High pressure FTIR study of intramolecular hydrogen bonding and conformation of a small peptide in solution

Effect of pressure on conformational equilibria of a small peptide N-acetyl-l-Pro-l-Leu-Gly-NH₂ in a chloroform solution has been studied by FTIR spectroscopy. Absorption in the NH stretching region was measured at pressures in the 1–1080 bar range and at 296 K, and decomposed into component bands by least-squares fitting. Intensity ratios of bands which were assigned to a hydrogen-bond-free conformer and intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded conformers with 10- and 13-membered hydrogen bonded rings, respectively, were examined as a function of pressure. It was found that the conformer with the 13-membered ring has definitely smaller partial molar volume than the other two conformers which have nearly the same volume with each other. On the basis of a simple dielectric model, we have shown that the conformer with the 13-membered hydrogen-bonded ring has a considerably large dipole moment which is consistent with the α-helical structure suggested by the previous variable-temperature FTIR study.     

AMPHIPHILIC COPOLYMERS AS MEDIA FOR LIGHT-INDUCED ELECTRON TRANSFER-II. ELECTROSTATIC EFFECT ON THE BACK ELECTRON TRANSFER

Abstract— Photosensitized reduction of zwitterionic viologen (SPV) and methyl viologen (MV²⁺) was investigated using an amphiliphilic copolymer having phenanthryl and sulfonate groups (APh) as photosensitizer in aqueous solutions. In the presence of triethanolamine the accumulation of SPV * (photoproduct) was found to be faster than that of MV⁺. This attributed to the electrostatic repulsion between SPV. and anionic segments of APh. Such difference between SPV and MV²⁺ was minimized in the case of the related monomer model. Retardation of the back reaction for the APh-SPV system was also demonstrated by laser photolysis, k _b= 8.7 × 10⁷ M ^-1 s^-1 for the polymer system as compared to k _b= 2.8 × 10⁹ M ^-1 s^-1 for the monomer model system. Strong salt-effects on the yield of the photoreduction and the rate of back reaction confirm the strong electrostatic interaction between the photoproducts and polyanions. This remarkable electrostatic effect of the polyanions was simulated by electrochemical redox reactions by using a graphite electrode coated with APh.     

2-Pyridone and 3-oxo-1,2,6-thiadiazine-1,1-dioxide derivatives: a new class of hydrogen bond equivalents of uracil

Hydrogen bond complex stability between adenine (A) and hydrogen bond equivalents of uracil: 2-pyridone derivatives (U^X _X2O) and 3-oxo-1,2,6-thiadiazine-1,1-dioxide derivatives (U^X _SO2) was studied, and as the result, the hydrogen bond energy of U^X _X2O-A and a complex of UX^X _SO2-A, was about 1.5 kcal/mol more stable than that of the corresponding adenine-uracil derivatives complex, respectively. The energy difference between the imide tautomer and enol tautomer was smaller than those of uracil derivatives. U^F _SO2 can form a stable complex with A, and its imide tautomer is stable.     

Short-chain model studies on emission properties of poly(9-vinylphenanthrene-co-p-N,N-dimethylaminostyrene): Exciplex quenching and subsequent formation of another fluorescent exciplex

The emission properties of 1-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-3-(9-phenanthryl)propane, Ph(CH₂)₃ DMA, and 1,3-di-(9-phenanthyrl)propane, Ph(CH₂)₃Ph, were studied in comparison with those of poly(9-vinylphenanthrene-co-p-N,N-dimethylaminostyrene). Ph(CH₂)₃DMA showed an intense intramolecular exciplex fluorescence in dioxane. Ph(CH₂)₃Ph did not exhibit a clear intramolecular excimer fluorescence. The quenching of the intramolecular exciplex by several electron acceptors was studied. As a result moderate electron acceptors, such as cyanobenzene, methyl benzoate, and acrylonitrile, selectively quenched the intramolecular exciplex, and in the case of cyanobenzene the subsequent formation of another fluorescent exciplex was observed. The results were discussed in terms of the reduction potentials of electron accepting quenchers.     

Revisiting the Rate-Limiting Step of the ANS–Protein Binding at the Protein Surface and Inside the Hydrophobic Cavity

8-Anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) is used as a hydrophobic fluorescence probe due to its high intensity in hydrophobic environments, and also as a microenvironment probe because of its unique ability to exhibit peak shift and intensity change depending on the surrounding solvent environment. The difference in fluorescence can not only be caused by the microenvironment but can also be affected by the binding affinity, which is represented by the binding constant (K). However, the overall binding process considering the binding constant is not fully understood, which requires the ANS fluorescence binding mechanism to be examined. In this study, to reveal the rate-limiting step of the ANS–protein binding process, protein concentration-dependent measurements of the ANS fluorescence of lysozyme and bovine serum albumin were performed, and the binding constants were analyzed. The results suggest that the main factor of the binding process is the microenvironment at the binding site, which restricts the attached ANS molecule, rather than the attractive diffusion-limited association. The molecular mechanism of ANS–protein binding will help us to interpret the molecular motions of ANS molecules at the binding site in detail, especially with respect to an equilibrium perspective.     

Monte carlo simulations for blue-phase structure in liquid crystals

Blue-phase liquid crystals form three-dimensional structures in a self-organizing manner and are similar to living tissue structures such as the teeth of mice and collagen tissues. This study presents numerical results regarding the conditions under which blue-phase liquid crystals occur. The Monte Carlo simulations are performed by employing an improved Lennard–Jones potential that considers anisotropy and chirality. The conditions for the formation of the blue phase, which vary with respect to the chirality, are examined first. The relationship between the anisotropic parameters and the chiral parameter for the formation of the blue phase is discussed. Identical blue-phase structures are obtained, even when the cell size and molecular number are varied drastically. This discussion is useful for considering the scale-up problem, which is almost always a difficult issue for molecular-scale simulations.     

Photoreduction of viologen-containing vinyl polymers by 2-propanol

In order to study the role of viologen-containing vinyl polymers in light energy conversion systems, the photoreduction of the polymer by 2-propanol and the properties of the reduced polymer were studied in comparison with methylviologen. There were marked polymer effects in the initial rate of photoreduction as well as in the absorption spectra of the photoreduced species. Both effects were interpreted in terms of the local concentration effect of viologen units in the photoreduction step. The spectral difference was found to be due to the dimeric association of the reduced viologen units on the polymer.     

Measurement of the spectral distribution of a multi-mode dye laser light by using speckle patterns

A simple method of measuring the wavelength γ₁ and the spectral line spacing Δγ of a multi-mode dye laser light by using the correlated speckle patterns produced at the far-field of a diffuser is proposed. Examples of the obtained values of γ₁ and Δγ are 6.0 × 10³ Å and 3.0 × 10¹ Å, respectively.