2-Substituted 2-Propenoic Acid Esters via Reaction of a Masked Acrylate Ester with Carbonyl Compounds

β-Amino ester enolate reacts readily with selected aldehydes and ketones. Deprotection via the N-oxide provides good yields of the 2-substituted acrylate ester.     

Improved Procedure for the Synthesis of DAMGO

A short and straightforward synthesis of DAMGO is described.     

Preparation of Nitriles by Dehydration of Primary Carboxawides with a Supported phosphorus pentoxide reagent

The use of a supported phosphorus pentoxide reagent in the synthesis of selected nitriles is discussed.     

Heteropoly Acids as Heterogeneous and Reusable Catalyst for α-Thiocyanation of Ketones

Simple, efficient, and mild method for α-thiocyanation of ketones in presence of heteropolyacid has been developed. This methodology offered α-oxothiocyanates in good to excellent yields at room temperature in a highly selective manner. The catalyst could be efficiently recovered from the reaction and reused.     

Synthesis of 1,4,5-trisubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles via coupling reaction of diaminomaleonitrile with aromatic diazonium salts

A mild procedure for the preparation of 2-(5-amino-1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-2-iminoacetonitriles and 2-(5-amino-1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-2-oxoacetonitriles was achieved by the reaction of diaminomaleonitrile and phenyl/substituted phenyl diazonium chlorides. 4-Nitrophenyl diazonium chloride afforded 2-amino-3-(3-(4-nitrophenyl)triaz-1-en-1-yl)maleonitrile. Triazole iminoacetonitrile and maleonitrile derivatives were reacted further with excess acetone and benzaldehyde with a catalytic amount of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene to yield 5-(5-imino-2,2-dimethyl-2,5-dihydrooxazol-4-yl)-3-aryl-3H-1,2,3-triazol-4-amine and (E)-N-benzylidene-5-(5-imino-2-aryl-2,5-dihydrooxazol-4-yl)-3-aryl-3H-1,2,3-triazol-4-amine, respectively. Two competitive reactions, i.e., nucleophilic substitution and nucleophilic addition, were observed when triazole oxoacetonitrile and maleonitrile derivatives were reacted with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in the presence of sodium acetate.     

Investigation of steric and electronic effects in the copper-catalysed asymmetric oxidation of sulfides

Steric and electronic effects in the copper-catalysed asymmetric oxidation of aryl benzyl, aryl alkyl and alkyl benzyl sulfides have been investigated. The presence of an aryl group directly attached to the sulfur is essential to afford sulfoxides with high enantioselectivities, with up to 97% ee for 2-naphthyl benzyl sulfoxide, the highest enantioselectivity achieved to date for copper-catalysed asymmetric sulfoxidation. In contrast, the benzyl substituent can be replaced by sterically comparable groups with no effect on enantioselectivity. Copper-mediated oxidation of substituted aryl benzyl sulfides display modest steric and electronic effects resulting in comparable or lower enantioselectivities to those obtained with the unsubstituted benzyl phenyl sulfide.     

Optimal control for lithium-ion batteries

Modelling, simulation and optimal control for a lithium-ion battery cell is discussed. The model involves ionic concentrations, currents and potentials in the electrodes and the separator together with the battery temperature as state variables. The resulting system is a nonlinear PDAE system with 10 partial, 1 ordinary differential and 4 algebraic equations involving the Butler-Volmer kinetics for describing the interaction of ionic currents and potentials. Time-optimal charging of the battery subject to age-preventing leads to a state-constrained optimal control problem which is solved in two ways. A first-discretize-then-optimize approach leads to a high-dimensional nonlinear optimization problem which is solved by an efficient solver. As an alternative, a feedback control law along an active arc of the state constraint of order 1 is derived to formulate and solve the corresponding so-called induced optimization problem. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of Botanical Extracts on the Growth and Nutritional Quality of Field-Grown White Head Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)

Nutraceuticals and functional foods are gaining more attention amongst consumers interested in nutritious food. The consumption of foodstuffs with a high content of phytochemicals has been proven to provide various health benefits. The application of biostimulants is a potential strategy to fortify cultivated plants with beneficial bioactive compounds. Nevertheless, it has not yet been established whether the proposed higher plants (St. John’s wort, giant goldenrod, common dandelion, red clover, nettle, and valerian) are appropriate for the production of potential bio-products enhancing the nutritional value of white cabbage. Therefore, this research examines the impact of botanical extracts on the growth and nutritional quality of cabbage grown under field conditions. Two extraction methods were used for the production of water-based bio-products, namely: ultrasound-assisted extraction and mechanical homogenisation. Bio-products were applied as foliar sprays to evaluate their impact on total yield, dry weight, photosynthetic pigments, polyphenols, antioxidant activity, vitamin C, nitrates, micro- and macroelements, volatile compounds, fatty acids, sterols, and sugars. Botanical extracts showed different effects on the examined parameters. The best results in terms of physiological and biochemical properties of cabbage were obtained for extracts from common dandelion, valerian, nettle, and giant goldenrod. When enriched with nutrients, vegetables can constitute a valuable component of functional food.     

Piper betle (L): Recent Review of Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties,Safety Profiles,and Commercial Applications

Piper betle (L) is a popular medicinal plant in Asia. Plant leaves have been used as a traditional medicine to treat various health conditions. It is highly abundant and inexpensive, therefore promoting further research and industrialization development, including in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Articles published from 2010 to 2020 were reviewed in detail to show recent updates on the antibacterial and antifungal properties of betel leaves. This current review showed that betel leaves extract, essential oil, preparations, and isolates could inhibit microbial growth and kill various Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as fungal species, including those that are multidrug-resistant and cause serious infectious diseases. P. betle leaves displayed high efficiency on Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. The ratio of MBC/MIC indicated bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects of P. betle leaves, while MFC/MIC values showed fungicidal and fungistatic effects. This review also provides a list of phytochemical compounds in betel leaves extracts and essential oils, safety profiles, and value-added products of betel leaves. Some studies also showed that the combination of betel leaves extract and essential oil with antibiotics (streptomycin, chloramphenicol and gentamicin) could provide potentiating antibacterial properties. Moreover, this review delivers a scientific resume for researchers in respected areas and manufacturers who want to develop betel leaves-based products.     

A Water-Soluble Iridium Photocatalyst for Chemical Modification of Dehydroalanines in Peptides and Proteins

Dehydroalanine (Dha) residues are attractive noncanonical amino acids that occur naturally in ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). Dha residues are attractive targets for selective late-stage modification of these complex biomolecules. In this work, we show the selective photocatalytic modification of dehydroalanine residues in the antimicrobial peptide nisin and in the proteins small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) and superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP). For this purpose, a new water-soluble iridium(III) photoredox catalyst was used. The design and synthesis of this new photocatalyst, [Ir(dF(CF₃)ppy)₂(dNMe₃bpy)]Cl₃, is presented. In contrast to commonly used iridium photocatalysts, this complex is highly water soluble and allows peptides and proteins to be modified in water and aqueous solvents under physiologically relevant conditions, with short reaction times and with low reagent and catalyst loadings. This work suggests that photoredox catalysis using this newly designed catalyst is a promising strategy to modify dehydroalanine-containing natural products and thus could have great potential for novel bioconjugation strategies.