Preparation and X-ray crystal structures of mixed ligand complexes containing the S3N ligand

Reaction of Hg(S₇N)₂ with cis- PtCl₂(PR₃)₂ (PR₃ = PPh₃, PPh₂Me, PPHMe₂, PEt₃) in the presence of Na[PF₆] gives [Pt(S₃N)(PR₃)₂][PF₆] in 32–46% yield. The complexes have been characterized by IR, NMR and microanalyses. The X-ray crystal structures of two examples (PR₃ = PPh₂Me and PEt₃) show that the S₃N⁻ ligand coordinates in a bidentate fashion via two sulphur atoms.     

Near-infrared spectroscopy of stitchtite, iowaite, desautelsite and arsenate exchanged takovite and hydrotalcite

The hydrotalcite minerals stitchtite, iowaite and desautelsite together with the arsenate exchanged takovite and arsenate exchanged hydrotalcite have been studied using near-IR reflectance spectroscopy. Each mineral has its own characteristic NIR spectrum enabling recognition of the particular hydrotalcite. As such the technique has application in the field for the analysis and identification of hydrotalcites. Hydrotalcites have proven useful as an anion exchange material. Takovite and hydrotalcite were used to exchange carbonate anions by arsenate. Three Near-IR spectral regions are identified: (a) the high wavenumber region between 6400 and 7400 cm(-1) attributed to the first overtone of the fundamental hydroxyl stretching mode, (b) the 4800-5400 cm(-1) region attributed to water combination modes of the hydroxyl fundamentals of water, and (c) the 4000-4800 cm(-1) region attributed to the combination of the stretching and deformation modes of the MOH units of the hydrotalcites. NIR spectroscopy enables the separation of the hydroxyl bands of the water and M-OH units for the hydrotalcites. Compared with the NIR spectroscopy of the structural units of the hydrotalcites namely gibbsite and brucite, the bands are broad.     

Raman microscopy of selected tungstate minerals

A series of tungstate bearing minerals including scheelite, stolzite, ferberite, hübnerite, wolframite, russellite, tungstenian wulfenite and cuprotungstite have been analyzed by Raman microscopy. The results of the Raman spectroscopic analysis are compared with published data. These minerals are closely related and often have related paragenesis. Raman microscopy enables the selection of individual crystals of these minerals for spectroscopic analysis even though several of the minerals can be found in the same matrix because of the pargenetic relationships between the minerals. The Raman spectra are assigned according to factor group analysis and related to the structure of the minerals. These minerals have characteristically different Raman spectra. The nu1(Ag) band is observed at 909 cm(-1) and although the corresponding nu1(Bu) vibration should be inactive a minor band is observed around 894 cm(-1). The bands at 790 and 881 cm(-1) are associated with the antisymmetric and symmetric Ag modes of terminal WO2. The band at 695 cm(-1) is interpreted as an antisymmetric bridging mode associated with the tungstate chain. The nu4(Eg) band was absent for scheelite. The bands at 353 and 401 cm(-1) are assigned as either deformation modes or as r(Bg) and delta(Ag) modes of terminal WO2. The band at 462 cm(-1) has an equivalent band in the infrared at 455 cm(-1) assigned as delta(as)(Au) of the (W2O4)n chain. The band at 508 cm(-1) is assigned as nu(sym)(Bg) of the (W2O4)n chain.     

