Synthesis of bis‐N‐alkyl imidazolium salts and their palladium(0)(NHC)(η2‐MA)2 complexes

New N‐Alkyl‐substituted imidazolium salts as well as a series of their corresponding [Pd(NHC)(MA)₂] complexes have been obtained by three routes in good yield. The previously reported synthesis for the analogous N‐aryl substituted [Pd(NHC)(MA)₂] complexes has been improved. The N‐alkyl‐substituted [Pd(NHC)(MA)₂] complexes are thermally more labile than their N‐aryl counterparts. Catalytic transfer semi‐hydrogenation of phenylpropyne resulted in good to excellent chemo‐ and stereo‐ selectivity conversion into (Z)‐phenylpropene. The size of the alkyl substituents correlates with the rate of hydrogenation in the sense that more bulky substituents give rise to faster transfer hydrogenation rates. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Raman spectroscopic investigation on the microenvironment of the liver tissues of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) due to titanium dioxide exposure

Nano titanium dioxide (nTiO₂), generally considered to be toxicologically inert, is manufactured in large quantities and extensively applied in consumer products. The small size and large surface area endow them with an active group or intrinsic toxicity. Advances in instrumentation are making Raman spectroscopy the tool of choice for an increasing number of (bio) chemical applications. One of the great advantages of this technique is its ability to provide information on the concentration, structure and interaction of biochemical molecules in their microenvironments within intact cells and tissues, non-destructively. Zebrafish (Danio rerio), one of the most important vertebrate model organisms used in developmental biology, are increasingly used in biomedical research, particularly as a model of human disease. In the present work, an attempt is made to study the effect of titanium dioxide, both nano and bulk, on the microenvironment of the liver tissues of Zebrafish using FT-Raman spectroscopy. The results of the present study suggest that TiO₂ exposure demonstrate a marked influence on the microenvironments of the liver tissues of Zebrafish. A shift to a higher wavenumber and an increase in the intensity of the band at ∼1087 cm⁻¹ in the TiO₂ exposed tissues suggest that some of the conformational changes resulting from the alkali recovery process takes place due to TiO₂ exposure. The decreased intensity ratio (I₃₂₂₀/I₃₄₀₀) observed in the titanium-exposed tissues suggests a decreased water domain size, which could be interpreted in terms of weaker hydrogen-bonded molecular species of water in the TiO₂ exposed tissues. The observed shift of COO⁻ bands to higher frequencies shows the disruption of salt bridges as a result of a change in the oppositely charged partners and due to the enhanced random coil conformation. The variation in the intensity ratio of the tyrosyl doublet (I₈₅₈/I₈₂₅) indicates variation in the hydrogen bonding of the phenolic hydroxyl group due to TiO₂ exposure. The results further suggest that the microenvironments are greatly altered due to titanium nano exposure when compared to titanium bulk. In conclusion, the results indicate that FT-Raman spectroscopy might be a useful tool for rapid assessment of nano particle biological interactions.     

Furan-oxidation-triggered inducible DNA cross-linking: acyclic versus cyclic furan-containing building blocks--on the benefit of restoring the cyclic sugar backbone

Oligodeoxynucleotides incorporating a reactive functionality can cause irreversible cross-linking to the target sequence and have been widely studied for their potential in inhibition of gene expression or development of diagnostic probes for gene analysis. Reactive oligonucleotides further show potential in a supramolecular context for the construction of nanometer-sized DNA-based objects. Inspired by the cytochrome P450 catalyzed transformation of furan into a reactive enal species, we recently introduced a furan-oxidation-based methodology for cross-linking of nucleic acids. Previous experiments using a simple acyclic building block equipped with a furan moiety for incorporation into oligodeoxynucleotides have shown that cross-linking occurs in a very fast and efficient way and that substantial amounts of stable, site-selectively cross-linked species can be isolated. Given the destabilization of duplexes observed upon introduction of the initially designed furan-modified building block into DNA duplexes, we explore here the potential benefits of two new building blocks featuring an extended aromatic system and a restored cyclic backbone. Thorough experimental analysis of cross-linking reactions in a series of contexts, combined with theoretical calculations, permit structural characterization of the formed species and allow assessment of the origin of the enhanced cross-link selectivity. Our experiments clearly show that the modular nature of the furan-modified building blocks used in the current cross-linking strategy allow for fine tuning of both yield and selectivity of the interstrand cross-linking reaction.     

