Synthesis, magnetostructural correlation, and catalytic promiscuity of unsymmetric dinuclear copper(II) complexes: models for catechol oxidases and hydrolases

Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization, through elemental analysis, electronic spectroscopy, electrochemistry, potentiometric titration, electron paramagnetic resonance, and magnetochemistry, of two dinuclear copper(II) complexes, using the unsymmetrical ligands N',N',N-tris(2-pyridylmethyl)-N-(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-butylbenzyl)-1,3-propanediamin-2-ol (L1) and N',N'-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-N,N-(2-hydroxybenzyl)(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-butylbenzyl)-1,3-propanediamin-2-ol (L2). The structures of the complexes [Cu(2)(L1)(μ-OAc)](ClO(4))(2)·(CH(3))(2)CHOH (1) and [Cu(2)(L2)(μ-OAc)](ClO(4))·H(2)O·(CH(3))(2)CHOH (2) were determined by X-ray crystallography. The complex [Cu(2)(L3)(μ-OAc)](2+) [3; L3 = N-(2-hydroxybenzyl)-N',N',N-tris(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,3-propanediamin-2-ol] was included in this study for comparison purposes only (Neves et al. Inorg. Chim. Acta2005, 358, 1807-1822). Magnetic data show that the Cu(II) centers in 1 and 2 are antiferromagnetically coupled and that the difference in the exchange coupling J found for these complexes (J = -4.3 cm(-1) for 1 and J = -40.0 cm(-1) for 2) is a function of the Cu-O-Cu bridging angle. In addition, 1 and 2 were tested as catalysts in the oxidation of the model substrate 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol and can be considered as functional models for catechol oxidase. Because these complexes possess labile sites in their structures and in solution they have a potential nucleophile constituted by a terminal Cu(II)-bound hydroxo group, their activity toward hydrolysis of the model substrate 2,4-bis(dinitrophenyl)phosphate and DNA was also investigated. Double electrophilic activation of the phosphodiester by monodentate coordination to the Cu(II) center that contains the phenol group with tert-butyl substituents and hydrogen bonding of the protonated phenol with the phosphate O atom are proposed to increase the hydrolase activity (K(ass.) and k(cat.)) of 1 and 2 in comparison with that found for complex 3. In fact, complexes 1 and 2 show both oxidoreductase and hydrolase/nuclease activities and can thus be regarded as man-made models for studying catalytic promiscuity.     

Distinguishing Periodic and Chaotic Time Series Obtained from an Experimental Nonlinear Pendulum

The experimental analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems furnishes ascalar sequence of measurements, which may be analyzed using state spacereconstruction and other techniques related to nonlinear analysis. Thenoise contamination is unavoidable in cases of data acquisition and,therefore, it is important to recognize techniques that can be employedfor a correct identification of chaos. The present contributiondiscusses the experimental analysis of a nonlinear pendulum, consideringstate space reconstruction, frequency domain analysis and thedetermination of dynamical invariants, Lyapunov exponents and attractordimension. A procedure to construct Poincaré map of the signal ispresented. The analyses of periodic and chaotic motions are carried outin order to establish a difference between them. Results show that it ispossible to distinguish periodic and chaotic time series obtained froman experimental set up employing proper procedures even though noisesuppression is not contemplated.     

The role of graphene on thermally induced shape memory properties of poly(lactic acid) extruded composites

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In this work, the effect of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on the thermally induced shape memory properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was studied. rGO...     

3,6-bis(2′,-pyridyl)pyridazine dinuclear complexes: Palladium(II), platinum(II) and first row transition metal(II) mixed complexes

New Pd(II) and Pt(II) 3,6-bis(2′-pyridyl)pyridazine (dppn) mononuclear complexes of the type M(dppn)Cl₂ were prepared and characterized. From M(dppn)Cl₂, the bimetallic homonuclear complexes M(dppn)MCl₄ were prepared by reaction with Pd(PhCN)₂Cl₂ or K₂PtCl₄. Bimetallic heteronuclear species of the type M(dppn)M′Cl₄, were prepared reacting the mononuclear complexes with the stoichiometric amount of M′Cl₂ (M′ = Cu, Co, Ni). All the described reaction give product in high yield. The isolated compounds, almost completely insoluble in most organic solvents, were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, ESR, reflectance spectra, and magnetic moment measurements. On the basis of these data the geometries around the metals are discussed.     

Density functional treatment of water–carbon dioxide van der waals complex

LCGTO–LSD and LCGTO–NLSD methods have been tested for the study of water–carbon dioxide weakly bound binary complex. Different local and nonlocal exchange-correlation energy functionals and many grid radial points have been used. Results show that both nonlocal corrections and a large number of radial points in the grid are mandatory for well reproducing the experimental data. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

On the α-ketols obtained from α,β-unsaturated aromatic aldehydes and bakers'yeast

From α-methylcinnamaldehyde (1b), acetaldehyde and fermenting bakers'yeast, at pH 5, the $\text{R}$ α-ketol (6) is obtained in $\text{ca}$. 15% yield, togheter with unreacted (1b); from cinnamaldehyde (1a), under identical conditions, optically inactive (5) has been isolated as the only transformation product.     

Applications on the monitoring of oxidative modification of LDL by capillary electrophoresis: a comparison with spectrophotometer assay

The aim of this work is the application of Stocks and Miller capillary electrophoresis (CE) method in order to evaluate the human LDL susceptibility to Cu²⁺-induced oxidation. Lipid peroxidation determines a change in the relative electrophoretic mobility (REM) of lipoprotein that can be monitored by capillary electrophoresis using uncoated fused silica capillaries and tricine-methylglucamine as electrophoretic buffer.We have evaluated the differences in the susceptibility to oxidation of LDL subjected to different preparations (dialysis or gel filtration, after ultracentrifugation, to remove EDTA), and different storage (4 °C for 1 week or lyophilization) by measuring REM and lipid hydroperoxides (ROOH) with a spectrophotometer assay. Our results indicate that gel filtration is a more convenient procedure than dialysis for the isolation of LDL and that lyophilised samples are less prone to oxidation than those stored at 4 °C. Moreover, REM appears to be a more sensitive and easier method than spectrophotometer assay both to monitor the oxidative modification of LDL and to evaluate oxidative state of native LDL.     

Chiral ionic liquids for catalytic enantioselective sulfide oxidation

A new class of catalytic ionic liquids, containing chiral tungstate(VI) anions, gives enantiomeric excesses up to 96% for sulfide oxidation to sulfoxides.     

Incommensurate modulated structure of the ferromagnetic shape-memory Ni2MnGa martensite

The ferromagnetic shape memory (MSM) alloy Ni₂MnGa undergoes a martensitic transformation (MT) at T=220 K on cooling. The structure of this phase is studied by powder X-ray diffraction experiment. The analysis of the experimental data combined with the huge information reported in literature allowed to conclude that the Ni₂MnGa martensite shows an incommensurate modulated structure closely related to a five-fold layered superstructure. The symmetry of the basic structure is found to be orthorhombic. The structure is refined by Rietveld method with superspace group Immm(00γ)s00 having a=4.2187(1) Å, b=5.5534(1) Å and c=4.1899(1) Å and modulation vector q=0.4248(3)c*. The results show that the modulation is mainly related to the periodic shuffling of the atomic layers perpendicular to the c-axis of the orthorhombic basic structure.