Intercalation of a pendant-arm tetraazamacrocycle into molybdenum disulfide

A novel macrocycle-MoS2 nanocomposite has been synthesized and characterized using the exfoliation/restacking properties of LiMoS2, providing the first of a new family of intercalation compounds.     

An approximate description of the double capture process in He2+ + He collisions with static correlation

It is shown that the process of resonant double electron capture in high energy He²⁺+He collisions can be approximately described by a sum over products of one-electron CDW amplitudes. The summation coefficients are determined by stationary ground-state calculations with CI wavefunctions. Total and differential cross sections are calculated and compared with experimental values.     

Determination of adsorptive properties of clay/water system: methylene blue sorption

In this study, adsorption of methylene blue onto clay was investigated. The effect of adsorption time and temperature on the adsorption process was studied. To reveal the adsorptive characteristics of the clay studied, porosity and BET surface area measurements were made. It was observed that the adsorption capacity decreases with increasing temperature, and adsorption equilibrium was attained within 1 h. It was found that the data fit well to Langmuir, Halsey, Henderson, and Harkins-Jura models but experimental data deviate significantly from BET and Freundlich models at especially high concentrations. Furthermore, isosteric adsorption enthalpy and entropy are calculated as -7.99 kJ mol(-1) and 25.41 JK(-1)mol(-1), respectively.     

DNA Hydrolysis by Homo- and Heteronuclear Cu(II)–Ni(II) Complexes of Two Diester-type Ligands

Nucleolytic activities of novel mononuclear Cu(II), homo- and heterodinuclear Cu(II)–Ni(II) complexes with two diester-type ligands were investigated on pCYTEXP by neutral agarose gel electrophoresis. The analyses of the cleavage products obtained electrophoretically indicate that the examined complexes induce very similar conformational changes on supercoiled DNA by converting supercoiled form to nicked form. At concentrations greater than 100M, the complexes possessed effective nucleolytic activities for 10min of incubation time. However, their nucleolytic activities did not increase significantly with longer periods of incubation. The pH-nucleolytic activity profiles of the complexes differed significantly. Metal complex induced DNA cleavage was also tested for inhibition by various radical scavengers. It could be proposed from the data that diffusible intermediate oxidants are not involved in these reactions or they are not necessary for DNA cleavage since none of antioxidants inhibited DNA cleaving activities of the complexes.     

Syntheses of Anthracenones. 1. Sodium Dithionite Reduction of peri-Substituted Anthracenediones

The reaction of peri-substituted anthracenediones with sodium dithionite in dimethylformamide and water has been investigated. The system selectively reduces the carbonyl group flanked by the peri substituents of the anthracenediones to give the corresponding 4,5-disubstituted 9(10H)-anthracenones and thus provides a route to anthracenones which are otherwise difficult to obtain. Many functional groups can be tolerated, the reaction is compatible with the presence of peri alkoxy groups and unsaturated side chains of the starting anthracenediones, and the reduction does not go beyond the anthracenone stage. However, the formation of anthracenones depends on the nature of the peri substituents. No products were obtained from the 1,8-dimethyl-substituted anthracenedione and the parent compound with no substituents.     

Electrospray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry fingerprinting of Acanthophis (death adder) venoms: taxonomic and toxinological implications

Death adders (genus Acanthophis) are unique among elapid snakes in both morphology and venom composition. Despite this genus being among the most divergent of all elapids, the venom has been historically regarded as relatively quite simple. In this study, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis has revealed a much greater diversity in venom composition, including the presence of molecules of novel molecular weights that may represent a new class of venom component. Furthermore, significant variation exists between species and populations, which allow for the LC/MS fingerprinting of each species. Mass profiling of Acanthophis venoms clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of this technique which underpins fundamental studies ranging from chemotaxonomy to drug design.     

