Synthesis of beta-lactams from a N-rhenaimine: effect of the transition metal on the energetic profile of the Staudinger reaction

As depicted in the scheme, the alkylidenamido complex 1, a N-rhenaimine, reacts with ketenes to afford the beta-lactams 2-4, which possess a {Re(CO)3(bpy)} fragment as substituent at nitrogen. Clean demetalations using HOTf or MeOTf yield the free beta-lactams or N-methyl-beta-lactams along with [Re(OTf)(CO)3(bpy)]. DFT calculations help to rationalize why the reaction is faster than those of non transition metal N-substituted imines.     

Relaxation dynamics of a linear molecule in a random static medium: a scaling analysis

We present extensive molecular dynamics simulations of the motion of a single linear rigid molecule in a two-dimensional random array of fixed overlapping disklike obstacles. The diffusion constants for the center of mass translation, D(CM), and for rotation, D(R), are calculated for a wide range of the molecular length, L, and the density of obstacles, rho. The obtained results follow a master curve Drho(micro) approximately (L(2)rho)(-nu) with an exponent micro=-3/4 and 1/4 for D(R) and D(CM), respectively, that can be deduced from simple scaling and kinematic arguments. The nontrivial positive exponent nu shows an abrupt crossover at L(2)rho=zeta(1). For D(CM) we find a second crossover at L(2)rho=zeta(2). The values of zeta(1) and zeta(2) correspond to the average minor and major axis of the elliptic holes that characterize the random configuration of the obstacles. A violation of the Stokes-Einstein-Debye relation is observed for L(2)rho>zeta(1), in analogy with the phenomenon of enhanced translational diffusion observed in supercooled liquids close to the glass transition temperature.     

AlPO4?ZrO2 catalysts, II. Synthesis, textural properties and crystal structure of systems obtained in ethylene oxide

The effects of surface dehydration on textural properties, crystallinity and the structure of AlPO₄–ZrO₂ (weight ratio AlPO₄/ZrO₂=3) systems precipitated with ethylene oxide have been studied by N₂ adsorption and XRD measurements. The increase in calcination temperature in the range 773–1273 K decreases the textural parameters as a consequence of AlPO₄ crystallization to the tridymite form.

---

, AlPO₄–ZrO₂ ( AlPO₄/ZrO₂=3), , N₂ - . 773 1273 , AlPO₄ .

     

Consecutive reactions in chemical kinetics: A method for the treatment of experimental data

A method is proposed for the treatment of data from a kinetic system of first order consecutive reactions by using an optimization procedure which converges to the correct solution of the two mathematically possible solutions and which does not need initial estimates of the parameters close to those to be determined.

---

, , , .

     

A Cyclic and Polymeric Phosphazene as Solid State Template for the Formation of RuO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Nanoparticles

Pyrolysis of the organometallic polymer: {{[N=P(R₁)]_0.8[N=P(OC₆H₄CH₂CN[Ru])₂]_0.15[N=P((OC₆H₅)(OC₆H₄CH₂CN[Ru]]_0.05}{Cl}_0.31} _n , [Ru]=CpRu(PPh₃)₂, R₁ = O₂C₁₂H₈ (1) as well of the cyclic specie {N₃P₃ (OC₆H₅)₅(OC₆H₄CH₂CN[Ru])}{PF₆} (2) under a flow of air at 800°C affords nanostructured RuO₂. Nanoparticles near to 10 nm were observed. The differences in the use of cyclic or polymeric phosphazenes, as solid state template, influence strongly the morphology and slightly the composition of the pyrolytic product. Temperature variable (SQUID) measurements in the range of 5–300 K of the material obtained from the polymer, indicate an antiferromagnetic interaction between the Ru atoms, although lower than that found for the crystalline ruthenium oxide, probably due to some amorphous product present in the pyrolytic material. The possible formation mechanism is discussed and the differences in using the cyclic or the polymeric compound as precursor is analyzed in terms of the relative content of Ru to P, N. A general formation method of nanostructured metal oxides is proposed.     

Dehydrogenation of cyclohexane over supported Pd catalysts, II. Influence of the support and reduction temperature

We have studied the activity of Pd/sepiolite and Pd/SiO₂–AlPO₄ catalysts in cyclohexane aromatization. The catalysts were characterized by H₂ chemisorption measurements. The influence of support and reduction temperature on the metal surface properties and activity of the catalysts is discussed.     

