Previous Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Research Articles

Solution Tetrahydrobiopterin Radical vs. the Enzyme-Bound Radical: A Paramagnetic Reconciliation

Background: Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) catalyzes the formation of nitric oxide (NO) and citrulline from L-arginine, dioxygen (O2), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) in a two-step reaction, with the enzyme-bound intermediate Nω-hydroxy-L-arginine (NHA). Previous electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies of NOS reaction have shown that (6R, 1'R, 2'S)-6-(l',2'-dihydroxypropyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterin (H4B) acts as a single electron donor in both steps of the reaction, resulting in the transient generation of a tetrahydropterin cation radical (H4B•+). Results: H4B•+can also be chemically generated in strongly acidic solutions. EPR studies of chemically generated H4B•+and similar pterin radicals date back to the 1960s. However, the reported paramagnetic parameters of H4B•+in NOS do not seem to match the corresponding reported parameters for either H4B•+or other pterin centered radicals chemically generated in solution. In particular, the rather isotropic hyperfine coupling of ca. 45 MHz for 1H6 of H4B•+in NOS is at least 15 MHz larger than that of H4B•+ or any other previously studies pterin solution radical. In the work reported here, a combination of 9.5 - 9.8 GHz contentious wave (cw-) EPR, 34GHz 1H electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR), spectral simulation and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were used to investigate this seeming discrepancy. Conclusion: We demonstrated that the differences in the paramagnetic parameters of the chemically generated H4B radicals in solutions and those of the H4B radicals in NOS are consistent with the presence of two different conformers of the same cation radical in the two media.

Effect of the Lattice Field on the Electronic Structure and Dynamics of Copper-Hexahydrate in Tutton Salts.

Previous structural and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) results are combined with new theoretical chemistry calculations on a series of copper-containing Tutton salts to investigate the influence of the host crystal electric field on the copper unpaired wave function and dynamics. Density functional theory (DFT) computations were performed on clusters centered on the host structure metal-hexahydrate complex to provide a model of atomic charges, which in turn were used to determine the electric fields and potentials at points along coordinate bonds of the complex. A significantly higher electric potential at the metal-water bonds is found for those Tutton salt systems having a greater copper EPR temperature dependency. Such a dependency has long been interpreted to arise from the averaging of tensor coupling parameters of the copper-hexahydrate complex due to a dynamic Jahn-Teller effect. However, the correlation found here reinforces a recent view that the coupling of the copper complex to the surrounding crystal lattice is the major determinant of these dynamics. The lattice potentials lack any significant temperature dependency and thus do not appear to be responsible for changes in the EPR patterns. A trend also appears between unbalanced spin in the compressed d-orbital lobe of the unpaired wave function and the magnitude of the potential. Hence, the lattice field is an important factor in defining both the electronic and dynamic characteristics of the copper-hexahydrate complex in these systems.

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization with Vanadium(IV) Metal Centers

Summary Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) harnesses the large polarization of electron spins to dramatically increase nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) sensitivity. This study expands the scope of DNP beyond its traditional focus on hyperpolarizing the solvent network using exogenous polarizing agents (PAs). We introduce 1H DNP with endogenous V4+ centers positioned in a set of vanadyl complexes with tunable V4+-1H distances. We traced the polarization transfer from V4+ to 1H spins, specifically differentiating between direct V4+-1Hs polarization transfer and the 1H spin-diffusion-mediated bulk solvent 1H polarization buildup and illuminated the effect of the V4+-1H distance on these processes. These results deepen our understanding of polarization pathways and expand the catalog of PAs to broad-line transition metals. This study establishes crucial first steps toward employing strategically positioned endogenous paramagnetic metal centers for DNP and the conceptual framework of hyperfine DNP spectroscopy that merges both spatial and chemical diagnosis of target nuclear spins.

HYSCORE Insights into the Distribution of the Unpaired Spin Density in an Engineered CuA Site in Azurin and Its His120Gly Variant.

