Dearomatizing anionic cyclization of N-methyl-N-benzyldi(1-naphthyl)phosphinamide: a route for access to a new class of functionalized tricyclic azaphospholes with antitumor properties

The dearomatizing anionic cyclization of N-alkyl-N-benzyldi(1-naphthyl)phosphinamide 1d followed by trapping with a series of carbonyl reagents and α,β-unsaturated ketones under optimized conditions provided new tetrahydro-1H-naphtho[1,2-c][1,2]-azaphosphole 1-oxides from moderate to high yields and diastereoselectivities. In addition, two doubly dearomatized compounds as a result of double dearomatization on the two naphthalene rings of 1d have been isolated at first time. Three functionalized azaphospholes have been evaluated on three different human tumor cell lines showing growth inhibition factors (GI₅₀) at a micromolar scale. One of these heterocycles has also shown cytostatic properties.     

Thermal decomposition of cyclic organic peroxides in pure solvents and binary solvent mixtures

The thermal decomposition reaction of acetone cyclic triperoxide, acetone cyclic diperoxide, 4‐heptanone cyclic diperoxide, and pinacolone cyclic diperoxide ca. 0.02 M was studied in pure solvents (acetone and 1‐propanol) and in binary mixtures of acetone/1‐propanol at 150°C. The kinetics of each system was explored by gas chromatography (GC) at different solvent compositions. The reactions showed a behavior accordingly with a pseudo‐first‐order kinetic law up to at least 90% peroxide decomposition. The main organic products derived from these thermolysis reactions were detected by GC analysis. Among them, the corresponding ketones, methane, ethane, and propane were the main identified products. The rates of decomposition of pinacolone diperoxide in the pure solvents were practically independent of the solvent characteristics, so it was of no interest to analyze its kinetic behavior in binary solvent mixtures. In acetone/1‐propanol mixtures, the solvation effect on the cyclic peroxides derived from 4‐heptanone and acetone molecules was slightly dominated by specific interactions between 1‐propanol and a diradical‐activated complex initially formed. This species was preferentially solvated by 1‐propanol instead of acetone. Specific interactions between the O atoms from the peroxidic bond and the H from the OH in 1‐propanol can be taken into account. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 42: 347–353, 2010     

Analysis of diphenylamine and impurities using monolithic column with electrochemical detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with electrochemical detection (ED) using a monolithic column was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitative determination of aniline, 2-aminobiphenyl, and 4-aminobiphenyl in diphenylamine samples. The proposed HPLC method provides a shorter analysis time as compared to previously reported ones (less than 4 min). Method validation was performed in terms of sensitivity, repeatability, linearity, accuracy, detection limit, and quantification limit. It is found that the method has high accuracy and precision. The limits of detection obtained were 0.23 ng/mL for aniline and 0.30 ng/mL for 2-aminobiphenyl, 4-aminobiphenyl, and diphenylamine. All authors contributed equally to this work. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Quantitation of nifedipine in human plasma by on-line solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

An analytical methodology for nifedipine quantitation in plasma by on-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. The SPE cartridges contain C₂ and the analytes nifedipine and nitrendipine (internal standard) are separated on a C₁₈ column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–13 mM phosphate buffer pH 7 (65:35, v/v) followed by UV detection at 338 nm. Validation of the method demonstrated good recoveries (>90%), sensitivity (limit of quantification, 2 ng/ml), based on a 500 μl sample volume, accuracy and precision (<5.5% in concentrations greater than the limit of quantitation). This methodology has been used for bioequivalence studies.     

Characterization of Galician (N.W. Spain) quality brand potatoes: a comparison study of several pattern recognition techniques

Authenticity is an important food quality criterion and rapid methods to guarantee it are widely demanded by food producers, processors, consumers and regulatory bodies. The objective of this work was to develop a classification system in order to confirm the authenticity of Galician potatoes with a Certified Brand of Origin and Quality (CBOQ) 'Denominación Específica: Patata de Galicia' and to differentiate them from other potatoes that did not have this CBOQ. Ten selected metals were determined by atomic spectroscopy in 102 potato samples which were divided into two categories: CBOQ and non-CBOQ potatoes. Multivariate chemometric techniques, such as cluster analysis and principal component analysis, were applied to perform a preliminary study of the data structure. Four supervised pattern recognition procedures [including linear discriminant analysis (LDA), K-nearest neighbours (KNN), soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) and multilayer feed-forward neural networks (MLF-ANN)] were used to classify samples into the two categories considered on the basis of the chemical data. Results for LDA, KNN and MLF-ANN are acceptable for the non-CBOQ class, whereas SIMCA showed better recognition and prediction abilities for the CBOQ class. A more sophisticated neural network approach performed by the combination of the self-organizing with adaptive neighbourhood network (SOAN) and MLF network was employed to optimize the classification. Using this combined method, excellent performance in terms of classification and prediction abilities was obtained for the two categories with a success rate ranging from 98 to 100%. The metal profiles provided sufficient information to enable classification rules to be developed for identifying potatoes according to their origin brand based on SOAN-MLF neural networks.     

Synthesis of 5-phenyl-2,3,8,9-tetramethoxy-11H-indeno[1,2-c]isoquinoline

A novel approach to the title compound 10 starting with a conveniently available cinnamic acid is proposed. It involves a Friedel-Crafts reaction followed by the synthesis of the amide and subsequent cyclodehydration via a Bischler-Napieralski reaction.     

