Die Entdeckung einiger biologischer Wirkungen von Stickstoffmonoxid und seiner Rolle für die Zellkommunikation (Nobel-Vortrag)

Amorphous Boron Carbide on Titanium Dioxide Nanobelt Arrays for High-Efficiency Electrocatalytic NO Reduction to NH3

Electrocatalytic NO reduction is regarded as an attractive strategy to degrade the NO contaminant into useful NH₃ , but the lack of efficient and stable electrocatalysts to facilitate such multiple proton-coupled electron-transfer processes impedes its applications. Here, we report on developing amorphous B_2.6 C supported on a TiO₂ nanoarray on a Ti plate (a-B_2.6 C@TiO₂ /Ti) as an NH₃ -producing nanocatalyst with appreciable activity and durability toward the NO electroreduction. It shows a yield of 3678.6 μg h^-1  cm^-2 and a FE of 87.6 %, superior to TiO₂ /Ti (563.5 μg h^-1  cm^-2 , 42.6 %) and a-B_2.6 C/Ti (2499.2 μg h^-1  cm^-2 , 85.6 %). An a-B_2.6 C@TiO₂ /Ti-based Zn-NO battery achieves a power density of 1.7 mW cm^-2 with an NH₃ yield of 1125 μg h^-1  cm^-2 . An in-depth understanding of catalytic mechanisms is gained by theoretical calculations.

Looking Back at the Early Stages of Redox Biology

The beginnings of redox biology are recalled with special emphasis on formation, metabolism and function of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in mammalian systems. The review covers the early history of heme peroxidases and the metabolism of hydrogen peroxide, the discovery of selenium as integral part of glutathione peroxidases, which expanded the scope of the field to other hydroperoxides including lipid hydroperoxides, the discovery of superoxide dismutases and superoxide radicals in biological systems and their role in host defense, tissue damage, metabolic regulation and signaling, the identification of the endothelial-derived relaxing factor as the nitrogen monoxide radical (more commonly named nitric oxide) and its physiological and pathological implications. The article highlights the perception of hydrogen peroxide and other hydroperoxides as signaling molecules, which marks the beginning of the flourishing fields of redox regulation and redox signaling. Final comments describe the development of the redox language. In the 18th and 19th century, it was highly individualized and hard to translate into modern terminology. In the 20th century, the redox language co-developed with the chemical terminology and became clearer. More recently, the introduction and inflationary use of poorly defined terms has unfortunately impaired the understanding of redox events in biological systems.

Gas-phase spectroscopy of ferric heme-NO complexes

Weakly bound complexes between ferric heme cations and NO were synthesised in the gas phase from ion-molecule reactions, and their absorption measured based on photodissociation yields. The Soret band, which serves as an important marker band for heme-protein spectroscopy, is maximal at 357±5 nm and significantly blue-shifted compared to ferric heme nitrosyl proteins (maxima between 408 and 422 nm). This is in stark contrast to the Q-band absorption where the protein microenvironment is nearly innocent in perturbing the electronic structure of the porphyrin macrocycle. Photodissociation is primarily through loss of NO. In contrast to the Q-band region, two-photon absorption was seen in the Soret band despite NO loss only requiring ∼1 eV. A model based on intersystem crossing to a long-lived triplet state where a barrier has to be surmounted is suggested. Finally, we summarise the measured absorption maxima of heme and its complexes with amino acids and NO.

The chemistry and biology of soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators and activators

The vasodilatory properties of nitric oxide (NO) have been utilized in pharmacotherapy for more than 130 years. Still today, NO-donor drugs are important in the management of cardiovascular diseases. However, inhaled NO or drugs releasing NO and organic nitrates are associated with noteworthy therapeutic shortcomings, including resistance to NO in some disease states, the development of tolerance during long-term treatment, and nonspecific effects, such as post-translational modification of proteins. The beneficial actions of NO are mediated by stimulation of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), a heme-containing enzyme which produces the intracellular signaling molecule cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). Recently, two classes of compounds have been discovered that amplify the function of sGC in a NO-independent manner, the so-called sGC stimulators and sGC activators. The most advanced drug, the sGC stimulator riociguat, has successfully undergone Phase III clinical trials for different forms of pulmonary hypertension.

