Wannier-Stark effect on surface states

A recursive Green-function (RGF) technique is used to study the surface states of an electrified solid. The concatenating nature of the method leads to a continued-fraction form of the RGF, which can be expressed as a ratio of Bessel functions. The surface density of states (SDOS), derived from the RGF, reveals a quasi-Stark-ladder distribution of the energy levels at the surface atom. The dependence of the SDOS on the applied field and surface perturbation parameters is discussed.     

Receptor-bound conformation of an alpha(5)beta(1) integrin antagonist by (15)N-edited 2D transferred nuclear overhauser effects

We report the results of (15)N-edited 2D transferred NOE experiments of the partially (15)N-labeled alpha(5)beta(1) antagonist c[Mpa(15)N-Arg-(15)N-Gly-(15)N-Asp-(15)N-Asp-(15)N-Val-Cys]-NH(2) (Mpa denotes mercaptopropionic acid) in the presence of the native alpha(5)beta(1) receptor. The alpha(5)beta(1) integrin receptor is believed to be involved in tumor metastasis and the rational design of alpha(5)beta(1) integrin antagonist is therefore of considerable interest. Our experiments provide insight into the alpha(5)beta(1) receptor-bound conformation of the antagonist c[MpaRGDDVC]-NH2 and will be important for the design of novel antagonists.     

Detection of phosphoproteins on electroblot membranes using a small-molecule organic fluorophore

A new formulation of the small-molecule organic fluorophore, Pro-Q Diamond dye, has been developed that permits rapid and simple detection of phosphoproteins directly on polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) or nitrocellulose membranes (electroblots). Protein samples are first separated by electrophoresis and then electroblotted to membranes, stained and destained, in an analogous manner as typically performed with Amido Black or Ponceau S dye staining of total protein profiles. After staining, blots are imaged using any of a variety of laser-based gel scanners, xenon-arc lamp-based gel scanners or charge-coupled device (CCD) camera-based imaging devices equipped with UV trans- or epi-illumination. The uncomplicated and reliable staining protocol delivers results in as little as 1 h and the limit of detection for the stain is typically 2-4 ng of phosphoprotein with a linear dynamic range of approximately 15-fold. Compared with traditional radiolabeling and antibody-based approaches, the new method offers significant advantages, including avoidance of radioactivity, no need for expensive antibodies, no requirement for blocking unoccupied sites on the membrane with protein or detergent solutions, no sequence context-specific binding to phosphorylated amino acid residues and the ability to analyze the native, steady-state phosphorylation of proteins obtained directly from tissue specimens or body fluids. Pro-Q Diamond dye binds directly and exclusively to the phosphate moiety, allowing it to detect the broadest spectrum of phosphorylated proteins possible. The stain binds noncovalently to phosphoproteins and is thus fully compatible with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) or Edman sequencing. The blot stain is also compatible with standard colorimetric, fluorogenic, and chemiluminescent detection techniques employed in immunoblotting.     

An unbounded systematic search of conformational space

A new method for searching internal coordinate conformational space systematically via a continuous-process procedure is described. Unlike previous systematic search methods, the new scheme generates torsionally remote conformers early in the search. It is also unbounded in that the extent of the search need not be specified at the outset. The search begins at low resolution (120° in torsion angle space) and then goes to higher and higher resolution as all points in space at a given resolution have been searched. The search may run without end or be terminated when new conformers cease to be found or when all space at some maximum allowable resolution has been explored. Conformational searches on several medium- and large-ring molecules using the new method are described and the results are compared with those from certain previously described search methods. It is found that the new method is significantly more efficient than previous procedures at finding all low energy conformers of organic molecules.     

Molecular weight and polydispersity estimation of adsorbing polymer brushes by atomic force microscopy

