Structure–property correlation of a boron and carbon modified as cast β titanium alloy

Beta titanium alloys, Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn, with minor additions of boron and carbon were prepared by consumable vacuum arc melting. Detailed microstructural characterizations were carried out using optical, scanning electron microscopes and transmission electron microscopes. Addition of boron resulted in refinement of the as cast beta grain while carbon addition resulted in the precipitation of extremely fine α phase during ageing. Formation of boride and carbide particles due to addition of boron and carbon, respectively, and refinement of the aged microstructure increased the hardness and strength as compared to the base alloy but reduced elongation to failure considerably, especially in the carbon-containing alloy where no measurable plasticity was observed. Fracture toughness values, however, were comparable for the boron- and carbon-containing alloys but these were lower than that of the base alloy.     

A Sensitive Schiff-Base Fluorescent Chemosensor for the Selective Detection of Zn2+

A Schiff-base fluorescent probe – N, N^/-bis(salicylidene) trans 1, 2 – diaminocyclohexane (H ₂ L) was synthesized and evaluated as a chemoselective Zn²⁺ sensor. Upon treatment with Zn²⁺, the complexation of H ₂ L with Zn²⁺ resulted in a bathochromic shift with a pronounced enhancement in the fluorescence intensity in ethanol solution. Moreover, other common alkali, alkaline earth and transition metal ions failed to induce response or minimal spectral changes. Notably, this chemosensor could distinguish clearly Zn²⁺ from Cd²⁺. The stoichiometric ratio and association constant were evaluated using Benesi – Hildebrand relation giving 1:1 stoichiometry. This further corroborated 1:1 complex formation based on Job’s plot analyses.     

Coupling of o and/or m-substituted arylamines with the ortho-C–H function of the pendant aryl ring in coordinated arylazopyrimidinepalladium(II) complexes. Spectral and electrochemical characterisation of the products

2-(Arylazo)pyrimidines (aapm) are N,N-chelators which form palladium(II) complexes, Pd(aapm)Cl₂ (1). The reaction of Pd(aapm)Cl₂ (1) with arylamines (ArNH₂) yields Pd(aapm-N-Ar)Cl, (2)–(7), complexes of the tridentate N,N,N-donor system in which arylamines are fused to the ortho C–H function of the pendant aryl ring in the coordinated 2-(arylazo)pyrimidine, leading to the C–N coupled product. Pd(aapm-N-Ar)Cl, complexes (2)–(7), exhibit a broad intense absorption band in n.i.r. region (870–920 nm), while the parent complex, Pd(aapm)Cl₂, shows an intense absorption at 425 nm. Cyclic voltammograms of (2)–(7) exhibit an oxidation couple at positive potential to s.c.e. together with three reductions at negative side. The oxidation may involve conversion of the chelated azoarylamine to semibenzoquinone azoarylamine fragment. The reduction is due to the accommodation of electrons in the azoimine function. The absorption spectra in the n.i.r. region may be regarded as HOMO LUMO intravalence charge transfer (i.v.c.t.) transitions.     

Secondary structure sensitivity of hydrogen bond lifetime dynamics in the protein hydration layer

The heterogeneous nature of a protein surface plays an essential role in its biological activity and molecular recognition, and this role is mediated at least partly through the surrounding water molecules. We have performed atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of an aqueous solution of HP-36 to investigate the correlation between the dynamics of the hydration layer water molecules and the lifetimes of protein-water hydrogen bonds. The nonexponential hydrogen bond lifetime correlation functions have been analyzed by using the formalism of Luzar and Chandler, which allowed identification of the quasi-bound states in the surface and quantification of the dynamic equilibrium between quasi-bound and free water molecules in terms of time-dependent rate of interconversion. It is noticed that, irrespective of the structural heterogeneity of different segments of the protein, namely the three alpha-helices, the positively charged amino acid residues form longer-lived hydrogen bonds with water. The overall relaxation behavior of protein-water hydrogen bonds is found to differ significantly among the three helices of the protein. Study of water number density fluctuation reveals that the hydration layer of helix-3 is much less rigid, which can be correlated with faster structural relaxation of the hydrogen bonds between its residues and water. This also agrees excellently with faster translational and rotational motions of water near helix-3, and hence the lower rigidity of its hydration layer. The lower rigidity of the helix-3 hydration layer also correlates well with the biological activity of the protein, as several of the active-site residues of HP-36 are located in helix-3.     

