Selected Drug-Likeness Properties of 2-Arylidene-indan-1,3-dione Derivatives—Chemical Compounds with Potential Anti-Cancer Activity

2-Arylidene-indan-1,3-done derivatives have very different properties, thanks to which they find various applications in science, medicine, and industry. Selected derivatives show antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activity. This paper presents a procedure for the synthesis of a series of indan-1,3-dione derivatives that present antiproliferative activity. The aim of the work was to develop a method of simple synthesis and purification, evaluate the fulfillment of the Lipiński’s and Veber’s rule, and determine the potential scope of application of the obtained series of compounds. The structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed, and their lipophilicity was determined using experimental and computational methods. Their antiproliferative activity against selected cell lines was tested in accordance with the MTT protocol; the ability to bind to albumin was tested, and the parameters related to the toxicity of substances in silico were determined. The selected compounds which showed antiproliferative activity were strongly bound to albumin and, in most cases, met the Lipiński’s and Veber’s rule. Thus, the obtained results suggest that 2-arylidene-indan-1,3-done derivatives appear to be good candidates for drugs with a potential leading structure for further development.     

Fermi Level Unpinning and Schottky Barrier Modification by Ti, Sc and V Incorporation at NiSi2/Si Interface

A new method is proposed to modify the Schottky barrier height （SBH） for nickel silicide/Si contact. Chemical and electrical properties for NiSi2/Si interface with titanium, scandium and vanadium incorporation are investigated by first-principles calculations. The metal/semiconductor interface states within the gap region are greatly decreased, which is related to the diminutions of junction leakage when Ti-cap is experimentally used in nickel silicide/Si contact process. It leads to an unpinning metal/semiconductor interface. The SBH obeys the Schottky-Mort theory. Compared to Ti substitution, the SBH for electrons is reduced for scandium and increases for vanadium.     

Study of laser fragmentation process of silver nanoparticles in aqueous media

Laser fragmentation of Ag nanoparticles in Ag hydrosol was studied by simultaneous measurements of the transmitted fluence of the incident laser beam and the time evolution of the surface plasmon extinction (SPE) spectra. The experiments showed that the laser fragmentation in a small volume of hydrosol proceeds during first 20 pulses and then reaches saturation. The value of the transmitted fluence corresponding to saturation increases with incident pulse fluence, but the impact of the first pulse applied to the hydrosols shows an optical limitation. Fluences above 303 mJ/cm² cause the formation of less stable, aggregating nanoparticles, while fluences below 90 mJ/cm² do not provide sufficient energy for efficient fragmentation. The interval of fluences between 90–303 mJ/cm² is optimal for fragmentation, since stable hydrosols constituted by small, non-aggregated nanoparticles are formed.     

Compression resilience and impact resistance of fiber‐reinforced sandwich composites

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the compression behavior of fiber‐reinforced sandwich composites. In this study, five different types of sandwich composites were prepared with warp knitted spacer fabric as middle layer. Four different types of woven Kevlar fabric structures were used as outer layers (skin) along with one sample of woven basalt fabric. The middle layer used is 100% polyester spacer fabric. Sandwich composites were fabricated using epoxy resin by wet lay‐up method under vacuum bagging technique. Compression behavior, ball burst, and knife penetration were tested for all samples. The effect of outer layer of these composites on the mechanical performance was studied using the compression stress‐strain curves. It is known that spacers have excellent compression elasticity and cushioning. Maximum knife penetration resistance is obtained with twill weave on surface because of maximum yarn cohesion and resin impregnation. Higher amount of cohesive friction results in higher resistance against penetration of sharp objects like the knife edge. Plain and twill fabrics offer sufficient resistance again ball burst. The yarn deformation allows formation of dome shape after ball impact. Maximum impact resistance in ball burst is obtained for plain weave because of highest level of interyarn binding. The results provide new understanding of knitted spacer fabric‐based sandwich composites under compression and impact loading condition.     

