Steric effects in the aerobic oxidation of pi-allylnickel(II) complexes with N-heterocyclic carbenes

Pi-allylchloro(NHC)nickel(II) complexes were synthesized and their reactions with O2 were studied. Ligand steric effects were found to determine the difference between rapid oxidation of the allyl group to produce bis-mu-hydroxonickel complexes and no observable reaction. The ability of the metal-NHC bond to rotate correlates with the ability of the complex to react with O2. In the limiting cases, conformationally restricted complexes are stable to O2 and complexes with rapid Ni-NHC bond rotation react rapidly with O2. Complexes with intermediate conformational flexibility were found to exhibit lesser reactivity with O2. On the basis of the observed inertness of complexes with saddle-shaped ligands to O2, we propose the adoption of a nonplanar geometry upon reaction with O2 to be required. The issue of conformational flexibility versus rigidity is expected to directly impact the catalytic behavior of metal-NHC complexes.     

Catalytic effect of copper on the hexacyanoferrate(III)-cyanide redox reaction-I The uncatalysed and catalysed reactions

A kinetic study of the hexacyanoferrate(III)-cyanide redox reaction has been made in connection with development of a new catalytic method for copper. The reaction kinetics change with time from first- to second-order dependence with respect to hexacyanoferrate(III). The reaction is nearly inverse first-order with respect to hexacyanoferrate(II) and first-order with respect to cyanide. The reaction shows a strong positive primary salt effect, but a very small increase in the reaction rate with temperature is found. A parallel reaction proceeds with a first-order dependence with respect to hydroxide. A tentative mechanism is proposed for the first reaction, involving the formation of cyanogen radicals. The second reaction corresponds to the well-known decomposition of hexacyanoferrate(III) in alkaline medium. The catalysed reaction exhibits similar kinetics with respect to hexacyanoferrate(II) and (III) but is zero-order with respect to cyanide and hydroxide and first-order with respect to catalyst. The proposed mechanism involves two consecutive interactions of the hexacyanoferrate(III) with copper(I) and with copper(II) cyanide complexes respectively, followed by a 2-electron oxidation of a co-ordinatively bridging cyanide group.     

Aryl- and alkenyllithium preparations and copper-catalyzed reaction between the derived magnesium reagents and the monoacetate of 4-cyclopentene-1,3-diol

[reaction: see text] Aryl- and alkenyllithiums, prepared by halogen-lithium exchange with lithium, exchange with n-(or t-)BuLi, stannane-lithium exchange with n-BuLi, and direct lithiation with n-BuLi, were transformed into magnesium reagents with MgCl2 and subjected to CuCN-catalyzed reaction with the title monoacetate. Except for the halogen-lithium exchange with n-BuLi, the other preparations of the lithium anions were found to be compatible with the CuCN-catalyzed reaction to afford S(N)2-type products efficiently.     

Evidences of macromolecular chains confinement of ethylene–propylene copolymer in organophilic montmorillonite nanocomposites

A random ethylene–propylene copolymer (EPM) functionalized with grafted diethylsuccinate groups was melt blended with increasing amount (to 20 wt%) of organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) to prepare nanocomposites with different morphologies as evidenced by XRD and TEM analysis. All the nanocomposites were treated with boiling toluene that did not extract a significant amount of EPM. The increase of not-extracted EPM with the increasing quantity of OMMT suggested strong interactions of the polymer chains with the inorganic substrate. The DSC measurements of nanocomposites and the corresponding insoluble residues revealed a higher T_g values with larger amount of inorganic particles. The dielectric relaxation analysis confirmed the evidence of strong interactions among montmorillonite and the polar diethylsuccinate groups for the macromolecules trapped due to the presence of the inorganic layers. The results were discussed with reference to their relevance as an evidence of nanoconfinement at polymer clay interface and correlated with the clay basal distance variation due to the intercalation process.     

