Changes in the surface structure of purple membrane upon illumination measured by atomic force microscopy

Bacteriorhodopsin (BR) patches with a diameter of 1 to 3 μm were investigated in their native state by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in buffer solution. The patches were immobilized deposited and investigated on mica in 150 mM KCl and 10 mM Tris-buffer at pH 8. Under this buffer condition they adsorb preferred with their extracellular side to the solid support mica. The structure of the two-dimensional light adapted crystals was resolved with an imaging force of about 100 pN up to a resolution of 13 Å. The topography of the surface gets smoother if an imaging force of 1000 pN was applied indicating that protruding structures are compressed. Upon illumination with white light, during imaging with a force of 200 pN, the surface structure of the BR lattice changed. The force- and light-induced structural changes were reversible.     

Determination of Internal Energy Distributions of Laser Electrospray Mass Spectrometry using Thermometer Ions and Other Biomolecules

The internal energy distributions for dried and liquid samples that were vaporized with femtosecond duration laser pulses centered at 800 nm and postionized by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LEMS) were measured and compared with conventional electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The internal energies of the mass spectral techniques were determined by plotting the ratio of the intact parent molecular features to all integrated ion intensities of the fragments as a function of collisional energy using benzylpyridinium salts and peptides. Measurements of dried p-substituted benzylpyridinium salts using LEMS resulted in a greater extent of fragmentation in addition to the benzyl cation. The mean relative internal energies, int> were determined to be 1.62?±?0.06, 2.0?±?0.5, and 1.6?±?0.3 eV for ESI-MS, dried LEMS, and liquid LEMS studies, respectively. Two-photon resonances with the laser pulses likely caused lower survival yields in LEMS analyses of dried samples but not liquid samples. In studies with larger biomolecules, LEMS analyses of dried samples from glass showed a decrease in survival yield compared with conventional ESI-MS for leucine enkephalin and bradykinin of ~15% and 11%, respectively. The survival yields for liquid LEMS analyses were comparable to or better than ESI-MS for benzylpyridinium salts and large biomolecules. Figure

?     

Synthesis of Imidazo[2,1‐b][2H‐1,3,4]thiadiazines and 1,2,4‐Triazolo[3,4‐b][2H‐1,3,4]thiadiazines

Imidazo[2,1‐b][2H‐1,3,4]thiadiazines were prepared by cyclization of 2‐amino‐5‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐6H‐1,3,4‐thiadiazine with α‐haloketones. 1,2,4‐Triazolo[3,4‐b][2H‐1,3,4]thiadiazines were prepared by cyclization of 4‐amino‐5‐sulfanyl‐l,2,4‐triazoles with phenacyl bromides.     

Carbamoylation Applied for Structure Determination of Cellulose Derivatives

Carbamoylation of cellulose esters (CE) and investigation of the mixed derivatives obtained with NMR spectroscopy represents a useful analytical tool for the determination of the degree of substitution (DS) and analysis of the distribution of substituents on the level of the anhydroglucose unit (AGU). Especially the carbethoxymethylcarbamoylation and the ethylcarbamoylation of CE combined with ¹H NMR spectroscopy are efficient and inexpensive ways to gain information on the over-all DS and partial DS values in position 2, 3, and 6 of the AGU. Complete subsequent phenylcarbamoylation can be achieved even for CE with bulky substituents, e.g., adamantanecarboxylic acid esters. In addition to NMR experiments the carbamoylated CE were studied by HPLC after complete chain degradation. Carbethoxymethylcarbamoylation has turned out to be the most useful tool for this path. Chromatograms comparable to carboxymethylated cellulose (CMC) were obtained, which can be exploited to calculate the mole fractions of the basic building units (un-, mono-, di- and tri-substituted glucoses) of the polymer. Comparison with statistic calculations gave a first hint on the distribution of substituents along the polymer chain. For a commercial cellulose diacetate a statistic pattern of substitution was determined.     

Synthesis and characterization of a novel resorcinarene-based stationary phase bearing polar headgroups for use in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A novel silica-bonded stationary phase containing a functionalized resorcinarene selector was prepared by a straightforward synthesis. The complete modification of all resorcinic hydroxyl groups was achieved by reaction with isopropyl isocyanate. The derivatized resorcinarene selector was subsequently immobilized via the four alkenyl chains containing a terminal double bond by a free radical-induced reaction on mercaptopropyl-functionalized silica. A comprehensive characterization of the resulting bonded stationary phase was carried out by solid state NMR, IR and elemental analysis. The resulting selector is defined as a "polar headed" reversed phase since the highly ordered polar carbamate groups of the new stationary phase are located, compared to conventional polar embedded stationary phases, at a greater distance from the silica surface. Thus a new concept is introduced in the field of polar modified reversed-phase HPLC. The properties of the novel stationary phase are demonstrated by comparison with commercially available reversed phases.     

Crystal and molecular structure of (20R)-19-nor-5β,14β-pregnane-3β,14,20-triol 3,20-diacetate

The title compound (20R)-19-nor-5β,14β-pregnane-3β,14,20-triol 3,20-diacetate crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁ with 4 formula units C₂₄H₃₈O₅ in the unit cell. The lattice parameters are a = 14.324, b = 12.569, c = 12.685 Å, β = 90.21°. The crystal structure was determined by direct methods and refined by the least-squares procedure to the discrepancy factor R = 0.042. Bond length, bond angles, ring conformations, as well as the absolute configuration at C20 were determined. In the crystal the molecules are linked to infinite chains by two hydrogen bonds.     

Breaking Malus’ law: Highly efficient,broadband, and angular robust asymmetric light transmitting metasurface

High efficiency, broad bandwidth, and robust angular tolerance are key considerations in photonic device design. Here, a few‐layer, asymmetric light transmitting metasurface that simultaneously satisfies all the above requirements is reported. The metasurface consists of coupled metallic sheets. It has a measured transmission efficiency of 80%, extinction ratio of 13.8 dB around 1.5 μm, and a full width half maximum bandwidth of 1.7 μm. It is as thin as 290 nm, has good performance tolerance against the angle of incidence and constituent nano‐structure geometry variations. This work demonstrates a practical asymmetric light transmission device with optimal performance for large scale manufacturing.