Studies of the interaction of Potassium(I), Calcium(II), Magnesium(II), and Copper(II) with Cyclosporin A

Metal ion binding properties of the immunosuppressant drug cyclosporin A have been investigated. Complexation studies in acetonitrile solution using H-1 NMR and CD spectroscopy yielded 1:1 metal-peptide binding constants (log(10)K) for potassium(l), < 1, magnesium(II), 4.8 +/- 0.2. and calcium(II), 5.0 +/- 1.0. The interaction of copper(II) with cyclosporin A in methanol was investigated with UV/visible and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. No complexation of copper(II) was observed in neutral solution. In the presence of base, monomeric copper(II) complexes were detected. These results support the possibility that cyclosporin A has ionophoric properties for biologically important essential metal ions. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of GaAsN epilayers: microstructures and optical properties

In this article, we investigate the parameters used in the MOCVD growth of GaAsN epilayers on GaAs substrates and some of their microstructures and optical properties. The N incorporation was found to mainly depend on the growth temperature and the fractional 1,1-dimethylhydrazine molar flow. A thin highly strained interface layer was observed between GaAsN and GaAs, which, contrary to previously published results, was not N enriched. The low-temperature (10 K) photoluminescence spectra were composed of several emissions that we attribute to a combination of interband transition and transitions involving localized defect states. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.