A general and efficient route to 6‐methyl‐pyrazin‐2‐yl‐amines: Alkylation of 2,6‐dichloropyrazine via malonate derivatives

We have developed a convenient two‐stage process for the synthesis of 6‐methylpyrazine‐2‐yl‐amines from commercially available materials. The procedure involves the synthesis of (6‐chloro‐pyrazin‐2‐yl)‐acetic acid via arylation of diethyl malonate and in situ hydrolysis/decarboxylation. A second decarboxylation takes place under the subsequent amination conditions allowing simple and efficient access to the intended pyrazines.     

Phase and structural characterization of Sr2Nb2O7 and SrNbO3 thin films grown via pulsed laser ablation in O2 or N2 atmospheres

The influence of substrate temperature, process gas, deposition pressure, and substrate type on the phase selection, orientation/epitaxy, and growth morphology of thin films in the SrNbO_y (y≈3.0 or 3.5) family was investigated. Pulsed laser deposited films (from a Sr₂Nb₂O₇ target) obtained in both oxygen and nitrogen atmospheres upon various substrates were characterized with X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. In oxygen atmospheres, films adopted the (110)-layered perovskite structure of the target. Higher temperatures, lower pressures of oxygen, and use of (110)-oriented SrTiO₃ substrates lead to highly crystalline, epitaxial films of Sr₂Nb₂O₇. The use of nitrogen atmospheres resulted in cubic perovskite SrNbO₃ formation: epitaxial, textured, or polycrystalline films were obtained depending on the substrate; no nitrogen incorporation could be observed on the anion sublattice. On SrTiO₃, the cubic perovskite films followed a cube-on-cube epitaxy and planar defects were observed to occur on the (110) perovskite planes.     

Design,synthesis, molecular docking,and biological studies of novel phytoestrogen-tanaproget hybrids

A diverse range of novel and highly functionalized flavonoid-based tanaproget hybrids were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities. Novel products were synthesized in good yields (81–95%) under Pd-catalyzed reaction from bromo flavones and tanaproget boronic acids within 18–20 min at 60 °C. Bioassay results exhibited excellent activities against both hormone-dependent and hormone-independent human breast cancer cells (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, DU-145, PC-3, and HeLa). Among them, compounds 4e, 9a, 9c, 9e, 9 g, 9 h, 9 m, and 9n displayed excellent activity. Compounds 4d, 4o, and 9o were found equally potent against C. albicans compared to fluconazole. Compound 5c showed better antibacterial activity against S. aureus. Compounds 5a, 9i, 9o, and 10c have shown admirable antibacterial activity against E. coli.     

Mesomorphism dependence on molecular rigidity and flexibility

A novel homologous series of mesogens was synthesized and studied with a view to understanding and establishing the relations between molecular structure and liquid crystal properties. Eleven members of the series were synthesized. Mesogenic behavior commences from the C₆ member and continues up to the C₁₄ member. The rest of the members, C₁ to C₅ and C₁₆, are non-mesogenic. Mesogenic homologues (C₆ to C₁₄) are enantiotropically nematogenic. Textures of nematic phase are threaded or Schlieren. Transition temperatures were determined by an optical polarizing microscope equipped with a heating stage. Analytical and structural data confirm the molecular structures of homologues. Thermal stability for nematic phase is 198.0°C. Mesomorphic phase length ranges from 11.0°C to 50.0°C. Cr-I/N and N-I transition curves of a phase diagram behave in normal manner from C₁ to C₁₂ members, and higher members C₁₄ and C₁₆ deviated from normal behavior. Mesogenic properties of present novel ester series are compared with the structurally similar series. Odd-even effect is missing for the N-I transition curve. Thus, the present series is partly nematogenic without exhibition of smectic property whose transition temperatures vary between 153°C and 210°C.     

