Hydrothermal synthesis and magnetic properties of novel Mn(II) and Zn(II) materials with thiolato-carboxylate donor ligand frameworks

The hydrothermal reaction of thiosalicylic acid, (C(6)H(4)(CO(2)H)(SH)-1,2) with manganese(III) acetate leads to formation of the coordination solid [Mn(5)((C(6)H(4)(CO(2))(S)-1,2)(2))(4)(mu3-OH)2] (1) via a redox reaction, where resulting manganese(II) centres are coordinated by oxygen donor atoms and S-S disulfide bridge formation is simultaneously observed. Reaction of the same ligand under similar conditions with zinc(II) chloride yields the layered coordination solid [Zn(C(6)H(4)(CO(2))(S)-1,2)] (2). Hydrothermal treatment of manganese(III) acetate with 2-mercaptonicotinic acid, (NC(5)H(3)(SH)(CO(2)H)-2,3) was found to produce the 1-dimensional chain structure [Mn(2)((NC(5)H(3)(S)(CO(2))-2,3)(2))(2)(OH(2))(4)].4H(2)O (3) which also exhibits disulfide bridge formation and oxygen-only metal interactions. Compound 3 has been studied by thermogravimetric analysis and indicates sequential loss of lattice and coordinated water, prior to more comprehensive ligand fragmentation at elevated temperatures. The magnetic behaviour of 1 and 3 has been investigated and both exhibit antiferromagnetic interactions. The magnetic behaviour of 1 has been modelled as two corner-sharing isosceles triangles whilst 3 has been modelled as a 1-dimensional chain.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of trivalent amino acid derived chiral phosphorus compounds

Reaction of the N-toluenesulfonyl derivatives of (S)-alanine, phenylalanine, and valine (4-6) with PhPCl(2) gave in high yield the 4-methyl, benzyl, and isopropyl derivatives (7-9) of 2-phenyl-1-p-toluenesulfonyl-1,3,2-oxazaphospholidin-5-one. The ratios of the (2S,4S)/(2R,4S) diastereomers (cis/trans isomers) were 1:1, 2:1, and 10:1 for the methyl, benzyl, and isopropyl derivatives 7a,b, 8a,b, and 9a,b, respectively. For 7a,b, both isomers could be crystallized, but for the others only the major isomers were isolable. The X-ray crystal structure of 9a shows that the isopropyl and phenyl groups are mutually cis and that the tolyl moiety is oriented s-trans to both the isopropyl and phenyl groups. Reaction of 6 with Cl(2)PCH(2)CH(2)PCl(2) (10) gave a 56:38:7 mixture of the cis/cis, cis/trans, and trans/trans diphosphorus heterocycles 11a-c. The major isomer could be crystallized and isolated free of the other diastereomers. Reaction of 6 with EtPCl(2) gave a 6:1 mixture of cis/trans isomers of the ethyl-substituted heterocycles 12a,b as an inseparable oil but allowed confirmation of the structure of 11a. Slow epimerization at phosphorus may occur by inversion but more likely by ring opening/closure, since 7b, 9a, and 11a give rise upon standing in solution to mixtures containing starting material and 7a, 9b, and 11b, respectively, along with the free amino acid derivatives 4 and 6. The NMR spectra, and in particular the coupling constants between the alpha-hydrogen atom of the amino acid moiety and phosphorus, were used to establish the identities of the cis and trans isomers. Reaction of 9a with (THF)W(CO)(5) gave the phosphorus-ligated adduct (9a)W(CO)(5) (13), and the IR spectrum of this complex shows that 9a is a strongly electron-withdrawing ligand. The geometry of the sulfonamide moiety is discussed in detail, as are the (1)H NMR coupling constants. The data are consistent with the presence of little steric interaction between the cis isopropyl and phosphorus substituent in 9a, 11a, and 12a and orientation of the tolyl moiety s-cis to the isopropyl group in 9b, 12b, and 13.     

Formation of ti(28) ln cages, the highest nuclearity polyoxotitanates (ln=la, ce)

The solvothermal reactions of Ti(OEt)(4) with LnCl(3) (Ln=La, Ce) produced new Ti(28) Ln cages, in which the Ln(3+) ions are coordinated within a metallocrown arrangement, which represents the highest nuclearity cages of this type.     

MgSO4·11H2O and MgCrO4·11H2O based on time‐of‐flight neutron single‐crystal Laue data

Hexaaquamagnesium(II) sulfate pentahydrate, [Mg(H₂O)₆]SO₄·5H₂O, and hexaaquamagnesium(II) chromate(II) pentahydrate, [Mg(H₂O)₆][CrO₄]·5H₂O, are isomorphous, being composed of hexaaquamagnesium(II) octahedra, [Mg(H₂O)₆]²⁺, and sulfate (chromate) tetrahedral oxyanions, SO₄²⁻ (CrO₄²⁻), linked by hydrogen bonds. There are two symmetry‐inequivalent centrosymmetric octahedra: M1 at (0, 0, 0) donates hydrogen bonds directly to the tetrahedral oxyanion, T1, at (0.405, 0.320, 0.201), whereas the M2 octahedron at (0, 0, ) is linked to the oxyanion via five interstitial water molecules. Substitution of Cr^VI for S^VI leads to a substantial expansion of T1, since the Cr—O bond is approximately 12% longer than the S—O bond. This expansion is propagated through the hydrogen‐bonded framework to produce a 3.3% increase in unit‐cell volume; the greatest part of this chemically induced strain is manifested along the b* direction. The hydrogen bonds in the chromate compound mitigate ∼20% of the expected strain due to the larger oxyanion, becoming shorter (i.e. stronger) and more linear than in the sulfate analogue. The bifurcated hydrogen bond donated by one of the interstitial water molecules is significantly more symmetrical in the chromate analogue.     