Discovering more non-innocence: triazenido versus triazenyl radical ligand function, and a comment on [NO2]n as a "suspect" ligand

The unusual suspects: Depending on co-ligands L(n) and the effects of substituents (R), the well-known triazenides [N(NR)2](-) may act as EPR detectable coordinated triazenyl ligands, [N(NR)2](·). They are thus new non-innocent ligands and are related to the hitherto unused non-innocent nitrogen dioxide ligand, [NO2](·).

Nitric oxide releasing metal-diazeniumdiolate complexes strongly induce vasorelaxation and endothelial cell proliferation

The preparation, characterization, and NO-releasing properties of metal complexes derived from N-aminoethylpiperazine-N-diazeniumdiolate (HPipNONO), [Cu(PipNONO)Cl] and [Ni(PipNONO)Cl], and the Ni(II) complex derived from the Schiff base between HPipNONO and salicylaldehyde, [Ni(SalPipNONO)], are described. Compounds [Cu(PipNONO)Cl] and [Ni(SalPipNONO)] release NO at a much slower rate than HPipNONO in aqueous buffer in the pH range between 6.8 and 8.0. The kinetics of NO release by [Ni(SalPipNONO)] is complex, with an apparent stepwise release of NO molecules. Both [Cu(PipNONO)Cl] and [Ni(SalPipNONO)] are effective vasorelaxant agents of precontracted rabbit aorta rings, and are active in the nM concentration range. In addition, these complexes promote the proliferation of endothelial cells. Both vascular activities were inhibited by a specific inhibitor of guanylate cyclase, suggesting the involvement of the cGMP pathway. In all biological assays, the reference agent sodium nitroprusside was shown to be 10-1000-fold less potent than the two metal-NONOates.

Ultrafast Electron Diffraction: Structural Dynamics of Molecular Rearrangement in the NO Release from Nitrobenzene

Nitro compounds release NO, NO2, and other species, but neither the structures during the reactions nor the time scales are known. Ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) allowed the study of the NO release from nitrobenzene, and the molecular pathways and the structures of the transient species were identified. It was observed, in contrast to previous inferences, that nitric oxide and phenoxyl radicals are formed dominantly and that the time scale of formation is 8.8+/-2.2 ps. The structure of the phenoxyl radical was determined for the first time, and found to be quinoid-like. The mechanism proposed involves a repulsive triplet state, following intramolecular rearrangement. This efficient generation of NO may have important implications for the control of by-products in drug delivery and other applications.

Nitric Oxide-Induced Fluorescence Enhancement by Displacement of Dansylated Ligands from Cobalt

The cobalt complexes [Co(Ds-AMP)(2)] (1) and [Co(Ds-AQ)(2)] (2), where Ds-AMP and Ds-AQ are the conjugate bases of dansyl aminomethylpyridine (Ds-HAMP) and dansyl aminoquinoline (Ds-HAQ), respectively, were synthesized in two steps as fluorescence-based nitric oxide (NO) sensors and characterized by X-ray crystallography. The fluorescence of the two complexes was significantly quenched in CH(3)CN or CH(3)OH compared to that of the free Ds-HAMP or Ds-HAQ ligands. Addition of NO to a CH(3)CN solution of 1 or 2 enhanced the integrated fluorescence emission by factors of 2.1(+/-0.3) or 3.6(+/-0.4) within 35 or 20 min, respectively. Introduction of NO to methanolic solutions of the complexes similarly increased the fluorescence by 1.4(+/-0.1) for 1 or 6.5(+/-1.4) for 2 within 1 h. These studies demonstrate that 1 and 2 can monitor the presence of NO with turn-on emission and that their fluorescence responses are more rapid than those of previously reported cobalt systems in coordinating solvents such as CH(3)CN and CH(3)OH. (1)H NMR and IR spectroscopic data revealed the formation of a [Co(NO)(2)](10) cobalt-dinitrosyl adduct, with concomitant dissociation of one ligand from the cobalt center, as the metal-containing product of the NO reactions, a result indicating NO-induced ligand release to be the cause of the fluorescence increase.

