The discovery of 3-(1-aminoethylidene)quinoline-2, 4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives as novel PSII electron transport inhibitors

Based on the structures of the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase inhibitor mesotrione and natural product fischerellin A, a series of imine derivatives of ( $E$ )-3-acyl-quinoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (6, 12 and 16) were designed, synthesized and systematically evaluated for their herbicidal activity. The bioassay results indicated that most of the synthesized compounds displayed good to excellent herbicidal activity, of which 6e, 6g, 6h, 6q and 6t exhibited more than 50 % inhibition against Brassica napus L., Amaranthus retroflexu or Digitaria adscendens at a dosage of $94\,\hbox {g}\,\hbox {ha}^{-1}$ or lower. The symptom of injured leaves in vivo, the high Hill reaction inhibitory activity of 6h in vitro ( $\hbox {IC}_{50}\,0.1\, \upmu \hbox {g}\,\hbox {mL}^{-1})$ and the computer-based binding model of compound 6h with D1 protein in photosystem II (PSII) reaction centre suggest this novel structure to likely be a new type of PSII electron transport inhibitor. Thus, we have found a novel type of diketone enamine structure targeted at the PSII reaction centre.     

Features of the magnetic and dielectric behavior of mesophases of chromium (III) complexes with azacyclic ligands

Two paramagnetic (1, 2) chromium metallomesogens were studied by the EPR, magnetic-susceptibility, and dielectric-spectroscopy methods. These mesogens possess columnar liquid-crystal phase polymorphism. For mesogen 1 in the columnar Col_xd phase, an irreversible structural phase transition was detected by the EPR method. An anomalous nonlinear temperature dependence of the resonance fields of the EPR line positions and of the fine-structure parameter D in the mesophases of compound 1 was observed. It was shown that this anomaly is associated with the soft mode of crystal lattice. The dielectric spectroscopy data provide support for the existence of the soft mode, which is probably due to the transition of the system from a paraelectric to a dipole-ordered state. The structure of the hexagonal columnar plastic phase of mesogen 2 is formed by a single type of paramagnetic monomer chromium center and does not exhibit any specific features.     

Magnetostriction and thermal expansion of HoAl3(BO3)4

The magnetostriction and thermal expansion of rare-earth aluminoborate HoAl₃(BO₃)₄ have been studied theoretically. The calculated field and temperature dependences of the multipole moments of the Ho³⁺ ion in HoAl₃(BO₃)₄ made it possible to describe the known experimental data and to predict possible anomalies of thermal expansion. It has been shown that, for the direction of the field B ‖ c, the nonmonotonic character of magnetostriction along the axis a is determined by the multipole moments, the main of which is β _J 〈O ₄ ⁰ 〉. For B ‖ a and B ‖ b, the maximum moments are β _J 〈O ₄ ² 〉and α _J 〈O ₂ ² 〉; their variation with the field and temperature explain well the form of magnetostriction. It has been established that the greater value of magnetostriction Δa/a for B ‖ b than for B ‖ a and the greater value of magnetostriction for the field in the basal plane than for B ‖ c are caused by greater variations in the field of actual multipole moments.     

Magnetic properties of HoFe3(BO3)4

The magnetic properties of an antiferromagnet with trigonal symmetry, namely, HoFe₃(BO₃)₄, have been investigated theoretically. The calculations have been performed in the molecular field approximation and in the framework of the crystal field model for the rare-earth subsystem. Extensive experimental data on the magnetic properties of HoFe₃(BO₃)₄ have been interpreted and good agreement between theory and experiment has been achieved using the obtained theoretical dependences. The spontaneous spin-reorientation transition and the spin-reorientation transition induced by a magnetic field B ‖ a from the easy-axis to easy-plane state, as well as the spin-flop transition in a magnetic field B ‖ c, have been described. It has been shown that the spontaneous spin-reorientation transition is a magnetic analog of the Jahn-Teller effect. The temperature dependences of the initial magnetic susceptibility at temperatures ranging from 2 to 300 K, the nonlinear curves of magnetization for B ‖ c and B ⊥ c in a magnetic field up to 1.2 T (which indicate the occurrence of first-order phase transitions), and their evolution with variations in the temperature have been described, as well as the temperature and field dependences of the magnetization in a magnetic field up to 9 T. The parameters of the trigonal crystal field for the rare-earth ion Ho³⁺ and the parameters of the Fe-Fe and Ho-Fe exchange interactions have been determined in the course of interpretation of the experimental data.     