DNA-templated assembly of droplet-derived PEG microtissues

Patterning multiple cell types is a critical step for engineering functional tissues, but few methods provide three-dimensional positioning at the cellular length scale. Here, we present a "bottom-up" approach for fabricating multicellular tissue constructs that utilizes DNA-templated assembly of 3D cell-laden hydrogel microtissues. A flow focusing-generated emulsion of photopolymerizable prepolymer is used to produce 100 μm monodisperse microtissues at a rate of 100 Hz (10(5) h(-1)). Multiple cell types, including suspension and adherently cultured cells, can be encapsulated into the microtissues with high viability (~97%). We then use a DNA coding scheme to self-assemble microtissues "bottom-up" from a template that is defined using "top-down" techniques. The microtissues are derivatized with single-stranded DNA using a biotin-streptavidin linkage to the polymer network, and are assembled by sequence-specific hybridization onto spotted DNA microarrays. Using orthogonal DNA codes, we achieve multiplexed patterning of multiple microtissue types with high binding efficiency and >90% patterning specificity. Finally, we demonstrate the ability to organize multicomponent constructs composed of epithelial and mesenchymal microtissues while preserving each cell type in a 3D microenvironment. The combination of high throughput microtissue generation with scalable surface-templated assembly offers the potential to dissect mechanisms of cell-cell interaction in three dimensions in healthy and diseased states, as well as provides a framework for templated assembly of larger structures for implantation.     

Catalysts for convenient aerobic alcohol oxidations in air: systematic ligand studies in Pd/pyridine systems

We report highly convenient Pd catalysts for the aerobic oxidation of alcohols, which are generated in situ by combining commercially available catalyst precursors. Systematic optimizations of the L- and X-type ligand environment and the employed additive allow the use of air as the sole oxidant without formation of Pd black. The resulting novel protocol provides quantitative yields of a broad variety of ketones and aldehydes.     

L-Histidine Benzyl Ester

L-Histidine benzyl ester di-p-toluenesulphonate is, contrary to a previous report, easily prepared by a very simple direct esterification procedure.     

Efficient Preparation of γ-Hydroxynitriles via Nitrile Enolate-Epoxide Reactions: Scope and Diastereoselectivity

The nucleophilic opening of epoxides by nitrile enolates using an efficient, convenient protocol is described. The diastereoselectivity of this reaction was explored and found to give syn:anti ratios ranging from 1.1:1.0 to 4.8:1.0.

     

Bond dissociation energies and radical stabilization energies associated with model peptide-backbone radicals

Bond dissociation energies (BDEs) and radical stabilization energies (RSEs) have been calculated for a series of models that represent a glycine-containing peptide-backbone. High-level methods that have been used include W1, CBS-QB3, U-CBS-QB3, and G3X(MP2)-RAD. Simpler methods used include MP2, B3-LYP, BMK, and MPWB1K in association with the 6-311+G(3df,2p) basis set. We find that the high-level methods produce BDEs and RSEs that are in good agreement with one another. Of the simpler methods, RBMK and RMPWB1K achieve good accuracy for BDEs and RSEs for all the species that were examined. For monosubstituted carbon-centered radicals, we find that the stabilizing effect (as measured by RSEs) of carbonyl substituents (CX=O) ranges from 24.7 to 36.9 kJ mol(-1), with the largest stabilization occurring for the CH=O group. Amino groups (NHY) also stabilize a monosubstituted alpha-carbon radical, with the calculated RSEs ranging from 44.5 to 49.5 kJ mol(-1), the largest stabilization occurring for the NH2 group. In combination, NHY and CX=O substituents on a disubstituted carbon-centered radical produce a large stabilizing effect ranging from 82.0 to 125.8 kJ mol(-1). This translates to a captodative (synergistic) stabilization of 12.8 to 39.4 kJ mol(-1). For monosubstituted nitrogen-centered radicals, we find that the stabilizing effect of methyl and related (CH2Z) substituents ranges from 25.9 to 31.7 kJ mol(-1), the largest stabilization occurring for the CH3 group. Carbonyl substituents (CX=O) destabilize a nitrogen-centered radical relative to the corresponding closed-shell molecule, with the calculated RSEs ranging from -30.8 to -22.3 kJ mol(-1), the largest destabilization occurring for the CH=O group. In combination, CH2Z and CX=O substituents at a nitrogen radical center produce a destabilizing effect ranging from -19.0 to -0.2 kJ mol(-1). This translates to an additional destabilization associated with disubstitution of -18.6 to -7.8 kJ mol(-1).