Tetrapyridyl tetraphenylethylenes: supramolecular building blocks with aggregation-induced emission properties

Two tetrapyridyl-substituted tetraphenylethylenes have been prepared via Suzuki coupling between tetrabromo tetraphenylethylene and 3- or 4-pyridine boronic acid. Both compounds exhibit aggregation-induced emission as determined by solid state fluorescence spectroscopy and solution phase fluorescence measurements performed in aqueous/organic solvent mixtures. Solution phase fluorescence was also found to be switchable as a function of pH. 3-Pyridyl-substituted tetraphenylethylene has been structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography.     

A synthesis of bredinin (Mizoribine®) from an acyclic precursor

Bredinin (4-carbamoyl-1-β-d-ribofuranosylimidazolium-5-olate, 1) was synthesised by the formation of a malonamate from 2,3-isopropylidene-d-ribofuranosylamine and ethyl malonyl chloride, followed by a sequence involving amination, via reduction of an oxime, heterocycle formation and then deprotection.     

Infrared-induced reactivity of N2O on small gas-phase rhodium clusters

Far- and mid-infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy has been employed to study both the structure and surface reactivity of isolated cationic rhodium clusters with surface-adsorbed nitrous oxide, Rh(n)N(2)O(+) (n = 4-8). Comparison of experimental spectra recorded using the argon atom tagging method with those calculated using density functional theory (DFT) reveals that the nitrous oxide is molecularly bound on the rhodium cluster via the terminal N-atom. Binding is thought to occur exclusively on atop sites with the rhodium clusters adopting close-packed structures. In related, but conceptually different experiments, infrared pumping of the vibrational modes corresponding with the normal modes of the adsorbed N(2)O has been observed to result in the decomposition of the N(2)O moiety and the production of oxide clusters. This cluster surface chemistry is observed for all cluster sizes studied except for n = 5. Plausible N(2)O decomposition mechanisms are given based on DFT calculations using exchange-correlation functionals. Similar experiments pumping the Rh-O stretch in Rh(n)ON(2)O(+) complexes, on which the same chemistry is observed, confirm the thermal nature of this reaction.     

Kribbellichelins A and B,Two New Antibiotics from Kribbella sp. CA-293567 with Activity against Several Human Pathogens

Current needs in finding new antibiotics against emerging multidrug-resistant superbugs are pushing the scientific community into coming back to Nature for the discovery of novel active structures. Recently, a survey of halophilic actinomyectes from saline substrates of El Saladar del Margen, in the Cúllar-Baza depression (Granada, Spain), led us to the isolation and identification of 108 strains from the rhizosphere of the endemic plant Limonium majus. Evaluation of the potential of these strains to produce new anti-infective agents against superbug pathogens was performed through fermentation in 10 different culture media using an OSMAC approach and assessment of the antibacterial and antifungal properties of their acetone extracts. The study allowed the isolation of two novel antibiotic compounds, kribbellichelin A (1) and B (2), along with the known metabolites sandramycin (3), coproporphyrin III (4), and kribelloside C (5) from a bioassay-guided fractionation of scaled-up active extracts of the Kribbella sp. CA-293567 strain. The structures of the new molecules were elucidated by ESI-qTOF-MS/MS, 1D and 2D NMR, and Marfey’s analysis for the determination of the absolute configuration of their amino acid residues. Compounds 1–3 and 5 were assayed against a panel of relevant antibiotic-resistant pathogenic strains and evaluated for cytotoxicity versus the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 (ATCC HB-8065). Kribbellichelins A (1) and B (2) showed antimicrobial activity versus Candida albicans ATCC-64124, weak potency against Acinetobacter baumannii MB-5973 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa MB-5919, and an atypical dose-dependent concentration profile against Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC-46645. Sandramycin (3) confirmed previously reported excellent growth inhibition activity against MRSA MB-5393 but also presented clear antifungal activity against C. albicans ATCC-64124 and A. fumigatus ATCC-46645 associated with lower cytotoxicity observed in HepG2, whereas Kribelloside C (5) displayed high antifungal activity only against A. fumigatus ATCC-46645. Herein, we describe the processes followed for the isolation, structure elucidation, and potency evaluation of these two new active compounds against a panel of human pathogens as well as, for the first time, the characterization of the antifungal activities of sandramycin (3).     

Halide glasses based on chlorides, bromides and iodides

There is relatively little information on glasses based on chlorides, bromides and iodides. Because of the recent interest in fluoride it is the objective of this paper to evaluate the potential for preparing new halide glasses and to offer some predictions on the properties of glasses based on chlorides, bromides and iodides. The predictions of glass-forming tendency, viscosity, chemical durability and structures are discussed.     

Interference Patterns of Two Focused Gaussian Beams in an LDA Measuring Volume

Based on a model of spherical Gaussian beam interference, the fringe spacing variations in the measuring volume of a differential LDA system are analysed and the fringe patterns are obtained for different locations of beam waists. It is found that when the incident beams are sharply focused and a large beam cross-angle is used to obtain high spatial resolution, fringe gradients occur along both the x- and z-directions, even though the incident beams intersect at their waists. When the measuring volume is very small, the measurement accuracy of an LDA is limited by inherent fringe gradients mainly along the z-direction. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.     

The thermal rearrangement of tetra-arylated dihydrosemibullvalene derivatives,and 1H/13C NMR-structure correlations

A systematic study of the thermal cyclisation of isomeric di-p-anisyl-diphenylcyclooctatriene derivatives, and of the facile isomerisation of the resulting dihydrosemibullvalenes, with ¹H/¹³C nmr-structure correlations, supports earlier proposals for rearrangement mechanism.