Origin of stereoinduction by chiral aminophosphane phosphinite ligands in enantioselective catalysis: asymmetric hydroformylation

The origin of stereoinduction by chiral aminophosphane phosphinite (AMPP) ligands in asymmetric hydroformylation was investigated with a theoretical approach. The roles of the stereogenic center at the aminophosphane phosphorus atom (NP*) and of the chirality of the backbone were analyzed by considering three experimentally tested cases: 1) P-stereogenic yielding high ee, 2) P-nonstereogenic yielding low ee, and 3) P-stereogenic yielding low ee. We succeeded in reproducing the experimentally observed trends for the three studied AMPP ligands. Our results indicated that alkene insertion into the rhodium-hydride bond is the selectivity-determining step, and not alkene coordination. Additional calculations on model systems revealed that the different nonbonding weak-type interactions of styrene with the substituents of the NP* stereogenic center in an axial position is responsible for stereodifferentiation. The chirality of the AMPP backbone plays a secondary role. The rationalization of the stereochemical outcome is not straightforward, because two competitive equatorial/axial reaction paths, showing opposite asymmetric induction, must be considered. Construction of stereochemical models and evaluation of stereoinduction for novel ligand systems suggested that two prerequisites are required to improve the performance of AMPP-type ligands in asymmetric hydroformylation: 1) combination of stereorecognition and stereohindrance by substituents at the NP* atom, and 2) more rigid backbones.     

Synthesis and characterization of new trimeric rhenium(I) complexes. The influence of steric factors on the size of pyrazolonaterhenium(I) metallomacrocycles

The reaction of [ReX(CO)5] with thiosemicarbazones H2L(R) derived from beta-keto esters (X = Cl, Br; R = Me, Ph) allowed the isolation of cyclic trimeric complexes [Re3(pyz(R))3(CO)9], where pyz(R) is the pyrazolonate corresponding to the thiosemicarbazone. Electron spray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICR-MS) monitoring of the reactions of H2L(Ph) in toluene confirmed that the trimer was formed in the reaction mixture and no higher oligomer was detected. These studies, together with the X-ray structures of the trimeric complexes, afford new insight into the factors influencing the self-assembly of pyrazolonaterhenium(I) complexes.     

Flow screen-printed amperometric detection of p-nitrophenol in alkaline phosphatase-based assays

p-Nitrophenyl phosphate is one of the most widely used substrates for alkaline phosphatase in ELISAs because its yellow, water-soluble product, p-nitrophenol, absorbs strongly at 405 nm. p-Nitrophenol is also electroactive; an oxidative peak at 0.97 V (vs. an Ag pseudoreference electrode) is obtained when a bare screen-printed carbon electrode is used. When an amperometric detector was coupled to a flow-injection analysis system the detection limit achieved for p-nitrophenol was 2×10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹, almost two orders of magnitude lower than that obtained by measuring the absorbance of the compound. By use of this electrochemical detection method, measurement of 7×10⁻¹⁴ mol L⁻¹ alkaline phosphatase was achieved after incubation for 20 min. The feasibility of coupling immunoassay to screen-printed carbon electrode amperometric detection has been demonstrated by performing an ELISA for detection of pneumolysin, a toxin produced by Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes respiratory infections. The method is simple, reproducible, and much more sensitive than traditional spectrophotometry.     

Determination of human serum albumin using aurothiomalate as electroactive label

A new electroactive label has been used to monitor immunoassays in the determination of human serum albumin (HSA) using glassy-carbon electrodes as supports for the immunological reactions. The label was a gold(I) complex, sodium aurothiomalate, which was bound to rabbit IgG anti-human serum albumin (anti-HSA-Au). The HSA was adsorbed on the electrode surface and the immunological reaction with gold-labelled anti-HSA was then performed for one hour by non-competitive or competitive procedures. The gold(I) bound to the anti-HSA was electrodeposited in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ HCl at −1.00 V for 5 min then oxidised in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄ solution at +1.40 V for 1 min. Silver electrodeposition at −0.14 V for 1 min followed by anodic stripping voltammetry were then performed in aqueous 1.0 mol L⁻¹ NH₃–2.0×10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ AgNO₃. For both non-competitive and competitive formats, calibration plots in the ranges 5.0×10⁻¹⁰ to 1.0×10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ and 1.0×10⁻¹⁰ to 1.0×10⁻⁹ mol L⁻¹ HSA, respectively, with estimated detection limits of 1.5×10⁻¹⁰ mol L⁻¹ (10 ng mL⁻¹) and 1.0×10⁻¹⁰ mol L⁻¹ (7 ng mL⁻¹), respectively, were obtained. Levels of HSA in two healthy volunteer urine samples were also evaluated, using both immunoassay formats.     

Autonomous learning by simple dynamical systems with a discrete-time formulation

We present a discrete-time formulation for the autonomous learning conjecture. The main feature of this formulation is the possibility to apply the autonomous learning scheme to systems in which the errors with respect to target functions are not well-defined for all times. This restriction for the evaluation of functionality is a typical feature in systems that need a finite time interval to process a unit piece of information. We illustrate its application on an artificial neural network with feed-forward architecture for classification and a phase oscillator system with synchronization properties. The main characteristics of the discrete-time formulation are shown by constructing these systems with predefined functions.     

