Evaluation of backbone proton positions and dynamics in a small protein by liquid crystal NMR spectroscopy

NMR measurements of a large set of protein backbone one-bond dipolar couplings have been carried out to refine the structure of the third IgG-binding domain of Protein G (GB3), previously solved by X-ray crystallography at a resolution of 1.1 A. Besides the commonly used bicelle, poly(ethylene glycol), and filamentous phage liquid crystalline media, dipolar couplings were also measured when the protein was aligned inside either positively or negatively charged stretched acrylamide gels. Refinement of the GB3 crystal structure against the (13)C(alpha)-(13)C' and (13)C'-(15)N dipolar couplings improves the agreement between experimental and predicted (15)N-(1)H(N) as well as (13)C(alpha)-(1)H(alpha) dipolar couplings. Evaluation of the peptide bond N-H orientations shows a weak anticorrelation between the deviation of the peptide bond torsion angle omega from 180 degrees and the angle between the N-H vector and the C'-N-C(alpha) plane. The slope of this correlation is -1, indicating that, on average, pyramidalization of the peptide N contributes to small deviations from peptide bond planarity ( = 179.3 +/- 3.1 degrees ) to the same degree as true twisting around the C'-N bond. Although hydrogens are commonly built onto crystal structures assuming the N-H vector orientation falls on the line bisecting the C'-N-C(alpha) angle, a better approximation adjusts the C(alpha)-C'-N-H torsion angle to -2 degrees. The (15)N-(1)H(N) dipolar data do not contradict the commonly accepted motional model where angular fluctuations of the N-H bond orthogonal to the peptide plane are larger than in-plane motions, but the amplitude of angular fluctuations orthogonal the C(alpha)(i-1)-N(i)-C(alpha)(i) plane exceeds that of in-plane motions by at most 10-15 degrees. Dipolar coupling analysis indicates that for most of the GB3 backbone, the amide order parameters, S, are highly homogeneous and vary by less than +/-7%. Evaluation of the H(alpha) proton positions indicates that the average C(alpha)-H(alpha) vector orientation deviates by less than 1 degrees from the direction that makes ideal tetrahedral angles with the C(alpha)-C(beta) and C(alpha)-N vectors.     

Use of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as surfactant for the determination of copper and chromium in gasoline emulsions by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

In this work, the use of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as surfactant for the preparation of oil-in-water emulsions for the determination of Cu and Cr in gasoline by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET AAS) was evaluated. The surfactant amount was tested in the range of 25 to 300 mg, added to 2 ml of gasoline, and completed to 10 mL with 0.1% (v/v) nitric acid solution. 150 mg of surfactant was found optimum, and a sonication time of 10 min sufficient to form an oil-in-water emulsion that was stable for several hours. The ET AAS temperature program was established based on pyrolysis and atomization curves. The pyrolysis temperatures were set at 700 and 1300 °C for Cu and Cr, respectively and the selected atomization temperatures were 2400 and 2500 °C. The time and temperature of the drying stage and the atomization time were experimentally tested to provide optimum conditions. The limits of detection were found to be 5 μg L^− 1 and 1.5 μg L^− 1 for Cu and Cr, respectively in the original gasoline samples. The relative standard deviation (RSD) ranged from 4 to 9% in oil-in-water emulsions spiked with 5 μg L^− 1 and 15 μg L^− 1 of each metal, respectively. Recoveries varied from 90 to 98%. The accuracy of the proposed method was tested by an alternate procedure using complete evaporation of the gasoline sample. The method was adequate for the determination of Cu and Cr in gasoline samples collected from different gas stations in Salvador, BA, Brazil.     

