Rhamnosylation of lignans by a Streptomyces strain

Screening of 400 Streptomyces strains for biotransformation of the natural lignan matairesinol led to the identification of Streptomyces sp. LS136, capable of producing a single metabolite in moderate yields. Isolation and purification by preparative HPLC, followed by structural analyses by LC-MS and NMR, established the structure as matairesinol-4-O-rhamnoside. This bacterial strain was also used for rhamnosylation of the abundant natural lignans, hydroxymatairesinol and secoisolariciresinol.     

Dissociative recombination of the weakly bound NO-dimer cation: cross sections and three-body dynamics

Dissociative recombination (DR) of the dimer ion (NO)(2) (+) has been studied at the heavy-ion storage ring CRYRING at the Manne Siegbahn Laboratory, Stockholm. The experiments were aimed at determining details on the strongly enhanced thermal rate coefficient for the dimer, interpreting the dissociation dynamics of the dimer ion, and studying the degree of similarity to the behavior in the monomer. The DR rate reveals that the very large efficiency of the dimer rate with respect to the monomer is limited to electron energies below 0.2 eV. The fragmentation products reveal that the breakup into the three-body channel NO+O+N dominates with a probability of 0.69+/-0.02. The second most important channel yields NO+NO fragments with a probability of 0.23+/-0.03. Furthermore, the dominant three-body breakup yields electronic and vibrational ground-state products, NO(upsilon=0)+N((4)S)+O((3)P), in about 45% of the cases. The internal product-state distribution of the NO fragment shows a similarity with the product-state distribution as predicted by the Franck-Condon overlap between a NO moiety of the dimer ion and a free NO. The dissociation dynamics seem to be independent of the NO internal energy. Finally, the dissociation dynamics reveal a correlation between the kinetic energy of the NO fragment and the degree of conservation of linear momentum between the O and N product atoms. The observations support a mechanism in which the recoil takes place along one of the NO bonds in the dimer.     

Employing the structural diversity of nature: development of modular dipeptide-analogue ligands for ruthenium-catalyzed enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of ketones

A library of novel dipeptide-analogue ligands based on the combination of tert-butoxycarbonyl(N-Boc)-protected alpha-amino acids and chiral vicinal amino alcohols were prepared. These highly modular ligands were combined with [[RuCl(2)(p-cymene)](2)] and the resulting metal complexes were screened as catalysts for the enantioselective reduction of acetophenone under transfer hydrogenation conditions using 2-propanol as the hydrogen donor. Excellent enantioselectivity of 1-phenylethanol (up to 98 % ee) was achieved with several of the novel catalysts. Although most of the ligands contained two stereocenters, it was demonstrated that the absolute configuration of the product alcohol was determined by the configuration of the amino acid part of the ligand. Employing ligands based on L-amino acids generated S-configured products, and catalysts based on D-amino acids favored the formation of the R-configured alcohol. The combination N-Boc-L-alanine and (R)-phenylglycinol (Boc-L-Ab) or its enantiomer (N-Boc-D-alanine and (S)-phenylglycinol, Boc-D-Aa) proved to be the best ligands for the reduction process. Transfer hydrogenation of a number of aryl alkyl ketones were evaluated and excellent enantioselectivity, up to 96 % ee, was obtained.     

用选择离子流动管质谱测定汽油和柴油蒸汽成分

采用选择离子流动管质谱(SIFT／MS)装置，以H30^ 、N0^ 为初始离子对汽油和柴油蒸汽进行了研究，质谱分析表明，汽油和柴油主要由C—H化合物组成，包括烷烃、环烷烃、烯烃、炔烃、二烯烃以及芳香烃。在这几种成分中，烷烃都占有最大的比例；汽油蒸汽和柴油蒸汽最大的区别是柴油蒸汽中长链大分子的挥发性C—H化合物所占的比例远远高于汽油蒸汽。文中还给出了以H30^ 、N0^ 为初始离子所得到的汽油蒸汽的质谱图，以及汽油、柴油蒸汽中各种成分的定量分析结果。     

Die Reduktion von Ammoniumpolyuranat zu Urandioxid

Zusammenfassung Es werden die Resultate des isothermen Zerfalles und der Reduktion vonstandardisiertem Ammoniumpolyuranat im Bereich von 285 bis 463° C (in Wasserstoff) wiedergegeben. Der Zerfall zu UO₃ wurde schon bei einer Temp. unter 290° C festgestellt, diese Phase blieb jedoch darauf stabil bis 320° C. Zwischen 320° C und 380° C verläuft die Reduktion zu U₃O₈, über 380° C aber zu UO₂. Die Aktivierungsenergien bei der Reduktion von UO₃ zu U₃O₈ und von U₃O₈ zu UO₂ wurden berechnet, und zwar 32,2 kcal/g-mol und 41,7 kcal/g-mol. Die Ergebnisse können mit den Literaturangaben für die Reduktion der einzelnen Phasen UO₃ und U₃O₈ verglichen werden. Die beobachteten Unterschiede weisen auf den Einfluß der Aktivität der Präparate hin.