Conformational analysis of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines

Ring and nitrogen inversion account for the conformational equilibria of 3-phenyl-1, 2,3, 4-tetrahydroiso-quinolines. In order to quantitate the relative contribution of each conformer to the equilibrium, we undertook a molecular mechanics study on several substituted 3-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydroisoquinolines. Predictions from calculations were checked against cmr chemical shift data. No boat conformation contributed significantly to the equilibrium. A general result of our calculations is that in all cases the 3-phenyl group in the equatorial position is strongly favored (by at least 2.50 kcal/mole). For 3-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydroisoquinolines without substitution at nitrogen, N-H in equatorial position is preferred over the axial conformer, although the energy difference between both is always small (0.30–1.10 kcal/mole). For the cis-1,3-disubstituted compounds the le'3e conformers are the only species present (at least 99.8%). The calculated energy differences between the la′3a conformer and the le′3e conformer are always large (3.80–6.10 kcal/mole for the NHe conformers and 3.60–3.80 kcal/mole for the NHa conformers). The lack of a γ_1a upfield shift at C3 also points to the preference for the pseudoequatorial-equatorial conformer. For N-methyl-3-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline a preference for the NMe group in the equatorial position is predicted (0.60–2.00 kcal/mole). The small downfield shift at C4 (γ_Na = 0.5 ppm) is consistent with the equatorial NMe preference. For the cis-1,2,3-trisubstituted compounds no significant γ_1a effect at C3 (γ_1a = -0.2 and 1.0 ppm) or γ_Na effect at C4 (γ_Na = 0.1 and 0.4 ppm) is observed. For these compounds, deformations due to steric congestion are evidenced by the deviation from the values of the C4a-C8a-Cl-N and C4a-C4-C3-N torsional angles, as compared to less crowded 3-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines. Here the heterocyclic ring adopts a distorted half-chair conformation.     

Structural chemistry of Ba2CdS3, Ba2CdSe3, BaCdS2, BaCu2S2 and BaCu2Se2

The structures of all compounds were determined from three dimensional single crystal X-ray diffraction data and refined by least squares. Ba₂CdS₃ and Ba₂CdSe₃ are isostructural, Pnma, a = 8.9145(6)Å, b = 4.3356(2)Å, c = 17.2439(9)Å for the former compound and a = 9.2247Å, b = 4,4823(6)Å, c = 17.8706(11)Å for the latter, z = 4, R = 0.0751 and R = 0.0462, respectively. The compounds are isostructural with the previously reported Mn analogues and with K₂AgI₃. Cd ions are in tetrahedral environment and the tetrahedra form infinite linear chains by corner sharing. Ba ions are in 7-fold coordination in which 6 anions form a trigonal prism and 1 anion caps one of the rectangular faces. BaCdS₂, Pnma, a = 7.2781(3)Å, b = 4.1670(1)Å, c = 13.9189(6)Å, z = 4, R = 0.0685. Cd ions can be considered to have a triangular planar coordination with CdS distances of 2.47 and 2.53 Å (twice). Two additional S ions are at 2.89 and 3.22 Å to complete a triangular bipyramidal configuration. Ba is in 7-fold coordination with the anions forming a trigonal prism which is capped on one rectangular face. The compound is isostructural with BaCdO₂ and is related to the structure of BaMnS₂. BaCdSe₂ could not be prepared. BaCu₂S₂ and BaCu₂Se₂ are isostructural, Pnma, a = 9.3081(4)Å, b = 4.0612(3)Å, c = 10.4084(5)Å for the sulfide and a = 9.5944(6)Å, b = 4.2142(4)Å, c = 10.7748(8)Å for the selenide, z = 4, R = 0.0634 and 0.0373, respectively. Ba ions are in the usual 7-fold, capped hexagonal prism, coordination. However, 9 Cu ions also can be considered to form a trigonal prism with all rectangular faces capped, around Ba since the BaCu distances range from 3.24 to 3.54 Å for the sulfide and from 3.37 to 3.67 Å for the selenide. One of the Cu ions is in a very distorted tetrahedral environment and the second one is located in a more regular tetrahedral configuration of the anions. Two independent infinite chains of tetrahedra are present. They are formed by sharing of two adjacent edges of each tetrahedron and then these chains in turn are linked by corner sharing into a three-dimensional network of tetrahedra.     

Effect of glass fiber surface treatments on mechanical strength of epoxy based composite materials

Sizing glass fibers with silane coupling agents enhances the adhesion and the durability of the fiber/polymer matrix interface in composite materials. There are several tests to determine the interfacial strength between a fiber and resin, but all of them present difficulties in interpreting the results and/or sample preparation. In this study, we observed the influence of different aminosilanes fiber coatings on the resistance of epoxy-based composite materials using a very easy fractographic test. In addition, we tried a new fluorescence method to get information on a molecular level precisely at the interface. Strength was taken into account from two standpoints: (i) mechanical strength and (ii) the resistance to hydrolysis of the interface in oriented glass-reinforced epoxy-based composites. Three silanes: gamma-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, gamma-Aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane, and gamma-Aminopropyldimethylethoxysilane were used to obtain different molecular structures at the interface. It was concluded that: (i) the more accessible amine groups are, the higher the interface rigidity is; (ii) an interpenetrating network mechanism seems to be the most important for adhesion and therefore to the interfacial strength; and (iii) the higher the degree of crosslinking in the silane coupling layer is, the higher the hydrolytic damage rate is.     

Energy barrier distributions in magnetic systems from the Tln(t/τ0) scaling

A method based in the Tln(t/τ₀) scaling is proposed to obtain the energy barrier distribution of a randomly oriented assembly of magnetic entities. It essentially consists on performing the logarithmic time derivative of the master relaxation curve. The method has been applied to two small particle systems and the obtained distributions are in good agreement with the ones used to fit the master curves to the magnetization decay of a system following the Arrhenius law. The effect of the specific shape of the distribution functions on the low temperature behaviour of the relaxation rate and the possibility to erroneously attribute this behaviour to non-thermal processes is also discussed.