Polymorphism of ceramide 3. Part 2: a vibrational spectroscopic and X-ray powder diffraction investigation of N-octadecanoyl phytosphingosine and the analogous specifically deuterated d(35) derivative

In order to characterize the arrangements of the hydrocarbon chains of ceramide 3, the thermotropic phase behaviour of the ceramides N-octadecanoylphytosphingosine (CER3) and its chain deuterated derivative N-(d(35)-octadecanoyl)phytosphingosine (d(35)CER3) was studied by means of X-ray powder diffraction, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. CER3 and d(35)CER3 exhibit an identical thermotropic polymorphism involving three different crystalline phases. The selective deuteration of the fatty acid chain enables to distinguish the sphingoid part from the fatty acid part by means of FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. It could be shown that both hydrocarbon chains are arranged in different subcells. Temperature dependent Raman measurements elucidate simultaneously the changes in the trans/gauche ratios and the packing of both the hydrocarbon chains of the fatty acid and of the sphingoid part. The phase behaviour of CER3 and d(35)CER3, both dry and hydrated, was investigated.     

Rat cerebellar granule cells in culture associate and metabolize differently exogenous GM1 ganglioside molecular species containing a C18 or C20 long chain base

A study has been made of the association properties of the two GM1 ganglioside molecular species GM1-C₁₈ and GM1-C₂₀ (containing C₁₈ and C₂₀ long chain bases, respectively) to rat cerebellar granule cells in culture. Both gangliosides recognized, to the same extent, and associated with them to give a form of association, the trypsin-labile form. This form was removed by treatment with trypsin enzyme. Both gangliosides associated stably with the cells to become components of the cell membranes. Although similar amounts of the two gangliosides entered the cells, being then metabolized, the time course of the association was different for the two gangliosides: after 15 h of ganglioside-cell incubation the amount of GM1-C₁₈ inserted into the cell membrane was 2.43 times higher than that of GM1-C₂₀.     

Preparation and structural organisation of heteroleptic tetraphenylantimony(V) complexes comprising unidentately and bidentately coordinated O,O′-dialkyldithiophosphate groups: Multinuclear (C, P) CP/MAS NMR and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies

O,O′-dipropyldithiophosphate and O,O′-di-iso-butyldithiophosphate (Dtph) tetraphenylantimony(V) complexes of the general formula [Sb(C₆H₅)₄{S₂P(OR)₂}] (R = C₃H₇, i-C₄H₉) were prepared and studied by means of ¹³C, ³¹P CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Distorted octahedral and trigonal bipyramidal molecular structures have been established for prepared complexes. These unexpected structural distinctions between chemically related compounds are defined by the principally different coordination modes of O,O′-dipropyldithiophosphate and O,O′-di-iso-butyldithiophosphate ligands in their molecular structures (i.e., S,S′-bidentate chelating and S-unidentately coordinated, respectively). To characterise quantitatively phosphorus sites in both species of dithiophosphate ligands, ³¹P chemical shift anisotropy parameters (δ_aniso and η) were calculated from spinning sideband manifolds in MAS NMR spectra. The ³¹P chemical shift tensors for the bidentate chelating and unidentately coordinated dithiophosphate ligands display a profoundly rhombic and nearly axially symmetric characters, respectively.