Chloroquine free base (CQ) reacts with [Rh(COD)Cl]2 (COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) and RuCl3.-3H2O/Zn to yield Rh(COD)(CQ)Cl (1) and [RuCl2(CQ)]2 (2), respectively. The two novel metal- CQ complexes, which were characterized mainly by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, were tested against Plasmodium berghei. The in vitro activity of 1 was comparable to that of chloroquine diphosphate (CQDP), whereas 2 was about 5 times more active. In in vivo tests at equivalent concentrations of free CQ, CQDP reduced the parasitemia by 55%, while for complexes 1 and 2 the reduction reached 73% and 94%, respectively, without any sign of acute toxicity being observed up to 30 days after treatment. The Ru derivative 2 was further evaluated against two chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, and it was found to be 2-5 times more active than CQDP.

Reaction of AuPPh3Cl with chloroquine (CQ) and KPF6 leads to the new complex [Au(PPh3)(CQ)]PF6 (1) which was found to be considerably more active than CQ diphosphate and other previously reported metal−CQ complexes against two chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro and also active against Plasmodium berghei in vitro and in vivo.

Coherent x-ray diffractive imaging is a powerful method for studies on nonperiodic structures on the nanoscale. Access to femtosecond dynamics in major physical, chemical, and biological processes requires single-shot diffraction data. Up to now, this has been limited to intense coherent pulses from a free electron laser. Here we show that laser-driven ultrashort x-ray sources offer a comparatively inexpensive alternative. We present measurements of single-shot diffraction patterns from isolated nano-objects with a single 20 fs pulse from a table-top high-harmonic x-ray laser. Images were reconstructed with a resolution of 119 nm from the single shot and 62 nm from multiple shots.

We report a near-field imaging study of colloidal gold nanocubes. This is accomplished through a photochemical imaging method in which molecular displacements are vectorial in nature, enabling sensitivity to the polarization of the optical near-field of the nanocubes. We analyze the confinement of both electromagnetic hot and "cold" spots with a resolution of λ/35 and emphasize the particularly high spatial confinement of cold spots. The concept of a cold spot complements the well-known electromagnetic hot spot but can have significant advantages. The application of the ultraconfined cold spots to high resolution imaging and spectroscopy is discussed.

A number of new Au(I) and Au(III) complexes of chloroquine (CQ) have been prepared, characterized, and evaluated in vitro against several strains of Plasmodium falciparum. [(CQ)Au(PPh(3))][NO(3)] (2) was synthesized by reaction of AuCl(PPh(3)) with AgNO(3) followed by treatment with CQ. Similar reactions of AuCl(PR(3)) (R = Me, Et) with KPF(6) and CQ yielded [(CQ)Au(PMe(3))][PF(6)] (3), and [(CQ)Au(PEt(3))][PF(6)] (4), respectively. KAuCl(4) reacted with CQ to produce the Au(III) complex [(CQ)(2)Au(Cl)(2)]Cl (5), which in turn formed [(CQ)Au(Cl)(SR)(Et(2)O)]Cl (6) by reaction with 1-thio-beta-d-glucose-2,3,4,6-tetraacetate (SRH). The new compounds were characterized by a combination of elemental analysis, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS), and NMR spectroscopy. All the complexes display in vitro activity against CQ-sensitive and CQ-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum. The highest activity for this series was obtained for complex 4, which is 5 times more active than chloroquine diphosphate (CQDP) against the CQ-resistant strain FcB1. On preincubation of noninfected red blood cells with complexes 1, 5, and 6, protection against subsequent infection was observed in some cases. No clear structure-activity correlations could be established for this series of compounds.

B-deficient bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) nodules examined by light microscopy showed dramatic anatomical changes, mainly in the parenchyma region. Western analysis of total nodule extracts examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that one 116-kD polypeptide was recognized by antibodies raised against hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs) from the soybean (Glycine max) seed coat. A protein with a comparable molecular mass of 116 kD was purified from the cell walls of soybean root nodules. The amino acid composition of this protein is similar to the early nodulin (ENOD2) gene. Immunoprecipitation of the soybean ENOD2 in vitro translation product showed that the soybean seed coat anti-HRGP antibodies recognized this early nodulin. Furthermore, we used these antibodies to localize the ENOD2 homolog in bean nodules. Immunocytochemistry revealed that in B-deficient nodules ENOD2 was absent in the walls of the nodule parenchyma. The absence of ENOD2 in B-deficient nodules was corroborated by performing hydroxyproline assays. Northern analysis showed that ENOD2 mRNA is present in B-deficient nodules; therefore, the accumulation of ENOD2 is not affected by B deficiency, but its assembly into the cell wall is. B-deficient nodules fix much less N2 than control nodules, probably because the nodule parenchyma is no longer an effective O2 barrier.

The elaboration and characterization of platinum nanoparticles functionalized with 4-mercaptoaniline is reported. An important point of the synthesis scheme is the use of hexylamine as intermediate labile capping agent. The size and structure of the platinum inner core have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction and TEM microscopy. It is found to be crystalline with a fcc structure and a cell parameter of 0.392 nm very close to the bulk value. The size dispersity is low with an average diameter of ca. 1.5 nm. A well-defined interparticle distance of ca. 3.2 nm is found, corresponding to an organic overlayer thickness of 0.9 nm in good agreement with the estimated molecule length. A rough estimation of the surface per absorbed molecule yields a value of ca. 0.14 nm 2 , pointing to a dense molecular packing. However, IR spectroscopy reveals a very slow degradation process of the organic overlayer, eventually resulting in the formation of sulfate ions onto the platinum surface. A promising perspective is the use of the amine end groups for subsequent overgrafting of the nanoparticles.

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