Synthesis and EPR spectroscopy of nitroxyl derivatives of the C60 fullerene

The 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-imidazoline-3-oxy-1-oxyl-4-(azidophenyl) derivatives of the C₆₀ fullerene with one (compound I), two (compound II), and three (compound III) nitroxyl groups are synthesized and studied by EPR spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that successive addition of nitroxyl radicals to C₆₀ leads to a decrease in the rotational mobility of molecules. Chromatographically inseparable isomers are found for compounds II and III.     

Solvatoemissive dual fluorescence of N-(pyridylmethyl)-3-nitro-1,8-naphthalimides

Solvatoemissive dual fluorescence emission observed in the three positional isomers of N-(n-pyridylmethyl)-3-nitro-1,8-naphthalimide [n?=?2 (1), 3 (2), 4 (3)] are described. Dual fluorescence emission in this class of compounds occurs from the excited states with extended conjugation via π-stacking interactions. The crystal structure of the compound 1 and the chloride salt of 2 were determined. The compound 1 forms dimeric assemblies through π-stacking interactions. Whereas the structure of the chloride salt of 2 is composed of dimeric assemblies of the cationic part which hold cyclic hydrated anionic assemblies through weak C-H^…Cl interactions. Anionic hydrated assemblies between water and chloride ions have cyclic tetrameric structure through O-H^…Cl interactions.     

Bis(2-Hydroxy-3-Isopropyl-6-Methyl-Benzaldehyde)Ethylenediamine: A Novel Cation Sensor

Novel substituted phenol-based new symmetrical bis(2-hydroxy-3-isopropyl-6-methyl-benzaldehyde)ethylenediamine (1) has been designed and synthesized. The compound 1 fluorometrically recognized Cu²⁺ ion in CH₃OH/H₂O (90:10, v/v) by exhibiting an increase in emission upon complexation. In addition, Cu²⁺ gave rise to a change in colour of the solution of compound 1, which was clearly visible to the naked eye under UV irradiation. The association constant (K) of compound 1 with Cu²⁺ ion was computed with the Benesi-Hildebrand plot and Scatchard plot at 43,000 M^?1 and 43,011 M^?1 respectively.     

Synthesis and Study the Effect of Donor-Acceptor Substituent on Fluorescence Behavior of Thieno[3, 2-c]pyridine Derivatives

4-Hetero-1-yl-2-bromothieno[3,2-c]pyridines 3(a–d) were synthesized by the reaction of 2-bromo-4-chlorothieno[3,2-c]pyridine (1) and cyclic amine 2(a–d), which on Suzuki coupling with substituted boronic acids 4(a–f) exclusively converted to corresponding 4-hetero -1-yl-2-arylthieno[3,2-c]pyridine 5(a–x) in good yields. The effect of donor-acceptor substituent on absorption emission properties and fluorescent quantum yield of new thienopyridine derivatives 5(a-x) were studied.     

Quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones inhibit the growth of multiple human tumor cell lines

Quinazoline-2,4( $1H,3H$ )-diones exhibit a wealth of biological activities including antitumor proliferation. We established an improved method for the synthesis of quinazoline-2,4( $1H,3H$ )-dione derivatives with three points of molecular diversity. Data indicate that compounds 60 (average $\text{ logGI}_{50} \!=\! -6.1$ ), 65 (average $\text{ logGI}_{50} \!=\! -6.13$ ), 69 (average $\text{ logGI}_{50} \!=\! -6.44$ ), 72 (average $\text{ logGI}_{50} \!=\! -6.39$ ), and 86 (average $\text{ logGI}_{50} = -6.45$ ) significantly inhibited the in vitro growth of 60 human tumor cell lines tested. Structure–activity relationship analyses indicate that chlorophenethylureido is the necessary substituent at the $\text{ D}_{3}$ diversity point (7-position of quinazoline-2,4( $1H,3H$ )-dione), in particular, $o$ -chlorophenethylurea (69) achieved optimal activity. $o$ - or $m$ -Chlorophenethyl substitutions (69 and 72) at the $\text{ D}_{2}$ diversity point (3-position of quinazo line-2,4( $1H,3H$ )-dione) gave the most potent compounds. Methoxyl and 4-methylpiperazin-1-yl substitution at the $\text{ D}_{1}$ diversity point (6-position of quinazoline-2,4( $1H,3H$ )-dione skeleton) may yield better activity than other groups. The quinazoline-2,4( $1H,3H$ )-dione scaffold can be effectively replaced by 2 $H$ -benzo[b][1,4]thiazin-3(4 $H$ )-one.     

Phosphorus(V)corrole- Porphyrin Based Hetero Trimers: Synthesis,Spectroscopy and Photochemistry

‘Axial-bonding’-type hetero trimers have been constructed by employing a simple ‘inorganic’ reaction such as axial bond formation of main group element containing phosphorus corrole. The approach is simple and modular in nature. The architecture of these hetero trimers such that, while a phosphorus(V)corrole forms the basal scaffolding unit, either two free-base porphyrins [(H ₂ ) ₂ –PCor] or Zn^II porphyrins [(Zn) ₂ –PCor] occupy the two axial sites via an aryloxy bridge. Both hetero trimeric species have been completely characterized by mass (FAB), UV/Vis, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies and also by the differential pulse voltammetric method. Comparison of their spectroscopic and electrochemical data of these trimers with those of the corresponding reference compounds reveal that there is no apparent ring-to-ring interactions in these ‘vertically’ linked hetero trimers. Reduced fluorescence quantum yields were observed for [(H ₂ ) ₂ –PCor] and [(Zn) ₂ –PCor] when compared to corresponding monomeric chromophores. Finally, a comparison is made between the presently reported phosphorus(V)corrole based hetero arrays and the previously reported analogous arrays based on Ge(IV)corrole with regard to their spectroscopic properties and photochemical activities.     

Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity Study of a New Penta-Coordinated Mn(II) Complex

A penta-coordinated Mn(II) compound [dqpMnCl₂] (1) (dqp = 2,6-di-(8-quinoline-yl)-pyridine) has been synthesized and its X-ray crystallographic structure is reported here. Magnetic susceptibility measurements confirmed a high-spin Mn(II) (S = 5/2) center in 1. The X-band EPR spectrum of 1 in dimethylformamide solution exhibits widely distributed transitions in the spectral range from 0 to 700 mT with particularly well-resolved hyperfine lines due to the ⁵⁵Mn (I = 5/2) nucleus. The abundance of highly resolved transition lines in the spectrum facilitated the electron paramagnetic resonance spectral simulation which revealed large zero-field splitting and g-anisotropies. When dissolved, 1 exists in equilibrium with a hexa-coordinated species, the latter probably resulting from disassociation of one chlorido-ligand allowing ligation of two solvent molecules. The redox behavior of 1 was studied and was compared to that of a structural analog for which water oxidation in the presence of a chemical oxidant has been shown. The results from water oxidation trials of 1 are discussed.     

