Photo-switchable azobenzene-functionalized block copolymers from atom transfer radical polymerizations

Diblock copolymers composed of monomers of tert-butyl acrylate and a side-chain azobenzenecontaining monomer, 4-[(E)-(4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl]phenyl prop-2-enoate were synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization technique. Experimental strategy involved synthesis of block of tert-butyl acrylate macroinitiator followed by addition of second block of azobenzene-containing monomer to prepare desired block-copolymer. GPC analysis indicated narrow molecular weight distributions with degree of polymerization found in good agreement with targeted value. Prepared block copolymers of varying chain lengths can potentially be used to obtain morphologies that can find useful applications for biomedical applications including intriguing photo-switchable drug delivery systems.     

Conformation of a terminally protected βγ hybrid dipeptide Boc‐Ant‐Gpn‐OMe stabilized by C6/C7 hydrogen bonds

The hybrid βγ dipeptide, methyl 2‐[1‐({2‐[(tert‐butoxycarbonyl)amino]benzamido}methyl)cyclohexyl]acetate (Boc‐Ant‐Gpn‐OMe), C₂₂H₃₂N₂O₅, adopts a folded conformation stabilized by intramolecular six‐ (C₆) and seven‐membered (C₇) hydrogen‐bonded rings, together with weak C—H...O and C—H...π interactions, resulting in a ribbon‐like structure.     

Mild,Selective Oxidation of Aromatic Alcohols Using β-Cyclodextrin-Functionalized Glass Microparticles: Characterization,Stability, and Application

The surface of glass microparticle (GMP) was functionalized with β-cyclodextrin (→ GMP-β-CD) and was characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). GMP-β-CD was used to catalyze oxidation of alcohols into aldehydes and katones with excellent yield (86–92%). The modified surface of GMP-β-CD showed no change or degradation after repeated use as confirmed from XPS analysis after 10 cycles.

[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.]     

[C6(MIm)2]2W10O32 catalyzed efficient one-pot pseudo-four component synthesis of AT-130 analogues under microwave irradiations

Di[1,6-bis(3-methylimidazolium-1-yl)hexane] decatangstate ([C₆(MIm)₂]₂W₁₀O₃₂) was found to be a novel, powerful and effective catalyst for the preparation of N-benzoylglycine carbamides as derivatives of AT-130 via one-pot multicomponent reaction performed under microwave irradiations. The products were obtained in high to excellent yields, thus providing a unique strategy to the large-scale synthesis of these compounds.     

Selective extraction of clonazepam from human plasma and urine samples by molecularly imprinted polymeric beads

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) based on free‐radical polymerization was prepared with 1‐(N,N‐biscarboxymethyl)amino‐3‐allylglycerol and N,N‐dimethylacrylamide as functional monomers, N,N‐methylene diacrylamide as the cross‐linker, copper ion‐clonazepam as the template and 2,2‐azobis(2‐methylbutyronitrile) as the initiator. The imprinted polymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and SEM. The MIP of agglomerated microparticles with multipores was used for SPE. The imprinted polymer sorbent was selective for clonazepam. The optimum pH and sorption capacity were 5 and 0.18 mg/g at 20°C, respectively. The profile of the drug uptake by the sorbent reflects good accessibility of the active sites in the imprinted polymer sorbent. The MIP‐SPE was the most feasible technique for the extraction of clonazepam with a high recovery from human plasma and urine samples.     

1H NMR based metabolic profiling in Crohn's disease by random forest methodology

The present study was designed to search for metabolic biomarkers and their correlation with serum zinc in Crohn's disease patients. Crohn's disease (CD) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract and can be difficult to diagnose using the clinical tests. Thus, introduction of a novel diagnostic method would be a major step towards CD treatment. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR) was employed for metabolic profiling to find out which metabolites in the serum have meaningful significance in the diagnosis of CD. CD and healthy subjects were correctly classified using random forest methodology. The classification model for the external test set showed a 94% correct classification of CD and healthy subjects. The present study suggests Valine and Isoleucine as differentiating metabolites for CD diagnosis. These metabolites can be used for screening of risky samples at the early stages of CD diagnoses. Moreover, a robust random forest regression model with good prediction outcomes was developed for correlating serum zinc level and metabolite concentrations. The regression model showed the correlation (R²) and root mean square error values of 0.83 and 6.44, respectively. This model suggests valuable clues for understanding the mechanism of zinc deficiency in CD patients. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A New Way to Silicone‐Based Peptide Polymers

We describe a new class of silicone‐containing peptide polymers obtained by a straightforward polymerization in water using tailored chlorodimethylsilyl peptide blocks as monomeric units. This general strategy is applicable to any type of peptide sequences, yielding linear or branched polymer chains composed of well‐defined peptide sequences.     

Molecular Structure of (1-Benzyl-4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-5-yl)(4-bromophenyl) methanone: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

One-pot three component reaction was used to synthesize 1,4,5-trisubstituted 1,2,3-triazole(A) from the corresponding acid chloride, benzyl azide and 1-copper(I) phenylethyne. The molecular structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca, a = 14.9815(14), b = 9.6496(10), c = 25.528(2) A, Z = 8. Furthermore, crystal packing demonstrated a molecular wall-like structure based on supramolecular chains of A, stabilized by CH···O, CH···Br, N···C and CH···π interactions. Molecular geometry in the ground state has been determined by density functional theory(DFT) by B3LYP/6-311G* basis set and compared with the experimental data. The computed vibrational frequencies are compared with the experimental FT-IR data and frontier molecular orbital analyses were performed at the same level of theory. Theoretical parameters are in good agreement with the corresponding X-ray diffraction values.