IN VIVO INDUCTION OF 4-THIOURIDINE-CYTIDINE ADDUCTS IN tRNA OF E. COLI B/r BY NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION*

Abstract— Near-ultraviolet (near-UV; 320–405 nm) irradiation of Escherichia coli B/r induces the formation in vivo of ⁴Srd-Cyd adducts in transfer RNA, as evidenced by (1) fluorescence spectrum changes of tRNA extracted from irradiated cells and reduced with NaBH₄, (2) thin-layer chromatography on cellulose of hydrolysates of trichloroacetic acid-precipitable extracts of irradiated cells, and (3) comparison of these findings with adduct formation induced by near-UV irradiation of purified mixed tRNA from E. coli. The kinetics of induction of the ⁴Srd-Cyd adduct in vivo, and the near-UV fluences required, provide strong support for our earlier hypothesis that formation of these adducts is responsible for near-UV-induced growth delay in E. coli.     

Gating the mechanistic pathway to the elusive 4-membered ring azeteoporphyrin

Photolysis of metalated (Cu and Ni) and free base 2-diazo-3-oxochlorins within a frozen matrix (λ = 457.9 nm, toluene, 80 K) generates a single photointermediate with a hypsochromically shifted electronic absorption spectrum relative to the starting diazochlorins. The appearance of ketene (~2131 cm(-1)) and azete (~1670 cm(-1)) vibrations in infrared absorption and Raman spectra, respectively, identifies this intermediate as resulting from the Wolff rearrangement of the diazochlorins upon N(2) loss. Computational modeling of the vibrational spectra and TDDFT simulation of the electronic transitions of potential photointermediates corroborate this assignment. Isolation and analysis of photoproducts of these diazochlorins formed within n-butanol-doped frozen toluene matrices indicate near exclusive formation of azeteoporphyrins. In sharp contrast, room temperature laser photolysis of these materials yields a mixture of photoproducts deriving from the presence of both carbene and ketene intermediates. Computational modeling of the intramolecular reactivity of the proposed sp(2) carbene intermediate shows exclusive bond insertion to the adjacent phenyl group, and no evidence of Wolff rearrangement. Computational reaction profile analyses reveal that the barrierless Wolff rearrangement proceeds via an out-of-plane carbene electronic configuration that is generated directly during the loss of N(2). The formation of out-of-plane carbene, resulting in the exclusive formation of the observed ketene photointermediate at low temperatures, is consistent with orbital symmetry considerations and by the geometric constraints imposed by the frozen matrix. Combined, this leads to a model showing that azeteoporphyrin formation via the Wolff rearrangement is dependent upon the structural disposition of the adjacent framework, and the specific reaction intermediate formed is very sensitive to this feature.     

Improving Physical Properties via C?H Oxidation: Chemical and Enzymatic Approaches

Physicochemical properties constitute a key factor for the success of a drug candidate. Whereas many strategies to improve the physicochemical properties of small heterocycle‐type leads exist, complex hydrocarbon skeletons are more challenging to derivatize because of the absence of functional groups. A variety of C H oxidation methods have been explored on the betulin skeleton to improve the solubility of this very bioactive, yet poorly water‐soluble, natural product. Capitalizing on the innate reactivity of the molecule, as well as the few molecular handles present on the core, allowed oxidations at different positions across the pentacyclic structure. Enzymatic oxidations afforded several orthogonal oxidations to chemical methods. Solubility measurements showed an enhancement for many of the synthesized compounds.     

Eine geometrische Eigenschaft von Rungeschen Gebieten

Ohne ZusammenfassungHerrn Professor H. Grauert möchte ich für die Anregung zu dieser Arbeit sowie für hilfreiche Hinweise herzlich danken. Auch gilt mein Dank dem Madras Institute of Technology, Madras, und dem Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienst, die mit ihrer Unterstützung diese Arbeit ermöglicht haben. Ebenfalls danke ich dem Referenten für wertvolle Ratschläge.     

An unusual [4 + 4] cycloadduct from an o-quinodimethane: Characterisation and computational studies

Trapping of a pyrimidinone-derived o-quinodimethane with tetraphenylcyclopentadienone gives a mixture of the [4 + 2] and formal [4 + 4] adducts. Computational studies show that the latter arises by a sequence of [4 + 2] cycloaddition, homolysis, radical recombination to a spiro-tetrahydrofuran and Claisen rearrangement under the thermolytic conditions.     

