRMT7) behaving as proteins involved in pluripotency.     

The effect of oxidation on physical properties of porous silicon layers for optical applications

In order to understand the optical loss mechanisms in porous silicon based waveguides, structural and optical studies have been performed. Scanning and transmission electron microscopic observations of porous silicon layers are obtained before and after an oxidation process at high temperature in wet O₂. Pore size and shape of heavily p-type doped Si wafers are estimated and correlated to the optical properties of the material before and after oxidation. The refractive index was measured and compared to that determined by the Bruggeman model.     

Visualization of Heterogeneous Oxygen Storage Behavior in Platinum‐Supported Cerium‐Zirconium Oxide Three‐Way Catalyst Particles by Hard X‐ray Spectro‐Ptychography

The cerium density and valence in micrometer‐size platinum‐supported cerium–zirconium oxide Pt/Ce₂Zr₂O_x (x=7–8) three‐way catalyst particles were successfully mapped by hard X‐ray spectro‐ptychography (ptychographic‐X‐ray absorption fine structure, XAFS). The analysis of correlation between the Ce density and valence in ptychographic‐XAFS images suggested the existence of several oxidation behaviors in the oxygen storage process in the Ce₂Zr₂O_x particles. Ptychographic‐XAFS will open up the nanoscale chemical imaging and structural analysis of heterogeneous catalysts.     

Lê–Greuel type formula for the Euler obstruction and applications

The Euler obstruction of a function f   can be viewed as a generalization of the Milnor number for functions defined on singular spaces. In this work, using the Euler obstruction of a function, we establish several Lê–Greuel type formulas for germs f:(X,0)→(C,0)$f:(X,0)\to (\mathbb{C},0)$ and g:(X,0)→(C,0)$g:(X,0)\to (\mathbb{C},0)$. We give applications when g is a generic linear form and when f and g have isolated singularities.