Synthesis and calcium channel antagonist activities of new derivatives of dialkyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-4-(5-phenylisoxazol-3-yl)pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylates

The new analogues of nifedipine, in which 2-nitrophenyl group at position 4 is replaced by phenylisoxazolyl substituent, were synthesized. The symmetrical dialkyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-4-(5-phenylisoxazol-3-yl)pyridine-3,5-dicarboxylates were prepared by classical Hantzsch condensation, and the asymmetrical analogues were synthesized using a procedure reported by Dagnino that involved the condensation of alkyl acetoacetate with alkyl 3-aminocrotonate and 5-phenylisoxazole-3-carboxaldehyde. The structure of all compounds was confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR and Mass spectra. In vitro calcium channel antagonist activities were evaluated as calcium channel antagonists using the high K⁺ concentration of guinea-pig ileum longitudinal smooth muscle (GPILSM) assay. These compounds exhibited moderate calcium antagonist activity (IC₅₀ = 10^?7 to 10^{? 5} M range) relative to the reference drug nifedipine (IC₅₀ = 1.10 ± 0.40 × 10^?8 M).     

Comparative study of electrically conductive cotton fabric prepared through the in situ synthesis of different conductive materials

Cellulose - The electrical conductivity of cotton fabrics was enhanced using an in situ synthesis of graphene or polymerization of conductive polymer. The impact of conductive materials...     

Reducing the computational cost of NMR crystallography of organic powders at natural isotopic abundance with the help of 13C-13C dipolar couplings

Structure determination of functional organic compounds remains a formidable challenge when the sample exists as a powder. Nuclear magnetic resonance crystallography approaches based on the comparison of experimental and Density Functional Theory (DFT)-computed ¹H chemical shifts have already demonstrated great potential for structure determination of organic powders, but limitations still persist. In this study, we discuss the possibility of using ¹³C-¹³C dipolar couplings quantified on powdered theophylline at natural isotopic abundance with the help of dynamic nuclear polarization, to realize a DFT-free, rapid screening of a pool of structures predicted by ab initio random structure search. We show that although ¹³C-¹³C dipolar couplings can identify structures possessing long range structural motifs and unit cell parameters close to those of the true structure, it must be complemented with other data to recover information about the presence and the chemical nature of the supramolecular interactions.     

Friedel-crafts cyanation of some reactive aromatic hydrocarbons

Direct cyanation, using the heterogeneous Friedel-Crafts system cyanogen bromide/aluminium chloride, has given good yields of the following carbonitriles: anthracene-9-, chrysene-6-, 2-methyl-1-naphtho-, 4-methyl-1-naphtho-, 1-naphtho-, phenanthrene-9-, 2,4,6-trimethylbenzo-, triphenylene-1- and triphenylene-2-carbonitriles.     

Photon channelling in foams

Experiments by Gittings, Bandyopadhyay and Durian (Europhys. Lett. 65, 414 (2004)) demonstrate that light possesses a higher probability to propagate in the liquid phase of a foam due to total reflection. The authors term this observation photon channelling which we investigate in this article theoretically. We first derive a central relation in the work of Gitting et al. without any free parameters. It links the photon's path-length fraction f in the liquid phase to the liquid fraction ɛ. We then construct two-dimensional Voronoi foams, replace the cell edges by channels to represent the liquid films and simulate photon paths according to the laws of ray optics using transmission and reflection coefficients from Fresnel's formulas. In an exact honeycomb foam, the photons show superdiffusive behavior. It becomes diffusive as soon as disorder is introduced into the foams. The dependence of the diffusion constant on channel width and refractive index is explained by a one-dimensional random-walk model. It contains a photon channelling state that is crucial for the understanding of the numerical results. At the end, we shortly comment on the observation that photon channelling only occurs in a finite range of ɛ.     

Molecular adjustment of the electronic properties of nanoporous electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

Molecular modification of dye-sensitized, mesoporous TiO2 electrodes changes their electronic properties. We show that the open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) of dye-sensitized solar cells varies linearly with the dipole moment of coadsorbed phosphonic, benzoic, and dicarboxylic acid derivatives. A similar dependence is observed for the short-circuit current density (I(sc)). Photovoltage spectroscopy measurements show a shift of the signal onset as a function of dipole moment. We explain the dipole dependence of the V(oc) in terms of a TiO2 conduction band shift with respect to the redox potential of the electrolyte, which is partially followed by the energy level of the dye. The I(sc) shift is explained by a dipole-dependent driving force for the electron current and a dipole-dependent recombination current.