Condensation of a nickel tetranuclear cubane into a heptanuclear single-molecule magnet

A tetranuclear complex, [Ni(4)], with a cubane-like structure synthesized from hexafluoroacetylacetone gives, after drying at high temperature and treatment with pyridine, a heptanuclear nickel(II) complex, [Ni(7)]. The crystal structures of both compounds have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Their magnetic properties have been studied by SQUID and μ-SQUID magnetometry as well as by high-frequency EPR spectroscopy (HF-EPR). For [Ni(4)], the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility can be fitted by taking into account strong Ni···Ni ferromagnetic interactions which lead to an S = 4 ground-state spin, in good agreement with the HF-EPR study. For [Ni(7)], the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility shows that the Ni···Ni ferromagnetic interactions are kept within the metal core. However, it was not possible to fit this with a clear set of parameters, and the ground-state spin was undetermined. The field dependence of the magnetization indicates an S = 7 ground-state spin at high field. In contrast, the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility indicates a ground-state spin of S = 6 or even S = 5. These results agree with complicated high-frequency EPR spectra which have been ascribed to the superposition of signals from the ground spin multiplet and from an excited spin multiplet very close in energy, with the excited state having a larger S value than the ground state. Very low temperature studies show that only the heptanuclear complex behaves as a single-molecule magnet.     

Relation between the gel structure and the mobility of tracers in globular protein gels

Diffusion of fluorescent-labeled dextran with different molecular weights was investigated in β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) solutions and gels over a wide range of salt and protein concentrations at pH 7 by combining confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) with fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Effects of the protein concentration, the salt concentration and the tracer size were investigated in detail. Diffusion in turbid heterogeneous gels formed at 0.2 M NaCl depended weakly on the probe size and the protein concentration and remained close to that in unheated solutions. A strong decrease of the diffusion coefficient with increasing tracer size and protein concentration was observed in more homogeneous gels formed at lower salt concentrations. Larger dextran chains were trapped in transparent gels formed at NaCl concentration below 0.1 M. The present investigation complements an earlier study of tracer diffusion of larger spherical probes in β-lg gels using multi-particle tracking.     

ESI-MS studies of the dehydrogenative Heck reaction of furans with acrylates using benzoquinone as the reoxidant and DMSO as the solvent

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, subsequent MS/MS, and high-resolution mass spectrometry were used to study the dehydrogenative Heck reaction of 2-alkylfurans 1 with acrylates 2, using [Pd(OAc)(2)](3) as the precatalyst, benzoquinone (BQ) as the stoichiometric oxidant, and a mixture of DMSO and AcOH as the solvent. Complexation of [Pd(OAc)(2)](3) by DMSO afforded mononuclear and dinuclear Pd(II) species, which proved to be active catalysts for the C-H activation of 1. Mononuclear and dinuclear Pd(II) species seem also to be involved in the insertion of 2 into the furyl-Pd bond. The C-H activation of 2 and DMSO by mononuclear complexes was observed. The reaction leads to 5,5'-dialkyl-2,2'-bifuran 4 as a byproduct. Bifuryl-palladium, which is an intermediate in the formation of 4, showing the coordination of BQ, was obtained and characterized.     

Acceleration of Petasis reactions of salicylaldehyde derivatives with molecular sieves

Mild reaction conditions for Petasis reactions of substituted salicylaldehydes with various amines and arylboronic acids in the presence of molecular sieves were developed. Molecular sieves (MS) significantly accelerated the reaction rates and drove the reactions to high conversions. The conditions were applied to the synthesis of the core structure of BIIB042, a γ-secretase modulator, without stereochemical erosion of a stereogenic center in the salicylaldehyde intermediate.     

Carotid atherosclerotic plaques: proteomics study after a low-abundance protein enrichment step

Atherosclerosis is one of the most important causes of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. Although phenotypic differentiation between stable and unstable plaques is currently possible, proteomic analysis of the atherosclerotic plaque could offer a global view of the atherosclerosis pathology. With the objective to highlight the detection of low-abundance proteins, we reduced the dynamic range of proteins by combinatorial peptide ligand library treatment of human carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques. After enrichment step, abundance of major proteins was decreased, revealing different protein profiles as assessed by both SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and two-dimensional electrophoresis comparative analyses. Identification of proteins that were contained in a spot allowed finding large differences between noncomplicated and complicated plaques from carotid atherosclerotic lesions. Novel low-abundance proteins were detected correlating very well with biological alterations related to atherosclerosis (heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) isoforms, aldehyde dehydrogenase, moesin, Protein kinase C delta-binding protein, and inter-α trypsin inhibitor family heavy chain-related protein (ITIH4)). At the same time, the differential expression of known proteins of interest such as hemoglobin β-chain and heat shock protein 27 between noncomplicated and hemorrhagic complicated plaques was maintained after enrichment step. The detection of different isoforms of a low-abundance protein such as heat shock protein 27 species was actually improved after enrichment of tissue protein extracts. All of these findings clearly support further investigations in view to confirm the role of these proteins as possible biomarkers.     

