Using XPS to determine solute solubility in room temperature ionic liquids

X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was used to quantify the amount of bromide ions present in two samples of [C(4)mpyrr]Br dissolved in the room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) [C(4)mpyrr][N(Tf)2]. One sample was of a known concentration (0.436 Br atom%); the other was a saturated solution. The results obtained from quantitative XPS analysis indicated that the saturated sample had a concentration, or solubility, of 0.90 Br atom% (746 mM) at 298 K, which was then independently confirmed by potential-step chronoamperometry of the same solution.     

Gain-of-function mutational activation of human tRNA synthetase procytokine

Disease-causing mutations occur in genes for aminoacyl tRNA synthetases. That some mutations are dominant suggests a gain of function. Native tRNA synthetases, such as tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS) and tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase, catalyze aminoacylation and are also procytokines that are activated by natural fragmentation. In principle, however, gain-of-function phenotypes could arise from mutational activation of synthetase procytokines. From crystal structure analysis, we hypothesized that a steric block of a critical Glu-Leu-Arg (ELR) motif in full-length TyrRS suppresses the cytokine activity of a natural fragment. To test this hypothesis, we attempted to uncover ELR in the procytokine by mutating a conserved tyrosine (Y341) that tethers ELR. Site-specific proteolytic cleavage and small-angle X-ray scattering established subtle opening of the structure by the mutation. Strikingly, four different assays demonstrated mutational activation of cytokine functions. The results prove the possibilities for constitutive gain-of-function mutations in tRNA synthetases.     

Comparison of benzene, nitrobenzene, and dinitrobenzene 2-arylsulfenylpyrroles

The effectiveness of the 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfenyl and 4-nitrobenzenesulfenyl groups as masking and directing groups at the 2-position of pyrrole has been investigated and compared to that of 2-phenylthiopyrrole. The presence of the nitro group(s) enhances stability of the corresponding pyrrole toward acid and does not significantly decrease the ability of the pyrrolic unit to undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions in the form of formylation, nitration, and condensation with aldehydes. The synthetic utility of 2-(2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfenyl)pyrrole was demonstrated through the synthesis of meso-substituted dipyrromethanes. The sulfoxides 2-(2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfinyl)pyrrole and 2-(4-nitrobenzenesulfinyl)pyrrole underwent neither formylation nor nitration, and the increasing presence of nitro groups within the moiety at the 2-position resulted in decreased stability under acidic conditions.     

An electrochemical and XPS study of reduction of nitrophenyl films covalently grafted to planar carbon surfaces

Nitrophenyl (NP) films were grafted to glassy carbon and pyrolyzed photoresist films by electroreduction of the corresponding diazonium salt. The as-prepared, multilayered films were examined using electrochemistry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical analysis confirmed the absence of electrooxidizable groups whereas XPS showed approximately 35% of N was present in a reduced form. The reduced N is assigned to azo groups, which are known to be electroinactive in the film environment. NP films were reduced electrochemically in three media and also by chemical reduction in ethanolic disodium sulfide. The concentrations of aminophenyl and hydroxylaminophenyl groups produced by each method were estimated electrochemically, and the relative amounts of unreacted NP groups were established from XPS measurements. Aminophenyl is the major product for all reduction methods, and Na2S gives the cleanest and most complete conversion to aminophenyl groups, with less than 5% residual NP. Reduced NP films were reacted with carboxylic acid and acid chloride derivatives; the highest yield of electroactive-coupled product was obtained for a film electroreduced in H2SO4 and reacted with acid chloride. The detailed electrochemical and XPS analysis reveals the limitations of electrochemistry for determining the composition of these films.     

Metal-dependent self-assembly of a microbial surfactant

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were used to study the metal-dependent phase behavior of microbially produced surfactants-marinobactins B, D, and E (MB, MD, and ME). Marinobactins A-E are siderophores that facilitate Fe(III) acquisition by the source bacterium through the coordination of Fe(III) by the peptidic headgroup. All of the marinobactins have the same six amino acid headgroup but differ in the length and saturation of the monoalkyl fatty acid tail. Fe(III) coordinated to ME (Fe(III)-ME) was found to form micelles with a diameter of approximately 3.5 nm that underwent a supramolecular transformation to produce a monodisperse population of vesicles with an average diameter ranging from approximately 90 to 190 nm upon addition of Cd(II), Zn(II), or La(III). SANS profiles of the transition-metal-induced phase exhibit a Bragg peak at QB approximately 0.11-0.12 A-1 and were fit to a SANS model for multilamellar vesicles that have an interbilayer repeat distance of 2pi/QB approximately 5.6-5.0 nm. Cryo-TEM images of the Zn(II)-induced phase reveals the presence of approximately 100 nm diameter approximately spherical aggregates of uniform electron density. The temperature dependence of the Zn(II)-induced transformation was also investigated as a function of the length and degree of unsaturation of the Fe(III)-marinobactin fatty acid tail. The Cd(II)-, Zn(II)-, and La(III)-induced phase changes have features that are similar to those of the previously reported Fe(III)-induced micelle-to-vesicle transition, and this observation has opened questions regarding the role that Cd(II) and Zn(II) may play in bacterial iron uptake.     

Unambiguous Stereochemical Assignment of Cyclo(Phe-Pro), Cyclo(Leu-Pro), and Cyclo(Val-Pro) by Electronic Circular Dichroic Spectroscopy

2,5-diketopiperazines (DKPs) are cyclic dipeptides ubiquitously found in nature. In particular, cyclo(Phe-Pro), cyclo(Leu-Pro), and cyclo(Val-Pro) are frequently detected in many microbial cultures. Each of these DKPs has four possible stereoisomers due to the presence of two chirality centers. However, absolute configurations of natural DKPs are often ambiguous due to the lack of a simple, sensitive, and reproducible method for stereochemical assignment. This is an important problem because stereochemistry is a key determinant of biological activity. Here, we report a synthetic DKP library containing all stereoisomers of cyclo(Phe-Pro), cyclo(Leu-Pro), and cyclo(Val-Pro). The library was subjected to spectroscopic characterization using mass spectrometry, NMR, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). It turned out that ECD can clearly differentiate DKP stereoisomers. Thus, our ECD dataset can serve as a reference for unambiguous stereochemical assignment of cyclo(Phe-Pro), cyclo(Leu-Pro), and cyclo(Val-Pro) samples from natural sources. The DKP library was also subjected to a biological screening using assays for E. coli growth and biofilm formation, which revealed distinct biological effects of cyclo(D-Phe-L-Pro).     

Topology of Foliations and Decomposition of Stochastic Flows of Diffeomorphisms

Let M be a compact manifold equipped with a pair of complementary foliations, say horizontal and vertical. In Catuogno et al. (Stoch Dyn 13(4):1350009, 2013) it is shown that, up to a stopping time \(\tau \), a stochastic flow of local diffeomorphisms \(\varphi _t\) in M can be written as a Markovian process in the subgroup of diffeomorphisms which preserve the horizontal foliation composed with a process in the subgroup of diffeomorphisms which preserve the vertical foliation. Here, we discuss topological aspects of this decomposition. The main result guarantees the global decomposition of a flow if it preserves the orientation of a transversely orientable foliation. In the last section, we present an Itô-Liouville formula for subdeterminants of linearised flows. We use this formula to obtain sufficient conditions for the existence of the decomposition for all \(t\ge 0\).