Conformational effects in 3-halotetrahydropyrans

The conformational equilibria of 3-chloro- and 3-bromotetrahydropyran were measured by NMR and IR spectroscopy using model 2-alkyl-5-halotetrahydropyrans. The 3-chloro compound was 76·2% equatorial in carbon tetrachloride and 58·5% in acetonitrile and the 3-bromo compound 85% equatorial in carbon tetrachloride. The conformational equilibrium is discussed in terms of dipole, electronic and van der Waals effects.     

Steric structure of phosphorus-contaiming heterocycles

Conclusions The steric structure of 3-halo-1-thia-3-phosphethanes with a tetracoordinated phosphorus atom was investigated by the methods of dipole moments and Kerr constants, enlisting data on quantum chemical calculations of the energies of the conformations.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2240–2244, October, 1973.The authors would like to thank I. M. Shermergorn for providing the samples for the investigations.     

Calculation of molecular geometries by SCF perturbation theory

An SCF perturbation method for investigating the effects of an arbitrary change in nuclear configuration on the electronic structure of a molecule is reported. Illustrative calculations for CO₂ and CH₃OH are presented. It is found that, when taken to second order, the error in the calculated change in energy which results from a change in nuclear configuration is typically in the range of 0.1 to 7%.     

EDXRF as an analytical tool in art: Case studies from pigment identification and treatment assessment

Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) was employed for the identification of pigments decorating Hellenistic figurines, and the assessment of the efficiency of a treatment with barium hydroxide applied to stone. Elements present in the colored areas of the figurines, as well as the treated stone was identified by EDXRF. These data together with complementary information obtained by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) led to the identification of several precious pigments. As far as the treatment efficiency is concerned, EDXRF analysis revealed that barium is unevenly distributed on the treated surface and reaches a maximum depth of 2.5 mm.     

Voltammetric studies of the Kolbe synthesis with perfluorocarboxylic acids prepared from hexafluoropropene oxide oligomers

Carboxylic acids prepared from hexafluoropropene oxide CF₃CF₂CF₂O[CF(CF₃)CF₂O]_nCF (CF₃)COOH [n = 0, 2,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-3,6-dioxaperfluorononanoic acid; n = 1, 2,5,8- tris(trifluoromethyl)-3,6,9-trioxaperfluorododecanoic acid], according to voltammetric data, enter the Kolbe reaction both at the Pt anode and at anodes from carbon materials in H₂O-CH₃CN and CH₃OH-CH₃CN solutions. The critical potential appreciably depends both on the anode material and on the solvent composition. Favorable effect of pyridine additions in H₂O-CH₃CN solutions is due to replacement of water molecules from the electrical double layer. The sodium ions exert a negative effect on the Kolbe synthesis.Translated from Zhurnal Obshchei Khimii, Vol. 74, No. 11, 2004, pp. 1842–1846.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Chechina, Sokolov, Tomilov.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Plasmon hybridization in spherical nanoparticles

We show that the plasmon resonances in single metallic nanoshells and multiple concentric metallic shell particles can be understood in terms of interaction between the bare plasmon modes of the individual surfaces of the metallic shells. The interaction of these elementary plasmons results in hybridized plasmons whose energy can be tuned over a wide range of optical and infrared wavelengths. The approach can easily be generalized to more complex systems, such as dimers and small nanoparticle aggregates.     

Solid-phase reagent for molecular spectroscopic determination of heavy metal speciation in natural water

A solid-phase reagent based on 1-(4-adamantyl-2-thiasolylazo)-2-naphthol adsorbed onto silica gel was prepared for Co(II) recovery and preconcentration prior to its sorption-spectroscopic detection. The immobilized reagent was applied to the determination of free cobalt ions in natural water. The solid-phase reagent and chemiluminescent method coupled with membrane filtration, gel-permeation and ion-exchange chromatography were applied to the study of the speciation of iron and cobalt in water from the Dnieper reservoirs and lakes of Kyiv City; their predominant forms were complexes of Fe(III) and Co(II) with dissolved organic matter and fulvic acids play a main role in their complexation.     

A prenyloxycoumarin from Psiadia dentata

A new coumarin identified as 5-hydroxy-6-methoxy-7-(3-methyl-but-2-enyloxy)-2H-1-benzopyran-2-one (isoobtusitin) was isolated from Psiadia dentata. This compound showed, in vitro, a moderate inhibitory activity against poliovirus and a very weak activity against (HIV), whereas it was inactive against (HSV1), (VSV), and murine tumoral cell lines (3LL, L1210).     

Automated protein design and sequence optimisation: scoring functions and the search problem

Advances in molecular biology may mean that almost any protein sequence can be synthesised, but perhaps this has served to highlight the inadequacy of theoretical work. For a given protein fold, it is probably not possible to reliably predict an "ideal" sequence. We identify and survey several aspects of the problem. Firstly, it is not clear what is the best way to score a sequence-structure pair. Secondly, there is no consensus as to what the score function should represent (free energy or some abstract measure of sequence-structure compatibility). Finally, the number of possible sequences is astronomical and searching this space poses a daunting optimisation problem. These problems are discussed in the light of recent experimental successes.