Synthesis and electronic properties of poly (E,E)-[6.2]-(2,5) thiophenophane-1,5-diene)

Cationic cyclopolymerization of (E, E)-[6.2]-(2,5) thiophenophane-1,5-diene ( 2 ) gave polymer 3 which has bridged thiophene rings pendant to the polymer backbone. The structural, thermal, and electronic properties of polymer 3 were compared to those of its benzene analogue ( 1 ) and its nonbridged analogue poly (2-vinylthiophene) ( 5 ). The onsets of thermal degradation for polymers 3 and 5 under helium were 425 and 382°C, respectively. Polymer 3 exhibited conductivity in the 10^?3?10^?4 S/cm range when exposed to iodine vapor, four orders of magnitude higher than for 5 treated in the same manner. Apparent energies of activation for conductivity in iodine saturated polymers 3 (0.57 eV) and 5 (0.61 eV) were calculated from conductivity temperature dependence measurements. Conductivity parameters for iodine saturated 3 show both a higher level of conductivity and weaker temperature dependence than for the corresponding cyclopolymer 1 which has benzene rather than thiophene moieties, suggesting that greater charge generation occurs in 3 , due to the lower oxidation potential of the thiophenophane repeat units. Differences in conductivity behavior for iodine saturated polymers 1, 3 , and 5 are discussed in terms of both charge generation and mobility. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Volumetric and acoustic behaviour of systems containing n-hexane,or n-heptane and isomeric chlorobutanes

Densities and speeds of sound at atmospheric pressure and temperatures of (283.15, 298.15, and 313.15) K for the binary mixtures formed by n-hexane or n-heptane with isomeric chlorobutanes were determined. Afterwards excess volumes, excess isentropic compressibilities and excess speeds of sound were calculated using the experimental data and correlated using a Redlich–Kister type equation. Finally, the results were studied using the Prigogine–Flory–Patterson theory showing excellent predictions for speed of sound and isentropic compressibility values of mixtures as well as a strong influence of the interactional contribution term for excess volume values.     

Serine versus Threonine Glycosylation with α‐O‐GalNAc: Unexpected Selectivity in Their Molecular Recognition with Lectins

The molecular recognition of several glycopeptides bearing Tn antigen (α‐O‐GalNAc‐Ser or α‐O‐GalNAc‐Thr) in their structure by three lectins with affinity for this determinant has been analysed. The work yields remarkable results in terms of epitope recognition, showing that the underlying amino acid of Tn (serine or threonine) plays a key role in the molecular recognition. In fact, while Soybean agglutinin and Vicia villosa agglutinin lectins prefer Tn‐threonine, Helix pomatia agglutinin shows a higher affinity for the glycopeptides carrying Tn‐serine. The different conformational behaviour of the two Tn biological entities, the residues of the studied glycopeptides in the close proximity to the Tn antigen and the topology of the binding site of the lectins are at the origin of these differences.     

Substrate‐Guided Front‐Face Reaction Revealed by Combined Structural Snapshots and Metadynamics for the Polypeptide N‐Acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 2

The retaining glycosyltransferase GalNAc‐T2 is a member of a large family of human polypeptide GalNAc‐transferases that is responsible for the post‐translational modification of many cell‐surface proteins. By the use of combined structural and computational approaches, we provide the first set of structural snapshots of the enzyme during the catalytic cycle and combine these with quantum‐mechanics/molecular‐mechanics (QM/MM) metadynamics to unravel the catalytic mechanism of this retaining enzyme at the atomic‐electronic level of detail. Our study provides a detailed structural rationale for an ordered bi–bi kinetic mechanism and reveals critical aspects of substrate recognition, which dictate the specificity for acceptor Thr versus Ser residues and enforce a front‐face S_Ni‐type reaction in which the substrate N‐acetyl sugar substituent coordinates efficient glycosyl transfer.     

How to turn the catalytic asymmetric hydroboration reaction of vinylarenes into a recyclable process

Optically pure rhodium(I) complexes [Rh(cod)(Lbond;L)]X (cod=cyclooctadiene; L-L= (R)-2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)1-1'-binaphthyl ((R)-BINAP), (S,S)-2,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)pentane ((S,S)-BDPP), 2-diphenylphosphino-1-(1'-isoquinolyl)naphthalene ((S)-QUINAP); X=BF(4), PF(6), SO(3)CF(3), BPh(4)) were immobilised onto smectite clays such as montmorillonite K-10 (MK-10) and bentonite (Na(+)-M). (19)F, (31)P and (11)B NMR experiments recorded in CDCl(3) during the impregnation process provided evidence that montmorillonite K-10 may immobilise ionic metal complexes throughout the cationic and anionic counterparts. However, when bentonite was used as the solid, only the cationic metal complex was immobilised through cationic exchange while the counteranion remained in solution. When we used these preformed catalytic systems in the hydroboration of prochiral vinylarenes, we obtained high activities and enantiomeric excess with (S)-1-(2-diphenylphosphino-1-naphthyl)isoquinoline-modified rhodium complexes. These activities and selectivities are competitive with the homogeneous counterparts. The significant features of this method are the simple separation and good retention of the active metal in the solid, which allows efficient recycling even on exposure to air.     

