INTERACTION OF ENZYME-GENERATED SPECIES WITH CHLOROPHYLL-a AND PROBES BOUND TO SERUM ALBUMINS

Abstract— The interaction of serum albumin-bound acceptors with enzyme-generated and protected triplet species was studied in two types of systems. Chlorophyll-a bound to bovine and human serum albumins is efficiently excited by enzymatically generated triplet acetone and acetaldehyde. When the Chl-a concentration is much lower than that of the albumin the interaction occurs with chlorophyll in an aggregate in which one Chl-a is surrounded by several protein molecules. When the Chl-a concentration is higher than that of the protein, the aggregate contains the proteins and fluorescent chlorophylls in a 1:1 ratio. The excess chlorophylls, although able to interact with the donors, are not fluorescent.
In another study, probes bound to various specific sites of serum albumins were used as quenchers of the enzymatically generated triplet acetone. The efficiency of quenching by all the bound probes is equal and in one case even stronger than for the free probes.
A model for the interaction of the excited species contained in the enzyme with the acceptor(s) located in the protein is proposed.
The present results provide further evidence that enzyme-generated and protected triplet carbonyl species can interact through a collisional process with acceptors bound to or constituents of macromolecules.     

Thermal analysis and synthesis of pentazinc hexahydroxide dicarbonate: Investigations by thermogravimetry,thermo molecular beam analysis and x-ray measurements

A combination of thermobalance and X-ray camera is described which allows simultaneous thermogravimetric (TG) and X-ray measurements under high vacuum. During these measurements the sample is positioned in the sample holder of the camera in the usual fashion and is X-raved while the temperature is varied. The molecular beam of the gaseous decomposition products flows through a connecting tube which acts as a molecular beam former between camera and thermobalance. The molecular beam is directed towards the empty balance pan. The orifice through which the beam exits as well as the pan have special shapes that allow transfer of the angular momentum of the decomposition beam to the balance. The exerted force is a function of time and corresponds to the first derivative of the TG curve. i.e. to the DTG curve. The integrated curve is directly proportional to the change in mass of the probe. A quantitative evaluation is possible if the molecular composition of the beam is known. The calibration of the molecular beam and the evaluation of the measurements will be discussed. The results show that simultaneous detection of X-ray scattering and indirect TG curves allows a better interpretation of decomposition reactions.An additional investigation shows that thermal synthesis of chemical com- pounds can also be studied by thermogravimetry. Based on the same compound as described in the analysis. the pyrosynthesis is demonstrated. The special instrumentation and the test conditions are discussed.     

Übergangsmetall—methylen-komplexe: LXI. Übergangsmetall—vinyliden-komplexe: Neuartige synthese aus diazoalken-vorstufen

The diazoolefines of composition N₂CCR₂ (R/R = CH₃/CH₃ and(-CH₂-)₅) are suitable precursors of the corresponding vinylidene ligands CCR₂. Thus, treatment of the RhRh complex [(η⁵-C₅Me₅)Rh(μ-CO)]₂ (1) with the N-nitrosourethanes 2a and 2b, resp., in the presence of lithium t-butoxide yields the otherwise inaccessible μ-vinylidene complexes (μ-CCR₂)[(η⁵-C₅Me₅)Rh(CO)]₂ (R = CH₃ (3a), R,R = (-CH₂-)₅ (3b)). The analogous cobalt compound (μ-CCMe₂)[(η⁵-C₅Me₅)Co(CO)]₂ (5a) is obtained similarly. This procedure extends the well-documented diazoalkane method for the synthesis of μ-alkylidene complexes to the less stable diazoalkenes. A single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of the dimethylvinylidene derivative 3a shows the CMe₂ ligand to adopt an almost symmetrically metal-bridging position (d(RhC) 197.8(1) and 204.3(1) pm), with a rhodium-rhodium single bond completing a three-membered Rh₂C-metallacycle (d(RhRh) 268.4(0) pm) analogous with cyclopropane.     

Moment characterization of localized orbitals

The parallel between orbital first and second electric moments and statistical first and second central moments is noted. Three measures of orbital spatial distribution in terms of their moments are proposed, and applied to the LMO's in a series of ten-electron hydrides. Consistent differences between bond and lone pair distributions are found. Using the statistical interpretation, for each LMO an effective solid angle around the central atom is postulated.     

Synthesis and properties of crosslinked polyvinylformamide and polyvinylamine hydrogels in conjunction with silica particles

Polyvinylamine hydrogels with silica particles encapsulated (PVAm/silica) were produced by a two‐step synthesis. In the first step, polyvinylformamide/silica (PVFA/silica) hybrids were synthesized from vinylformamide (VFA) and 1,3‐divinylimidazolidin‐2‐one (1,3‐bisvinylethyleneurea, BVU), as the crosslinker, by radical copolymerization in silica/water suspensions using different compositions of VFA/BVU. The target product PVAm/silica was obtained by acidic hydrolysis of the PVFA/silica hydrogels in a second step. The chemical structures of both hydrogels, PVFA/silica and PVAm/silica, respectively, were revealed by solid‐state ¹³C(¹H) cross‐polarity/magic‐angle spinning NMR spectroscopy. Both hydrogels swelled significantly in water. The swelling capacity of the two systems was characterized by the correlation length ξ (or hydrodynamic blob size) of the network meshes with small‐angle neutron scattering experiments. ξ is significantly larger for PVAm/silica than for PVFA/silica, which corresponds to the observed higher swelling capacity of this polyelectrolyte material. Furthermore, the swelling behavior of the hybrid hydrogels was quantitatively described in terms of free swell capacity, centrifuge‐retention capacity, adsorption against pressure, and free swell rate as compared with values of the corresponding copolymer hydrogels. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3144–3152, 2002     

