Evaluation of thermodynamic properties of irreversible protein thermal unfolding measured by DSC

Summary We assessed the applicability of the extrapolation procedure at infinite scanning rate to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data related to irreversible protein unfolding. To this aim, an array of DSC curves have been simulated on the basis of the Lumry-Eyring model N↔U→F. The results obtained confirmed that when the apparent equilibrium constant K_{app (T=T1/2)} is lower than 3, the application of the extrapolation procedure provides accurate thermodynamic parameters. Although this procedure applies only to monomeric proteins for which the Lumry-Eyring model is a reasonable approximation, it will hopefully contribute to increase the potential of DSC in obtaining reliable thermodynamic information regarding the folding/unfolding equilibrium.     

Proton transfer reactions from N-H acid [5,10,15,20-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)-21-H, 23-H-porphyrin] to strong bases in acetonitrile

Deprotonation of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)-21-H, 23-H-porphyrin (PhF₅PorH₂) by various bases has been studied by ¹H NMR and kinetic methods. The kinetic parameters in acetonitrile were defined for proton transfer reactions yielding [NH]⁺ protonated bases and [NHN]⁻ anions with intramolecular hydrogen-bonded chains.     

Multiple-locus variable number tandem repeats analysis for genetic fingerprinting of pathogenic bacteria

DNA fingerprinting has attracted considerable interest as means for identifying, tracing and preventing the dissemination of infectious agents. Various methods have been developed for typing of pathogenic bacteria, which differ in discriminative power, reproducibility and ease of interpretation. During recent years a typing method, which uses the information provided by whole genome sequencing of bacterial species, has gained increased attention. Short sequence repeat (SSR) motifs are known to undergo frequent variation in the number of repeated units through cellular mechanisms most commonly active during chromosome replication. A class of SSRs, named variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs), has proven to be a suitable target for assessing genetic polymorphisms within bacterial species. This review attempts to give an overview of bacterial agents where VNTR-based typing, or multiple-locus variant-repeat analysis (MLVA) has been developed for typing purposes, together with addressing advantages and drawbacks associated with the use of tandem repeated DNA motifs as targets for bacterial typing and identification.     

ELECTROCHEMICAL POLYMERIZATION OF ANILINE IN PHOSPHORIC ACID AND THE PROPERTIES OF POLYANILINE

The behavior of the electrochemical polymerization of aniline in a weak acid, phosphoric acid, is very similar to that in strong acids, i.e. its polymerization rate increases quickly with the electrolysis time. The FTIR spectra of polyaniline samples synthesized in phosphoric acid indicate that the counter ion H2PO4^- is present in both the oxidized form and the reduced form of polyaniline. The counter ion plays an important role in adjusting the pH value at the electrode surface of polyaniline during the oxidation and reduction processes. As a result, a pair of redox peaks still appear in cyclic voltammograms of polyaniline in a solution of sodium sulfate of pH 5.5 and in a solution of NaH2PO4 of pH 7.0,respectively, at low potential scan rate; and the color of polyaniline film also changes with applied potential at pH 7.0. Thus,the pH region for the electrochemical activity and the electrochromism of polyaniline is extended to pH 5.5 for a solution of sodium sulfate and to pH 7.0 for a solution of NaH2PO4. The conductivity of polyaniline is 3.3 S cm^-1, depending on the concentration of phosphoric acid used in the stage of polymerization of aniline. The result of elemental analysis of polyaniline is presented here.     

Fluorine-Stabilized Sulfur–Carbon Multiple Bonds

Alkylidene and alkylidyne sulfur fluorides contain sulfur–carbon multiple bonds. In contrast to the sulfur ylides, alkylidene sulfur fluorides fulfill all the criteria for double bonds, i.e. they have short bond lengths, strong anisotropic distribution of electron density, and rotation about the C? S bond is restricted. Alkylidyne sulfur fluorides have especially short bond distances and, due to a high amplitude bending motion, appear to be more or less linear, depending on the physical state. The advantage of the C? S multiple bond systems in contrast with numerous others, e.g. those of phosphorus and silicon, is that they exist without steric stabilization. Moreover, the limits of the triple-bond principle are outlined: the prognosis for triple bonds between two elements of higher periods is poor, because carbene-like or fully bridged structures win in terms of stability.     

