SYNTHESIS AND X-RAY CRYSTAL-STRUCTURE OF AN ORGANOLANTHANIDE COMPLEX [(BU(T)CP)3NDBRLI(THF)3]

(ButCp)2NdCl.2THF reacts with one equivalent of phenyllithum in THF yielding tris(tert-butylcyclopentadienyl)neodymium lithium bromide tetrahydrofuran, [(ButCP)3 NdBrLi(THF)3], as a by-product, whose structure has been determined by X-ray crystallography. The 10-coordinated neodymium atom is bonded to three tert-butyl-cyclopentadienyl groups and one bromine atom, forming a distorted pseudo-tetrahedron.

THE SYNTHESES OF THE COMPLEXES (ETA-5-C5H5)LN(ETA-8-C8H8).NTHF AND (ETA-5-C9H7)LN(ETA-8-C8H8).2THF AND THE CRYSTAL-STRUCTURE DETERMINATION OF (ETA-5-C5H5)PR(ETA-8-C8H8).2THF AND (ETA-5-C9H7)PR(ETA-8-C8H8).2THF

LnCL3 reacts with NaC5H5 and K2C8H8 to yield the complexes (eta-5-C5H5)Ln(eta-8-C8H8).nTHF (Ln = Pr, Nd, n = 2; Ln = Gd, n = 1) and LnCl3 reacts with KC9H7 and K2C8H8 to yield the complexes (eta-5-C9H7)Ln(eta-8-C8H8).2THF (Ln = Pr, Nd; eta-5-C9H7 = indenyl); crystallography reveals (eta-5-C5H5)Pr(eta-8-C8H8).2THF and (eta-5-C9H7)Pr(eta-8-C8H8).2THF not to possess the parallel ring sandwich structure.

SYNTHESIS OF [LI.3DME] [(ETA-5-C5H5)3NDC6H5]

The phenyl derivatives of lanthanides Sc(C_6H_5)_3, Y(C_6H_5)_3, LiLa (C_6H_5)_4 and LiPr(C_6H_5)_4 were prepared by Hart et al. in 1970, and dis(cyclopentadienyl) phenyl complexes of lanthanides have been isolated recently. We reported here the synthesis and crystallography parameters of a new type of phenyl derivative of neodymium:

T-Muurolol Sesquiterpenes from the Marine Streptomyces sp M491 and Revision of the Configuration of Previously Reported Amorphanes

Two new sesquiterpenes, 15-hydroxy-T-muurolol (3d) and 11,15-dihydroxy-T-muurolol (3e), along with the plant cadinenes T-muurolol (3f) and 3 alpha-hydroxy-T-muurolol (3g), were isolated from the marine-derived Streptomyces sp. M491. Their absolute configuration was established via NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography of 3-oxo-T-muurolol (3a), which was reisolated from this strain. In addition, the absolute configuration of further sesquiterpenes previously reported from this strain was revised. These products were tested for their cytotoxicity against 37 human tumor cell lines using the MTT method. Only 3d was cytotoxic against a range of human tumor cell lines with a mean IC50 of 6.7 mu g/mL.

The structure of Aquifex aeolicus sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase, a basis to understand sulfide detoxification and respiration

Sulfide: quinone oxidoreductase (SQR) is a flavoprotein with homologues in all domains of life except plants. It plays a physiological role both in sulfide detoxification and in energy transduction. We isolated the protein from native membranes of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Aquifex aeolicus, and we determined its X-ray structure in the "as-purified,'' substrate-bound, and inhibitor-bound forms at resolutions of 2.3, 2.0, and 2.9 angstrom, respectively. The structure is composed of 2 Rossmann domains and 1 attachment domain, with an overall monomeric architecture typical of disulfide oxidoreductase flavoproteins. A. aeolicus SQR is a surprisingly trimeric, periplasmic integral monotopic membrane protein that inserts about 12 angstrom into the lipidic bilayer through an amphipathic helix-turn-helix tripodal motif. The quinone is located in a channel that extends from the si side of the FAD to the membrane. The quinone ring is sandwiched between the conserved amino acids Phe-385 and Ile-346, and it is possibly protonated upon reduction via Glu-318 and/or neighboring water molecules. Sulfide polymerization occurs on the re side of FAD, where the invariant Cys-156 and Cys-347 appear to be covalently bound to polysulfur fragments. The structure suggests that FAD is covalently linked to the polypeptide in an unusual way, via a disulfide bridge between the 8-methyl group and Cys-124. The applicability of this disulfide bridge for transferring electrons from sulfide to FAD, 2 mechanisms for sulfide polymerization and channeling of the substrate, S2-, and of the product, S-n, in and out of the active site are discussed.

