Three-dimensional structure synthesis

Perutz, M.F., et al. Structure of haemoglobin. A three-dimensional Fourier synthesis at 5.5 A resolution, obtained by x-ray analysis. Nature 185 416-422, 1960. 

A synthesis of the important biosynthetic intermediate mevalonic acid starts with the enzymatic hydrolysis of the diester A by pig liver esterase. The pro-R group is selectively hydrolyzed. Draw a three-dimensional structure of the product. 

Besides the classical search for linear, one-dimensional electronically active materials, synthetic approaches are now also focussed on the generation and characterization of two- and three-dimensional structures, especially shape-persistent molecules with a well-defined size and geometry on a nanometer-scale. It is therefore timely and adequate to extend concepts of materials synthesis and processing to meet the needs defined by nanochcmislry since the latter is now emerging as a subdiscipline of material sciences. 

Blake CC, Koeniz DF, Mair GA, North AC, Phillips DC, Sarma VR. Structure of hen egg-white lysozyme. A three-dimensional Fourier synthesis at 2 Angstrom resolution. Nature 1965 206 757-61. 

The presence of triethylenetetramine in the hydrothermal synthesis of open-framework zinc phosphates results in a number of frameworks with one- to three-dimensional structures. The structures include one-dimensional ladders, two-dimensional layer structures, and one structure where the tetramine is bound to the zinc center. The structural type was highly sensitive to the relative concentration of the amine and phosphoric acid.411 Piperazine and 2-methylpiperazine can be used as templating molecules in solvothermal syntheses of zinc phosphates. The crystallization processes of the zinc compounds were investigated by real time in situ measurements of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction patterns.412... 

The chemical world is often divided into measurers and makers of molecules. This division has deep historic roots, but it artificially impedes taking advantage of both aspects of the chemical sciences. Of key importance to all forms of chemistry are instruments and techniques that allow examination, in space and in time, of the composition and characterization of a chemical system under study. To achieve this end in a practical manner, these instruments will need to multiplex several analytical methods. They will need to meet one or more of the requirements for characterization of the products of combinatorial chemical synthesis, correlation of molecular structure with dynamic processes, high-resolution definition of three-dimensional structures and the dynamics of then-formation, and remote detection and telemetry. 

In the case of glycogen, no corresponding definite boundary conditions exist during enzymic synthesis, and hence it may have a true three-dimensional structure. 

These synthetic linear and branched molecules may be important as type polymers, particularly if the interconversion of amylose to amylopectin is intramolecular, in which case the initial molecular weight and molecular-weight distribution would be retained. There is the possibility that the in vitro synthesis may even result in a truly three-dimensional structure, as distinct from that of the natural component. 

As outlined in other chapters in this volume, Tomalia et al. first reported the successful well-characterized synthesis of dendrimers in the early 1980s [1], These molecules range in size from 10 A to 130 A in diameter for generation 0 (GO) through generation 10 (G10). In the ideal situation, PAMAM dendrimers are monodispersed spherical conformation with a highly branched three-dimensional structure (Figure 18.1) that provides a scaffold for the attachment of... 

Transcription is the term used to describe the synthesis of RNA from a DNA template. Translation is the process by which information in RNA is used to synthesise a polypeptide chain. In a little more detail, the genetic information encoded in DNAis first transcribed into acomplementary copy of RNA (a primary RNA transcript) which is then processed to form messenger RNA (mRNA). This leaves the nucleus and is translated into a polypeptide in the cytosol. This then folds into a three-dimensional structure and may be further biochemically modified (post-transla-tional modification) to produce a protein (Figure 20.18). 

Although small in size, the conotoxins contain many of the structural elements present in larger proteins, including a-helices, -sheets and fl-turns, hence, they are often referred to as mini-proteins. Their relative ease of synthesis allows accurate three-dimensional structures to be obtained using techniques such as X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. 

We often think of chromosomes as being flat with little or no geographical topology because the sheet of paper or screen we view them on is flat. However, it is the three-dimensional structure that assists the various genes to perform their function in designing the necessary proteins. The secondary structure of these features is more or less helical, with the different clefts causing the DNA to have these varying structures. The transfer of information from the DNA template to protein, and less so RNA, synthesis is described in Section 10.4. 

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