Catalyst-free multicomponent Strecker reaction in acetonitrile

The multicomponent Strecker reaction using trimethylsilyl cyanide was accomplished without any type of Lewis acid. The reaction performed in acetonitrile as solvent gave excellent results for any class of aldehydes (aromatic or aliphatic), as well as amines (aromatic or aliphatic). In many cases, α-aminonitrile product was isolated pure after the usual work-up, with quantitative chemical yields. A comparison between different solvents indicated that acetonitrile is the best choice. The rate comparison using different Lewis acids showed that all of them catalyzed the reaction in a similar extent, the difference with the acid Lewis-free being minimal.     

Driving forces for the mutual conversions between phenothiazines and their various reaction intermediates in acetonitrile

The thermodynamic driving forces (defined as the enthalpy changes or redox potentials in this work) of the 18 phenothiazines and their analogues, phenoxazine, N-methyl-dihydrophenazine, 9H-thioxanthene, 9H-xanthene and 9,10-dihydro- N-methylacridine, to release hydride, hydrogen atom, proton, and electron in acetonitrile, the thermodynamic driving forces of the radical cations of the phenothiazines and the analogues to release hydrogen atom, proton, and electron in acetonitrile, and the thermodynamic driving forces of the cations of the phenothiazines with two positive charges and their analogues to release proton in acetonitrile were estimated by using experimental methods. The effect of the remote substituents on the 11 determined thermodynamic driving forces were examined according to Brown's substituent parameters; the results show that the values of the 11 thermodynamic driving forces all are linearly dependent on the sum of Brown substituent parameters (sigma +) with very good correlation coefficients, which indicates that for any one- or multisubstituted at para- and/or meta-position phenothiazines and their various reaction intermediates, the 11 thermodynamic driving forces all can be easily and safely estimated from the corresponding Brown substituent parameters (sigma +). The relative effective charges on the center nitrogen atom in phenothiazines and their various reaction intermediates were estimated from the related Hammett-type linear free-energy relationships, which can be used to efficiently measure the electrophilicity, nucleophilicity, and dimerizing ability of the corresponding reaction intermediates of phenothiazines and their analogues. All the information disclosed in this work could not only supply a gap of the chemical thermodynamics on the mutual conversions between phenothiazines and their various reaction intermediates in solution but also strongly promote the fast development of the chemistry and application of phenothiazines and their analogues.     

Supramolecular organization of alpha,alpha'-disubstituted sexithiophenes

The self-assembly of alpha,alpha'-linked sexithiophenes with chiral and achiral penta(ethylene glycol) chains attached at the alpha-positions of the terminal rings, that is, 2,2':5',2':5',2':5',2':5',2'-sexithiophene-5,5'-dicarboxylic acid-2S)-2-methyl-3,6,9,12,15-pentaoxahexadecyl ester (1) and 2,2':5',2':5',2':5',2':5',2'-sexithiophene-5,5'-dicarboxylic acid-3,6,9,12,15-pentaoxahexadecyl ester (2), respectively is described. Analysis of the UV/vis, fluorescence, circular dichroism, and circular polarization of luminescence spectroscopic data shows that these compounds form chiral aggregates in polar solvents and in the solid state. In n-butanol aggregation occurs at temperatures below 30 degrees C, while above this threshold temperature the aggregates break up without an intermediate disordered state of aggregation, and the compounds are molecularly dissolved. The "melting temperature" of the aggregates depends on the concentration of sexithiophene, indicating that the optical changes observed are a result of intermolecular processes. Mass spectrometric measurements reveal that 1 and 2 can form mixed aggregates. Analysis of the optical spectra reveals that in these mixed aggregates, chiral 1 molecules act as "sergeants" to direct the packing of the "soldiers" 2, illustrating cooperativity within the columns. In water, the same type of chiral aggregates are formed as in n-butanol below 30 degrees C; however, these aggregates are still present, but the chirality is lost above 30 degrees C. In spin-coated films of 1 chiral aggregates are present. AFM studies show that 1 self-organizes into chiral fiberlike structures in the solid state. Furthermore both 1 and 2 display thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior between 180 and 200 degrees C.     

Non-steady-state kinetic study of the SN2 reaction between p-nitrophenoxide ion and methyl iodide in acetonitrile

Analysis of non-steady-state kinetic data for the title reaction with tetrabutylammonium counter ions in acetonitrile in the presence and absence of sodium ions rules out the ion-pair dissociation mechanism. The reinterpretation of our data by Humeres and Bentley (Org. Biomol. Chem., 2003, 1, 1969-1971) was based on a series of assumptions that are shown to be invalid by kinetic experiments.     

Apparent donor-acceptor interaction between nitroaromatics and acetonitrile

The partitioning behavior of nitro-aromatics in octanol-water and acetonitrile/NaCl-saturated water was examined. The nitro group contribution is opposite in the two systems, from which two different bonding mechanisms were inferred. In addition to cavity effects the octanol-water system is characterized by H-bonding of water to the nitro groups, while in the acetonitrile/NaCl-saturated water system electron donor-acceptor complexation predominates. A linear free energy relationship which relates the partition coefficients in the two systems was logP _aw =0.727 logP _ow +0.395 n+0.742 where n is the number of nitro groups per ring.     

