A Facile, Expeditious Route to the Benzooxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane System. Application to a Short, High-Yield Synthesis of Filiformin

A facile and efficacious route to the benzooxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane system has been developed and applied to a synthesis of filiformin (1). The cycloaddition of ethylene to the methoxychromone 13 furnished the oxetanol 14 through a tandem cycloaddition and gamma-hydrogen abstraction sequence. Lithium aluminum hydride reduction to the diol 15 followed by acid-catalyzed rearrangement produced benzooxabicyclooctanone (16), arising from exclusive external bond migration. Similarly, ethoxychromone (17) under the same sequence of reactions afforded the homologous bridged ketone 20. For the synthesis of filiformin (1), methoxychromone 24 on ethylene cycloaddition followed by reduction of resultant oxetanol 25 with lithium aluminum hydride furnished diol 10. Acid-catalyzed rearrangement of 10 provided the bridged ketone 11 which was brominated to give 26. This bromo ketone had previously been converted to filiformin (1), and also aplysin 9, and hence, the present work represents a short, high-yield formal synthesis of these sequiterpenes from a single starting material.     

Scaling of decay lengths for surface states in the gaps of one-dimensional semi-infinite superlattices

We look at some one-dimensional semi-infinite superlattices with an underlying Hamiltonian that is of the nearest neighbour, tight binding type. A real space rescaling procedure which is exact in one dimension is applied to obtain the location of the subbands. It has been found that these subbands never overlap in 1D, and we interpret this as a band repulsion effect. Relevance in the case of a disordered system where this band repulsion crosses over to the well-known level repulsion is discussed. Then with a proper matching at the boundary we solve for the sets of denumerably infinite number of decaying solutions (the surface states) in the gaps. These types of states have been proposed quite some time ago. We look at detail theirexact analytical solutions in 1D and find that their decay lengths near the band edges diverge as |E–E _b|^–v, wherev=1/2 andE _b is the nearest band edge. The decay lengths and their divergence exponent match extremely well with those obtained from transfer matrix method. Some recent experiments on quantum well structures seem to have observed such states.     

Increasing protein stability by engineering the n → π* interaction at the β-turn

Abundant n → π* interactions between adjacent backbone carbonyl groups, identified by statistical analysis of protein structures, are predicted to play an important role in dictating the structure of proteins. However, experimentally testing the prediction in proteins has been challenging due to the weak nature of this interaction. By amplifying the strength of the n → π* interaction via amino acid substitution and thioamide incorporation at a solvent exposed β-turn within the GB1 proteins and Pin 1 WW domain, we demonstrate that an n → π* interaction increases the structural stability of proteins by restricting the ϕ torsion angle. Our results also suggest that amino acid side-chain identity and its rotameric conformation play an important and decisive role in dictating the strength of an n → π* interaction.

Amino acid residues adopt a right-handed α-helical conformation with increasing strength of the n → π* interaction. We also demonstrate a direct consequence of n → π* interactions on enhancing the structural stability of proteins.     

Regioselective cleavage of the bis-benzylidene acetal of d-mannitol under oxidative and reductive conditions: a new approach to C2-symmetric chiral ligands

A highly regioselective oxidative cleavage of 1,3:4,6-di-O-benzylidene-d-mannitol was carried out using NBS and the resultant product was readily converted to the C₂-symmetric chiral ligand, (R,R)-3,4-dihydroxy-1,5-hexadiene. On the other hand, reductive cleavage of 1,3:4,6-di-O-benzylidene-d-mannitol was achieved in a highly regioselective manner using BF₃·OEt₂ and Et₃SiH to give a highly functionalized benzyl ether, which was converted to a synthetically useful C₂-symmetric bis-amino alcohol derivative.     

STUDIES ON HUMAN LENS: I. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF FLUORESCENT PIGMENTS

Abstract
Fluorescence spectra of normal mature human lenses have been measured and at least eight species with distinct emission characteristics identified. To determine the specific photochemical and photophysical processes responsible for the origin and development of these fluorophores, emission behavior of the products generated by successive irradiation of young human lenses (3–6 y old) as well as of L-tryptophan solution have been systematically monitored. Fluorescent products that resulted from this irradiation were comparable to many of the fluorophores detected in aged lenses, indicating that light plays a major role in the development of these pigments. In addition to photogenerated species, there are other compounds in human lenses, presumably advanced glycosylated end products, with marked fluorescence properties.
Several oxidation products of tryptophan including N -formylkynurenine or its derivatives, β-carboline or its derivatives, and anthranilic acid have been identified in the mature human lens. The development of several photoproducts also was attributed to endogenous ascorbate-mediated Maillard reaction products, which undergo photoconversion by the visible light. Although some of these chromophores could act as photosensitaizers, the sensitizing efficiency of many are low. Conversely, the near-UV filtering capability of these colored compounds conceivably could protect the vitreous and retina from development of any photochemical lesion.     

