Recent Progress on Manganese-Based Nanostructures as Responsive MRI Contrast Agents

Manganese-based nanostructured contrast agents (CAs) entered the field of medical diagnosis through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) some years ago. Although some of these Mn-based CAs behave as classic T₁ contrast enhancers in the same way as clinical Gd-based molecules do, a new type of Mn nanomaterials have been developed to improve MRI sensitivity and potentially gather new functional information from tissues by using traditional T₁ contrast enhanced MRI. These nanomaterials have been designed to respond to biological environments, mainly to pH and redox potential variations. In many cases, the differences in signal generation in these responsive Mn-based nanostructures come from intrinsic changes in the magnetic properties of Mn cations depending on their oxidation state. In other cases, no changes in the nature of Mn take place, but rather the nanomaterial as a whole responds to the change in the environment through different mechanisms, including changes in integrity and hydration state. This review focusses on the chemistry and MR performance of these responsive Mn-based nanomaterials.     

Glycopeptides by Linch-Pin C−H Activations for Peptide-Carbohydrate Conjugation by Manganese(I)-Catalysis

Late-stage C−H glycosylations of structurally complex amino acids and peptides were accomplished by means of racemization-free manganese(I)-catalyzed C−H activation. Thus, glycosylative modifications proved to be viable by a linch-pin approach, featuring chemo- and site-selective C−H transformations. The peptide–saccharide conjugation provided modular access to structurally complex glycopeptides, likewise enabling the assembly of fluorescent-labelled glycopeptides.     

A comparative study on the catalytic performance of heme and non‐heme catalysts: Metal porphyrins versus metal Schiff bases

Catalytic activity and oxidative stability of a series of iron and manganese porphyrins with 2‐chlorophenyl, phenyl and 4‐methoxyphenyl at the meso positions and metallosalens (Mn‐ and Fe‐salens) including N,N′‐bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine, N,N′‐bis(5‐ chlorosalicylidene)ethylenediamine and N,N′‐bis(2,4‐dihydroxysalicylidene)ethylenediamine for the oxidation of olefins with tetra‐n‐butylammonium periodate (TBAP) and tetra‐n‐butyl‐ammonium Oxone (TBAO) have been investigated and compared. Although the metalloporphyrins showed an increased catalytic activity relative to the Schiff base complexes, the former provided no significant catalytic advantage over the latter. Also, a comparable or slightly higher oxidative stability was observed for the Schiff base complexes under the reaction conditions. Furthermore, in spite of large difference between the oxidizing ability of TBAO and TBAP, similar patterns were observed for the order of catalytic activity and oxidative stability of the used heme and non‐heme catalysts. The introduction of a methyl group at the ɑ position of styrene led to an increase in its reactivity, indicating the dominance of electronic effects over the steric ones in these catalytic systems.     

Oxygen bridged Homobinuclear Mn(II) compounds with Anthranilic acid: Theoretical calculations,oxidation and catalase activity