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The isothermal decomposition and reduction of ammonium polyuranate (ADU) was investigated in the temperature interval 285–463° C in hydrogen. The formation of UO₃ was noticed below 290° C and this product was stable up to 320° C. U₃O₈ was stable from this temperature on up to 380° C, where the reduction to UO₂ was observed. The activation energies 32,2 Kcal/mole and 41.7 Kcal/mole were calculated for the reduction of UO₃ to U₃O₈ and for the reduction of U₃O₈ to UO₂, respectively. The results are comparable with the published data on reduction of separate phases UO₃ and U₃O₈. Some differences noticed show the influence of the activities of the products.

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Mit 4 Abbildungen     

Quantitative analysis of conformational exchange contributions to 1H-15N multiple-quantum relaxation using field-dependent measurements. Time scale and structural characterization of exchange in a calmodulin C-terminal domain mutant

Multiple-quantum spin relaxation is a sensitive probe for correlated conformational exchange dynamics on microsecond to millisecond time scales in biomolecules. We measured differential 1H-15N multiple-quantum relaxation rates for the backbone amide groups of the E140Q mutant of the C-terminal domain of calmodulin at three static magnetic field strengths. The differential multiple-quantum relaxation rates range between -88.7 and 92.7 s(-1), and the mean and standard deviation are 7.0 +/- 24 s(-1), at a static magnetic field strength of 14.1 T. Together with values of the 1H and 15N chemical shift anisotropies (CSA) determined separately, the field-dependent data enable separation of the different contributions from dipolar-dipolar, CSA-CSA, and conformational exchange cross-correlated relaxation mechanisms to the differential multiple-quantum relaxation rates. The procedure yields precise quantitative information on the dominant conformational exchange contributions observed in this protein. The field-dependent differences between double- and zero-quantum relaxation rates directly benchmark the rates of conformational exchange, showing that these are fast on the chemical shift time scale for the large majority of residues in the protein. Further analysis of the differential 1H-15N multiple-quantum relaxation rates using previously determined exchange rate constants and populations, obtained from 15N off-resonance rotating-frame relaxation data, enables extraction of the product of the chemical shift differences between the resonance frequencies of the 1H and 15N spins in the exchanging conformations, deltasigma(H)deltasigma(N). Thus, information on the 1H chemical shift differences is obtained, while circumventing complications associated with direct measurements of conformational exchange effects on 1H single-quantum coherences in nondeuterated proteins. The method significantly increases the information content available for structural interpretation of the conformational exchange process, partly because deltasigma(H)deltasigma(N) is a signed quantity, and partly because two chemical shifts are probed simultaneously. The present results support the hypothesis that the exchange in the calcium-loaded state of the E140Q mutant involves conformations similar to those of the wild-type apo (closed) and calcium-loaded (open) states.     

A new synthetic approach for imidazo[1,2-a]imidazoles and pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazoles

Substituted pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazoles and imidazo[1,2-a]imidazoles are prepared in a simple one pot reaction sequence from esters of heterocyclic or aromatic α-amino acids. The reaction involves condensation with acetoine followed by cyclization with either malonodinitrile, ethyl cyanoacetate or cyanamide.     

Copolymeric (lR-trans)-N,N'-1,2-cyclohexylene-bisbenzamide oligodimethylsiloxane chiral stationary phase for gas chromatography

A copolymeric stationary phase, consisting of a chiral selective part, i.e. (1R-trans)-N,N'-1,2-cyclohexylenebisbenzamide, and an efficient siloxane oligomeric part, was successfully applied to open tubular column GC analysis. The efficiency and the chiral selectivity of this stationary phase were studied in detail, and high capacity and efficiency at elevated GC temperatures were especially noted. Several drugs and other enantiomeric pairs were separated. The shown examples demonstrate a broad application range for this type of chiral stationary phase in GC analysis.     

POLARIZED FLUORESCENCE OF 5-METHYLCYTOSINE SPECIES IN SOLUTION AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

Fluorescence yields (π_f,'s) and polarizations ( P ) are measured for aqueous 5-methylcytosine (˜ 0.1 m M ) at 20°C as a function of pH over the range 2–14. Both properties change abruptly and in parallel at pH's corresponding to the known pK_a values. Polarizations were also obtained for the 5-methylcytosine cation, neutral and anion species in ethylene glycol water glass at ˜180K. The weak fluorescence of the neutral and cation species at 20°C was polarized almost as highly as at low temperature. When the fluorescence lifetimes are assumed to be correctly given by the product of calculated radiative lifetimes and quantum yields, the polarizations are found to be consistent with rotational diffusion rates ˜4 times faster than predicted from Stokes-Einstein models for the neutral and anion species. The cation seemed to rotate about two times more slowly than the neutral and anion species. It was also shown that the properties of the three species are such that a plot of 1/P vs apparent π_f in the pH range 2–11 is fortuitously linear.