Synthesis,spectroscopic, DFT,biological studies and molecular docking of oxovanadium (IV), copper (II) and iron (III) complexes of a new hydrazone derived from heterocyclic hydrazide

A new Schiff base hydrazone (Z)‐2‐(2‐aminothiazol‐4‐yl)‐N′‐(2‐hydroxy‐3‐methoxybenzylidene) acetohydrazide (H₂L) and its chelates [VO (HL)₂]·5H₂O, [Cu (HL)Cl(H₂O)]·2H₂O and [Fe(L)Cl(H₂O)₂]·3H₂O have been isolated and characterized using different physico‐chemical methods, for example infrared (IR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), thermogravimetric analysis and DTG in the solid state, and ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR and UV in solution. Magnetic and UV–visible measurements proposed that the coordination environments are square pyramidal, tetrahedral and octahedral geometries for oxovanadium (IV), Cu (II) and Fe (III), respectively. The ligand acts as mono‐negative NO towards oxovanadium (IV) and Cu (II) ions, and bi‐negative ONO for Fe (III) ion. The geometries of the ligand and its complexes were performed using Gaussian 9 program with density functional theory. The EPR spectral data of oxovanadium (IV) and Cu (II) chelates confirmed the mentioned geometries. The molecular modeling was done, and illustrated bond lengths, bond angles, molecular electrostatic potential, Mulliken atomic charges and chemical reactivity for the inspected compounds. Theoretical IR and ¹H‐NMR of the free ligand were calculated. Furthermore, thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for thermal decomposition steps were studied. Docking study of H₂L was applied against the proteins of both bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, as well as the protein of xanthine oxidase as antioxidant agent by Schrödinger suite program utilizing XP glide protocol. Furthermore, antimicrobial, antioxidant and DNA‐binding activities of the compounds have been carried out.     

Relaxation dynamics in a stochastic bosonic Josephson junction

We consider a bosonic Josephson junction in the Bose-Hubbard two-mode approximation where some of the parameters are corrupted by physically meaningful noise processes and study the corresponding relaxation dynamics towards its equilibrium state. We show with numerical simulations that this model can essentially capture all the important features observed in a recent experiment regarding the relaxation dynamics in one-dimensional bosonic Josephson junctions, namely the damped oscillations of the population imbalance and the relative phase, as well as the large final coherence factor. We expect that this work will further motivate research about the origin of relaxation mechanism in these systems.     

Star-Shaped Ruthenium Complexes as Prototypes of Molecular Gears

The design and synthesis of two families of molecular-gear prototypes is reported, with the aim of assembling them into trains of gears on a surface and ultimately achieving controlled intermolecular gearing motion. These piano-stool ruthenium complexes incorporate a hydrotris(indazolyl)borate moiety as tripodal rotation axle and a pentaarylcyclopentadienyl ligand as star-shaped cogwheel, equipped with five teeth ranging from pseudo-1D aryl groups to large planar 2D paddles. A divergent synthetic approach was followed, starting from a pentakis(p-bromophenyl)cyclopentadienyl ruthenium(II) complex as key precursor or from its iodinated counterpart, obtained by copper-catalyzed aromatic Br/I exchange. Subsequent fivefold cross-coupling reactions with various partners allowed high structural diversity to be reached and yielded molecular-gear prototypes with aryl-, carbazole-, BODIPY- and porphyrin-derived teeth of increasing size and length.     

In vitro biomolecular interaction studies and cytotoxic activities of copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes bearing ONS donor thiosemicarbazones

Among all the bio‐metals, zinc and copper derivatives of ONS donor thiosemicarbazone have aroused great interest because of their potential biological applications. Multisubstituted thiosemicarbazone ligand H₂dspt (3,5‐dichlorosalicylaldehyde‐N⁴‐phenylthiosemicarbazone) derived new ternary complexes like [Zn(dspt)(phen)]?DMF ( 1 ) and [Cu(dspt)(phen)]?DMF ( 2 ), and another thiosemicarbazone, H₂dsct (3,5‐dichlorosalicylaldehyde‐N⁴‐cyclohexylthiosemicarbazone), derived [Cu(dsct)(bipy)]?DMF ( 3 ). These complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis (CHNS), Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H‐NMR) spectra. The structures of the complexes were obtained by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 got crystallized in the monoclinic P2₁/c space group. The complexes showed interesting supramolecular interaction, which in turn stabilizes the complexes. The ground state electronic configurations of the complexes were studied using the B3LYP/LANL2DZ basis set, and ESP plots of complexes were investigated. The interaction of the complexes with calf thymus DNA (CT‐DNA) was studied using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopic methods. A UV study of the interaction of the complexes with calf thymus DNA (CT‐DNA) has shown that the complexes can effectively bind to CT‐DNA, and [Cu(dspt)(phen)]·DMF ( 2 ) exhibited the highest binding constant to CT‐DNA (K_b = 3.7 × 10⁴). Fluorescence spectral studies also indicated that Complex 2 binds relatively stronger with CT DNA through intercalative mode, exhibiting higher binding constant (K_q = 4.7 × 10⁵). The DNA cleavage result showed that the complexes are capable of cleaving the DNA without the help of any external agent. Molecular docking studies were carried out to understand the binding of complexes with the molecular target DNA. Complex 2 exhibited the highest cytotoxicity against human breast cancer cell line MD‐MBA‐231 (IC₅₀ = 23.93 μg/mL) as compared to Complex 1 (IC₅₀ = 44.40 μg/mL) .     

