Solvent effects on the rate of the keto-enol interconversion of 2-nitrocyclohexanone

The rates of tautomerization of 2-nitrocyclohexanone (2-NCH) have been measured spectrophotometrically at 25.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C in several organic aprotic solvents and their binary mixtures. In cyclohexane the reaction is effectively catalyzed by bases and inhibited by acids while the so-called "spontaneous reaction" appears essentially due to autocatalysis. Apparent second order rate constants (k(app)(B)) for the reaction catalyzed by triethylamine (TEA) and pyridine (Pyr) have been obtained. From the experimental k(app)(B) values rate constants for the enolization (k(1)(B)) and ketonization (k(-1)(B)) reactions have been calculated. A Kamlet-Taft type linear solvation energy relationship (LSER) adequately accounts for the observed solvent effects. Activation parameters for both reactions show that solvent effects are mainly entropic in origin and that there is a shift of the transition state from a ketone-like to an enol-like structure on passing from less to more polar solvents.     

Synthesis and anti‐HIV‐1 evaluation of 1,5‐disubstituted pyrimidine‐2,4‐diones

1,5‐Disubstituted pyrimidine‐2,4‐diones were synthesized by fusion of 5‐bromouracil with an aniline derivative followed by coupling with benzyl halide whereas the opposite synthesis sequence failed. Also 4,6‐dichloro‐N,N,5‐trimethylpyrimidin‐2‐amine was treated with phenols. The products were tested for their activity against HIV‐1.     

I(+1) transfer from diiodomalonic acid to malonic acid and a complete inhibition of the CO and CO2 evolution in the Briggs-Rauscher reaction by resorcinol

A recent report on an intense CO 2 and CO evolution in the Briggs-Rauscher (BR) reaction revealed that iodination of malonic acid (MA) is not the only important organic reaction in the classical BR oscillator. To disclose the source of the gas evolution, iodomalonic (IMA) and diiodomalonic (I2MA) acids were prepared by iodinating MA with nascent iodine in a semibatch reactor. The nascent iodine was generated by an iodide inflow into the reactor, which contained a mixture of MA and acidic iodate. Some CO2 and a minor CO production was observed during these iodinations. It was found that in an aqueous acidic medium the produced I2MA is not stable but decomposes slowly to diiodoacetic acid and CO2. The first-order rate constant of the I 2MA decarboxylation at 20 degrees C was found to be k1 = 9 x 10(-5) s(-1), which is rather close to the rate constant of the analogous decarboxylation of dibromomalonic acid under similar conditions (7 x 10(-5)s(-1)). From the rate of the CO2 evolution, the I2MA concentration can be calculated in a MA-IMA-I2MA mixture as only I2MA decarboxylates spontaneously but MA and IMA are stable. Following CO2 evolution rates, it was proven that I2MA can react with MA in the reversible reaction I2MA + MA <--> 2 IMA. The equilibrium constant of this reaction was calculated as K = 380 together with the rate constants of the forward k 2 = 6.2 x 10 (-2) M (-1)s(-1) and backward k-2 = 1.6 x 10(-4) M(-1)s(-1) reactions. The probable mechanism of the reaction is I(+1) transfer from I2MA to MA. The presence of I(+1) in a I2MA solution is demonstrated by its reduction with ascorbic acid. To estimate the fraction of CO2 coming from the decarboxylation of I2MA in an oscillatory BR reaction, the oscillations were inhibited by resorcinol. Unexpectedly, all CO2 and CO evolution was interrupted for more than one hour after injecting a small amount of resorcinol (10(-5) M initial concentration in the reactor). Finally, some implications of the newly found I(+1) transfer reactions and the surprisingly effective inhibition by resorcinol regarding the mechanism of the oscillatory BR reaction are discussed. The latter is explained by the ability of resorcinol to scavenge free radicals including iodine atoms without producing iodide ions.     

Representation Formulae for Solutions to Some Classes of Higher Order Systems and Related Liouville Theorems

Let m ≥ 1 be an integer and N > 2m. Let μ be a positive Radon measure on . We study necessary and sufficient conditions on possible distributional solutions of , that guarantee the validity of the representation formula a.e. on , where and c(2m) is a positive constant depending on m and N. Several consequences are derived. In particular we prove Liouville theorems for systems of higher order elliptic inequalities and weighted form of Hardy-Littlewood-Sobolev systems of integral equations. Received: March 2008     

Superfluorinated Ionic Liquid Crystals Based on Supramolecular,Halogen‐Bonded Anions

Unconventional ionic liquid crystals in which the liquid crystallinity is enabled by halogen‐bonded supramolecular anions [C_nF_{2 n+1}‐I⋅⋅⋅I⋅⋅⋅I‐C_nF_{2 n+1}]⁻ are reported. The material system is unique in many ways, demonstrating for the first time 1) ionic, halogen‐bonded liquid crystals, and 2) imidazolium‐based ionic liquid crystals in which the occurrence of liquid crystallinity is not driven by the alkyl chains of the cation.     

