Alkyl levulinates as `green chemistry' precursors: butane‐1,4‐diyl bis(4‐oxopentanoate) and hexane‐1,6‐diyl bis(4‐oxopentanoate)

Levulinic acid derivatives are potential `green chemistry' renewably sourced molecules with utility in industrial coatings applications. Suitable single crystals of the centrosymmetric title compounds, C₁₄H₂₂O₆ and C₁₆H₂₆O₆, respectively, were obtained with difficulty. The data for the latter hexane‐1,6‐diyl compound were extracted from the major fragment of a three‐component twinned crystal. Both compounds crystallize in similar‐sized unit cells with identical symmetry, utilizing the same weak nonconventional attractive C—H...O(ketone) hydrogen bonds via C(4) and C(5) motifs, which expand to R²₂(30) ring and C²₂(14) chain motifs. Their different packing orientations in similar‐sized unit cells suggest that crystal growth involving packing mixes could lead to intergrowths or twins.     

Electrophilic aromatic prenylation via cascade cyclization

To gain access to prenylated hexahydroxanthenes, tandem cascade cyclization–electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions have been studied on substrates bearing allylic and propargylic substituents. Both BF₃·OEt₂ and TMSOTf can be used to initiate this reaction sequence, resulting in different ratios of the C-2 and C-6 substitution products. Even though allylic transposition is observed in some cases, the results of a crossover experiment are consistent with an intramolecular reaction sequence. Taken together, these studies now allow preparation of either the C-2 or C-6 prenylated hexahydroxanthene products.     

Conformational Isomerism in Monomeric,Low‐Coordinate Group 12 Complexes Stabilized by a Naphthyl‐Substituted m‐Terphenyl Ligand

The synthesis and characterization of the first series of low‐coordinate bis(terphenyl) complexes of the Group 12 metals, [Zn(2,6‐Naph₂C₆H₃)₂] ( 1 ), [Cd(OEt₂)(2,6‐Naph₂C₆H₃)₂] ( 2 ) and [Hg(OEt₂)(2,6‐Naph₂C₆H₃)₂] ( 3 ) (Naph=1‐C₁₀H₇) are described. The naphthyl substituents of the terphenyl ligands confer considerable steric bulk, and as a result of limited flexibility introduce multiple conformations to these unusual systems. In the solid state, complex 1 features a two‐coordinate Zn centre with the ligands oriented in a syn/anti conformation, whereas the three‐coordinate distorted T‐shaped complexes 2 and 3 feature the ligands in the syn/syn configurations. The results of DFT calculations are in good agreement with the solid‐state configurations for these complexes and support the spectroscopic measurements, which indicate several conformers in solution.     

Combined OX40 Agonist and PD-1 Inhibitor Immunotherapy Improves the Efficacy of Vascular Targeted Photodynamic Therapy in a Urothelial Tumor Model

Purpose: Vascular targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP) is a nonsurgical tumor ablation approach used to treat early-stage prostate cancer and may also be effective for upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) based on preclinical data. Toward increasing response rates to VTP, we evaluated its efficacy in combination with concurrent PD-1 inhibitor/OX40 agonist immunotherapy in a urothelial tumor-bearing model. Experimental design: In mice allografted with MB-49 UTUC cells, we compared the effects of combined VTP with PD-1 inhibitor/OX40 agonist with those of the component treatments on tumor growth, survival, lung metastasis, and antitumor immune responses. Results: The combination of VTP with both PD-1 inhibitor and OX40 agonist inhibited tumor growth and prolonged survival to a greater degree than VTP with either immunotherapeutic individually. These effects result from increased tumor infiltration and intratumoral proliferation of cytotoxic and helper T cells, depletion of Treg cells, and suppression of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that VTP synergizes with PD-1 blockade and OX40 agonist to promote strong antitumor immune responses, yielding therapeutic efficacy in an animal model of urothelial cancer.     

Degenerate quantum codes for Pauli channels

A striking feature of quantum error correcting codes is that they can sometimes be used to correct more errors than they can uniquely identify. Such degenerate codes have long been known, but have remained poorly understood. We provide a heuristic for designing degenerate quantum codes for high noise rates, which is applied to generate codes that can be used to communicate over almost any Pauli channel at rates that are impossible for a nondegenerate code. The gap between nondegenerate and degenerate code performance is quite large, in contrast to the tiny magnitude of the only previous demonstration of this effect. We also identify a channel for which none of our codes outperform the best nondegenerate code and show that it is nevertheless quite unlike any channel for which nondegenerate codes are known to be optimal.     

Inherent Ethyl Acetate Selectivity in a Trianglimine Molecular Solid

Ethyl acetate is an important chemical raw material and solvent. It is also a key volatile organic compound in the brewing industry and a marker for lung cancer. Materials that are highly selective toward ethyl acetate are needed for its separation and detection. Here, we report a trianglimine macrocycle ( TAMC ) that selectively adsorbs ethyl acetate by forming a solvate. Crystal structure prediction showed this to be the lowest energy solvate structure available. This solvate leaves a metastable, “templated” cavity after solvent removal. Adsorption and breakthrough experiments confirmed that TAMC has adequate adsorption kinetics to separate ethyl acetate from azeotropic mixtures with ethanol, which is a challenging and energy-intensive industrial separation.     

