Carbohydrate-based nanostructured catalysts: applications in organic transformations

The requirement of green and sustainable materials to prepare heterogeneous catalysts has intensified for practical reasons over the past few decades. Carbohydrates are possibly the most plentiful and renewable organic materials in nature with inimitable physiochemical properties, plausible low-cost and large-scale production, and sustainability features could be exploited in the generation of nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts. This review article outlines the organic transformations catalyzed by diverse carbohydrate-based nanostructured catalysts in greener and environmentally friendly processes. Selected examples are highlighted for a variety of organic reactions exploiting the proposed catalysts’ reactivity and reusability, and interactions with the intrinsic nature of the applied carbohydrate supports; advantages and speculated challenges of the introduced catalysts are deliberated as well.     

Some Theorems on Leibniz n-Algebras from the Category Un(Lb)

We study the Leibniz n-algebra Un(∑),whose multiplication is defined viathe bracket of a Leibniz algebra ∑ as[x1,...,xn]=[x1,[...,[xn-2,[xn-1,xn]]...]].Weshow that Un(∑) is simple if and only if ∑ is a simple Lie algebra.An analog of Levi'stheorem for Leibniz algebras in Un(Lb) is established and it is proven that the Leibnizn-kernel of Un(Σ) for any semisimple Leibniz algebra Σ is the n-algebra Un(Σ).     

Formation of porous polymer morphology by microsyneresis during divinylbenzene polymerization

This article describes the investigation of the importance of various reaction conditions on microsyneretic pore formation during polymerization of divinylbenzene (DVB) under so‐called “solvothermal” conditions. To induce microsyneretic pore formation, the most important parameter is an unusually high dilution of monomers with a “good” porogen solvating the polymer chains. High dilution and solvation of the growing poly(DVB) chains promote the prolongation of the polymer chains rather than their interconnection by crosslinking. Consequently, when the polymer gel density reaches the point where syneresis starts, the polymer network is geometrically too extensive to be broken up into precipitating entities and, instead, porogen droplets are formed within the continuous polymer gel. The pore geometry created by microsyneresis offers high surface area in wide mesopores and hence, high capacity for supporting functional groups or reactions with much better accessibility than narrow pores between polymer microspheres produced by macrosyneresis in conventional styrenic polymer supports. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 774–781     

N-acetyl-D-glucosamine kinase interacts with dynein light-chain roadblock type 1 at Golgi outposts in neuronal dendritic branch points

N-acetylglucosamine kinase (GlcNAc kinase or NAGK) is a ubiquitously expressed enzyme in mammalian cells. Recent studies have shown that NAGK has an essential structural, non-enzymatic role in the upregulation of dendritogenesis. In this study, we conducted yeast two-hybrid screening to search for NAGK-binding proteins and found a specific interaction between NAGK and dynein light-chain roadblock type 1 (DYNLRB1). Immunocytochemistry (ICC) on hippocampal neurons using antibodies against NAGK and DYNLRB1 or dynein heavy chain showed some colocalization, which was increased by treating the live cells with a crosslinker. A proximity ligation assay (PLA) of NAGK-dynein followed by tubulin ICC showed the localization of PLA signals on microtubule fibers at dendritic branch points. NAGK-dynein PLA combined with Golgi ICC showed the colocalization of PLA signals with somal Golgi facing the apical dendrite and with Golgi outposts in dendritic branch points and distensions. NAGK-Golgi PLA followed by tubulin or DYNLRB1 ICC showed that PLA signals colocalize with DYNLRB1 at dendritic branch points and at somal Golgi, indicating a tripartite interaction between NAGK, dynein and Golgi. Finally, the ectopic introduction of a small peptide derived from the C-terminal amino acids 74–96 of DYNLRB1 resulted in the stunting of hippocampal neuron dendrites in culture. Our data indicate that the NAGK-dynein-Golgi tripartite interaction at dendritic branch points functions to regulate dendritic growth and/or branching.     

An Activatable T1-Weighted MR Contrast Agent: A Noninvasive Tool for Tracking the Vicinal Thiol Motif of Thioredoxin in Live Cells

We have synthesized new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T₁ contrast agents (CA1 and CA2) that permit the activatable recognition of the cellular vicinal thiol motifs of the protein thioredoxin. The contrast agents showed MR relaxivities typical of gadolinium complexes with a single water molecule coordinated to a Gd³⁺ center (i.e., ~4.54 mM⁻¹s⁻¹) for both CA1 and CA2 at 60 MHz. The contrast agent CA1 showed a ~140% relaxivity enhancement in the presence of thioredoxin, a finding attributed to a reduction in the flexibility of the molecule after binding to thioredoxin. Support for this rationale, as opposed to one based on preferential binding, came from ¹H-¹⁵N-HSQC NMR spectral studies; these revealed that the binding affinities toward thioredoxin were almost the same for both CA1 and CA2. In the case of CA1, T₁-weighted phantom images of cancer cells (MCF-7, A549) could be generated based on the expression of thioredoxin. We further confirmed thioredoxin expression-dependent changes in the T₁-weighted contrast via knockdown of the expression of the thioredoxin using siRNA-transfected MCF-7 cells. The nontoxic nature of CA1, coupled with its relaxivity features, leads us to suggest that it constitutes a first-in-class MRI T₁ contrast agent that allows for the facile and noninvasive monitoring of vicinal thiol protein motif expression in live cells.     

Chiral Interlocked Corrole Dimers Directly Linked at Inner Carbon Atoms of Confused Pyrrole Rings

A facile synthetic strategy towards conformationally stable chiral chromophores based on dimeric porphyrinoids has been established. A peculiar class of face-to-face intramolecularly interlocked corrole dimers were formed by the oxidative C−C coupling linked at the inner carbon sites upon simple treatment of copper(II) ions. Their intrinsic electronic structures were modulated by the peripheral corrole ring annulations, which lead to distinct optical properties and redox profiles. The stereogenic carbon centers implemented in the confused corrole skeleton provided a rationale for designing novel chiral materials.     

Hydrogen production and photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4/Co-MOF (ZIF-67) nanocomposite under visible light irradiation

Herein, cobalt (Co)-based metal–organic zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIF-67) coupled with g-C₃N₄ nanosheets synthesized via a simple microwave irradiation method. SEM, TEM and HR-TEM results showed that ZIF-67 were uniformly dispersed on g-C₃N₄ surfaces and had a rhombic dodecahedron shape. The photocatalytic properties of g-C₃N₄/ZIF-67 nanocomposite were evaluated by photocatalytic dye degradation of crystal violet (CV), 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) and photocatalytic hydrogen (H₂) production. In presence of visible light illumination, the photocatalytic dye results showed that 95% CV degradation and 53% 4-CP degradation within 80 min. The H₂ production of the g-C₃N₄/ZIF-67 composite was 2084 μmol g⁻¹, which is 3.84 folds greater than that of bare g-C₃N₄ (541 μmol g⁻¹).