Monolayer of aerosol-OT surfactants adsorbed at the air/water interface: an atomistic computer simulation study

An atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulation has been carried out to investigate the structural and dynamical properties of a monolayer of the anionic surfactant sodium bis(2-ethyl-1-hexyl) sulfosuccinate (aerosol-OT or AOT) adsorbed at the air/water interface. The simulation is performed at room temperature and at a surface coverage corresponding to that at its critical micelle concentration (78 A(2)/molecule). The estimated thickness of the adsorbed layer is in good agreement with neutron reflection data. The study shows that the surfactants exhibit diffusive motion in the plane of the interface. It is observed that the surfactant monolayer has a strong influence in restricting both the translational and reorientational motions of the water molecules close to the interface. A drastic difference in the dipolar reorientational motion of water molecules in the aqueous layer is observed with a small variation of the distance from the surfactant headgroups. It has been observed that the water molecules in the first hydration layer (region 1) form strong hydrogen bonds with surfactant headgoups. This results in the slower structural relaxation of water-water hydrogen bonds in the first hydration layer compared to that in the pure bulk water. Most interestingly, we notice that the water molecules present in the layer immediately after the first hydration layer form weaker hydrogen bonds and thus relax faster than even pure bulk water.     

Synthesis of Terminal Oligosaccharides from Type Specific Lipooligosaccharide of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Abstract

The coupling reaction between 1,3-di-O-acetyl-4-O-benzyl-2-O-methyl-α-L-rhamnopyranose (9) and methyl 4-O-benzyl-2-O-methyl-α-L-rhamno-pyranoside (4) was carried out in the presence of boron trifluoride-etherate followed by deacetylation to give the disaccharide (11) containing a free 3′ position. The second glycosylation reaction with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-α-d-glucopyranosyl bromide in the presence of mercuric salts followed by removal of benzyl and acetyl groups provided the trisaccharide 2. The boron trifluoride catalysed condensation of 1,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-2-O-methyl-L-fucopyranose (14) and methyl 2,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-α-d-glucopyranoside (15) gave the disaccharide (16) from which the protecting groups were removed to form the disaccharide (3).     

Restricted dynamics of water around a protein-carbohydrate complex: Computer simulation studies

Water-mediated protein-carbohydrate interaction is a complex phenomenon responsible for different biological processes in cellular environment. One of the unexplored but important issues in this area is the role played by water during the recognition process and also in controlling the microscopic properties of the complex. In this study, we have carried out atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of a protein-carbohydrate complex formed between the hyaluronan binding domain of the murine Cd44 protein and the octasaccharide hyaluronan in explicit water. Efforts have been made to explore the heterogeneous influence of the complex on the dynamic properties of water present in different regions around it. It is revealed from our analyses that the heterogeneous dynamics of water around the complex are coupled with differential time scales of formation and breaking of hydrogen bonds at the interface. Presence of a highly rigid thin layer of motionally restricted water molecules bridging the protein and the carbohydrate in the common region of the complex has been identified. Such water molecules are expected to play a crucial role in controlling properties of the complex. Importantly, it is demonstrated that the formation of the protein-carbohydrate complex affects the transverse and longitudinal degrees of freedom of the interfacial water molecules in a heterogeneous manner.     

Docking ligands into flexible and solvated macromolecules. 2. Development and application of fitted 1.5 to the virtual screening of potential HCV polymerase inhibitors

HCV NS5B polymerase is a validated target for the treatment of hepatitis C, known to be one of the most challenging enzymes for docking programs. In order to improve the low accuracy of existing docking methods observed with this challenging enzyme, we have significantly modified and updated F itted 1.0, a recently reported docking program, into F itted 1.5. This enhanced version is now applicable to the virtual screening of compound libraries and includes new features such as filters and pharmacophore- or interaction-site-oriented docking. As a first validation, F itted 1.5 was applied to the testing set previously developed for F itted 1.0 and extended to include hepatitis C virus (HCV) polymerase inhibitors. This first validation showed an increased accuracy as well as an increase in speed. It also shows that the accuracy toward HCV polymerase is better than previously observed with other programs. Next, application of F itted 1.5 to the virtual screening of the Maybridge library seeded with known HCV polymerase inhibitors revealed its ability to recover most of these actives in the top 5% of the hit list. As a third validation, further biological assays uncovered HCV polymerase inhibition for selected Maybridge compounds ranked in the top of the hit list.