From galactose to highly functionalized seven- and eight-membered carbocyclic rings by ring-closing metathesis

[reaction: see text]A short synthesis of highly functionalized seven- and eight-membered carbocyclic rings from galactose derivatives has been achieved. The key steps are a zinc-mediated reductive ring opening of 6-iodogalactopyranoses and a subsequent ring-closing olefin metathesis using Grubbs' ruthenium catalyst.     

Infrared absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance studies of vinyl radical in noble-gas matrices

Vinyl radicals produced by annealing-induced reaction of mobilized hydrogen atoms with acetylene molecules in solid noble-gas matrices (Ar, Kr, and Xe) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. The hydrogen atoms were generated from acetylene by UV photolysis or fast electron irradiation. Two vibrational modes of the vinyl radical (nu7 and nu5) were assigned in IR absorption studies. The assignment is based on data for various isotopic substitutions (D and 13C) and confirmed by comparison with the EPR measurements and density-functional theory calculations. The data on the nu7 mode is in agreement with previous experimental and theoretical results whereas the nu5 frequency agrees well with the computational data but conflicts with the gas-phase IR emission results.     

Intermolecular complexes of HXeOH with water: stabilization and destabilization effects

Theoretical and matrix-isolation studies of intermolecular complexes of HXeOH with water molecules are presented. The structures and possible decomposition routes of the HXeOH-(H(2)O)(n)(n = 0, 1, 2, 3) complexes are analyzed theoretically. It is concluded that the decay of these metastable species may proceed through the bent transition states (TSs), leading to the global minima on the respective potential energy surfaces, Xe + (H(2)O)(n+1). The respective barrier heights are 39.6, 26.6, 11.2, and 0.4 kcal/mol for n = 0, 1, 2, and 3. HXeOH in larger water clusters is computationally unstable with respect to the bending coordinate, representing the destabilization effect. Another decomposition channel of HXeOH-(H(2)O)(n), via a linear TS, leads to a direct break of the H-Xe bond of HXeOH. In this case, the attached water molecules stabilize HXeOH by strengthening the H-Xe bond. Due to the stabilization, a large blue shift of the H-Xe stretching mode upon complexation of HXeOH with water molecules is featured in calculations. On the basis of this computational result, the IR absorption bands at 1681 and 1742 cm(-1) observed after UV photolysis and annealing of multimeric H(2)O/Xe matrixes are assigned to the HXeOH-H(2)O and HXeOH-(H(2)O)(2) complexes. These bands are blue-shifted by 103 and 164 cm(-1) from the known monomeric HXeOH absorption.     

Targeting bacterial virulence: inhibitors of type III secretion in Yersinia

Agents that target bacterial virulence without detrimental effect on bacterial growth are useful chemical probes for studies of virulence and potential candidates for drug development. Several gram-negative pathogens employ type III secretion to evade the innate immune response of the host. Screening of a chemical library with a luciferase reporter gene assay in viable Yersinia pseudotuberculosis furnished several compounds that inhibit the reporter gene signal expressed from the yopE promoter and effector protein secretion at concentrations with no or modest effect on bacterial growth. The selectivity patterns observed for inhibition of various reporter gene strains indicate that the compounds target the type III secretion machinery at different levels. Identification of this set of inhibitors illustrates the approach of utilizing cell-based assays to identify compounds that affect complex bacterial virulence systems.     

Changes in surface composition of Fe-Si-Cr-K oxide alkylation catalyst: the marked role of potassium ferrites

The influence of gas-phase methylation of phenol on the state of the Fe-Si-Cr-K oxide catalyst surface was investigated by thermodesorption of K atoms and ions. Changes in potassium desorption energies, as determined from Arrhenius-like plots, varied from 3.07 eV to 1.21 eV for the atoms and from 2.59 eV to 2.89 eV for ion desorption from the active and deactivated samples, respectively. The results were discussed in terms of transformation of the catalyst surface and formation of β-ferrite.     

Evidence for an Iminium Cation Intermediate and its Non-Oxidative Decarboxylation in a Cerium (IV)-Mediated Oxidative Decarboxylation. Preliminary communication

Evidence is provided for the occurrence of a non-oxidative decarboxylation in an iminium cation intermediate which is produced in an oxidative decarboxylation induced by cerium (IV).     

Unimolecular photochemistry of 4-thiouracils

Unimolecular phototautomeric reactions in 4-thiouracil, 1-methyl-4-thiouracil and 6-aza-4-thiouracil were studied using the matrix-isolation technique combined with infrared absorption spectroscopy. For monomers of these compounds, isolated in solid argon at 10 K, an intramolecular proton-transfer photoreaction was observed. Upon UV (lambda > 345 nm) irradiation, the initial oxo-thione forms of 4-thiouracils were converted into the corresponding oxo-thiol tautomers. The photogenerated oxo-thiol isomers were identified by comparing their experimental IR spectra with the spectra theoretically calculated at the DFT(B3LYP)/6-311++G(2d,p) level. Good agreement between the observed and predicted pattern of spectral bands allowed a reliable identification. This is the first report on experimental observation of isomeric forms of 4-thiouracils other than the canonical oxo-thione tautomers.     

Switchable electrical conductivity in a three-dimensional metal–organic framework via reversible ligand n-doping

Redox-active metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for a number of next-generation technologies, and recent work has shown that redox manipulation can dramatically enhance electrical conductivity in MOFs. However, ligand-based strategies for controlling conductivity remain under-developed, particularly those that make use of reversible redox processes. Here we report the first use of ligand n-doping to engender electrical conductivity in a porous 3D MOF, leading to tunable conductivity values that span over six orders of magnitude. Moreover, this work represents the first example of redox switching leading to reversible conductivity changes in a 3D MOF.

Redox-active ligands are used to reversibly tune electrical conductivity in a porous 3D metal–organic framework (MOF).     

Electronic and ionic transports for negative charge carriers in smectic liquid crystalline photoconductor

We have investigated negative charge carrier transport in the smectic mesophases of the 2-phenylnaphthalene derivative, 6-(4'-octylphenyl)-2-dodecyloxynaphthalene (8-PNP-O12), using the time-of-flight (TOF) method. We revealed that the negative charge carrier transport in its smectic mesophases had two different mechanisms, i.e., electronic and ionic conductions: we observed two transits of the carriers in both the smectic A (SmA) and smectic B (SmB) phases and demonstrated their origins by dilution experiments with a hydrocarbon (n-dodecane); the fast transit was attributed to the electronic transport of electrons and the slow one to the ionic transport of negative ions. Furthermore, it was clarified that the ionic transport was caused by small amounts of chemical impurities ionized by trapping photogenerated electrons in 8-PNP-O12 in addition to photoinduced autoionization of the impurities. Furthermore, we determined the trapping lifetimes for electrons to be 140 and 24 mus for the SmA and SmB phases, respectively. The experimental results suggest the coexistence of two distinctive transport channels for these charge carriers in the smectic mesophases.