I read this book the same weekend that the Packers took on the Rams, and the experience of the latter event, obviously, colored my judgment. Although I abhor anything that smacks of being a handbook (like, \"How to Earn a Merit Badge in Neurosurgery\") because too many volumes in biomedical science already evince a boyscout-like approach, I must confess that parts of this volume are fast, scholarly, and significant, with certain reservations. I like parts of this well-illustrated book because Dr. Sj6strand, without so stating, develops certain subjects on technique in relation to the acquisition of judgment and sophistication. And this is important! So, given that the author (like all of us) is somewhat deficient in some areas, and biased in others, the book is still valuable if the uninitiated reader swallows it in a general fashion, realizing full well that what will be required from the reader is a modulation to fit his vision, propreception, adaptation and response, and the kind of problem he is undertaking. A major deficiency of this book is revealed by comparison of its use of physics and of chemistry to provide understanding and background for the application of high resolution electron microscopy to problems in biology. Since the volume is keyed to high resolution electron microscopy, which is a sophisticated form of structural analysis, but really morphology in a modern guise, the physical and mechanical background of The instrument and its ancillary tools are simply and well presented. The potential use of chemical or cytochemical information as it relates to biological fine structure , however, is quite deficient. I wonder when even sophisticated morphol-ogists will consider fixation a reaction and not a technique; only then will the fundamentals become self-evident and predictable and this sine qua flon will become less mystical. Staining reactions (the most inadequate chapter) ought to be something more than a technique to selectively enhance contrast of morphological elements; it ought to give the structural addresses of some of the chemical residents of cell components. Is it pertinent that auto-radiography gets singled out for more complete coverage than other significant aspects of cytochemistry by a high resolution microscopist, when it has a built-in minimal error of 1,000 A in standard practice? I don't mean to blind-side (in strict football terminology) Dr. Sj6strand's efforts for what is \"routinely used in our laboratory\"; what is done is usually well done. It's just that …

Methods in Enzymology.

Intramolecular long-distance electron transfer (EI) has been actively studied in recent years in order to test existing theories in a quantitative way and to provide the necessary constants for predicting ET rates from simple structural parameters. Theoretical predictions of an "inverted region," where increasing the driving force of the reaction will decrease its rate, have begun to be experimentally confirmed. A predicted nonlinear dependence of ET rates on the polarity of the solvent has also been confirmed. This work has implications for the design of efficient photochemical charge-separation devices. Other studies have been directed toward determining the distance dependence of ET reactions. Model studies on different series of compounds give similar distance dependences. When different stereochemical structures are compared, it becomes apparent that geometrical factors must be taken into account. Finally, the mechanism of coupling between donor and acceptor in weakly interacting systems has become of major importance. The theoretical and experimental evidence favors a model in which coupling is provided by the interaction with the orbitals of the intervening molecular fragments, although more experimental evidence is needed.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/240/4851/440.full.pdf

Intramolecular Long-Distance Electron Transfer in Organic Molecules

Distance distributions between paramagnetic centers in the range of 1.8 to 6 nm in membrane proteins and up to 10 nm in deuterated soluble proteins can be measured by the DEER technique. The number of paramagnetic centers and their relative orientation can be characterized. DEER does not require crystallization and is not limited with respect to the size of the protein or protein complex. Diamagnetic proteins are accessible by site-directed spin labeling. To characterize structure or structural changes, experimental protocols were optimized and techniques for artifact suppression were introduced. Data analysis programs were developed, and it was realized that interpretation of the distance distributions must take into account the conformational distribution of spin labels. First methods have appeared for deriving structural models from a small number of distance constraints. The present scope and limitations of the technique are illustrated.

