Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the atmosphere: monitoring, sources, sinks and fate. II: Sinks and fate

This paper reviews the transformation processes that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) undergo in the atmosphere. These processes can take place both in the gas phase and in the particulate/aerosol one. Among the gas-phase processes, the most important ones are the daytime reaction with *OH and the nighttime reaction with *NO3. The relative importance of the two processes depends on the particular PAH molecule. For instance, gaseous naphthalene is mainly removed from the atmosphere upon reaction with *OH, while gaseous phenanthrene is mainly removed by reaction with *NO3. Oxy-, hydroxy-, and nitro-PAHs are the main transformation intermediates. Reaction with ozone and photolysis play a secondary role in the transformation of gaseous PAHs. The particle-associated processes are usually slower than the gas-phase ones, thus the gas-phase PAHs usually have shorter atmospheric lifetimes than those found on particulate. Due to the higher residence time on particulate when compared with the gas phase, direct or assisted photolysis plays a relevant role in the transformation of particle-associated PAHs. Among the other processes taking place in the condensed phase, nitration plays a very important role due to the health impact of nitro-PAHs, some of them being the most powerful mutagens found so far in atmospheric particulate extracts.     

Synthesis and coordination properties of new macrocyclic ligands: equilibrium studies and crystal structures

The synthesis and characterization of two new macrocyclic ligands, the bis-macrocyclic compound 2,6-bis(1,4,13-triaza-7,10-dioxacyclopentadec-1-ylmethyl)phenol (L) and 38-methoxy-1,4,13,16,19,28-hexaaza-7,10,22,25-tetraoxatricyclo[14.14.7.1(32,36)]octatriconta-32,34,Delta(36,38)-triene (L1) are reported. Equilibrium studies of basicity and coordination properties toward metal ions such as Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) were performed for ligand by potentiometric measurements in aqueous solution (298.1 +/- 0.1 K, I= 0.15 mol dm(-3)). L behaves as a hexaprotic base (logK(1)= 10.93, logK(2)= 9.70, logK(3)= 8.79, logK(4)= 8.05, logK(5)= 6.83, logK(6)= 2.55). All metal ions form stable mono- and dinuclear complexes: logK(MLH(-1))= 25.61 for Cu(II), 15.37 for Zn(II), 12.58 for Cd(II) and 13.79 for Pb(II); logK(M(2)LH(-1))= 31.61 for Cu(II), 23.38 for Zn(II), 24.49 for Cd(II) and 23.68 for Pb(II). All these dinuclear species show a great tendency to add the OH(-) group: the equilibrium constant for the addition reaction was found to be logK(M(2)LH(-1)OH)= 4.77 for Cu(II), 5.66 for Zn(II), 2.8 for Cd(II) and 3.18 for Pb(II). In the case of Ni(II), kinetic inertness prevents the possibility of solution studies. The dinuclear solid adducts [Ni(2)H(-1)L(N(3))(3)].EtOH and [Cu(2)H(-1)L(N(3))](ClO(4))(2) were characterized by X-ray analysis.     

A New Chemo‐Enzymatic Route to Side‐Chain Liquid‐Crystalline Polymers: The Synthesis and Polymerization of 6‐(4‐Methoxybiphenyl‐4′‐oxy)hexyl Vinyl Hexanedioate

A novel synthetic method combining chemo and enzymatic synthesis strategies was employed to prepare a vinyl acetate type monomer, 6‐(4‐methoxybiphenyl‐4′‐oxy)hexyl vinyl hexanedioate (VA‐LC). Homo‐ and copolymers of VA‐LC with maleic anhydride (MAn) were prepared by conventional free radical polymerization using 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and 1,1′‐azobis (cyclohexane carbonitrile) (AHCN) as an initiator at 95 and 60 °C, respectively. The thermal properties of the generated polymeric material were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the optical texture was inspected by polarizing optical microscopy (POM). While the monomer VA‐LC does not exhibit liquid‐crystalline properties, poly(VA‐LC), and the alternating copolymer of VA‐LC with maleic anhydride both displayed such properties.

     

Geminate rebinding in R-state hemoglobin: kinetic and computational evidence for multiple hydrophobic pockets

Biphasic geminate rebinding of CO to myoglobin upon flash photolysis has been associated to ligand distribution in hydrophobic cavities, structurally detected by time-resolved crystallography, xenon occupancy, and molecular simulations. We show that the time course of CO rebinding to human hemoglobin also exhibits a biphasic geminate rebinding when the protein is entrapped in wet nanoporous silica gel. A simple branched kinetic scheme, involving the bound state A, the primary docking site C, and a secondary binding site B was used to calculate the microscopic rates and the time-dependent population of the intermediate species. The activation enthalpies of the associated transitions were determined in the absence and presence of 80% glycerol. Potential hydrophobic docking cavities within the alpha and beta chains of hemoglobin were identified by computational modeling using xenon as a probe. A hydrophobic pocket on the distal side of the heme, corresponding to Xe4 in Mb, and a nearby site that does not have a correspondence in Mb were detected. Neither potential xenon sites on the proximal side nor a migration channel from the distal to proximal site was located. The small enthalpic barriers between states B and C are in very good agreement with the location of the xenon sites on the distal side. Furthermore, the connection between the two xenon sites is relatively open, explaining why the decreased mobility of the protein with viscosity only slightly perturbs the energetics of ligand migration between the two sites.     

