Negative- and positive-ion chemical ionization mass spectra of aromatic amines: Surface-assisted reactions involving oxygen

The O₂–N₂ and O₂–Ar negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectra of aromatic amines show a series of unusual ions dominated by an addition appearing at [M + 14]^?˙. Other ions are observed at [M – 12]^?˙, [M + 5]^?˙, [M + 12]^?˙, [M + 28]^?˙ and [M + 30]^?˙. Ion formation was studied using a quadrupole instrument equipped with a conventional chemical ionization source and a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer. These studies, which included the examination of ion chromatograms, measurement of positive-ion chemical ionization mass spectra, variation of ion source temperature and pressure and experiments with ¹⁸O₂, indicate that the [M + 14]^?˙ ion is formed by the electron-capture ionization of analytes altered by surfaceassisted reactions involving oxygen. This conversion is also observed under low-pressure conditions following source pretreatment with O₂. Experiments with [¹⁵N]aniline, [2,3,4,5,6-²H₅] aniline and [¹³C₆]aniline show that the [M + 14]^?˙ ion corresponds to [M + O ? 2H]^?˙, resulting from conversion of the amino group to a nitroso group. Additional ions in the spectra of aromatic amines also result from surface-assisted oxidation reactions, including oxidation of the amino group to a nitro group, oxidation and cleavage of the aromatic ring and, at higher analyte concentrations, intermolecular oxidation reactions.     

Phosphorescent κ3-(N^C^C)-Gold(III) Complexes: Synthesis,Photophysics, Computational Studies and Application to Solution-Processable OLEDs

Efficient OLED devices have been fabricated using organometallic complexes of platinum group metals. Still, the high material cost and low stability represent central challenges for their application in commercial display technologies. Based on its innate stability, gold(III) complexes are emerging as promising candidates for high-performance OLEDs. Here, a series of alkynyl-, N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)- and aryl-gold(III) complexes stabilized by a κ³-(N^C^C) template have been prepared and their photophysical properties have been characterized in detail. These compounds exhibit good photoluminescence quantum efficiency (η_PL) of up to 33 %. The PL emission can be tuned from sky-blue to yellowish green colors by variations on both the ancillary ligands as well as on the pincer template. Further, solution-processable OLED devices based on some of these complexes display remarkable emissive properties (η_CE 46.6 cd.A⁻¹ and η_ext 14.0 %), thus showcasing the potential of these motifs for the low-cost fabrication of display and illumination technologies.     

Experimental and theoretical characterization of arsenite in water: insights into the coordination environment of As-O

Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver, and prostate in humans. It is therefore important to understand the structural aspects of arsenic in water, as hydrated arsenic is most likely the initial form of the metalloid absorbed by cells. We present a detailed experimental and theoretical characterization of the coordination environment of hydrated arsenite. XANES analysis confirms As(III) is a stable redox form of the metalloid in solution. EXAFS analysis indicate, at neutral pH, arsenite has a nearest-neighbor coordination geometry of approximately 3 As-O bonds at an average bond length of 1.77 A, while at basic pH the nearest-neighbor coordination geometry shifts to a single short As-O bond at 1.69 A and two longer As-O bonds at 1.82 A. Long-range ligand scattering is present in all EXAFS samples; however, these data could not be fit with any degree of certainty. There is no XAS detectable interaction between As and antimony, suggesting they are not imported into cells as a multinuclear complex. XAS results were compared to a structural database of arsenite compounds to confirm that a 3 coordinate As-O complex for hydrated arsenite is the predominate species in solution. Finally, quantum chemical studies indicate arsenite in solution is solvated by 3 water molecules. These results indicate As(OH)3 as the most stable structure existing in solution at neutral pH; thus, ionic As transport does not appear to be involved in the cellular uptake process.     

Key players and their role during mitochondrial iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis

Iron-sulfur clusters are multifaceted iron-containing cofactors coordinated and utilized by numerous proteins in nearly all biological systems. Fe-S-cluster-containing proteins help direct pathways essential for cell viability and participate in biological applications ranging from nucleotide biosynthesis and stability, protein translation, enzyme catalysis, and mitochondrial metabolism. Fe-S-containing proteins function by utilizing the unique electronic and chemical properties inherent in the Fe containing cofactor. Fe-S clusters are constructed of inorganic iron and sulfide arranged in a distinct caged structural makeup ranging from [Fe(2) -S(2) ], [Fe(3) -S(4) ], [Fe(4) -S(4) ], up to [Fe(8) -S(8) ] clusters. In eukaryotes, cluster activity is controlled in part at the assembly level and the major pathway for cluster production exists within the mitochondria. Recent insight into the pathway of mitochondrial cluster assembly has come from new in vivo and in vitro reports that provided direct insight into how all protein partners within the assembly pathway interact. However, we are only just beginning to understand the role of each protein within this complex pageant that is mitochondrial Fe-S cluster assembly. In this report we present results, using the yeast model for mitochondrial assembly, to describe the molecular details of how important proteins in the pathway coordinate for cluster assembly.     

Approximate Hermitian–Einstein connections on principal bundles over a compact Riemann surface

Let $X$ be a compact connected Riemann surface and $G$ a connected reductive complex affine algebraic group. Given a holomorphic principal $G$ -bundle $E_G$ over $X$ , we construct a $C^\infty $ Hermitian structure on $E_G$ together with a $1$ -parameter family of $C^\infty $ automorphisms $\{F_t\}_{t\in \mathbb R }$ of the principal $G$ -bundle $E_G$ with the following property: Let $\nabla ^t$ be the connection on $E_G$ corresponding to the Hermitian structure and the new holomorphic structure on $E_G$ constructed using $F_t$ from the original holomorphic structure. As $t\rightarrow -\infty $ , the connection $\nabla ^t$ converges in $C^\infty $ Fréchet topology to the connection on $E_G$ given by the Hermitian–Einstein connection on the polystable principal bundle associated to $E_G$ . In particular, as $t\rightarrow -\infty $ , the curvature of $\nabla ^t$ converges in $C^\infty $ Fréchet topology to the curvature of the connection on $E_G$ given by the Hermitian–Einstein connection on the polystable principal bundle associated to $E_G$ . The family $\{F_t\}_{t\in \mathbb R }$ is constructed by generalizing the method of [6]. Given a holomorphic vector bundle $E$ on $X$ , in [6] a $1$ -parameter family of $C^\infty $ automorphisms of $E$ is constructed such that as $t\rightarrow -\infty $ , the curvature converges, in $C^0$ topology, to the curvature of the Hermitian–Einstein connection of the associated graded bundle.