Supramolecular organization of toluidine blue dye in solid amorphous phases

Toluidine blue (TB) dye molecules are intensively utilized for large-area photophysics applications such as carcinoma detection, photoinactivation of bacteria, biosensors, and photovoltaic cells. Understanding the nature of the TB aggregation state becomes an essential point of the research process in order to know the structure-function relationship and to foresee technological applications of this class of metachromatic-dye molecules. However, no structural information on toluidine blue is available in the literature, maybe because of the poor crystalline character of the aggregate. Here, we present the first structural determination of TB organic molecules using the energy dispersive X-ray diffraction technique. The investigation highlights dimeric arrangements of stacked molecules in antiparallel fashion, forming a superstructure of two dimers in a transverse arrangement. The behavior of the TB higher aggregates indicates that these dye molecules, in spite of repulsion due to similar charge (cationic dyes), undergo self-aggregation to form helical conformations.     

Analytical applications of the amine-carbon disulphide reaction in acetonitrile

The ease with which carbon disulphide transforms primary and secondary amines in acetonitrile medium into the corresponding monoalkylammonium monoalkyldithiocarbamates and dialkylammonium dialkyldithiocarbamates respectively and the simplicity and reliability of potentiometric and spectrophotometric determination of dithiocarbamates with copper(I) perchlorate in the same medium, provide simple, accurate and reliable methods for the determination of primary and secondary amines and of organic isothiocyanates.     

Supramolecular control of a fast and reversible Diels-Alder reaction

A new cyclophane featuring two opposite anthracene units linked in 9,10-positions has been synthesized thanks to the template effect of the Me4N(+) ion. It forms pseudorotaxane complexes with alkylviologen ions and undergoes a fast and reversible reaction with tetracyanoethylene. A quantitative analysis has been carried out of the formation of Diels-Alder adducts, whose distribution can be controlled by host-guest complexation. These findings open interesting perspectives in the field of Dynamic Covalent Chemistry.     

Supramolecular interactions between fullerenes and porphyrins

Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof density functional theory calculations have been carried out to investigate the host-guest interactions for several fullerene-porphyrin supramolecular complexes. The nature of the interactions has been discussed. The fullerene-porphyrin interaction energies for the complexes studied are found to be in the range from -16 to -18 kcal/mol.     

Dendrimer effects upon the reaction between (acetonitrile)pentacyano-ferrate(II) and pentaamminepyrazine-ruthenium(II)

Kinetics of the forward and reverse processes of the title ligand substitution reaction have been studied in the presence of the SB4.5G dendrimer. Results are in agreement with expectation, according to a two-state model. These results are the consequence, for the forward process, of the negative charge of one of the reactants, (iron complex), and the positive charge of the other (ruthenium complex). This produces a spatial separation of the reactants in the presence of the negatively charged dendrimer. The reverse process becomes slower in the presence of the dendrimer because of the dielectric saturation in the close vicinity of the dendrimer. This hinders the charge separation implicit in the reverse process.     

Self-diffusion in alpha and beta silicon carbide

The self-diffusion coefficients of ¹⁴C and ³⁰Si have been measured for lattice transport in high purity and N-doped α-SiC single crystals and in high purity polycrystalline CVD β-SiC in the temperature range of 2123–2573 K. Grain boundary diffusion of ¹⁴C has also been determined in the β-SiC material. The results of these studies reveal a vacancy mechanism wherein ¹⁴C diffuses considerably faster than ³⁰Si in both materials. Furthermore, D_c in the N-doped single crystals is smaller than for the undoped materials, while the opposite is true for the ³⁰Si transport in these crystals. Changes in the concentration of the charged C and Si vacancies are reasoned to be the underlying cause of this last phenomena. A discussion of the effect of Si evaporation and its effect upon the value of the diffusion coefficient is also presented.     

Resolution of the non-steady-state kinetics of the two-step mechanism for the Diels-Alder reaction between anthracene and tetracyanoethylene in acetonitrile

The Diels-Alder reaction between anthracene and tetracyanoethylene in acetonitrile does not reach a steady-state during the first half-life. The reaction follows the reversible consecutive second-order mechanism accompanied by the formation of a kinetically significant intermediate. The experimental observations consistent with this mechanism include extent of reaction-time profiles which deviate markedly from those expected for the irreversible second-order mechanism and initial pseudo first-order rate constants which differ significantly from those measured at longer times. It is concluded that the reaction intermediate giving rise to these deviations cannot be the charge-transfer (CT) complex, which is formed during the time of mixing, but rather a more intimate complex with a geometry favorable to the formation of the Diels-Alder adduct. The kinetics of the reaction were resolved into the microscopic rate constants for the individual steps. The rate constants, as shown in equation 1, at 293 K were observed to be 5.46 M(-)(1) s(-)(1) (k(f)), 14.8 s(-)(1) (k(b)), and 12.4 s(-)(1) (k(p)). Concentration profiles calculated under all conditions show that intermediate concentrations increase to maximum values early in the reaction and then continually decay during the first half-life. It is concluded that the charge-transfer complex may be an intermediate preceding the formation of the reactant complex, but due to its rapid formation and dissociation it is not detected by the kinetic measurements.     

