From microhydration to bulk hydration of Sr2+ metal ion: DFT, MP2 and molecular dynamics study

Identification of strontium substitution mechanism in hematite via calcium solution

Nonradioactive strontium (Sr) are produced as a result of radioactive decay of heavier elements such as uranium and thorium. Nonradioactive Sr shares physicochemical similarities with Ca and can replace it during bone formation, which may cause bone cancer in humans. Hence, concerning the potential hazards associated with strontium, it is imperative to eliminate it. The present study aimed to investigate the removal mechanisms of hematite-adsorbed strontium by calcium solution. Strontium was adsorbed to hematite at pH 8 and 10 and washed with calcium solution. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (after Ca washing) were performed on the samples before and after washing. Analyses and fitting by XANES and EXAFS confirmed the formation of an inner-sphere complex of strontium at pH 10. The XRD spectra showed that SrCO3 and SrFe2O4 formed at pH 8 and 10, respectively. After washing with the calcium solution, strontium was directly substituted to form CaCO3 and CaFe2O4. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results provided a systematic analysis of the proportions of hematite and strontium, confirming the substitution of strontium with calcium. This substitution could be attributed to the physicochemical similarities between calcium and strontium. This study confirms the substitution of Sr with Ca, highlighting the physicochemical similarity of the Sr and Ca that facilitates substitution reactions.

Theoretical Assessment of the Ligand/Metal/Quadruplex Recognition in the Non-Canonical Nucleic Acids Structures

Quadruplexes (GQs), peculiar DNA/RNA motifs concentrated in specific genomic regions, play a vital role in biological processes including telomere stability and, hence, represent promising targets for anticancer therapy. GQs are formed by folding guanine-rich sequences into square planar G-tetrads which stack onto one another. Metal cations, most often potassium, further stabilize the architecture by coordinating the lone electron pairs of the O atoms. The presence of additional nucleic acid bases, however, has been recently observed experimentally and contributes substantially to the structural heterogeneity of quadruplexes. Therefore, it is of paramount significance to understand the factors governing the underlying complex processes in these structures. The current study employs DFT calculations to model the interactions between metal cations (K+, Na+, Sr2+) and diverse tetrads composed of a guanine layer in combination with a guanine (G)-, adenine (A)-, cytosine (C)-, thymine (T)-, or uracil (U)-based tetrad layer. Moreover, the addition of 4-(3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-2-yl)-2-(quinolin-2-yl)quinazoline to the modeled quadruplexes as a possible mechanism of its well-exerted antitumor effect is assessed. The calculations imply that the metal cation competition and ligand complexation are influenced by the balance between electronic and implicit/explicit solvation effects, the composition of the tetrad layers, as well as by the solvent exposure to the surrounding environment expressed in terms of different dielectric constant values. The provided results significantly enhance our understanding of quadruplex diversity, ligand recognition, and the underlying mechanisms of stabilization at an atomic level.

Hydration of Heavy Alkaline-Earth Cations Studied by Molecular Dynamics Simulations and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

The physicochemical properties of the three heaviest alkaline-earth cations, Sr²⁺, Ba²⁺, and Ra²⁺ in water have been studied by means of classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A specific set of cation-water intermolecular potentials based on ab initio potential energy surfaces has been built on the basis of the hydrated ion concept. The polarizable and flexible model of water MCDHO2 was adopted. The theoretical-experimental comparison of structural, dynamical, energetic, and spectroscopical properties of Sr²⁺ and Ba²⁺ aqueous solutions is satisfactory, which supports the methodology developed. This good behavior allows a reasonable reliability for the predicted Ra²⁺ physicochemical data not experimentally determined yet. Simulated extended X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy spectra have been computed from the snapshots of the MD simulations and compared with the experimental information available for Sr²⁺ and Ba²⁺. For the Ra²⁺ case, the Ra L₃-edge EXAFS spectrum is proposed. Structural and dynamical properties of the aqua ions for the three cations have been obtained and analyzed. Along the [M(H₂O)_n]^m+ series, the M-O distance for the first-hydration shell is 2.57, 2.81, and 2.93 Å for Sr²⁺, Ba²⁺, and Ra²⁺, respectively. The hydration number also increases when one is going down along the group: 8.1, 9.4, and 9.8 for Sr²⁺, Ba²⁺, and Ra²⁺, respectively. Whereas [Sr(H₂O)₈]²⁺ is a typical aqua ion with a well-defined structure, the Ba²⁺ and Ra²⁺ hydration provides a picture exhibiting an average between the ennea- and the deca-hydration. These results show a similar chemical behavior of Ba²⁺ and Ra²⁺ aqueous solutions and support experimental studies on the removal of Ra-226 of aquifers by different techniques, where Ra²⁺ is replaced by Ba²⁺. A comparison of the heavy alkaline ions, Rb⁺ and Cs⁺, with the heavy alkaline-earth ions is made.

Ground-State Structures of Hydrated Calcium Ion Clusters From Comprehensive Genetic Algorithm Search

We searched the lowest-energy structures of hydrated calcium ion clusters Ca2+(H2O)n (n = 10-18) in the whole potential energy surface by the comprehensive genetic algorithm (CGA). The lowest-energy structures of Ca2+(H2O)10-12 clusters show that Ca2+ is always surrounded by six H2O molecules in the first shell. The number of first-shell water molecules changes from six to eight at n = 12. In the range of n = 12-18, the number of first-shell water molecules fluctuates between seven and eight, meaning that the cluster could pack the water molecules in the outer shell even though the inner shell is not full. Meanwhile, the number of water molecules in the second shell and the total hydrogen bonds increase with an increase in the cluster size. The distance between Ca2+ and the adjacent water molecules increases, while the average adjacent O-O distance decreases as the cluster size increases, indicating that the interaction between Ca2+ and the adjacent water molecules becomes weaker and the interaction between water molecules becomes stronger. The interaction energy and natural bond orbital results show that the interaction between Ca2+ and the water molecules is mainly derived from the interaction between Ca2+ and the adjacent water molecules. The charge transfer from the lone pair electron orbital of adjacent oxygen atoms to the empty orbital of Ca2+ plays a leading role in the interaction between Ca2+ and water molecules.

Ab initio molecular dynamics studies of hydroxide coordination of alkaline earth metals and uranyl

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations of the Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+ and UO22+ ions in either a pure aqueous environment or an environment containing two hydroxide ions have been carried out at the density functional level of theory, employing the generalised gradient approximation via the PBE exchange-correlation functional. Calculated mean M-O bond lengths in the first solvation shell of the aquo systems compared very well to existing experimental and computational literature, with bond lengths well within values measured previously and coordination numbers in line with previously calculated values. When applied to systems containing additional hydroxide ions, the methodology revealed increased bond lengths in all systems. Proton transfer events (PTEs) were recorded and were found to be most prevalent in the strontium hydroxide systems, likely due to the low charge density of the ion and the consequent lack of hydroxide coordination. For all alkaline earths, intrashell PTEs which occurred outside of the first solvation shell were most prevalent. Only three PTEs were identified in the entire simulation data of the uranium dihydroxide system, indicating the clear impact of the increased charge density of the hexavalent uranium ion on the strength of metal-oxygen bonds in aqueous solution. Broadly, systems containing more charge dense ions were found to exhibit fewer PTEs than those containing ions of lower charge density.

Insight into selectivity: uptake studies of radionuclides 90Sr2+, 137Cs+, and 233UO22+ with bis-amidoxime polymers

Density functional theory and separation experiments combine to demonstrate the selectivity of bis-amidoxime polymer for uranyl extraction from aqueous solution.