Isolation of the main light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex from thylakoid membranes of marine alga, Bryopsis corticulans by a direct method

The main chlorophyll a/b light-harvesting complex (LHC 11) has been isolated directly from thylakoid membranes of marine green alga (Bryopsis corticulans Setch.) by two consecutive runs of anion exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. LHC 11 proteins in the membrane extracts treated with 3% n-Octyl-b-D-glucopyranoside (OG) obtained specific binding ability on Q Sepharose column, and thus were isolated from the thylakoid membranes in a highly selective fraction. The monomeric, trimeric and oligomeric subcomplexes of LHC 11 have been obtained by fractionation of the LHC 11 mixes with sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation. The SDS-PAGE analysis of peptide composition and absorption spectrum showed that LHC 11 monomers, trimers and oligomers prepared through this work were intact and in high purity. Our report is the first to show that it is possible to purify LHC If directly from thylakoid membranes without extensively biochemical purification.

Structural analysis of SNARE motifs from sea perch, Lateolabrax japonicus by computerized approaches

Three cDNA sequences encoding four SNARE (N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptors) motifs were cloned from sea perch, and the deduced peptide sequences were analyzed for structural prediction by using 14 different web servers and softwares. The "ionic layer" structure, the three dimensional extension and conformational characters of the SNARE 7S core complex by using bioinformatics approaches were compared respectively with those from mammalian X-ray crystallographic investigations. The result suggested that the formation and stabilization of fish SNARE core complex might be driven by hydrophobic association, hydrogen bond among R group of core amino acids and electrostatic attraction at molecular level. This revealed that the SNARE proteins interaction of the fish may share the same molecular mechanism with that of mammal, indicating the universality and solidity of SNARE core complex theory. This work is also an attempt to get the protein 3D structural information which appears to be similar to that obtained through X-ray crystallography, only by using computerized approaches. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crystal structure of (5R,10R)-2,7-dibromo-3,8-dihydroxy-5,10-dimethoxy-5,10-dihydrochromeno[5,4,3-cde]chromene sesquihydrate, C16H12Br2O6 center dot 1.5H(2)O

C16H15Br2O7.5, orthorhombic, P2(1)2(1)2 (no. 18), a = 18.483(2) angstrom, b = 9.413(1) angstrom, c = 10.072(1) angstrom, V = 1752.3 angstrom(3), Z = 4, R-gt(F) = 0.083, wR(ref)(F-2) = 0.202, T= 293 K.

4-(2-Hydroxybenzylideneamino)-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione

In the title compound, C12H11N7OS, the dihedral angles made by the thione-substituted triazole ring with the other triazole ring and the benzene ring are 71.56 (2) and 47.89 (3)degrees, respectively. Inter- and intramolcular hydrogen-bond interactions stabilize the structure.

4-(2-fluorobenzylideneamino)-3-(1,2,4-triazol-4-ylmethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione

In the title compound, C12H10FN7S, the dihedral angles made by the plane of the thione-substituted triazole ring with the planes of the other triazole ring and the benzene ring are 74.55 (2) and 11.50 (3)degrees, respectively. The structure shows a number of N - H center dot center dot center dot N intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions, and weak C - H center dot center dot center dot S intra- and intermolecular interactions.

4-[3-(1,2,4-Triazol-1-yl)propionyl]phenyl 4-fluorobenzoate

In the title compound, C-18(14)3(3)H(FN)O, the dihedral angles made by the triazole ring with the plane of the central benzene ring and the p-fluorophenylcarbonyl group are 82.09 ( 2) and 82.05 (2), respectively. There are weak C-H...O intra- and intermolecular interactions in the crystal structure, which contribute to the stability.

2-(Benzotriazol-1-yl)-2-(alpha-hydroxybenzyl)-N-phenylthioacrylamide

In the title compound, C21H16N4OS, the dihedral angles between the planes of the benzotriazole and N-phenyl rings and the plane of the atoms that link these two rings are 79.56 (6) and 59.02 (5) degrees, respectively, while that between the two benzene rings is 64.12 (6) degrees. There are some inter- and intramolecular interactions in the crystal structure.

1-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-{4-phenyl-5-[(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) methyl]-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-ylsulfanyl}ethanone

The crystal structure of the title compound, C19H15FN6OS, is stabilized by a weak intermolecular C-(HN)-N-... hydrogen-bond interaction.

4-(4-chlorobenzylideneamino)-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione

In the title compound, C12H10ClN7S, the dihedral angles made by the plane of the thione-substituted triazole ring with the planes of the other triazole ring and the benzene ring are 73.57 (3) and 46.65 (2)degrees, respectively. Inter-and intramolcular hydrogen bonds and pi-pi stacking interactions stabilize the structure.

5-[(1H-1,2,4-yriazol-1-yl)methyl]-4-(4-fluorobenzylideneamino)-2H-1,2,4-triazole-3(4H)-thione

In the title compound, C12H10FN7S, the dihedral angles made by the plane of the thione-substituted triazole ring with the planes of the other triazole ring and the benzene ring are 71.94 (3) and 40.10 (2)degrees, respectively. Inter- and intramolecular hydrogen-bond and pi-pi stacking interactions stabilize the structure.