Iodate Sensing Electrodes Based on Phosphotungstate‐ Doped‐Glutaraldehyde‐Cross‐Linked Poly‐L‐lysine Coatings

Glassy carbon electrode modified with phosphotungstate‐doped‐glutaraldehyde‐cross‐linked poly‐L ‐lysine (PLL‐GA‐PW) film was employed for iodate determination. The PLL‐GA‐PW film electrode shows excellent electrocatalytic activity towards iodate reduction with significant reduction of overpotential. Under optimized experimental conditions, a linear range from 5×10^?8 to 2.27×10^?2 M with a sensitivity of 61.75 μA mM^?1 was obtained. Possible interfering species, in iodate determination, were evaluated and the applicability of proposed sensor for iodate estimation in table salt was also demonstrated. The PLL‐GA‐PW film electrode shows fast response, wider linear range, and good selectivity and stability.     

NMR studies on 4‐thio‐5‐furan‐modified and 4‐thio‐5‐thiophene‐modified nucleosides

Systematic NMR characterization of 4‐thio‐5‐furan‐pyrimidine nucleosides or 4‐thio‐5‐thiophene‐pyrimidine nucleosides (ribonucleosides and 2′‐deoxynucleosides) was performed. All proton and carbon signals of 4‐thio‐5‐thiophene‐ribouridine and related analogues were unambiguously assigned. The orientations of the base (4‐thiouridine or its deoxy analogue) relative to the ring (furan or thiophene) are explored by a NMR approach and further supported by X‐ray crystallographic studies. The procedures presented here would be applicable to other modified nucleosides and nucleotides. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐Nitrogen‐Based Pyrotechnics: Perchlorate‐Free Red‐ and Green‐Light Illuminants Based on 5‐Aminotetrazole

Prototype testing of perchlorate‐free hand‐held signal illuminants for the US Army’s M126 A1 red‐star and M195 green‐star parachute illuminants are described. Although previous perchlorate‐free variants for these items have been developed based on high‐nitrogen compounds that are not readily available, the new formulations consist of anhydrous 5‐aminotetrazole as the suitable perchlorate replacement. Compared to the perchlorate‐containing control, the disclosed illuminants exhibited excellent stabilities toward various ignition stimuli and had excellent pyrotechnic performance. The illuminants are important from both military and civil fireworks perspectives, as the perchlorate‐free nature of the illuminants adequately address environmental concerns associated with perchlorate‐containing red‐ and green‐light‐emitting illuminants.     

Effect of the Side‐Chain‐Distribution Density on the Single‐Conjugated‐Polymer‐Chain Conformation

The spatial arrangement of the side chains of conjugated polymer backbones has critical effects on the morphology and electronic and photophysical properties of the corresponding bulk films. The effect of the side‐chain‐distribution density on the conformation at the isolated single‐polymer‐chain level was investigated with regiorandom (rra‐) poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly(3‐hexyl‐2,5‐thienylene vinylene) (P3HTV). Although pure P3HTV films are known to have low fluorescence quantum efficiencies, we observed a considerable increase in fluorescence intensity by dispersing P3HTV in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), which enabled a single‐molecule spectroscopy investigation. With single‐molecule fluorescence excitation polarization spectroscopy, we found that rra‐P3HTV single molecules form highly ordered conformations. In contrast, rra‐P3HT single molecules, display a wide variety of different conformations from isotropic to highly ordered, were observed. The experimental results are supported by extensive molecular dynamics simulations, which reveal that the reduced side‐chain‐distribution density, that is, the spaced‐out side‐chain substitution pattern, in rra‐P3HTV favors more ordered conformations compared to rra‐P3HT. Our results demonstrate that the distribution of side chains strongly affects the polymer‐chain conformation, even at the single‐molecule level, an aspect that has important implications when interpreting the macroscopic interchain packing structure exhibited by bulk polymer films.     

O‐Benzyl‐N‐tert‐butoxy­carbonyl‐N‐methyl‐l‐tyrosine

The crystal structure of the title compound, alternatively called 3‐[4‐(benzyl­oxy)­phenyl]‐2‐(N‐tert‐butoxy­car­bonyl‐N‐methyl­amino)­propi­onic acid, C₂₂H₂₇NO₅, has been studied in order to ex­amine the role of N‐methyl­ation as a determinant of peptide conformation. The conformation of the tert‐butoxy­carbonyl group is trans–trans. The side chain has a folded conformation and the two phenyl rings are effectively perpendicular to one another. The carboxyl­ate hydroxyl group and the urethane carbonyl group form a strong intermolecular O—H?O hydrogen bond.     

