Search Results
Regulatory impact of the C-terminal tail on charge transfer pathways in drosophila cryptochrome
Interconnected transcriptional and translational feedback loops are at the core of the molecular mechanism of the circadian clock. Such feedback loops are synchronized to external light entrainment by the blue light photoreceptor cryptochrome (CRY) that undergoes conformational changes upon light absorption by an unknown photoexcitation mechanism. Light-induced charge transfer (CT) reactions in Drosophila CRY (dCRY) are investigated by state-of-the-art simulations that reveal a complex, multi-redox site nature of CT dynamics on the microscopic level. The simulations consider redox-active chromophores of the tryptophan triad (Trp triad) and further account for pathways mediated by W314 and W422 residues proximate to the C-terminal tail (CTT), thus avoiding a pre-bias to specific W-mediated CT pathways. The conducted dissipative quantum dynamics simulations employ microscopically derived model Hamiltonians and display complex and ultrafast CT dynamics on the picosecond timescale, subtly balanced by the electrostatic environment of dCRY. In silicio point mutations provide a microscopic basis for rationalizing particular CT directionality and demonstrate the degree of electrostatic control realized by a discrete set of charged amino acid residues. The predicted participation of CT states in proximity to the CTT relates the directionality of CT reactions to the spatial vicinity of a linear interaction motif. The results stress the importance of CTT directional charge transfer in addition to charge transfer via the Trp triad and call for the use of full-length CRY models including the interactions of photolyase homology region (PHR) and CTT domains. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Electron-transfer initiated nucleophilic substitution of thiophenolate anion by 1-chloro-substituted 4-(thiazol-2-ylazo)naphthalenes
In this work, the electrochemical transformation of 5-chloro-2-[(4-chloronaphthalen-1-yl)azo]thiazoles (A) into the corresponding radical anion A·− and its subsequent reaction with diphenyldisulfide (PhSSPh) was studied. It was found that the primarily generated azo anion radical A·− is able to initiate an electron transfer process which converts the disulfide into its thiolate anion PhS−. This anion was subsequently able to substitute the Cl- and H-groups by phenylmercapto moieties in the starting azo compound A. The structures of the phenylmercapto-substituted azo compounds thus generated were confirmed by thin-layer chromatography and mass spectrometry using independently prepared compounds as references.
Evidence for Efficient Pathway to Produce Slow Electrons by Ground-state Dication in Clusters
We present an experimental evidence for a so-far unobserved, but potentially very important step relaxation cascades following inner-shell ionization of a composite system: Multiply charged ionic states created after Auger decay may be neutralized by electron transfer from a neighboring species, producing at the same time a low-energy free electron. This electron transfer-mediated decay (ETMD) called process is effective even after Auger decay into the dicationic ground state. Here, we report the ETMD of Ne2+ produced after Ne 1s photoionization in Ne-Kr mixed clusters.
Carbon cage isomers and magnetic Dy⋯Dy interactions in Dy2O@C88 and Dy2C2@C88 metallofullerenes
Three isomers of Dy2O@C88 and two isomers of Dy2C2@C88 were synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy, and DFT calculations. Both types of clusterfullerenes feature 4-fold electron transfer to the carbon cage, thus resulting in the same carbon cage isomers identified as C1(26), Cs(32), and D2(35). The studies of Dy⋯Dy superexchange interactions in Dy2O and Dy2C2 clusters revealed that the O2− bridge favors antiferromagnetic coupling whereas the acetylide group C22− supports ferromagnetic coupling of Dy magnetic moments. The strength of the coupling showed a considerable variability in different cage isomers. All metallofullerenes exhibited slow relaxation of magnetization and magnetic hysteresis. In Dy2O@C88 isomers the hysteresis remained open up to 7-9 K, while in Dy2C2@C88 the hysteresis loops were closed already at 2.5 K. This study demonstrated that both the endohedral bridge between metal atoms and the fullerene cage play an important role in magnetic interactions and relaxation of magnetization.