Self‐Assembled Submonolayer of β‐Cyclodextrins on Gold Electrode for the Selective Determination of 4‐Aminobiphenyl

The formation of an inclusion complex between 4‐aminobiphenyl (4‐AB) and β‐cyclodextrin molecules (β‐CD), allows the use of thiolated β‐CDs as chemi‐adsorbed material on a Au electrode as a self‐assembled submonolayer for the selective square wave voltammetric determination of 4‐AB. The submonolayer was characterized by reductive desorption and an association constant of 1.2×10⁴ L/mol was obtained. The optimization of variables yielded a linear dependence of ip/4‐AB concentration in the range of 10^?5 to 10^?4 mol/L. The selectivity of the method was evaluated in the presence of other aromatic amines obtaining better results with the modified electrode. This methodology was applied to the voltammetric determination of 4‐AB in wastewater samples.     

Amperometric Biosensor for Hydrogen Peroxide,Using Supramolecularly Immobilized Horseradish Peroxidase on the β‐Cyclodextrin‐Coated Gold Electrode

Horseradish peroxidase, previously modified with 1‐adamantane moieties, was supramolecularly immobilized on gold electrodes coated with perthiolated β‐cyclodextrin. The functionalized electrode was employed for the construction of an amperometric biosensor device for hydrogen peroxide using 1 mM hydroquinone as electrochemical mediator. The biosensor exhibited a fast amperometric response (6 s) and a good linear response toward H₂O₂ concentration between 12 μM and 450 μM. The biosensor showed a sensitivity of 1.02 mA/M cm², and a very low detection limit of 5 μM. The electrode retained 97% of its initial electrocatalytic activity after 30 days of storage at 4 ⁰C in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0.     

Synthesis of β‐Haloketones by β‐Addition Reactions of α,β‐Unsaturated Ketones with BX3 (X = Br,Cl) as Halide Source

A series of β‐bromoketones and β‐chloroketones were synthesized by the addition reactions of α,β‐unsaturated ketones under BX₃ (X = Br, Cl) and ethylene glycol reaction system. The α,β‐unsaturated ester also was successfully converted to its corresponding β‐bromoester under the reaction condition.     

A rare occurrence of a β‐turn in an amyloid βA4 peptide

The fragment β(25–35) of the amyloid β‐peptide, like its parent βA4, has shown neurotrophic and late neurotoxic activities in cultured cells. The 3D structure of this important peptide was examined by ¹H and ¹³C 2D‐NMR and MD simulations in DMSO‐d₆ and water. The NMR parameters of chemical shift, ³J(N,Hα) coupling constants, temperature coefficients of NH chemical shifts and the pattern of intra and inter‐residue NOEs were used to deduce the structures. In DMSO‐d₆, the peptide was found to take up a type I β‐turn around the C‐terminal residues Ile⁸–Gly⁹–Leu¹⁰–Met¹¹, whereas in water at pH 5.5, it adopts a random coil conformation. This is only the second report of a β‐turn in the β‐amyloid class of peptides. The solution structures generated using restrained molecular dynamics were refined by MARDIGRAS to an R factor of 0.33 in the case of DMSO‐d₆ and to 0.56 for water. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Mild Isomerization Reaction for β,γ‐Unsaturated Ketone to α,β‐Unsaturated Ketone

A series of β,γ‐unsaturated ketones were isomerized to their corresponding α,β‐unsaturated ketones by the introduction of DABCO in iPrOH at room temperature. The endo‐cyclic double bond (β,γ‐position) on ketone was rearranged to exo‐cyclic double bond (α,β‐position) under the reaction conditions.     

Self‐assembling amphiphilic block copolymer from renewable δ‐decalactone and δ‐dodecalactone

Aliphatic polyesters have many applications in the biomedical field due to their properties and facile degradation. They are commonly synthesized via ring opening polymerization (ROP) with metal‐based catalysts, but as high temperatures are needed and the products contain metal, organocatalysts are now widely adopted to polymerize them at room temperature while also ensuring short reaction times. Here, 1,7,7‐triazabicyclo[4.4.0]‐dec‐5‐ene is used to polymerize less reactive but renewably‐derived lactones, namely δ‐decalactone and δ‐dodecalactone. These monomers were chosen in the attempt of creating renewable and highly lipophilic materials for drug delivery applications as alternatives to the more traditional, but non‐renewable δ‐valerolactone and ?‐caprolactone. A combination of ROP and living radical polymerization Reversible Addition‐Fragmentation Chain Transfer is proposed here to synthesize grafted block copolymers. They are able to self‐assemble in water, forming micelles where the lipophilic polyester core is able to entrap a lipophilic drug, thus making the system a good candidate for drug delivery. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55 , 3788–3797     

Studies on the Mass Spectra of N‐Aryl α,β‐Unsaturated γ‐Lactams

The mass spectra of a series of N‐aryl α,β‐unsaturated γ‐lactams were studied. Besides the molecular ion, the three characteristic fragments such as [M⁺‐29], [M⁺‐55], and [M⁺‐82] were commonly found in a series of N‐Aryl α,β‐unsaturated γ‐lactams in EI/MS. Further more the mechanism for the interpretation of these fragments is also de scribed.     

