Binding of Cm(III) and Th(IV) with Human Transferrin at Serum pH: Combined QM and MD Investigations

Human serum transferrin (sTf) can also function as a noniron metal transporter since only 30% of it is typically saturated with a ferric ion. While this function of sTf can be fruitfully utilized for targeted delivery of certain metal therapeutics, it also runs the risk of trafficking the lethal radionuclides into cells. A large number of actinide (An) ions are known to bind to the iron sites of sTf although molecular-level understanding of their binding is unclear. Understanding the radionuclide interaction with sTf is a primary step toward future design of their decorporating agents since irrespective of the means of contamination, the radionuclides are absorbed and transported by blood before depositing into target organs. Here, we report an extensive multiscale modeling approach of two An (curium(III) and thorium(IV)) ions' binding with sTf at serum physiological pH. We find that sTf binds both the heavy ions in a closed conformation with carbonate as synergistic anions and the An-loaded sTf maintains its closed conformation even after 100 ns of equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. MD simulations are performed in a polarizable water environment, which also incorporates electronic continuum corrections for ions via charge rescaling. The molecular details of the An coordination and An exchange free energies with iron in the interdomain cleft of the protein are evaluated through a combination of quantum mechanical (QM) and MD studies. In line with reported experimental observations, well-tempered metadynamics results of the ions' binding energetics show that An-sTf complexes are less stable than Fe-sTf. Additionally, curium(III) is found to bind more weakly than thorium(IV). The latter result might suggest relative attenuation of thorium(IV) cytotoxicity when compared with curium(III).

Fe2(SO4)3·H2SO4·28H2O, a low-temperature water-rich iron(III) sulfate

The title compound, diiron(III) trisulfate-sulfuric acid-water (1/1/28), has been prepared at temperatures between 235 and 239 K from acid solutions of Fe2(SO4)3. Studies of the compound at 100 and 200 K are reported. The analysis reveals the structural features of an alum, (H5O2)Fe(SO4)2·12H2O. The Fe(H2O)6 unit is located on a centre of inversion at (½, 0, ½), while the H5O2(+) cation is located about an inversion centre at (½, ½, ½). The compound thus represents the first oxonium alum, although the unit cell is orthorhombic.

Structure and bonding of the vanadium(III) hexa-aqua cation. 1. Experimental characterization and ligand-field analysis

Spectroscopic and crystallographic data are presented for salts containing the [V(OH(2))(6)](3+) cation, providing a rigorous test of the ability of the angular overlap model (AOM) to inter-relate the electronic and molecular structure of integer-spin complexes. High-field multifrequency EPR provides a very precise definition of the ground-state spin-Hamiltonian parameters, while single-crystal absorption measurements enable the energies of excited ligand-field states to be identified. The EPR study of vanadium(III) as an impurity in guanidinium gallium sulfate is particularly instructive, with fine-structure observed attributable to crystallographically distinct [V(OH(2))(6)](3+) cations, hyperfine coupling, and ferroelectric domains. The electronic structure of the complex depends strongly on the mode of coordination of the water molecules to the vanadium(III) cation, as revealed by single-crystal neutron and X-ray diffraction measurements, and is also sensitive to the isotopic abundance. It is shown that the AOM gives a very good account of the change in the electronic structure, as a function of geometric coordinates of the [V(OH(2))(6)](3+) cation. However, the ligand-field analysis is inconsistent with the profiles of electronic transitions between ligand-field terms.

Aqua Ions. 2. Structural manifestations of the Jahn-Teller effect in the beta-alums

Variable-temperature single-crystal neutron diffraction structures of the alums CsM(III)(SO(4))(2).12D(2)O, where M(III) = Ti, V, Mn, and Ga, are reported. Structural differences are highlighted by the titanium and manganese alums, which undergo cubic (Pathremacr;) to orthorhombic (Pbca) phase transitions at approximately 13 and approximately 156 K, respectively. The structural instability exhibited by these salts is interpreted as arising from cooperative Jahn-Teller interactions, and these measurements characterize the structural changes that result from the coupling between the electronic and vibrational states. Although the symmetry changes associated with the phase transformations are analogous for the Ti and Mn alums, the low-temperature geometries of the tervalent hexaaqua cations are markedly different. Whereas the MnO(6) framework is subject to a pronounced tetragonal elongation, changes in the Ti-O bond lengths are very modest; but significant changes in the O-Ti-O bond angles and in the disposition of the coordinated water molecules are identified. The large differences in the transition temperatures and in the low-temperature stereochemistries of the [Ti(OD(2))(6)](3+) and [Mn(OD(2))(6)](3+) cations are related to the sensitivity of the energies of the t(2g) (O(h)) and e(g) (O(h)) orbitals to the various asymmetric vibrations of the hexaaqua complex.

Aqua Ions. 1. The structures of the [Ru(OH(2))(6)](3+) and [V(OH(2))(6)](3+) cations in aqueous solution: an EPR and UV-Vis study

Spectroscopic data are presented for the [V(OH(2))(6)](3+) and [Ru(OH(2))(6)](3+) cations, from which inferences are drawn regarding their structures in aqueous solution. EPR and absorption spectra of solutions and glasses are supplemented by spectra of the aqua ions in various crystalline environments, and the electronic and molecular structures inter-related through elementary angular overlap model calculations. It is concluded that in aqueous solution the [Ru(OH(2))(6)](3+) cation is localized in the all-horizontal D(3)(d)geometry, whereas the structure of the [V(OH(2))(6)](3+) cation is close to T(h) symmetry. These results are consistent with the most energetically favored geometries predicted by ab initio calculations.