First-transition-metal complexes containing the ligands 6-amino-6-methylperhydro-1,4-diazepine (AAZ) and a new functionalized derivative: can AAZ act as a mimetic ligand for 1,4,7-triazacyclononane?

The structure and physicochemistry of the [Ni(II)(AAZ)(2)](ClO(4))(2) (1) complex (AAZ = 6-amino-6-methylperhydro-1,4-diazepine), as a system that is able to mimic some important chelate properties of 1,4,7-triazacyclononane, are reported. The syntheses of a new unsymmetric AAZ-functionalized ligand and the structure of its first heterodinuclear Fe(III)Zn(II) complex are also presented.     

Statistical analysis of (13)C and (15)N NMR chemical shifts from GIAO/B3LYP/6-311 + + G** calculated absolute shieldings

The (13)C and (15)N absolute shieldings of 28 compounds have been calculated at the GIAO/B3LYP/6-311 + + G** level to complete a collection of data already published. This has allowed us to devise new equations relating delta and sigma for these nuclei based on 461 points ((13)C) and 70(72) points ((15)N).     

Usage of the Y-Rule and the Effect of the Occurrence of Heteroatoms (N,S) on the Frontier Molecular Orbitals Gap of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), and Asphaltene-PAHs

The understanding of the molecular- and colloidal-structure of asphaltenes has seen a major progress; however, there are still issues that require answer. One of them is the location of the heteroatoms in the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) fused aromatic ring (FAR) region of asphaltenes. Therefore, the effect on the frontier molecular orbitals (HOMO-LUMO) energy-gap due to the addition of a heteroatom (N or S) to PAHs, which are candidates of the PAH region in asphaltenes, has been systematically analyzed by placing S or N in various sites of the PAH molecule. The S is introduced as a thiophenic ring in a bay region, while the N is introduced as a pyridinic-N, which are prevalent forms in the asphaltene-PAH. 174 PAHs are studied with five fused aromatic rings (5FAR) to 10FAR. The π-electron allocation in resonant π-sextets and isolated double bonds is obtained using the Y-rule. The frontier orbitals optical transition is calculated with the ZINDO/S method. Within a FAR family an increment of π-sextets produces and increase of the HOMO-LUMO energy-gap. There is a linear relationship between the Y-rule mapping (percentage of fraction of π-sextet bond divided by nFAR) and the HOMO-LUMO energy-gap. In addition, the effect on the frontier orbitals energy-gap and on the π-electronic allocation due to the presence of N and S is negligible; therefore, to reach conclusions related to the asphaltene-PAH based on conclusions reached for PAH systems, with no heteroatoms, is a reasonable approach.     

Metabolic profiling for the identification of Huntington biomarkers by on‐line solid‐phase extraction capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry combined with advanced data analysis tools

In this work, an untargeted metabolomic approach based on sensitive analysis by on‐line solid‐phase extraction capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry (SPE‐CE‐MS) in combination with multivariate data analysis is proposed as an efficient method for the identification of biomarkers of Huntington's disease (HD) progression in plasma. For this purpose, plasma samples from wild‐type (wt) and HD (R6/1) mice of different ages (8, 12, and 30 weeks), were analyzed by C₁₈‐SPE‐CE‐MS in order to obtain the characteristic electrophoretic profiles of low molecular mass compounds. Then, multivariate curve resolution alternating least squares (MCR‐ALS) was applied to the multiple full scan MS datasets. This strategy permitted the resolution of a large number of metabolites being characterized by their electrophoretic peaks and their corresponding mass spectra. A total number of 29 compounds were relevant to discriminate between wt and HD plasma samples, as well as to follow‐up the HD progression. The intracellular signaling was found to be the most affected metabolic pathway in HD mice after 12 weeks of birth, when mice already showed motor coordination deficiencies and cognitive decline. This fact agreed with the atrophy and dysfunction of specific neurons, loss of several types of receptors, and changed expression of neurotransmitters.     

A straightforward synthesis of 5'-peptide oligonucleotide conjugates using N(alpha)-Fmoc-protected amino acids

[reaction: see text] 5'-Peptide oligonucleotide conjugates were prepared stepwise on a single support using N(alpha)-Fmoc-protected amino acids and unprotected phosphate groups. The method uses commercially available reagents and is successful with most natural amino acids. The simplicity of the method may encourage researchers to prepare new oligonucleotide-peptide conjugates with novel properties.     

Simple one-step ultrasonic synthesis of anatase titania/polypyrrole nanocomposites

In this work, hybrid nanocomposites based on anatase titania:polypyrrole (TiO₂:PPy) were directly obtained from a simple, one-step, ultrasonic (UT)-assisted synthesis. The properties of these crystalline nanocomposites were compared with those of others fabricated using cold (Cold)-assisted synthesis without any UT assistance, which required a hydrothermal treatment (HT) to yield crystalline anatase titania in the nanocomposite (TiO₂:PPy) at low temperature (130 °C) and in a short time (3 h). The SEM results demonstrated that the UT-assisted synthesis is a feasible method to obtain anatase TiO₂:PPy nanocomposites with controlled morphology using low energy. The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) bands of the crystalline nanocomposites exhibited a shift with respect to neat components, which was attributed to the strong interaction between the secondary amine groups (N–H) of PPy and the oxygen from TiO₂. The acceptable absorption in the visible region (λ_max = 670 nm) indicates that these nanocomposites are good candidates for harvesting energy in solar cells. Devices based on these nanocomposites were built to evaluate their electrical properties. An increase in the photocurrent was observed for the devices prepared with the nanocomposites from the UT-assisted synthesis.