The Reaction of Synechocystis Catalase–Peroxidase (KatG) with Isoniazid Investigated by Multifrequency (9–285 GHz) EPR Spectroscopy

Three distinct electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of radical intermediates formed as reactive intermediates in the catalytic cycle of Synechocystis catalase–peroxidase were identified. Multifrequency EPR spectroscopy, combined with site-directed mutagenesis and selective deuterium labeling of Trp and Tyr residues, allowed us to unequivocally assign such intermediates to an [Fe(IV) = O Por ^·+] species, the first committed intermediate in monofunctional peroxidases and two protein-based radicals, identified as Trp106 ^· and a Tyr ^· , formed subsequently to the [Fe(IV) = O Por ^·+] species by intramolecular electron transfer. Our recent characterization of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis catalase–peroxidase showed that the Trp ^· sites differ among these enzymes, and that the [Fe(IV) = O Trp ^· ] species was the reactive intermediate with the prodrug isoniazid. Accordingly, the question to address was whether the dissimilarity in the sites for the formation of the Trp ^· intermediates and in the geometry of the distal side was reflected by differences in the peroxidase-like reaction of Synechocystis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis catalase–peroxidases with the prodrug isoniazid. Our findings show that in the Synechocystis enzyme, the isoniazid substrate can get closer to the heme distal side and can react readily with the [Fe(IV) = O Por ^·+] species, at variance to the situation in the M. tuberculosis catalase–peroxidase. These results indicate that, as in the case of monofunctional peroxidases, the difference in the sites for the formation of the Trp ^· as alternative reactive intermediates to the [Fe(IV) = O Por ^·+] species is correlated to differences in substrate binding sites.     

Trovacenyl-based organometallic triradicals: Spin frustration, competing interactions and redox splitting

Two new triradicals based on trovacene [η⁷-tropylium)vanadium(η⁵-cyclopentadienyl)], 1,3,5-tri([5]trovacenyl) benzene4 and 1,3,5-tri([5]trovacenyl)-6-methoxybenzene5 were prepared and their magnetic properties were studied by continuous-wave X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and by temperature-dependent magnetic susceptometry. The EPR spectra of4 and5 in liquid toluene solution demonstrate that the three unpaired electrons localized on the vanadium atoms interact with each other in both complexes. The data from magnetic susceptometry revealed that the electron spins in both triradicals are antiferromagnetically coupled despite themeta-phenylene bridge. The exchange coupling constants are equal in the C₃-symmetrical triradical4 (J=J′=?0.68 cm^?1), which leads to a twofold degenerate spin ground state (spin frustration). The symmetry lowering by methoxy substitution of the benzene spacer in5 results in the effect of c ompeting interactions (J=?1.83 cm^?1 andJ′=?2.38 cm^?1). In addition to magnetocommunication, the effect of ring substitution on electrocommunication is also discernable. It manifests itself indisparate redox splittings δE _1/2 (0/?, ?/2?) and δE _1/2 (?/2?, 2?/3?) for5, while these parameters are equal for the C₃-symmetrical trinuclear complex4.     

Dislocation structure of intermetallic Ti3Al subjected to high-temperature deformation

Transmission electron microscopy was used to examine the dislocation structure of intermetallic Ti₃Al subjected to deformation at tempertures T = 1073–1273 K. The microstructure of samples subjected to high-temperature deformation is established to contain mobile superdislocations of a and 2c + a types, and single dislocations with Burgers vector [0001] are also observed on the prismatic planes. Possible models of destruction of barriers associated with 2c + a superdislocations on the pyramidal planes are discussed using the results of computer simulations of the structure of a superdislocation core in in Ti₃Al.     

Indole-based Fluorescent Sensors for Selective Detection of Hg2+

A series of indole-based fluorescent chemosensors 1–4 were prepared and investigated characteristick features with transition metal ions. Sensors 1 and 2 were selective for Hg²⁺ ion among a series of metal ions in H₂O–DMSO with association constants of 4.60×10⁴ and 5.90×10⁴?M^?1 and detection limits of 140 and 101.6 μM, respectively.

