New chiral phosphine-phosphite ligands in the enantioselective palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation

A series of chiral phosphine-phosphite ligands 1-6 have been synthesized and used in the enantioselective palladium-catalyzed reaction of rac-1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate with dimethyl malonate as nucleophile. Ligands 1a, 2, 3, 5a, 6a, and 6b have been synthesized starting from racemic tert-butylphenylphosphinoborane. The use of dynamically resolved Li phosphide (-)-sparteine provided the optically pure ligands. Crystals of the allylpalladium (6a) complex were obtained, suitable for X-ray crystal structure determination. The X-ray crystal structure of the allylpalladium (6a) complex revealed a longer palladium-carbon bond distance trans to the phosphine moiety indicating that the attack of the nucleophile takes place at the carbon trans to the phosphine moiety. This was confirmed by the fact that the phosphine moiety did not affect the enantioselectivity directly. Under mild reaction conditions, enantioselectivities up to 83% were obtained (25 degrees C) with ligand 1e. Systematic variation of the ligand bridge and the phosphite moiety showed that the configuration of the product is controlled by the atropisomerism of the biphenyl substituent at the phosphite moiety. The conformation of the biphenyl group, in turn, is controlled by the substituent at the chiral carbon in the bridge. Ligands with large bite angles yielded higher enantioselectivities.     

Intercalation of Benzamide into Kaolinite

Well-crystallized kaolinite (K) was initially reacted at 60 degrees C with a water/dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) mixture and the resulting intercalation derivative (K-DMSO) was characterized by powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD), thermal analysis (simultaneous TG and DSC), and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Benzamide crystals were then melted with the K-DMSO derivative at 140 degrees C for 4 days, when a gradual displacement of DMSO by benzamide was observed within the interlayer spacing of the modified kaolinite. The resulting material, after extensive washing with acetone, was characterized and compared to the results obtained previously for the K-DMSO composite. Benzamide intercalation proceeded by gradual displacement of DMSO molecules until completion. The structural stabilization of the K-BZ derivative was explained through the establishment of hydrogen bonds between the carbonyl oxygen atoms of the intercalated benzamide and aluminol groups present at the surface of the kaolinite layer. The interlamellar spacing of K-BZ was shown to be possibly occupied by benzamide molecules that were located at a 68 degrees orientation in relation to the layer surface. Unlike most intercalation molecules such as DMSO, variations in the interplanar spacing of kaolinite were consistent with the nonkeying of any other part of the molecule between the aluminosilicate interlayers. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Cationic fullerenes are effective and selective antimicrobial photosensitizers

Fullerenes are soccer ball-shaped molecules composed of carbon atoms, and, when derivatized with functional groups, they become soluble and can act as photosensitizers. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy combines a nontoxic photosensitizer with harmless visible light to generate reactive oxygen species that kill microbial cells. We have compared the antimicrobial activity of six functionalized C(60) compounds with one, two, or three hydrophilic or cationic groups in combination with white light against gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. After a 10 min incubation, the bis- and tris-cationic fullerenes were highly active in killing all tested microbes (4-6 logs) under conditions in which mammalian cells were comparatively unharmed. These compounds performed significantly better than a widely used antimicrobial photosensitizer, toluidine blue O. The high selectivity and efficacy exhibited by these photosensitizers encourage further testing for antimicrobial applications.     

Ultraviolet-C irradiation for prevention of central venous catheter-related infections: an in vitro study

Central venous catheters (CVC) are widely used in the United States and are associated with 250,000 to 500,000 CVC-related infections in hospitals annually. We used a catheter made from ultraviolet-C (UVC) transmissive material to test whether delivery of UVC from the lumen would allow inactivation of microorganisms on the outer surface of CVC. When the catheter was exposed to UVC irradiation from a cold cathode fluorescent lamp inside the catheter lumen at a radiant exposure of 3.6 mJ cm(-2) , more than 6-log(10) of drug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria adhered to the outer surface of the catheter were inactivated. Three to 7-log(10) of drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria and 2.80-log(10) of fungi were inactivated at a radiant exposure of 11 mJ cm(-2).UVC irradiation also offered a highly selective inactivation of bacteria over keratinocytes under exactly comparable conditions. After 11 mJ cm(-2) UVC light had been delivered, over 6-log(10) of bacteria were inactivated while the viability loss of the keratinocytes was only about 57%.     