Mesomorphism dependence of a terminal or lateral alkoxy group

A novel homologous series of thermotropic mesomorphs has been synthesized and studied with a view to understanding and establishing the effect of molecular structure on mesomorphic properties with reference to rigidity and flexibility of the homologues series: RO-C₆H₄-CH?CH-CO-C₆H₄-OC₁₈H₃₇(n). The novel homologous series comprises 13 novel homologues (C₁ to C₁₈), from which 11 homologues are enantiotropically mesogenic (C₃ to C₁₈). Smectogenic mesophase commences from C₇ homologue, and nematogenic mesophase is exhibited by C₃ to C₁₈ homologues in enantiotropic manner. Thus, C₇ to C₁₈ homologues are enantiotropically smectogenic plus nematogenic. Textures of smectic phase are of the type A or C, and that of nematic phase are threaded or Schlieren as confirmed through an optical polarizing microscope equipped with a heating stage. Transition curve of a phase diagram behaved in a normal manner except N-I transition curve, which shows minor deviating trend (C₁₂ to C₁₈) from expected normal behavior. An odd-even effect is exhibited by N-I and Sm-N transition curves. Analytical, spectral, and thermal data confirm the molecular structures of novel homologues. Thermal stabilities for smectic and nematic are 52.7°C and 66.6°C, respectively, whose total mesophase lengths range from 12.0°C to 28.0°C. Thus, novel series of chalcones is a low melting series whose mesogenic transition temperatures vary between 38.0 and 86.0°C.     

Quantification of Lysine Acetylation and Succinylation Stoichiometry in Proteins Using Mass Spectrometric Data-Independent Acquisitions (SWATH)

Post-translational modification of lysine residues by N_?-acylation is an important regulator of protein function. Many large-scale protein acylation studies have assessed relative changes of lysine acylation sites after antibody enrichment using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Although relative acylation fold-changes are important, this does not reveal site occupancy, or stoichiometry, of individual modification sites, which is critical to understand functional consequences. Recently, methods for determining lysine acetylation stoichiometry have been proposed based on ratiometric analysis of endogenous levels to those introduced after quantitative per-acetylation of proteins using stable isotope-labeled acetic anhydride. However, in our hands, we find that these methods can overestimate acetylation stoichiometries because of signal interferences when endogenous levels of acylation are very low, which is especially problematic when using MS1 scans for quantification. In this study, we sought to improve the accuracy of determining acylation stoichiometry using data-independent acquisition (DIA). Specifically, we use SWATH acquisition to comprehensively collect both precursor and fragment ion intensity data. The use of fragment ions for stoichiometry quantification not only reduces interferences but also allows for determination of site-level stoichiometry from peptides with multiple lysine residues. We also demonstrate the novel extension of this method to measurements of succinylation stoichiometry using deuterium-labeled succinic anhydride. Proof of principle SWATH acquisition studies were first performed using bovine serum albumin for both acetylation and succinylation occupancy measurements, followed by the analysis of more complex samples of E. coli cell lysates. Although overall site occupancy was low (<1%), some proteins contained lysines with relatively high acetylation occupancy.

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Interactions of a water-soluble calix[4]arene with spermine: solution and solid-state characterisation

Abstract

The octaanionic 5,11,17,23-tetrasulfonato-25,26,27,28-tetrakis(hydroxycarbonylmethoxy)-calix[4]arene (cone conformation) (C₄TsTc) was investigated as a sensor for the biogenic tetracationic polyamine, spermine _.(H₄Spe⁴⁺). Fluorescence titration experiments of the water-soluble calixarene with spermine showed the formation of the 2:1 and 1:1 calixarene:spermine complexes in solution. The single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of [(NaC₄TsTc)₄·(H₄Spe)₇] confirmed the formation of 2:1 and 1:1 calixarene:spermine species and showed that the water-soluble calixarene binds the spermine either by partially hosting it in the inner cavity or through the carboxylate groups on the lower rim. In order to investigate the effect of multivalent systems, supramolecular assemblies of octaanionic calixarene molecules templated by meso-tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl)porphyrin (H₂T₄) in different stoichiometric porphyrin:calixarene ratios (1:4 and 3:4) were also tested for spermine binding in solution. Fluorescence titration experiments with the 1:4 and 3:4 H₂T₄:C₄TsTc supramolecular complexes showed that the multivalent assemblies are more sensitive to the presence of spermine than the calixarene alone.     

Visible light induced catalytic water reduction without an electron relay

Protons from water are reduced by a catalytic system composed of a heteroleptic iridium(III) photosensitizer [Ir(ppy)2(bpy)]+, platinum catalyst, and sacrificial reductant. The hydrogen quantum yield reaches 0.26 in this study, which proceeds via reductive quenching of the excited photosensitizer by triethanolamine. This simplified approach allows the characterization of degradation products that are otherwise obscured in more complex systems. A novel 16-well setup for parallel kinetic analysis of H2 evolution enables high-throughput screening of reaction conditions and quantization of the decaying reaction rate. DFT calculations rationalize the differences between this and previous studies on tris-diimine ruthenium(II) photosensitizers.