A comparative study of the 1H and 14N hyperfine interactions between the CuA site in an engineered CuA center in azurin (WT-CuAAz) and its His120Gly variant (H120G-CuAAz) using the two-dimensional ESEEM technique, HYSCORE, is reported. HYSCORE spectroscopy has clarified conflicting results in previous electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) studies and found clear differences between the two CuA azurins. Specifically, a hyperfine coupling AN⊥ of 15.3 MHz was determined for the first time from the frequencies of double-quantum transitions of 14N histidine nitrogens coordinated to CuA in WT-CuAAz. In contrast, such coupling was not observed in the spectra of H120G-CuAAz, indicating at least a several megahertz increase in AN⊥ for the coordinated nitrogen in this variant. In addition, 14N HYSCORE spectra of WT-CuAAz show interaction with only one type of weakly coupled nitrogen assigned to the remote Nε atom of coordinated imidazole residues based on the quadrupole coupling constant ( e2 Qq/4 h) of ∼0.4 MHz. The spectrum of H120G-CuAAz resolves additional features typical for backbone peptide nitrogens with larger e2 Qq/4 h values of ∼0.7 MHz. Hyperfine couplings with these nitrogens vary between ∼0.4 and 0.7 MHz. In addition, the two resolved cross-peaks from Cβ protons in H120G-CuAAz display only ∼1 MHz shifts relative to the corresponding peaks in WT-CuAAz. These new findings have provided the first experimental evidence of the previous density functional theory analysis that predicted changes in the delocalized electron spin population of ∼0.02-0.03 (i.e., ∼10%) on copper and sulfur atoms of the CuA center in H120 variants relative to WT-CuAAz and resolved contradicting results between EPR and ENDOR studies of the valence distribution in CuAAz and its variants.

Nuclear and Electron Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopies of Atomically Precise Gold Nanoclusters

Atomically precise gold nanoclusters display properties that are unseen in larger nanoparticles. When the number of gold atoms is sufficiently small, the clusters exhibit molecular properties. Their study requires extensive use of classic molecular physical chemistry and, thus, methods such as vibrational spectroscopies, electrochemistry, density functional theory and molecular dynamics calculations, and of course nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. NMR and EPR studies have been mostly carried out on the benchmark, stable molecules Au25(SR)18, Au38(SR)24, Au102(SR)44, and Au144(SR)60 (where SR = thiolate). In this Account, we showcase examples primarily taken from our previous and ongoing NMR and EPR studies, which we hope will trigger further interest in the use of these sensitive, though often underutilized, techniques. Indeed, 1D and 2D NMR spectra of pure, atomically precise clusters can be very detailed and informative. Molecular clusters are molecules and, thus, have discrete energy levels and undergo stepwise oxidation or reduction. The effect of the charge state on the chemical shifts and line shapes is a function of the ligand type (ligands differ due to specific bonds with different Au atom types) and the position of the chemical group along the ligand backbone: for groups near the Au core, they can be very dramatic. Ligand-protected gold clusters are hard-soft molecules where a hard metal core is surrounded by a dynamic molecular layer. The latter provides a nanoenvironment that interfaces the cluster core with the surrounding environment and can be permeated by molecules and ions. NMR spectroscopy is especially useful to assess its structure. For example, the data show that whereas long alkanethiolates form bundles, shorter chains exhibit more conformational freedom and are quite folded. NMR spectroscopy allows studying diastereotopic effects and provides information on possible hydrogen bonds of ligands with sulfur or surface gold atoms. EPR spectroscopy is a very precise technique to check and characterize the magnetic state of gold clusters or clusters doped with foreign-metal atoms. Electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) provides a powerful tool to assess the interaction of an unpaired electron with nuclei, as we showed for 197Au and 1H. It can be used as a sensitive probe of the spin-density distribution in nanoclusters: for example, it showed that the singly occupied molecular orbital may span outside the Au core by nearly 6 Å. Solid-state EPR spectroscopy has provided compelling evidence that the specific ligands and the crystallinity degree are very important factors in determining the interactions between clusters in the solid state. Depending on the condition, paramagnetic, superparamagnetic, ferromagnetic, or antiferromagnetic behavior can be observed. Time-resolved EPR was successfully tested to determine the efficiency of singlet-oxygen generation via sensitization of Au25 clusters. This Account thus demonstrates some of the remarkable insights that can be gained into the properties of atomically precise clusters through detailed NMR and EPR studies.