Studies on alkaloids binding to GC-rich human survivin promoter DNA using positive and negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was used to investigate the binding of 13 alkaloids to two GC-rich DNA duplexes which are critical sequences in human survivin promoter. Negative ion ESI-MS was first applied to screen the binding of the alkaloids to the duplexes. Six alkaloids (including berberine, jatrorrhizine, palmatine, reserpine, berbamine, and tetrandrine) show complexation with the target DNA sequences. Relative binding affinities were estimated from the negative ion ESI data, and the alkaloids show a binding preference to the duplex with higher GC content. Positive ion ESI mass spectra of the complexes were also recorded and compared with those obtained in negative ion mode. Only the 1 : 1 complex with berbamine was observed with lower abundance in the positive ion mass spectrum while complexes with the other alkaloids were absolutely absent. Collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments indicate that the complexes with the protoberberine alkaloids (berberine, jatrorrhizine, and palmatine) dissociate via base loss and covalent cleavage. In contrast, product ion spectra of the complexes with the alkaloids reserpine, berbamine, and tetrandrine show the predominant loss of a neutral alkaloid molecule, accompanied by base loss and covalent cleavage to a lesser extent. A comparison of the gas-phase behaviors of complexes with the alkaloids to those with the traditional DNA binders has suggested an intercalative binding mode of these alkaloids to the target DNA duplexes.     

Probing metabolic alterations in breast cancer in response to molecular inhibitors with Raman spectroscopy and validated with mass spectrometry

Rapid and accurate response to targeted therapies is critical to differentiate tumors that are resistant to treatment early in the regimen. In this work, we demonstrate a rapid, noninvasive, and label-free approach to evaluate treatment response to molecular inhibitors in breast cancer (BC) cells with Raman spectroscopy (RS). Metabolic reprogramming in BC was probed with RS and multivariate analysis was applied to classify the cells into responsive or nonresponsive groups as a function of drug dosage, drug type, and cell type. Metabolites identified with RS were then validated with mass spectrometry (MS). We treated triple-negative BC cells with Trametinib, an inhibitor of the extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Changes measured with both RS and MS corresponding to membrane phospholipids, amino acids, lipids and fatty acids indicated that these BC cells were responsive to treatment. Comparatively, minimal metabolic changes were observed post-treatment with Alpelisib, an inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, indicating treatment resistance. These findings were corroborated with cell viability assay and immunoblotting. We also showed estrogen receptor-positive MCF-7 cells were nonresponsive to Trametinib with minimal metabolic and viability changes. Our findings support that oncometabolites identified with RS will ultimately enable rapid drug screening in patients ensuring patients receive the most effective treatment at the earliest time point.

Rapid and accurate response to targeted therapies is critical to differentiate tumors that are resistant to treatment early in the regimen.     

Effective 1,5-, 1,6- and 1,7-remote stereocontrol in reactions of alkoxy- and hydroxy-substituted allylstannanes with aldehydes

Alk-2-enylstannanes with 4-, 5- and 6-alkoxy- or -hydroxy-substituents are transmetallated stereoselectively with tin(iv) halides to generate allyltin trihalides which react with aldehydes to give (Z)-alk-3-enols with useful levels of 1,5-, 1,6- and 1,7-stereocontrol. Alk-2-enylstannanes with a stereogenic centre bearing a hydroxy or alkoxy group at the 4-, 5- or 6-position, react with overall (Z)-1,5-, 1,6- and 1,7-syn-stereoselectivity with respect to the hydroxy and alkoxy substituents. The analogous reactions of alkoxy- and -hydroxyalk-2-enylstannanes with a methyl bearing stereogenic centre at the 4- or 5-position react with overall (Z)-1,5- and 1,6-anti-stereoselectivity with respect to the hydroxy and methyl substituents.     

Preparation of vinylogous 2-sulfonylindolines by the palladium-catalyzed heteroannulation of o-iodoanilines with dienyl sulfones and their further transformation to indoles and carbazoles.