Identification of phosphoproteins and determination of phosphorylation sites by zirconium dioxide enrichment and SELDI-MS/MS

Reversible protein phosphorylation mediated by protein kinases and phosphatases is the most studied post-translational modification. Efficient characterization of phosphoproteomes is hampered by (1) low stoechiometry, (2) the dynamic nature of the phosphorylation process and (3) the difficulties of mass spectrometry to identify phosphoproteins from complex mixtures and to determine their sites of phosphorylation. Combination of the phosphopeptide enrichment method with MALDI-TOFMS, or alternatively, with HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and MS(3) analysis was shown to be a step forward for the successful application of MS in the study of protein phosphorylation. In our study we used phosphopeptide enrichment performed in a simple single-tube experiment using zirconium dioxide (ZrO(2)). A simple protein mixture containing precipitated bovine milk caseins was enzymatically digested and the mixture of tryptic fragments was analysed before and after enrichment using nanoflow HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI)-MS/MS on QqTOF instruments to compare the efficiency of the two methods in the determination of phosphorylation sites. Both approaches confirm the high selectivity obtained by the use of batch-wise, ZrO(2)-based protocol using di-ammonium phosphate as the eluting buffer. More phosphorylation sites (five for beta-casein and three for alpha(S1)-casein) were characterized by SELDI-MS/MS than by nanoflow HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Therefore, ZrO(2)-based phosphopeptide enrichment combined with SELDI-MS/MS is an attractive alternative to previously reported approaches for the study of protein phosphorylation in mixtures of low complexity with the advance of fast in situ peptide purification. The method was limited to successful analysis of high-abundance proteins. Only one phosphorylation site was determined for the minor casein component alpha(S2)-casein by ESI-MS/MS and none for kappa-casein. Therefore an improvement in enrichment efficiency, especially for successful phosphoproteomic applications, is needed.     

The first pure LambdaHT rotamer of a complex with a cis-[metal(nucleotide)2] unit: a cis-[Pt(amine)2(nucleotide)2] LambdaHT rotamer with unique molecular structural features

cis-[PtA2(nucleotide)2] complexes (A2 stands for two amines or a diamine) have been extensively investigated as model compounds for key cisplatin-DNA adducts. All cis-[metal(nucleotide/nucleoside)2] complexes with guanine and related purines characterized in the solid state thus far have the DeltaHT conformation (head-to-tail orientation of the two bases and right-handed chirality). In sharp contrast, the LambdaHT conformation (left-handed chirality) dominates in acidic and neutral aqueous solutions of cis-[PtA2(5'-GMP)2] complexes. Molecular models and solution experiments indicate that the LambdaHT conformer is stabilized by 5'-phosphate/N1H hydrogen-bond interactions between cis nucleotides with the normal anti conformation. However, this evidence, while compelling, is indirect. At last, conditions have been defined to allow crystallization of this elusive conformer. The structure obtained reveals three unique features not present in all other cis-[PtA2(nucleotide)2] solid-state structures: a LambdaHT conformation, very strong hydrogen-bond interactions between the phosphate and N1H of cis nucleotides, and a very small dihedral angle between the planes of the two guanines lying nearly perpendicular to the coordination plane. These new results indicate that, because there are no local base-base repulsions precluding the LambdaHT conformer, global forces rather than local interactions account for the predominance of the DeltaHT conformer over the LambdaHT conformer in the solid state and in both inter- and intrastrand HT crosslinks of oligonucleotides and DNA.     

Ionization and tautomerization of 2-nitrocyclohexanone in aqueous solution

The keto-enol tautomerism of 2-nitrocyclohexanone (2-NCH) was studied in aqueous solution under different experimental conditions. Ketonization rate constants were measured spectrophotometrically at 25 degrees C at an ionic strength of 0.4 mol dm-3 (NaCl) in diluted hydrochloric acid, in diluted sodium hydroxide, and in several buffers by using NaHSO3 as the scavenger of the keto form. A value of pK(a)(EH) = 4.78 for the enol form was obtained from the rate-pH profile of the reaction. A value of pK(a)(KH) = 5.97 for the keto form was directly obtained from the UV-vis spectra of 2-NCH recorded at different pHs. The equilibrium constant for the keto-enol tautomerism, pK(T) = -log([enol]/[ketone]) = 1.19, was obtained by combining the two pKa values (pK(T) = pK(a)(KH) - pK(a)(EH)). A comparison of these results with the corresponding values (Keefe, J. R.; Kresge, A. J. In The Chemistry of Enols; Rappoport, Z., Ed.; Wiley & Sons: New York, 1990; pp 399-480) for cyclohexanone shows the dramatic effects of an alpha-nitro substituent on the keto-enol acidities and the tautomerization constant of alicyclic ketones. Rates and equilibria were discussed in the light of the Br?nsted equation, the principle of nonperfect synchronization, and the Marcus theory. It turns out that, on passing from nitroalkanes to nitroketones, the resonance contribution to pKa and deprotonation rate decreases, being overwhelmed by steric and inductive effects.