Resonance Raman, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, and Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopic Investigation of Diheme Cytochrome c Peroxidases from Nitrosomonas europaea and Shewanella oneidensis.

Cytochrome c peroxidases (bCcPs) are diheme enzymes required for the reduction of H2O2 to water in bacteria. There are two classes of bCcPs: one is active in the diferric form (constitutively active), and the other requires the reduction of the high-potential heme (H-heme) before catalysis commences (reductively activated) at the low-potential heme (L-heme). To improve our understanding of the mechanisms and heme electronic structures of these different bCcPs, a constitutively active bCcP from Nitrosomonas europaea ( NeCcP) and a reductively activated bCcP from Shewanella oneidensis ( SoCcP) were characterized in both the diferric and semireduced states by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), resonance Raman (rRaman), and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy. In contrast to some previous crystallographic studies, EPR and rRaman spectra do not indicate the presence of significant amounts of a five-coordinate, high-spin ferric heme in NeCcP or SoCcP in either the diferric or semireduced state in solution. This observation points toward a mechanism of activation in which the active site L-heme is not in a static, five-coordinate state but where the activation is more subtle and likely involves formation of a six-coordinate hydroxo complex, which could then react with hydrogen peroxide in an acid-base-type reaction to create Compound 0, the ferric hydroperoxo complex. This mechanism lies in stark contrast to the diheme enzyme MauG that exhibits a static, five-coordinate open heme site at the peroxidatic heme and that forms a more stable FeIV═O intermediate.

EPR-Derived Structure of a Paramagnetic Intermediate Generated by Biotin Synthase BioB.

Biotin (vitamin B7) is an enzyme cofactor required by organisms from all branches of life but synthesized only in microbes and plants. In the final step of biotin biosynthesis, a radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzyme, biotin synthase (BioB), converts the substrate dethiobiotin to biotin through the stepwise formation of two C-S bonds. Previous electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic studies identified a semistable intermediate in the formation of the first C-S bond as 9-mercaptodethiobiotin linked to a paramagnetic [2Fe-2S] cluster through one of its bridging sulfides. Herein, we report orientation-selected pulse EPR spectroscopic results that reveal hyperfine interactions between the [2Fe-2S] cluster and a number of magnetic nuclei (e.g., 57Fe, 15N, 13C, and 2H) introduced in a site-specific manner via biosynthetic methods. Combining these results with quantum chemical modeling gives a structural model of the intermediate showing that C6, the target of the second hydrogen-atom abstraction, is now in close proximity to the nascent thioether sulfur and is ideally positioned for the second C-S bond forming event.

Pulse EPR and ENDOR Study of Manganese Doped [(CH3)2NH2][Zn(HCOO)3] Hybrid Perovskite Framework

We present a pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and electron–nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) study of a manganese-doped [(CH3)2NH2][Zn(HCOO)3] dense metal–organic framework which exhibits a structural phase transition at 163 K. The echo-detected field sweep Mn2+ EPR spectrum of the low-temperature phase is in a perfect agreement with the previous continuous-wave EPR results, while the spectrum of the disordered phase reveals a significant EPR transition-dependent relaxation. The 1H ENDOR pattern indicates several protons in the vicinity of the Mn2+ ion. The experimental ENDOR spectrum is successfully simulated using the proton hyperfine tensors calculated by the density functional theory. A multifrequency electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy shows a peculiar signal which is unaffected by the external magnetic field. The modulation depth of this signal starts to decrease above 40 K, coinciding with the temperature at which the methyl groups of the (CH3)2NH2+ cations start t...

