Use of new composite materials for the determination of Cu, Cd, Mo, As, and Sb in biological samples by radiochemical neutron activation analysis

Summary  Vezetéknév     

Physics in Melbourne

I survey highlights of the practice of physics and allied sciences in Melbourne,Australia, from the 1850s, soon after Europeans first settled in the area, to the present. I note recognizable sites of past and current physical-science activity that may be visited, as well as exhibits of historic items of physics apparatus. I trace the role of physics, in the course of a century and a half, in the evolution of a pioneering settlement into a large city embedded in a modern industrial economy.     

Geometry,stability and aromaticity of β-diketiminate-coordinated alkaline-earth compounds

Alkaline-earth (Ae) metals have attracted a wealth of interdependent research from synthetic chemists. In Ae-catalyzed organometallic reactions, β-diketiminate is a typical ligand used to stabilize Ae catalysts by forming six-membered rings comprising Ae metals. Herein, studies focusing on the configuration of β-diketiminate-coordinated Ae compounds observed that the CC and CN bonds are homogeneous and unchanged. Furthermore, energetic studies observed that the formation of the Ae-incorporated six-membered rings results in enhanced stability of >20 kcal/mol. The nucleus-independent chemical shifts, anisotropy of the induced current density, and molecular orbital analyses demonstrated the non-aromaticity of the β-diketiminate-coordinated Ae compounds. The improved stability of these compounds can be explained by the delocalization of the π electrons derived from the β-diketiminate moiety.     

Peptides-XXXXVI: Studies in the synthesis of an analogue of hen egg white lysozyme

The previously synthesised (1–37), (38–75), (76–93), (94–104), (105–117) and (118–129) fragments of the analogue were combined making extensive use of the DCCI/HONSu method. The final coupling involved the (1–75) and (76–129) sub-fragments. Aggregation of the latter fragment caused problems in purification by routine gel filtration methods employing Enzacryl K2 or Sephadex LH60. The fully protected (1–129) product was partially purified by washing, then deprotectcd and purified by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. Satisfactory removal of the acetamidomethyl group used for cysteine protection could not be achieved.     

Conformational energies of cyclenes

An universal function for non-bonded interactions, which takes into account the relative orientation of the bonds is considered in calculating the conformational energies of cycloalkenes and cycloalkadienes. A comparison is made with previous results obtained by using usual 6-exp functions for non-bonded interactions.     

The crystal structure of CuVo3(II), a high-pressure ilmenite phase

The crystal structure of a second high-pressure copper vanadate phase, CuVO₃(II), has been determined and refined by full-matrix least-squares procedures using automatic diffractometer data to a residual R = 0.042 (R_w = 0.051). The space group is rhombohedral, $\text{R}\text{3}$, with hexagonal unit cell a = 4.966(2) and c = 14.084(5) Å [a_R = 5.501(2) Å and α = 53.66(3)°]. The structure is the fully ordered ilmenite-type and, on the basis of published magnetic data and the interatomic distances, the valence distribution Cu⁺V⁵⁺O₃ is proposed. This represents a unique example of Cu⁺ in an octahedral environment.     

The hydroazocine route to highly functionalized pyrrolizidines

Studies of the preparation of 1,8-dihydroazocines and transannular cyclization of hydroazocines to produce functionalized pyrrolizidines are described. Results are presented which demonstrate that unsymmetrically substituted acetylenes bearing at least one electron withdrawing groups undergo efficient cycloaddition to 1 - β - styryl - 1,2 - dihydropyridine producing in a regio-selective fashion 3,4 - disubstituted - 1,8 - dihydroazocines. The dihydroazocines generated in this manner can be converted to 1 - formyl - Δ^4,5 - epoxyazocines which undergo interesting rearrangement reactions to form pyrrolizidines when subjected to methoxide deformylation followed by acid treatment. In addition, 1,6,7,8 - tetrahydroazocines can be converted to pyrrolizidines under bromination conditions. The intriguing chemical process which occur under the conditions outlined above are described.     

Hydrogen bonding between solvation shells around gd3+ from cooperative vibronic spectra

Cooperative vibronic spectra involving Gd³⁺ electronic transitions and the vibrational transitions of nearby water molecules are used to determine the stretching spectrum for isotopically dilute OH in a solution of GdCl₃ in D₂O. The OH stretching spectrum of water molecules in the first hydration sphere is shifted to lower energy than that of the bulk liquid.     

Some developments in reaction and solution microcalorimetry,with particular reference to its use in biochemistry and cellular biology

The field of isothermal microcalorimetry as applied to systems of interest for aqueous solution chemistry, biochemistry and in cellular biology is briefly reviewed. Some techniques recently developed in the author's laboratory are described.