Studies in polyphenol chemistry and bioactivity. 4.(1) Synthesis of trimeric,tetrameric, pentameric,and higher oligomeric epicatechin-derived procyanidins having all-4beta,8-interflavan connectivity and their inhibition of cancer cell growth through cell cycle arrest

We report an improved synthesis of bis(5,7,3',4'-tetra-O-benzyl)epicatechin 4beta,8-dimer (3) from 5,7,3',4'-tetra-O-benzylepicatechin (1) and 5,7,3',4'-tetra-O-benzyl-4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)epicatechin (2) by replacing the previously employed Lewis acid, titanium tetrachloride, with the clay mineral Bentonite K-10. Under the same conditions, the benzyl-protected all-4beta,8-trimer, -tetramer, and -pentamer were obtained regioselectively from their lower homologues, albeit in rapidly decreasing yields. Reaction of 2 with an organoaluminum thiolate generated from 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and trimethylaluminum followed by acetylation produced 3-O-acetyl-4-[(2-benzothiazolyl)thio]-5,7,3',4'-tetra-O-benzylepicatechin (12). Medium-sized protected oligomers with 4beta,8-interflavan linkages are obtained in improved yields by using this compound as the electrophile and silver tetrafluoroborate as activator and are isolated by reversed-phase HPLC. Their deprotection by ester saponification followed by hydrogenolysis yielded the free procyanidins, which were characterized as their peracetates. The synthetic procyanidins are identical by normal-phase HPLC with fractions isolated from cocoa. The principle of chain extension by two members was demonstrated using a dimeric electrophile obtained by self-condensation of compound 12. Both the synthetic and natural pentamer 32 inhibit the growth of several breast cancer cell lines. Using the MDA MB 231 line, it was established that this outcome is based on the induction of cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. Subsequent cell death is more likely necrotic rather than apoptotic. Control experiments demonstrate that the polyphenol itself, rather than hydrogen peroxide potentially formed by its autoxidation, is the causative agent.     

Solid-state synthesis and properties of SmCoO3

In this paper, perovskite oxide SmCoO₃ was prepared by the solid-state reaction method using Co₂O₃ and Sm₂O₃ as raw materials. The structure and properties of the samples were investigated by XRD, Raman spectral techniques, and DC measurements and so on. The results of XRD and Raman spectra showed that the mixtures of Co₂O₃ and Sm₂O₃ can react to produce a single phase perovskite oxide SmCoO₃ around 1353 K. The single-phase SmCoO₃ changes from an insulator to a semi-conductor and transition occurs around 470 K. The thermal expansion coefficient (2.17 × 10⁻⁵ K⁻¹) of the single-phase SmCoO₃ is approximately equal to that of doped LaGaO₃, but much bigger than that of SDC(Ce_0.85Sm_0.15O₂) above 873 K.     

IR laser induced UV fluorescence in nitric oxide

We observe UV fluorescence from a gas cell containing NO and Ar, when irradiated by a CO laser line, coincident with an NO fundamental. The power density generated cw by the CO laser does not exceed 1 $\text{kW}\text{cm}{}^2$ in the focal area. It is suggested that V-V pumping is responsible for exciting the NO X ²Π up to υ ≈ 30 from where collisional transfer into A ²Σ and B ²Π is possible.     

Charge recombination fluorescence in photosystem I reaction centers from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The fluorescence kinetics of photosystem I core particles from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have been measured with picosecond resolution in order to test a previous hypothesis suggesting a charge recombination mechanism for the early electron-transfer steps and the fluorescence kinetics (Müller et al. Biophys. J. 2003, 85, 3899-3922). Performing global target analyses for various kinetic models on the original fluorescence data confirms the "charge recombination" model as the only acceptable one of the models tested while all of the other models can be excluded. The analysis allowed a precise determination of (i) the effective charge separation rate constant from the equilibrated reaction center excited state (438 ns(-1)) confirming our previous assignment based on transient absorption data (Müller et al. Biophys. J. 2003, 85, 3899-3922), (ii) the effective charge recombination rate constant back to the excited state (52 ns(-1)), and (iii) the intrinsic secondary electron-transfer rate constant (80 ns(-1)). The average energy equilibration lifetime core antenna/RC is about 1 ps in the "charge recombination" model, in agreement with previous transient absorption data, vs the 18-20 ps energy transfer lifetime from antenna to RC within "transfer-to-the-trap-limited" models. The apparent charge separation lifetime in the recombination model is about three times faster than in the "transfer-to-the-trap-limited" model. We conclude that the charge separation kinetics is trap-limited in PS I cores devoid of red antenna states such as in C. reinhardtii.