A Novel Octanuclear Molecular Loop Formed by Linkage of Oxo-centered Triruthenium Cluster Units

A novel dimeric complex [Ru3^111,111,11(μ3-O)(μ-CH3COO)(CO)]2(μ-dppf)(μ-odppf) (dppf=1, 1‘-bis(diphenylphosphio)ferrocene, odppf = 1, 1‘-bis(oxodiphenylphosphoranyl)ferrocene) (1) of oxo-centered triruthenium-aectate cluster units was synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. Compound 1 exhibits a cyclic structure formed by linkages of two triruthenium cluster units Ru3^111,111,11(μ3-O)(μ-CH3COO)6(CO) through dppf and odppf ligands, respectively. The diameter of the molecular loop is ca. 1.0 rim.     

Novel Synthesis of 3‐Indolylquinones catalyzed by Molecular Iodine under Ultrasonic Irradiation

The conjugate addition reactions of indoles with quinones were catalyzed efficiently by molecular iodine under ultrasonic irradiation to afford 3‐indolylquinones in good to excellent yields, which provided a novel, mild, convenient approach for the preparation of 3‐indolylquinones.     

Synthesis of Novel Molecular Receptors from Estradiol Dimer

Asanessentialfeatureofbiochemicalsystems,molecularrecognitionplaysplvotalroleinlifeprocesses.['.'1Duringthepasttwodecades,researchonthedesign,synthesisandevaluationofvarioustroesofsyntheticreceptorshasreachedanewdimension-Therigidhydrophobicskeletonandinherentasymmetryofsteroidnucleiposethernasidealbuildingblocksfortheconstructionofsynthetichostmolecules.Therefore,thedesignandsynthesisofrecept0rsderivlngfromster0idshavecurrentlyarousedwldespreadinterest.ThemacrocycIicreceptorsbasedonandrogenh…     

Sulindac-Derived RXRα Modulators Inhibit Cancer Cell Growth by Binding to a Novel Site

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Molecular Recognition Thermodynamics of Steroids by Novel Oligo(aminoethylamino)-β-cyclodextrins Bearing Anthryl: Enhanced Molecular Binding Ability by Co-inclusion Complexation

Three -cyclodextrin (-CD) derivatives bearing anthracene group (2–4) were synthesized by the condensation of 9-anthracenecarboxylic acid with the corresponding oligo(aminoethylamino)--CDs in 33–36% yields and their original conformations and binding behavior with steroid molecules were investigated by using spectroscopic techniques and isothermal calorimeter. The combination of induced circular dichroism (ICD) and 2D NMR spectra reveals that the anthryl group attached to -CD is itself included in cavity and the chain length of oligo(aminoethylamino) decides the orientation of the anthryl located in the cavity to some extent, directly affecting the binding ability with guest molecules. Calorimetric titration has been performed at buffer aqueous solution (pH 7.2) at 25 °C to give the binding constants (K_S) and thermodynamic parameters for 11 inclusion complexation of modified -CDs 2–4 and representative steroids, i.e., cholate, deoxycholate, glycocholate, and taurocholate. Possessing the sidearm with appropriate length, 3 gives the highest stability constant of 22485± 15 M^–1 for the complexation with deoxycholate molecule, which may be ascribed to the co-inclusion interactions between the host and guest. As compared with parent -CD 1 upon complexation with steroids, hosts 2–4 with different chain lengths enhanced the binding ability and significant molecular discrimination, which are discussed comparatively and globally from the viewpoint of thermodynamics. Furthermore, we establish the correlation between the conformation of the resulting complexes and the thermodynamic parameters obtained.     

Novel and Efficient Approach to Fluorinated β‐Aminobutanones Catalyzed by Molecular Iodine

A variety of fluorinated compounds of β‐amino ketones could be obtained in good to excellent yields at room temperature through a three‐component Mannich reaction of aldehydes, anilines, and acetones catalyzed by iodine.     

How Machine Learning Accelerates the Development of Quantum Dots?†

With the rapid developments in the field of information technology, the material research society is looking for an alternate scientific route to the traditional methods of trial and error in material research and process development. Machine learning emerges as a new research paradigm to accelerate the application‐oriented material discovery. Quantum dots are expanded as functional nanomaterials to enhance cutting‐edge photonic technology. However, they suffer from uncertainty in industrial fabrication and application. Here, we discuss how machine learning accelerates the development of quantum dots. The basic principles and operation procedures of machine learning are described with a few representative examples of quantum dots. We emphasize how machine learning contributes to the optimization of synthesis and the analysis of material characterizations. To conclude, we give a short perspective discussing the problems of combining machine learning and quantum dots.     