On the Modification of Chitosan Through Grafting

Abstract

The feasibility of grafting poly(methyl acrylate) and poly[1-(methoxycarbonyl) ethylene] onto chitosan, poly-β(1←-4)-2-amino-2-deoxy-d-glucose, was investigated. The grafting reaction was carried out in aqueous solution by using ferrous ammonium sulfate (FAS) in combination with H₂O₂ as redox initiator. The effects of such reaction variables as chitosan, monomer and initiator concentrations, reaction time, and reaction temperature were determined. Through this study the grafting reaction could be optimized. The grafting yield reached its maximum value of 332% when 0.3 g chitosan was copolymerized with 3 mL monomer at 70°C for 120 minutes with [FAS] = 6 × 10^?5 M, [H₂O₂] = 6 × 10^?3 M, and 8 mL water. The grafted chitosan was found to be insoluble in solvents for chitosan and solvents for poly(methyl acrylate), but did show swelling in dilute acetic acid, methanol, acetone, and in an ethanol/2% acetic acid 1:1 mixture. The thermal stability of chitosan and grafted chitosan were studied by dynamic thermogravimetric analysis. The results show that the graft copolymer is thermally more stable than pure chitosan. The overall activation energy for graft copolymerization was estimated to be 32.8 kcal/mol.     

Spleen SORT LNP Generated in situ CAR T Cells Extend Survival in a Mouse Model of Lymphoreplete B Cell Lymphoma

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy is revolutionizing treatment for patients suffering from B-cell lymphoma (BL). However, the current method of CAR T cell production is complicated and expensive, requiring collection of patient blood to enrich the T cell population, ex vivo engineering/activation, and quality assessment before the patient can receive the treatment. Herein we leverage Spleen Selective ORgan Targeted (SORT) Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs) to produce CAR T cells in situ and bypass the extensive and laborious process currently used. Optimized Spleen SORT LNPs containing 10 % 18 : 1 PA transfected CD3+, CD8+, and CD4+ T cells in wild-type mice. Spleen SORT LNPs delivered Cre recombinase mRNA and CAR encoding mRNA to T cells in reporter mice and in a lymphoreplete B cell lymphoma model (respectively) after intravenous injection without the need for active targeting ligands. Moreover, in situ CAR T cells increased the overall survival of mice with a less aggressive form of B cell lymphoma. In addition, in situ transfected CAR T cells reduced tumor metastasis to the liver by increasing tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Overall, these results offer a promising alternative method for CAR T cell production with pre-clinical potential to treat hematological malignancies.     

Multivariate characterization of wine vinegars from the south of Spain according to their metallic content

Forty wine vinegar samples from the south of Spain were analyzed for mineral content. Nine metals (As, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na and Zn) were chosen as chemical features that may account for the rate of the vinegar fermentation process. Pattern recognition techniques were applied for distinguishing quick and slow processed vinegars. The results obtained indicated an excellent performance in both recalling and prediction ability.     

An investigation of hemibenzopinacolate radicals used in the synthesis of block-copolymers: ESR measurements and semiempirical calculations

Hemibenzopinacolate radicals may be incorporated in a polymer chain and the latter used as a macromolecular initiator. Kinetics of polymerization are strongly dependent on the substitution of the pinacolate. A large family of substituted (CH₃)₃SiOC(C₆H₅)₂ radicals has been synthesized and studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) and semiempirical molecular orbital calculations. ESR spectra are well resolved and, except for one derivative, allow an unambiguous determination of the hyperfine coupling splitting (HFS) constants. The ground state properties have been calculated within different approximations, namely MNDO, AM1 and PM3 for the geometry optimization and INDO for spin density. Geometries obtained within AM1 and PM3 approximations are satisfactory. The HFS constants evaluated using McConnell type relations and spin densities are in a quite good agreement with the experimental ones. It turns out that the effect of substitution on kinetics of polymerization cannot be attributed to any drastic change in the charge distribution.