Visualisation of biopolymer mixtures using confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) and covalent labelling techniques

Confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) has been used to study the behaviour of mixtures of proteins, gelatine, whey proteins and β-lactoglobulin, and polysaccharides, dextran, gellan gum, carrageenan, gum Arabic, and starch. CSLM proved to be a suitable technique to visualise the microstructure of these (phase separated) mixtures in two and three-dimensional images. Contrast through fluorescence is obtained either by covalent labelling (polysaccharides and proteins) or non-covalent labelling (proteins and starch). Double and triple labelling allows the visualisation of individual components in a complex mixture of biopolymers.     

On the structure of the laser irradiated Si(111)-(1 × 1) surface

We have studied the geometric structure of the Si(111)-(1 × 1) surface, prepared from a Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface with a pulsed ruby laser. With the technique of medium energy ion scattering, in combination with channeling and blocking, we find that this surface has a structure very similar to the (7 × 7) surface. Our results are inconsistent with a simple relaxation model.     

Gas-phase dissociation of oligoribonucleotides and their analogs studied by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Oligoribonucleotides (RNA) and modified oligonucleotides were subjected to low-energy collision-induced dissociation in a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer to investigate their fragmentation pathways. Only very restricted data are available on gas-phase dissociation of oligoribonucleotides and their analogs and the fundamental mechanistic aspects still need to be defined to develop mass spectrometry-based protocols for sequence identification. Such methods are needed, because chemically modified oligonucleotides can not be submitted to standard sequencing protocols. In contrast to the dissociation of DNA, dissociation of RNA was found to be independent of nucleobase loss and it is characterized by cleavage of the 5'-P-O bond, resulting in the formation of c- and their complementary y-type ions. To evaluate the influence of different 2'-substituents, several modified tetraribonucleotides were analyzed. Oligoribonucleotides incorporating a 2'-methoxy-ribose or a 2'-fluoro-ribose show fragmentation that does not exhibit any preferred dissociation pathway because all different types of fragment ions are generated with comparable abundance. To analyze the role of the nucleobases in the fragmentation of the phosphodiester backbone, an oligonucleotide lacking the nucleobase at one position has been studied. Experiments indicated that the dissociation mechanism of RNA is not influenced by the nucleobase, thus, supporting a mechanism where dissociation is initiated by formation of an intramolecular cyclic transition state with the 2'-hydroxyl proton bridged to the 5'-phosphate oxygen.     

Reexamination of the I2 spectrum near the B(3Π0u+) state dissociation limit

The disagreement of Danyluk and King's (Chem. Phys.25, 343 (1977)) rotational constants for levels lying near the dissociation limit of B-state I₂ with the mechanical behavior predicted by near-dissociation theory is investigated. The discrepancies are shown to be much too large to be explained by either the neglect of centrifugal distortion effects in the original analysis or by rotational or spin-rotation coupling to a nearby repulsive 1_u state. These differences are therefore attributed to experimental error, a conclusion which is confirmed by more recent experimental results. A reanalysis of the best available data for levels near the dissociation limit of B-state I₂ then yields improved values for the B-state dissociation limit $\text{D}$ = 20 043.16 (±0.02) cm^?1 of the vibrational index at dissociation v_$\text{D}$ = 87.32 (±0.04) and of the long-range potential constant $\text{C}{}_5\text{= 2.88 (±0.03) × 10}{}^5\text{cm}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}\text{A}\text{?}{}^5$. This in turn implies a slightly improved ground-state dissociation energy of $\text{D}$₀ = 12 440.18 (±0.02) cm^?1.     

Identification of CO adsorption sites in supported Pt catalysts using high-energy-resolution fluorescence detection X-ray spectroscopy

High-energy-resolution fluorescence detection (HERFD) X-ray spectroscopy is presented as a new tool for the identification of the bonding sites of reactants in supported metal catalysts. The type of adsorption site of CO on an alumina-supported platinum catalyst and the orbitals involved in the bonding are identified. Because X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is element-specific and can be used under high pressures and temperatures, in situ HERFD XAS can be applied to a swathe of catalytic systems, including alloys.     

Direct equilibration of soil water for delta(18)O analysis and its application to tracer studies

Current methods for stable oxygen isotopic (delta (18)O) analysis of soil water rely on separation of water from the soil matrix before analysis. These separation procedures are not only time consuming and require relatively large samples of soil, but also have been shown to introduce a large potential source of error. Current research at Queen's University Belfast is focused on using direct equilibration of CO(2) with the pore water to eliminate this extraction step using the automated Multiprep system and a Micromass Prism III isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS). The findings of this research indicate the method is less time consuming, more reliable, and reproducible to within accepted limits (+/-0.1% per thousand delta (18)O). In this study the direct equilibration method is used to analyse delta (18)O tracer profiles in the unsaturated zone of field soils, concurrently with chloride tracer profiles, which can be used to assess infiltration rates and mechanisms through the unsaturated zone. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.