The palladium-catalyzed heteroannulation of o-iodoanilines with dienyl sulfones provides a convenient route to vinylogous 2-sulfonylindolines 3. The reaction proceeds in DMF/water in the presence of potassium carbonate and catalytic palladium(II) acetate and is compatible with both electron-donating and -withdrawing substituents in the para position of the aniline, and with an alkyl substituent at C-2 of the dienyl sulfone. The indolines underwent oxidation with DDQ to afford the corresponding indoles 4. The latter were then employed as dienes in Diels-Alder reactions with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD), methyl propiolate, or methyl acrylate. In the case of the latter two dienophiles, the cycloadditions were highly regioselective, affording the corresponding 1,3-products (with respect to the relative positions of the sulfone and ester groups), exclusively. The cycloadducts from acetylenic dienophiles were converted to the corresponding carbazoles by elimination of the sulfone moiety with DBU, and that from methyl acrylate was subjected to reductive desulfonylation and oxidation to the corresponding carbazole with DDQ. The method thus provides access to carbazoles with various substituents at the 3-, 4-, and 6-positions.     

Chemistry of Substituted Quinolinones. Part 8. Synthesis and Cyclization Reactions of Ethyl 5-Amino-1-(1-methyl-2-oxoquinolin-4-YL)-3-methylsulfanylpyrazole-4-carboxylate

The synthesis of the titled amino-ester 3 is described and its hydrolysis and chloroacetylation led to the acid 5 and acetamide 7 , which were cyclized to the pyrazolopyridones 6 and 8 , respectively. Condensation of 3 with 2,5-dimethoxytetrahydrofuran afforded the pyrrolylpyrazole 9 , which underwent cyclization by action of PPA to give pyrazolopyrrolizine 10 . Treating 3 with thiophosgene gave the pyrazolyl isothiocyanate 11 , which added aniline to yield the thiourea derivative 12 , and cyclized to give pyrazolopyrimidinethiones 13-15 . Condensation of 3 with formamide furnished pyrazolopyrimidine 16 , while with triethyl orthoformate produced the ethoxymethyleneaminopyrazole 18 , which condensed with hydrazine to give the aminopyrazoloprimidine 19 . Reaction of 3 with Lawesson's reagent resulted in the pyrazolothiazaphosphinine 21 . Also the cyclization reaction of the compound 3 with malononitrile and its mixtures with carbon disulfide, phenyl isothiocyanate, or benzaldehyde led to the formation of a variety of polyfunctional substituted pyrazolopyrimidines 23 and 26 , pyrazolothiazine 24 and pyrazolopyridine 28 .     

Oxidation of Hydrogen by Metal Complexes of Platinum and Palladium Immobilized on Silica

The thermal stability of metal complexes immobilized on the surface of silica and its connection with the catalytic activity in the oxidation of hydrogen were investigated. High catalytic activity was exhibited by heterogenized platinum and palladium acetylacetonate near room temperatures in the initial state and by γ-aminopropylsilicas treated with platinum and palladium complexes. The catalytic activity of the metal complexes correlates with their thermal stability and with the ability to undergo oxidation to a metal state with high valence. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Role of thiol-disulfide exchange in insulin binding to its receptor.

The effects of reduction by DTT, oxidation by DTNB and treatment with NEM on the thiol contents and insulin binding to its receptor in mice liver membranes were studied. Reduction with DTT leads to a parallel increase in the thiol content and the specific binding of insulin to the membrane. Scatchard analysis of the results shows little change in the number of binding sites but a twofold increase of the binding constant. Washing the membrane with bound insulin by a DTT containing buffer results in a more marked increase in the release of bound insulin than washing with buffer alone, suggesting that part of the insulin is bound to its receptor by covalent disulfide linkages through a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction and reduction with DTT leads to a marked increase in this "disulfide-linked" insulin. Treatment with DTNB or NEM of the DTT-reduced membrane seems to reverse the effect of DTT reduction, although the reaction of the untreated membrane with DTNB or NEM had little or no effect on the specific binding of insulin. It is suggested that initially, part of the thiols responsible for the exchange reaction may not be available for reaction with DTNB and reduction with DTT generates further thiols leading to increased specific binding in general and increased insulin binding to the receptor through covalent disulfide linkages in particular.     

