Three-dimensional structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae inorganic pyrophosphatase complexed with cobalt and phosphate ions

Crystals of Saccharomyces cerevisiae inorganic pyrophosphatase suitable for X-ray diffraction study were grown by cocrystallization of the enzyme with cobalt chloride and imidodiphosphate. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a metal-dependent enzyme which catalyzes hydrolysis of inorganic pyrophosphate to orthophosphate. The three-dimensional structure of this enzyme was solved by the molecular-replacement method and refined at 1.8 Å resolution to an R factor of 19.5%. Cobalt and phosphate ions were revealed in the active centers of both identical subunits (A and B) of the pyrophosphatase molecule. In subunit B, a water molecule was found between two cobalt ions. It is believed that this water molecule acts as an attacking nucleophile in the enzymatic cleavage of the pyrophosphate bond. It was demonstrated that cobalt ions and a phosphate group occupy only part of the potential binding sites (two chemically identical and crystallographically independent subunits have different binding sites). The arrangement of ligands and the structure of the nucleophile-binding site are discussed in relation to the mechanism of action of the enzyme and the nature of the metal activator.     

Triruthenium dodecacarbonyl/triphenylphosphine catalyzed dehydrogenation of primary and secondary alcohols

Dehydrogenation of alcohols into aldehydes and ketones by Ru₃(CO)₁₂/PPh₃ based homogeneous catalysis has been investigated as an alternative for the classical Oppenauer oxidation. Several catalytic systems have been screened in the Oppenauer-like oxidation of alcohols. A systematic study of various combinations of Ru₃(CO)₁₂, mono- and bidentate ligands and hydride acceptors was performed to enable dehydrogenation of primary alcohols to stop at the aldehyde stage. Among many H-acceptors screened, diphenylacetylene (tolane) proved the most suitable judged from its smooth reduction. Electron rich and deficient analogues of tolane have been synthesized and, based on competition experiments between these H-acceptors, a tentative catalytic cycle for the Ru₃(CO)₁₂/PPh₃-catalyzed dehydrogenations has been proposed.     

Laser evaporation as a source of small free radicals

It is shown that laser evaporation of a solid target followed by adiabatic expansion can be used to produce cold beams of neutral small open shell molecules. LIF is applied to detect CuH (X ¹), CH (X ²), SiH (X ²), CuO (X ²), and FeO (X ⁵). A production of 10^9±1 molecules/sr in a single pulse is obtained for SiH. For a copper target, the optical emission of the jet plume is discussed.     

Thermal decomposition of dicyclopentadienylarylvanadium compounds

The thermolysis of compounds of the type Cp₂VR (R = aryl) in the solid state has been studied. A distinct increase in thermal stability is observed upon substitution of the ortho-position of the aryl group. Thermal decomposition occurs with formation of RH, Cp₂ V, a vanadocene homologue with the group R substituted in one of the Cp rings and, probably, a vanadocene homologue with two substituted Cp rings. It is shown that the abstraction of the hydrogen atom from the cyclopentadienyl ring, necessary for the formation of RH, is an intermolecular process, whereas the substitution of the aryl group in the Cp ring is intramolecular. A decomposition mechanism is proposed in which the group R is transferred from the vanadium atom to the C₅H₅ ring of the same molecule by interaction with an aryl group of another molecule. The thermal decomposition of Cp₂VR is compared with that of the analogous titanium compounds.     

Molecular recognition: comparative study of a tunable host-guest system by using a fluorescent model system and collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry on dendrimers

Host-guest interactions between the periphery of adamantylurea-functionalized dendrimers (host) and ureido acetic acid derivatives (guest) were shown to be specific, strong and spatially well-defined. The binding becomes stronger when using phosphonic or sulfonic acid derivatives. In the present work we have quantified the binding constants for the host-guest interactions between two different host motifs and six different guest molecules. The host molecules, which resemble the periphery of a poly(propylene imine) dendrimer, have been fitted with an anthracene-based fluorescent probe. The two host motifs differ in terms of the length of the spacer between a tertiary amine and two ureido functionalities. The guest molecules all contain an acidic moiety (either a carboxylic acid, a phosphonic acid, or a sulfonic acid) and three of them also contain an ureido moiety capable of forming multiple hydrogen bonds to the hosts. The binding constants for all 12 host-guest complexes have been determined by using fluorescence titrations by monitoring the increase in fluorescence of the host upon protonation by the addition of the guest. The binding constants could be tuned by changing the design of the acidic part of the guest. The formation of hydrogen bonds gives, in all cases, higher association constants, demonstrating that the host is more than a proton sensor. The host with the longer spacer (propyl) shows higher association constants than the host with the shorter spacer (ethyl). The gain in association constants are higher when the urea function is added to the guests for the host with the longer spacer, indicating a better fit. Collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry (CID-MS) is used to study the stability of the six motifs using the corresponding third generation dendrimer. A similar trend is found when the six different guests are compared.     

Sequential energy and electron transfer in aggregates of tetrakis[oligo(p-phenylene vinylene)] porphyrins and C60 in water

Chiral aggregation of oligo(p-phenylene vinylene)-functionalized Zn and free-base porphyrins is observed in water. The formation of mixed assemblies containing both porphyrins results in sequential energy transfer from OPV via zinc porphyrin to free-base porphyrin. Furthermore, the incorporation of C60 as electron acceptor yields a charge separated state by ultimate electron transfer.     

Control over calcium carbonate phase formation by dendrimer/surfactant templates

Poly(propylene imine) dendrimers that are modified with long alkyl chains self-assemble to form well-defined aggregates. The geometry and surface chemistry of the dendrimer assemblies can be varied through the addition of surfactants. These dendrimer/surfactant aggregates can be tuned to template the formation of the different phases of calcium carbonate. The use of octadecylamine results in the formation of polyhedral aggregates that become embedded within an amorphous calcium carbonate phase that persists in competition with the thermodynamic product, calcite. In combination with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, small spherical aggregates are formed that induce the formation of vaterite. The use of the negatively charged surfactant SDS results in growth retardation by the Ca(2+)-induced agglomeration of dendrimer/surfactant aggregates into giant spherical particles. Eventually these particles become overgrown by rhombohedral calcite.     

Infrared spectroscopy of neutral C7H7 isomers: benzyl and tropyl

The gas-phase infrared absorption spectra of neutral benzyl and tropyl, isomers of formula C7H7, have been measured in the 400-1800 cm-1 spectral region. In addition, a quantum chemical calculation has been performed to model the infrared spectra. For the benzyl radical, the theory shows satisfactory overlap with the experiment, although vibrations involving the CH2 group might be anharmonic. The tropyl radical, which is subject to the Jahn-Teller effect, seems well modeled for the out-of-plane vibrational modes, but less so for the in-plane vibrational modes.