/pdf/deer-distance-measurements-on-proteins-1r3tt5md2k.pdf

DEER distance measurements on proteins

Separation is an important industrial step with critical roles in the chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and nuclear industries, as well as in many other fields. Although much progress has been made, the development of better separation technologies, especially through the discovery of high-performance separation materials, continues to attract increasing interest due to concerns over factors such as efficiency, health and environmental impacts, and the cost of existing methods. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a rapidly expanding family of crystalline porous materials, have shown great promise to address various separation challenges due to their well-defined pore size and unprecedented tunability in both composition and pore geometry. In the past decade, extensive research is performed on applications of MOF materials, including separation and capture of many gases and vapors, and liquid-phase separation involving both liquid mixtures and solutions. MOFs also bring new opportunities in enantioselective separation and are amenable to morphological control such as fabrication of membranes for enhanced separation outcomes. Here, some of the latest progress in the applications of MOFs for several key separation issues, with emphasis on newly synthesized MOF materials and the impact of their compositional and structural features on separation properties, are reviewed and highlighted.

Metal-Organic Frameworks for Separation.

Electron transfer in biological molecules provides both insight and inspiration for developing chemical systems having similar functionality. Photosynthesis is an example of an integrated system in which light harvesting, photoinduced charge separation, and catalysis combine to carry out two thermodynamically demanding processes, the oxidation of water and the reduction of carbon dioxide. The development of artificial photosynthetic systems for solar energy conversion requires a fundamental understanding of electron-transfer reactions between organic molecules. Since these reactions most often involve single-electron transfers, the spin dynamics of photogenerated radical ion pairs provide important information on how the rates and efficiencies of these reactions depend on molecular structure. Given this knowledge, the design and synthesis of large integrated structures to carry out artificial photosynthesis is moving forward. An important approach to achieving this goal is the development of small, functional building blocks, having a minimum number of covalent bonds, which also have the appropriate molecular recognition sites to facilitate self-assembly into a complete, functional artificial photosynthetic system.

Energy, charge, and spin transport in molecules and self-assembled nanostructures inspired by photosynthesis.

/pdf/nonlinear-least-squares-analysis-of-slow-motion-epr-spectra-4bi7fsmovk.pdf

Nonlinear-least-squares analysis of slow-motion EPR spectra in one and two dimensions using a modified levenberg-marquardt algorithm

The chlorophyll triplet state as a probe of structure and function in photosynthesis.

250-GHz electron spin resonance studies of polarity gradients along the aliphatic chains in phospholipid membranes

High-frequency (250 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra in the limit of motional narrowing have been studied for a nitroxide spin probe diffusing in a low-viscosity isotropic solvent. The enhanced sensitivity of the 250-GHz spectrum to rotational modulation of the g tensor reveals new details of the microscopic motion of the spin probe. Specifically, it is shown how independent linear constraints imposed by line-width measurements at 250 GHz and a lower frequency may be used to fully determine the diffusion tensor R in the general case R x ¬=;R y ¬=;R z

Full determination of the rotational diffusion tensor by electron paramagnetic resonance at 250 GHz

A 250-GHz electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study of the slow rotational diffusion of two spin probes in toluene, viz., perdeuterated 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidone (PDT) and 3-doxylcholestane (CSL) is presented. EPR spectra were obtained in the slow-motional and near-rigid limit regions, which corresponds to rotational correlation times 10 -10 >τ R >10 -6 s. These two probes differ significantly in size and shape, permitting a detailed exploration of the sensitivity of 250-GHz EPR to different aspects of the molecular dynamics such as rotational anisotropy and non-Brownian diffusion. Nonlinear least-squares fitting based on full stochastic Liouville calculations provides a sensitive means for discriminating amongst motional models

https://www.acert.cornell.edu/PDFs/JPhysChem97_13289_1993.pdf

David E. Budil

Papers

Nonlinear-least-squares analysis of slow-motion EPR spectra in one and two dimensions using a modified levenberg-marquardt algorithm

The chlorophyll triplet state as a probe of structure and function in photosynthesis.

250-GHz electron spin resonance studies of polarity gradients along the aliphatic chains in phospholipid membranes

Full determination of the rotational diffusion tensor by electron paramagnetic resonance at 250 GHz

250-GHz EPR of nitroxides in the slow-motional regime : models of rotational diffusion