Catalytic multicomponent reactions for the synthesis of N-aryl trisubstituted pyrroles

Dirhodium(II) salts efficiently catalyze the three-component assembly reaction of an imine, diazoacetonitrile (DAN), and an activated alkynyl coupling partner to form substituted 1,2-diarylpyrroles in moderate to good yields. The transition-metal-catalyzed decomposition of the diazo compound in the presence of the imine presumably generates a transient azomethine ylide that undergoes cycloaddition with dipolarophiles in a highly convergent manner.     

Tandem Pd(II)-catalyzed vinyl ether exchange-Claisen rearrangement as a facile approach to gamma,delta-unsaturated aldehydes

A sequential allyl vinyl ether formation-Claisen rearrangement process catalyzed by a palladium(II)-phenanthroline complex is reported. The effects of allylic alcohol structure, type of vinylating agent, and palladium catalysts are discussed. This method provides a convenient approach to gamma,delta-unsaturated aldehydes under mild conditions that avoid the use of toxic Hg(II) catalysts. The new methodology has been successfully demonstrated on the kilogram scale.     

Folic acid-mediated targeting of cowpea mosaic virus particles to tumor cells

Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) is a well-characterized nanoparticle that has been used for a variety of nanobiotechnology applications. CPMV interacts with several mammalian cell lines and tissues in vivo. To overcome natural CPMV targeting and redirect CPMV particles to cells of interest, we attached a folic acid-PEG conjugate by using the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction. PEGylation of CPMV completely eliminated background binding of the virus to tumor cells. The PEG-folate moiety allowed CPMV-specific recognition of tumor cells bearing the folate receptor. In addition, by testing CPMV formulations with different amounts of the PEG-FA moiety displayed on the surface, we show that higher-density loading of targeting ligands on CPMV may not be necessary for efficient targeting to tumor cells. These studies help to define the requirements for efficiently targeting nanoparticles and protein cages to tumors.     

Artificial Neural Networks for Noise Removal in Data-Sparse Charged Particle Imaging Experiments

We present the first demonstration of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the removal of Poissonian noise in charged particle imaging measurements with very low overall counts. The approach is successfully applied to both simulated and real experimental image data relating to the detection of photoions/photoelectrons in unimolecular photochemical dynamics studies. Specific examples consider the multiphoton ionization of pyrrole and (S)-camphor. Our results reveal an extremely high level of performance, with the ANNs transforming images that are unusable for any form of quantitative analysis into statistically reliable data with an impressive similarity to benchmark references. Given the widespread use of charged particle imaging methods within the chemical dynamics community, we anticipate that the use of ANNs has significant potential impact – particularly, for example, when working in the limit of very low absorption/photoionization cross-sections, or when attempting to reliably extract subtle image features originating from phenomena such as photofragment vector correlations or photoelectron circular dichroism.     

Iterated local search for workforce scheduling and routing problems

The integration of scheduling workers to perform tasks with the traditional vehicle routing problem gives rise to the workforce scheduling and routing problems (WSRP). In the WSRP, a number of service technicians with different skills, and tasks at different locations with pre-defined time windows and skill requirements are given. It is required to find an assignment and ordering of technicians to tasks, where each task is performed within its time window by a technician with the required skill, for which the total cost of the routing is minimized. This paper describes an iterated local search (ILS) algorithm for the WSRP. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on benchmark instances against an off-the-shelf optimizer and an existing adaptive large neighbourhood search algorithm. The proposed ILS algorithm is also applied to solve the skill vehicle routing problem, which can be viewed as a special case of the WSRP. The computational results indicate that the proposed algorithm can produce high-quality solutions in short computation times.     

Generation of 3.5 nJ femtosecond pulses from a continuous-wave laser without mode locking

Using time-lens compression in a loop configuration, we generate 516 fs pulses at 3.5 nJ pulse energy from a continuous-wave 1.55 mum source without mode locking. Just as a spatial lens can expand or focus a beam in space, so can a time-lens broaden or compress a pulse in time. By placing a time-lens in a loop, we maximize the efficiency of bandwidth generation by using one time-lens driven at low power to emulate a stack of many lenses. Our system is compact, is all fiber, and allows large tuning of the repetition rate and continuous tuning of the pulse width and center wavelength.     

Lanthanide containing compounds for therapeutic care in bone resorption disorders

Lanthanide ions, Ln(III), are known functional mimics of Ca(II) ions and have been shown to affect the bone remodeling cycle. Exploiting this disruption to the bone remodeling cycle has potential for the treatment of bone density disorders, such as osteoporosis. In an effort to find new orally active agents for these disorders, a series of Ln(III) containing complexes incorporating small, non-toxic, bidentate pyrone and pyridinone ligands have been synthesized and characterized (LnL(3), Ln = La, Eu, Gd, Tb, Yb, L = 3-oxy-2-methyl-4-pyrone (ma(-)), 3-oxy-2-ethyl-4-pyrone (ema(-)), 3-oxy-1,2-dimethyl-4-pyridinone (dpp(-)) and 3-oxy-2-methyl-4(1H)-pyridinone (mpp(-))). Preliminary biological analysis included cytotoxicity, cell uptake and bidirectional transport studies in Caco-2 cells and in vitro hydroxyapatite (HA) binding studies. The proportion of intact compounds bound to HA was calculated based on determination of Ln(III) concentration by ICP-MS and by UV-vis spectrophotometric assay of the proligand in solution. The LnL(3) species were found to have IC(50) values at least 6 times greater than that of cisplatin, >or= 98% HA-binding capacity, and permeability coefficients in the moderate range. La(dpp)(3) was ascertained to be the lead compound for the treatment of bone density disorders with the highest percentage cell uptake of 9.07 +/- 2.33% and the highest preliminary P(app) value of 3.54 +/- 2.86 x 10(-6) cm s(-1) compared to the other LnL(3) complexes tested.     

Applications of multicomponent reactions for the synthesis of diverse heterocyclic scaffolds

A four-component coupling process involving sequential reactions of aldehydes, primary amines, acid chlorides, and nucleophiles has been developed to prepare multifunctional substrates that may be employed in subsequent ring-forming reactions to generate a diverse array of functionalized heterocyclic scaffolds. This new approach to diversity-oriented synthesis was then applied to the first total synthesis of the isopavine alkaloid (+/-)-roelactamine.     

Stability, thermal homolysis and intermediate phases of solid hydroazafullerene C59HN

Density functional (DFT) calculations, high-temperature electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results suggest that thermal homolysis of C59HN involves a remarkably stable intermediate C59N-C59HN* structure characterised by charge redistribution from a C59N* radical to a bonded C59HN.