Synthesis and Diels-Alder Reactions of a New Kind of Chiral Dienophiles: Cyclic Vinyl-p-tolylsulfilimines

A new kind of chiral dienophiles, cyclic vinyl-p-tolylsulfilimines (2a and 2b), were obtained from the corresponding (Z)-sulfinylacrylonitriles with HBF(4) and methanol. The asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of optically pure 2a with cyclopentadiene under mild thermal or catalyzed conditions afforded only the endo-4a adduct with complete endo and pi-facial selectivities. The ability of the sulfilimine moiety to enhance the dienophilic reactivity of the double bond is similar to that of the sulfinyl group.     

Photosensitized generation of singlet oxygen from rhenium(I) and iridium(III) complexes

Photophysical properties in dilute acetonitrile solution are reported for a number of iridium(III) and rhenium(I) complexes. The nature of the lowest excited state of the complexes under investigation is either metal-to-ligand charge transfer ((3)MLCT) or a ligand centred ((3)LC) state. Rate constants, k(q), for quenching of the lowest excited states by molecular oxygen are in the range 1.5 x 10(8) to 1.4 x 10(10) M(-1) s(-1). Efficiency of singlet oxygen production, f(Delta)(T), following oxygen quenching of the lowest excited states of these complexes, are in the range of 0.27-1.00. The rate constants and the efficiency of singlet oxygen formation are quantitatively reproduced by a model that assumes the competition between a non-charge transfer (nCT) and a CT deactivation channel. The balance between CT and nCT deactivation channels, which is described by the relative contribution p(CT) of CT induced deactivation, is discussed. The kinetic model is found to be successfully applied in the case of quenching of the excited triplet states of coordination compounds by oxygen in acetonitrile, as was proposed for the quenching of pi-pi* triplet states by oxygen.     

Zeros of the Whittaker function associated to Coulomb waves

The zeros in the complex z plane of the Whittaker function W_c/z,µ(z),closely related to spherical waves in the quantum-mechanicalCoulomb problem, are investigated for varying real values ofthe parameters c and µ     

Spectroscopy and photophysics of flavin-related compounds: 3-ethyl-lumiflavin

Electronic structure and singlet–singlet and triplet–triplet absorption spectra of 3-ethyl-lumiflavin were calculated using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) methods. The measured lower-energy transitions are well reproduced in calculations, which are limited by the neglect of the solvent interactions. All the observable singlet–singlet and triplet–triplet transitions have π–π^* character. Singlet oxygen production by the studied compound demonstrated that, similar to other lumiflavins, it is an efficient singlet oxygen sensitizer (_Δ = 0.55). Radiationless deactivation of the S₁ state in solutions was shown to result in the T₁ state formation.     

Dramatic persistence (minutes) of the triplet excited state and efficient singlet oxygen generation for C60 incorporated in Y zeolite and MCM-41 silicate

The triplet excited state of C₆₀ (λ_max=780 nm) lives minutes and can be monitored by conventional spectrophotometers when this fullerene is incorporated inside LiY, as opposed to C₆₀@HY and C₆₀@MCM-41 wherein C₆₀ triplet lives in the submillisecond time scale. C₆₀ adsorbed in LiY or MCM-41 efficiently generates ¹O₂ that was detected by its characteristic NIR emission (λ_em=1270 nm).     

Encapsulation and Release Mechanisms in Coordination Polymer Nanoparticles

The interplay of guest encapsulation and release mechanisms in nanoscale metal–organic vehicles and its effect on the drug‐delivery kinetics of these materials were investigated through a new multidisciplinary approach. Two rationally‐designed molecular guests were synthesized, which consist of a red‐fluorescent benzophenoxazine dye covalently tethered to a coordinating catechol group and a protected, non‐coordinating catechol moiety. This allowed loading of the guests into compositionally and structurally equivalent coordination polymer particles through distinct encapsulation mechanisms: coordination and mechanical entrapment. The two types of particles delivered their fluorescent cargo with remarkably different kinetic profiles, which could be satisfactorily modeled considering degradation‐ and diffusion‐controlled release processes. This demonstrates that careful selection of the method of guest incorporation into coordination polymer nanoparticles allows selective tuning of the rate of drug delivery from these materials and, therefore, of the time window of action of the encapsulated therapeutic agents.     

A mathematical model of aging-related and cortisol induced hippocampal dysfunction

Background  

The hippocampus is essential for declarative memory synthesis and is a core pathological substrate for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common aging-related dementing disease. Acute increases in plasma cortisol are associated with transient hippocampal inhibition and retrograde amnesia, while chronic cortisol elevation is associated with hippocampal atrophy. Thus, cortisol levels could be monitored and managed in older people, to decrease their risk of AD type hippocampal dysfunction. We generated an in silicomodel of the chronic effects of elevated plasma cortisol on hippocampal activity and atrophy, using the systems biology mark-up language (SBML). We further challenged the model with biologically based interventions to ascertain if cortisol associated hippocampal dysfunction could be abrogated.