Dilute-acid hydrolyzates from alder, aspen, birch, willow, pine, and spruce were fermented without prior detoxification. The hydrolyzates were prepared by a one-stage hydrolysis process using sulfuric acid (5 g/L) at temperatures between 188 and 234 °C and with a holding time of 7 min. The fermentations were carried out anaerobically by Saccharomyces cerevisiae (10 g of d.w./L) at a temperature of 30 °C and an initial pH of 5.5. The fermentabilities were quite different for the different wood species, and only hydrolyzates of spruce produced at 188 and 198 °C, hydrolyzates of pine produced at 188 °C, and hydrolyzates of willow produced at 198 °C could be completely fermented within 24 h. From the sum of the concentrations of the known inhibitors furfural and 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF), a good prediction of the maximum ethanol production rate could be obtained, regardless of the origin of the hydrolyzate. Furthermore, in hydrolyzates that fermented well, furfural and HMF were found to be taken up and converted by the yeast, concomitant with the uptake of glucose.

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The mechanisms for the uncatalyzed and boron trifluoride (BF3) assisted Baeyer-Villiger reactions between acetone and hydrogen peroxide have been investigated using high level ab initio [MP2 and CCSD(T)] and density functional theory (B3LYP) methods. Both steps in the uncatalyzed reaction are found to have very high transition state energies. It is clear that detectable amounts of the Crieege intermediate or the products cannot be formed without the aid of a catalyst. The main function of BF3 in both the addition step and the rearrangement (migration) step is to facilitate proton transfer. In the addition step the complexation of hydrogen peroxide with BF3 leads to an increased acidity of the attacking OH group, while in the rearrangement step BF3 takes active part in the proton-transfer process. This latter step is found to be rate determining with an activation free energy of 17.7 kcal/mol in organic solution. The products of the reaction are BF2OH, hydrogen fluoride, and methyl acetate. Thus, BF3 is not directly regenerated from the reaction.

We demonstrate the transfer of arrays of nanofabricated noble metal and alloy nanostructures obtained by high-temperature annealing on a flat parent support onto optical fibers, to create a fiberoptic hysteresis-free nanoplasmonic hydrogen sensor.

The conformational preference of alpha-l-Rhap-(1-->2)[alpha-l-Rhap-(1-->3)]-alpha-l-Rhap-OMe in solution has been studied by NMR spectroscopy using one-dimensional (1)H,(1)H T-ROESY experiments and measurement of trans-glycosidic (3)J(C,H) coupling constants. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with a CHARMM22 type of force field modified for carbohydrates were performed with water as the explicit solvent. The homonuclear cross-relaxation rates, interpreted as effective proton-proton distances, were compared to those obtained from simulation. Via a Karplus torsional relationship, (3)J(C,H) values were calculated from simulation and compared to experimental data. Good agreement was observed between experimental data and the MD simulation, except for one inter-residue T-ROE between protons in the terminal sugar residues. The results show that the trisaccharide exhibits substantial conformational flexibility, in particular along the psi glycosidic torsion angles. Notably, for these torsions, a high degree of correlation (77%) was observed in the MD simulation revealing either psi(2)(+) psi(3)(+) or psi(2)(-)psi(3)(-) states. The simulations also showed that non-exoanomeric conformations were present at the phi torsion angles, but to a limited extent, with the phi(3) state populated to a larger extent than the phi(2) state. Further NMR analysis of the trisaccharide by translational diffusion measurements and (13)C T(1) relaxation experiments quantified global reorientation using an anisotropic model together with interpretation of the internal dynamics via the "model-free" approach. Fitting of the dynamically averaged states to experimental data showed that the psi(2)(+)psi(3)(+) state is present to approximately 49%, psi(2)(-) psi(3)(-) to approximately 39%, and phi(3) (non-exo) to approximately 12%. Finally, using a dynamic and population-averaged model, (1)H,(1)H T-ROE buildup curves were calculated using a full relaxation matrix approach and were found to be in excellent agreement with experimental data, in particular for the above inter-residue proton-proton interaction between the terminal residues.

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