Properties and structure of solutions in a homological series of n-alcohols

Spectral (E _T), volumetric, heat capacity, and enthalpy characteristics of solutions of some compounds in solvents of the homological series of n-alcohols are considered. Properties of solutions of compounds in hypothetical solvents such as pseudo-water, pseudo-methanol, and pseudo-ethanol are obtained. Their distinction from the properties of solutions of the same compounds in real liquids is discussed. In particular, the opinion is expressed that hydrophobic effects are likely to intensify in pseudo-water as compared to real water.     

The influence of alkyl substituents on the chromatographic indicator of self-association of<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-containing heterocyclic compounds

The chromatographic indicator of the ability of substances to form associates in a pure liquid δT _b.p. proposed in our previous study was used to estimate the capacity for self-association of alkyl-substituted imidazoles, pyrazoles, pyrroles, oxazoles, isoxazoles, pyridazines, pyrimidines, pyrazines, and pyridines. Alkyl substituents introduced in heterocyclic compounds decrease the δT _b.p. values, which is consistent with the data on the heats of self-association of heterocyclic compounds in pure liquids. The reasons for the difference between the boiling point of a compound at standard pressure and its “gas-chromatographic boiling point” are discussed. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 2, pp 319–322, February, 2000.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brønsted</Emphasis> Acids in Ionic Liquids: Fundamentals,Organic Reactions,and Comparisons

Summary. A background for studying acids in various solvents is developed, emphasizing the importance of knowing to what extent a solvent conducts electricity and is therefore ionized, the dissociation equilibria of common molecular solvents and the acidic and basic species generated by solvent leveling. Acidity measurements in the atypical solvent water are discussed and the common method of expressing acidity in other systems – by Hammett values – is introduced. Representative examples of reactions involving Br?nsted acids in ionic liquids are presented and attention paid to the questions of speciation and acidity values. It is found that the gas phase proton affinity of a base is often a better guide to the acidity of its conjugate acid in an ionic liquid than is the dissociation constant of the said acid in water.     

On the inverse miniemulsion copolymerization and terpolymerization of acrylamide, <Emphasis Type="Italic">N,N′</Emphasis>-methylenebis(acrylamide) and methacrylic acid

The kinetics of free-radical copolymerization and terpolymerization of acrylamide (AAm), N, N′-methylenebis(acrylamide) (MBA) and methacrylic acid (MA) in the inverse water/monomer/cyclohexane/Tween 85 miniemulsion was investigated. Polymerizable sterically-stable miniemulsions were formulated in cyclohexane as a continuous medium. Polymerizations are very fast and reach the final conversion within several minutes. The dependence of the polymerization rate vs. conversion is described by a curve with two nonstationary rate intervals. The maximum rate of polymerization slightly increases with increasing concentration of crosslinking monomer (MBA) and strongly decreases by the addition of MA. The rate of polymerization is inversely proportional to the 0.9 ^th and 1.8 ^th power of the particle concentration without and with MA, respectively. The number of polymer particles is inversely proportional to the 0.18 ^th and 0.13 ^th power of MBA concentration. The kinetic and colloidal parameters of the miniemulsion polymerization are discussed in terms of microemulsion polymerization model.     

Effect Of Propene, <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Decane,and Toluene Plasma Kinetics on NO Conversion in Homogeneous Oxygen-Rich Dry Mixtures at Ambient Temperature

A photo-triggered discharge is used to study the influence of three hydrocarbons (HCs), propene (C₃H₆), n-decane (C₁₀H₂₂), and toluene (C₆H₅CH₃) on NO conversion in N₂/O₂/NO/HC mixtures, with 18.5% O₂ concentration, 700 ppm of NO, and an hydrocarbon concentration ranging between 190 ppm and 2,700 ppm. The electrical system generates a transient homogeneous plasma, working under 400 mbar total pressure, with a 50 ns short current pulse at a repetition frequency up to a few Hz. The NO concentration at the exit of the reactor is quantified using absolute FTIR spectroscopy measurements, as a function of the specific deposited energy in the discharge and the mixture composition. Owing to the plasma homogeneity, the experimental results can be compared to predictions of a self-consistent 0-D discharge and kinetic model based on available data in the literature about reactions and their rate constants. It is shown that the addition of either propene (as for DBD or corona discharges) or n-decane to N₂/O₂/NO leads to an improvement of the NO removal as compared to the mixture without hydrocarbon molecules. The adopted kinetic schemes explain this effect for the two mixture types. On the other hand, both the experiments and model predictions emphasize that the addition of toluene does not lead to the improvement of NO conversion. Moreover, compounds that are useful for NO _x reduction catalysis, such as aldehydes, are less produced in the mixture with toluene.     

