Recent advances in DNA synthesis methods have made it possible to carry out single-crystal x-ray analyses of double-stranded DNA molecules of predetermined sequence, with 4 to 12 base pairs. At least one example has been examined from each of the three known families of DNA helix: A, B, and Z. Each family has its own intrinsic restrictions on chain folding and structure. The observed solvent positions in these crystal structures have confirmed earlier fiber and solution measurements, and have led to proposals explaining the transitions from B to A and from B to Z helices. Prospects are improving for an understanding of the mode of bending of DNA in chromatin, and the way in which specific DNA sequences are recognized by drug molecules and repressor proteins.

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To explore the photophysics of platinum acetylide chromophores with strong two-photon absorption cross-sections, we have investigated the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of a series of platinum acetylide complexes that feature highly pi-conjugated ligands substituted with pi-donor or -acceptor moieties. The molecules (numbered 1-4) considered in the present work are analogs of bis(phenylethynyl)bis(tributylphosphine)platinum(II) complexes. Molecule 1 carries two alkynyl-benzothiazolylfluorene ligands, and molecule 2 has two alkynyl-diphenylaminofluorene ligands bound to the central platinum atom. Compounds 3 and 4 possess two dihexylaminophenyl substituents at their ends and differ by the number of platinum atoms in the oligomer "core" (one vs two in 3 and 4, respectively). The ligands have strong effective two-photon absorption cross-sections, while the heavy metal platinum centers give rise to efficient intersystem crossing to long-lived triplet states. Ultrafast transient absorption and emission spectra demonstrate that one-photon excitation of the chromophores produces an S1 state delocalized across the two conjugated ligands, with weak (excitonic) coupling through the platinum centers. Intersystem crossing occurs rapidly (Kisc approximately 1011 s-1) to produce the T1 state, which is possibly localized on a single conjugated fluorenyl ligand. The triplet state is strongly absorbing (epsilonTT > 5 x 104 M-1 cm-1), and it is very long-lived (tau > 100 micro s). Femtosecond pulses were used to characterize the two-photon absorption properties of the complexes, and all of the chromophores are relatively efficient two-photon absorbers in the visible and near-infrared region of the spectrum (600-800 nm). The complexes exhibit maximum two-photon absorption at a shorter wavelength than 2lambda for the one-photon band, consistent with the dominant two-photon transition arising from a two-photon-allowed gerade-gerade transition. Nanosecond transient absorption experiments carried out on several of the complexes with excitation at 803 nm confirm that the long-lived triplet state can be produced efficiently via a sequence involving two-photon excitation to produce S1, followed by intersystem crossing to produce T1.

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The structures of poly(p-phenylenebenzobisthiazole) (PBZT) and poly(p-phenylenebenzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers have been investigated by fiber diffraction techniques. d-spacings were obtained from equatorial and meridional scans recorded on a four-circle diffractometer. Intensity data were derived from x-ray rotation patterns taken on Weissenberg and vacuum cylindrical cameras. Unit cells were found to be monoclinic and non-primitive, each containing two chains per cell of dimensions a = 11.79(2), b = 3.539(5), c = 12.514(9) A, γ = 94.0(2)o for PBZT; and = 11.20(1), b = 3.540(2), c = 12.050(3) Å, γ = 101.3(1) for PBO. The fiber axes correspond to c. The conformational torsion angle between the bisthiazole and phenylene units and the orientation of chains within the unit cells were obtained from a ‘linked-atom least-squares’ (LALS)refinement procedure. A packing model is proposed for each polymer in which two independent molecular chains are displaced longitudinally by discrete rather than random increments. Primitive unit cells (Z = 1), besides requiring perfect axial registry of molecular chains, suffer from the occurrence of short intermolecular contacts and are rejected from further consideration.

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