Intradiffusion coefficients in perchloric acid solutions: Water at 5°C; water and perchlorate ion at 25°C

Intradiffusion coefficients for tritiated water (³HHO) and perchlorate ion (³⁶ClO ₄ ^- ) were measured in perchloric acid solutions. At 5°C the diffusion coefficient measured for the tritiated species increases to a maximum near 1.3 mol-dm^–3. The data at 25°C have been used to calculate distinct diffusion coefficients, D _ij ^d . As a precursor for those calculations, new estimates were made of the Onsager phenomenological coefficients, l _ij . The l _ij and D _ij ^d are similar to the respective coefficients in hydrochloric acid solutions.     

Silver-palladium nanodispersions in silicate matrices: highly uniform, stable, bimetallic structures

Ag-Pd nanobimetallic colloidal particles are prepared in a single step by a chemical reduction method. Organically modified aminosilicate is used as a supporting matrix as well as a stabilizing agent, to obtain very uniform, well-distributed bimetallic particles. These nanoparticles are found to be stable for several months in both the solid and the liquid phases. The structure of the bimetallic particles has been followed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The distribution and the particle size are determined by transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction studies. Polymerization and condensation of the support silicate material have been confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.     

Thermal rearrangements of spiro[2.4]hepta-1,4,6-trienes

Thermolysis of spiro[2.4]hepta-1,4,6-triene (1a) at 50 degrees C yielded bicyclo[3.2.0]hepta-1,3,6-triene (5), which dimerized in two different fashions to form cyclobutanes. The 1,2-dimethyl and 1-propyl derivatives of 1a also rearranged at 50 degrees C, but at a faster rate, each yielding a pair of cyclobutane dimers. The structures of these symmetrical dimers were investigated by 1D and 2D NMR and NOE difference spectroscopy. Ab initio calculations indicated that the two strained olefins 1a and 5 had comparable energies about 50 kcal/mol lower than norborna-1(7),2,5-triene, which was thus excluded as a reaction intermediate.     

Tetrafluorobenzyne thermochemistry: experiment and theory

Gas-phase thermodynamic properties of 1,2,3,4-tetrafluorobenzyne (1 H-(2)) were determined by Fourier transform mass spectrometry and ab initio and density functional theory methods. 1,2,3,4-Tetrafluorobenzyne radical anion was generated by abstraction of a proton and a hydrogen atom upon reaction of 1,2,3,4-tetrafluorobenzene (1) with O(-.). The resulting structure was confirmed by converting it to a species which could be independently prepared. Bracketing results provided the proton affinity of 1,2,3,4-tetrafluorobenzyne radical anion and the electron affinities of 1,2,3,4-tetrafluorobenzyne and 1,2,3,4-tetrafluorophenyl radical. These measured values were combined in a thermodynamic cycle to provide the heat of hydrogenation of 1 H(2) (DeltaH degree (hyd) = 367 +/- 18 kJ mol(-1)) and the first and second CH bond dissociation energies of 1 (481 +/- 11 and 321 +/- 13 kJ mol(-1)). The same approach failed for the meta and para isomers, but their energetics were examined using B3LYP and CCSD(T) computations.     

Nonpeptide inhibitors of cathepsin G: optimization of a novel beta-ketophosphonic acid lead by structure-based drug design

The serine protease cathepsin G (EC 3.4.21.20; Cat G), which is stored in the azurophilic granules of neutrophils (polymorphonuclear leukocytes) and released on degranulation, has been implicated in various pathological conditions associated with inflammation. By employing high-throughput screening, we identified beta-ketophosphonic acid 1 as a moderate inhibitor of Cat G (IC(50) = 4.1 microM). We were fortunate to obtain a cocrystal of 1 with Cat G and solve its structure by X-ray crystallography (3.5 A). Structural details from the X-ray analysis of 1.Cat G served as a platform for optimization of this lead compound by structure-based drug design. With the aid of molecular modeling, substituents were attached to the 3-position of the 2-naphthyl ring of 1, which occupies the S1 pocket of Cat G, to provide an extension into the hydrophobic S3 region. Thus, we arrived at analogue 7 with an 80-fold potency improvement over 1 (IC(50) = 53 nM). From these results, it is evident that the beta-ketophosphonic acid unit can form the basis for a novel class of serine protease inhibitors.     

A computational study of hydration, solution structure, and dynamics in dilute carbohydrate solutions

We report results from a molecular simulation study of the structure and dynamics of water near single carbohydrate molecules (glucose, trehalose, and sucrose) at 0 and 30 degrees C. The presence of a carbohydrate molecule has a number of significant effects on the microscopic water structure and dynamics. All three carbohydrates disrupt the tetrahedral arrangement of proximal water molecules and restrict their translational and rotational mobility. These destructuring effects and slow dynamics are the result of steric constraints imposed by the carbohydrate molecule and of the ability of a carbohydrate to form stable H bonds with water, respectively. The carbohydrates induce a pronounced decoupling between translational and rotational motions of proximal water molecules.     

Organomercury compounds XX Reactions of lithium polyfluorobenzenesulphinates with mercuric salts

The lithium polyfluorobenzenesulphinates, Li O₂SR (R = C₆F₅, $\text{p}$-HC₆F₄, $\text{m}$-HC₆F₄, or $\text{o}$-HC₆F₄), and the dilithium tetrafluorobenzenedisulphinates, $\text{p}$- and $\text{o}$-(LiO₂S)₂C₆F₄, have been prepared by reaction of the appropriate polyfluoroaryllithium compounds with sulphur dioxide. All compounds were isolated as hydrates and gave the corresponding $\text{S}$-benzylthiouronium salts on treatment with $\text{S}$-benzylthiouronium chloride. From reactions of the lithium sulphinates with suitable mercuric salts in water, generally at room temperature, the derivatives RHgX (R = C₆F₅, X = Cl, Br, CH₃CO₂, or PhSO₂; R = $\text{p}$-HC₆F₄, X = Cl, Br, or CH₃CO₂; R = $\text{m}$-HC₆F₄, X = Cl or Br; R = $\text{o}$-HC₆F₄, X = Cl), $\text{p}$-(XHg)₂C₆F₄ (X = Cl, Br, or CH₃CO₂), and $\text{o}$-(XHg)₂C₆X₄ (X = Cl or Br) have been prepared. Similarly, the bispolyfluorophenylmercurials R₂Hg (R = C₆F₅, $\text{p}$-HC₆F₄, or $\text{m}$-HC₆F₄) have been prepared from the corresponding lithium sulphinates and either mercuric salts or polyfluorophenylmercuric halides in aqueous $\text{t}$-butanol. A possible mechanism for the sulphur dioxide elimination reactions is discussed.