Study on the Selectivity of Anion Receptors Based on Similar (thio)urea Fragments

Three new selective anion receptors containing the (thio)urea binding sites were developed, Indole-3-formaldehyde phenyl-semithiocarbazone, Indole-3-formaldehyde nitrophenyl-semithiocarbazone, and Indole-3-formaldehyde nitrophenyl-semicarbazone, nominated as receptors 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Receptor 1 shows high selective recognition for F^? only, while both receptor 2 and receptor 3 containing a p-nitro group show high selective recognition for AcO^?. The high selective recognition of these receptors to anions is further investigated by X-ray crystallography diffraction, UV-vis, fluorescence analyses and ¹H NMR. Furthermore, receptor 2 changes from yellow to orange, and receptor 3 darkens when acetate is added, providing a way of detection by ‘naked-eye’.     

Fast calculation of HELAS amplitudes using graphics processing unit (GPU)

We use the graphics processing unit (GPU) for fast calculations of helicity amplitudes of physics processes. As our first attempt, we compute $u\overline{u}\rightarrow n\gamma$ (n=2 to 8) processes in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=14$  TeV by transferring the MadGraph generated HELAS amplitudes (FORTRAN) into newly developed HEGET (HELAS Evaluation with GPU Enhanced Technology) codes written in CUDA, a C-platform developed by NVIDIA for general purpose computing on the GPU. Compared with the usual CPU programs, we obtain a 40–150 times better performance on the GPU.     

Magnetic Properties of Sm0.7Ho0.3Fe3(BO3)4

The magnetic properties of a ferroborate single crystal of substituted composition Sm_0.7H_0.3Fe₃(BO₃)₄ with competing Sm-Fe and Ho-Fe exchange interactions are studied. The measured properties and effects are interpreted in terms of a general theoretical approach based on the molecular field approximation and calculations using the crystal field model for a rare-earth ion. The experimental temperature dependences of the initial magnetic susceptibility in the temperature range 2?C300 K, the anomalies in the magnetization curves for B ?? c and B ?? c in fields lower than 1.2 T, and the field and temperature dependences of magnetization in fields lower than 9 T are described. The crystal field parameters and the parameters of the R-Fe and Fe-Fe exchange interactions are determined during the interpretation of the experimental data.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance in noncollinear antiferromagnet Mn3Al2Ge3O12

The ⁵⁵Mn nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of noncollinear 12-sublattice antiferromagnet Mn₃Al₂Ge₃O₁₂ has been studied in the frequency range of 200–640 MHz in the external magnetic field H ‖ [001] at T = 1.2 K. Three absorption lines have been observed in fields less than the field of the reorientation transition H _c at the polarization h ‖ H of the rf field. Two lines have been observed at H > H _c and h ⊥ H. The spectral parameters indicate that the magnetic structure of manganese garnet differs slightly from the exchange triangular 120-degree structure. The anisotropy of the spin reduction and (or) weak antiferromagnetism that are allowed by the crystal symmetry lead to the difference of ≈3% in the magnetization of sublattices in the field H < H _c. When the spin plane rotates from the orientation perpendicular to the C ₃ axis to the orientation perpendicular to the C ₄ axis, all magnetic moments of the electronic subsystem decrease by ≈2% from the average value in the zero field.     

Aging effect in CaLaBa{Cu1???xFex}3O7???�� with 0 �� x �� 0.07 studied by M?ssbauer spectroscopy

In this work, we study the long-term aging effect caused by Fe atoms in the superconductor CaLaBa{Cu_1???xFe_x}₃O_7????? with 0 ?? x ?? 0.07. XRD confirms that this system has a YBCO-like structure. The critical temperature (T_c) is strongly affected by aging and depends on the amount of Fe in the structure. Room temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy reveals the presence of the typical species A, B?CB ??, C and new species E ?? and F. Interestingly; A, which corresponds to the Fe^3?+? atom located in the Cu(1) of the chains with spin S _z = 3/2, shows a drastic reduction which means migration to the species B, B ?? and C. Species B and B ?? correspond to the Fe^3?+? in the Cu(2) site forming planar quasi-octahedral and planar square pyramidal, while the C specie is a square pyramidal with O(5) respectively (spin S_z = 3/2 in all these cases). Aging causes loss of superconductivity in the samples with 5 and 7% of iron content.