Ruthenium Complexes Containing "Noninnocent" o-Benzoquinone Diimine/o-Phenylenediamide(2-) Ligands. Synthesis and Crystal Structure of the Nitrido-Bridged Complex [{LRu(o-C(6)H(4)(NH)(2))}(2)(&mgr;-N)](PF(6))(2).3CH(3)CN.C(6)H(5)CH(3)

Reaction of LRu(III)Cl(3) (L = 1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane) with 1,2-phenylenediamine (opdaH(2)) in H(2)O in the presence of air affords [LRu(II)(bqdi)(OH(2))](PF(6)) (1), where (bqdi) represents the neutral ligand o-benzoquinone diimine. From an alkaline methanol/water mixture of 1 was obtained the dinuclear species [{LRu(II)(bqdi)}(2)(&mgr;-H(3)O(2))](PF(6))(3) (1a). The coordinated water molecule in 1 is labile and can be readily substituted under appropriate reaction conditions by acetonitrile, yielding [LRu(II)(bqdi)(CH(3)CN)](PF(6))(2) (2), and by iodide and azide anions, affording [LRu(II)(bqdi)I](PF(6)).0.5H(2)O (3) and [LRu(bqdi)(N(3))](PF(6)).H(2)O (4), respectively. Heating of solid 4 in vacuum at 160 degrees C generates N(2) and the dinuclear, nitrido-bridged complex [{LRu(o-C(6)H(4)(NH)(2))}(2)(&mgr;-N)](PF(6))(2) (5). Complex 5 is a mixed-valent, paramagnetic species containing one unpaired electron per dinuclear unit whereas complexes 1-4 are diamagnetic. The crystal structures of 1, 1a.3CH(3)CN, 3, 4.H(2)O, and 5.3CH(3)CN.0.5(toluene) have been determined by X-ray crystallography: 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/m, Z = 2, with a = 8.412(2) ?, b = 15.562(3) ?, c = 10.025 ?, and beta = 109.89(2) degrees; 1a.3CH(3)CN, in the monoclinic space group C2/c, Z = 4, with a = 19.858(3) ?, b = 15.483(2) ?, c = 18.192(3) ?, and beta = 95.95(2) degrees; 3, in the orthorhombic space group Pnma, Z = 4, with a = 18.399(4) ?, b = 9.287(2) ?, and c = 12.052(2) ?, 4.H(2)O, in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c, Z = 4, with a = 8.586(1) ?, b = 15.617(3) ?, c = 16.388(5) ?, and beta = 90.84(2) degrees; and 5.3CH(3)CN.0.5(toluene), in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c, Z = 4, with a = 15.003(3) ?, b = 16.253(3) ?, c = 21.196(4) ?, and beta = 96.78(3) degrees. The structural data indicate that in complexes 1-4 the neutral o-benzoquinone diimine ligand prevails. In contrast, in 5 this ligand has predominantly o-phenylenediamide character, which would render 5 formally a mixed-valent Ru(IV)Ru(V) species. On the other hand, the Ru-N bond lengths of the Ru-N-Ru moiety at 1.805(5) and 1.767(5) ? are significantly longer than those in other crystallographically characterized Ru(IV)=N=Ru(IV) units (1.72-1.74 ?). It appears that the C(6)H(4)(NH)(2) ligand in 5 is noninnocent and that formal oxidation state assignments to the ligands or metal centers are not possible.     

Protein-reactive natural products

Researchers in the post-genome era are confronted with the daunting task of assigning structure and function to tens of thousands of encoded proteins. To realize this goal, new technologies are emerging for the analysis of protein function on a global scale, such as activity-based protein profiling (ABPP), which aims to develop active site-directed chemical probes for enzyme analysis in whole proteomes. For the pursuit of such chemical proteomic technologies, it is helpful to derive inspiration from protein-reactive natural products. Natural products use a remarkably diverse set of mechanisms to covalently modify enzymes from distinct mechanistic classes, thus providing a wellspring of chemical concepts that can be exploited for the design of active-site-directed proteomic probes. Herein, we highlight several examples of protein-reactive natural products and illustrate how their mechanisms of action have influenced and continue to shape the progression of chemical proteomic technologies like ABPP.     

An average-of-configuration method for using Kohn-Sham density functional theory in modeling ligand-field theory

The Amsterdam Density Functional (ADF) package has been used to constrain Kohn-Sham DFT in such a fashion that a transition from KS-DFT to ligand-field theory in the form of the parametrical d(q)() model is completely well-defined. A relationship is established between the strong-field approximation of the parametrical d(2) model for the tetrahedral complexes VCl(4)(-) and VBr(4)(-) and certain fixed-orbital ADF-computed energies. In this way values for all the parameters of the d(2)() model may be computed, thus allowing the ADF results to be expressed in terms of a KS-DFT energy matrix that can be diagonalized. This means that the KS-DFT deficiency with regard to computation of nondiagonal elements has been overcome and the KS-DFT eigenenergies have become available through the KS-DFT mimicking of the ligand-field plus repulsion model. By using mutually orthogonal strong-field energy matrices, the mimicking has been further elucidated. The computed values for the empirical parameters of VCl(4)(-) and VBr(4)(-) are in good agreement with experimental data. The spectrochemical and the nephelauxetic series have been computed by including the remaining halide complexes and the quantitatively special position of F(-)() among the halides corroborated for both series.     