Unsymmetrical diaryl sulfones through palladium-catalyzed coupling of aryl iodides and arenesulfinates

[reaction: see text] The palladium-catalyzed coupling of aryl iodides and arenesulfinates provides a simple and extremely efficient new route to unsymmetrical diaryl sulfones, usually isolated in high yield. The reaction tolerates a variety of functionalized aryl iodides, including those containing ether, ester, and nitro groups. The best results have been obtained by using Pd(2)(dba)(3), Xantphos, Cs(2)CO(3), and (n)Bu(4)NCl in toluene at 80 degrees C.     

The influence of simulation conditions in molecular dynamics investigations of model β-sheet peptides

The influence of simulation methods, cutoff based and particle mesh Ewald (PME) on the accuracy by which experimentally derived nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) data are reproduced, has been investigated using 500-ns-long molecular dynamics simulations on a model -sheet peptide in explicit solvent. The structural and conformational features under the different conditions were evaluated in terms of flexibility, secondary structure content, hydrogen-bonding pattern and percent of native contacts as a function of time. It was found that the different simulation methods strongly influence the dynamics of the peptide, confirming previous observations based on ideal peptide models simulated for much shorter times. Moreover, the results of our simulations prove once more that it is necessary to reach extremely long time scales to obtain enough statistics to accurately reproduce experimental NOE restraints even in the case of the PME method, despite its tendency to the stabilization of conformations which are structurally closely related to the ones derived through experiment. Possible implications regarding the stabilization and folding mechanisms, together with their relationship to the experimental study of peptide models, are discussed.     

Chemometric studies in the Lagoon of Venice, Italy. Annual evolution of sulphur species and relationship to biogeochemical cycles in lagoon water

During the period March 1997-March 1998 dimethyl sulphide (DMS), dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) and carbon disulphide (CS2) were determined weekly in the water of the Lagoon of Venice, Italy (at three stations located in the Giudecca Canal, the San Secondo Canal and the Rio di San Nicolò). At the same time, the following hydrological and biological variables were also measured: tide height, temperature, transmittance, fluorescence, pH, salinity, chlorinity, sulphate, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, silicate, chlorophyll a, phaeopigments, phytoplankton (abundance and biomass). Principal component analysis (PCA), applied as a dimension reduction tool, made it possible to summarize multivariate information in a small number of components, which highlighted the relationships between the temporal evolutions of the sulphur compounds with hydrological and biological variables in the seasonal biogeochemical cycle of the lagoon. In particular the overall temporal cycle, which begins with the development of biological activity in late winter and spring, followed by the predominance of degradation processes during the late summer and the remineralization of nutrients in autumn, is clearly described in the plane of the first two principal components, together with the interrelationships between all the relevant variables.     

12-Acylindolo[1,2-c]quinazolines by palladium-catalyzed cyclocarbonylation of o-alkynyltrifluoroacetanilides

6-Trifluoromethyl-12-acylindolo[1,2-c]quinazolines are prepared in high yield through the palladium-catalyzed reaction of bis(o-trifluoroacetamidophenyl)acetylene with aryl or vinyl halides and triflates. The reaction, which tolerates a variety of important functional groups, probably involves the formation of a 3-acyl-2-(o-trifluoroacetamidophenyl)indole intermediate, followed by its cyclization to the indoloquinazoline product. [reaction: see text]     

Photoredox-enabled 1,2-dialkylation of α-substituted acrylates via Ireland–Claisen rearrangement

Herein, we report the 1,2-dialkylation of simple feedstock acrylates for the synthesis of valuable tertiary carboxylic acids by merging Giese-type radical addition with an Ireland–Claisen rearrangement. Key to success is the utilization of the reductive radical-polar crossover concept under photocatalytic reaction conditions to force the [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement after alkyl radical addition to allyl acrylates. Using readily available alkyl boronic acids as radical progenitors, this redox-neutral, transition-metal-free protocol allows the mild formation of two C(sp³)–C(sp³) bonds, thus providing rapid access to complex tertiary carboxylic acids in a single step. Moreover, this strategy enables the efficient synthesis of highly attractive α,α-dialkylated γ-amino butyric acids (GABAs) when α-silyl amines are used as radical precursors – a structural motif that was still inaccessible in related transformations. Depending on the nature of the radical precursors and their inherent oxidation potentials, either a photoredox-induced radical chain or a solely photoredox mechanism is proposed to be operative.

A photocatalytic 1,2-dialkylation of α-substituted acrylates is enabled by a reaction cascade combining reductive radical-polar crossover with the established Ireland–Claisen rearrangement for the synthesis of valuable tertiary carboxylic acids.