Insertion reactions of GaCp*, InCp* and In[C(SiMe3)3] into the Ru-Cl bonds of [(p-cymene)RuIICl2]2 and [Cp*RuIICl]4

The first carbonyl free ruthenium/low valent Group 13 organyl complexes are presented, obtained by insertion of ER (ER = GaCp*, InCp*, In[C(SiMe(3))(3)]) into the Ru-Cl bonds of [(p-cymene)RuCl2]2, [Cp*RuCl]4 and [Cp*RuCl2]2. The compound [(p-cymene)RuCl2]2 reacts with GaCp*, giving a variety of isolated products depending on the reaction conditions. The Ru-Ru dimers [{(p-cymene)Ru}2(GaCp*)4(mu3-Cl)2] and the intermediate [{(p-cymene)Ru}2(mu-Cl)2] were isolated, as well as monomeric complexes [(p-cymene)Ru(GaCp*)3Cl2], [(p-cymene)Ru(GaCp*)2GaCl3] and [(p-cymene)Ru(GaCp*)2Cl2(DMSO)]. The reaction of [Cp*RuCl]4 with ER gives "piano-stool" complexes of the type [Cp*Ru(ER)3Cl](ER = InCp*, In[C(SiMe3)3], GaCp*. The chloride ligand in complex can be removed by NaBPh4, yielding [Cp*Ru(GaCp*)3]+[BPh4]-. The reaction of [Cp*RuCl2]2 with GaCp* however, does not lead to an insertion product, but to the ionic Ru(II) complex [Cp*Ru(GaCp*)3]+[Cp*GaCl3]-. The ER ligands in complexes 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are equivalent on the NMR timescale in solution due to a chloride exchange between the three Group 13 atoms even at low temperatures. The solid state structures, however, exhibit a different structural pattern. The chloride ligands exhibit two coordination modes: either terminal or bridging. The new compounds are fully characterized including single crystal X-ray diffraction. These results point out the different reactivities of the two precursors and the nature of the neutral p-cymene and the anionic Cp* ligand when bonding to a Ru(II) centre.     

Perdeuterated Conjugated Polymers for Ultralow‐Frequency Magnetic Resonance of OLEDs

The formation of excitons in OLEDs is spin dependent and can be controlled by electron‐paramagnetic resonance, affecting device resistance and electroluminescence yield. We explore electrically detected magnetic resonance in the regime of very low magnetic fields (<1 mT). A pronounced feature emerges at zero field in addition to the conventional spin‐ Zeeman resonance for which the Larmor frequency matches that of the incident radiation. By comparing a conventional π‐conjugated polymer as the active material to a perdeuterated analogue, we demonstrate the interplay between the zero‐field feature and local hyperfine fields. The zero‐field peak results from a quasistatic magnetic‐field effect of the RF radiation for periods comparable to the carrier‐pair lifetime. Zeeman resonances are resolved down to 3.2 MHz, approximately twice the Larmor frequency of an electron in Earth's field. However, since reducing hyperfine fields sharpens the Zeeman peak at the cost of an increased zero‐field peak, we suggest that this result may constitute a fundamental low‐field limit of magnetic resonance in carrier‐pair‐based systems. OLEDs offer an alternative solid‐state platform to investigate the radical‐pair mechanism of magnetic‐field effects in photochemical reactions, allowing models of biological magnetoreception to be tested by measuring spin decoherence directly in the time domain by pulsed experiments.     

Synthesis and Rearrangement of P‐Nitroxyl‐Substituted PIII and PV Phosphanes: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Case Study

Low‐temperature generation of P‐nitroxyl phosphane 2 (Ph₂POTEMP), which was obtained by the reaction of Ph₂PH ( 1 ) with two equivalents of TEMPO, is presented. Upon warming, phosphane 2 decomposed to give P‐nitroxyl phosphane P‐oxide 3 (Ph₂P(O)OTEMP) as one of the final products. This facile synthetic protocol also enabled access to P‐sulfide and P‐borane derivatives 7 and 13 , respectively, by using Ph₂P(S)H ( 6 ) or Ph₂P(BH₃)H ( 11 ) and TEMPO. Phosphane sulfide 7 revealed a rearrangement to phosphane oxide 8 (Ph₂P(O)STEMP) in CDCl₃ at ambient temperature, whereas in THF, thermal decomposition of sulfide 7 yielded salt 10 ([TEMP‐H₂][Ph₂P(S)O]). As well as EPR and detailed NMR kinetic studies, indepth theoretical studies provided an insight into the reaction pathways and spin‐density distributions of the reactive intermediates.