Efficient and Practical Route to α‐Aminocarbonylketene and α‐Cyanoketene Dithioacetals

An efficient and practical route to α‐aminocarbonylketene dithioacetals 5 and α‐cyanoketene dithioacetals 6 was developed. With readily available α‐acetyl‐α‐aminocarbonyl ketene dithioacetals 4 as the starting materials, α‐aminocarbonylketene dithioacetals 5 were prepared in high yield via base‐catalyzed (sodium hydroxide) deacetylation. In the presence of POCl₃ and with DMF as the solvent, α‐cyanoketene dithioacetals 6 were obtained via dehydration of 5 in excellent yield.     

A One-pot Procedure to Prepare Ethynylferrocene and Iodoethynylferrocene

IntroductionFerrocene-containing compounds have been widely used as important probes to investigate the electron transfer/transport properties of the molecular materials1. Recently, this technique was employed in molectronics research, where the ferrocenes were incorporated on the ends of conjugated molecular wires, and the electron transfer/transport abilities of the molecular wires were conveniently studied by electrochemical method2. Ethynylferrocene and iodoethynylferrocene were two import…     

Discoveries and Challenges en Route to Swinhoeisterol A

In this work, a full account of the authors’ synthetic studies is reported that culminated in the first synthesis of 13(14→8),14(8→7)diabeo-steroid swinhoeisterol A as well as the related dankasterones A and B, 13(14→8)abeo-steroids, and periconiastone A, a 13(14→8)abeo-4,14-cyclo-steroid. Experiments are described in detail that provided further insight into the mechanism of the switchable radical framework reconstruction approach. By discussing failed strategies and tactics towards swinhoeisterol A, the successful route that also allowed an access to structurally closely related analogues, such as Δ²²-24-epi-swinhoeisterol A, is eventually presented.     

Cosine Moments and Their Application to ∑ Relationships

Recent advances In the theory of ∑ relationships lead to the Investigation of moments needed to derive the relavant joint probability densities. These together with the linear theory of relationships, make possible the calcualtion of therelationships from ∑1 to ∑2 one by one. The superior performance ofour new ∑4 and ∑r relationships, for example, with respect to the older ∑1 and ∑3 formulas strongly suggests a deeper study of the pertinent moments. In this paper a new concept, the cosine moment, is introduced which, together with a certain integral theorem, permits the derivation of the relevant joint probability densities. These lead in turn to the derivation of all ∑ relationships valid for all the space groups.     

Silylene transfer to α-keto esters and application to the synthesis of γ-lactones

Disubstituted α-hydroxy acids have been synthesized by metal-catalyzed silylene transfer to α-keto esters. A range of substituents are tolerated in the transformation with the exception of branched groups at the vinylic position. The α-hydroxy acid products can be converted into γ-lactones using a variety of lactonization conditions.     

A Nanoscale Metal–Organic Framework to Mediate Photodynamic Therapy and Deliver CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides to Enhance Antigen Presentation and Cancer Immunotherapy

Checkpoint blockade immunotherapy (CBI) awakes a host innate immune system and reactivates cytotoxic T cells to elicit durable response in some cancer patients. Now, a cationic nanoscale metal–organic framework, W-TBP, is used to facilitate tumor antigen presentation by enabling immunogenic photodynamic therapy (PDT) and promoting the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs). Comprised of dinuclear W^VI secondary building units and photosensitizing 5,10,15,20-tetra(p-benzoato)porphyrin (TBP) ligands, cationic W-TBP mediates PDT to release tumor associated antigens and delivers immunostimulatory CpG oligodeoxynucleotides to DCs. The enhanced antigen presentation synergizes with CBI to expand and reinvigorate cytotoxic T cells, leading to superb anticancer efficacy and robust abscopal effects with >97 % tumor regression in a bilateral breast cancer model.     

Virtual Screening and Structure Generation Applied to Drug Design

The methods of computer-aided drug design can be divided into two categories according to whether or not the structures of receptors are known1, corresponding to two principal strategies: (1) searching the bio-active ligands against virtual combinatorial libraries and calculating the affinity energy between ligand and receptor by docking ; (2) QSAR and 3D-structure data-mining. 3D-QSAR method is now applied widely to drug discovery, but this method is generally limited to refine the structu…     

Preparation of PLL-PEG-PLL and its application to DNA encapsulation

With the successful sequencing of Human Genome, it would be possible to cure all diseases by gene ther- apy in the near future. However, one of the major problems in gene therapy is the development of gene vectors. To date, there are two kinds of gene vectors, namely, viral and non-viral gene vectors. Viruses are widely used as vectors in gene therapy, with the trans- fection efficiency being relatively high, but they have the safety problems such as immunogenicity, non- biocompatibility and …     

A short and concise synthetic route to (−)-coniceine

(−)-Coniceine, the simplest framework of indolizidine alkaloids, has been successfully accessed using a route in which ruthenium-catalyzed ring-closing olefin metathesis (RCM) was the key reaction to establish the unsaturated bicyclic lactam system.     

