Stereoselective Synthesis of (Z)‐ and (E)‐Allyl Aryl Sulfides and Selenides from Baylis?Hillman Acetates under Neutral Conditions Using β‐Cyclodextrin in Water

The first example of the stereoselective synthesis of (Z)‐ and (E)‐allyl aryl sulfides and selenides from Baylis? Hillman acetates under neutral conditions in H₂O by supramolecular catalysis involving β‐cyclodextrin is reported. β‐Cyclodextrin can be recovered and reused. The reaction is very efficient in providing allyl aryl sulfides and selenides in good‐to‐excellent yields with clean reaction profiles under mild reaction conditions.     

A comparison of the effect of nanotube chirality and electronic properties on the π–π interaction of single‐wall carbon nanotubes with pyrazinamide antitubercular drug

Theoretical investigation on local electronic structure and stability of the π–π stacking interaction of pyrazinamide (PZA) with armchair (5,5) and zigzag (9,0) single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is performed using density functional theory (DFT). PZA is physisorbed onto nanotube sidewall through interaction of π orbitals of PZA and SWCNT and the enhanced structural stability of PZA/SWCNT systems is due to weak side‐on rather than the head‐on π‐interactions. The physisorption of PZA onto SWCNT sidewall is thermodynamically favored; as a consequence, it modulates the electronic properties of pristine nanotube in the vicinity of Fermi region and π–π stacked interactions is stronger in (9,0) SWCNT compared to (5,5) SWCNT. The density of states (DOS) analysis show that PZA contributes toward the enhancement of electronic states. Projected DOS and frontier orbital analysis in the vicinity of Fermi level region suggest the electronic states to be contributed from SWCNT rather than PZA. In addition, hybrid DFT calculation which includes the dispersion correction is employed to explain the non‐covalent π–π stacking interaction between PZA and SWCNT. The local density approximation and GGA results are compared with DFT‐D to explain near about accurately the weak nonbonded van der Waals interactions between PZA and SWCNTs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Regioselective Photocyclization Reactions of 3‐Allyloxy‐6‐chloro‐2‐(thiophen‐3‐yl)‐4H‐chromen‐4‐one: Solvent Effect

The photo‐irradiation of thienylchromenone resulted in the regioselective cyclization which is exclusively controlled by the nature of solvent used as reaction medium. Compared to nonpolar medium, polar solvent furnished a diverse array of novel angular tetracyclic photoproducts with gem‐dihydro functionality and exocyclic double bonds on the fused pyran ring, which is unprecedented to best of our knowledge.     

Mild and Highly Efficient Protocol for the Synthesis of Benzimidazoles Using Samarium Triflate [Sm(OTf)3]

One-pot synthesis of benzimidazole compounds from ortho-phenylenediamine and a variety of aldehydes was developed under mild reaction conditions. All the reactions were carried out in the presence of samarium triflate (10 mol%) in acetonitrile at room temperature.     

Synthesis and Antioxidant Activity of New Thiazole Analogues Possessing Urea,Thiourea, and Selenourea Functionality

A new series of urea, thiourea, and selenourea derivatives with thiazole moieties were synthesized by the nucleophilic addition reaction of (2-amino-4-(3-chlorophenyl)thiazol-5-yl)(2-chlorophenyl)methanone with various substituted isocyanates/ isothiocyanates/isoselenocynates in acetone having a catalytic amount of sodium hydroxide at room temperature with good yields. All the synthesized compounds were fully characterized by spectroscopic data and screened for their in vitro antioxidant activity using 1,1-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) radical scavenging methods. A preliminary study of the structure–activity relationship revealed that the compounds containing selenourea functionality along with halogen group have exhibited potent activity (IC₅₀ ≤ 0.0309 µmol/mL) compared to the standards (IC₅₀ ≤ 0.0814 µmol/mL). Thus the title compounds are a new class of potent antioxidant agents and worthy of further investigation.     