Simultaneous Detection of Ascorbic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide by Flow‐Injection Analysis with a Thin Layer Dual‐Electrode Detector

Based on preliminary voltammetric investigations at unmodified and modified electrodes in aqueous solutions buffered at different pHs, a profitable thin layer dual‐electrode detector was developed for the selective and simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and hydrogen peroxide present in the same samples. It consists of a small thickness (0.1 mm) cell, used as a detector for a flow injection system, in which a glassy carbon (GC) and a polyeugenol coated Pt electrode are encased. The GC electrode is selective for AA, thanks to the potential applied (0.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl,Cl^?_sat), while H₂O₂ alone can be oxidized at the Pt electrode (0.75 V), thanks to the size selectivity and electrostatic screen properties displayed by the polyeugenol coating layer which prevents oxidation of ascorbate anions. Repeatable sharp peaks (±4.5 %) were detected for both analytes over wide linear ranges (0.005–1.000 mM) and detection limits of about 10^?6 M (176 ppb) and 5×10^?7 M (16 ppb) were inferred for AA and H₂O₂ respectively. This flow injection approach was applied to the analysis of some orange‐taste soft drinks, used as prototype real samples, spiked with controlled amounts of both analytes, thus inferring good recoveries which pointed out that deviations never exceeding 5 % affected the relevant accuracy.     

Synthesis of new optically active α,α′,β‐trisubstituted‐β‐lactones as monomers for stereoregular biopolyesters

Various optically active (4R)‐alkyloxycarbonyl‐3,3‐dialkyl‐2‐oxetanones as monomers were synthesized from L‐(S)‐malic acid in six steps to prepare a new family of stereopolyesters for biomedical applications. The synthesis began with an esterification followed of a dialkylation in the aim to introduce hydrophobic groups as methyl or reactive group as allyl. Then, a saponification has permitted to obtain the corresponding diacids that reacted with appropriate alcohols to furnish different monoesters. The last and most important step was activation of hydroxyl group of monoesters with the asymmetric carbon configuration inversion according to the Mitsunobu reaction. Thus, this reaction has provided lactones from monoesters with 100% enantiomeric excess which was confirmed by ¹H NMR and by the synthesis of corresponding isotactic and semicrystalline homopolyesters. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2586–2597     

Ligand‐free CuI‐catalyzed coupling and cyclization of β‐bromo‐α,β‐unsaturated amides with formamide leading to pyrimidinones

β‐Bromo‐α,β‐unsaturated amides were coupled and cyclized with formamide in DMF at 100°C in the presence of a catalytic amount of a copper(I) salt along with a base to give the corresponding pyrimidinones in good yields. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of an Amperometric Biosensor for β‐N‐Oxalyl‐L‐α,β‐Diaminopropionic Acid (β‐ODAP)

An amperometric method for the determination of the neurotoxic amino acid β‐N‐oxalyl‐L ‐α,β‐diaminopropionic acid (β‐ODAP) using a screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE) is reported. The electrode material was bulk‐modified with manganese dioxide and used as a detector in flow injection analysis (FIA). The enzyme glutamate oxidase (GlOx) was immobilized in a Nafion‐film on the electrode surface. The performance of the biosensor was optimized using glutamate as an analyte. Optimum parameters were found as: operational potential 440 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl), flow rate 0.2 mL min^?1, and carrier composition 0.1 mol L^?1 phosphate buffer (pH 7.75). The same conditions were used for the determination of β‐ODAP. The signal was linear within the concentration range 53–855 μmol L^?1 glutamate and 195–1950 μmol L^?1 β‐ODAP. Detection limits (as 3σ value) for both analytes were 9.12 and 111.0 μmol L^?1, respectively, with corresponding relative standard deviations of 3.3 and 4.5%. The biosensor retained more than 73% of its activity after 40 days of on‐line use.     

Microwave‐Assisted Synthesis of β‐Lactams and Cyclo‐β‐dipeptides

Different cyclo‐β‐dipeptides were prepared from corresponding N‐substituted β‐alanine derivatives under mild conditions using PhPOCl₂ as activating agent in benzene and Et₃N as base. To evaluate β³‐substituent influence, the amino acids 7 – 26 were synthesized, and a β‐lactam formation reaction was carried out instead of cyclo‐β‐dipeptide formation. The crystal structures of three derivatives of cyclo‐β‐peptides and one β‐lactam are presented.     

A Novel Synthesis of γ,δ‐Unsaturated Aldehydes from α‐Formyl‐γ‐lactones

A preparatively useful one‐step transformation of γ,γ‐disubstituted α‐formyl‐γ‐lactones into trisubstituted γ,δ‐unsaturated aldehydes is described, by means of catalytic amounts of either AcOH or AcOEt in the vapor phase over a glass support. A mechanistic rationale is proposed.     

Asymmetric Disulfonimide‐Catalyzed Synthesis of δ‐Amino‐β‐Ketoester Derivatives by Vinylogous Mukaiyama–Mannich Reactions

An organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of δ‐amino‐β‐ketoester derivatives has been developed. A chiral disulfonimide (DSI) serves as a highly efficient precatalyst for a vinylogous Mukaiyama–Mannich reaction of readily available dioxinone‐derived silyloxydienes with N‐Boc‐protected imines, delivering products in excellent yields and enantioselectivities. The synthetic utility of this reaction is illustrated in various transformations, including a new C? C bond‐forming reaction, which provide useful enantioenriched building blocks. The methodology is applied in a formal synthesis of (?)‐lasubin.     

TBAF‐Mediated Dimerization Reaction of β,γ‐Unsaturated Arylketones

A simple and high‐yield method for the synthesis of several 1,5‐diaryl‐1,5‐dicarbonyl compounds has been established starting from TBAF‐mediated isomerization and dimerization reaction of β,γ‐unsaturated arylketones (allyl arylketones) with mono‐, di‐, and tri‐methoxy groups, which is derived from allylation of commercially available different benzaldehydes and followed by oxidation of the resulting secondary alcohols.