Glycyl C(alpha) chemical shielding in tripeptides: measurement by solid-state NMR and correlation with X-ray structure and theory

We report here (13)C(alpha) chemical shielding parameters for central Gly residues in tripeptides adopting alpha-helix, beta-strand, polyglycine II, and fully extended 2 degrees structures. To assess experimental uncertainties in the shielding parameters and the effects of (14)N-(13)C(alpha) or (15)N-(13)C(alpha) dipolar coupling, stationary and magic angle spinning (MAS) spectra with and without (15)N decoupling were obtained from natural abundance and double-labeled samples containing [2-(13)C, (15)N]Gly. We find that accurate (<1 ppm uncertainty) shielding parameters are measured with good sensitivity and resolution in (15)N decoupled 1D or 2D MAS spectra of double-labeled samples. Compared to variations of isotropic shifts with peptide angles, those of (13)C(alpha) shielding anisotropy and asymmetry are greater. Trends relating shielding parameters to the 2 degrees structure are apparent, and the correlation of the experimental values with unscaled ab initio shielding calculations has an rms error of 3 ppm. Using the experimental data and the ab initio shielding values, the empirical trends relating the 2 degrees structure to shielding are extended to the larger range of torsion angles found in proteins.     

Remote sensing in an optically dense environment by using two-photon excited fluorescence and a single multimode fiber optic

The feasibility of remote sensing by means of two-photon excited molecular fluorescence was investigated by using a single 115-m multimode optical fibr.Because of modal dispersion and reflecton of Rayleigh scatter, time-resolved detection ws required to resolve the weak fluorescence from the relatively intense laser background. The bare-ended probe, which both delivered the excitation and collected the fluorescence emission, was employed to detect an analyte in an optically dense environment. For a fixed amount of fluorophore, the solvent was continuously changed from 90% (w/w) ethanol (non-absorbing) to 100% acetone (absorbing). The result was a flurorescence signal constant to within 5%. Quantitation via one-photon excitatation using a 50-cm optical fiber demonstrated the characteristic inner filter roll-off of optically dense systems. Because of th elarge attenuation of the waveguide in the ultraviolet range, remote sensing via one-photon excited fluorescence proved impossible. However, linear calibration plots for the nonlinear excitation process were obtained from micromolar to near saturation levels. Sources of interference were isolated, and the extension to a single-mode fiber was made.     

Synthesis,characterisation and solid state thermal behaviour of nickel(II) diamine complexes

Summary [NiL₂X₂] (L =N,N-dimethyl-1,2-ethanediamine; X = Cl^–, CF₃CO ₂ ^– , CC1₃CO ₂ ^– and CBr₃CO ₂ ^– ), [NiL₂C₂O₄] · H₂O and [NiL₂X₂] · 2 H₂O (X = Br^–, 0.5 SO ₄ ^2– and 0.5 SeO ₄ ^– ) have been synthesised and their thermal studies carried out. Thermally induced phase transition phenomena are noticed in [NiL₂X₂] (X = CF₃CO ₂ ^– and CCl₃CO ₂ ^– ) and their probable mechanisms are described. [NiL₂X₂] (X = Br^–, 0.5 SO ₄ ^2– and 0.5 SeO ₄ ^2– ) and [NiLX₂] (X = Cl^–, 0.5 C₂O ₄ ^2– and 0.5 SO ₄ ^2– ) have been prepared by solid state pyrolysis from the respective parent diamine complexes. [NiL₂X₂] have been made in solid state by temperature arrest technique from [NiL₂(CX₃CO₂)₂] (X = Cl^– and Br^–).     

Combined first-principles computational and experimental multinuclear solid-state NMR investigation of amino acids

13C, 14N, 15N, 17O, and 35Cl NMR parameters, including chemical shift tensors and quadrupolar tensors for 14N, 17O, and 35Cl, are calculated for the crystalline forms of various amino acids under periodic boundary conditions and complemented by experiment where necessary. The 13C shift tensors and 14N electric field gradient (EFG) tensors are in excellent agreement with experiment. Similarly, static 17O NMR spectra could be precisely simulated using the calculation of the full chemical shift (CS) tensors and their relative orientation with the EFG tensors. This study allows correlations to be found between hydrogen bonding in the crystal structures and the 17O NMR shielding parameters and the 35Cl quadrupolar parameters, respectively. Calculations using the two experimental structures for L-alanine have shown that, while the calculated isotropic chemical shift values of 13C and 15N are relatively insensitive to small differences in the experimental structure, the 17O shift is markedly affected.     

