Synthesis and preliminary biological evaluation of 5-fluoro-5,8-dideazaisoaminopterin

The new folate antagonist, 5-fluoro-5,8-dideazaisoaminopterin was synthesized in four steps beginning with 2,4-diamino-5-fluoroquinazoline. It was found to be a potent inhibitor of human dihydrofolate reductase. Against L1210 leukemia in mice, 5-fluoro-5,8-dideazaisoaminopterin was equiactive with methotrexate at approximately one half of the total dose employed.     

Synthesis of some novel halogenated 2,4-diaminoquinazolines

Three new 2,4-diaminoquinazolines, the 5,6-difluoro, 6,7-difluoro and 7,8-difluoro isomers were prepared by the reaction of the requisite trifluorobenzonitrile and guanidine carbonate. Surprisingly, 2,3,6-trifluorobenzonitriles gave 2,4-diamino-5,6-difluoroquinazoline exclusively as determined by high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. On the other hand, 3-amino-2,6-difluorobenzonitrile on reaction with guanidine carbonate yielded only 5-fluoro-2,4,8-triaminoquinazoline. This compound was subsequently converted to 8-chloro-2,4-diamino-5-fluoroquinazoline using the Sandmeyer procedure. The nitration of 2,4-diamino-8-fluoroquinazoline occurred exclusively at position six yielding 2,4-diamino-8-fluoro-6-nitroquinazoline, which upon reduction with stannous chloride afforded 8-fluoro-2,4,6-triaminoquinazoline. In a similar fashion 7-fluoro-2,4-diaminoquinazoline underwent nitration at position six and was then reduced to give 7-fluoro-2,4,6-triaminoquinazoline. Finally, both of these triaminoquinazolines were converted to the 6-chloro derivatives under Sandmeyer conditions to yield 6-chloro-2,4-diamino-8-fluoroquinazoline and 6-chloro-2,4-diamino-7-fluoroquinazoline, respectively.     

Influence of different initiators on methyl methacrylate polymerization,studied by differential scanning calorimetry

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to measure the decomposition rates of four commercially used initiators, 2,2′-azobis(isobutyronitrile) 2,2′-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile), dilauroyl peroxide and bis(4-t-butylcyclohexyl)peroxydicarbonate, in dynamic mode, while the courses of methyl methacrylate polymerization with the listed initiators at 65, 75 and 85°C were measured isothermally. From the DSC curves, the polymerization enthalpies, the overall reaction rate constants and the activation energies for the initial steady-state polymerization were calculated. It was found that the polymerization enthalpy and the kinetic parameters depended on the type of the initiator. An initiator with a shorter decomposition half-lifetime shifted the onset of the gel effect to a higher conversion, intensified it and decreased the average molar mass of the polymer.     

Dynamics of capillary drying in water

We use atomistic simulations to address the question when capillary evaporation of water confined in a hydrocarbonlike slit is kinetically viable. Activation barriers and absolute rates of evaporation are estimated using open ensemble Monte Carlo-umbrella sampling and molecular dynamics simulations. At ambient conditions, the evaporation rate in a water film four molecular diameters thick is found to be of the order 10(5)(nm(2) s)(-1), meaning that water readily evaporates. Films more than a few nanometers thick will persist in a metastable liquid state. Dissolved atmospheric gas molecules do not significantly decrease the activation barrier.     

The crystal structures of two reaction products of α-halopyruvamide with nitrogen and sulfur nucleophiles

Two compounds have been prepared during the investigation of the reactivity of -halopyruvamides. The reaction products: 3-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-2-carboxamide (1) and 7-carbamoyl-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro[1,3]thiazolo[4,3-b][1,3]thiazol-4-ium chloride (2) were structurally characterized by x-ray crystallography. Compound 1 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pca2₁ with a = 28.813(2), b = 9.369(1), and c = 9.361(1) Å. The structure contains two crystallographically different molecules. Compound 2 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c with the following cell parameters: a = 8.5895(8), b = 22.499(2), c = 7.4133(6) Å, and = 110.204(1)°.     

