Synthesis and evaluation of polyacrylamides derived from polycyclic pendant naphthalene,indole, and phenothiazine based chalcone moiety as potent antimicrobial agents

Polycyclic chalcone‐containing polyacrylamides, namely, poly ((N‐(4‐((E)‐3‐(naphthalen‐6‐yl)‐3‐oxoprop‐1‐enyl) phenyl) acrylamide), poly((N‐(4‐((E)‐3‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐3‐oxoprop‐1‐enyl) phenyl) acrylamide), and poly((N‐(4‐((E)‐3‐oxo‐3‐(10H‐phenothiazin‐8‐yl) prop‐1‐enyl) phenyl) acrylamide), were synthesized by Claisen–Schmidt condensation reaction, followed by ultrasonic irradiation reduction. The synthesized polymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic technique. The newly synthesized polymers have been screened for antibacterial and antifungal activities by using resazurin reduction assay method, and the resulting polyacrylamides showed promising activity against various tested bacteria and fungi. Among the polymers, poly((N‐(4‐((E)‐3‐oxo‐3‐(10H‐phenothiazin‐8‐yl) prop‐1‐enyl) phenyl) acrylamide) and poly((N‐(4‐((E)‐3‐(1H‐indol‐3‐yl)‐3‐oxoprop‐1‐enyl) phenyl) acrylamide) exhibited better antifungal and antibacterial activities than poly ((N‐(4‐((E)‐3‐(naphthalen‐6‐yl)‐3‐oxoprop‐1‐enyl) phenyl) acrylamide), whereas all the polymers do not show any sign of antibacterial and antifungal activity against Streptococcus faecalis and Candida glabrata. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A model for the aerodynamic coefficients of rock-like debris

This study presents a model to determine the aerodynamic forces on an irregularly shaped object for prediction of trajectories of debris. We classify the debris according to shape and use wind tunnel tests to create a database of aerodynamic forces of similarly sized objects. We have then validated the database results against wind tunnel measurements of aerodynamic coefficients of rock-like debris objects. Although the individual errors may be significant, the results show a generally good agreement with our model prediction and a small average error.     

Current-driven magnetization reversal dynamics and breather-like EM soliton propagation in biaxial anisotropic weak ferromagnetic nanowire

Nonlinear Dynamics - We investigate the effect of spin torque on the switching dynamics of magnetic solitons in a weak ferromagnetic nanowire under the influence of an electromagnetic wave (EMW)....     

Biodegradation of Crude Oil from the BP Oil Spill in the Marsh Sediments of Southeast Louisiana, USA

The significant challenges presented by the April 20, 2010 explosion, sinking, and subsequent oil spill of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in Canyon Block 252 about 52 miles southeast of Venice, LA, USA greatly impacted Louisiana??s coastal ecosystem including the sea food industry, recreational fishing, and tourism. The short-term and long-term impact of this oil spill are significant, and the Deepwater Horizon spill is potentially both an economic and an ecological disaster. Microbes present in the water column and sediments have the potential to degrade the oil. Oil degradation could be enhanced by biostimulation method. The conventional approach to bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon is based on aerobic processes. Anaerobic bioremediation has been tested only in a very few cases and is still considered experimental. The currently practiced conventional in situ biorestoration of petroleum-contaminated soils and ground water relies on the supply of oxygen to the subsurface to enhance natural aerobic processes to remediate the contaminants. However, anaerobic microbial processes can be significant in oxygen-depleted subsurface environments and sediments that are contaminated with petroleum-based compounds such as oil-impacted marshes in Louisiana. The goal of this work was to identify the right conditions for the indigenous anaerobic bacteria present in the contaminated sites to enhance degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. We evaluated the ability of microorganisms under a variety of electron acceptor conditions to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons. Researched microbial systems include sulfate-, nitrate-reducing bacteria, and fermenting bacteria. The results indicated that anaerobic bacteria are viable candidates for bioremediation. Enhanced biodegradation was attained under mixed electron acceptor conditions, where various electron-accepting anaerobes coexisted and aided in degrading complex petroleum hydrocarbon components of marsh sediments in the coastal Louisiana. Significant degradation of oil also occurred under sulfate-reducing and nitrate-reducing conditions.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of strained spiro-cyclopropanooxindoles from cyclic diazoamides

Reaction of cyclic diazoamides and cyclic olefins or heteroaromatic systems using copper(I) triflate as a catalyst furnished a variety of strained spiro-cyclopropanooxindoles in a diastereoselective manner under mild reaction conditions. The effect of copper(I) triflate and rhodium(II) acetate catalysts on the cyclopropanation was also studied.     