Volumetric properties of the binary mixture <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-heptane+ethylbenzene mixtures at high temperatures and high pressures

New experimental data on the density of three (0.2393, 0.4856 and 0.7390 mole fraction of ethylbenzene) binary n-heptane+ethylbenzene mixtures have been measured with a constant-volume piezometer immersed in a precision liquid thermostat. These new experimental data covering a temperature range from 306 to 527 K and a pressure range of 0.1 to 11 MPa. The experimental data reported here have an uncertainty less than 0.06% for the density, 0.05% for the pressure, 15 mK for the temperature, and 0.012% for the concentration. Excess molar volumes were derived using measured values of density for the mixtures and for the pure components calculated with reference equation of state for n-heptane (Span and Wagner, 2003) and for the pure ethylbenzene (Frenkel et al., 2005). The derived values of excess molar volumes at atmospheric pressure were compared with the values reported by other authors in the literature. The effect of pressure on the excess molar volumes was studied.     

A study of influence of temperature and <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-acyl protected keto ylides structure on their predominant transformations

The effect of temperature and keto ylides structure on preference of their intramolecular cyclization leading to N-containing heterocyclic compounds or linear products formation has been investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. It has been determined that the thermodynamic advantage of the cyclization reactions of ylides increases with temperature, while Gibbs free energies of linear products formation reactions depend insignificantly on temperature. The Wittig and the Corey–Chaykovsky reactions are least probable in the case of the sulfonium and ammonium ylides considered. However, for phosphonium ylides the Wittig reaction must be considerably preferable in comparison with other routes, while behavior of the arsonium ylides is predicted to be more complex. Research of S-ylides transformations shows that formation of methylthio-substituted heterocycles with five-, six- or seven- membered rings is possible from a thermodynamic standpoint, while conversion of the corresponding ylide to a four-membered heterocycle is disadvantageous. Presence of a methyl substituent and its position in the ylide carbon chain depends ambiguously on the behavior of sulfur keto ylides.     

Convenient synthesis and NMR spectral studies of variously substituted <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-methylpiperidin-4-one-<Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-benzyloximes

Abstract  A series of variously substituted N-methylpiperidin-4-one-O-benzyloximes were synthesized by three different methods. Among them, the direct conversion of 2,6-diarylpiperidin-4-ones into the corresponding oxime ethers (method A) was proved to be better than the other two methods in the sense of good yield, convenience, easy work-up and quick reaction time. All the synthesized compounds are characterized by IR, Mass and NMR (¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ¹H-¹H COSY, ¹H-¹³C COSY and HMBC) spectral studies. The conformational preference of the synthesized oxime ethers with/without alkyl and aryl substituents at C-3/C-5 and C-2/C-6 is discussed using the spectral data. The observed chemical shifts and coupling constants suggest that the synthesized oxime ethers adopt chair conformation with equatorial orientation of all the substituents, whereas 1-methyl-3-isopropyl-2,6-diphenylpiperidin-4-one-O-benzyloxime also exists in boat conformation. Based on the NMR data, the effects of oximination on ring carbons and their associated protons and alkyl substituents are discussed. In addition, the effect of NMe group on the 2,6-diarylpiperidin-4-one-O-benzyloximes was also studied. Graphical abstract        

Relationship between the density of supercritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> + ethanol binary system and its critical properties

The dependent relation between temperature and pressure of supercritical CO₂+ ethanol binary system under the pressure range from 5 to 10 MPa with the variety of densities and mole fractions of ethanol that range from 0 to 2% was investigated by the static visual method in a constant volume. The critical temperature and pressure were experimentally determined simultaneously. The PTρ figures at different ethanol contents were described based on the determined pressure and temperature data, from which pressure of supercritical CO₂ + ethanol binary system was found to increase linearly with the increasing temperature. P-T lines show certain convergent feature in a specific concentration of ethanol and the convergent points shift to the region of higher temperature and pressure with the increasing ethanol compositions. Furthermore, the effect of density and ethanol concentration on the critical point of CO₂ + ethanol binary system was discussed in details. Critical points increase linearly with the increasing mole fraction of ethanol in specific density and critical points change at different densities. The critical compressibility factors Z_c of supercritical CO₂ + ethanol binary systems at different compositions of ethanol were calculated and Z _c -ρ figure was obtained accordingly. It was found from Z _c -ρ figure that critical compressibility factors of supercritical CO₂ unitary or binary systems decline linearly with the increasing density, by which the critical point can be predicted precisely.     