Predicting Regioselectivity in Radical C−H Functionalization of Heterocycles through Machine Learning

Radical C−H bond functionalization provides a versatile approach for elaborating heterocyclic compounds. The synthetic design of this transformation relies heavily on the knowledge of regioselectivity, while a quantified and efficient regioselectivity prediction approach is still elusive. Herein, we report the feasibility of using a machine learning model to predict the transition state barrier from the computed properties of isolated reactants. This enables rapid and reliable regioselectivity prediction for radical C−H bond functionalization of heterocycles. The Random Forest model with physical organic features achieved 94.2 % site accuracy and 89.9 % selectivity accuracy in the out-of-sample test set. The prediction performance was further validated by comparing the machine learning results with additional substituents, heteroarene scaffolds and experimental observations. This work revealed that the combination of mechanism-based computational statistics and machine learning model can serve as a useful strategy for selectivity prediction of organic transformations.     

Discovery of Anti-SARS Coronavirus Drug Based on Molecular Docking and Database Screening

The active site of 3CL proteinase (3CL^por) for coronavirus was identified by comparing the crystal structures of human and porcine coronavirus. The inhibitor of the main protein of rhinovirus (Ag7088) could bind with 3CL^pro of human coronavirus, then it was selected as the reference for molecular docking and database screening. The ligands from two databases were used to search potential lead structures with molecular docking. Several structures from natural products and ACD-SC databases were found to have lower binding free energy with 3CL^pro than that of Ag7088. These structures have similar hydrophobicity to Ag7088. They have complementary electrostatic potential and hydrogen bond aeceptor and donor with 3CL^pro, showing that the strategy of anti-SARS drug design based on molecular docking and database screening is feasible.     

Molecular Modeling of Interactions of the Benzolactam-V8 Modulators with the Cys2 Domain of Protein Kinase Cδ

Molecular modeling of interactions of four 7- or 8-substituted benzolactam-V8 （BLV） molecules with the cys2 activator-binding domain of protein kinase C （PKCδ） was carried out using molecular docking program Autodock. The docked models reveal that the hydroxymethyl group at the C（5） atom of the eight-membered ring of each BLV is bound at the bottom of the binding groove of the cys2 domain of PKCδ The BLV molecules make hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with PKCδ, which are similar to those in the crystal structure of the cys2 domain of PKCδ in complex with phorbol 13-acetate. BLV-1 does not contain a long side chain that is hydrophobic and necessary for membrane insertion, so that it would not be a potent modulator of PKCδ. The other three BLV molecules have long side chains substituted at C（7） or C（8） atoms, and it was predicted, based on the docking results, that they had the PKCδ-binding affinity in the order of BLV-2〉BLV-4〉BLV-3, and BLV-2 would be a potent activator of PKCδ.     

Design and Synthesis of Novel Molecular Tweezers Derived from Chenodeoxycholic Acid

A novel type of chiral molecular tweezers has been designed and synthesized by usingchenodeoxy cholic acid as spacer and the aromatic compounds as arm. Their structures werecharacterized by 1HNMR, IR, MS spectra and elemental analysis. These chiral molecular tweezersshowed good enantioselectivity for D-amino acid methyl esters.     

Shaping Microcrystals of Metal–Organic Frameworks by Reaction–Diffusion

When components of a metal–organic framework (MOF) and a crystal growth modulator diffuse through a gel medium, they can form arrays of regularly-spaced precipitation bands containing MOF crystals of different morphologies. With time, slow variations in the local concentrations of the growth modulator cause the crystals to change their shapes, ultimately resulting in unusual concave microcrystallites not available via solution-based methods. The reaction–diffusion and periodic precipitation phenomena 1) extend to various types of MOFs and also MOPs (metal–organic polyhedra), and 2) can be multiplexed to realize within one gel multiple growth conditions, in effect leading to various crystalline phases or polycrystalline formations.     

Molecular Encapsulation of Trimeric Chromium Carboxylate Clusters in Metal–Organic Frameworks and Propylene Sorption

Oxo-bridged trimeric chromium acetate clusters [Cr₃O(OOCCH₃)₆(H₂O)₃]NO₃ have been encapsulated for the first time in the mesoporous cages of the chromium terephthalate MIL-101(Cr). The isolated clusters in MIL-101(Cr) have increased affinity towards propylene compared to propane, due to generation of a new kind of pocket-based propylene-binding site, as supported by DFT calculations.     

A Novel Method for the Synthesis of Mesoporous Molecular Sieve MCM-41

Using glycerol, glycol and water as solvent, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as template, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as silica source, ethylenediamine (EDA) as base source, mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41 has been synthesized at room temperature, characterized by X-ray power diffraction and N2 adsorption. Compared with the samples synthesized by glycol and water, the samples synthesized by glycerol have larger pore diameter and high surface areas. Thus glycerol is an efficient solvent for preparing larger pore mesoporous MCM-41.     

Characterization of Molecular Interactions by Inverse Liquid Chromatographic Method

Inverse chromatography (IC) has been widely applied to characterize surface, interface, and bulk characteristics of technologically important materials. Probe molecules with known properties are injected into an isothermal chromatographic system with the material of interest as     

One-Pot Synthesis of β-Phosphonomalonates Catalyzed by Molecular Iodine

A one-pot procedure has been developed for the synthesis of β-phosphonomalonates via P-C bond formation through tandem Knoevenagel–phospha–Michael reaction catalyzed by iodine as a new, inexpensive, nonmetallic, and commercially available catalyst.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® for the following free supplemental resource(s): Full experimental and spectral details.]     