Improvement of Regio-Specific Production of Myricetin-3-O-α-l-Rhamnoside in Engineered Escherichia coli

Myricetin is an important flavonol whose medically important properties include activities as an antioxidant, anticarcinogen, and antimutagen. The solubility, stability, and other biological properties of the compounds can be enhanced by conjugating aglycon with sugar moieties. The type of sugar moiety also plays a significant role in the biological and physical properties of the natural product glycosides. Reconstructed Escherichia coli containing thymidine diphosphate-α-l-rhamnose sugar gene cassette and Arabidopsis-derived glycosyltransferase were used for rhamnosylation of myricetin. Myricetin (100 μM) was exogenously supplemented to induced cultures of engineered E. coli. The formation of target product—myricetin-3-O-α-l-rhamnoside—was confirmed by chromatographic and NMR analyses. The yield of product was improved by using various mutants and methylated cyclodextrin as a molecular carrier for myricetin in combination with E. coli M3G3. The maximal yield of product is 55.6 μM (3.31-fold higher than the control E. coli MG3) and shows 55.6 % bioconversion of substrate under optimized conditions.     

Synthesis of Sugars From D-Ribonolactone. II. An Alternative Synthesis of D-Erythrose

D-Erythrose was synthesized in four steps from D-ribono-1,4-lactone via the 3,5-O-benzylidene derivative of the latter compound. Reduction of the benzylidene D-ribonolactone, and periodate cleavage of the resulting 3,5-O-benzylidene-D- ribitol were performed in a one-flask reaction. The ensuing 2,4-O-benzylidene-D-erythrose was hydrolyzed with 10% acetic acid to obtain syrupy D-erythrose.     

Ab initio study on the noncovalent adsorption of camptothecin anticancer drug onto graphene, defect modified graphene and graphene oxide

The application of graphene and related nanomaterials like boron nitride (BN) nanosheets, BN-graphene hybrid nanomaterials, and graphene oxide (GO) for adsorption of anticancer chemotherapeutic camptothecin (CPT) along with the effect on electronic properties prior to functionalization and after functionalization has been reported using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The inclusion of dispersion correction to DFT is instrumental in accounting for van der Waals π–π stacking between CPT and the nanomaterial. The adsorption of CPT exhibits significant strain within the nanosheets and noncovalent adsorption of CPT is thermodynamically favoured onto the nanosheets. In case of GO, surface incorporation of functional groups result in significant crumpling along the basal plane and the interaction is basically mediated by H-bonding rather than π–π stacking. Docking studies predict the plausible binding of CPT, CPT functionalized graphene and GO with topoisomerase I (top 1) signifying that CPT interacts through π stacking with AT and GC base pairs of DNA and in presence of nano support, DNA bases preferentially gets bound to the basal plane of graphene and GO rather than the edges. At a theoretical level of understanding, our studies point out the noncovalent interaction of CPT with graphene based nanomaterials and GO for loading and delivery of anticancer chemotherapeutic along with active binding to Top1 protein.     

Hydrothermal conditions on Sn0.95Co0.05O2: nanostructures, ferromagnetism and optical behavior

We have studied the effect of hydrothermal conditions at constant temperature of 180 °C, varying preparation time for 15, 30 and 45 h on nanostructures of diluted magnetic semiconductor Sn_0.95Co_0.05O₂ (SC5). X-ray diffraction pattern confirm the tetragonal SnO₂ rutile phase. The transmission and scanning electron microscopy shows the resulting nanostructures i.e. nanospheres and nanorods. The proposed reaction mechanism is given. The Raman spectra show the formation of tetragonal rutile structure of SC5 nanostructures. Fourier transform infrared spectrum has been used to verify the existence of Sn–O bond. The photoluminescence spectra show that the emission spectral intensity increases gradually with decreasing grains size, increasing hydrothermal heating time of SC5 samples and exhibits an intense blue luminescence centered at a wavelength of 531 nm. The optical absorbance measurements revealed that the nanometric size of the materials influences the energy band gap. All the prepared SC5 samples exhibit room temperature ferromagnetism.     

An elegant protocol for the synthesis of N-substituted pyrroles through C–N cross coupling/aromatization process using CuFe2O4 nanoparticles as catalyst under ligand-free conditions

A simple and efficient, ligand-free C–N cross-coupling of aryl halides/benzyl bromides with trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline has been developed to produce aromatized N-substituted pyrroles, using a catalytic amount of magnetically separable and recyclable CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles, in the presence of Cs₂CO₃ in DMSO at 100 °C.