Performance of an ultra-low elution-volume 96-well plate: drug discovery and development applications

Recently, sample preparation has been considered to be the major cause of bottlenecks during high-throughput analysis. With the assistance of robotic liquid handlers and the 96-well plate format, more samples can be prepared for subsequent liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) analysis. Protein precipitation is still widely used despite potential loss of sensitivity or variable results due to ion suppression. The use of solid-phase extraction (SPE) clearly gives superior results but may not be as cost effective as protein precipitation due to the labor and material costs associated with the process. Here, a novel 96-well SPE plate is described that was designed to minimize the elution volume required for quantitative elution of analytes. The plate is packed with 2 mg of a high-capacity SPE sorbent that allows loading of up to 750 microL of plasma, while the novel design permits elution with as little as 25 microL. Therefore, the plate offers up to a 15-fold increase in sample concentration. The evaporation and reconstitution step that is typically required in SPE is avoided due to the concentrating ability of the plate. Examples of applications in drug discovery/development are shown and results are compared to protein precipitation. Excellent sensitivity and linearity are demonstrated.     

Gravimetric determination of osmium with 1:2:3-benzotriazole

A method for the direct gravimetric determination of osmium with 1:2:3-benzotriazole in acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer is presented. The method is accurate and reproducible, and the conditions used in the determination are not critical. The precipitate is a stoichiometric compound which is stable from room temperature up to 200°. It appears that 1:2:3-benzotriazole is probably the first organic reagent to be used successfully in the direct gravimetric determination of osmium.     

Synthesis and characterization of pyridine amide cation radical complexes of iron: stabilization due to coordination with low-spin iron(III) center

We reported the synthesis and characterization of peptide complexes of low-spin iron(III) [Fe(bpb)(py)2][ClO4] (1) and Na[Fe(bpb)(CN)2] (2) [H2bpb = 1,2-bis(pyridine-2-carboxamido)benzene; py = pyridine], where iron is coordinated to four nitrogen donors in the equatorial plane with two amide nitrogen anions and two pyridine nitrogen donors (Ray, M.; Mukherjee, R.; Richardson, J. F.; Buchanan, R. M. J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans. 1993, 2451). Chemical oxidation of 2 and a new low-spin iron(III) complex Na[Fe(Me6bpb)(CN)2].H2O (4) [synthesized from a new iron(III) complex [Fe(Me6bpb)(py)2][ClO4] (3) (S = 1/2)] [H2Me6bpb = 1,2-bis(3,5-dimethylpyridine2-carboxamido)-4,5-dimethylbenzene) by (NH4)2Ce(NO3)6 afforded isolation of two novel complexes [Fe(bpb)-(CN)2] (5) and [Fe(Me6bpb)(CN)2].H2O (6). All the complexes have been characterized by physicochemical techniques. While 1-4 are brown/green, 5 and 6 are violet/bluish violet. The collective evidence from infrared, electronic, M?ssbauer, and 1H NMR spectroscopies, from temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility data, and from cyclic voltammetric studies provides unambiguous evidence that 5 and 6 are low-spin iron(III) ligand cation radical complexes rather than iron(IV) complexes. Cyclic voltammetric studies on isolated oxidized complexes 5 and 6 display identical behavior (a metal-centered reduction and a ligand-centered oxidation) to that observed for complexes 2 and 4, respectively. The M?ssbauer data for 6 are almost identical with those of the parent compound 4, providing compelling evidence that oxidation has occurred at the ligand in a site remote from the iron atom. Strong antiferromagnetic coupling (-2J > or = 450 cm(-1)) of the S = 1/2 iron atom with the S = 1/2 ligand pi-cation radical leads to an effectively S = 0 ground state of 5 and 6. The oxidized complexes display 1H NMR spectra (in CDCl3 solution), characteristic of diamagnetic species.