Substrate Range of the Titanium TADDOLate Catalyzed Asymmetric Fluorination of Activated Carbonyl Compounds

The substrate range of the [TiCl₂(TADDOLate)] (TADDOL=α,α,α′,α′‐tetraaryl‐1,3‐dioxolane‐4,5‐dimethanol)‐catalyzed asymmetric α‐fluorination of activated β‐carbonyl compounds has been investigated. Optimal conditions for catalysis are characterized by using 5 mol‐% of TiCl₂(naphthalen‐1‐yl)‐TADDOLate) as catalyst in a saturated (0.14 mol/l) MeCN solution of F‐TEDA (1‐(chloromethyl)‐4‐fluoro‐1,4‐diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane bis‐[tetrafluoroborate]) at room temperature. A series of α‐methylated β‐keto esters (3‐oxobutanoates, 3‐oxopentanoates) with bulky benzyl ester groups (60–90% ee) or phenyl ester (67–88% ee) have been fluorinated readily, whereas α‐acyl lactones were also readily fluorinated, but gave lower inductions (13–46% ee). Double stereochemical differentiation in β‐keto esters with chiral ester groups raised the stereoselectivity to a diastereomeric ratio (dr) of up to 96.5 : 3.5. For the first time, β‐keto S‐thioesters were asymmetrically fluorinated (62–91.5% ee) and chlorinated (83% ee). Lower inductions were observed in fluorinations of 1,3‐diketones (up to 40% ee) and β‐keto amides (up to 59% ee). General strategies for preparing activated β‐carbonyl compounds as important model substrates for asymmetric catalytic α‐functionalizations are presented (>60 examples).     

Versatile chemical transformations of benzoxazole based ligands on complexation with 3d-metal ions

Two benzoxazoles derivative ligands were synthesized from the condensation of 3,5-di-tert-butyl-o-benzoquinone (DTBBQ) with ethanolamine or 1,3-diamino-2-hydroxypropane in methanol. Condensation of DTBBQ with ethanolamine gives the expected 5,7-di-tert-butyl-2-methylenhydroxylbenzoxazole (HL1) while with 1,3-diamino-2-hydroxypropane it gives (2-hydroxyethyl-2-{2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1-phenol-6 amino}-2{5,7-di-tert-butyl-benzoxazole}) (H(2)L2) with only one benzoxazole ring instead of the symmetric bis-benzoxazole derivative. The structure of HL1 and H(2)L2 were confirmed by NMR-spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction on a single crystal for HL1. The reaction of HL1 with CuCl(2) gives a mononuclear [Cu(II)(HL1)(2)Cl(2)] (1) complex for which the crystal structure shows that HL1 is preserved. In contrast, upon reaction with nickel(II), cobalt(II), and manganese(II) H(2)L2 is further oxidized and transformed in new ligands HL3 in mononuclear complexes [M(II)(L3)(2)] (M = Ni(II) (2); M = Co(II) (3)) and H(2)L4 in tetranuclear complex [Mn(II)(4)(HL4)(4)Cl(4)] (4) as found from the crystal structures of complexes 2-4. Electrochemical studies for complexes 2 and 3 evidence complicated redox properties. [Mn(II)(4)(HL4)(4)Cl(4)] (4) has a cubane-like structure with a "4 + 2" fashion The magnetic susceptibility of 4 is well fitted considering one Mn---Mn interaction J(a)(Mn(II)-Mn(II)) = -0.50(1) cm(-1) with g = 2.00(7).     

Rational synthesis and characterization of the mixed-metal organometallic polyoxometalates [Cp*Mo(x)W(6-x)O18]- (x = 0, 1, 5, 6)

The reaction between the oxometallic complexes Cp*(2)M(2)O(5) and Na(2)M'O(4) (M, M' = Mo, W) in a 1:10 molar ratio in an acidic aqueous medium constitutes a mild and selective entry into the anionic Lindqvist-type hexametallic organometallic mixed oxides [Cp*Mo(x)W(6-x)O(18)](-) [x = 6 (1), 5 (2), 1 (3), 0 (4)]. All of these compounds have been isolated as salts of nBu(4)N(+) (a), nBu(4)P(+) (b), and Ph(4)P(+) (c) cations and two of them (1 and 3) also with the n-butylpyridinium (nBuPyr(+), d) cation. The compounds have been characterized by elemental analyses, thermogravimetric analyses, electrospray mass spectrometry, and IR spectroscopy. The molecular identity and geometry of compounds 1c, 2a, and 2c have been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Density functional theory calculations on models obtained by replacing Cp* with Cp (I-IV) have provided information on the assignment of the terminal M═O and bridging M-O-M vibrations.     

Effect of thermal annealing on the kinetics of rehydroxylation of Eu3+:La2O3 nanocrystals

Europium-doped lanthanum oxide (5 mol % Eu(3+):La(2)O(3)) was prepared by calcining europium-doped lanthanum hydroxide (5 mol % Eu(3+):La(OH)(3)) previously synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. Interestingly, we observed different emission Eu(3+) signatures depending on the phase of the host (lanthanum oxide or hydroxide) by cathodoluminescence. Taking into account that lanthanum oxide easily rehydroxylates in air, for the first time, we report the use of cathodoluminiscence as a novel characterization technique to follow the lanthanum oxide rehydroxylation reaction versus time according to different annealing procedures. Additionally, differential thermal-thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to identify the phases formed from the Eu(3+):La(OH)(3) depending on temperature and to study the evolution of La(2)O(3) to La(OH)(3) versus time. The results showed that the higher the temperature and the longer the annealing time, the higher the resistance to rehydroxylation of the Eu(3+):La(2)O(3) sample.