Weak acids enhance halogen activation on atmospheric water's surfaces

We report that rates of I(2)(g) emissions, measured via cavity ring-down spectroscopy, during the heterogeneous ozonation of interfacial iodide: I(-)(surface, s) + O(3)(g) + H(+)(s) →→ I(2)(g), are enhanced several-fold, whereas those of IO·(g) are unaffected, by the presence of undissociated alkanoic acids on water. The amphiphilic weak carboxylic acids appear to promote I(2)(g) emissions by supplying the requisite interfacial protons H(+)(s) more efficiently than water itself, at pH values representative of submicrometer marine aerosol particles. We infer that the organic acids coating aerosol particles ejected from ocean's topmost films should enhance I(2)(g) production in marine boundary layers.     

Silyl,hydrido-silylene,or other bonding modes: some unusual structures of [(dhpe)Pt(SiHR2)]+ (dhpe = H2P-CH2-CH2-PH2; R = H,Me, SiH3, Cl,OMe, NMe2) and [(dhpe)Pt(SiR3)](+) (R = Me,Cl) from DFT calculations

DFT (B3LYP) calculations have been carried out in order to quantitatively evaluate the energies and stereochemistry of the accessible structures of [(dhpe)Pt(SiHR(2))](+) (dhpe = H(2)P-CH(2)-CH(2)-PH(2); R = H, CH(3), SiH(3), Cl, OMe, SMe, NMe(2)) and of [(dhpe)Pt(SiR(3))](+) (R = CH(3), Cl). A number of different isomers have been located. The expected terminal silyl or hydrido-silylene complexes are often not the most stable complexes. An isomer in which an H or an R group bridges a Pt=SiHR or Pt=SiR(2) bond is found to compete with the terminal silyl or hydrido-silylene isomers. In some cases, isomers derived from cleavage of a C-H bond and formation of a silene or disilene ligand are obtained. The structures of the platinum silyls differ from that of the equivalent alkyl complex, calculated for [(dhpe)Pt(CH(3))](+).     

Roughness assessment and wetting behavior of fluorocarbon surfaces

The wetting behavior of fluorocarbon materials has been studied with the aim of assessing the influence of the surface chemical composition and surface roughness on the water advancing and receding contact angles. Diamond like carbon and two fluorocarbon materials with different fluorine content have been prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and characterized by X-ray photoemission, Raman and FT-IR spectroscopies. Very rough surfaces have been obtained by deposition of thin films of these materials on polymer substrates previously subjected to plasma etching to increase their roughness. A direct correlation has been found between roughness and water contact angles while a superhydrophobic behavior (i.e., water contact angles higher than 150° and relatively low adhesion energy) was found for the films with the highest fluorine content deposited on very rough substrates. A critical evaluation of the methods currently used to assess the roughness of these surfaces by atomic force microscopy (AFM) has evidenced that calculated RMS roughness values and actual surface areas are quite dependent on both the scale of observation and image resolution. A critical discussion is carried out about the application of the Wenzel model to account for the wetting behavior of this type of surfaces.     

Hydrogen Evolution: Electrochemical Pretreatment for Voltammetric Analysis with Gold Electrodes

A pretreatment for gold electrodes is presented in this work. The improvement of the voltammetric responses for gold surfaces is achieved applying an adequate cathodic potential in acidic media which results on vigorous evolution of gas hydrogen at the interface between electrode and electrolyte. The effectiveness of this procedure is evidenced for gold wire electrodes by cyclic voltammetry in several redox systems. The pretreatment is also compared with other activation methods for gold electrodes in electroanalytical and electrochemical terms.     

Palladium complexes of a phosphorus ylide with two stabilizing groups: synthesis, structure, and DFT study of the bonding modes

The phosphorus ylide ligand [Ph3P=C(CO2Me)C(=NPh)CO2Me] (L1) has been prepared and fully characterized by spectroscopic, crystallographic, and density functional theory (DFT) methods (B3LYP level). The reactivity of L1 toward several cationic Pd(II) and Pt(II) precursors, with two vacant coordination sites, has been studied. The reaction of [M(C/\X)(THF)2]ClO4 with L1 (1:1 molar ratio) gives [M(C/\X)(L1)]ClO4 [M = Pd, C/\X = C6H4CH2NMe2 (1), S-C6H4C(H)MeNMe2 (2), CH2-8-C9H6N (3), C6H4-2-NC5H4 (4), o-CH2C6H4P(o-tol)2 (6), eta3-C3H5 (7); M = Pt, C/\X = o-CH2C6H4P(o-tol)2 (5); M(C/\X) = Pd(C6F5)(SC4H8) (8), PdCl2 (9)]. In complexes 1-9, the ligand L1 bonds systematically to the metal center through the iminic N and the carbonyl O of the stabilizing CO2Me group, as is evident from the NMR data and from the X-ray structure of 3. Ligand L1 can also be orthopalladated by reaction with Pd(OAc)2 and LiCl, giving the dinuclear derivative [Pd(mu-Cl)(C6H4-2-PPh2=C(CO2Me)C(CO2Me)=NPh)]2 (10). The X-ray crystal structure of 10 is also reported. In none of the prepared complexes 1-10 was the C(alpha) atom found to be bonded to the metal center. DFT calculations and Bader analysis were performed on ylide L1 and complex 9 and its congeners in order to assess the preference of the six-membered N,O metallacycle over the four-membered C,N and five-membered C,O rings. The presence of two stabilizing groups at the ylidic C causes a reduction of its bonding capabilities. The increasing strength of the Pd-C, Pd-O, and Pd-N bonds along with other subtle effects are responsible for the relative stabilities of the different bonding modes.