Energy gradients with respect to atomic positions and cell parameters for the Kohn-Sham density-functional theory at the Gamma point

The application of theoretical methods based on density-functional theory is known to provide atomic and cell parameters in very good agreement with experimental values. Recently, construction of the exact Hartree-Fock exchange gradients with respect to atomic positions and cell parameters within the Gamma-point approximation has been introduced. In this article, the formalism is extended to the evaluation of analytical Gamma-point density-functional atomic and cell gradients. The infinite Coulomb summation is solved with an effective periodic summation of multipole tensors. While the evaluation of Coulomb and exchange-correlation gradients with respect to atomic positions are similar to those in the gas phase limit, the gradients with respect to cell parameters needs to be treated with some care. The derivative of the periodic multipole interaction tensor needs to be carefully handled in both direct and reciprocal space and the exchange-correlation energy derivative leads to a surface term that has its origin in derivatives of the integration limits that depend on the cell. As an illustration, the analytical gradients have been used in conjunction with the QUICCA algorithm to optimize one-dimensional and three-dimensional periodic systems at the density-functional theory and hybrid Hartree-Fock/density-functional theory levels. We also report the full relaxation of forsterite supercells at the B3LYP level of theory.     

Preparation of ion exchange resins from carbonaceous adsorbents

Carbonaceous adsorbents are obtained by thermolysis of sulfonated macroreticular polystyrene ion exchange resins at 300-500°C. The hard, spherical, carbonaceous particles react exothermally with elemental chlorine to form products containing up to 38% Cl. The chlorinated particles react readily with polyamines to form anion exchange resins with capacities of up to 2.2 meq/g dry resin. Less than 60% of the nitrogen atoms in the particles are utilized as ion exchange sites. The carbonaceous particles can also be chloromethylated with chloromethyl methyl ether or chlorinated with sulfuryl chloride and then aminated with polyamines to form anion exchange resins, sulfonated with sulfuric acid or chlorosulfonic acid to form strongly acidic cation exchange resins, or chlorosulfonated and then aminated with polyamines to form anion exchange resins. Model structures of the thermolyzed resins containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fragments are proposed to explain their chemical reactivities.     

Excited-state structure and dynamics of 1,3,5-tris(phenylethynyl)benzene as studied by Raman and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy

Excited-state structure and dynamics of 1,3,5-tris(phenylethynyl)benzene (TPB) have been studied in n-hexane and n-heptane solutions. Time-resolved fluorescence spectra, fluorescence anisotropy, and lifetime of TPB were recorded with femtosecond to nanosecond time resolution. Raman depolarization ratio was also measured to elucidate a nonplanar structure of the ground state. Two fluorescence components, the short-lived component with 150 fs lifetime and the long-lived component with 10 ns lifetime, were observed. The analysis of the fluorescence anisotropy values combined with the Raman depolarization data has led to a conclusion that TPB is primarily excited to a short-lived excited singlet state with a nonplanar structure, and then it relaxes to a long-lived excited singlet state with a 3-fold axis. A rapid structural change from a nonplanar to a planar structure is suggested to take place in the process of relaxation.     

偶联剂对丙烯酸酯改性聚氨酯聚合物接枝率和乳液性能的影响

合成了含双羟基的甲基丙烯酸甘油酯(GM)并将其作为偶联剂用于聚丙烯酸酯(PAC)对水基聚氨酯(PU)的改性.采用核磁共振、红外光谱和气相色谱等对GM进行了表征.分别以该双羟基GM和单羟基的丙烯酸羟乙酯(HEA)与异氰酸酯基(NCO)封端的PU预聚体进行反应以在PU分子链上引入双键,然后再与丙烯酸酯类单体通过自由基聚合制...     

