Stereoselective Synthesis of Novel Diels–Alder Adducts of p-Substituted Methyl Thiocinnamates and Cyclopentadiene

This article describes the Diels–Alder reaction between methyl thiocinnamates, substituted at the para position by electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups, with cyclopentadiene in the presence of catechol boron bromide (CBB) as a Lewis acid catalyst. The adduct configuration was confirmed by ¹H NMR coupling constants and single-crystal x-ray diffraction. Total endo stereoselectivity was observed in all reactions and was attributed to the effective secondary interaction between the boron atom and the incipient double bond in the norbonene resulting from the planar geometry of the catalyst. ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of the coordinated dienophile carbonyl carbons with CBB compared to those of the non coordinated thiocinammates suggest a strong complexation with the catalyst.     

Catalytic Activity of Alkali Metal Cations for the Chemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction in a Biphasic Liquid System Probed by Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

Chemical reduction of dioxygen in organic solvents for the production of reactive oxygen species or the concomitant oxidation of organic substrates can be enhanced by the separation of products and educts in biphasic liquid systems. Here, the coupled electron and ion transfer processes is studied as well as reagent fluxes across the liquid|liquid interface for the chemical reduction of dioxygen by decamethylferrocene (DMFc) in a dichloroethane-based organic electrolyte forming an interface with an aqueous electrolyte containing alkali metal ions. This interface is stabilized at the orifice of a pipette, across which a Galvani potential difference is externally applied and precisely adjusted to enforce the transfer of different alkali metal ions from the aqueous to the organic electrolyte. The oxygen reduction is followed by H₂O₂ detection in the aqueous phase close to the interface by a microelectrode of a scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM). The results prove a strong catalytic effect of hydrated alkali metal ions on the formation rate of H₂O₂, which varies systematically with the acidity of the transferred alkali metal ions in the organic phase.     

Effect on the aromaticity of heterocyclic ligands by coordination with ruthenium electron-withdrawing metal centers

Density functional theory calculations of polypyridyl ruthenium complexes with polyaromatic ligands have been performed to understand the metal fragment effect on the modulation of their electronic properties and the influence on the aromatic character. The change of positions of the nitrogen atoms in the ligand structure, as well as the metal moiety, seems to influence the electronic behavior of the π-extended structure and the aromatic character of the complexes at both the ground and excited states. In this framework, structural, electronic, and magnetic-based aromaticity indices were used to understand the aromaticity of the free and coordinated ligands. The aromaticity character of the ligands is highly influenced by the metal fragment, and the aromaticity/antiaromaticity is achieved according to both the electron-withdrawing capability of the ligand and the metal fragment. The electronic distribution observed on the aromatic ligand determines their π-stacking ability; thus, it is proposed that the control of the π-stacking ability is modulated according to the electronic nature of the ruthenium moiety.     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of N,N′-di(thiopheneacetyl)diamines Series as Antitubercular Agents

The series of new N,N′-di(thiopheneacetyl)diamines derivatives, 8–17, were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis(TB), and the activity expressed as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in μ g/mL. Compound 13 was the only one determined to be active and exhibited a MIC 50 μg/mL, indicating that the alkyl chain-length of the diamines is critical for biological activity. This class of compound has not been evaluated before, and it could be a good starting point to find new lead compounds in the fight against multi-drug resistant TB.     

The DEPTQ+ Experiment: Leveling the DEPT Signal Intensities and Clean Spectral Editing for Determining CHn Multiplicities

We propose a new ¹³C DEPTQ⁺ NMR experiment, based on the improved DEPTQ experiment, which is designed to unequivocally identify all carbon multiplicities (Cq, CH, CH₂, and CH₃) in two experiments. Compared to this improved DEPTQ experiment, the DEPTQ⁺ is shorter and the different evolution delays are designed as spin echoes, which can be tuned to different ¹J_CH values; this is especially valuable when a large range of ¹J_CH coupling constants is to be expected. These modifications allow (i) a mutual leveling of the DEPT signal intensities, (ii) a reduction in J cross-talk in the Cq/CH spectrum, and (iii) more consistent and cleaner CH₂/CH₃ edited spectra. The new DEPTQ⁺ is expected to be attractive for fast ¹³C analysis of small-to medium sized molecules, especially in high-throughput laboratories. With concentrated samples and/or by exploiting the high sensitivity of cryogenically cooled ¹³C NMR probeheads, the efficacy of such investigations may be improved, as it is possible to unequivocally identify all carbon multiplicities, with only one scan, for each of the two independent DEPTQ⁺ experiments and without loss of quality.     