Nanobody‐Enabled Reverse Pharmacology on G‐Protein‐Coupled Receptors

The conformational complexity of transmembrane signaling of G‐protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) is a central hurdle for the design of screens for receptor agonists. In their basal states, GPCRs have lower affinities for agonists compared to their G‐protein‐bound active state conformations. Moreover, different agonists can stabilize distinct active receptor conformations and do not uniformly activate all cellular signaling pathways linked to a given receptor (agonist bias). Comparative fragment screens were performed on a β₂‐adrenoreceptor–nanobody fusion locked in its active‐state conformation by a G‐protein‐mimicking nanobody, and the same receptor in its basal‐state conformation. This simple biophysical assay allowed the identification and ranking of multiple novel agonists and permitted classification of the efficacy of each hit in agonist, antagonist, or inverse agonist categories, thereby opening doors to nanobody‐enabled reverse pharmacology.     

Hydrogen‐Bond‐Guided Self‐Assembly of Nucleotides on a Receptor‐Array Surface

The hydrogen‐bond‐guided self‐assembly of 5′‐ribonucleotides bearing adenine(A), cytosine (C), uracil (U), or guanine (G) bases from aqueous solution on a lipid‐like surface decorated with synthetic bis(Zn^II–cyclen) (cyclen=1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclodododecane) metal–complex receptor sites is described. The process was studied by using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. The data show that the mechanism of nucleotide binding to the 2D template is influenced by the chemistry of the bases and the pH value of the solution. In a neutral solution of pH 7.5, the process is cooperative and selective with respect to Watson–Crick pairs (A–U and C–G), which form stable double planes in accordance with the Chargaff rule. In a more acidic solution at pH 6.0, the interactions between complementary partners become non‐cooperative and the surface also stabilizes mismatched and wobble pairs due to the pH‐induced changes in the receptor coordination state. The results suggest that hydrogen bonding plays a key role in the self‐assembly of complementary nucleotides at the lipid‐like interface, and the cooperative character of the process stems from the ideal matching of the orientation and chemistry of all the interacting components with respect to each other in neutral solution.     

Combined experimental and computational modeling studies on 4‐[(2‐hydroxy‐3‐methylbenzylidene) amino]‐1,5‐dimethyl‐2‐phenyl‐1,2‐dihydro‐3H‐pyrazol‐3‐one

The Schiff base compound, 4‐[(2‐hydroxy‐3‐methylbenzylidene)amino]‐1,5‐dimethyl‐2‐phenyl‐1,2‐dihydro‐3H‐pyrazol‐3‐one, has been synthesized and characterized by IR, UV–vis, and X‐ray single‐crystal determination. Molecular geometry from X‐ray experiment of the title compound in the ground state have been compared using the density functional method (B3LYP) with 6‐31G(d,p) basis set. Calculated results show that density functional theory (DFT) can well reproduce the structure of the title compound. The energetic behavior of the title compound in solvent media has been examined using B3LYP method with the 6‐31G(d,p) basis set by applying the Onsager and the polarizable continuum model (PCM). The results obtained with these methods reveal that the PCM method provided more stable structure than Onsager's method. By using TD‐DFT method, electronic absorption spectra of the title compound have been predicted and a good agreement with the TD‐DFT method and the experimental one is determined. The predicted nonlinear optical properties of the title compound are much greater than ones of urea. In addition, DFT calculations of the title compound, molecular electrostatic potential and NBO analysis were performed at B3LYP/6‐31G(d,p) level of theory. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Synthesis of Novel Fused Heterocycles Based on 6‐Amino‐4‐phenyl‐2‐thioxo‐1,2‐dihydropyridine‐3,5‐dicarbonitrile

Under phase transfer catalysis conditions, 6‐amino‐4‐phenyl‐2‐thioxo‐1,2‐dihydropyridine‐3,5‐dicarbonitrile ( 1 ) was allowed to react with halo compounds, acrylonitrile, chloroacetyl chloride, ethyl cyanoacetate, formamide, triethylorthoformate, or formic acid to give new derivatives of fused pyridines 2–22, respectively. Acetylation of compound 1 using acetic anhydride afforded product 23 , which in turn underwent intramolecular cyclization in pyridine to give the corresponding pyrido[2,3‐d]pyrimidine 24 .     

