Bond polarization in the FeCO system: Semiempirical MO–SCF (BMV) calculations

Charge distributions in FeCO for different Fe–C distances and the Fe–C–O angle equal to 180° and 90° have been computed by the BMV method, a semiempirical SCF scheme including overlap and especially suited for transition-metal atoms. A comparison with available EHT and ab initio calculations suggests that the BMV method is a useful complement to ab initio calculations. The information obtained on the dependence of the binding in FeCO on the Fe–C distance is also briefly discussed in connection with the views of experimentalists of the state of CO absorbed on iron.     

Exchange interactions and theoretical analysis of (31)P NMR spectra in VO(HPO(4)).0.5H(2)O

Based on combined DFT/broken symmetry approach, a theoretical analysis of the exchange interactions in the VO(HPO(4)).0.5H(2)O solid is performed. Depending on the crystallographic structures reported in the literature, two very different spin models are formulated. In addition, a complete fit of the temperature-dependent (31)P NMR chemical shift is performed to determine exchange and hyperfine constants. The magnetic models used in the fit are those obtained by our theoretical calculations. The comparison between the calculated and fitted exchange constants confirms the adequacy of an isolated dimer model and rules out the alternating antiferromagnetic chain model for VO(HPO(4)).0.5H(2)O.     

Application of conformation design in acyclic stereoselection: total synthesis of borrelidin as the crystalline benzene solvate

The total synthesis of (-)-borrelidin (treponemycin), a structurally distinct 18-membered macrolide antibiotic, has been achieved. It was isolated as the crystalline benzene solvate, and its structure was confirmed by a single-crystal X-ray analysis. The deoxypropionate subunit consisting of four alternating C-methyl groups with a C(4)-C(10) syn/syn/anti orientation was elaborated by a new method of iterative cuprate additions to acyclic alpha,beta-unsaturated esters relying on two consecutive 1,3-inductions and starting with d-glyceraldehyde as the chiral progenitor. The unique Z/E cyanodiene unit was obtained as a single isomer by application of the Still-Gennari olefination protocol. The gamma-hydroxycyclopentane carboxylic acid subunit was prepared from L-malic acid utilizing a sequential introduction of C-vinyl and C-allyl groups, capitalizing on 1,2-induction in an acyclic alpha,beta-unsaturated ester and carbocyclization by a Grubbs ring closure metathesis reaction. The prevalence of 1,3-syn-disposed deoxypropionate triads in the cuprate additions is rationalized on the basis of minimized syn-pentane interactions in the transition states. A virtual diamond lattice was used as a visual tool to portray the low-energy conformations of the acyclic substrates, and corroborated by (1)H NMR homodecoupling studies.     

Adhesion contact dynamics of fibroblasts on biomacromolecular surfaces

Biomacromolecules like gelatin and chitosan have emerged as highly versatile biomimetic coatings for applications in tissue engineering. The elucidation of the interfacial kinetics of cell adhesion on biomacromolecular surfaces will pave the way for the rational design of chitosan/gelatin-based systems for cell regeneration. Biomacromolecular ultra-thin films, chemically immobilized on fused silica are ideal experimental models for determining the effect of surface properties on the biophysical cascades following cell seeding. In this study, confocal reflectance interference contrast microscopy (C-RICM), in conjunction with phase contrast microscopy and fluorescence confocal microscopy, was applied to detect the adhesion contact dynamics of 3T3 fibroblasts on chitosan and gelatin ultrathin films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the immobilization of chitosan or gelatin on the silanized glass surface. Both the initial cell deformation rate and the change of two-dimensional spread area of the 3T3 fibroblasts are higher on gelatin-modified surfaces than on chitosan surfaces. The steady-state adhesion energy of 3T3 fibroblasts on gelatin film is three times higher than that on chitosan film. Immuno-staining of actin further demonstrates the different organization of cytoskeleton, likely induced by the change in cell signaling mechanism on the two biomacromolecular surfaces. The better attachment of 3T3 fibroblast to gelatin is postulated to be caused by the presence of adhesive domains on gelatin.     

The GROMOS software for biomolecular simulation: GROMOS05

We present the latest version of the Groningen Molecular Simulation program package, GROMOS05. It has been developed for the dynamical modelling of (bio)molecules using the methods of molecular dynamics, stochastic dynamics, and energy minimization. An overview of GROMOS05 is given, highlighting features not present in the last major release, GROMOS96. The organization of the program package is outlined and the included analysis package GROMOS++ is described. Finally, some applications illustrating the various available functionalities are presented.     