Two new homobinuclear manganese compounds with mixed ligands, [Mn₂(μ_1,1–2‐NH₂C₆H₄COO)₂(phen)₄](ClO₄)2(CH₃OH) ( 1 ), and [Mn₂(μ_1,3–2‐NH₂C₆H₄COO)₂(bipy)₄](ClO₄)2 ( 2 ) (NH₂C₆H₄COOH = anthranilic acid, bipy = 2,2′‐bipyridine, phen = 1,10‐ phenanthroline) were synthesized and thoroughly characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV and single crystal X‐ray crystallography. X‐ray structure analysis shows that in the mono‐ and bidentate carboxylate bridged compounds, Mn–Mn distances of 1 and 2 are 3,461 Å, and 4,639 Å, respectively. The energy of the compounds was determined with a DFT (Density Functional Theory) calculation on B3LYP/6‐31G(d,p) optimized geometry by using the B3LYP/6‐31G(d,p) basis set. These compounds acts as biomimetic catalyst and show catalase‐like activity for the hydrogen peroxide dismutation at room temperature in different solvents with remarkable activity (TOF, Turnover frequency = mol of subst./(mol of cat. × time)) up to 12640 h^?1 with 1 , and 17910 h^?1 with 2 in Tris–HCl buffer). Moreover, the catalytic activity of 1 and 2 has been studied for oxidation of alcohols (cinnamyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, cyclohexanol, 1‐octanol and 1‐heptanol) and alkenes (cyclohexene, styrene, ethyl benzene, 1‐octene and 1‐hexene) in a homogeneous catalytic system consisting t‐butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidant in acetonitrile. Both compounds exhibited very high activity in the oxidation of cyclohexene to cyclohexanone (~80% selectivity, ~99% conversion in 1 h, TOF = 243 h^?1 and 226 h^?1) and cinnamyl alcohol to cinnamaldehyde (~64% selectivity) as the main product with very high TOF value (9180 h^?1 and 13040 h^?1 in the first minute of reaction) (~100% conversion in 0.5 h) with TBHP at 70 °C in acetonitrile, for 1 and 2 , respectively.     

The Determination of the Titre of Ascorbic Acid Standard Solutions

Abstract

A new method for the determination of the titre of ascorbic acid standard solutions employing potassium dichromate as a primary standard has been developed. In a pyrophosphate medium, the pyrophosphate complex of divalent manganese is oxidized by dichromate to the pyrophosphate complex of tervalent manganese; the latter oxidizes o-tolidine reversibly with formation of the corresponding quinonediimine, which is visually titrated by the ascorbic acid standard solution.     

Cathodes for Aqueous Zn-Ion Batteries: Materials,Mechanisms, and Kinetics

As concerns about the safety of lithium-ions batteries (LIBs) increases, aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) with a lower cost, higher safety, and higher co-efficiency have attracted more and more interest. However, finding suitable cathode materials is still an urgent problem in ZIBs. In recent years, a lot of significant works have been reported, including manganese-based cathodes, vanadium-based cathodes, Prussian blue analog-based materials, and sustainable quinone cathodes. In this review, some typical cathode materials are introduced. The detailed storage mechanisms and methods for improving the reaction kinetics of the zinc ions are summarized. Finally, the issues, challenges, and the research directions are provided.     

An Interlaboratory Comparison of a Standardised EDTA Extraction Procedure for the Analysis of Available Trace Elements in Two Quality Control Soils

Abstract

A standardised EDTA extraction procedure was tested collaboratively by six laboratories using two in-house reference soils identified as soil A and soil B. The extracts were analysed for Zn, Cu, Pb and Mn by Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry. Concentrations of extractable elements in soil A were generally much lower than those found in soil B. All laboratories produced some extreme outlying results, most of these were produced in soil B. Results for Mn were the most variable, with a range of 63.4–100.3 μg g^?1 in soil A and 226.4–415.3 μg g^?1 in soil B. In both soils, one laboratory reported high values for Zn and Mn and, one laboratory, for soil B, produced values for all four elements which were consistently low.

If outlying results are ignored, the results from most laboratories were in reasonable agreement for all elements except Mn.     

NIEDERKOORDINIERTE PHOSPHORVERBINDUNGEN, 701 1-METALLA-2,5-DIPHOSPHA PENTA-1,3-DIENE DURCH 1,4-ADDITION VON METALLCARBONYLCYCLOPENTADIENYLHYDRIDEN AN 1,4-DIPHOSPHABUTA-1,3-DIEN

Abstract

Reactions of carbonyl cyclopentadienyl hydrides from molybdenum and tungsten with 1,4-diphosphabuta-1,3-diene yield metalla-diphospha-pentadiene with a metal-phosphorus-double bond.

Metalla-diphosphapentadiene mit einer Metall-Phosphor-Doppelbindung werden durch Umsetzung von Carbonylcyclopentadienylhydriden des Molybdäns und Wolframs mit einem 1,4-Diphospha-buta-1,3-dien erhalten.