Biomedical subjects

Miguel Clemente-León

Publications and source records attributed to Miguel Clemente-León.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Magnetic Langmuir-Blodgett films of ferritin with different iron contents.

Magnetic Langmuir-Blodgett films of four ferritin derivatives with different iron contents containing 4220, 3062, 2200, and 1200 iron atoms, respectively, have been prepared by using the adsorption properties of a 6/1 mixed monolayer of methyl stearate (SME) and dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODA). The molecular organization of the mixed SME/DODA monolayer is strongly affected by the presence of the water-soluble protein in the subphase as shown by pi-A isotherms, BAM images, and imaging ellipsometry at the water-air interface. BAM images reveal the heterogeneity of this mixed monolayer at the air-water interface. We propose that the ferritin is located under the mixed matrix in those regions where the reflectivity is higher whereas the dark regions correspond to the matrix. Ellipsometric angle measurements performed in zones of different brightness of the mixed monolayer confirm such a heterogeneous distribution of the protein under the lipid matrix. Transfer of the monolayer onto different substrates allowed the preparation of multilayer LB films of ferritin. Both infrared and UV-vis spectroscopy indicate that ferritin molecules are incorporated within the LB films. AFM measurements show that the heterogeneous distribution of the ferritin at the water-air interface is maintained when it is transferred onto solid substrates. Magnetic measurements show that the superparamagnetic properties of these molecules are preserved. Thus, marked hysteresis loops of magnetization are obtained below 20 K with coercive fields that depend on the number of iron atoms of the ferritin derivative.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Increasing the ordering temperatures in oxalate-based 3D chiral magnets: the series [Ir(ppy)2(bpy)][M(II)M(III)(ox)3] x 0.5 H2O (M(II)M(III) = MnCr, FeCr, CoCr, NiCr, ZnCr, MnFe, FeFe); bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; ppy = 2-phenylpyridine; ox = oxalate dianion).

The synthesis, structure, and physical properties of a novel series of oxalate-based bimetallic magnets obtained by using the Ir(ppy)2(bpy)]+ cation as a template of the bimetallic [M(II)M(III)(ox)3]- network are reported. The compounds can be formulated as [Ir(ppy)2(bpy)][M(II)Cr(III)(ox)3] x 0.5 H2O (M(II) = Ni, Mn, Co, Fe, and Zn) and [Ir(ppy)2(bpy)]-[M(II)Fe(III)(ox)3] x 0.5 H2O (M(II) = Fe, Mn) and crystallize in the chiral cubic space group P4(1)32 or P4(3)32. They show the well-known 3D chiral structure formed by M(II) and M(III) ions connected through oxalate anions with [Ir(ppy)2(bpy)]+ cations and water molecules in the holes left by the oxalate network. The M(II)Cr(III) compounds behave as soft ferromagnets with ordering temperatures up to 13 K, while the Mn(II)Fe(III) and Fe(II)Fe(III) compounds behave as a weak ferromagnet and a ferrimagnet, respectively, with ordering temperatures of 31 and 28 K. These values represent the highest ordering temperatures so far reported in the family of 3D chiral magnets based on bimetallic oxalate complexes.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Autonomous artificial nanomotor powered by sunlight.

Light excitation powers the reversible shuttling movement of the ring component of a rotaxane between two stations located at a 1.3-nm distance on its dumbbell-shaped component. The photoinduced shuttling movement, which occurs in solution, is based on a "four-stroke" synchronized sequence of electronic and nuclear processes. At room temperature the deactivation time of the high-energy charge-transfer state obtained by light excitation is approximately 10 micros, and the time period required for the ring-displacement process is on the order of 100 micros. The rotaxane behaves as an autonomous linear motor and operates with a quantum efficiency up to approximately 12%. The investigated system is a unique example of an artificial linear nanomotor because it gathers together the following features: (i) it is powered by visible light (e.g., sunlight); (ii) it exhibits autonomous behavior, like motor proteins; (iii) it does not generate waste products; (iv) its operation can rely only on intramolecular processes, allowing in principle operation at the single-molecule level; (v) it can be driven at a frequency of 1 kHz; (vi) it works in mild environmental conditions (i.e., fluid solution at ambient temperature); and (vii) it is stable for at least 10(3) cycles.

Absorption↗

PubMed2005

Polyoxometalate monolayers in Langmuir-Blodgett films.

Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of a variety of polyoxometalates of different shapes, sizes, and charges were prepared by taking advantage of the adsorption properties of these polyanions on a positively charged monolayer of an organic surfactant spread on water. Three different aspects were investigated. 1) The electrochemical and electrochromic properties of LB films containing the easily reducible polyoxoanion [P2Mo18O62]6-. Absorbance changes of these LB films deposited onto an ITO substrate have been induced by repeated switching of the applied potential. These changes are due to the formation of the colored reduced forms of the polyanion. Coloration and bleaching of the LB film occur very quickly and are reversible. 2) The preparation of LB films based on magnetic polyoxometalates, such as the Keggin anions, [CoW12O40]6- and [SiMn(OH2)W11O39]6-, or containing magnetic clusters of increasing nuclearities such as [Co4(H2O)2(PW9O34)2]10- and [Co4(H2O)2(P2W15O62)2]16- based on a Co4O16 ferromagnetic cluster, and the polyoxometalates [Co9(OH)3(H2O)6(HPO4)2(PW9O34)3]16- and [Ni9(OH)3-(H2O)6(HPO4)2(PW9O34)3]16- based on a nonanuclear M9O36 cluster. 3) The preparation of LB films of the giant heteropolyoxomolybdate, [Na3(NH4)12][Mo57Fe6(NO)6O174(OH)3-(H2O)24]76 H2O.

