A catalyst-free one-step synthesis of N-pyrimidinyl amidines from endocyclic enamines and 4-azidopyrimidines

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Formation of spanning water networks on protein surfaces via 2D percolation transition

The formation of spanning hydrogen-bonded water networks on protein surfaces by a percolation transition is closely connected with the onset of their biological activity. To analyze the structure of the hydration water at this important threshold, we performed the first computer simulation study of the percolation transition of water in a model protein powder and on the surface of a single protein molecule. The formation of an infinite water network in the protein powder occurs as a 2D percolation transition at a critical hydration level, which is close to the values observed experimentally. The formation of a spanning 2D water network on a single rigid protein molecule can be described by adapting the cluster analysis of conventional percolation studies to the characterization of the connectivity of the hydration water on the surface of finite objects. Strong fluctuations of the surface water network are observed close to the percolation threshold. Our simulations also furnish a microscopic picture for understanding the specific values of the experimentally observed hydration levels, where different steps of increasing mobility in the hydrated powder are observed.     

Unique description of chemical structures based on hierarchically ordered extended connectivities (HOC procedures). VIII. General principles for computer implementation

The computer implementation of the HOC procedures presented in Parts I, II and III of this series is based on the module principle. It contains a main program and seventeen subroutines in Fortran IV. The system is able to provide unique atom numbering and code for all kinds of chemical compounds in their tremendous variety of structures.     

Surfactant vesicles for high-efficiency capture and separation of charged organic solutes

We demonstrate the unique ability of catanionic vesicles, formed by mixing single-tailed cationic and anionic surfactants, to capture ionic solutes with remarkable efficiency. In an initial study (Wang, X.; Danoff, E. J.; Sinkov, N. A.; Lee, J.-H.; Raghavan, S. R.; English, D. S. Langmuir 2006, 22, 6461) with vesicles formed from cetyl trimethylammonium tosylate (CTAT) and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS), we showed that CTAT-rich (cationic) vesicles could capture the anionic solute carboxyfluorescein with high efficiency (22%) and that the solute was retained by the vesicles for very long times (t1/2 = 84 days). Here we expand on these findings by investigating the interactions of both anionic and cationic solutes, including the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin, with both CTAT-rich and SDBS-rich vesicles. The ability of these vesicles to capture and hold dyes is extremely efficient (>20%) when the excess charge of the vesicle bilayer is opposite that of the solute (i.e., for anionic solutes in CTAT-rich vesicles and for cationic solutes in SDBS-rich vesicles). This charge-dependent effect is strong enough to enable the use of vesicles to selectively capture and separate an oppositely charged solute from a mixture of solutes. Our results suggest that catanionic surfactant vesicles could be useful for a variety of separation and drug delivery applications because of their unique properties and long-term stability.     

Group-theoretical approach to the investigation of reaction graphs for highly degenerate rearrangements of chemical compounds I. Criterion of the connectivity of a graph

We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a reaction graph of a degenerate rearrangement to be connected. This condition is formulated in terms of vertex stabilizers of the automorphism group of a molecular graph. The condition is illustrated on several examples, including the reaction graph of bullvalene. We consider different mathematical models for the construction of reaction graphs and state the problem: which of the models is more adequate?     

The problem of small negatively ionized water clusters

Structures of the negatively charged water clusters (H₂O)⁻_n with n up to 6 were optimized at the UHF/4–31 + + G** level without any geometrical restriction. There was found a chainlike structure for the trimer anion and both chainlike and cyclic geometries for the larger clusters. According to the MP2 energy estimates, all the clusters with n ≥ 3 are more stable than the combinations of separated water molecules and a free electron. The energy of the cycles is lower than that of the chains of the same size. However, the latter species are energetically closer to the neutral oligomers of the same geometry. The energy of vertical detachment of an electron from the chainlike hexamer anion is already about zero. Addition of a diffuse s function centered equidistantly between the oxygen atoms proved metastability, in particular, of the cyclic (H₂O)⁻₄ structure. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 63: 737–748, 1997     

Molecular and conformational properties of comb-like polymers with ionically bound side chains studied in organic solvent

Conformational and dynamo-optical properties of a homologous series of poly(cetyltrimethylammonium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonates) with molecular masses ranging from 80 to 700?kDa were studied in chloroform solutions by viscometry, dynamic light scattering, sedimentation, and flow birefringence. The Mark–Kuhn–Houwink Equations for this polymer in chloroform were obtained; the values of hydrodynamic diameter and the Kuhn segment length as well as the value of intrinsic anisotropy of polarizability of the monomer unit were defined.     

Pyridine Adducts of Tricyano- and Dicyanoboranes

Cyanoborane adducts of the Lewis acids B(CN)₃, BF(CN)₂, and BH(CN)₂ with pyridine and 4-cyanopyridine have been obtained in high yields. The syntheses were accomplished by oxidation of the readily available potassium salts of the cyano(hydrido)borate anions [BH(CN)₃]⁻ ( MHB ), [BFH(CN)₂]⁻ ( FHB ), and [BH₂(CN)₂]⁻ ( DHB ) with bromine in the presence of the respective pyridine derivative C₅H₅N or 4-CN-C₅H₄N as starting material. All six cyanoborane adducts have been characterized by NMR and vibrational spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The reduction of the cyanoborane adducts has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and the Lewis acidity of the different cyanoboranes has been assessed using the Gutmann-Beckett method. Selected experimental data and trends are compared to theoretical ones, for example fluoride ion affinities (FIAs).