A very sensitive flow system for the direct determination of copper in natural waters based on spectrophotometric detection

A very sensitive flow injection method with spectrophotometric detection has been developed for the on-line determination of copper in natural waters. The method exhibits a limit of detection three times lower than the most sensitive direct spectrophotometric method previously described and then allows the direct and simple in situ determination of copper in most natural waters.The method was based on the measurement of the absorbance of the coloured complex formed by copper with the chromogenic reagent di-2-pyridyl ketone benzoylhydrazone (dPKBH) in an alkaline medium. This complex presents stoichiometry 1:2 (Cu:dPKBH), and exhibits maximum absorbance at 370 nm. The manifold used was very simple, and consisted of two channels. The first one contained the sample while the second one contained the colorimetric reagent (3.3×10⁻⁴ M dPKBH in 10% ethanol), in a 1.6×10⁻² M phosphate buffer solution at pH 8. The performance of the system was optimised by using both univariate and modified simplex methodologies. When modified simplex was used, the best signal was obtained for a sample injection volume of 529 μl, a reaction coil length of 1.29 m, and a reagent flow rate of 4.8 ml min⁻¹. Under optimum conditions, the response was linear up to 3 mg l⁻¹ copper, the equation of the straight line being y=0.314x+5.2×10⁻⁴ (r²=0.998). The method allowed a sampling frequency of 40 samples per hour and exhibited a precision of 2.11% (as R.S.D., n=11). The limit of detection was 4.6 μg l⁻¹ (calculated as 3s_b/m, where s_b is the standard deviation of the y-intercept and m represents the slope of the straight line), and was therefore more sensitive than all the direct continuous methods reported previously.The method was successfully applied to the analysis of real water samples, with an average relative error of 5.32%.     

NMR chemical shifts in the low–pH form of a-chymotrypsin. A QM/MM and ONIOM–NMR study

 The relationship between hydrogen bonding and NMR chemical shifts in the catalytic triad of low-pH α-chymotrypsin is investigated by combined use of the effective fragment potential [(2001) J Phys Chem A 105:293] and ONIOM–NMR [(2000) Chem Phys Lett 317:589] methods. Our study shows that while the His57 N^δ1−H bond is stretched by a relatively modest amount (to about 1.060 ?) this lengthening, combined with the polarization due to the molecular environment, is sufficient to explain the experimentally observed chemical shifts of 18.2 ppm. Furthermore, the unusual down-field shift of H^ɛ1 (9.2 ppm) observed experimentally is reproduced and shown to be induced by interactions with the C=O group of Ser214 as previously postulated. The free-energy cost of moving H^δ1 from His57 to Asp102 is predicted to be 5.5 kcal/mol. Received: 26 September 2001 / Accepted: 6 September 2002 / Published online: 21 January 2003 Contribution to the Proceedings of the Symposium on Combined QM/MM Methods at the 222nd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, 2001 Correspondence to: J. H. Jensen e-mail: jan-jensen@uiowa.edu Acknowledgements. This work was supported by a Research Innovation Award from the Research Corporation and a type G starter grant from the Petroleum Research Fund. The calculations were performed on IBM RS/6000 workstations obtained through a CRIF grant from the NSF (CHE-9974502) and on supercomputers at the National Center for Supercomputer Applications at Urbana-Champaign. The authors are indebted to Visvaldas Kairys for help with the CHARMM program, and to Daniel Quinn for many helpful discussions.     

Synthesis and Characterization of [(1,4‐diamine)dichloro]platinum(II) Compounds Preliminary Studies on their Biological Activity

Two 1,4‐diamine ligands were synthesized having 1,2‐bis(aminomethyl)‐cyclohexane and 1,2‐bis(aminomethyl)‐benzene structures. The two ligands have different electron density in the six‐membered ring: a cyclohexane versus a phenyl ring. The organic synthesis of the ligands was carried out by synthetic pathways of seven and four steps, respectively, starting from 1,2,3,6‐tetrahydrophthalic anhydride and diethyl phthalate. The coordination of platinum to these ligands afforded platinum(II) complexes which are analogue to the clinical drug cisplatin but form a seven‐membered chelate ring. The interaction of the platinum compounds with DNA was studied in order to know the relationship between the electron density of ligands and their capability to chelate DNA, by using three techniques: Circular Dichroism, Agarose Gel Electrophoresis and Atomic Force Microscopy. The degree of interaction of both compounds with DNA was slightly different, but both complexes showed a cisplatin‐like behaviour and are promising candidates to follow an extensive study of their cytotoxic activity.     

Application of principal component regression to the determination of Captopril by differential pulse polarography with no prior removal of dissolved oxygen

As shown in this paper, multivariate calibration in general and principal component regression (PCR) in particular allow the determination of Captopril by differential pulse polarography (DPP) in the presence of oxygen despite the overlap between their polarographic bands. Electrochemical parameters (pulse amplitude, pulse delay and drop time) are optimized from response surfaces using PCR to determine the relationship between the variables to be optimized and the relative square error of prediction (RSEP), which was adopted as the parameter to be minimized. The proposed method is quite fast and inexpensive as a result of the decreased analysis times and sparing use of the inert gas. It was applied to the determination of Captopril in synthetic samples and a commercially available pharmaceutical preparation, with relative errors and confidence intervals <2.5% and 2.0%, respectively. It should be noted that the sample can be analysed directly following dissolution in water without the need to remove the excipients.