Correction to: EQRAIN: uranium and plutonium interlaboratory exercises from 1997 to 2016—comparison to ITVs-2010

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - In the original publication of the article, the values of u(s), u(r) and ITV for HKED were published incorrectly in Table 6.     

Cross metathesis approach to retinoids and other β-apocarotenoids

Cross metathesis (CM) reactions between polyenes, such as β-carotene, canthaxanthin or retinyl acetate, and various alkenes or dienes in the presence of second generation Hoveyda-Grubbs (H II) or Grubbs (G II) catalysts were investigated. Depending on the cross partner different apocarotenoids were obtained. Cross metathesis reactions of retinyl acetate proved to be fully regioselective. Carotenoid CM reactions afforded mixtures of two products due to competing cleavage of the C11-C12 and C15-C15′ double bonds. However, regioselectivity can be controlled by choice of appropriate reaction conditions. The reactions of polyenes with dienes worked better in respect of yields and diastereoselectivities than those with monounsaturated cross partners.     

A facile access to mono-C-alkynylated-o-carboranes from o-carboranes and arylsulfonylacetylenes

A facile access to mono-C-alkynyl-o-carboranes from o-carboranes and arylsulfonylacetylenes was developed. This facile process tolerates a wide variety of functional groups, occurs at mild conditions in onepot procedure with short reaction time. The obtained mono-C-alkynyl-o-carboranes can be easily derivatized to synthesize 1,2-difunctionalized o-carboranes. This work provides a useful tool for the functionalization of o-carboranes.     

A Huge PVDF Adsorption Difference Between Resveratrol and ε-Viniferin Allows to Quantitatively Purify Them and to Assess Their Anti-Tyrosinase Property

Repeated chromatographic analyses of polyphenolic vine stalks extracts allowed us to note a huge adsorption difference on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), between trans-resveratrol 1 and (+)-trans-ε-viniferin 2. We could optimize the conditions (solvent, saturation of the process), for this polymer to adsorb very selectively 2, with regard to the monomer 1 that remains in solution. Since membrane filters made of PVDF are quite often used for HPLC samples filtration, this observation prompted us to inform phytochemists studying plant stilbenoid contents. Based on this background information, we developed a straightforward and inexpensive enrichment process for either 1 and/or 2, from crude Vitis vinifera stalks extracts, allowing to get them in a pure form. Having at hand large amounts of these two pure compounds, they were tested and compared to a set of other relevant molecules for some biological properties: trans-ε-viniferin 2 was shown to be the most powerful tyrosinase inhibitor, among all samples tested.     

Response to “About acceptance and rejection zones”

Desimoni and Brunetti raise some questions about the use of Eurachem/CITAC guide, because the Eurachem/CITAC guide does not discuss an ISO recommendation before performing a test, it should be decided whether it is to be a test for conformity or a test for non-conformity. In response, it is pointed out that although this recommendation is not discussed explicitly, it is of necessity covered by the decision rule that describes how the measurement uncertainty will be taken into consideration with regard to accepting or rejecting a product according to its specification and the result of a measurement. In addition, they propose the introduction of an ‘inconclusive’ zone. We do not think that this is necessary, since the Eurachem/CITAC guide takes the view that action on rejection should be covered by the ‘decision rule’ and this can make equivalent provision for confirmation or interpretation.     

Using Polymers to Impart Lubricity and Biopassivity to Surfaces: Are These Properties Linked?

Polymer brushes have been widely applied for the reduction of both friction and non‐specific protein adsorption. In many (but not all) applications, such as contact lenses or medical devices, this combination of properties is highly desirable. Indeed, for many polymer‐brush systems, lubricity and resistance to biofouling appear to go hand in hand, with modifications of brush architecture, for example, leading to a similar degree of enhancement (or degradation) in both properties. In the case of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) brushes, this has been widely demonstrated. There are, however, examples where this behavior breaks down. In systems where linear brushes are covalently crosslinked during surface‐initiated polymerization (SIP), for example, the presence and the chemical nature of links between grafted chains might or might not influence biopassivity of the films, while it always causes an increment in friction. Furthermore, when the grafted‐chain topology is shifted from linear to cyclic, chemically identical brushes show a substantial improvement in lubrication, whereas their protein resistance remains unaltered. Architectural control of polymer brush films can provide another degree of freedom in the design of lubricious and biopassive coatings, leading to new combinations of surface properties and their independent modulation.