Melt-polymerizable bisimido-bisphthalonitriles containing silicon,fluoro, and ether groups: Synthesis,characterization, and NMR study

Various melt-polymerizable bisimido-bisphthalonitrile polymer precursors were synthesized by the reaction of 4-aminophthalonitrile (4-APN) with bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) dimethylsilane dianhydride (SIDA), 4,4′-hexafluoroisopropylidene diphthalic anhydride (6FDA), bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)ether dianhydride (ODPA), and 3,3′, 4,4′-tetracarboxylichenzophen+ne dianhydride (BTDA) in an aprotic solvent. The synthesized monomers showed crystalline melting at 269 and 271°C. Elemental analysis, differential thermal analysis (DTA), infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) and mass spectral studies were carried out to characterize the synthesized monomers. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the synthesized monomers showed their thermal stability at 410–400°C. A detailed study and NMR investigation of the first step of condensation reaction was carried out and indicated the formation of a transient charge transfer complex. Thermal cyclization of the formed intermediate, however, gave the required monomers. A preliminary study demonstrated that melt-polymerization of the synthesized monomers gave thermallystable, tough polymers.     

Electrocatalytic activity of binary Palladium Ruthenium anode catalyst on Ni-support for ethanol alkaline fuel cells

In search for a cheaper anode catalyst for the oxidation of ethanol for development of direct alcohol fuel cells, Pd has been considered here as an interesting substitute for Pt in Pt Ru binary electrodeposite. The binary catalyst when co-deposited on nickel support has been found to increase the current density and decrease the anodic overvoltage significantly with respect to pure Pt, Pd and Ni. Its electrocatalytic capability is also comparable with that of the Pt-Ru binary electrocatalyst on Ni-support, when studied in 1 M EtOH containing 1 M NaOH solution. The effect of loading of Pd Ru electrocatalyst on Ni support has also been tested. The electrocatalytic activity of the electrodes for oxidation of ethanol has been explained by studies of cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, steady-state polarization, and conjugated scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy. It has been found that electrode containing the higher amount of deposit are less affected by carbonaceous poisons.     

A novel one-pot conversion of amines to homologated esters in poly(ethylene glycol)

The first deaminative homologation of amines (-CH₂NH₂) to esters (-CH₂CH₂COOEt) in one-pot is reported. The reaction proceeds through, formation of an aldehyde from an amine in the presence of Pd/C as catalyst followed by Wittig reaction and catalytic hydrogenation using poly(ethylene glycol) as the solvent in one-pot.     

Mechanism of the oxidation of cycloheptanone by chloramine-T

The oxidation kinetics of cycloheptanone by chloramine-T in alkaline media has been investigated. A mechanism involving the formation of an intermediate by the interaction between the enolic anion of cycloheptanone and chloramine-T in a slow step followed by its interaction with another molecule of chloramine-T in a fast step leading to products has been proposed. The scheme satisfactorily accords with the observed stoichiometry, negligible influence of ionic strength and a positive dielectric effect. Various rate parameters have been computed and 1.2-cycloheptanedione identified as the end product.With 2 Figures     

Cobalt-catalyzed regioselective carbocyclization reaction of o-iodophenyl ketones and aldehydes with alkynes, acrylates, and acrylonitrile: a facile route to indenols and indenes

An efficient cobalt-catalyzed carbocylization for the synthesis of indenols and indenes and a new method for reductive decyanation are described. 2-Iodophenyl ketones and aldehydes 1a-g undergo carbocyclization with various disubstituted alkynes 2a-k in the presence of Co(dppe)I(2) and zinc powder in acetonitrile at 80 degrees C for 3 h to afford the corresponding indenol derivatives 3a-s and4a-m in good to excellent yields. For some unsymmetrical alkynes, the carbocyclization was remarkably regioselective, affording a single regioisomer. The cobalt-catalyzed carbocyclization reaction was successfully extended to the synthesis of indene derivatives. Thus, the reaction of 2-iodophenyl ketones and aldehydes (1) with acrylates H(2)C=CHCO(2)R (7a-d) and acrylonitrile H(2)C=CHCN (7e) proceeds smoothly in the presence of Co(dppe)Cl(2)/dppe and zinc powder in acetonitrile at 80 degrees C for 24 h to afford the corresponding indenes 8a-k and 9a-c in moderate to good yields. Interestingly, when 7e was employed for the carbocylization, reductive decyanation also occurred to give an indene derivative without the cyano functionality. A possible mechanism for this cobalt-catalyzed carbocyclization reaction is also proposed.     

Analytical applications of a differential technique in laser-induced fluorimetry: accurate and precise determination of uranium in concentrates and for designing microchemielectronic devices for on-line determination in processing industries

A novel instrumental technique for the direct, fast, accurate, and precise determination of uranium in concentrates and other U-rich materials (as well as to mineralized rocks) is presented. The proposed technique is an absolute methodology, based on the comparison of the fluorescence of the accurately known standard with a sample of similar but unknown concentration in the low operational range of the instrument (on same sample-dilution basis), by the use of H₃PO₄-NH₄H₂PO₄ as a fluorescence-enhancing reagent. The relative standard deviation of the proposed technique was 0.5-0.9% (n=9) at 18.1, 36.2, 61.2, and 99.6% U₃O₈. The proposed technique is suitable for the determination of uranium in samples arising from exploration projects, ores from mining operations, mill process samples, uranium ore concentrates leading to fuel fabrication as well as samples from environmental monitoring containing up to 100% uranium. The results are in good agreement with those obtained by titrimetric, gravimetric, and TBP extraction-H₂O₂ spectrophotometric methods. The precision of the technique is within the acceptable ‘pure geochemistry’ type of analysis (R.S.D. ∼ 1.0%) and is comparable even those obtained with titrimetric and gravimetric assay. The proposed differential technique coupled with flow injection may open up new advancement in instrumentation leading to design and development of microchemielectronic devices for direct on-line determination, more compatible with the tools of computer age as also to help in handling of radioactive solutions in chemical laboratories in uranium processing industries.     

