Formation of a Ph2PCH(BH3)P(BH3)Ph2 ligand via formal 1,2-borane migration.

The transfer of the anionic Ph(2)P(BH(3))-CH-P(BH(3))Ph(2) ligand from potassium to barium results in the subsequent formation of a tetranuclear barium cluster which contains the hitherto unknown isomeric form Ph(2)P-CH(BH(3))-P(BH(3))Ph(2) of the ligand.

Stability of the hydration layer of tropocollagen: A QM study.

Collagen is a triple helical protein, highly hydrated in nature. Bella and Berman (J Mol Biol 1996, 264, 734) have reported the structure of the first hydration layer. Water molecules form bridges of different length around the POG repeats and self assemble into left-handed helical water threads. To explore the stability of these specifically hydrated places, we have designed suitable QM models: each comprises a triple helix formed by 18 residues surrounded by 8 to 12 explicit waters. Two sets of amino acids were used, one standing for the core structural subunit of tropocollagen (POG-model) and one for its natural enzyme recognition sites (AAG-model). We have determined the stability order of the water binding places, the strongest being -8.1 kcal mol(-1), while the weakest -6.1 kcal mol(-1) per hydrogen bond. In X-ray structures, each triplet of tropocollagen is shielded by six to nine water molecules. Beside the mandatory six, the "surplus" three water molecules further strengthen the binding of all the others. However, the displacement of selected water molecules turns out to be energy neutral. These water binding places on the surface of the triple helix can provide explanation on how an almost liquid-like hydration environment exists between the closely packed tropocollagens (Henkelman et al., Magn Reson Med 1994, 32, 592). It seems that these water reservoirs or buffers can provide space for "hole conduction" of water molecules and thus contribute to the elasticity of collagen.

How stable is a collagen triple helix? An ab initio study on various collagen and beta-sheet forming sequences.

Collagen forms the well characterized triple helical secondary structure, stabilized by interchain H-bonds. Here we have investigated the stability of fully optimized collagen triple helices and beta-pleated sheets by using first principles (ab initio and DFT) calculations so as to determine the secondary structure preference depending on the amino acid composition. Models composed of a total of 18 amino acid residues were studied at six different amino acid compositions: (i) L-alanine only, (ii) glycine only, (iii) L-alanines and glycine, (iv) L-alanines and D-alanine, (v) L-prolines with glycine, (vi) L-proline, L-hydroxyproline, and glycine. The last two, v and vi, were designed to mimic the core part of collagen. Furthermore, ii, iii, and iv model the binding and/or recognition sites of collagen. Finally, i models the G-->A replacement, rare in collagen. All calculated structures show great resemblance to those determined by X-ray crystallography. Calculated triple helix formation affinities correlate well with experimentally determined stabilities derived from melting point (T(m)) data of different collagen models. The stabilization energy of a collagen triple helical structure over that of a beta-pleated sheet is 2.1 kcal mol(-1) per triplet for the [(-Pro-Hyp-Gly-)(2)](3) collagen peptide. This changes to 4.8 kcal mol(-1) per triplet of destabilization energy for the [(-Ala-Ala-Gly-)(2)](3) sequence, known to be disfavored in collagen. The present study proves that by using first principles methods for calculating stabilities of supramolecular complexes, such as collagen and beta-pleated sheets, one can obtain stability data in full agreement with experimental observations, which envisage the applicability of QM in molecular design.

Dead-end street of protein folding: thermodynamic rationale of amyloid fibril formation.

An increasing number of diseases, including Alzheimer's, have been found to be a result of the formation of amyloid aggregates that are practically independent of the original primary sequence of the protein(s). (Eakin, C. M.; Berman, A. J.; Miranker, A. D. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 2006, 13, 202-208.) Consequently, the driving force of the transformation from original to disordered amyloid fold is expected to lie in the protein backbone, which is common to all proteins. (Nelson, R.; Sawaya, M. R.; Balbirnie, M.; Madsen, A. O.; Riekel, C.; Grothe, R.; Eisenberg, D. Nature 2005, 435, 773-778. Wright, C. F.; Teichmann, S. A.; Clarke, J.; Dobson, C. M. Nature 2005, 438, 878-881.) However, the exact explanation for the existence of such a "dead-end" structure is still unknown. Using systematic first principle calculations on carefully selected but large enough systems modeling the protein backbone we show that the beta-pleated sheet structure, the building block of amyloid fibers, is the thermodynamically most stable supramolecular arrangement of all the possible peptide dimers and oligomers both in vacuum and in aqueous environments. Even in a crystalline state (periodical, tight peptide attechment), the beta-pleated sheet assembly remains the most stable superstructure. The present theoretical study provides a quantum-level explanation for why proteins can take the amyloid state when local structural preferences jeopardize the functional native global fold and why it is a beta-pleated sheetlike structure they prefer.

High-spin to low-spin relaxation kinetics in the [Fe(TRIM)2]Cl2 complex.

A quasi-quantitative photo-induced low-spin (LS)-->high-spin (HS) conversion of FeII ions has been observed in the [Fe(TRIM)2]Cl2 complex by irradiating the sample with blue light (488 nm) at 10 K. The time dependence of the HS-->LS relaxation has been studied between 10 K and 44 K by means of magnetic susceptibility measurements. These relaxation curves could be satisfactorily fitted by mono-exponential decays including tunnelling effect except for temperatures below 30 K. The introduction of a distribution of vibrational frequencies into this model improved significantly the fits in the low-temperature range and gave a good agreement with the experimental data in the whole temperature range suggesting a multi-rate relaxation process in this complex.