Electrochemistry↗

PubMed2003

Controlling multivalent interactions in triply-threaded two-component superbundles.

We have investigated the (1)H NMR spectra, the absorption spectra, the fluorescence spectra and decays, and the electrochemical properties of i). a tritopic receptor in which three benzo[24]crown-8 macrorings are fused onto a triphenylene core, ii). a trifurcated trication wherein three dibenzylammonium ions are linked 1,3,5 to a central benzenoid core, and iii). their 1:1 adduct which constitutes a triply-threaded, two-component supramolecular bundle. X-Ray crystallography has established the precise geometry of this paucivalent recognition motif in the solid state. In addition to [N(+)-H...O] hydrogen bonding and [C-H...O] interactions between the NH(2) (+) centers on the three dibenzylammonium ion containing arms of the trication and the three crown ether rings in the tritopic receptor, there is a stabilizing [pi...pi] stacking interaction between the two aromatic cores. Mass spectrometry and (1)H NMR spectroscopy have confirmed the integrity of the 1:1 adduct beyond the solid state, provided the solvents are relatively apolar (e.g., chloroform and acetonitrile). The intense fluorescence emissions of the two recognition components are quenched upon association with the concomitant appearance of a lower energy, broad fluorescence band originating from the pi-pi stacking in the 1:1 adduct of the aromatic cores in the two matching components. Titration experiments, including Job plots, establish the 1:1 stoichiometry of the adduct, an observation which is also confirmed by electrochemical experiments. The electrochemical results show that, both in the tritopic receptor and in the superbundle itself, the first oxidation process is associated with the hexaalkoxytriphenylene core. The successive oxidation processes of the peripheral dioxybenzene units are affected by charge-transfer interactions in the tritopic receptor, whereas, in the superbundle, such units are not interacting. In acetonitrile solution, dethreading/rethreading of the 1:1 adduct can be controlled quantitatively by addition of base and acid. Dethreading and rethreading is also observed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy when dimethylsulfoxide is added to a solution of the 1:1 adduct in equal volumes of acetonitrile and chloroform. A trifurcated trication where methyl groups are located on the para positions of the three dibenzylammonium ions, which are linked 1,3,5 to the neutral benzenoid core, has been employed to demonstrate that dethreading of the 1:1 adduct involves doubly-threaded and singly-threaded species, that is, the paucivalent site is dismembered in a sequence of logical steps involving stable intermediates. This molecular recognition system is a rare example of a supramolecular entity based on a cooperative binding motif that can be switched on and off by chemical means.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Photoinduced electron transfer in a triad that can be assembled/disassembled by two different external inputs. Toward molecular-level electrical extension cables.

We have designed, synthesized, and investigated a self-assembling supramolecular system which mimics, at a molecular level, the function performed by a macroscopic electrical extension cable. The system is made up of three components, 12+, 2-H3+, and 3. Component 12+ consists of two moieties: a [Ru(bpy)3]2+ unit, which plays the role of an electron donor under light excitation, and a DB24C8 crown ether, which fulfills the function of a socket. The wire-type component 2-H3+ is also composed of two moieties, a secondary dialkylammonium-ion center and a bipyridinium unit, which thread into the DB24C8 crown-ether socket of 12+ and the 1/5DN38C10 crown-ether socket 3, respectively. The photochemical, photophysical, and electrochemical properties of the three separated components, of the 12+ superset 2-H3+ and 2-H3+ subset 3 dyads, and of the 12+ superset 2-H3+ subset 3 triad have been investigated in CH2Cl2 solution containing 2% MeCN. Reversible connection/disconnection of the two plug/socket systems can be controlled independently by acid/base and redox stimulation. The behavior of the various different dyads and triad has been monitored by light absorption and emission spectroscopies, as well as by electrochemical techniques. In the fully connected 12+ superset 2-H3+ subset 3 triad, light excitation of the [Ru(bpy)3]2+ unit of component 12+ is followed by electron transfer (k = 2.8 x 108 s-1) to the bipyridinium unit of component 2-H3+, which is plugged into component 3. Possible schemes to obtain improved molecular-level electrical extension cables are discussed.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Ferrocene-containing carbohydrate dendrimers.

Aliphatic amines, incorporating one or three (branched) acylated beta-D-glucopyranosyl residues, were coupled with the acid chloride of ferrocenecarboxylic acid and with the diacid chloride of 1,1'-ferrocenedicarboxylic acid to afford four dendrimer-type, carbohydrate-coated ferrocene derivatives in good yields (54-92%). Deprotection of the peracylated beta-D-glucopyranosyl residues was achieved quantitatively by using Zemplén conditions, affording four water-soluble ferrocene derivatives. When only one of the two cyclopentadienyl rings of the ferrocene unit is substituted, strong complexes are formed with beta-cyclodextrin in H2O, as demonstrated by liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry (LSIMS), 1H NMR spectroscopy, electrochemical measurements, and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Molecular dynamics calculations showed that the unsubstituted cyclopentadienyl ring is inserted through the cavity of the toroidal host in these complexes. The electrochemical behavior of the protected and deprotected ferrocene-containing dendrimers was investigated in acetonitrile and water, respectively. The diffusion coefficient decreases with increasing molecular weight of the compound. The potential for oxidation of the ferrocene core, the rate constant of heterogeneous electron transfer, and the rate constant for the energy-transfer reaction with the luminescent excited state of the [Ru(bpy)3]2+ complex (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) are strongly affected by the number (one or two) of substituents and by the number (one or three) of carbohydrate branches present in the substituents. These effects are assigned to shielding of the ferrocene core by the dendritic branches. Electrochemical evidence for the existence of different conformers for one of the dendrimers in aqueous solution was obtained.

Carbohydrates↗