Novel aromatic polyimides derived from benzofuro[2,3-b]benzofuran-2,3,8,9-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BBTDA)

Benzofuro[2,3-b]benzofuran-2,3,8,9-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BBTDA) is introduced as a monomer for the synthesis of a series of novel polyimides with enhanced high thermal stability. Polyimides derived from BBTDA and aromatic diamines showed high glass transition (T_g>296 °C) and degradation (T₅>455 °C) temperatures, and were soluble in organic solvents (i.e. N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), N,N^′-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N^′-dimethylacetamide (DMAc)). The polymerization yielded high-molecular-weight polyimides with inherent viscosities ranging from 1.75 to 2.14 dl/g. The polymers were characterized by IR and elemental analysis.     

Efficient and practical Ag-catalyzed cycloadditions between arylimines and the Danishefsky diene

An efficient Ag-catalyzed method for asymmetric addition of the Danishefsky diene to various aryl imines to afford cycloadducts in > or =89% ee and > or =85% isolated yield is reported. Reactions are effected with 0.1-1 mol % catalyst (4 degrees C), and the chiral ligand is readily prepared from commercially available materials, including the inexpensive i-Leu. These catalytic asymmetric cycloadditions can be carried out without the use of solvent or with undistilled THF in air. A first generation supported chiral catalyst that effectively promotes the cycloaddition reaction and can be recycled (five cycles) is described.     

Hydrodynamics of a bounded vertical film with nonlinear surface properties

The drainage of a thin liquid film with an insoluble monolayer down a vertical wall is studied. Lubrication theory is used to develop a model where the film is pinned at the top with a given thickness and the film drains into a bath at the bottom. A nonlinear equation of state is used for the surface tension and the surface viscosity is a nonlinear function of the surfactant concentration; these are appropriate for some aqueous systems. The three partial differential equations are solved via discretization in space and then the resulting differential algebraic system is solved. Results are described for a wide range of parameters, and the conditions under which the free surface is immobilized are discussed.     

Separation of peptides and proteins by capillary electrophoresis using acidic buffers containing tetraalkylammonium cations and cyclodextrins

A method for improving separations of peptides and other positively charged species in capillary zone electrophoresis with untreated capillaries using acidic buffers containing tetraalkylammonium cations is described. Tetramethylammonium and tetrabutylammonium cations dynamically modify the capillary surface, leading to a reversal in the direction of the electroosmotic flow. As a result, the adsorption of positively charged peptides and proteins is minimized, and resolution and peak capacity are improved as the migration of cationic analytes is counterbalanced by the electroosmotic flow. The combining effect of reversing electroosmotic flow and cyclodextrin inclusion complexation on separations of closely related peptides and a protein mixture, as well as tryptic digest of hemoglobin is demonstrated.     

Correction: Click activated protodrugs against cancer increase the therapeutic potential of chemotherapy through local capture and activation

Correction for ‘Click activated protodrugs against cancer increase the therapeutic potential of chemotherapy through local capture and activation’ by Kui Wu et al., Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 1259–1271, DOI: 10.1039/D0SC06099B.

The authors regret that the reference to the bond-breaking bioorthogonal chemistry, termed ‘click-to-release’ was omitted from the original article. In addition, we would like to include a reference describing the synthesis of compound 1, which is an intermediate to the protodrugs described in the original article. These references are listed below as ref. 1 and 2.The Royal Society of Chemistry apologizes for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.     

HPLC and GC Methods for Determination of Lubricants and Their Evaluation in Analysis of Real Samples of Polyethylene

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC) are introduced for analysis of polymer lubricants (stearamide, oleamide and erucamide). In the HPLC method, a reverse phase octadecylsilane (ODS) column along with acetonitrile/methanol (60:40) as a mobile phase were used. Detection of analytes was performed by a UV detector at 202 nm. The analysis time was less than 8 min. In the GC method, polar capillary column and flame ionization detector (FID) were used for separations and detection, respectively. The analysis time by GC was longer than HPLC and was about 30 min. Limits of detection, linear range and repeatability of both methods are similar, but determination of oleamide in real samples by HPLC method is difficult due to complexity of the initial part of HPLC chromatogram in polyethylene samples. That problem is not observed in the GC method. Detection limits in both methods for all analytes are lower than 0.003% which are much lower than the amount of lubricants in commercial polymers (0.05–0.2%).     

An Accelerated Coordinate Gradient Descent Algorithm for Non-separable Composite Optimization

Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications - Coordinate descent algorithms are popular in machine learning and large-scale data analysis problems due to their low computational cost iterative...     

A Convenient Synthesis of Vinyl Sulfides

tert-Alkyl sulfides, with an α-(1H-benzotriazol-1-yl) group 6 and 13 , are readily prepared from N-[(aryl-thio)methyl]-1H-benzotriazoles 3 and N-( 11 ), respectively, by reaction with BuLi and then with the appropriate electrophile. The tert-alkyl sulfides 6 and 13 are smoothly converted by BF₃. OEt₂ into vinyl sulfides 5, 7 or 12 , respectively, in satisfactory yields.     

Enantioselective synthesis of nitroalkanes bearing all-carbon quaternary stereogenic centers through Cu-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate additions

The first examples of catalytic asymmetric conjugate addition (ACA) of alkylzinc reagents to trisubstituted nitroalkenes, leading to the formation of nitroalkanes bearing a quaternary carbon stereogenic center, are reported. Reactions are promoted in the presence of 4 mol % of a readily available amino acid-based phosphine and 2 mol % (CuOTf).C6H6. Cu-catalyzed reactions proceed efficiently in up to 98% ee and can be carried out with a variety of dialkylzinc reagents and trisubstituted nitroolefins. We highlight the synthetic utility of the products obtained by efficient conversion of optically enriched nitroalkanes to the corresponding carboxylic acids.     

Olefins turned alkylating agents: diastereoselective intramolecular Zr-catalyzed olefin alkylations

The first examples of intramolecular Zr-catalyzed electrophilic alkylation of aryl olefins are disclosed. Substituted carbo- and heterocycles are prepared efficiently and diastereoselectively.