The redox behavior of 9-nickelafluorenyl sandwich complexes

A collection of nickelocene and cobaltocene analogs with one or two nickelafluorenyl rings has been recently synthesized starting from 9-nickelafluorenyllithium complex. The redox ability of the whole series of derivates has been investigated by electrochemical techniques, and the nature of the frontier orbitals responsible for the electron transfer activity of this class of compounds has been supported by extended Hückel calculations. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Antihepatotoxic and antioxidant activities of methanol extract and isolated compounds from Ficus chlamydocarpa

Free radicals, in particular radical oxygen species (ROS), play an important role in the aetiology and pathogenesis of various diseases. Current research in many countries focuses on the use of local medicinal plants as a promising source of liver protective agents. This paper describes the hepatoprotective effects of the methanol extract and four isolated compounds from Ficus chlamydocarpa on CCl4-induced liver damage, as well as the possible antioxidant mechanisms involved in this protection. The DPPH test, along with the beta-Carotene-Linoleic Acid Model System and Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power assays, as well as the inhibition of microsomal lipid peroxidation were used to measure radical-scavenging and antioxidant activities. Pretreatment of rats with the methanol extract of F. chlamydocarpa before CCl4 administration, significantly prevented serum increase of hepatic enzyme markers, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), in a dose-dependent manner. The hepatoprotection was also associated with a significant enhancement in hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) and a marked decrease of liver malondialdehyde (MDA). Among the four compounds 1-4, isolated from the methanol extract, alpha-amyrin acetate (1) and luteolin (4) showed a significant hepatoprotective activity, as indicated by their ability to prevent liver cell death and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage during CCl4 intoxication.     

Hydrolysis of ureas. Kinetics and mechanism of the basic hydrolysis of indole-1-carboxamides and (5H-dibenz[b,f]azepine)-5-carboxamide

The hydroxide ion catalyzed hydrolysis of indole-1-carboxamide and indole-1-(N,N-dimethyl)carboxamide has been studied in water at 60.0° and [OH⁻] concentration between 0.3--2.4N. The rate constants of formation of the tetrahedral intermediate are strongly increased by N-substitution with a heteroaromatic ring in comparison with simple amides. Carbamazepine, (5H-dibenz[b,f]azepine)-5-carboxamide, a potent anticonvulsant drug, is particularly stable under these conditions.     

Oxidation of alkanes by Ph4PHSO5 catalyzed by manganese(III) porphyrins. A study of the factors determining alcohol and ketone formation

As reported in previous papers, the oxidation of ethylbenzene with Ph₄PHSO₅ catalyzed by Mn(TMP)Cl in the presence of nitrogen bases in 1,2-dichloroethane homogeneous solution affords fair yields (up to 80%) of oxygenated products. Acetophenone is the major product together with minor amounts of 1-phenylethanol ([ketone]/[alcohol]6). In this paper we report further observations concerning this system. In particular we find that a similar products distribution is observed when soluble Co(II) or Fe(II) species, i.e. acetylacetonate derivatives, are used instead of the manganese porphyrin. On the other hand for these compounds, which are catalysts of radical reactions, the product distribution is determined by a remarkably larger reactivity of the alcohol initially formed compared with that of the alkane (k_R–OH/k_R–H200). The product distribution for the Mn(TMP)Cl catalysis cannot be rationalized on the same basis. Direct experiments show that the reactivity of the two substrates is similar (k_R–OH/k_R–H2–6) thus suggesting that a mechanism different from the simple radical hydrogen atom abstraction is taking place. The dependence of the chemioselectivity of hydrocarbon oxidation on the nature of the manganese porphyrin employed and of a number of additives indicates that the product distribution is mainly determined by the relevance of the association of the alcohol intermediate to the catalyst prior to the second oxidation step leading to ketone. Two different rho Hammett's values are obtained for ethylbenzenes oxidation depending on the method employed for the measurement of reaction rates, i.e. by separate or by competitive experiments thus providing further mechanistic information on the association of the substrates to the oxo-species.     

Short-time synthesis of SBA-15 using various silica sources

A short-time synthesis of SBA-15 is reported by using two different silica sources, sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3(9)H2O) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). The SBA-15 samples obtained from both silica sources were highly ordered as evidenced by SAXS spectra showing five reflection peaks characteristic for p6mm symmetry group. While the surface areas of these samples were similar, the pore volume of the sample prepared from TEOS was slightly larger than that from sodium metasilicate. However, the latter exhibited higher microporosity and thicker pore walls. It was shown that a significant reduction of time of the self-assembly step from 24 to 2 h had no detrimental influence on the quality of SBA-15 materials.