Transferability of some properties of localized molecular orbitals

The transferability of the first and second order electric moments of localized orbitals have been shown. Some moment characteristics have also been investigated. The standard deviation of first order localized moments is less than 2.0%. The standard deviation of second order electric moment components are larger: although they do not exceed 4.0% for bond orbitals, for lone pair ones they vary about 1.5–10.1%.     

Mechanistic insights into the photochromism of trans-10b,10c-dimethyl-10b,10c-dihydropyrene derivatives

A series of dimethyldihydropyrene derivatives was studied to elucidate the photochemical mechanism associated with the switching between the dimethyldihydropyrene (DHP, closed) and metacyclophanediene (CPD, open) forms of the molecule. Quantum yields of ring opening and closure, fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes, as well as laser flash photolysis studies were performed to establish the effect of substituents on the switching efficiency. Ring opening of the DHPs occurs from the first singlet excited state. The low quantum yields for the ring opening reaction observed (< or =0.042) are a consequence of the low rate constant (< or =1.7 x 10(7) s(-1)) for this process. The quantum yields for ring closure of the CPD were determined for select compounds and were of the order of 0.1-0.4. These results show that the efficiency for ring opening of this class of compounds is intrinsically low, but can be modulated to some extent by the introduction of substituents. These properties should be taken into account when considering what type of photoswitching devices DHPs might be useful for.     

Probing the surface polarity of native celluloses using genuine solvatochromic dyes

The surface polarity of native celluloses has been investigated by the following solvatochromic dyes: dicyano-bis (1,10)-phenanthroline iron (II) Fe(phen)2 (CN)2 (1), bis(4-N,N-dimethylamino)-benzophenone (2), and cou-marine 153 (3). Linear Solvation Energy (LSE) relationships and the UV/Vis data have been used to characterize the surface polarity of different native cellulose batches in terms of the empirical Kamlet–Taft polarity parameters (hydrogen bond acidity), (hydrogen bond basicity), and * (dipolarity/polarizability). , , *and calculated Reichardt's E T (30) values are reported for various native and regenerated cellulose samples with different degrees of crystallinity. The degree of crystallinity of the cellulose samples has been determined by X-ray. The microcrystalline environment of cellulose can be exactly parameterized in terms of the , and *values. It shows a fairly strong acidity and a low dipolarity/polarizability. For the amorphous sections smaller and larger * values are observed. The correspondence of the empirical polarity parameters determined has been discussed in relation to results from pyrene fluorescence and zetapotential measurements.     

Übergangsmetall-methylen-komplexe: LVI. Organoruthenium-komplexe mit offenkettigen und carbocyclischen alkyliden-brücken: Synthese,konstitution, isomerie,protonierung und thermolytischer abbau

The eighteen new μ-alkylidene ruthenium complexes 5a–r and 5t are very easily and cleanly obtained along the diazoalkane or the hydrazone routes that involve treatment of the dinuclear, metal-metal doubly bonded precursor compound [(η⁵-C₅H₅)Ru(μ-NO)]₂ (3) either with the diazoalkanes oxidizing agent (e.g., MnO₂), with the respective hydrazones. Similarly, sulfur dioxide adds cleanly to the RuRu double bond of 3, thus giving the complex (μ-SO₂)[(η⁵-C₅H₅)Ru(NO)]₂ (5s). Regardless of the nature of the carbene bridge ligands, the dimetallacyclopropanes exhibit, in contrast to their iron analogues, exclusively terminal nitrosyl ligands. cis/trans-Isomerism with predominating amounts of the trans-isomers is observed for the derivatives that display unsymmetrically substituted carbene bridges.Treatment of the μ-methylene- and μ-ethylidene complexes (μ-CH₂)[(η⁵-C₅H₅)Ru(NO)]₂ (5a) and (μ-CHCH₃)[(η⁵-C tetrafluoroboric acid or trifluoromethanesulfonic acid in diethyl ether yields, at ambient temperature, quantitatively the ionic complexes 6a,b and 7a,b, respectively, which were shown by ¹H NMR spectroscopy to contain metal-metal bridging hydrogen functionalities. The reaction of hydrogen bromide with 5a under the same conditions gives the neutral bromo(methyl) complex 6d. This latter compound results from the isolable ionic intermediate of composition [(μ-CH₂)(μ-H){(η⁵C₅H₅)Ru(NO)}₂]⁺Br^? (6c), which reaction stems from the nucleophilicity of the halide ion present in 6c.