A study of the exchangeable protons in the QA site of photosystem II

Plants have developed the only biological system capable of oxidizing water. Through the oxidation of water plants are able to convert light energy into chemical energy. This water oxidation is catalyzed by photosystem II (PSII) at a site called the oxygen‐evolving complex (OEC). The OEC consists of a tetranuclear manganese cluster and is the only known biological system capable of oxidizing water (Blakenship 2001).Removal of the manganese cluster allows for study of the mechanism called photoactivation, a light‐and dark‐dependent process by which the OEC assembles. Further study of this process can provide great detail as to repair of PSII following inhibition (G. Dismukes 2008). Removal of the manganese cluster and associated extrinsic proteins also allows unhindered exploration of electron transfer during photochemical events. Plastoquinone A (QA) and plastoquinone B (QB) are electron carriers found in PSII. Despite sharing the same molecular structure, QA and QB exhibit unique redox properties determined by their protein environment. QA participates only in one‐electron transfers, transiently forming paramagnetic semiquinone QA−•(SQA), whereas QB function as a two‐electron gate. Hydrogen bonding from nearby amino acids residues is believed to be partly responsible for such differences in redox properties due to redistribution of electron density. High‐resolution electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy has the ability to measure magnetic interactions between unpaired electrons and nearby nuclei and provide information about the strength of these interactions (Rutherford, A. W. 1999).Previous pulsed EPR studies established the formation of the H‐bonds between carbonyl oxygens of the QA−• and an amide nitrogen from the protein backbone, and the amino nitrogen, Nd, of an imidazole (Rutherford; Lakshmi). Two‐dimensional pulsed EPR of the SQA in Mn depleted, CN‐treated PSII at pH 9.8, resolved five pairs of cross‐peaks from different types of protons (Lakshmi). They were assigned to the methyl, β‐methylene, and ring protons of the SQA and two protons of the H‐bonds. Unfortunately, these assignments were not verified by the influence of 1H2O/2H2O exchange on the spectra. As a consequence, the assignment of the couplings is not consistent with the values obtained in the DFT calculations (T.‐J. Lin and P. J. O'Malley 2011). In this work we performed 2D pulsed EPR with the SQA in the PS II samples in 1H2O and 2H2O buffered solution in order to unambiguously identify contribution of the exchangeable protons and to determine corresponding hyperfine couplings. These results form a more supported basis for comparison with the results of theoretical computations.Support or Funding InformationPulsed EPR studies were supported by DE‐FG02‐08ER15960 Grant from Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Sciences, US DOE (S.A.D.), and NCRR/NIH Grants S10‐RR15878 and S10‐RR025438 for pulsed EPR instrumentation. Continuous wave EPR studies were supported by NSF‐MRI CHE‐1229498.

Neutron and X-ray investigations of the Jahn–Teller switch in partially deuterated ammonium copper Tutton salt, (NH4)2[Cu(H2O)6](SO4)2

The structural phase transition accompanied by a Jahn–Teller switch has been studied over a range of H/D ratios in (NH4)2[Cu(H2O)6](SO4)2 (ACTS). In particular, single-crystal neutron diffraction investigations of crystals with deuteration in the range 50 to 82% are shown to be consistent with previous electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments exhibiting a phase boundary at 50% deuteration under ambient pressure. Polycrystalline samples show that the two phases can co-exist. In addition, single-crystal neutron and polycrystalline X-ray diffraction pressure experiments show a shift to lower pressure at 60% deuteration versus previous measurements at 100% deuteration.

Multiple Magnetization Reversal Channels Observed in a 3d-4f Single Molecule Magnet

The present study discusses the magnetic dynamics of a previously reported cyanide bridged 3d-4f dinuclear DyIIICoIII complex. Following the axial anisotropy suggested by previous Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy (EPR) analysis, the complex turned out to show slow relaxation of the magnetization at cryogenic temperature, and this was studied in different temperature and field regimes. The existence of multichannel relaxation pathways that reverse the magnetization was clearly disclosed: a tentative analysis suggested that these channels can be triggered and controlled as a function of applied static magnetic field and temperature. Persistent evidence of a temperature independent process even at higher fields, attributable to quantum tunneling, is discussed, while the temperature dependent dynamics is apparently governed by an Orbach process. The broad distribution of relaxation rates evidenced by the ac susceptibility measurements suggest a relevant role of the intermolecular interactions in this system.

