Interaction of cationic 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-N-methyl pyridyl) porphyrin with mono-and polynucleotides: A study by picosecond fluorescence spectroscopy

The interaction of water-soluble cationic 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-N-methyl pyridyl) porphyrin (H₂TMPyP4) with some mono-and polynucleotides is studied by time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as by steady-state absorption spectroscopy. The fluorescence decay kinetics are analyzed by reconstructing the decay time distributions, which made it possible to describe in more detail than previously the complexes formed due to the interaction. The main effect of binding of H₂TMPyP4 adenosine 5′-monophosphate and to poly(dA-dT)₂ is shown to be an increase in the fluorescence lifetime from 4.6 ns in the solution to 8.3 and 12.3 ns, respectively. This effect is explained by a less polar (in comparison with water) environment of porphyrin in complexes, which leads to a decrease in the quenching action of the intramolecular charge transfer state between the porphyrin macrocycle and methyl pyridyl groups. In the case of complex formation with guanine-containing nucleotides (guanosine 5′-monophosphate and poly(dG-dC)₂), the effect of decrease in the quenching action of the intramolecular charge transfer state caused by a decrease in the medium polarity is superimposed by a stronger effect of decrease in the fluorescence lifetime of porphyrin as a result of intermolecular electron transfer from guanine to excited porphyrin. A high sensitivity of this intermolecular quenching to the mutual arrangement of the electron donor and the electron acceptor makes it possible to reveal four types of complexes between H₂TMPyP4 and guanosine 5′-monophosphate, which differ in the positions of four broad peaks in the porphyrin fluorescence decay time distribution (0.1, 0.7, 2.4, and 6.1 ns). For the complex with poly(dG-dC)₂, a narrow peak at 2.8 ns prevails in the fluorescence decay time distribution, with the contributions from two additional narrow peaks at 1.0 and 6.2 ns being small.     

三氟化硼引发四氢呋喃聚合的研究——Ⅳ.1,4-丁二醇的影响

前报中已证明用三氟化硼-环氧氯丙烷(ECH)引发四氢呋喃(THF)聚合具有较高的引发效率,并对在Ac_2O、水和无水存在下的聚合反应进行了研究。本文报道1,4-丁二醇(BG)对BF_3引发THF聚合反应的影响。通常认为在BG存在下,BF_3是不能引发THF聚合的,但本工作证明BG是有效的分子量调节剂,制备分子量在     

Understanding the factors controlling the photo-oxidation of natural DNA by enantiomerically pure intercalating ruthenium polypyridyl complexes through TA/TRIR studies with polydeoxynucleotides and mixed sequence oligodeoxynucleotides

Ruthenium polypyridyl complexes which can sensitise the photo-oxidation of nucleic acids and other biological molecules show potential for photo-therapeutic applications. In this article a combination of transient visible absorption (TrA) and time-resolved infra-red (TRIR) spectroscopy are used to compare the photo-oxidation of guanine by the enantiomers of [Ru(TAP)₂(dppz)]²⁺ in both polymeric {poly(dG-dC), poly(dA-dT) and natural DNA} and small mixed-sequence duplex-forming oligodeoxynucleotides. The products of electron transfer are readily monitored by the appearance of a characteristic TRIR band centred at ca. 1700 cm⁻¹ for the guanine radical cation and a band centered at ca. 515 nm in the TrA for the reduced ruthenium complex. It is found that efficient electron transfer requires that the complex be intercalated at a G-C base-pair containing site. Significantly, changes in the nucleobase vibrations of the TRIR spectra induced by the bound excited state before electron transfer takes place are used to identify preferred intercalation sites in mixed-sequence oligodeoxynucleotides and natural DNA. Interestingly, with natural DNA, while it is found that quenching is inefficient in the picosecond range, a slower electron transfer process occurs, which is not found with the mixed-sequence duplex-forming oligodeoxynucleotides studied.

Efficient electron transfer requires the complex to be intercalated at a G-C base-pair. Identification of preferred intercalation sites is achieved by TRIR monitoring of the nucleobase vibrations before electron transfer.     

以硫醚为主链的螯合树脂研究Ⅳ．含硫代硫酸根、叠氮基树脂的合成及吸附性能

聚环硫氯丙烷或环硫氯丙烷与环氧氯丙烷共聚物，在少量二乙烯三胺存在下制得交联预聚物，将交联预聚物分别与硫代硫酸钠，叠氮化钠反应，制得四种侧链带有硫代硫酸根或叠氮基的新型螯合树脂。它们对贵金属离子具有较高的吸附容量和较好的吸附选择性。     

Development of a general approach to the synthesis of a library of isoflavonoid derivatives

Isoflavonoids are a class of organic compounds that act primarily as antioxidants. They are produced almost exclusively by various members of the bean family including soybeans, tofu, peanuts, chick peas, and alfalfa. The antioxidant characteristics that isoflavonoids exhibit help hinder the progression of certain cancers, primarily breast, prostate, and colon cancer. We have developed a three-five step synthesis for obtaining a suite of isoflavonoid derivatives. The synthesis involves an enamine formation, a ring closure and halogenation, a Suzuki coupling, and finally a global deprotection to obtain the respective isoflavonoid derivatives.     