Strategies to potentiate antimicrobial photoinactivation by overcoming resistant phenotypes

Conventional antimicrobial strategies have become increasingly ineffective due to the emergence of multidrug resistance among pathogenic microorganisms. The need to overcome these deficiencies has triggered the exploration of alternative treatments and unconventional approaches towards controlling microbial infections. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) was originally established as an anticancer modality and is currently used in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. The concept of photodynamic inactivation requires cell exposure to light energy, typically wavelengths in the visible region that causes the excitation of photosensitizer molecules either exogenous or endogenous, which results in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS produce cell inactivation and death through modification of intracellular components. The versatile characteristics of PDT prompted its investigation as an anti-infective discovery platform. Advances in understanding of microbial physiology have shed light on a series of pathways, and phenotypes that serve as putative targets for antimicrobial drug discovery. Investigations of these phenotypic elements in concert with PDT have been reported focused on multidrug efflux systems, biofilms, virulence and pathogenesis determinants. In many instances the results are promising but only preliminary and require further investigation. This review discusses the different antimicrobial PDT strategies and highlights the need for highly informative and comprehensive discovery approaches.     

Efflux Pump Inhibitor Potentiates Antimicrobial Photodynamic Inactivation of Enterococcus faecalis Biofilm

Microbial biofilm architecture contains numerous protective features, including extracellular polymeric material that render biofilms impermeable to conventional antimicrobial agents. This study evaluated the efficacy of antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (aPDI) of Enterococcus faecalis biofilms. The ability of a cationic, phenothiazinium photosensitizer, methylene blue (MB) and an anionic, xanthene photosensitizer, rose bengal (RB) to inactivate biofilms of E. faecalis (OG1RF and FA 2-2) and disrupt the biofilm structure was evaluated. Bacterial cells were tested as planktonic suspensions, intact biofilms and biofilm-derived suspensions obtained by the mechanical disruption of biofilms. The role of a specific microbial efflux pump inhibitor (EPI), verapamil hydrochloride in the MB-mediated aPDI of E. faecalis biofilms was also investigated. The results showed that E. faecalis biofilms exhibited significantly higher resistance to aPDI when compared with E. faecalis in suspension (P < 0.001). aPDI with cationic MB produced superior inactivation of E. faecalis strains in a biofilm along with significant destruction of biofilm structure when compared with anionic RB (P < 0.05). The ability to inactivate biofilm bacteria was further enhanced when the EPI was used with MB (P < 0.001). These experiments demonstrated the advantage of a cationic phenothiazinium photosensitizer combined with an EPI to inactivate biofilm bacteria and disrupt biofilm structure.     

Effect of viscous dissipation on the mixed convection heat transfer from an exponentially stretching surface

The mixed convection flow and heat transfer from an exponentially stretching vertical surface in a quiescent fluid is analyzed using similarity solution technique. Wall temperature and stretching velocity are assumed to have specific exponential function forms. The influence of buoyancy along with viscous dissipation on the convective transport in the boundary layer region is analyzed in both aiding and opposing flow situations. The flow is governed by the mixed convection parameter Gr/Re². The velocity and temperature inside the boundary layer are observed to be influenced by the parameters like Prandtl number Pr, Gebhart number Gb. Significant changes are observed in non-dimensional skin friction and heat transfer coefficients due to viscous dissipation in the medium. The flow and temperature distributions inside the boundary layer are analyzed and the results for non-dimensional skin friction and heat transfer coefficients are discussed through computer generated plots.