Identifying Performance Limiting Defects in Silicon Carbide pn-Junctions: A Theoretical Study

Dopant implantation is a high energy process which causes a significant damage to the crystal lattice and is usually accompanied by a post implantation anneal to repair the structure. Defects created in these processes may also persist in fully processed devices. Previous electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and EDMR studies have identified a series of nitrogen related defect complexes in N implanted silicon carbide (SiC) wafers.[1–3] This study examines the formation energy, charge transition levels and barriers to interconversion of two such defects: NCVSi and the NSiVC. The NCVSi center is favoured in a variety of charge states for a wide range of Fermi level positions. We found, however, that for Fermi level positions close to the valence band of 4H-SiC the NCVSi center is a favoured conformation with barriers to rearrangement of +1.2 eV and +3.8 eV in the neutral and +2 charge states, respectively.

Distinct helix propensities and membrane interactions of human and rat IAPP(1-19) monomers in anionic lipid bilayers.

Islet amyloid polypeptide, IAPP or amylin, is a 37-residue peptide hormone coexpressed with insulin by pancreatic β-cells. The aggregation of human IAPP (hIAPP) into amyloid deposits is associated with type II diabetes. Substantial evidence suggests that the interaction of anionic membranes with hIAPP may facilitate peptide aggregation and the N-terminal 1-19 fragment (IAPP(1-19)) plays an important role in peptide-membrane interaction. As a first step to understand how structural differences between human and rat IAPP peptides in membranes may influence the later oligomerization process, we have investigated the structures and orientations of hIAPP(1-19) and the less toxic rIAPP(1-19) (i.e., the H18R mutant of hIAPP(1-19)) monomers in anionic POPG bilayers by performing replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulations. On the basis of ∼20 μs REMD simulations started from a random coil conformation of the peptide placed in water, we find that unfolded h(r)IAPP(1-19) can insert into the bilayers and the membrane-bound peptide stays mainly at the lipid head-tail interface. hIAPP(1-19) displays higher helix propensity than rIAPP(1-19), especially in the L12-L16 region. The helix is oriented parallel to the bilayer surface and buried in the membrane 0.3-0.8 nm below the phosphorus atoms, consistent with previous electron paramagnetic resonance data. The helical conformation is an amphiphilic helix with its hydrophilic and hydrophobic faces pointing, respectively, to the lipid head and tail regions. The H18R substitution enhances the electrostatic interactions of IAPP(1-19) with the membrane, while it weakens the intrapeptide interactions crucial for helix formation, thus leading to lower helix propensity of rIAPP(1-19). Implications of our simulation results on the membrane-mediated IAPP(1-19) oligomerization are discussed.

Copper dynamics in doped metal-bis(histidine) complexes.

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) temperature-dependent measurements were undertaken on three Cu(II)-doped metal-histidine complexes to assess copper site dynamic behavior. Previous single-crystal EPR analysis on two of these, zinc d,l-histidine pentahydrate (ZnDLH) and bis(l-histidinato)cadmium dihydrate (CdLH), found that doped Cu(2+) can be modeled as hopping between two neighboring conformational states, with a temperature-dependent rate becoming large enough at room temperature to produce an "averaged" spectrum. By comparing spectra from their powdered form, we show that Cu(2+) doped into a third system, Cd(2+)-d,l-histidine (CdDLH), also exhibits temperature-dependent EPR with features indicating a similar motional-averaging process. In addition, the change of g and copper hyperfine parameters from low to high temperature for CdDLH resembles that in ZnDLH, whereas the change in these parameters for CdLH is like that found in a fourth copper-doped system, zinc l-histidine dihydrate (ZnLH). Taken together, these results suggest that averaging motion between neighboring copper sites is common in metal-bis(histidine) compounds. More detailed studies on biological models are thus warranted, especially because they reveal unique relationships between structure, dynamic processes, and stability and can lead to a better understanding of the role played by site flexibility in copper proteins.

