Photosensitization of nanocrystalline TiO2 by self-assembled layers of CdS quantum dots

CdS quantum dots can be self-assembled on high surface area nanocrystalline TiO2 electrodes; spectroscopic and photoelectrochemical studies indicate that the size, and hence the absorption edge, of the CdS particles can be controlled; efficient photosensitization of the TiO2 electrode by the Q-particles has been achieved.     

Generation of 3-pyridyl biaryl systems via palladium-catalyzed Suzuki cross-couplings of aryl halides with 3-pyridylboroxin

The synthesis of 3-pyridyl biaryl systems can be readily achieved by means of palladium-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reactions between aryl halides and 3-pyridylboroxin. A series of cross-couplings were conducted in order to investigate the scope and limitations of this protocol.     

Synthesis of some dibenzodiazepinone derivatives as potent and m2-selective antimuscarinic compounds

Two series of 5-[[4-[4-(dialkylamino)butyl]-l-cyclohexyl]acetyl], and 5-[(dialkylamino)acyl]-10,11-dihydro-5H- dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-11-ones were synthesized as potential m2-selective ligands 1,2. Their affinity and selectivity for the muscarinic cholinergic receptor m-AChR subtypes were determined. Replacing a nitrogen with CH in the piperidine ring of 5-[[4-[4-(dialkylamino)butyl]-l-piperidinyl]acetyl]-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo-[b,e][1,4]diazepin-11-ones 3 significantly altered the affinity and selectivity to the muscarinic receptor subtypes.     

Correlation hole and physical properties: A model calculation

The correlation hole of Coulson and Nielson and its extension to momentum space by Banyard and Reed is studied by using an exactly solvable model. For this model all relevant quantities pertaining to the correlation hole have been calculated exactly. We use this model to study the relationship between the fit to the correlation hole for an approximate wave function and the closeness of the approximate energies to the exact ones. We show that, although in general the better the fit the closer are the approximate physical quantities to the exact ones, there are exceptions where that is not the case. Also, we present a convenient method for the calculation of the two particle distribution in momentum space and generalize the concept of the correlation hole by defining it in the pseudophase space of position and momentum.     

Nature's protection racket

(2S)-4-amino-2-hydroxybutyrate (AHBA) is a side chain that is important for the antibiotic activities of aminoglycosides. The elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway to AHBA, by Spencer et al. in this issue of Chemistry & Biology [1], reveals several surprises and will facilitate biosynthetic engineering of new improved aminoglycoside antibiotics.     

Effects of alkali metal halide salts on the hydrogen bond network of liquid water

Measurements of the oxygen K-edge X-ray absorption spectrum (XAS) of aqueous sodium halide solutions demonstrate that ions significantly perturb the electronic structure of adjacent water molecules. The addition of halide salts to water engenders an increase in the preedge intensity and a decrease in the postedge intensity of the XAS, analogous to those observed when increasing the temperature of pure water. The main-edge feature exhibits unique behavior and becomes more intense when salt is added. Density functional theory calculations of the XAS indicate that the observed red shift of the water transitions as a function of salt concentration arises from a strong, direct perturbation of the unoccupied molecular orbitals on water by anions, and does not require significant distortion of the hydrogen bond network beyond the first solvation shell. This contrasts the temperature-dependent spectral variations, which result primarily from intensity changes of specific transitions due to geometric rearrangement of the hydrogen bond network.     

A computational study of the reactions of a beta-diketiminatoaluminium(I) complex with the hydrogen atom and the electron

A computational study has been performed to examine the reactions of a model beta-diketiminatoaluminium (I) complex with the hydrogen atom and with the electron. It was found that the hydrogen atom adds to the metal centre exothermically (DeltaH(rxn)=-202 kJ mol(-1)), and the spin density in the resulting radical resides entirely on the beta-diketiminato ligand. The spin density of the corresponding radical anion is very similar to the H-adduct.     

Self-assembly of phosphate fluorosurfactants in carbon dioxide

Anionic phosphodiester surfactants, possessing either two fluorinated chains (F/F) or one hydrocarbon chain and one fluorinated chain (H/F), were synthesized and evaluated for solubility and self-assembly in liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide. Several surfactants, of both F/F and H/F types and having varied counterions, were found to be capable of solubilizing water-in-CO2 (W/C), via the formation of microemulsions, expanding upon the family of phosphate fluorosurfactants already found to stabilize W/C microemulsions. Small-angle neutron scatteringwas used to directly characterize the microemulsion particles at varied temperatures, pressures, and water loadings, revealing behavior consistent with previous results on W/C microemulsions.     

The use of transition-state theory to extrapolate rate coefficients for reactions of H atoms with alkanes

The thermochemical kinetics formulation of conventional transition state theory has been applied to metathesis reactions of H atoms with a series of alkanes in order to provide a sound framework for the intercomparison of experimental data, and also to extrapolate rate coefficients to temperature regimes that may lie beyond the range of experiments. The calculations require a value for the rate coefficient at some temperature, necessitating a discussion of the extant experimental data and their reliability. The procedures are described, the results of the calculations are presented, and their agreement with experimental data (for methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, isobutane, cyclopropane, cyclohexane, neopentane, neooctane, and 2,2,3-trimethylbutane) is discussed. A general expression for reactions of H with large (more than 4 carbons) alkanes is proposed: where n_p, n_s, and n_t are the numbers of primary, secondary, and tertiary H atoms available for abstraction.     

Evaluation of multidimensional (ion-exchange/reversed-phase) protein separations using linear and step gradients in the first dimension

The performance characteristics of multidimensional liquid chromatographic protein separations were evaluated using on-line electrospray mass detection, and a novel workflow for automated LC/MS data processing. Two-dimensional ion exchange/reversed-phase LC separations of Escherichia coli cytosol were conducted using either a continuous linear or discontinuous step gradient in the first dimension. Chromatographic profiles of the top 100 most abundant components were characterized to assess overall separation reproducibility within each mode, and to characterize differences in component distribution between the two modes of operation. Analysis of the resulting data indicates that multidimensional separations of complex protein mixtures can be done reproducibly. Furthermore, under the conditions employed within this study, a linear first dimension gradient was more effective at fractionating the protein mixture, distributing fewer major components to multiple second dimension cycles than an equivalent step gradient. The application of on line mass spectrometry, and automated processing of the resulting data, proved valuable for producing component level analysis of multidimensional protein separations.