Amy L. Morrow

Defined by their solubility in toluene and insolubility in n-heptane, asphaltenes are a highly aromatic, polydisperse mixture consisting of the heaviest and most polar fraction of crude oil. Although asphaltenes are critically important to the exploitation of conventional oil and are poised to rise in significance along with the exploitation of heavy oil, even as fundamental a quantity as their molecular weight distribution is unknown to within an order of magnitude. Laser desorption/ionization (LDI) mass spectra vary greatly with experimental parameters so are difficult to interpret: some groups favor high laser pulse energy measurements (yielding heavy molecular weights), arguing that high pulse energy is required to detect the heaviest components of this mixture; other groups favor low pulse energy measurements (yielding light molecular weights), arguing that low pulse energy is required to avoid aggregation in the plasma plume. Here we report asphaltene mass spectra recorded with two-step laser mass spectrometry (L²MS), in which desorption and ionization are decoupled and no plasma is produced. L²MS mass spectra of asphaltenes are insensitive to laser pulse energy and other parameters, demonstrating that the asphaltene molecular weight distribution can be measured without limitation from insufficient laser pulse energy or plasma-phase aggregation. These data resolve the controversy from LDI, showing that the asphaltene molecular weight distribution peaks near 600 Da and previous measurements reporting much heavier species suffered from aggregation effects.

Helicobacter pylori gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (HpGT) is a member of the N-terminal nucleophile hydrolase superfamily. It is translated as an inactive 60 kDa polypeptide precursor that undergoes intramolecular autocatalytic cleavage to generate a fully active heterodimer composed of a 40 kDa and a 20 kDa subunit. The resultant N-terminus, Thr 380, has been shown to be the catalytic nucleophile in both autoprocessing and enzymatic reactions. Once processed, HpGT catalyzes the hydrolysis of the gamma-glutamyl bond in glutathione and its conjugates. To facilitate the determination of physiologically relevant substrates for the enzyme, crystal structures of HpGT in complex with glutamate (1.6 A, Rfactor = 16.7%, Rfree = 19.0%) and an inactive HpGT mutant, T380A, in complex with S-(nitrobenzyl)glutathione (1.55 A, Rfactor = 18.7%, Rfree = 21.8%) have been determined. Residues that comprise the gamma-glutamyl binding site are primarily located in the 20 kDa subunit and make numerous hydrogen bonds with the alpha-amino and alpha-carboxylate groups of the substrate. In contrast, a single hydrogen bond occurs between the T380A mutant and the remainder of the ligand. Lack of specific coordination beyond the gamma-glutamyl moiety may account for the substrate binding permissiveness of the enzyme. Structural analysis was combined with site-directed mutagenesis of residues involved in maintaining the conformation of a loop region that covers the gamma-glutamyl binding site. Results provide evidence that access to this buried site may occur through conformational changes in the Tyr 433-containing loop, as disruption of the intricate hydrogen-bond network responsible for optimal placement of Tyr 433 significantly diminishes catalytic activity.

Diimido complexes of the type Mo(NAr)₂Cl₂(dme) (dme = 1,2-dimethoxyethane) react with N-salicylidene-2-aminophenol (sapH₂) in methanol in the presence of 2 equiv of triethylamine to form complexes with the general formula Mo(NAr)(1,2-OC₆H₄NH)(sap). The structures of three of these compounds (NAr = 2,6-dimethylphenylimido (1), 2,4,6-trimethylphenylimido (2), 2-tert-butylphenylimido(3)) have been determined by X-ray crystallography. The coordination sphere around the Mo is a distorted octahedron. The oxygen from the 2-aminophenol is trans to the imido nitrogen, whereas the amido nitrogen and the tridentate sap occupy the four equatorial positions. The Mo−N−C imido linkages have angles of 167.5(2)° (1), 163.2(2)° (2), and 162.4(1)° (3). A precursor complex to the imido−amido complex, Mo(NAr)(sap)(OCH₃)₂ (4, NAr = 2,4,6-trimethylphenylimido), has been isolated and characterized. Compound 4 reacts with 2-aminophenol to form 2, with 2-aminothiophenol to form Mo(NAr)(1,2-SC₆H₄NH)(sap) (5), with catechol to form Mo(NAr)(1,2-OC₆H₄O)(sap) (6), with naphthalene-2,3-diol to form Mo(NAr)(naphthalene-2,3-diolate)(sap) (7), with 1,2-benzenedithiol to form Mo(NAr)(1,2-SC₆H₄S)(sap) (8), and with 1,2-phenylenediamine to form Mo(NAr)(1,2-HNC₆H₄NH)(sap) (9). The structures of compounds 5−9 have been determined by X-ray crystallography. With the exception of compound 8, the structures are similar to those of 1, 2, and 3, with the bidentate ligand occupying one axial and one equatorial position. In 8, 1,2-benzendithiolate occupies two equatorial positions, and the nitrogen from sap is located trans to the imido nitrogen. All complexes were characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and UV−vis spectroscopy. When a solution of 4 is exposed to moisture-containing air, MoO₂(sap)(CH₃OH) (10) is formed. The structure of 10 was also determined.