Characterizing the Dynamics of α-Synuclein Oligomers Using Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Monitored by Mass Spectrometry

Soluble oligomers formed by α-synuclein (αSN) are suspected to play a central role in neuronal cell death during Parkinson's disease. While studies have probed the surface structure of these oligomers, little is known about the backbone dynamics of αSN when they form soluble oligomers. Using hydrogen/deuterium exchange monitored by mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), we have analyzed the structural dynamics of soluble αSN oligomers. The analyzed oligomers were metastable, slowly dissociating to monomers over a period of 21 days, after excess monomer had been removed. The C-terminal region of αSN (residues 94-140) underwent isotopic exchange very rapidly, demonstrating a highly dynamic region in the oligomeric state. Three regions (residues 4-17, 39-54, and 70-89) were strongly protected against isotopic exchange in the oligomers, indicating the presence of a stable hydrogen-bonded or solvent-shielded structure. The protected regions were interspersed by two somewhat more dynamic regions (residues 18-38 and 55-70). In the oligomeric state, the isotopic exchange pattern of the region of residues 35-95 of αSN corresponded well with previous nuclear magnetic resonance and electron paramagnetic resonance analyses performed on αSN fibrils and indicated a possible zipperlike maturation mechanism for αSN aggregates. We find the protected N-terminus (residues 4-17) to be of particular interest, as this region has previously been observed to be highly dynamic for both monomeric and fibrillar αSN. This region has mainly been described in relation to membrane binding of αSN, and structuring may be important in relation to disease.

Identification of Proximal and Distal Axial Ligands in Leishmania major Pseudoperoxidase

Previous optical and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic studies of the newly discovered peroxynitrite scavenging pseudoperoxidase from Leishmania major (LmPP) suggested that ferric LmPP contained a six-coordinate low-spin (6cLS) heme with a thiolate ligand, presumably a cysteine, bound to its heme iron. To identify the axial ligands of LmPP, we exploit a systematic mutational analysis of potential heme ligands. On the basis of UV-visible and EPR spectroscopy, we report that the substitution of the proximal His206 with alanine in LmPP alters the 6cLS to a five-coordinate high spin (5cHS) form at pH 4.0 that has a spectrum characteristic of a Cys-ligated 5cHS derivative. The electronic absorption and EPR analysis of all alanine-substituted Cys and Met single mutants establish that when Cys107 is replaced with alanine, a new species appears that has a spectrum characteristic of a histidine-ligated 5cHS derivative at pH 4.0. Together, these results suggest that His206 and Cys107 act as the proximal and distal axial ligands in ferric LmPP, respectively. However, the electronic properties of reduced wild-type LmPP are similar to those of known 5cHS His-ligated heme proteins at pH 8.8, indicating that the thiolate bond was broken upon reduction. Furthermore, the wild-type protein was only partially reduced at pH 4.0, but the E105L mutant was completely reduced to form a 5cHS ferrous heme. These results imply that the presence of an acidic residue near the distal site may prevent reduction of the heme iron at acidic pH.

Magnetic order and low-energy excitations in the quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet CuSe2O5with staggered fields

Ground-state and low-energy excitations of the quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet CuSe${}_{2}$O${}_{5}$ where finite interchain interactions promote long-range antiferromagnetic order below ${T}_{N}=17$ K, were experimentally studied using bulk magnetization, neutron diffraction, muon spin relaxation, and antiferromagnetic resonance measurements. The derived spin-canted structure is characterized by the magnetic propagation vector $\mathbf{k}=(1,0,0)$ and the reduced magnetic moment $\mathbit{m}=[0.13(7),0.50(1),0.00(8)]{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$. The values of the magnetic anisotropies determined from the field and angular dependencies of the antiferromagnetic resonance comply well with a previous electron paramagnetic resonance study and correctly account for the observed magnetic ground state and spin-flop transition.