A comparative study of molecular complexation of [60]- and [70]fullerenes with 1,3,5-tribromobenzene by UV-vis spectrophotometric method

By UV-vis spectrophotometric method it has been shown that 1,3,5-tribromobenzene (TBB) forms molecular complexes of 1:2 stoichiometry with [60]- and [70]fullerenes. An isosbestic point could be detected in case of the [70]fullerene complex. The formation constant of the [60]fullerene complex is higher than that of the [70]fullerene complex at each of the four temperatures under study. This is in opposite order of the electron affinities of the two fullerenes; moreover, no charge transfer band was observed in the spectra of either complex in solution. This indicates that van der Waals forces, rather than CT interactions, are responsible for complexation. The results reveal that the C-atoms at the pentagon vertices of [60]fullerene have greater polarizing power than those in [70]fullerene.     

Eigenvalues of large even annulenes in terms ofK 3,S 4 andS 5

Squares of the adjacency matrices of bipartite cycles (C_v) can be block-factored into matrices which correspond to vertex-weighted complete graphs forv = 6, vertex-weighted strongly regular graphs forv = 8 and 10, and vertex-weighted metrically regular graphs forv > 10. Using this fact and some properties of strongly and metrically regular graphs, it is shown that eigenvalues of large bipartite C _v graphs (i.e. large even annulenes) can be expressed by the general formula ± (2 ± (2 ± (... ± (2 +r _p)) ...), wherev = 2 ⁿ ×p,n is the number of surd () signs required andp = 3, 4 and 5. Here,r ₃,r ₄, andr ₅, are the eigenvalues of the complete graphK ₃ and the strongly regular graphsS ₄ andS ₅ respectively. The procedure does not require construction of characteristic polynomials for the determination of eigenvalues, and brings out a common topological origin for the two-fold degeneracies observed in the eigenvalue spectra of all even cycles and many odd cycles.     

Gels dried under supercritical and ambient conditions: a comparative study and their subsequent conversion to silica–carbon composite aerogels

In present work, we have prepared gels with various compositions of methyltrimethoxysilane—3-(2,3-epoxypropoxy) propyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS-GPTMS) using a two-step acid base sol–gel process. To make a comparative study between the two common drying routes, we prepared gels under supercritical and also under ambient conditions. The density of the supercritically dried hybrid aerogels lies between 0.18 and 0.31 gcm^?3, while the density of the ambient dried ones ranges between 0.35 and 0.42 gcm^?3. The surface area of MTMS-0.25 GPTMS aerogel dried under supercritical conditions, has been found to be 464 m² g^?1 with a pore volume and average pore diameter of 1.24 cm³ g^?1 and 11 nm respectively. The same composition dried under ambient conditions is found to have similar properties i.e. a BET surface area of 439 m² g^?1, pore volume of 1.22 cm³ g^?1 and average pore diameter of 11 nm. The aerogels were later pyrolyzed yielding silica/carbon composite aerogels. The pyrolized aerogels possessed a surface area as high as 207 m² g^?1 with a total pore volume of 0.98 cm³ g^?1. The pyrolysed aerogels were also calcined to yield carbon free materials.     

Scalable bottom‐up assembly of suspended carbon nanotube and graphene devices by dielectrophoresis

Bottom‐up assembly by dielectrophoresis (DEP) has emerged in recent years as a viable alternative to conventional top–down fabrication of electronic devices from nanomaterials, particularly carbon nanotubes and graphene. Here, we demonstrate how this technique can be extended to fabricate devices containing carbon nanotubes and graphene suspended between two electrodes over a back‐gate electrode. The suspended device geometry is critical for the development of nano‐electromechanical devices and to extract maximum performance out of electronic and optoelectronic devices. This technique allows for parallel assembly of devices over large scale. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)