Determination of DNA structure in solution: enzymatic deuteration of the ribose 2' carbon

An enzymatic solution to the problem of obtaining 13C/15N-labeled nucleotides that are deuterated uniquely at the H2' ' position within the ribose ring is presented. Selective deuteration occurs with an overall yield of >80%. The deuteron at the H2' ' position allows measurement of the scalar and residual dipolar couplings for the bond vectors attached to the C2' carbon of each ribose sugar. These data allow the accurate determination of sugar conformation. Interesting DNA double helices of 2-3 turns are now within the reach of solution NMR spectroscopy. As an example, these labeled nucleotides are incorporated uniquely at positions 6-14 in a 20-bp DNA sequence containing the adenovirus major late promoter.     

Intramolecular "Aryl-metal chelate ring" pi,pi-interactions as structural evidence for metalloaromaticity in (aromatic alpha,alpha'-diimine)-copper(II) chelates: molecular and crystal structure of aqua(1,10-phenanthroline)(2-benzylmalonato)copper(II) three-hydrate

By reaction of Cu(2)CO(3)(OH)(2), 2-benzylmalonic acid (H(2)Bzmal), and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), [Cu(Bzmal)(phen)(H(2)O)] x 3H(2)O (compound 1) has been obtained and characterized by thermal, spectral, magnetic, and X-ray diffraction methods. The molecular structure of 1 is remarkably similar to that of [Cu(Bzmal)(bipy)(H(2)O)] x 2H(2)O (compound 2, bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine). In both complexes, the aryl(Bzmal) ring produces an unexpected pi,pi-stacking interaction with the Cu(II)-(aromatic alpha,alpha'-diimine) chelate ring, at an average distance d(pi)(-)(pi) of 3.40 A, involving roughly parallel and smoothly slipped rings. This insight is discussed as new structural evidence for metalloaromaticity of Cu(II)-(aromatic alpha,alpha'-diimine) chelate rings. Interestingly, 1 recognizes itself by a weak intermolecular pi,pi-stacking interaction between aryl(Bzmal) ligands to give pairs of complex molecules. In contrast, there is an intermolecular pyridyl-pyridyl pi,pi-stacking interaction also forming pairs of complex molecules in 2.     

Reversible polymerization driven by folding

Bisfunctionalized m-phenylene ethynylene imine oligomers were polymerized in the polar solvent acetonitrile, resulting in high-molecular weight poly(m-phenylene ethynylene imine)s. It is hypothesized that this polymerization, which proceeds through the reversible metathesis of imine bonds, is driven by the folding of the long m-phenylene ethynylene imine chains. Upon conducting the polymerization in a series of solvents in which the m-phenylene ethynylene oligomers exhibit different folding stabilities, it was possible to correlate the molecular weight of the resulting poly(m-phenylene ethynylene imine)s with the helical stability of the corresponding oligomers. The polymerization was also demonstrated to be reversible and responsive to solvent and temperature changes.     

Assessment of the retention properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) stationary phase for lipid class profiling in liquid chromatography

Potentialities of polymerized vinyl alcohol on silica gel were assessed for class separation of simple lipids, sphingolipids, glyceroglycolipids and phospholipids by high-performance liquid chromatography. A screening of pure solvents in binary gradient elution and a chemometric approach was used to define a rugged two segment linear gradient formed from four solvents for total lipid class separation. Triethylamine and formic acid were added in all mobile phase components for acidic phospholipid separation and evaporative light scattering response enhancement. Simple analytical procedures are described for the analysis of complex lipid materials.     

Geometrical structure of yttrium and metal-bromine complexes in solution: limitations of extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis (EXAFS)

An extensive study on the appearance of multi-electron features in the X-ray absorption spectra of several yttrium(III)-based compounds has been performed. The existence of a multi-electron transition of non-negligible intensity within the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) region of the Y K-edge spectra has been proven. The impact of such features in the EXAFS analysis is made evident for aqueous solutions of YBr3 x 6H2O in liquid and glassy states in the concentration range 0.005-2.0 M, in which this transition induces an overestimation in the coordination numbers derived from EXAFS. We have performed theoretical computation of cross-sections for the double-electron processes at the K-edge of both Y and Br. These computations have been applied to the experimental EXAFS K-edge spectra of both Y and Br in several solids and in aqueous solutions. While in the case of Y K-edge spectra the presence of such multi-electron transitions was seen to seriously affect the standard EXAFS analysis, its influence in the case of Br K-edge spectra was determined to be negligible.     