High‐molecular‐weight side‐chain liquid‐crystalline polyethers based on 4′‐cyanobiphenyl‐4‐oxy mesogenic groups

A set of poly[ω‐(4′‐cyano‐4‐biphenyloxy)alkyl‐1‐glycidylether]s were synthesized by the chemical modification of the corresponding poly(ω‐bromoalkyl‐1‐glycidylether)s with the sodium salt of 4‐cyano‐4′‐hydroxybiphenyl. New high‐molecular‐weight side‐chain liquid‐crystalline polymers were obtained with excellent yield and almost quantitative degree of modification. All side‐chain liquid‐crystalline polymers were rubbers soluble in tetrahydrofuran. The characterization by ¹H and ¹³C NMR revealed no changes in the regioregular isotactic microstructure of the starting polymer and the absence of undesirable side reactions such as deshydrobromination. The liquid crystalline behavior was analyzed by DSC and polarized optical microscopy, and mesophase assignments were confirmed by X‐ray diffraction. Polymers that had alkyl spacers with n = 2 and 4 were nematic, those that had spacers with n = 6 and 8 were nematic cybotactic, and those that had longer spacers (n = 10 and 12) were smectic C and showed some crystallization of the side alkyl chains. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3002–3012, 2004     

Experimental and quantum chemical calculational studies on N‐[4‐(3‐Methyl‐3‐phenyl‐cyclobutyl)‐thiazol‐2‐yl]‐N′‐pyridin‐3ylmethylene‐hydrazine

The title molecule, N‐[4‐(3‐Methyl‐3‐phenyl‐cyclobutyl)‐thiazol‐2‐yl]‐N′‐pyridin‐3ylmethylene‐ hydrazine (C₂₀ H₂₀ N₄ S₁), was characterized by ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, IR, UV‐visible, and X‐ray determination. In addition to the molecular geometry from X‐ray experiment, the molecular geometry, vibrational frequencies and gauge including atomic orbital ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR chemical shift values of the title compound in the ground state have been calculated using the Hartree‐Fock and density functional method (B3LYP) with 6‐31G(d, p) basis set. The calculated results show that optimized geometries can well reproduce the crystal structural parameters. By using time‐dependent density functional theory method, electronic absorption spectrum of the title compound has been predicted. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

rac‐5‐Diphenylacetyl‐2,2,4‐trimethyl‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1,5‐benzothiazepine and rac‐5‐formyl‐2,2,4‐trimethyl‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1,5‐benzothiazepine

rac‐5‐Diphenylacetyl‐2,2,4‐trimethyl‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1,5‐benzothiazepine, C₂₆H₂₇NOS, (I), and rac‐5‐formyl‐2,2,4‐trimethyl‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1,5‐benzothiazepine, C₁₃H₁₇NOS, (II), are both characterized by a planar configuration around the heterocyclic N atom. In contrast with the chair conformation of the parent benzothiazepine, which has no substituents at the heterocyclic N atom, the seven‐membered ring adopts a boat conformation in (I) and a conformation intermediate between boat and twist‐boat in (II). The molecules lack a symmetry plane, indicating distortions from the perfect boat or twist‐boat conformations. The supramolecular architectures are significantly different, depending in (I) on C—H...O interactions and intermolecular S...S contacts, and in (II) on a single aromatic π–π stacking interaction.     

Neue molekulare Indium‐Zinn‐Sauerstoff‐ und Indium‐Zinn‐Natrium‐Sauerstoff‐Chlor‐Cluster

Abstract. The five‐membered heteroelement cluster THF · Cl₂In(O^tBu)₃Sn reacts with the sodium stannate [Na(O^tBu)₃Sn]₂ to produce either the new oxo‐centered alkoxo cluster ClInO[Sn(O^tBu)₂]₃ ( 1 ) (in low yield) or the heteroleptic alkoxo cluster Sn(O^tBu)₃InCl₃Na[Sn(O^tBu)₂]₂ ( 2 ). X‐ray diffraction analyses reveal that in compound 1 the polycyclic entity is made of three tin atoms which together with a central oxygen atom form a trigonal, almost planar triangle, perpendicular to which a further indium atom is connected through the oxygen atom. The metal atoms thus are arranged in a Sn₃In pyramid, the edges of which are all saturated by bridging tert‐butoxy groups. The indium atom has a further chloride ligand. Compound 2 has two trigonal bipyramids as building blocks which are fused together at a six coordinate indium atom. One of the bipyramids is of the type SnO₃In with tert‐butyl groups on the oxygen atoms, while the other has the composition InCl₃Na with chlorine atoms connecting the two metals. The sodium atom in 2 has further contacts to two plus one alkoxide groups which are part of a[Sn(O^tBu)₂]₂ dimer disposing of a Sn₂O₂ central cycle. The hetero element cluster in 2 thus combines three closed entities and its skeleton SnO₃InCl₃NaO₂Sn₂O₂ consists of three different metallic and two different non‐metallic elements.     