Supramolecular hydrogels based on short peptides linked with conformational switch

Short peptides appropriately linked with an azobenzene conformational switch were found to be motif and pH dependant supramolecular hydrogelators. The hydrogelation properties of the short peptides linked with the conformational switch were studied in detail with respect to dependence on amino acid residue, pH and salt effect. The presence of amino acids with aromatic side chains such as Phe and Tyr was found to be favorable for the short peptides to gel water at an appropriate pH range. Cationic amino acid residues such as Arg and Lys in the short peptides were found to be unfavorable for hydrogelation. pH and salt effect were also found to be important factors for the hydrogelation properties of the short peptides. A series of short peptides with bioactive sequences were linked with the conformational switch and their hydrogelation properties were investigated. Photoresponsive supramolecular hydrogels were realized based on the E-/Z- transition of the conformational switch upon light irradiation. Proper combination of amino acid residues in the short peptides resulted in smart supramolecular hydrogels with responses to multiple stimuli.     

Lignocellulose - polymer composites

Water hyacinth and its mechanical pulps were used as lignocellulose to produce composites together with polystyrene or urea-formaldehyde resins. The bending strength of the composites increased with increasing concentration of the resin. The temperatures of the treatment of water hyacinth to obtain the pulps affect the strength and densities of the composites. This may be attributed to the behavior of lignin at temperatures higher than 135°C. The composites produced using urea-formaldehyde resins showed slight increase in bending strengths compared with those produced using polystyrene, which may be attributed to the ability of formaldehyde to make crosslinks with the free OH groups of cellulose and hemicellulose. Contrary to water hyacinth, the use of ground palm leaves together with 10% urea-formaldehyde resin produced composite with high density and low bending strength, while the ground water hyacinth failed. The pulp from palm leaves when processed into composites using 10% urea-formaldehyde resin show bending and densities affected by its preparation and by the amount of the composite mixture to be pressed. Hence the type of the substrate defined the type of the polymers or resin used to obtain composites with proper mechanical properties. The effect of the pressure used to produce composites from ground palm leaves or their pulp together with polystyrene was investigated. Linear relationships between the bending strength and pressure were obtained, the bending strength and densities increasing with increasing pressure. Thus, the increased pressures enhance mechanical properties of the composites.     

超疏水超亲油玉米秸秆粉油污吸附剂的制备及其在油水分离中的应用

超疏水超亲油材料因其在油水分离等领域有广泛的应用前景而引起人们极大关注。 目前,有很多方法可以用来制备超疏水超亲油材料,但因其过程复杂、成本高、环境适应性差限制了其在实际生产、生活中应用。 本文以玉米秸秆为原料,经TiO₂ 溶胶浸涂并经辛基三甲氧基硅烷修饰后显示出超疏水和超亲油,水滴、油滴在其表面的接触角分别为160°和0°。 研究结果显示,玉米秸秆粉表面的超疏水性源于其表面微纳米复合阶层结构及低表面能化学组成的协同作用。 利用玉米秸秆粉表面的憎水性和亲油性,能将其用于水面油污的吸附和分离,具有分离效率高、稳定性好、可循环利用的优点。 相比于其它材料,以玉米秸秆为原料制备超疏水超亲油的油污吸附剂,原料丰富、成本低、过程简单、易降解、可循环利用,有望在生产、生活中得到应用。     

Extraction behaviour of uranium,zirconium and ruthenium with gamma-irradiated sulfoxides and tri-n-butyl phosphate

The extraction, scrubbing and stripping behaviour of uranium, zirconium and ruthenium with di-n-hexyl and di-n-octyl sulfoxides in Solvesso-100 and tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) in shell Sol-T irradiated by various gamma doses (0–169 Mrads) have been investigated. 2M HNO₃ was used for extraction and scrubbing and 0.01M HNO₃ for stripping purposes. Results indicate that the extraction of uranium with TBP increases and that with sulfoxide decreases with dose. This is reflected in their corresponding scrubbing percentages too. The stripping percentage of uranium with TBP decreases with dose while the reverse is the case with sulfoxide. The extraction of zirconium with TBP increases sharply with dose as compared to sulfoxides. The extraction scrubbing and stripping of ruthenium remain almost unaffected by dose both in the case of TBP and sulfoxides. These results lead to much higher overall decontamination factors for uranium with respect to zirconium as well as ruthenium with irradiated sulfoxides as compared to those with irradiated TBP.