Mechanical property and deformation mechanism of gold nanowire with non-uniform distribution of twinned boundaries:A molecular dynamics simulation study

The mechanical property and deformation mechanism of twinned gold nanowire with non-uniform distribution of twinned boundaries(TBs) are studied by the molecular dynamics(MD) method. It is found that the twin boundary spacing(TBS) has a great effect on the strength and plasticity of the nanowires with uniform distribution of TBs. And the strength enhances with the decrease of TBS, while its plasticity declines. For the nanowires with non-uniform distribution of TBs, the differences in distribution among different TBSs have little effect on the Young's modulus or strength, and the compromise in strength appears. But the differences have a remarkable effect on the plasticity of twinned gold nanowire. The twinned gold nanowire with higher local symmetry ratio has better plasticity. The initial dislocations always form in the largest TBS and the fracture always appears at or near the twin boundaries adjacent to the smallest TBS. Some simulation results are consistent with the experimental results.     

Cycloparaphenylene and their radicals anchored to a metal−organic framework

Cycloparaphenylene (CPP) shows modulated photophysical and electronic properties due to its strained structure and radially oriented π-electron system. Incorporation of CPP into metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could transfer its extensive properties in solution to porous solids. Moreover, with the unique arrangement of the macrocycles and their interactions with the framework, emerging characteristics are anticipated. As an example of “robust dynamics”, we synthesized the first MOF structure (FDM-1001) with CPP precisely anchored to the ordered framework by employing a [8]CPP-containing linear dicarboxylate linker. Metric relationship between the dynamic macrocycles and the robust backbone creates ideal π-π interactions between them, which leads to an essentially directional arrangement of [8]CPP in the three-dimensional space. Furthermore, the MOF with [8]CPP could be successfully oxidized to generate an infinite array of radicals that show enhanced air stability compared to its molecular analogue.     

水化硅酸钙纳米压痕分子动力学模拟方法优化

针对水化硅酸钙纳米压痕模型忽视了压头与基底之间相互作用的问题，由尺寸差异引起的金刚石压头难以计算的问题，以及Wittmann模型无法得到实际接触面积的问题，提出了新的模型与计算方法．结合分子动力学方法，采用金刚石压头-Wittmann模型基底的组合方式构建无定形态水化硅酸钙纳米压痕试验模型．在建模阶段，考虑到压头模型与基底模型粒子间尺寸差异，提出了等比例替换模型，通过公式推导并就不同尺寸模拟结果验证了等比例替换模型的可行性．在计算阶段，提出了局部前处理的弛豫方法进行模拟．确定最大荷载位置处的接触面积为546 nm2，进而求出水化硅酸钙模型硬度H为0.84 GPa、折合模量Er为30.52 GPa．并通过纳米压痕试验，验证了模拟结果的准确性，证明了模型的科学性，对今后水化硅酸钙(C-S-H)纳米层面的模拟具有重要借鉴意义．     

Li原子掺杂C28单分子器件的热自旋输运性质

利用第一性原理对Li原子掺杂C₂₈的分子器件的热自旋输运性质进行了计算。在不同的温度场下,上下自旋分别为Li原子掺杂C₂₈的分子器件中的空穴和电子提供了输运通道,在MJ₁和MJ₃分子器件中,热自旋电流随着温度增加而增大,但在MJ₂分子器件中,热自旋电流先增大再减小。三种分子器件都出现了自旋塞贝克效应,MJ₂还出现了负微分电阻现象,利用费米-狄拉克分布和自旋输运谱对其物理机理进行了解释。根据Li掺杂C₂₈的单分子器件的热自旋输运性质,可设计新的自旋纳米器件。     

The Special “Morse Code” between Solvent Polarity and Morphology Flexibility in a POSS–Dendrimer Supramolecular System

An amazing phenomenon of the relative magnitude of modulus of two liquid-crystal (LC) gels is found inverted under/above their phase transition temperature T_LC-iso, which is further proved to be caused by their diverse morphology flexibility. By testing the polarity of two LCs, gelator POSS-G1-Boc (POSS=polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane) was discovered to self-assemble into more flexible structures in a relatively low polar LC, whereas more rigid ones are formed in higher polar LC. Hence, a fitting function to connect morphology flexibility with solvent polarity was established, which can even be generalized to a number of common solvents. Experimental observations and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations revealed that solvent polarity mirrors a “Morse code”, with each “code” corresponding to a specific morphology flexibility.