Synthesis of spherical silver nanoparticles by digestive ripening, stabilization with various agents, and their 3-D and 2-D superlattice formation

Capped nanoparticles of silver were synthesized via the solvated metal atom dispersion (SMAD) technique followed by a digestive ripening procedure producing gram quantities of monodisperse spherical nanoparticles. This shows for the first time that a digestive ripening protocol is possible for an element other than gold. The particle size and optical spectra were found to be dependent on the capping agent used. Particles capped with dodecane thiol had a mean diameter of 6.6+/-1 nm, while trioctyl phosphine capped particles were 6.0+/-2 nm determined via TEM microscopy. These particles were found to organize into two- and three-dimensional superlattices with a well defined geometry through self-assembly in a liquid solution, that was dictated by the ligand used resulting in a triangular or circular lattice.     

UV absorption spectra of HO2, CH3O2, C2H5O2, and CH3C(O)CH2O2 radicals and mechanism of the reactions of F and Cl atoms with CH3C(O)CH3

Pulse radiolysis techniques were used to measure the gas phase UV absorption spectra of the title peroxy radicals over the range 215–340 nm. By scaling to σ(CH₃O₂)_{240 nm} = (4.24 ± 0.27) × 10^?18, the following absorption cross sections were determined: σ(HO₂)_{240 nm} = 1.29 ± 0.16, σ(C₂H₅O₂)_{240 nm} = 4.71 ± 0.45, σ(CH₃C(O)CH₂O₂)_{240 nm} = 2.03 ± 0.22, σ(CH₃C(O)CH₂O₂)_{230 nm} = 2.94 ± 0.29, and σ(CH₃C(O)CH₂O₂)_{310 nm} = 1.31 ± 0.15 (base e, units of 10^?18 cm² molecule^?1). To support the UV measurements, FTIR‐smog chamber techniques were employed to investigate the reaction of F and Cl atoms with acetone. The F atom reaction proceeds via two channels: the major channel (92% ± 3%) gives CH₃C(O)CH₂ radicals and HF, while the minor channel (8% ± 1%) gives CH₃ radicals and CH₃C(O)F. The majority (>97%) of the Cl atom reaction proceeds via H atom abstraction to give CH₃C(O)CH₂ radicals. The results are discussed with respect to the literature data concerning the UV absorption spectra of CH₃C(O)CH₂O₂ and other peroxy radicals. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 34: 283–291, 2002     

Hydrophobicity and counterion effects on the binding of ionic surfactants to uncharged polymeric hydrogels

Gel swelling experiments have been used to study the binding of ionic surfactants to a series of nonionic alkylacrylamide hydrogels of increasing hydrophobicity. The binding of hexadecyl trimethylammonium (C16TA+) to uncharged gels is sensitive to both the hydrophobicity of the gel and the counterion to the surfactant. There is a minimum hydrophobicity threshold below which binding of the surfactant does not occur, and this is influenced by the counterion to the surfactant. The surfactant concentration at the onset of binding, the critical association concentration (cac), decreases with increasing gel hydrophobicity. The maximum swelling of the gel (at intermediate network hydrophobicity) increases in the order of the Hofmeister series of anions, bromide (Br-) < chloride (Cl-) < acetate (Ac-). At higher gel hydrophobicity, differences in swelling are no longer observed on changing the counterion. A minimum hydrophobicity threshold was also found for the binding of the anionic surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium dodecyl-di(ethylene oxide)-sulfate (SD-(EO)2-S). Differences in the swelling behavior with network hydrophobicity are explained in terms of the degree of saturation of the gel with surfactant at the cmc.     

Dry deposition of elemental iodine on skin,hair, and clothing from air

Hairless rats, clothes, human hair, filter paper and water were exposed to gaseous elemental iodine in a glass chamber for 60–120 minutes. The deposition of gaseous elemental iodine on skin and lung of rats, human hair, water, clothes and paper were investigated by measuring iodine content in the exposed material by epithermal neutron activation analysis (ENAA). For measurement of the iodine concentration in the chamber air, elemental iodine in the air was collected by continuously sucking air through an active charcoal column. The trapped iodine in the active charcoal was then determined by ENAA. The measured deposition velocity in the test chamber of gaseous elemental iodine on skin, clothing, hair and water ranges from 0.006 on filter paper and water to about 0.05 cm/s on skin and clothes. The variation of elemental iodine concentration in air of the glass chamber was investigated by collecting and analyzing air samples at various time intervals. The results show that the variation with time in the concentration of the iodine can be described by an exponential function.     

Core excitations of naphthalene: vibrational structure versus chemical shifts

High-resolution x-ray photoelectron emission (XPS) and near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra of naphthalene are analyzed in terms of the initial state chemical shifts and the vibrational fine structure of the excitations. Carbon atoms located at peripheral sites experience only a small chemical shift and exhibit rather similar charge-vibrational coupling, while the atoms in the bridging positions differ substantially. In the XPS spectra, C-H stretching modes provide important contributions to the overall shape of the spectrum. In contrast, the NEXAFS spectrum contains only vibrational progressions from particular C-C stretching modes. The accuracy of ab initio calculations of absolute electronic transition energies is discussed in the context of minute chemical shifts, the vibrational fine structure, and the state multiplicity.