Synthesis of the Phenylpyridal Scaffold as a Helical Peptide Mimetic

Phenylpyridal‐ and phenyldipyridal‐based scaffolds have been designed and synthesized as novel helical peptide mimetics. The synthesis required optimisation and selective alkylation in producing 2,6‐functionalized 3‐hydroxypyridine derivatives for a convergent scheme. The pyridine analogues were coupled by a series of Suzuki/Stille types cross‐coupling reactions. A series of biaryl and ter‐aryl substituted heterocycles were produced. The synthetic approach was concise and high yielding allowing large variability at the wanted side‐chain attachment points. A number of compounds were synthesised to show the versatility of the strategy.     

Ultrathin Carbon Film Electrodes from Vacuum‐Carbonised Cellulose Nanofibril Composite

A novel way to produce ultrathin transparent carbon layers on tin‐doped indium oxide (ITO) substrates is developed. The ITO surface is coated with cellulose nanofibrils (from sisal) via layer‐by‐layer electrostatic binding with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) or PDDAC acting as the binder. The cellulose nanofibril‐PDDAC composite film is then vacuum‐carbonised at 500 °C. The resulting carbon films are characterised by atomic force microscopy (AFM), small angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS), wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS), and Raman methods. Smooth carbon films with good adhesion to the ITO substrate are formed. The electrochemical characterisation of the carbon films is based on the oxidation of hydroquinone and the reduction of benzoquinone in aqueous phosphate buffer media. A modest effect of the cellulose nanofibril‐PDDAC film on the rate of electron transfer is observed. The effect of the film on the rate of electron transfer after carbonisation is more dramatic. For a 40‐layer cellulose nanofibril‐PDDAC film after carbonisation a two‐order of magnitude change in the rate of electron transfer occurs presumably due to a better interaction of the hydroquinone/benzoquinone system with the electrode surface.     

Comparison of HPLC enantioseparation of substituted binaphthyls on CD‐, polysaccharide‐ and synthetic polymer‐based chiral stationary phases

Retention and enantioseparation behavior of ten 2,2′‐disubstituted or 2,3,2′‐trisubstituted 1,1′‐binaphthyls and 8,3′‐disubstituted 1,2′‐binaphthyls, which are used as catalysts in asymmetric synthesis, was investigated on eight chiral stationary phases (CSPs) based on β‐CD, polysaccharides (tris(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarbamate) cellulose or amylose CSPs) and new synthetic polymers (trans‐1,2‐diamino‐cyclohexane, trans‐1,2‐diphenylethylenediamine and trans‐9,10‐dihydro‐9,10‐ethanoanthracene‐(11S,12S)‐11,12‐dicarboxylic acid CSPs). Normal‐, reversed‐phase and polar‐organic separation modes were employed. The effect of the mobile phase composition was examined. The enantiomeric separation of binaphthyl derivatives, which possess quite similar structures, was possible in different enantioselective environments. The substituents and their positions on the binaphthyl skeleton affect their properties and, as a consequence, the separation system suitable for their enantioseparation. In general, the presence of ionizable groups on the binaphthyl skeleton, substitution with non‐identical groups and a chiral axis in the 1,2′ position had the greatest impact on the enantiomeric discrimination. The 8,3′‐disubstituted 1,2′‐binaphthyl derivatives were the most easily separated compounds in several separation systems. From all the chiral stationary phases tested, cellulose‐based columns were shown to be the most convenient for enantioseparation of the studied analytes. However, the polymeric CSPs with their complementary behavior provided good enantioselective environments for some derivatives that could be hardly separated in any other chromatographic system.     

Evaluation of tetracationic salts as gas‐phase ion‐pairing agents for the detection of trivalent anions in positive mode electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

In previous studies, new electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS) approaches were developed for the highly sensitive detection of singly and doubly charged anions in positive mode ESI‐MS by using specially synthesized dicationic and tricationic ion‐pairing agents, respectively. By detecting the positively charged ion complex in the positive mode, limits of detection (LODs) for the anions can be lowered by several magnitudes. In this work, we used eighteen newly synthesized tetracationic ion‐pairing agents, constructed with different geometries, linkages and cation moieties, for the detection of eighteen triply charged anions of different structural motifs. The LODs for these anions were from ten to several thousand times lower in the positive selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode than in the negative mode. These tetracationic agents also were shown to be useful for the detection of ?1 and ?2 anions. In addition, the LODs for ?3 anions can be further lowered by monitoring the product fragments of the ion‐pairing complexes in the single reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positron spectroscopy analysis in metallocene propylene/1‐octadecene copolymers: Parameters dependence on monoclinic and mesomorphic polymorphs

Copolymers of propylene and 1‐octadecene synthesized by a metallocene catalyst were characterized by PALS, WAXD, DSC, and density measurements. The change in the sizes and the number density of free‐volume holes as a function of the 1‐octadecene content were compared to the master laws published for copolymers of propylene with α‐olefins of shorter lengths. It was found that the samples were separated into two groups. The first set of samples obeyed the master laws while the second group deviated. This behavior was explained by the difference in the copolymer structure. The WAXD analysis confirmed the separation as well. The deviation was explained as due to the mesomorphic crystalline structure of the second group of samples, in contrast to the monoclinic one for the first group, which was a result of the relatively fast cooling from the molten state and from the high comonomer molar content. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 1994–2002, 2010