Addressing the metabolic activation potential of new leads in drug discovery: a case study using ion trap mass spectrometry and tritium labeling techniques

Metabolic activation of drug candidates to electrophilic reactive metabolites that can covalently modify cellular macromolecules may result in acute and/or idiosyncratic immune system-mediated toxicities in humans. This presents a significant potential liability for the future development of these compounds as safe therapeutic agents. We present here an example of an approach where sites of metabolic activation within a new drug candidate series were rapidly identified using online liquid chromatography/multi-stage mass spectrometry on an ion trap mass spectrometer. This was accomplished by trapping the reactive intermediates formed upon incubation of compounds with rat and human liver microsomes as their corresponding glutathione conjugates and mass spectral characterization of these thiol adducts. Based on the structures of the GSH adducts identified, potential sites and mechanisms of bioactivation within the chemical structure were proposed. These metabolism studies were interfaced with iterative structural modifications of the chemical series in order to block these bioactivation sites within the molecule. This strategy led to a significant reduction in the propensity of the compounds to undergo metabolic activation as evidenced by reductions in the irreversible binding of radioactivity to liver microsomal material upon incubation of tritium-labeled compounds with this in vitro system. With the efficiency and throughput achievable with such an approach, it appears feasible to identify and address the metabolic activation potential of new drug leads during routine metabolite identification studies in an early drug discovery setting.     

Synthetic reactions catalyzed by immobilized lipase from oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.)

Lipase from rape (Brassica napus L., immobilized onto celite, catalyzes esterification and transesterification reactions in hexane. The activity of the lipase is stimulated up to 35 fold by the addition of water (1.3% w/v). The activity of the lipase in hydrolysis is about 8 times higher than in the esterification reactions in hexane. Interesteri-fication reactions between mono- and diacylglycerols and transesterification reactions of mono- and diacylglycerols with alcohols were also catalyzed at relatively high rates but transesterification/esterification of these acylglycerols with fatty acids was comparatively slow. In transesterification reactions, triacylglycerols reacted rather slowly.     

Structure, reactivity and aromaticity of acenes and their BN analogues: a density functional and electrostatic investigation

Density functional calculations have been carried out on a series of linearly annelated acenes and their BN analogues. Even though borazine shows aromatic and reactivity behavior parallel with that of benzene, its condensed derivatives show patterns different from those of their hydrocarbon analogues. Nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS) values in acenes suggest that the aromaticity of the inner rings is more than that of benzene, whereas in BN-acenes there is no substantial change in the aromaticity of the individual rings. Molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) is employed to obtain further insights into the bonding and reactivity trends for these systems. The MESP topography patterns of acenes and BN-acenes are substantially different, with BN-acenes showing more localized pi electron features compared to those of acenes. The MESP values at the critical points (CPs) indicate overall lowering of aromaticity in these annelated systems. However, this change is gradual among the BN-acenes.     

Synthesis of phthalide derivatives using nickel-catalyzed cyclization of o-haloesters with aldehydes

The reaction of o-bromobenzoate (1 b) with benzaldehyde (2 a) in the presence of [NiBr(2)(dppe)] (dppe=1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane) and zinc powder in THF (24 hours, reflux temperature), afforded 3-phenyl-3H-isobenzofuran-1-one (3 a) in an 86 % yield. Similarly, o-iodobenzoate reacts with 2 a to give 3 a, but in a lower yield (50 %). A series of substituted aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes (2 b, 4-MeC(6)H(4)CHO; 2 c, 4-MeOC(6)H(4)CHO; 2 d, 3-MeOC(6)H(4)CHO; 2 e, 2-MeOC(6)H(4)CHO; 2 f, 4-CNC(6)H(4)CHO; 2 g, 4-(Me)(3)CC(6)H(4)CHO; 2 h, 4-C(6)H(5)C(6)H(4)CHO; 2 i, 4-ClC(6)H(4)CHO; 2 j, 4-CF(3)C(6)H(4)CHO; 2 k, CH(3)(CH(2))(5)CHO; 2 l, CH(3)(CH(2))(2)CHO) also underwent cyclization with o-bromobenzoate (1 b) producing the corresponding phthalide derivatives in moderate to excellent yields and with high chemoselectivity. Like 1 b, methyl 2-bromo-4,5-dimethoxybenzoate (1 c) reacts with tolualdehyde (2 b) to give the corresponding substituted phthalide 3 m in a 71 % yield. The methodology can be further applied to the synthesis of six-membered lactones. The reaction of methyl 2-(2-bromophenyl)acetate (1 d) with benzaldehyde under similar reaction conditions afforded six-membered lactone 3 o in a 68 % yield. A possible catalytic mechanism for this cyclization is also proposed.