Polyelectrolyte condensation induced by linear cations

We examine the role of the condensing agent in the formation of polyelectrolyte bundles, via grand-canonical Monte Carlo simulations. Following recent experiments we use linear, rigid divalent cations of various lengths to induce condensation. Our results clarify and explain the experimental results for short cations. For longer cations we observe novel condensation behavior owing to the alignment of the cations. We also study the role of the polyelectrolyte surface-charge density, and find a nonmonotonic variation in bundle stability. This nonmonotonicity captures two trends that have been observed in separate experiments.     

A note on an inverse problem for lattice points

Let K⊆R² be a compact set such that K+Z²=R² and let K−K={a−b|a,b∈K}. We prove, via Algebraic Topology, that the integer points of the difference set of K, (K−K)∩Z², is not contained on the coordinate axes, Z×{0}∪{0}×Z. This result implies the negative answer to the inverse problem posed by M.B. Nathanson (2010) [5].     

Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, photochemical and photophysical properties and biological activities of ruthenium complexes with mono- and bi-dentate histamine ligand

The monodentate cis-[Ru(phen)(2)(hist)(2)](2+)1R and the bidentate cis-[Ru(phen)(2)(hist)](2+)2A complexes were prepared and characterized using spectroscopic ((1)H, ((1)H-(1)H)COSY and ((1)H-(13)C)HSQC NMR, UV-vis, luminescence) techniques. The complexes presented absorption and emission in the visible region, as well as a tri-exponential emission decay. The complexes are soluble in aqueous and non-aqueous solution with solubility in a buffer solution of pH 7.4 of 1.14 × 10(-3) mol L(-1) for (1R + 2A) and 6.43 × 10(-4) mol L(-1) for 2A and lipophilicity measured in an aqueous-octanol solution of -1.14 and -0.96, respectively. Photolysis in the visible region in CH(3)CN converted the starting complexes into cis-[Ru(phen)(2)(CH(3)CN)(2)](2+). Histamine photorelease was also observed in pure water and in the presence of BSA (1.0 × 10(-6) mol L(-1)). The bidentate coordination of the histamine to the ruthenium center in relation to the monodentate coordination increased the photosubstitution quantum yield by a factor of 3. Pharmacological studies showed that the complexes present a moderate inhibition of AChE with an IC(50) of 21 μmol L(-1) (referred to risvagtini, IC(50) 181 μmol L(-1) and galantamine IC(50) 0.006 μmol L(-1)) with no appreciable cytotoxicity toward to the HeLa cells (50% cell viability at 925 μmol L(-1)). Cell uptake of the complexes into HeLa cells was detected by fluorescence confocal microscopy. Overall, the observation of a luminescent complex that penetrates the cell wall and has low cytotoxicity, but is reactive photochemically, releasing histamine when irradiated with visible light, are interesting features for application of these complexes as phototherapeutic agents.     

Model theory of a Hilbert space expanded with an unbounded closed selfadjoint operator

We study a closed unbounded self‐adjoint operator Q acting on a Hilbert space H in the framework of Metric Abstract Elementary Classes (MAECs). We build a suitable MAEC for such a structure, prove it is ?₀‐categorical and ?₀‐stable up to a system of perturbations. We give an explicit continuous axiomatization for the class. We also characterize non‐splitting and show it has the same properties as non‐forking in superstable first order theories. Finally, we characterize equality, orthogonality and domination of (Galois) types in that MAEC.