NMR line‐fitting quantification of polysaccharide N‐acylurea‐based modification in glycoconjugates of Salmonella Typhi Vi polysaccharide

The polysaccharides modification via carbodiimide reaction is one of the most applied methods for obtaining conjugated vaccines against Salmonella enterica. However, N‐acylurea carbodiimide adduct generated in the process is a critical impurity in carbohydrate‐based vaccines. A quantitative NMR method was developed for assessing the N‐acylurea carbodiimide adduct impurity. The procedure was based on line‐fitting facilities for processing the NMR signals on complex spectra. The method showed good linearity, accuracy and precision under inter‐operator variation (relative standard deviation <5%). Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulations of Redox Mediation within Bioactive Hydrogels of Amperometric Biosensors

Highly hydrated bioactive hydrogels containing immobilized oxidoreductase enzymes and immobilized redox mediators were simulated as the biorecognition layer of amperometric biosensors. The linear dynamic range of the amperometric response of mediated biosensors increases and moves to higher concentration brackets with an increase in the concentration of mediator. This informs the design of biosensors that target the same analyte but possesses several independently addressable electrodes modified with hydrogels that contain different concentrations of mediator. Increases in enzyme concentration increase the linear dynamic range but does not alter the sensitivity of amperometric biosensors. Both sensitivity and linear dynamic range of mediated amperometric enzyme biosensors may be “tuned” by varying the concentrations of the enzyme and the mediator. Simulations effectively guide the initial domains of study of complex systems such as implantable biosensors.     

Poly(3,5‐dichloroaniline) Doped with Different Sulfonic Acids

Poly(3,5‐dichloroaniline) was prepared by chemical oxidation in the presence of various sulfonic acids as doping agent, using potassium permanganate as oxidant. 1‐Naphtalene sulfonic acid, 2‐naphatalene sulphonic acid, 1,5‐naphtalene disulfonic acid, and p‐toluenesulfonic acid were the acids of choice. Infrared and UV‐Vis spectroscopy, utilized to characterize the polymers, revealed that the compounds exist in the emeraldine (conductive) oxidation state. The level of doping, conductivity, and morphology were determined as well. The presence of a sulfonic acid produces a morphological change, from granular to microtubule structures, which is responsible for the strong increase in the conductivity of the polymer.     

The Structure of a Non-Symmetric Disordered Tetramer: A Crystallographic and Solid State Multinuclear NMR Study of the Properties of 3(5)-Ethyl-5(3)-Phenyl-1H-Pyrazole

The X-ray structure and the solid-state NMR measurements, mainly ¹⁵N CPMAS of the labelled compound, allow to determine the static and dynamic properties of 3(5)-ethyl-5(3)-phenyl-1H-pyrazole. The compound is a tetramer formed by three 5-ethyl-3-phenyl-1H-pyrazole and one 3-ethyl-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole tautomers in dynamic equilibrium with the complementary situation.     

Reconstitution of Nucleosome Demethylation and Catalytic Properties of a Jumonji Histone Demethylase

1. Download : Download high-res image (283KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

Highlights? Catalytic domain of JMJD2A (cJMJD2A) removes methyl marks in a distributive manner ? Homogeneously methylated nucleosomes were used as substrates ? Quantitative assay for nucleosome demethylation has been developed     

Laser-Induced Azomethine Ylide Formation and Its Covalent Entrapment by Fulleropyrrolidine Derivatives During MALDI Analysis

Two novel monofunctionalized fulleropyrrolidine derivatives (Prato adducts) were prepared and characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI). MALDI experiments conducted in the positive-ion mode on pure and mixed samples of both monofunctionalized fullerene derivatives revealed the efficient formation of bisadducts (in the case of the pure samples) and mixed bisadducts (in the case of a mixed sample). Bisadducts were not observed in the ESI experiments and thus not present in the sample. A mechanism for the MALDI formation of these bisadduct ions is proposed in which an azomethine ylide fragment is formed in situ from the monofunctionalized fulleropyrrolidine species upon laser irradiation. This fragment, which can survive as an intact moiety in the gas phase in the special environment provided by the MALDI experiment, is then able to attach to a fulleropyrrolidine monoadduct which acts as a dipolarophile, thus leading to the formation of a bisadduct fullerene derivative. The unprecedented re-attachment of the azomethine ylide implies that the establishment of the ligand attainment of Prato adducts based on MALDI analysis alone can lead to wrong assignments.

Assembling a Phthalocyanine and Perylenediimide Donor–Acceptor Hybrid through a Platinum(II) Diacetylide Linker

In a novel electron‐donor–acceptor conjugate, phthalocyanine (Pc) and perylenediimide (PDI) are connected through a trans‐platinum(II) diacetylide linker to yield Pc‐Pt‐PDI 1 . In the ground state, the presence of Pt^II disrupts the electronic communication between the two electroactive components, as revealed by UV/Vis spectroscopy and electrochemical studies. The photophysical behavior of 1 is compared with that of the corresponding Pc‐PDI electron‐donor–acceptor conjugate 2 in terms of charge separation and charge recombination. The insertion of Pt^II between Pc and PDI impacts the results in a longer‐lived Pc ^{. +}/PDI ^{. ?} radical ion‐pair state. In addition, the intermediately formed Pc triplet excited state is formed with higher quantum yields in 1 than in 2 .     

Ground state solution for differential equations with left and right fractional derivatives

In this work, we study the existence of positive solutions for a class of fractional differential equation given by (1) where . Using the mountain pass theorem and comparison argument, we prove that (1) at least has one nontrivial solution. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A two‐step reaction scheme leading to singlet carbene species that can be detected under matrix conditions for the reaction of Zr(3F) with either CH3F or CH3CN

The results obtained from CASSCF‐MRMP2 calculations are used to rationalize the singlet complexes detected under matrix‐isolation conditions for the reactions of laser‐ablated Zr(³F) atoms with the CH₃F and CH₃CN molecules, without invoking intersystem crossings between electronic states with different multiplicities. The reaction Zr(³F) + CH₃F evolves to the radical products ZrF· + ·CH₃. This radical asymptote is degenerate to that emerging from the singlet channel of the reactants Zr(¹D) + CH₃F because they both exhibit the same electronic configuration in the metal fragment. Hence, the caged radicals obtained under cryogenic‐matrix conditions can recombine through triplet and singlet paths. The recombination of the radical species along the low‐multiplicity channel produces the inserted structures H₃C? Zr? F and H₂C?ZrHF experimentally detected. For the Zr(³F) + CH₃CN reaction, a similar two‐step reaction scheme involving the radical fragments ZrNC· + ·CH₃ explains the presence of the singlet complexes H₃C? Zr? NC and H₂C?Zr(H)NC revealed in the IR‐matrix spectra upon UV irradiation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Significant nonlinear‐optical switching capacity in atomic clusters built from silicon and lithium: A combined ab initio and density functional study

Starting from a hypothetical but fundamental charge/discharge sequence, the topic of nonlinear optical switching in atomic clusters built from silicon and alkali metals is opened up. The outcomes presented in this work, obtained with ab initio methods of exceptional predictive capabilities, offer strong evidences that sizable hyperpolarizability contrasts between neutral and charged alkali metal doped cluster forms might be simultaneously accomplished. The observed switching procedure involves redox polyatomic clusters formed by Si atoms. These centers function as electron acceptors at the ground state and as electron donors at the excited states facilitating low energy charge transfer transitions upon electronic excitation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.