Ab initio crystal orbital studies on linear chains of H atoms

Anab initio crystal orbital method is used to calculate the energies of an infinite chain of H atoms and of linear arrangements of H₂ molecules with different interatomic distances. The H₂ arrangements are not stable in respect to isolated molecules. The cohesive energy of an optimized arrangement of H atoms chain is 0.0354 a.u.     

Dynamic surface elasticity of polymer solutions

The surfaces of surfactant solutions exhibit viscoelastic dilational behavior which may be investigated by modern optical and mechanical methods. The present study focuses on the dynamic dilational properties of the polymer solution — gas interface. Linear flexible polymer chains at the surface are considered as consisting of trains, lying on the surface, and loops and tails that protrude into the liquid. The Rouse model is used to describe the inner dynamics of the trains, whereas their motion relative to their neighbors on the surface can be described with the help of the reptation conception. An expression for the complex dynamic dilational surface elasticity has been derived. Although, in general, the relaxation of the surface tension is characterized by an infinite series of relaxation times, it is shown that for many systems the dynamics of the surface layer can be described approximately by only two main relaxation times. The dispersion equation, which was obtained earlier for solutions of conventional surfactants, is shown to be fulfilled for polymer solutions also.     

Synthesis and characterization of [Cu(Phca2en)(PPh3)X] (X=Cl, Br, I, NCS, N3) complexes: crystal structures of [Cu(Phca2en)(PPh3)Br] and [Cu(Phca2en)(PPh3)I]

New mixed-ligand copper(I) complexes, [Cu(Phca₂en)(PPh₃)X], [Phca₂en = N,N′-bis(β-phenylci-nnamaldehyde)-1,2-diiminoethane and X=Cl (1), Br (2), I (3), NCS (4), N₃ (5)] have been synthesized and characterized by various techniques. ¹H and ¹³C-NMR and IR spectral data of these copper(I) complexes are compared with the free ligand to elucidate some structural features. The structures of [Cu(Phca₂en)(PPh₃)Br] (2) and [Cu(Phca₂en)(PPh₃)I] (3) have been determined from single-crystal data showing that the coordination geometry around copper atom is a distorted tetrahedron. Furthermore, these Cu(I) complexes exhibit supramolecular motifs of the type multiple phenyl embraces resulting from attractive interactions between phenyl rings of PPh₃ moieties. The presence of the C–H…Cu weak intramolecular hydrogen bonds, due to the trapping of C–H bonds in the vicinity of the metal atoms, is also reported.     

MEASUREMENTS OF CHAIN INTERPENETRATION OF POLYMER GLASSES

The concept of entanglement provides the basis of our current understanding of the flow behavior of polymer melts, Current techniques developed to investigate the degree of interpenetration of polymer chains only provide indirectly the information of the degree of entanglement in a relatively large scale （several to tens of nanometer）. In this article, we report ^1H-NMR spectroscopy with dipolar filters under fast magic angle spinning for probing chain interpenetration of polymer glasses at the molecular level.     

具有双螺旋链的新型二维无机-有机骨架晶体材料Ni(PDC)(H2O)2的合成与结构

本文报道由H2PDC合成的新型维层状无机-有机骨架晶体Ni(PDC)(H2O)2(H2PDC=吡啶-2,5-二羧酸), 该化合物的一层是由右手螺旋Ni—O—C链与左手螺旋Ni-pdc链组成, 而邻近的一层则是由左手螺旋Ni—O—C链与右手螺旋Ni-pdc链组成, 层与层之间通过氢键作用形成了三维超分子结构. 用ICP、TG、IR和X射线单晶衍射分析等手段对其结构进行表征.