Probing the Rotational Dynamics of meso‐(2‐Substituted)aryl Substituents in A2B‐Type Subporphyrins

A₂B‐type B‐methoxy subporphyrins 3 a – g and B‐phenyl subporphyrins 7 a – c , e , g bearing meso‐(2‐substituted)aryl substituents are synthesized, and their rotational dynamics are examined through variable‐temperature (VT) ¹H NMR spectroscopy. In these subporphyrins, the rotation of meso‐aryl substituents is hindered by a rationally installed 2‐substituent. The rotational barriers determined are considerably smaller than those reported previously for porphyrins. Comparison of the rotation activation parameters reveals a variable contribution of ΔH^≠ and ΔS^≠ in ΔG^≠. 2‐Methyl and 2‐ethyl groups of the meso‐aryl substituents in subporphyrins 3 e , 3 f , and 7 e induce larger rotational barriers than 2‐alkoxyl substituents. The rotational barriers of 3 g and 7 g are reduced by the presence of the 4‐dibenzylamino group owing to its ability to stabilize the coplanar rotation transition state electronically. The smaller rotational barriers found for B‐phenyl subporphyrins than for B‐methoxy subporphyrins indicate a negligible contribution of S_N1‐type heterolysis in the rotation of meso‐aryl substituents.     

Cellulose nanofibril (CNF) reinforced starch insulating foams

In this study, biodegradable foams were produced using cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and starch (S). The availability of high volumes of CNFs at lower costs is rapidly progressing with advances in pilot-scale and commercial facilities. The foams were produced using a freeze-drying process with CNF/S water suspensions ranging from 1 to 7.5 wt% solids content. Microscopic evaluation showed that the foams have a microcellular structure and that the foam walls are covered with CNF’s. The CNF’s had diameters ranging from 30 to 100 nm. Pore sizes within the foam walls ranged from 20 to 100 nm. The materials’ densities ranging from 0.012 to 0.082 g/cm³ with corresponding porosities between 93.46 and 99.10 %. Thermal conductivity ranged from 0.041 to 0.054 W/m-K. The mechanical performance of the foams produced from the starch control was extremely low and the material was very friable. The addition of CNF’s to starch was required to produce foams, which exhibited structural integrity. The mechanical properties of materials were positively correlated with solids content and CNF/S ratios. The mechanical and thermal properties for the foams produced in this study appear promising for applications such as insulation and packaging.     

Programmable Polymer‐Based Supramolecular Temperature Sensor with a Memory Function

A new class of polymeric thermometers with a memory function is reported that is based on the supramolecular host–guest interactions of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) with side‐chain naphthalene guest moieties and the tetracationic macrocycle cyclobis(paraquat‐p‐phenylene) (CBPQT⁴⁺) as the host. This supramolecular thermometer exhibits a memory function for the thermal history of the solution, which arises from the large hysteresis of the thermoresponsive LCST phase transition (LCST=lower critical solution temperature). This hysteresis is based on the formation of a metastable soluble state that consists of the PNIPAM–CBPQT⁴⁺ host–guest complex. When heated above the transition temperature, the polymer collapses, and the host–guest interactions are disrupted, making the polymer more hydrophobic and less soluble in water. Aside from providing fundamental insights into the kinetic control of supramolecular assemblies, the developed thermometer with a memory function might find use in applications spanning the physical and biological sciences.     

Palladium(II) saccharinate complexes trans-[Pd(sac)2(LH)2] with amino- and acetylamino-pyridine co-ligands: molecular structures of trans-[PdCl2(2-ampyH)2].2dmf (2-ampyH = 2-amino-3-methylpyridine) and trans-[Pd(κ2-2-acmpy)2] (2-acmpyH = 2-acetylamino-3-methylpyridine)

Reaction of Na₂[PdCl₄] with two equivalents of amino- or acetylamino-pyridines (LH) affords trans-[PdCl₂-(LH)₂] {LH = 2-amino-3-methylpyridine (2-ampyH), 3-aminopyridine (3-apyH), 2-acetylamino-3-methylpyridine (2-acmpyH), 3-acetylamino-pyridine (3-acpyH)}. An X-ray crystal structure of trans-[PdCl₂(2-ampyH)₂] shows that the 2-ampy-H ligands are coordinated in a monodentate fashion via the nitrogen atoms of the pyridine rings. Treatment of trans-[PdCl₂(2-acmpyH)₂] with NEt₃ affords the cyclometalated complex, trans-[Pd(κ²-2-acmpy)₂], the X-ray structure of which shows that the 2-acmpy ligand is coordinated to palladium in a bidentate fashion via the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring and oxygen. Reaction of trans-[PdCl₂(LH)₂] with two equivalents of sodium saccharinate affords the bis(saccharinate) complexes, trans-[Pd(sac)₂(LH)₂], in which the saccharinate anions are coordinated via the amide nitrogen atom.