Fabrication and characterization of TEOS-based silica aerogels prepared using rapid supercritical extraction

Silica aerogels were prepared using the precursor tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) via a rapid supercritical extraction (RSCE) method. Multiple consistent batches of monolithic TEOS-based aerogels were fabricated via an 8-h RSCE process. Fabricating TEOS-based aerogels with an RSCE method offers some distinct advantages. One advantage is the relative simplicity of the RSCE approach: liquid precursors are mixed and poured into a metal mold in a hydraulic hot-press, where gelation, aging and extraction of liquid from the pores occur. The precursor recipe employs TEOS, ethanol, water, oxalic acid to catalyze hydrolysis, and ammonia to catalyze the subsequent polycondensation reactions. Another advantage is that reaction of TEOS to form sol gels yields ethanol as a byproduct. A process that releases ethanol, rather than methanol (as in tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS)-based aerogels) may be more appealing for commercial applications, involving scale-up of the process. The significantly lower cost of TEOS, compared to TMOS, is a considerable advantage. The TEOS-based RSCE aerogels are mesoporous and optically translucent, have bulk densities of 0.099(±0.003) g/cm³ and surface areas of 460(±10) m²/g. Signals observed in infrared and Raman spectra of the aerogels are consistent with Si–O framework bonds. Using scanning electron microscopy imaging, the surface morphology of the aerogel samples was imaged at magnifications up to 150 kX.     

Automatic generation of linear programming problems for computer aided instruction

The paper presents a method for generating random linear programming problems with a previously selected type of solution. The user can choose a problem whose solution is unbounded, bounded for minima, maxima or both, unique or multiple, with given structure, at wish. Initially, the feasible solution of the LPP is generated as the sum of a linear space, a cone, and a polytope, depending on the desired properties of the solution. With the aim of obtaining a simple set of constraints, the generators of these three structures are selected as random vectors with integer simple components, the range of which can be given. Next, an objective function that satisfies the required conditions, i.e. leads to a solution of the desired type, is obtained. The generating algorithms have been implemented in Mathematica and some illustrative examples are given to clarify the generation process. With this tool, a LPP can be generated, according to the instructor requirements, where this is a human or an expert system. They can control student progress and generate a sequence of problems covering all possible cases, in steps of increasing difficulty. Combining this tool with another (also produced by the same authors) that solves the problems and explains the whole process, step by step, a computer aided module for learning LPP, which is completely autonomous, can be easily obtained.     

Nucleation and Growth Synthesis of Siloxane Gels to Form Functional,Monodisperse, and Acoustically Programmable Particles

Nucleation and growth methods offer scalable means of synthesizing colloidal particles with precisely specified size for applications in chemical research, industry, and medicine. These methods have been used to prepare a class of silicone gel particles that display a range of programmable properties and narrow size distributions. The acoustic contrast factor of these particles in water is estimated and can be tuned such that the particles undergo acoustophoresis to either the pressure nodes or antinodes of acoustic standing waves. These particles can be synthesized to display surface functional groups that can be covalently modified for a range of bioanalytical and acoustophoretic sorting applications.     

Highly efficient visible-light driven photochromism: developments towards a solid-state molecular switch operating through a triplet-sensitised pathway

We introduce a new highly efficient photochromic organometallic dithienylethene (DTE) complex, the first instance of a DTE core symmetrically modified by two Pt(II) chromophores [Pt(PEt(3))(2)(C≡C)(DTE)(C≡C)Pt(PEt(3))(2)Ph] (1), which undergoes ring-closure when activated by visible light in solvents of different polarity, in thin films and even in the solid state. Complex 1 has been synthesised and fully photophysically characterised by (resonance) Raman and transient absorption spectroscopy complemented by calculations. The ring-closing photoconversion in a single crystal of 1 has been followed by X-ray crystallography. This process occurs with the extremely high yield of 80%--considerably outperforming the other DTE derivatives. Remarkably, the photocyclisation of 1 occurs even under visible light (>400 nm), which is not absorbed by the non-metallated DTE core HC≡C(DTE)C≡CH (2) itself. This unusual behaviour and the high photocyclisation yields in solution are attributed to the presence of a heavy atom in 1 that enables a triplet-sensitised photocyclisation pathway, elucidated by transient absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The results of resonance Raman investigation confirm the involvement of the alkynyl unit in the frontier orbitals of both closed and open forms of 1 in the photocyclisation process. The changes in the Raman spectra upon cyclisation have permitted the identification of Raman marker bands, which include the acetylide stretching vibration. Importantly, these bands occur in the spectral region unobstructed by other vibrations and can be used for non-destructive monitoring of photocyclisation/photoreversion processes and for optical readout in this type of efficiently photochromic thermally stable systems. This study indicates a strategy for generating efficient solid-state photoswitches in which modification of the Pt(II) units has the potential to tune absorption properties and hence operational wavelength across the visible range.     

IN AQUA SYNTHESIS OF A HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT ARYLETHYNYLENE POLYMER EXHIBITING REVERSIBLE HYDROGEL PROPERTIES

ABSTRACT

A high molecular weight poly(aryleneethynylene) (M_w ～ 60,000) is prepared by the palladium catalyzed copolymerization of 3,5-diiodobenzoic acid and acetylene gas in a basic aqueous medium. The polymer has a “zig-zag”, fully conjugated backbone. The polymer has been characterized by a variety of methods and exhibits high thermal stability. Furthermore, the polymer is readily soluble in aqueous base and is reversibly switchable from the solution state to a hydrogel state, in water, by changing the pH of the solvent.