A Novel Method for Modification of SMPU by Micro-phase

A novel method of controlling the shape memory properties of shape memory polyurethane （SMPU） by addition of micro-phase separation promoters including 1-octadecanol （ODO） and liquid paraffin （LP） is reported. The results indicate that the strain recovery temperature and the strain modulus rate （Eg/Er） were increased significantly with addition of small amount of micro-phase separation promoters. Thus it can increase the shape memory fixity rate and other shape memory behaviors of SMPU.     

Discovery of Complex Binding and Reaction Mechanisms from Ternary Gases in Rare Earth Metal–Organic Frameworks

Understanding the selectivity of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) to complex acid gas streams will enable their use in industrial applications. Herein, ab initio molecular dynamic simulations (AIMD) were used to simulate ternary gas mixtures (H₂O-NO₂-SO₂) in rare earth 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (RE-DOBDC) MOFs. Stronger H₂O gas-metal binding arose from thermal vibrations in the MOF sterically hindering access of SO₂ and NO₂ molecules to the metal sites. Gas-gas and gas-linker interactions within the MOF framework resulted in the formation of multiple secondary gas species including HONO, HNO₂, NOSO, and HNO₃⁻. Four gas adsorption sites were identified along with a new de-protonation reaction mechanism not observable through experiment. This study not only provides valuable information on competitive gas binding energies in the MOF, it also provides important chemical insights into transient chemical reactions and mechanisms.     

Excited-State Distortions Promote the Photochemical 4π-Electrocyclizations of Fluorobenzenes via Machine Learning Accelerated Photodynamics Simulations

Benzene fluorination increases chemoselectivities for Dewar-benzenes via 4π-disrotatory electrocyclization. However, the origin of the chemo- and regioselectivities of fluorobenzenes remains unexplained because of the experimental limitations in resolving the excited-state structures on ultrafast timescales. The computational cost of multiconfigurational nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations is also currently cost-prohibitive. We now provide high-fidelity structural information and reaction outcome predictions with machine-learning-accelerated photodynamics simulations of a series of fluorobenzenes, C₆F_6-nH_n, n=0–3, to study their S₁→S₀ decay in 4 ns. We trained neural networks with XMS-CASPT2(6,7)/aug-cc-pVDZ calculations, which reproduced the S₁ absorption features with mean absolute errors of 0.04 eV (<2 nm). The predicted nonradiative decay constants for C₆F₄H₂, C₆F₆, C₆F₃H₃, and C₆F₅H are 116, 60, 28, and 12 ps, respectively, in broad qualitative agreement with the experiments. Our calculations show that a pseudo Jahn–Teller distortion of fluorinated benzenes leads to an S₁ local-minimum region that extends the excited-state lifetimes of fluorobenzenes. The pseudo Jahn–Teller distortions reduce when fluorination decreases. Our analysis of the S₁ dynamics shows that the pseudo-Jahn–Teller distortions promote an excited-state cis-trans isomerization of a π_C-C bond. We characterized the surface hopping points from our NAMD simulations and identified instantaneous nuclear momentum as a factor that promotes the electrocyclizations.     

Discovery of a small-molecule inhibitor of Dvl–CXXC5 interaction by computational approaches

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a significant role in the control of osteoblastogenesis and bone formation. CXXC finger protein 5 (CXXC5) has been recently identified as a negative feedback regulator of osteoblast differentiation through a specific interaction with Dishevelled (Dvl) protein. It was reported that targeting the Dvl–CXXC5 interaction could be a novel anabolic therapeutic target for osteoporosis. In this study, complex structure of Dvl PDZ domain and CXXC5 peptide was simulated with molecular dynamics (MD). Based on the structural analysis of binding modes of MD-simulated Dvl PDZ domain with CXXC5 peptide and crystal Dvl PDZ domain with synthetic peptide–ligands, we generated two different pharmacophore models and applied pharmacophore-based virtual screening to discover potent inhibitors of the Dvl–CXXC5 interaction for the anabolic therapy of osteoporosis. Analysis of 16 compounds selected by means of a virtual screening protocol yielded four compounds that effectively disrupted the Dvl–CXXC5 interaction in the fluorescence polarization assay. Potential compounds were validated by fluorescence spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. We successfully identified a highly potent inhibitor, BMD4722, which directly binds to the Dvl PDZ domain and disrupts the Dvl–CXXC5 interaction. Overall, CXXC5–Dvl PDZ domain complex based pharmacophore combined with various traditional and simple computational methods is a promising approach for the development of modulators targeting the Dvl–CXXC5 interaction, and the potent inhibitor BMD4722 could serve as a starting point to discover or design more potent and specific the Dvl–CXXC5 interaction disruptors.