We have estimated the molecular weight, Mn, and polydispersity, PDI, of densely grafted poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) brushes using a novel atomic force microscopy (AFM) approach. When compression of a polymer brush induced adsorption of multiple chains to an AFM tip, the resulting decompression force profile exhibited a maximum attractive force at a separation, Lm, that decayed to zero with increasing tip-sample separation. We have found that the separation Lm approximates the average contour length, Lc, determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The detection of a decaying attractive force at separations larger than Lc suggests that chains of above average length sequentially break free from the tip as they are stretched away from the grafting surface. The shape of the decompression profile in this region approximately paralleled the cumulative weight fraction of the grafted chains determined by GPC. The fraction of chains of a given molecular weight determined from a single force curve fit a log-normal distribution, having a standard deviation that provided an estimate of the PDI. We have characterized two PNIPAM brushes by this AFM technique as well as by GPC coupled to a multiangle laser light-scattering detector (MALLS). The values obtained by AFM-(1) Mn,AFM = (3.8+/-0.5) x 10(4), PDI,(AFM) = 1.3+/-0.1 and (2) Mn,AFM = (9.4+/-1.4) x 10(4), PDI,(AFM) = 1.3+/-0.1-agreed quite well with the corresponding GPC/MALLS values of (1) Mn,GPC = 4.77 x 10(4), PDI,GPC = 1.33 and (2) Mn,GPC = 9.49 x 10(4), PDI = 1.35. This technique requires only a single force curve to obtain a statistical distribution of contour lengths and provides a novel method for estimating the Mn and PDI of appropriate uniformly grafted dense polymer layers.     

Enantioselective synthesis of alpha-methyl-D-cysteine and lanthionine building blocks via alpha-methyl-D-serine-beta-lactone

[reaction: see text] We report here the enantioselective synthesis of Boc-alpha-methyl-d-cysteine(PMB)-OH and lanthionine building blocks through the regioselective ring opening of key intermediate Boc-alpha-methyl-d-serine-beta-lactone.     

Selection of the cis and trans phosph(III)azane macrocycles [{P(mu-NtBu)}2(1-Y-2-NH-C6H4)]2(Y=O, S)

The 1 : 1 reactions of [ClP(mu-NtBu)]2 with the difunctional aromatic amines 1,2-1-YH-2-NH2-C6H4 in the presence of Et3N give the dimeric phosph(III)azane macrocycles [{P(mu-NtBu)2(1-Y-2-HN-C6H4)]2, predominantly as the cis isomer in the case of Y=O (1.cis) and as the trans isomer for Y=S (2.trans). Model M.O. calculations suggest that the selection of the cis and trans isomers is not thermodynamically controlled. The alternative isomers 1.trans and 2.cis are generated exclusively by the deprotonation of the model intermediates [(1-Y-2-NH2-C6H4)P(mu-NtBu)]2[Y=O (3), S (4)] with nBuLi followed by cyclisation with [ClP(mu-NtBu)]2. The solid-state structures of 1.cis/trans(50 : 50), 2.cis, 3 and 4 are reported.     

Evaluation of an atomic force microscopy pull-off method for measuring molecular weight and polydispersity of polymer brushes: effect of grafting density

The accuracy of the molecular weights Mn and polydispersities of polymer brushes, determined by stretching the grafted chains using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and measuring the contour length distribution, was evaluated as a function of grafting density sigma. Poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) brushes were prepared by surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization on latex particles with sigma ranging between 0.17 and 0.0059 chains/nm2 and constant Mn. The polymer, which could be cleaved from the grafting surface by hydrolysis and characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), had a Mn of 30,600 and polydispersity (PDI) of 1.35. The Mn determined by the AFM technique for the higher density brushes agreed quite well with the GPC results but was significantly underestimated for the lower sigma. At high grafting density in good solvent, the extended structure of the brush increases the probability of forming segment-tip contacts located at the chain end. When the distance between chains approached twice the radius of gyration of the polymer, the transition from brush to mushroom structure presumably enabled the formation of a larger number of segment-tip contacts having separations smaller than the contour length, which explains the discrepancy between the two methods at low sigma. The PDI was typically higher than that obtained by GPC, suggesting that sampling of chains with above average contour length occurs at a frequency that is greater than their spatial distribution.     

3-Azido-1,2,4-triazine N-Oxides. Syntheses and structure elucidation

Several 3-azido-1,2,4-triazine 1-oxides were prepared by treating the appropriate 3-hy-drazino derivatives with nitrous acid. 3-Azido-1,2,4-triazine 2-oxide was prepared by reaching the corresponding 3-bromo derivative with either tetramethylguanidinium azide in chloroform or sodium azide in aqueous acetone. The azido derivatives which could cyclize to form the tetra-zolo isomers were proven to exist enitrely in the open chain form by a ¹³C nmr, ¹H nmr and infrared spectroscopic study.