Cloning,Protein Sequence Clarification,and Substrate Specificity of a Leucine Dehydrogenase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus sphaericus</Emphasis> ATCC4525

Although an X-ray model sequence of a leucine dehydrogenase from Bacillus sphaericus ATCC4525 was reported, the amino acid sequence of this enzyme has not been confirmed. In the current study, this leucine dehydrogenase gene was cloned, sequenced, and over-expressed in Escherichia coli, and the protein sequence has been clarified. This leucine dehydrogenase is not identical with that of B. sphaericus IFO3525 because there are 16 different amino acid residues between these two proteins. Since the information on the catalytic properties of leucine dehydrogenase from B. sphaericus ATCC4525 has been limited, the recombinant enzyme was purified as His-tagged protein and further studied. This enzyme showed activity toward aliphatic substrates for both oxidative deamination and reductive amination and is an effective catalyst for the asymmetric synthesis of α-amino acids from the corresponding α-ketoacids.     

Proton affinities of fluoro derivatives of benzene,toluene, and<Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis>-xylene from<Emphasis Type="Italic">ab initio</Emphasis> MP2 calculations

The proton affinity (PA) energies of fluoro derivatives of benzene, toluene, andm-xylene were obtained fromab initio MP2-FC/6-31G^* calculations and compared with experimental results. Protonated forms of the molecules, resulting from different ways of proton addition, were studied. Relative concentrations of isomeric arenonium ions were calculated and compared with the results of NMR studies on arenonium ions in solutions. Published inIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 1847–1849, November, 2000.     

Synthesis of cross-linked poly (<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-isopropylacrylamide) microparticles in supercritical carbon dioxide

Herein, we report a new method that has been developed to prepare thermoresponsive polymers. The white, dry, fine powders were obtained directly from cross-linking polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) with N,N-methylenebisacrylamide as a cross-linker. The effects of the reaction pressure and time as well as the initial concentrations of the initiator, cross-linker, and monomer on the yield and morphology of the resulting polymer were investigated systematically. The polymer yield was increased with the concentrations of the cross-linker, monomer, and reaction time. Under the condition of using higher cross-linker concentrations, the cross-linked poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) microparticles with diameters of 50 nm were generated in scCO₂ in high-yield and short reaction times. These results suggest that the synthetic method using scCO₂ can be used to prepare biomedical materials such as the controlled drug-release system.     

Terpenes,Coumarins, and Flavones from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acacia pennatula</Emphasis>

The chemical analysis of the acetone extract of the dried leaves from Acacia pennatula yielded triacontanol, β-sitosterol palmitate, β-sitosterol, squalene, nonaprenol, norphytane, lupenone, lupeol, daphnetin and catechin, while from the methanol extract were isolated catechin, epigallocatechin, eriodictyol, β-sitosteryl-β-D-glucopyranoside, and stigmasteryl-β-D-glucopyranoside. The structures of all these natural products were established based on their IR, ¹H, and ¹³C NMR and MS data.__________Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 240–241, May–June, 2005.     

Expression Analysis and Characteristics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Profilin</Emphasis> Gene from Silkworm, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombyx mori</Emphasis>

A recombinant Bombyx mori profilin protein (rBmPFN) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21. Purified rBmPFN was used to generate anti-BmPFN polyclonal antibody, which were used to determine the subcellular localization of BmPFN. Immunostaining indicated that profilin can be found in both the nucleus and cytoplasm but is primarily located in the cytoplasm. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analyses indicated that, during the larvae stage, profilin expression levels are highest in the silk gland, followed by the gonad, and are lowest in the fatty body. Additionally, BmPFN expression begins during the egg stage, increases during the larvae stage, reaches a peak during the pupa stage, and decreases significantly in the moth. Therefore, we propose that BmPFN may play an important role during larva stage development, especially in the silk gland.     

Combined Effects of Temperature,Pressure, and Co‐Solvents on the Polymerization Kinetics of Actin

In vivo studies have shown that the cytoskeleton of cells is very sensitive to changes in temperature and pressure. In particular, actin filaments get depolymerized when pressure is increased up to several hundred bars, conditions that are easily encountered in the deep sea. We quantitatively evaluate the effects of temperature, pressure, and osmolytes on the kinetics of the polymerization reaction of actin by high‐pressure stopped‐flow experiments in combination with fluorescence detection and an integrative stochastic simulation of the polymerization process. We show that the compatible osmolyte trimethylamine‐N‐oxide is not only able to compensate for the strongly retarding effect of chaotropic agents, such as urea, on actin polymerization, it is also able to largely offset the deteriorating effect of pressure on actin polymerization, thereby allowing biological cells to better cope with extreme environmental conditions.     