A weight-function approach for determining watershed initial conditions for combustion waves

In many generic combustion models, one finds that a combustionwave will develop with a specific wave speed. However, thereare possible initial temperature profiles which do not evolveinto such waves, but rather die out to the ambient temperature.There can exist, in some models, a clear distinction betweenthose initial conditions that do evolve into combustion wavesand those that do not; this is sometimes referred to as thewatershed initial condition. When fuel consumption is consideredto be negligible, analytical methods can be used to obtain theexact watershed. In this paper, we consider the problem of determiningpseudo-watersheds and ascertaining the relationship betweenthese pseudo-watersheds and the exact watersheds. In the processa novel weight-function approach for infinite spatial domainsis developed.     

钨离子团簇与N2分子的反应性

利用激光蒸发团簇源产生Wn团簇束,团簇束通过一个充有N2气体分 子的低压反应池,利用飞行时间质谱探测反应产物,在类单次碰撞条件下研究了W+10 -W+50和N2分子的反应性,在室温条件下测量了N2分子与W+n团簇反应的 反应几率。团簇尺寸在10～26原子的团簇与N2分子的反应几率与团簇尺寸有很强的相关性 ,对n=16,22,23的团簇具有比较高的反应性。W+n与N2分子的反应性与Wn与N 2分子的反应性显示出相似的规律性。     

Connectivity-Based Hierarchy for theoretical thermochemistry: assessment using wave function-based methods

The Connectivity-Based Hierarchy (CBH) is a generalized method we have developed recently to accurately predict the thermochemical properties of large closed-shell organic molecules-hydrocarbons as well as nonhydrocarbons. The performance of the different rungs of the hierarchy was initially evaluated using density functional theory. In this study, we have carried out a wave function-based analysis of the CBH method to analyze the influence of electron correlation effects on the reaction energies and enthalpies of formation. For a test set containing unstrained molecules, all levels of theory (HF, MP2, and CCSD(T)) yield small reaction energies and accurate enthalpies of formation even with modest-sized polarized double-ζ or triple-ζ basis sets. For an initial test set of five strained molecules, however, the computed reaction energies are not small, though correlated schemes still yield accurate enthalpies of formation. Thus, small reaction energies cannot be used as the principal criterion to calibrate the success of thermochemical reaction schemes for molecules possessing special features (such as ring strain or aromaticity). Overall, for the relatively large nonaromatic molecules considered in this study, the mean absolute deviation with the MP2 method at the isoatomic CBH-2 rung is comparable to that with the more expensive CCSD(T) method at the higher CBH-3 rung.     

EVIDENCE AGAINST DNA AS THE TARGET FOR 334 NM-INDUCED GROWTH DELAY IN ESCHERICHIA COLI*

Abstract— Growth delay was induced with near-UV (334 nm) radiation in Escherichia coli K12 bacterial strains followed by attempts at photoreactivation (PR) of this effect at 405 nm. In the UV-sensitive strain AB2480, a small PR of the observed population growth delay occurred after 334 nm irradiation at 35°C and a much larger PR after 334 nm irradiation at 5°C. However, much of the population growth delay in this strain can be explained as being due to killing, and all or most of the observed PR pertains only to this killed fraction of the population. The true cell growth delay (i.e. that of surviving cells) thus appears to be only slightly, if at all, photoreactivable. This conclusion is supported by studies with a wild-type strain KW8, which shows growth delay at non-lethal doses; this growth delay shows no PR, regardless of the temperature during 334 nm irradiation. These findings indicate that photoreactivable lesions (cyclo-butyl pyrimidine dimers) are not an important cause of near-UV-induced growth delay. Strain AB2480 lacks known dark-repair systems for DNA damage induced by far-UV (below 300 nm) radiation, yet shows the same efficiency for 334-nm-induced growth delay as the wild type, which possesses these dark repair systems. This indicates that lesions in DNA that are dark-repairable by the systems not tunctional in AB2480are not responsible for 334-nm-induced growth delay. It is possible, however, that fragmentary repair systems in AB2480 can operate on some DNA lesion that might cause growth delay. Spontaneously decaying lesions are unlikely, since growth-delay damage decays at a very low rate in non-nutrient medium. Since most of the known types of DNA damage and repair are thus eliminated, these considerations suggest that DNA damage is not involved in near-UV-induced growth delay.