27Al field-swept and frequency-stepped NMR for sites with large quadrupole coupling constants

Challenges to generating political prioritization for adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Kenya: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Despite the high burden of adverse adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes, it has remained a low political priority in Kenya. We examined factors that have shaped the lack of current political prioritization of adolescent SRH service provision.

METHODS

We used the Shiffman and Smith policy framework consisting of four categories-actor power, ideas, political contexts, and issue characteristics-to analyse factors that have shaped political prioritization of adolescent SRH. We undertook semi-structured interviews with 14 members of adolescent SRH networks between February and April 2019 at the national level and conducted thematic analysis of the interviews.

FINDINGS

Several factors hinder the attainment of political priority for adolescent SRH in Kenya. On actor power, the adolescent SRH community was diverse and united in adoption of international norms and policies, but lacked policy entrepreneurs to provide strong leadership, and policy windows were often missed. Regarding ideas, community members lacked consensus on a cohesive public positioning of the problem. On issue characteristics, the perception of adolescents as lacking political power made politicians reluctant to act on the existing data on the severity of adolescent SRH. There was also a lack of consensus on the nature of interventions to be implemented. Pertaining to political contexts, sectoral funding by donors and government treasury brought about tension within the different government ministries resulting in siloed approaches, lack of coordination and overall inefficiency. However, the SRH community has several strengths that augur well for future political support. These include the diverse multi-sectoral background of its members, commitment to improving adolescent SRH, and the potential to link with other health priorities such as maternal health and HIV/AIDS.

CONCLUSION

In order to increase political attention to adolescent SRH in Kenya, there is an urgent need for policy actors to: 1) create a more cohesive community of advocates across sectors, 2) develop a clearer public positioning of adolescent SRH, 3) agree on a set of precise approaches that will resonate with the political system, and 4) identify and nurture policy entrepreneurs to facilitate the coupling of adolescent SRH with potential solutions when windows of opportunity arise.

Investigating adsorption of organic compounds in metal-organic framework MIL-53

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are versatile materials that incorporate metal centers along with organic linkers in highly ordered, intricate structures. MIL-53 is a MOF that exhibits a “breathing effect,” where the pore size and MOF topology are profoundly influenced by the identity and binding mechanism of guest molecules. This phenomenon renders MIL-53 a promising candidate for sensing applications. In this report, the adsorption of various organic compounds within MIL-53 is investigated using a combination of complementary techniques. Thermal gravimetric analysis experiments confirm loading of the guest molecules and yield insight into adsorption interactions and strengths. Significant guest-induced changes in the crystal structure of MIL-53 are revealed by powder X-ray diffraction experiments; specific unique phases of MIL-53 are related to the identity of the guest molecule and its binding mechanism to the framework. 27Al and 13C solid-state NMR experiments probe the interaction between guest molecules and MIL-53. The relationship between the nature of the guest, the structure of MIL-53, and 27Al NMR parameters is explored. 27Al NMR parameters are sensitive to the host-guest binding mechanism (i.e., hydrogen-bonding or π–π stacking interactions) and yield valuable information regarding the influence of the adsorbates on the local aluminum environment. This combination of physical characterization techniques is a useful probe of guest adsorption and the breathing effect within MIL-53 and should prove useful for investigation of related MOFs.

Nature and structure of aluminum surface sites grafted on silica from a combination of high-field aluminum-27 solid-state NMR spectroscopy and first-principles calculations

The determination of the nature and structure of surface sites after chemical modification of large surface area oxides such as silica is a key point for many applications and challenging from a spectroscopic point of view. This has been, for instance, a long-standing problem for silica reacted with alkylaluminum compounds, a system typically studied as a model for a supported methylaluminoxane and aluminum cocatalyst. While (27)Al solid-state NMR spectroscopy would be a method of choice, it has been difficult to apply this technique because of large quadrupolar broadenings. Here, from a combined use of the highest stable field NMR instruments (17.6, 20.0, and 23.5 T) and ultrafast magic angle spinning (>60 kHz), high-quality spectra were obtained, allowing isotropic chemical shifts, quadrupolar couplings, and asymmetric parameters to be extracted. Combined with first-principles calculations, these NMR signatures were then assigned to actual structures of surface aluminum sites. For silica (here SBA-15) reacted with triethylaluminum, the surface sites are in fact mainly dinuclear Al species, grafted on the silica surface via either two terminal or two bridging siloxy ligands. Tetrahedral sites, resulting from the incorporation of Al inside the silica matrix, are also seen as minor species. No evidence for putative tri-coordinated Al atoms has been found.

Impact of reduction on the properties of metal bisdithiolenes: multinuclear solid-state NMR and structural studies on Pt(tfd)2 and its reduced forms

Transition-metal dithiolene complexes have interesting structures and fascinating redox properties, making them promising candidates for a number of applications, including superconductors, photonic devices, chemical sensors, and catalysts. However, not enough is known about the molecular electronic origins of these properties. Multinuclear solid-state NMR spectroscopy and first-principles calculations are used to examine the molecular and electronic structures of the redox series [Pt(tfd)(2)](z-) (tfd = S(2)C(2)(CF(3))(2); z = 0, 1, 2; the anionic species have [NEt(4)](+) countercations). Single-crystal X-ray structures for the neutral (z = 0) and the fully reduced forms (z = 2) were obtained. The two species have very similar structures but differ slightly in their intraligand bond lengths. (19)F-(195)Pt CP/CPMG and (195)Pt magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR experiments are used to probe the diamagnetic (z = 0, 2) species, revealing large platinum chemical shielding anisotropies (CSA) with distinct CS tensor properties, despite the very similar structural features of these species. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to rationalize the large platinum CSAs and CS tensor orientations of the diamagnetic species using molecular orbital (MO) analysis, and are used to explain their distinct molecular electronic structures in the context of the NMR data. The paramagnetic species (z = 1) is examined using both EPR spectroscopy and (13)C and (19)F MAS NMR spectroscopy. Platinum g-tensor components were determined by using solid-state EPR experiments. The unpaired electron spin densities at (13)C and (19)F nuclei were measured by employing variable-temperature (13)C and (19)F NMR experiments. DFT and ab initio calculations are able to qualitatively reproduce the experimentally measured g-tensor components and spin densities. The combination of experimental and theoretical data confirm localization of unpaired electron density in the pi-system of the dithiolene rings.

