Ultrasound‐Assisted Facile Synthesis and Antimicrobial Studies of Alkanediyl‐bis‐thiazolidin‐4‐ones and Alkanediyl‐bis‐thiazinan‐4‐ones

Alkanediyl‐bis‐2‐aryl‐thiazolidin‐4‐one and alkanediyl‐bis‐2‐aryl‐1,3‐thiazinan‐4‐one derivatives have been congregated in a single step reaction of diaminoalkanes, aryl aldehydes, and sulfanyl acids in the presence of coupling agent N,N′‐dicyclohexylcarbodiimide under ultrasonic conditions. This method of constructing 4‐keto derivatives of thiazolidine and thiazinane is quick and clean besides yielding the products in quantitative yields. The spectral techniques corroborated the structures of the isolated products. Biological assay of the synthesized products has also been reported.     

Synthesis, characterization, DNA-binding, photocleavage, cytotoxicity and docking studies of Co(III) mixed ligand complexes

A new ligand, (2-ethoxy-6-(1H imadazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline-2-yl)phenol) (HEPIP) and its three Co(III) complexes [Co(phen)₂(HEPIP)](ClO₄)₃ (1), [Co(bpy)₂(HEPIP)](ClO₄)₃ (2) and [Co(dmb)₂(HEPIP)](ClO₄)₃ (3) have been synthesized and characterized. All three Co(III) complexes exhibited antitumor activity against four human tumor cell lines. The interaction of these complexes with calf thymus DNA was studied by absorption and emission spectroscopy, viscosity measurements and DNA cleavage assays. The DNA-binding constants of complexes 1, 2 and 3 were determined as 6.13 × 10⁵, 4.46 × 10⁵ and 3.72 × 10⁵ M^?1, respectively. The complexes appear to interact with DNA through intercalation. Studies on the mechanism of photocleavage indicated that both superoxide anion radical and singlet oxygen may play an important role.     

Facile Reduction of Chalcones to Dihydrochalcones with NaBH4/Ni2+ System

Chalcones have been found to undergo facile reduction on treatment with sodium borohydride-nickel chloride system in dioxan-methanol medium to afford dihydrochalcones.     

Titania-silica nanoparticles ensemblies assisted heterogeneous catalytic strategy for the synthesis of pharmacologically significant 2,3-diaryl-3,4-dihydroimidazo[4,5-b]indole scaffolds

Present paper elicits the multicomponent reaction (MCR) strategy assisted by titania nanoparticles hosted on silica (TiO₂.SiO₂ NPs) as heterogeneous catalyst to synthesize a series of pharmacologically significant 2,3-diaryl-3,4-dihydroimidazo[4,5-b]indole derivatives. To the best of our information, the use of isatin as one of the precursors was hitherto unreported. The decrease in reaction time, low catalyst loading, high product yield (up to 92%), and excellent reusability of the catalyst (up to 7 cycles) put this protocol under the umbrella of green chemistry tenets. Characterization of catalysts was achieved through a number of techniques viz., energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of adsorbed pyridine, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia, and porosity measurements by nitrogen adsorption (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller [BET] method). Also, the structures of synthesized compounds were corroborated on the basis of FTIR, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass, and elemental analyses data.     

New Antiproliferative Tricyclic Sesquiterpenoid from the Leaves of Ocimum sanctum

A new tricyclic sesquiterpenoid 2‐(hydroxymethyl)‐5,5,9‐trimethyltricyclo[7.2.0.0^3,6]undecan‐2‐ol ( 1 ), was identified from the leaves of Ocimum sanctum, and its structure was elucidated by extensive NMR and ESI‐MS analyses. Compound 1 was found to have potent antiproliferative activity against the MCF‐7 cell line.     

Vibrational dynamics and heat capacity in poly(L‐lactic acid)

Poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) (? CH(CH₃) ? COO? )_n is a biodegradable polymer, which exhibits many applications in the biomedical field and where thermoplastics are employed. A comprehensive study of the normal modes and their dispersion in PLLA using Wilson′s GF matrix method as modified by Higgs is being reported. Assignments of calculated normal modes have been made and characteristic features of dispersion curves are discussed. Heat capacity has been calculated via density‐of‐states using Debye relation in the temperature range 10–250 K, which is in fairly good agreement with the experimental data. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 175–182, 2010     

A Highly Efficient and Broadly Applicable Cationic Gold Catalyst

Gold catalysts capable of promoting reactions at low‐level loadings under mild conditions are the exception rather than the norm. We examined reactions where the regeneration of cationic gold catalyst (e.g., protodeauration) was the turnover limiting stage. By manipulating electron density on the substituents around phosphorus and introducing steric handles we designed a phosphine ligand that contains two electron‐rich ortho‐biphenyl groups and a cyclohexyl substituent. This ligand formed a gold complex that catalyzed common types of gold‐catalyzed reactions including intra‐ and intermolecular X? H (X=C, N, O) additions to alkynes and cycloisomerizations, with high turnover numbers at room temperature or slightly elevated temperatures (≤50 °C). Our new ligand can be prepared in one step from commercially available starting materials.     

Determination of selected chlorohydrocarbons and polyaromatic hydrocarbons by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in soils in Southwest Louisiana

The use of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of selected polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (anthracene and pyrene) and chlorohydrocarbons (hexachlorobutadiene and 1, 2, 4-trichlorobenzene) in soils from five areas in Southwest Louisiana was investigated. No detectable concentrations (below the detection limits) were found on or near the surface. However, trace levels of the PAHs were found at a depth in the 2 to 3 ft range below the surface levels.     

Determination of labile Cu(2+) in fresh waters by chemiluminescence: interference by iron and other cations

Analysis of labile Cu²⁺ in fresh waters using the Cu²⁺-catalysed oxidation of 1,10-phenanthroline by superoxide anion radical has been investigated. It was found that certain metal ions, notably Fe³⁺, Fe²⁺ and Pb²⁺ enhance the chemiluminescence (CL) intensity of this reaction by up to an order of magnitude when present in the μM concentration range. This enhancement is considered to arise through coordination of the metal ion to 1,10-phenanthroline, which prevents free rotation of the benzene rings in the excited state intermediate thought to be responsible for light emission. This introduces a potential interference when analyzing fresh waters, which usually contain Fe³⁺ concentrations of this magnitude. However, the enhancement effect saturates at about 4 μM Fe³⁺, so that reliable results can be obtained if the water sample is supplemented with Fe³⁺ to reach this level. Application of the enhanced technique to a river water, and a reservoir to which CuSO₄ had been added to control algal growth, are described. In both cases, only a small fraction of total dissolved Cu²⁺ is labile with respect to the chemiluminesence method.