The purpose of this investigation is to study the Birch reduction products of [2.2lparacyclophane and of [2.2]paracyclophane- 2-carboxylic acid. The tetrahydro Birch reduction product of [2.2]paracyclophane is shown to be dl stereoisomer, with the olefins of the upper deck only partially overlapping with the olefins of the lower deck. This stereochemical elucidation is accomplished by means of a complete proton nmr analysis of the tetraepoxide derivative. A proposed mechanism supported by VB (valence bond) and MO (molecular orbital) theories for this Birch reduction process is presented.

This thesis reports the synthesis and characterization of two new copper(II) halide complexes with deprotonated N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine behaving as a bidentate. The magnetic properties of the new copper(II) complexes were studied from room temperature to liquid nitrogen temperatures. The magnetic data show that both complexes exhibit antiferromagnetic interactions with a singlet ground state and a thermally accessible triplet excited state. Magnetic data and infrared spectra indicate the complexes are halogenbridged. Deprotonation at an amine nitrogen is based on the presence of a hydroxyl stretching band in the infrared spectra. Electronic spectra and infrared spectra indicate the complexes are square planar. Elemental analyses, infrared spectra, electronic spectra, electron spin resonance spectra, and magnetic data are reported and discussed.

The synthesis and characterization of two new Schiff base copper(II) complexes are reported. These are Cu(acac: 2-amino-l-phenylethanol) and Cu(acac:2-amino-l-butanol). The ligands, derived from acetylacetone and the appropriate aminoalcohol, are dibasic tridentates with 0,N,O donor atoms. The magnetic properties of the complexes were studied at several temperatures between 78 OK and 296 OK. The magnetic moment of Cu(acac:2-amino-l-phenylethanol) varied little with temperature, and that of Cu(acac:2-amino-lbutanol) increased as the temperature was lowered. This is in contrast to the magnetic moment of Cu(acac:ethanolamine), which decreases as the temperature decreases. Molecular weight data, infrared spectra, magnetic data, electronic spectra, and electron spin resonance spectra of both complexes are reported and discussed.

The present study has resulted in the development of a procedure for the specific chemical fragmentation of human phosphoglucose isomerase into a minimal number of peptides. A two-cycle procedure for cleaving the protein with 2-nitro-5- thiocyanobenzoic acid results in four primary peptides and three overlap peptides. The peptides can be readily separated on the basis of their size by using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Preliminary peptide alignments have been considered, and amino acid analyses have been performed. End-terminal analyses of the enzyme revealed a carboxyl terminal sequence of Asp-Val-Gln and a blocked amino terminus. The cysteine cleavage procedure provides an excellent method for the identification and location of specific genetic mutations of human phosphoglucose isomerase.

This thesis describes the synthesis and preliminary enzymatic study of glutaryl-S-(8-aminooctyl)-L-cysteinylglycine and glutaryl-S-(10-aminodecyl)-L-cysteinylglycine as inhibitors of glyoxalase I. These analogs of glutathione were prepared as potential ligands for affinity chromatography purification of glyoxalase I. The compounds were synthesized by a seven-step procedure in overall yields of 24% for the octyl analog and 33% for the decyl analog. Both compounds exhibited mixed type inhibition of the enzyme, with the decyl derivative being more inhibitory than the octyl derivative. The inhibition was nonlinear (parabolic) for both compounds. Although less inhibitory than the corresponding S-substituted glutathione derivatives, these analogs are promising candidates for affinity chromatography ligands. Such compounds may also be useful in studying the mechanism of glyoxalase I.

The three-dimensional x-ray structure of 2,2'-bipyridylglycinatochloro copper(II) dihydrate has been fully refined to a final R factor of 0.081. The bipyridyl and glycine ligands are arranged about the central copper atom in a square planar configuration while the chlorine atom is 2.635 angstroms above this plane directly over the copper atom. This unusually long distance is explained by the positioning of a glycine group on the opposite side of the square plane, resulting in a distorted octahedral arrangement. Also, the chlorine atom is linked to three oxygen atoms via hydrogen bonding, thus stabilizing the distorted octahedral complex.

The correlation between the carbon-proton and proton-proton coupling constants have been studied in various 13 systems. Isocrotonic acid-carboxyl-3C, crotonic acid- 13 13 carboxyl-3C, and 5-norbornene-2-carboxylic acid-carboxyl-3C- 1,5,6,7,7-hexachloro were synthesized and their carbonproton coupling constants were analyzed. Nmr studies showed the magnitudes of the carbon-proton coupling constants to correlate well with analogous protonproton coupling constants, although the values of the couplings were larger than expected. The geminal olefinic couplings were considerably larger than all other couplings, but they were self-consistent. The signs of the carbon-proton coupling constants also were in agreement without exception with the signs of analogous proton-proton coupling constants.

Structural properties of phosphoglucose isomerases isolated from a variety of species have been compared by peptide fingerprinting, predicted amino acid sequence homologies and by denaturation and renaturation studies. The enzymes are more readily denatured in guanidinium chloride than in urea, and the isomerase isolated from yeast is more stable toward acid pH than the rabbit muscle enzyme. The rates of guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation are markedly increased by ionic strength and decreased by substrates, competitive inhibitors or glycerol. The enzyme can be renatured, but only in the presence of glycerol. The renaturation process is dependent on protein concentration and temperature and provides a method for the formation of mixed species heterodimers.

The purpose of the present work is to study the bonding interactions between the substituents and the ring π system for a series of ortho and para MeₙH₃₋ₙM (M = C or Si, n = 0-3) substituted N,N-dimethylaniline . Both ground and excited-state interactions were studied and their magnitudes determined. The experimental data were then used in conjunction with molecular orbital calculations to differentiate among inductive, hyperconjugative, and d-pπ interactions on the ground and excited states. Overall, the study indicates that d orbital involvement in the interactions of organosilicon substituents with unsaturated systems is much less significant than is generally held. The importance of pₛᵢ⁻π and pₛᵢ⁻π* hyperconjugative interactions between silicon σ* orbitals and π system in producing the effects of silicon substitution on unsaturated systems has become more apparent.

Methylglyoxal synthetase, which catalyzes the formation of methylglyoxal and inorganic phosphate from dihydroxyacetone phosphate, was found in extracts of Proteus vulgaris. An efficient purification procedure utilizing ion exchange column chromatography and isoelectric focusing has been developed. Homogeneity of the enzyme preparation was confirmed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and rechromatography.Two components of methylglyoxal synthetase were obtained upon isoelectric focusing. A comparison of the chemical and physical properties of the two components was carried out. The enzyme is a dimer. In the presence of inorganic phosphate, the hyperbolic saturation kinetics with dihydroxyacetone phosphate are shifted to sigmoidal.