Oxygen plasma functionalization of poly(p-phenilene sulphide)

Surface effects during plasma activation of poly(p-phenilene sulphide)—PPS have been studied. Samples that were exposed to weakly ionized highly dissociated oxygen plasma created an inductively coupled radiofrequency discharge with the power of 100 W. The electron density and temperature were measured with a double Langmuir probe and were 4 × 10¹⁵ m⁻³ and 3 eV, respectively, while the neutral atom density was measured with a fiber optics catalytic probe and was 4 × 10²¹ m⁻³. The surface tension was determined by measuring the contact angle of deionized water, while the appearance of surface functional groups was detected by XPS. The surface tension of untreated PPS was 7 × 10⁻³ N/m or/and increased to 7 × 10⁻² N/m in few seconds of plasma treatment. It remained fairly constant for longer plasma treatments. The XPS survey spectrum showed little oxygen on untreated samples, but its concentration increased to about 20 at.% in few seconds. Detailed high resolution XPS C 1s peak showed that the carbon was left fairly stable during plasma treatment. The main functional groups formed were rather sulphate in sulphite groups, as determined from high resolution S 2p peak. Namely, a strong transition from sulphide to sulphate state of sulfur was observed. The spontaneous deactivation of the polymer surface was measured as well. The deactivation was fairly logarithmic with the characteristic decay time of several hours.     

Effect of field direction on electrowetting in a nanopore

We manifest a significant influence of field direction and polarity on surface wetting, when the latter is tuned by application of an external electric field. Thermodynamics of field-induced filling of hydrocarbon-like nanopores with water is studied by open ensemble molecular simulation. Increased field strength consistently results in water-filling and electrostriction in hydrophobic nanopores. A threshold field commensurate with surface charge density of about one elementary charge per 10 nm2 suffices to render prototypical paraffin surfaces hydrophilic. When a field is applied in the direction perpendicular to the confining walls, the competition between orientational polarization and angle preferences of interfacial water molecules relative to the walls results in an asymmetric wettability of opposing surfaces (Janus interface). Reduction of surface free energy observed upon alignment of confinement walls with field direction suggests a novel mechanism whereby the applied electric field can operate selectively on water-filled nanotubes while empty ones remain unaffected.     

Wettability and surface composition of partly and fully regenerated cellulose thin films from trimethylsilyl cellulose

The wettability and surface free energy (SFE) of partly and fully regenerated cellulose model surfaces from spin coated trimethylsilyl cellulose were determined by static contact angle (SCA) measurements. In order to gain detailed insight into the desilylation reaction of the surfaces the results from SCA measurements were compared with data from other surface analytical methods, namely thickness measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR). Additionally, the influence of ultra high vacuum treatment (UHV) during XPS measurements on the water wettability and surface morphology of regenerated cellulose thin films was investigated. The wetting of polar and non-polar liquids increased with prolonged regeneration time, which is reflected in the higher SFE values and polarities of the films. After UHV treatment the water SCA of partly regenerated films decreases, whereas fully regenerated cellulose shows a higher water SCA. Therefore it is assumed that volatile desilylation products tend to adsorb on partly regenerated films, which strongly influences their wettability.     

Elaboration of nano-structured grafted polymeric surface

The surface grafting of multi-polymeric materials can be achieved by grafting as components such as polymers poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and/or surfactant molecules (hexatrimethylammonium bromide, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate). The chosen grafting techniques, i.e. plasma activation followed by coating, allow a large spectrum of functional groups that can be inserted on the surface controlling the surface properties like adhesion, wettability and biocompatibility. The grafted polypropylene surfaces were characterized by contact angle analyses, XPS and AFM analyses. The influence of He plasma activation, of the coating parameters such as concentrations of the various reactive agents are discussed in terms of hydrophilic character, chemical composition and morphologic surface heterogeneity. The plasma pre-activation was shown inevitable for a permanent polymeric grafting. PNIPAM was grafted alone or with a mixture of the surfactant molecules. Depending on the individual proportion of each component, the grafted surfaces are shown homogeneous or composed of small domains of one component leading to a nano-structuration of the grafted surface.