Room Temperature Radiation Products in Trehalose Single Crystals: EMR and DFT Analysis

Radicals generated in trehalose single crystals by X radiation at room temperature were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) and ENDOR-induced EPR measurements, together with periodic density functional theory calculations. In the first days after irradiation, three radical species (I1, I2 and I3) were detected, two of which (I1 and I2) dominate the EPR spectrum and could be identified as H-abstracted species centered at C3' (I1) and C2 (I2), the latter with additional formation of a carbonyl group at C3. Annealing the sample at 40 °C for 3 days or storing it in ambient conditions for three months resulted in another, more stable EPR spectrum. Two major species could be characterized in this stage (S1 and S2), only one of which was tentatively identified as an H-abstracted, C2-centered species (S1). Our findings disagree with a previous EPR study [Gräslund and Löfroth (23)] on several accounts. This work stresses the need for caution when interpreting composite EPR spectra and thermally induced spectral changes of radiation-induced species, even in these relatively simple carbohydrates. It also provides further evidence that the pathways for radiation damage critically depend on the specific conformation of a molecule and its environment, but also that carbonyl group formation is a common process in the radiation chemistry of sugars and related compounds.

Micro‐PIXE Geochemical Fingerprinting of Nephrite Neolithic Artifacts from Southwest Bulgaria

Neolithic artifacts made of nephrite, □Ca2(Fe,Mg)5Si8O22(OH)2, are found at prehistoric settlements in Bulgaria. This study investigates these objects based on particle induced X‐ray emission using a scanning nuclear microprobe (micro‐PIXE technique). Seven nephrite artifacts from the Neolithic sites of Kovachevo, Bulgarchevo and Galabnik in southwest Bulgaria were analyzed to quantify their composition and to establish if a correlation exists between the distribution of major and trace elements, color, impurities, and texture. The nephrite artifacts are tremolite in composition, with a proposed ultrabasic origin. Based on the geochemical data obtained by micro‐PIXE, we divide the artifacts into Group 1 objects from the Kovachevo site and Group 2 objects from the Galabnik and Bulgarchevo sites. The analytical data and microprobe analyses are compared with geochemical data of nephrite from across the globe. The results are in a good agreement with previous electron microprobe and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy data. Our study provides a better understanding of the mineralogy and geochemistry of nephrite artifacts and helps to address questions regarding origin and the distribution of such materials in Bulgaria and other Balkan countries.

NATURE OF HEAVY METALS IN HEMIMORPHITE: A CATION-EXCHANGE AND SINGLE-CRYSTAL EPR STUDY

Hemimorphite, a zeolite-like mineral commonly present in supergene non-sulfide Zn deposits and Zn mine tailings, is known to contain elevated levels of As, Cd, Cu and Pb. Cation-exchange experiments of a natural hemimorphite (Mapimi, Durango, Mexico) with 0.1 M CaCl 2 solution at 110 oC show that As and Cu are retained, whereas Cd and Pb are readily exchanged. The retention of As is consistent with previous single-crystal electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) results that showed its occurrence as the substitutional As 5+ ion at the Si site. Single-crystal EPR spectra of hemimorphite from the M’Fouati Pb-Zn mine (Reneville, Congo), measured at 120 K and 295 K, show a Cu 2+ center. The best-fit spin Hamiltonian parameters g , A ( 63 Cu), P ( 63 Cu) and A ( 1 H) of this center at 120 K demonstrate that Cu 2+ resides at the tetrahedral Zn site, not in the channels as suggested by a previous powder EPR study. Cadmium and Pb in hemimorphite are probably present in the channels; this would account for their contrasting behavior from As and Cu during the cation-exchange experiments. However, single-crystal EPR spectra of ten samples of hemimorphite from various Pb-Zn deposits, including those taken after gamma-ray irradiation for doses up to 55 kGy, did not detect any paramagnetic Cd or Pb centers.