Rapid electrophoretic monitoring of the anaesthetic ketamine and its metabolite norketamine in rat blood using a contactless conductivity detector to study the pharmacokinetics

A method of capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection has been developed for non‐enantioselective monitoring the anaesthetic ketamine and its main metabolite norketamine. The separation is performed in a 15 μm capillary with an overall length of 31.5 cm and length to detector of 18 cm; inner surface of the capillary is covered with a commercial coating solution to reduce the electroosmotic flow. In an optimised background electrolyte with composition 2 M acetic acid + 1% v/v coating solution under application of a high voltage of 30 kV, the migration time is 97.1 s for ketamine and 95.8 s for norketamine, with an electrophoretic resolution of 1.2. The attained detection limit was 83 ng/mL (0.3 μmol/L) for ketamine and 75 ng/mL (0.3 μmol/L) for norketamine; the number of theoretic plates for separation of an equimolar model mixture with a concentration of 2 μg/mL was 683 500 plates/m for ketamine and 695 400 plates/m for norketamine. Laboratory preparation of rat blood plasma is based on mixing 10 μL of plasma with 30 μL of acidified acetonitrile, followed by centrifugation. A pharmacokinetic study demonstrated an exponential decrease in the plasma concentration of ketamine after intravenous application and much slower kinetics for intraperitoneal application.     

Phase transfer catalysis (PTC) sulfanylation of some 2-methylsulfinyl-cyclanones

The sulfanylation reactions of 2-methylsulfinylated cyclopentanone, 1-indanone, and cyclohexanone by a PTC procedure are reported and the yields and diastereoselectivity compared to those obtained by the homogeneous-phase method. The stability of the sulfanylated methylsulfinyl derivatives at room temperature versus the instability of the p-tolylsulfinyl derivatives is also reported.     

5′-Epimeric 3′-deoxy-3′,4′-didehydronucleoside-5′-C-phosphonates: synthesis and structural assignment by NMR and X-ray analyses

Epimeric 5′-(RS) dialkyl 3′-deoxy-3′,4′-didehydro-5′-C-phosphonates were prepared by nucleophilic addition of various dialkyl phosphites to 3′-deoxy-3′,4′-didehydronucleoside-5′-aldehydes. Whereas direct NMR configuration assignment for the C5′ atom bearing the phosphoryl and hydroxy groups using the J (P,H4′) and J (H5′,H4′) coupling constants is impossible due to the absence of the H4′ atom, successful separation, crystallisation and X-ray crystallographic analysis of a pair of epimeric 5′-C-phosphonates, followed by correlation with a series of NMR parameters, led to efficacious configuration assignment of individual epimers in the mixtures.     

Total Synthesis,Proof of Absolute Configuration,and Biosynthetic Origin of Stylopsal,the First Isolated Sex Pheromone of Strepsiptera

The asymmetric total synthesis of the diastereomers of stylopsal establishes the absolute configuration of the first reported sex pheromone of the twisted‐wing parasite Stylops muelleri as (3R,5R,9R)‐trimethyldodecanal. The key steps for the diastereo‐ and enantiodivergent introduction of the methyl groups are two different types of asymmetric conjugate addition reactions of organocopper reagents to α,β‐unsaturated esters, whereas the dodecanal skeleton is assembled by Wittig reactions. The structure of the natural product was confirmed by chiral gas chromatography (GC) techniques, GC/MS and GC/electroantennography (EAD) as well as field tests. An investigation into the biosynthesis of the pheromone revealed that it is likely to be produced by decarboxylation of a 4,6,10‐trimethyltridecanoic acid derivative, which was found in substantial amounts in the fat body of the female, but not in the host bee Andrena vaga. This triple‐branched fatty acid precursor thus seems to be biosynthesized de novo through a polyketide pathway with two consecutive propionate‐propionate‐acetate assemblies to form the complete skeleton. The simplified, motionless and fully host‐dependent female exploits a remarkable strategy to maximize its reproductive success by employing a relatively complex and potent sex pheromone.     

REACTION OF α-BENZENESULFONYLPHENYLACETIC ACID WITH ALKYL HALIDES. DECARBOXYLATIVE ALKYLATION VS. DECARBOXYLATIVE PROTONATION

The reaction of α-benzenesulfonylphenylacetic acid with some alkyl halides, using as base NaH in DMSO, leads to decarboxylative protonation to give benzylphenylsulfone. Decarboxylative alkylation occurs only when CO₂ is expelled by flushing with nitrogen. The mechanism of the decarboxylative protonation is investigated.