Characteristics of vehicle-animal crashes in which vehicle occupants are killed

During the past 10 years almost 1,500 people have been killed in motor vehicle collisions with animals. Police reports on 147 fatal vehicle-animal crashes during 2000-2002 were obtained from nine states. The goal was to determine common crash types, types of animals involved, and steps that could be taken to reduce the crashes and injuries. Seventy-seven percent of the struck animals were deer, but six other types of animals were involved including small ones such as dogs. Eighty percent of the crashes were single-vehicle events. In most of these cases a motorcycle struck an animal and the rider came off the vehicle, or a passenger vehicle struck an animal and then ran off the road; in a few cases the animal went through the windshield. Multiple-vehicle crashes included vehicles striking deer that went through the windshields of oncoming vehicles, vehicles striking animals and then colliding with other vehicles, and vehicles striking animals that subsequently were struck by other vehicles. Crashes occurred primarily in rural areas, on roads with 55 mph or higher speed limits, during evening or nighttime hours, and in darkness. Greater application of deer-vehicle collision countermeasures known to be effective is needed, but it is noteworthy that a majority of fatalities occurred from subsequent collisions with other vehicles or objects, not from animal contacts. Sixty-five percent of motorcyclists killed were not wearing helmets, and 60% of vehicle occupants killed were unbelted; many of these fatalities would not have occurred with proper protection.

Low-valent cobalt complexes with three different pi acceptor ligands: experimental and DFT studies of the reduced and the low-lying excited states of (R-DAB)Co(NO)(CO), R-DAB = substituted 1,4-diaza-1,4-butadiene

The complexes (RN=CH-CH=NR)Co(NO)(CO) with R = isopropyl, 2,6-diisopropylphenyl, or p-tolyl are chemically and electrochemically reducible to radical anions at potentials which strongly depend on R. The DFT calculated structure for the neutral compound with R = iPr agrees with the experiment, and the computed structure of the anion radical reveals changes according to a reduction of the R-DAB ligand. EPR results confirm an (R-DAB)-based singly occupied molecular orbital in [(RNCHCHNR)Co(NO)(CO)](.-), with minor but detectable contributions from NO as supported by IR spectroelectrochemistry and as quantified by DFT spin density calculations. The calculations indicate increasingly stabilized CO, NO, and RNCHCHNR pi* acceptor orbitals, in that order. On the basis of TD-DFT (time-dependent density functional theory) calculations, the lowest-lying excited states are assigned to metal-to-(R-DAB) charge transfer transitions while bands due to the metal-to-nitrosyl charge transfer occur at higher energies but still in the visible region. Resonance Raman studies were used to probe these assignments.

Direct Detection of Low-Concentration NO in Physiological Solutions by a New GaAs-Based Sensor

Nitric oxide (NO) acts as a signal molecule in the nervous system, as a defense against infections, as a regulator of blood pressure, and as a gate keeper of blood flow to different organs. In vivo, it is thought to have a lifetime of a few seconds. Therefore, its direct detection at low concentrations is difficult. We report on a new type of hybrid, organic-semiconductor, electronic sensor that makes detection of nitric oxide in physiological solution possible. The mode of action of the device is described to explain how its electrical resistivity changes as a result of NO binding to a layer of native hemin molecules. These molecules are self-assembled on a GaAs surface to which they are attached through a carboxylate binding group. The new sensor provides a fast and simple method for directly detecting NO at concentrations down to 1 microM in physiological aqueous (pH=7.4) solution at room temperature.