Synthesis,characterization, spectroscopy and thermal analysis of rare earth picrate complexes with <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis>-leucine

Rare earth picrate complexes with L-leucine (Leu) were synthesized and characterized. Elemental analysis (CHN), EDTA titrations and thermogravimetric data suggest a general formula RE(pic)₃2Leu⋅5H₂O (RE=La–Lu, Y and pic=picrate). IR spectra indicate the presence of water and suggest that L-leucine is coordinated to the central ion through the nitrogen of the aminogroup. The absorption spectrum of the solid Nd compound indicates that the metal-ligand bonds show a weak covalent character. Emission spectra and biexponential behavior of the luminescence decay of the Eu compound suggest the existence of polymeric species. Thermal analysis results indicate that all the compounds present a similar behavior, with five major thermal decomposition steps. The final products are rare earth oxides. A slow heating rate is necessary to observe all decomposition steps.     

Preparation,Structural Characterization and the Molecular Structure of 2,3,5-Trinitro-<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-xylene

2,3,5-trinitro-p-xylene (TPX) is synthesized by nitration of p-xylene in mixed acid of nitric and sulfuric acid. Single crystal of TPX is cultured from DMF solution using a slow cooling method. The compound is characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR and MS techniques. The crystal structure is determined by X-ray⁴ single-crystal diffraction analysis. The crystal belongs to the monoclinic system with space group P_n. Its unit cell parameters are as follows: a = 0.8271(2), b = 0.6011(1), c = 1.0487(2) nm, β = 105.42(2)^∘, V = 0.50263(2) nm³, D_c = 1.593 g/cm³, Z = 2, F(0 0 0) = 248. The molecular structures of TPX have been calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G^** and B3LYP/6-311G^** levels of theory, and its frequencies analysis have also been accomplished at the same level of theory. The thermal decomposition process of the compound was studied using DSC and TG-DTG techniques. The predicted nitro group vibrations with B3LYP/6-311G^** calculation considerably agree with the observed frequencies. The calculated results propose that the structural parameters from the theory are close to those of the crystal structure from the experiments.     

Laser assisted selective chemical metalization of Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> films

Thick aluminum oxide films are prepared on Al plates by anodizing. On the ceramic surface thus obtained a very thin Ag film is deposited via vacuum thermal evaporation. The Ag/Al₂O₃/Al samples prepared are irradiated by Nd:YAG laser through a suitable metal mask in order to remove the top metal film in the exposed areas. Thus, a negative silver image of the copied mask is obtained. Further, the samples are processed in Ni electroless chemical bath activated by the rest of silver. All processing steps are studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). EDS X-ray mapping is applied to study the final distribution of Al and Ni in the processed areas. In addition, the DC conductivity of the fabricated Ni wires obtained is measured. The proposed new method for selective chemical deposition of electroconductive Ni onto laser microstructured Ag/Al₂O₃/Al samples is simple, versatile and not restricted to the metal/ceramic system studied as well as to the electroless deposited metal.     

Chemotaxonomy of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ballota</Emphasis> Species

Sixteen taxa of Ballota were investigated by analyzing the contents of diterpenoid and flavonoid compositions, and the relationships were compared with their morphological properties. HPLC chromatograms of diterpenoids and flavonoids from acetone extracts of sixteen Ballota taxa revealed the presence of thirteen compounds. Isolated compounds from Ballota species were evaluated by the unweighted pair-group arithmetic average (UPGMA) clustering method. B. glandulosissima is distinct from all other taxa in the dendogram, and this species is morphologically different from other taxa by having a high number of glandular hairs. The second group is composed of B. saxatilis ssp. saxatilis and B. inaequidens; these two species are in close kinship as evidenced by their morphology (similar calyx shape). In the latter clusters at most, the affinities among taxa, as suggested by diterpenoid and flavonoid pattern, are only partially congruent with affinities based on other evidence. In general, morphologic, anatomic characters, distributions, and habitats are not concordant with the clusters. Also, no concordance was found between the sections, phylogenetic order [1], and those of the groups formed by cluster analyses.__________Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 242–244, May–June, 2005.     

On Chloralose-Cyclodextrin Complexes by <Emphasis Type="Italic">ESI</Emphasis>-Mass Spectrometry

α-Chloralose is a useful mild anaesthetic, providing stable but not deep anaesthesia. Host–guest complexes of α-chloralose with α-, β- and γ-cyclodextrin (CD) were studied using electrospray ionisation (ESI-MS) mass spectrometry and molecular modelling (MD). As it is currently administered, chloralose is transported in a convenient water-soluble complex, and released to react on a physiological level with the reactor sites. It is believed that the chloraloses (α and its isomer β) are encapsulated within the CD cavity. However, the ESI spectra did not reveal such the presence of inclusion compounds. Searching of alternative mechanisms of transportation of these anaesthetic agents, we found that outer-cavity complexes of inserted chloraloses, as found from MD calculations, do have a reasonable stability.This revised version was published online in July 2005 with a corrected issue number.