Wide-line H NMR: a new application for the study of Brönsted acidity strength of solids with HY zeolite as example

The fitting of 4 K ¹H wide-line NMR spectra of Brönsted-acidic solid samples loaded with known amounts of water allows the determination of the concentration of the following species: H₃O⁺, H₂O…HO; and of the remaining initial species: OH and H₂O.     

A local approach to delocalized electronic systems: semilocal evaluation of the cohesive energies of tight-binding Hamiltonians

Starting from strongly localized N-electron functions built from either pure atomic orbitals or fully localized bond molecular orbitals, it is possible to evaluate the ground state energy of a periodic lattice ruled by a tight-binding Hamiltonian without explicitly introducing the monoelectronic crystal orbitals. The method consists of a self-consistent perturbation of the zeroth-order wave function which incorporates high order effects and offers reasonable convergence properties. Along this framework, a single variable per bond type is introduced, namely the amplitude of the charge transfer. The method leads to a set of coupled equations which can be numerically solved, if not analytically. Short-range delocalization effects under periodic conditions are explicitly taken into account and relatively accurate cohesive energies are estimated for regular homoatomic and heteroatomic one-dimensional chains as well as for honeycomb lattices. In addition, good agreement with experiment for the distortion amplitude in polyacetylene is obtained. This exploratory tool may be easily extended to more sophisticated Hamiltonians, for which the solutions are not accessible. Since our approach only introduces short-range delocalization effects, its performance questions the importance of the specifically collective delocalization effects.     

Isomerization dynamics in homo- and heterochiral atropoisomer copper(I) diimine complexes: a 2D EXSY NMR study

Two-dimensional exchange NMR spectroscopy has been employed to study the isomerization process of copper(I) complexes formed upon complexation of Cu+ with a racemic mixture of the atropoisomer diimine benzimidazole-pyridine ligands 1-3 and evaluate the configurational stability of the pseudotetrahedral complexes [Cu(1-3)2]PF6. Racemization of the heterochiral isomers RSLambda/RSDelta proceeds through an intramolecular ligand rearrangement on a time scale of about 1.9 s(-1) for 1, 4.4 s(-1) for 2, and 0.3 s(-1) for 3 in CD2Cl2 at room temperature. The intramolecular Lambda/Delta isomerizations in the homochiral diastereoisomers RRDelta/SSLambda and RRLambda/SSDelta of [Cu(1)2]PF6 proceed at room temperature on a time scale of about 0.6 s(-1) for the conversion of RRDelta/SSLambda into RRLambda/SSDelta and 13 s(-1) for the conversion of RRLambda/SSDelta into RRDelta/SSLambda. The kinetics of these intramolecular exchange processes were found to be sensitive to the stabilizing interligand pi-stacking interactions that develop within the [Cu(1-3)2]+ structure and to the bulkiness of the benzimidazole aryl substituents. The kinetics of racemization in the heterochiral RSLambda/RSDelta isomers of [Cu(3)2]PF6 with the bulky cumyl-derived ligand were 1 order of magnitude lower than in [Cu(2)2]PF6 with the tolyl-based ligand. Slower intermolecular ligand exchanges between all the isomers have also been shown to occur at ambient temperature in CD2Cl2 through complete ligand dissociation. Free energies at 298 K varying between 66.7 and 74.4 kJ.mol(-1) and entropies varying between -26.4 and 28.3 J.K(-1).mol(-1) were determined for the intramolecular Lambda/Delta isomerizations. For the intermolecular ligand exchanges free energies at 298 K varying between 55.6 and 62.5 kJ.mol(-1) and entropies varying between -97.9 and -74.5 J.K(-1).mol(-1) were measured.     

Influence of master fabrication techniques on the characteristics of embossed microfluidic channels

We describe protocols for the fabrication of microfluidic devices in plastics using a number of different embossing masters. Masters were fabricated by deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon (100), wet etching of silicon (100) and (110), and SU-8 processing. Structures embossed into a cyclo-olefin polymer were characterized in terms of the quality of pattern transfer as well as of the surface roughness. High quality pattern transfer was achieved with masters containing structures with angled sidewalls. Pattern distortions occurring during de-embossing were minimized by using masters consisting of SU-8 (which has a thermal expansion coefficient close to that of the substrates). Structures embossed with SU-8 masters also exhibited the lowest surface roughness. However, due to structural deformation, the reusability of the masters prepared for this study extended to only five embossing experiments. Masters fabricated on silicon, on the other hand, were more robust, but were subject to breakage during the de-embossing phase of the experiment. The results of this study will guide researchers in choosing master fabrication methods that will provide profile and surface characteristics of embossed microfluidic channels that are advantageous to their specific application.