Theoretical study of the reaction of ethynyl radical with acetonitrile

A detailed computational study has been performed on the mechanism and kinetics of the C₂H + CH₃CN reaction. The geometries were optimized at the BHandHLYP/6–311G(d, p) level. The single-point energies were calculated using the BMC-CCSD, MC-QCISD and QCISD(T)/6–311+G(2df, 2pd) methods. Five mechanisms were investigated, namely, direct hydrogen abstraction, C-addition/elimination, N-addition/elimination, C₂H–to–CN substitution and H-migration. The kinetics of the title reaction were studied using TST and multichannel RRKM methodologies over a wide range of temperatures (150–3,000 K) and pressures (10^?4–10⁴ torr). The total rate constants show positive temperature dependence and pressure independence. At lower temperatures, the C-addition step is the most feasible channel to produce CH₃ and HCCCN. At higher temperatures, the direct hydrogen abstraction path is the dominant channel leading to C₂H₂ and CH₂CN. The calculated overall rate constants are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Dissecting the differences between the alpha and beta anomers of the oxidative DNA lesion FaPydG

The oxidative DNA lesion, FaPydG rapidly anomerizes to form a mixture of the alpha and beta anomer. To investigate the mutagenic potential of both forms, we prepared stabilized bioisosteric analogues of both configurational isomers and incorporated them into oligonucleotides. These were subsequently used for thermodynamic melting-point studies and for primer-extension experiments. While the beta compound, in agreement with earlier data, prefers cytidine as the pairing partner, the alpha compound is not able form a stable base pair with any natural base. In primer-extension studies with the high-fidelity polymerase Bst Pol I, the polymerase was able to read through the lesion. The beta compound showed no strong mutagenic potential. The alpha compound, in contrast, strongly destabilized DNA duplexes and also blocked all of the tested DNA polymerases, including two low-fidelity polymerases of the Y-family.     

Macromolecular conformations at the water-air interface: Interactions between alpha and beta conformations of polypeptides

Bidimensional miscibility between alpha and beta conformations of polypeptides was investigated at the water-air interface in the 15°–30°C temperature range. The polypeptides were poly--methyl-L-glutamate (PGMG), poly--benzyl-L-glutamate (PGBG) and poly--benzyl-L-aspartate (PBBA). The polypeptide conformations, alpha or beta, were checked by IR spectroscopy using the MIR technique.The spreading isotherms for mixed monolayers alpha-PGMG/alpha-PGBG and beta-PGMG/beta-PBBA showed bidimensional miscibility both for alpha-alpha and beta-beta mixtures.For the alpha-alpha system, attractive interactions among the polypeptide alphahelices were found (G_mix<0) and the driving factor appeared to be the entropic one (packing). Compressibility moduli and surface potential measurements showed a fluidification effect of alpha-PGBG on mixed monolayers. In the case of beta-beta mixed monolayers, ideal behaviour was observed and no fluidification effect detected.Scanning electron micrographs made on collapsed monolayers showed hexagonal structures for alpha-alpha mixtures and no well-defined or characterized features for the beta-beta system.     

Unexpected behavior of the reaction between acyl thioformanilides and acetonitrile derivatives—a useful entry to new penta-substituted dipyrrole disulfides

A convenient and unexpected synthesis of penta-substituted dipyrrole disulfides starting from readily available acyl thioformanilides and acetonitrile derivatives has been developed. The overall process leads to the creation of two C-C bonds, two C-N bonds, and one S-S bond with the concomitant formation of two pyrrole rings and disulfide from the fact that only two reagents need to be mixed together, and it complements the existing pyrrole disulfides chemistry.     

Supramolecular nanostructures based on bacterial reaction center proteins and quantum dots

Design of the nanostructures based on membrane proteins (the key functional elements of biomembranes) and colloid nanoparticles is a fascinating field at the interface of biochemistry and colloids, nanotechnology and biomedicine. The review discusses the main achievements in the field of ultrathin films prepared from bacterial reaction center proteins and light-harvesting complexes, as well as these complexes tagged with quantum dots. The principles of preparation of these thin films and their structure and properties at different interfaces are described; as well as their characteristics estimated using a combination of the modern interfacial techniques (absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, atomic force and Brewster angle microscopy, etc.) are discussed. Further approaches to develop the nanostructures based on the membrane proteins and quantum dots are suggested. These supramolecular nanostructures are promising prototypes of the materials for photovoltaic, optoelectronic and biosensing applications.