Ultra-wideline27Al NMR Investigation of Three- and Five-Coordinate Aluminum Environments

Ultra-wideline 27Al NMR experiments are conducted on coordination compounds with 27Al nuclei possessing immense quadrupolar interactions that result from exceptionally nonspherical coordination environments. NMR spectra are acquired using a methodology involving frequency-stepped, piecewise acquisition of NMR spectra with Hahn-echo or quadrupolar Carr-Purcell Meiboom-Gill (QCPMG) pulse sequences, which is applicable to any half-integer quadrupolar nucleus with extremely broad NMR powder patterns. Despite the large breadth of these central transition powder patterns, ranging from 250 to 700 kHz, the total experimental times are an order of magnitude less than previously reported experiments on analogous complexes with smaller quadrupolar interactions. The complexes examined feature three- or five-coordinate aluminum sites: trismesitylaluminum (AlMes3), tris(bis(trimethylsilyl)amino)aluminum (Al(NTMS2)3), bis[dimethyl tetrahydrofurfuryloxide aluminum] ([Me2-Al(mu-OTHF)]2), and bis[diethyl tetrahydrofurfuryloxide aluminum] ([Et2-Al(mu-OTHF)]2). We report some of the largest 27Al quadrupolar coupling constants measured to date, with values of C(Q)(27Al) of 48.2(1), 36.3(1), 19.9(1), and 19.6(2) MHz for AlMes3, Al(NTMS2)3, [Me2-Al(mu-OTHF)]2, and [Et2-Al(mu-OTHF)]2, respectively. X-ray crystallographic data and theoretical (Hartree-Fock and DFT) calculations of 27Al electric field gradient (EFG) tensors are utilized to examine the relationships between the quadrupolar interactions and molecular structure; in particular, the origin of the immense quadrupolar interaction in the three-coordinate species is studied via analyses of molecular orbitals.

High-field 19.6T 27Al solid-state MAS NMR of in vitro aluminated brain tissue

The combination of (27)Al high-field solid-state NMR (19.6T) with rapid spinning speeds (17.8 kHz) is used to acquire (27)Al NMR spectra of total RNA human brain temporal lobe tissues exposed to 0.10 mM Al(3+) (as AlCl(3)) and of human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19), grown in 0.10 mM AlCl(3). The spectra of these model systems show multiple Al(3+) binding sites, good signal/noise ratios and apparent chemical shift dispersions. A single broad peak (-3 to 11 ppm) is seen for the aluminated ARPE-19 cells, consistent with reported solution-state NMR chemical shifts of Al-transferrin. The aluminated brain tissue has a considerably different (27)Al MAS NMR spectrum. In addition to the transferrin-type resonance, additional peaks are seen. Tentative assignments include: -9 to -3 ppm, octahedral AlO(6) (phosphate and water); 9 ppm, condensed AlO(6) units (Al-O-Al bridges); 24 ppm, tetrahedral AlO(3)N and/or octahedral Al-carbonate; and 35 ppm, more N-substituted aluminum and /or tetrahedral AlO(4). Thus, brain tissue is susceptible to a broad range of coordination by aluminum. Furthermore, the moderate (27)Al C(Q) values (all less than 10 MHz) suggest future NMR studies may be performed at 9.4T and a spin rate of 20 kHz.

Structural characterization of MAO and related aluminum complexes. 1. Solid-state (27)Al NMR with comparison to EFG tensors from ab initio molecular orbital calculations

Experimental and ab initio molecular orbital techniques are developed for study of aluminum species with large quadrupole coupling constants to test structural models for methylaluminoxanes (MAO). The techniques are applied to nitrogen- and oxygen-containing complexes of aluminum and to solid MAO isolated from active commercial MAO preparations. (Aminato)- and (propanolato)aluminum clusters with 3-, 4-, and 6-coordinate aluminum sites are studied with three (27)Al NMR techniques optimized for large (27)Al quadrupole coupling constants: field-swept, frequency-stepped, and high-field MAS NMR. Four-membered (aminato)aluminum complexes with AlN(4) coordination yield slightly smaller C(q) values than similar AlN(2)C(2) sites: 12.2 vs 15.8 MHz. Planar 3-coordinate AlN(2)C sites have the largest C(q) values, 37 MHz. In all cases, molecular orbital calculations of the electric field gradient tensors yields C(q) and eta values that match with experiment, even for a large hexameric (aminato)aluminum cage. A D(3d) symmetry hexaaluminum oxane cluster, postulated as a model for MAO, yields a calculated C(q) of -23.7 MHz, eta = 0.7474, and predicts a spectrum that is too broad to match the field-swept NMR of methylaluminoxane, which shows at least three sites, all with C(q) values greater than 15 MHz but less than 21 MHz. Thus, the proposed hexaaluminum cluster, with its strained four-membered rings, is not a major component of MAO. However, calculations for dimers of the cage complex, either edge-bridged or face-bridged, show a much closer match to experiment. Also, MAO preparations differ, with a gel form of MAO having significantly larger (27)Al C(q) values than a nongel form, a conclusion reached on the basis of (27)Al NMR line widths in field-swept NMR spectra acquired from 13 to 24 T.