Experimental (NMR) and Computational (MD) Studies on the Inclusion Complexes of 1-Bromoadamantane with alpha-, beta-, and gamma-Cyclodextrin

The inclusion complexes between the most commonly used cyclodextrins (alpha-, beta-, and gamma-CD) and 1-bromoadamantane were prepared and studied experimentally by NMR methods and by molecular dynamics simulations (AMBER force field) with solvation. The NMR results suggest host/guest ratios of 2:1, 1:1, and 1:1 for the complexes with alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrin, respectively, as well as defined geometries for the complexes. Averaged geometrical data from the molecular dynamics simulations agree with the complexation geometries deduced experimentally.     

Synthesis of enantiomerically enriched allenes by (-)-sparteine-mediated lithiation of alkynyl carbamates

[reaction: see text]. The alpha-deprotonation of alkynyl carbamates 3 with the chiral base (-)-sparteine (4)/n-butyllithium, transmetalation with ClTi(O(i)()Pr)3, and subsequent substitution with an aldehyde results in the formation of enantioenriched 4-hydroxyallenyl carbamates 11. Stereoselection is determined by dynamic resolution of the lithium/(-)-sparteine complexes by selective crystallization.     

Thermodynamic parameters for the molecular inclusion reaction of dulcin with beta-cyclodextrin. spectrofluorimetric determination of dulcin

The inclusion of dulcin in alpha- and beta-cyclodextrin has been studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. To quantitatively describe complex formation between the beta-cyclodextrin and dulcin, an association constant of 290 M(-1) at 21 degrees was obtained. The thermodynamics associated with the complex formation between dulcin and beta-cyclodextrin in aqueous solution has been studied. The obtained value of DeltaG(0) = -13.7 kJ/mole at 21 degrees , together with DeltaH(0) = -33.6 +/- 2.3 kJ/mole and DeltaS(0) = -67.2 +/-8.3 Jmole(-1) K(-1) indicate that dulcin has a very marked tendency to associate with beta-cyclodextrin in water. The inclusion complex of dulcin in beta-cyclodextrin has been used to determine dulein in the range 0.13-5 mug/ml the method has been applied to determine dulcin in soft drinks.     

Determination of uranium in rocks by instrumental activation-analysis using epithermal neutrons

A rapid non-destructive neutron-activation method for the determination of uranium in rocks is described. The method is based on activation with epithermal neutrons and subsequent measurement of the 74 keV gamma-ray of (239)U. Results given for some standard rocks are in good agreement with literature data. The precision of the method is about 5 % and the limit of detection is of the order of 0.1 ppm in silicate rocks.     

Differentiation between dexamethasone and betamethasone in a mixture using multiple mass spectrometry

Direct gas chromatographic methods to analyse phenylurea pesticides are discouraged by the thermal instability of these compounds, that in conventional hot splitless inlet systems leads to extensive and irreproducible formation of isocyanates and amines. However a careful control of the operating conditions, like the inlet temperature, the pressure and the presence of suitable chemical additives (as acetic acid, low-molecular-mass amines, organic anhydrides) can either: (i) minimise the thermal decomposition enabling the direct GC-MS analysis of phenylureas, or (ii) lead to reproducible conversion to isocyanates. Experimental design was employed to study the effect of the experimental variables on the thermal transformation of phenylurea pesticides in splitless inlet system. Two strategies were alternatively optimised: (i) the minimisation of degradation reactions to increase the signal of phenylureas; (ii) the maximisation of the degradation to isocyanates that are in turn determined. The maximal yields in isocyanate were obtained with high inlet temperatures, low carrier flows in the injection phase and the presence of acetic anhydride. By contrast, the use of relatively low inlet temperatures, high carrier flows during the injection and the presence of an amine maximise the response of the parent compounds.