Synthesis of amides from esters and amines with liberation of H2 under neutral conditions

Efficient synthesis of amides directly from esters and amines is achieved under mild, neutral conditions with the liberation of molecular hydrogen. Both primary and secondary amines can be utilized. This unprecedented, general, environmentally benign reaction is homogeneously catalyzed under neutral conditions by a dearomatized ruthenium-pincer PNN complex and proceeds in toluene under an inert atmosphere with a high turnover number (up to 1000). PNP analogues do not catalyze this transformation, underlining the crucial importance of the amine arm of the pincer ligand. A mechanism is proposed involving metal-ligand cooperation via aromatization-dearomatization of the pyridine moiety and hemilability of the amine arm.     

Development and characterization of a novel skeletal modified tetraglycidyl epoxy toughened DGEBA epoxy matrices

The present work investigates the improvement in mechanical properties observed for commercially available diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) with the incorporation of a new type of skeletal modified tetra glycidyl epoxy resin TGBAPB as modifier. Varying weight percentages of TGBAPB have been blended with DGEBA and cured with diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM). The chemical structure of TGBAPB was confirmed by FTIR, NMR, and molecular weight determination was carried out by ESI-MS spectroscopic techniques. The thermal properties were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and mechanical properties like tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength were also studied by universal testing machine (UTM). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigates the morphological behavior of the neat and blend epoxy resins. The results from different studies indicate that the blend epoxy resin system “B” comprising 75% DGEBA/25% TGBAPB has shown improvements in both toughness and stiffness, despite the fact that it is often found that the enhancement of these two properties together in a material cannot be simultaneously achieved. These aspects of this work are novel.     

A chemoenzymatic approach toward the rapid and sensitive detection of O-GlcNAc posttranslational modifications

We report a new chemoenzymatic strategy for the rapid and sensitive detection of O-GlcNAc posttranslational modifications. The approach exploits the ability of an engineered mutant of beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase to selectively transfer an unnatural ketone functionality onto O-GlcNAc glycosylated proteins. Once transferred, the ketone moiety serves as a versatile handle for the attachment of biotin, thereby enabling chemiluminescent detection of the modified protein. Importantly, this approach permits the rapid visualization of proteins that are at the limits of detection using traditional methods. Moreover, it bypasses the need for radioactive precursors and captures the glycosylated species without perturbing metabolic pathways. We anticipate that this general chemoenzymatic strategy will have broad application to the study of posttranslational modifications.     

Synthesis of Quaternary Spirooxindole 2H-Azirines under Batch and Continuous Flow Condition and Metal Assisted Umpolung Reactivity for the Ring-Opening Reaction

An efficient and new approach for the synthesis of spirooxindole 2H-azirines via intramolecular oxidative cyclization of 3-(amino(phenyl)methylene)-indolin-2-one derivatives in the presence of I₂ and Cs₂CO₃ under batch/continuous flow is described. This method is mild and facile to synthesize a variety of spirooxindole 2H-azirines derivatives in gram-scale. Furthermore, we have synthesized spiroaziridine derivatives from spirooxindole 2H-azirines derivatives via addition of Grignard reagent. In addition, we discloses an metal assisted attack of Grignard nucleophile at N-centre rather than C- of the spirooxindole 2H-azirines, which concurrently underwent ring opening of transient aziridines to afford N-substituted Z-3-(aminophenyl)indolin-2-one. A plausible mechanism for azirination and ring-opening reaction is also presented.