New aliphatic poly(ester‐carbonates) based on 5‐methyl‐5‐allyloxycarbonyl‐1,3‐dioxan‐2‐one

The synthesis, characterization, and ring‐opening polymerization of a new cyclic carbonate monomer containing an allyl ester moiety, 5‐methyl‐5‐allyloxycarbonyl‐1,3‐dioxan‐2‐one (MAC), was performed for the first time. MAC was synthesized in five steps in good yield beginning from the starting material, 2,2‐bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid. Subsequent polymerization and copolymerizations of the new cyclic carbonate with rac‐lactide (rac‐LA) and ?‐caprolactone (CL) were attempted. Rac‐LA copolymerized well with MAC, but CL copolymerizations produced insoluble products. Oligomeric macroinitiators of MAC and rac‐LA were synthesized from stannous ethoxide, and both macroinitiators were used for the controlled ring‐opening polymerization of rac‐LA. The polymerization kinetics were examined by monitoring the disappearance of the characteristic C? O ring stretch of the monomer at 1240 cm^?1 with real‐time in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Postpolymerization oxidation reactions were conducted to epoxidize the unsaturated bonds of the MAC‐functionalized polymers. Epoxide‐containing polymers may allow further organic transformations with various nucleophiles, such as amines, alcohols, and carboxylic acids. NMR was used for microstructure identification of the polymers, and size exclusion chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry were used to characterize the new functionalized poly(ester‐carbonates). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1978–1991, 2003     

5‐Acetyl‐2‐amino‐6‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐4H‐pyran‐3‐carbonitrile and 2‐amino‐5‐benzoyl‐6‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐4H‐pyran‐3‐carbonitrile acetonitrile solvate

The syntheses, X‐ray structural investigations and calculations of the conformational preferences of the carbonyl substituent with respect to the pyran ring have been carried out for the two title compounds, viz. C₁₅H₁₄N₂O₂, (II), and C₂₀H₁₆N₂O₂·C₂H₃N, (III), respectively. In both mol­ecules, the heterocyclic ring adopts a flattened boat conformation. In (II), the carbonyl group and a double bond of the heterocyclic ring are syn, but in (III) they are anti. The carbonyl group forms a short contact with a methyl group H atom in (II). The dihedral angles between the pseudo‐axial phenyl substituent and the flat part of the pyran ring are 92.7 (1) and 93.2 (1)° in (II) and (III), respectively. In the crystal structure of (II), inter­molecular N—H⋯N and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into a sheet along the (103) plane, while in (III), they link the mol­ecules into ribbons along the a axis.     

Studies on Properties of Tetra‐p‐nitro‐tetra‐O‐alkylcalix[4]arenes

Ibis paper reports the properties of the novel tetra‐p‐nitro‐tetra‐O‐alkyl‐calix[4]arenes (alkyl= n‐C₄H₉, 1; n‐C₈H₁₇ 2; n‐C₁₂H₂₅, 3; n‐C₁₆H₃₃, 4). X‐ray crystallographic analysis and ¹H NMR revealed that they exist as pinched‐cone conformation in crystal or cone conformation in solution. EFISH experiments at 1064 nm in CHCl₃, indicated that tetra‐p‐nitro‐tetra‐O‐butyl‐calix[4]arene (1) has higher hyperpolarizability β, values than the corresponding reference compound p‐nitro‐phenyl butyl ether, without red shift of the charge transfer band. Compounds 2, 3 and 4 with longer alkyl chains can form monolayer at the air/water.     

Report on an Unusual Cascade Reaction between Azulenes and 2,3‐Dichloro‐5,6‐dicyano‐1,4‐benzoquinone (=4,5‐Dichloro‐3,6‐dioxocyclohexa‐1,4‐diene‐1,2‐dicarbonitrile; DDQ)

The oxidation of 1‐(3,8‐dimethylazulen‐1‐yl)alkan‐1‐ones 1 with 2,3‐dichloro‐5,6‐dicyano‐1,4‐benzoquinone (=4,5‐dichloro‐3,6‐dioxocyclohexa‐1,4‐diene‐1,2‐dicarbonitrile; DDQ) in acetone/H₂O mixtures at room temperature does not only lead to the corresponding azulene‐1‐carboxaldehydes 2 but also, in small amounts, to three further products (Tables 1 and 2). The structures of the additional products 3 – 5 were solved spectroscopically, and that of 3a also by an X‐ray crystal‐structure analysis (Fig. 1). It is demonstrated that the bis(azulenylmethyl)‐substituted DDQ derivatives 5 yield on methanolysis or hydrolysis precursors, which in a cascade of reactions rearrange under loss of HCl into the pentacyclic compounds 3 (Schemes 4 and 7). The found 1,1′‐[carbonylbis(8‐methylazulene‐3,1‐diyl)]bis[ethanones] 4 are the result of further oxidation of the azulene‐1‐carboxaldehydes 2 to the corresponding azulene‐1‐carboxylic acids (Schemes 9 and 10).