Modulated optical lattice as an atomic fabry-perot interferometer

We propose to engineer the atomic band structure in optical lattices in order to design a Fabry-Perot interferometer with large mode spacing and strong nonlinear coupling to be employed in atom optics. The use of an optical lattice allows for a significant reduction of the atomic effective mass, while the slow modulation of its parameters spatially confines the matter waves on a length scale of a few dozen optical wavelengths. As a consequence, the mode spacing in such a cavity would be as high as one-tenth of the recoil energy, allowing for a very efficient filter action, while the nonlinear coupling due to interatomic interactions could lead to bistability and limiting effects in the transmission of the atomic beam.     

Application of the ANOVA-PCA method to stability studies of reference materials

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an analytical technique that can be very useful for stability studies in particular because of its non destructive analytical capability. However, the spectral interpretation and treatment of this kind of multivariate data remains difficult without the use of chemometrics. In this article, a recent chemometrics method, analysis of variance - principal component analysis (ANOVA-PCA), was used for NIRS stability studies of sunflower and bread wheat external reference materials (ERM). It provided a practical tool for the study of the significance of various storage conditions according to an experimental design. Thus, the effect of the temperature, the nature of the atmosphere in the packaging and the storage duration were tested. ANOVA-PCA highlighted the influence of temperature and storage duration on the stability of the sunflower materials. For the bread wheat materials, the storage conditions did not have a significant effect on stability. Consequently, by applying ANOVA-PCA to near infrared spectral data, the sunflower materials were found to be considered stable for the time length of the study, i.e. 18 months stored in a cold room, while the bread wheat materials were found to be considered stable for the time length of the study, i.e. 12 months under the same conditions.     

Synthesis, carbohydrate- and DNA-binding studies of cationic 2,2':6',2'-terpyridineplatinum(II) complexes containing N- and S-donor boronic acid ligands

A series of platinum(II) complexes of the type [Pt(trpy)L](NO(3))(n) (L = 3- or 4-pyridineboronic acid (3- or 4-pyB, respectively), n = 2; HL = 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (HmpB), n = 1; trpy = 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine) and [{Pt(trpy)}(2)(μ-pzB)](NO(3))(3) (HpzB = 4-pyrazoleboronic acid) were synthesized and fully characterized by means of multinuclear ((1)H, (13)C, (11)B, and (195)Pt) 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The triflate derivatives [Pt(trpy)(4-pyB)](OTf)(2) and [{Pt(trpy)}(2)(μ-pzB)](OTf)(3) were also prepared, and their molecular structures were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Variable pH (1)H NMR spectroscopy showed that hydroxylation of the boronic acid group occurs in aqueous solution at pH > 5 and the pK(a) values for the complexes were determined. In buffered aqueous solution (pH 7.4), the complexes bind strongly to simple diols such as catechol and monosaccharides including D-fructose, D-ribose, D-sorbitol and D-mannitol, as determined by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The equilibrium binding constants for these reactions were determined and were found to exceed those of organic boronic acids such as phenylboronic acid by an order of magnitude or greater, an effect that can be directly attributed to the cationic charge of the complexes. 2D-NMR methods (HSQC and HMBC) were used to elucidate the structures of the carbohydrate adducts [Pt(trpy)(3-pyB)]·D-fructose·NO(3) and [Pt(trpy)(4-pyB)]·D-fructose·NO(3) in aqueous solution. DNA-binding experiments with calf-thymus DNA (CT-DNA) indicate an avid DNA-binding interaction by the mononuclear complexes, as determined using thermal melting methods and ITC, but the behaviour of the dinuclear species [{Pt(trpy)}(2)(μ-pzB)](NO(3))(3) is complicated and could not be modeled adequately; higher ionic strength solutions and lower temperatures resulted in a similar DNA binding interaction to the mononuclear complexes. The presence of excess d-fructose did not significantly affect the binding of the platinum(II)-trpy complexes to CT-DNA.     

Effects of extending the computational model on DNA-protein T-shaped interactions: the case of adenine-histidine dimers

The MP2/6-31G*(0.25) π-π or π(+)-π T-shaped (edge-to-face) interactions between neutral or protonated histidine and adenine were considered using computational models of varying size to determine the effects of the protein and DNA backbones on the preferred dimer structure and binding strength. The overall consequences of the backbones are reasonably subtle for the neutral adenine-histidine T-shaped dimers. Furthermore, the minor changes in the binding strengths of these dimers upon model extension arise from additional (attractive) backbone-π (bb-π) contacts and changes in the preferred π-π orientations, which is verified by the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM). Since the binding strength of the extended dimer equals the sum of the individual backbone-π and π-π contributions, the π-π component is not appreciably affected by polarization of the ring upon inclusion of the biological backbone. In contrast, the larger effect of the backbone on the protonated histidine dimers cannot simply be predicted as the sum of changes in the π-π and bb-π components regardless of the dimer type or model. This suggests, and QTAIM qualitatively supports, that the magnitude of the π(+)-π contribution changes, which is likely due to alterations in the electrostatic landscape of the monomer rings upon inclusion of the biological backbone that largely affect T-shaped dimers. These findings differ from those previously reported for (neutral) π-π stacked and (metallic) cation-π interactions, which highlights the distinct properties of each (π-π, π(+)-π, and cation-π) classification of noncovalent interaction. Furthermore, these results emphasize the importance of considering backbone-π interactions when analyzing contacts that appear in experimental crystal structures and cautions the use of truncated models when evaluating the magnitude of the π(+)-π contribution present in large biological complexes.     

An Improved Synthesis of Conduritol A

Recently Knapp and coworkers¹ reported a highly stereoselective synthesis of the naturally occurring cyclitol conduritol A (1) from p-benzoquinone (2) in 39% overall yield using 9-[(benzyloxy)methoxy]-anthracene (3) as a protecting group (Scheme 1). Although regeneration of the olefinic bond in the product was achieved at room temperature via an oxyanion-accelerated² retro Diels-Alder reaction, this step necessitated protection of the newly introduced groups.     

Chemical sensors that incorporate click-derived triazoles

Since the advent of click chemistry in 2001, the 1,4-disubstituted triazole has become an increasingly common motif in chemical sensors. Although these click-derived triazoles are generally used as a convenient method of ligation, their prevalence in chemosensors can be attributed to their ability to bind both cations and anions. In this critical review, we present an overview of the wide range of chemosensors that contain click-derived triazoles, with a particular focus on those cases where the triazole plays a functional, rather than merely a structural, role. Examples are categorised based on method of detection and key structural features, providing a complete picture of the current state of click-based chemosensors, as well as potential future directions for sensor design. (140 references).     

Electrospray as a tool for drug micro- and nanoparticle patterning

Carbamazepine (CBZ) microparticles of different sizes and shapes, including spheres, q-tips, elongated spheres, and tear-shaped particles, were formed by electrospraying solutions of different CBZ concentrations. The particle characteristics were determined by the interplay between jet formation, droplet breakup, solvent evaporation, and eventual particle solidification. The average particle size increased with increasing CBZ concentration, with particles of different shapes being observed for different CBZ concentrations. The cascade of sizes and shapes observed was interpreted in terms of Rayleigh instability theory as applied to charged jets and droplets, with the final sizes depending upon the time needed to evaporate the solvent sufficiently for CBZ to solidify; the lower the initial concentration of CBZ, the smaller the final droplets/particles that are formed.