Substituent exchange reactions of trimeric and tetrameric aryloxycyclophosphazenes with sodium 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxide

Substituent exchange reactions of sodium 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxide with trimeric and tetrameric aryloxycyclophosphazenes with phenoxy, 4-formylphenoxy, 4-cyanophenoxy and 4-nitrophenoxy side groups were conducted at 66 °C in THF and monitored by (31)P NMR and mass spectrometry. These are model reactions for their counterparts with high polymeric linear organophosphazenes. The ease of displacement of OAr in cyclic trimeric and tetrameric molecules by CF(3)CH(2)O increased significantly with the presence of electron-withdrawing substituents in the polyphosphazene in the order, phenoxy ? 4-formylphenoxy < 4-cyanophenoxy ≈ 4-nitrophenoxy. Fully substituted 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxyphosphazene trimer and tetramer were formed by side group exchange, but these reactions were followed by an attack by the nucleophile on the α-carbon of the 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy groups linked to phosphorus to give a species in which one trifluoroethoxy group had been replaced by an ONa unit, and bis(trifluoroethyl) ether was formed as a side product. On the other hand, only partly exchanged species were formed when sodium phenoxide reacted with the trifluoroethoxy phosphazene trimer and tetramer, but again a product with an ONa side group was formed eventually together with phenyltrifluoroethyl ether generated via alpha-carbon attack. The relative sensitivity of 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy and phenoxyphosphazene cyclic trimers and tetramers to the presence of trifluoroethoxide was established.     

Luminescence rigidochromism and redox chemistry of pyrazolate-bridged binuclear platinum(II) diimine complex intercalated into zirconium phosphate layers

The direct intercalation of a pyrazolate-bridged platinum(II) bipyridyl dimer ([{Pt(dmbpy)(μ-pz)}(2)](2+); dmbpy = 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine, pz(-) = pyrazolate) within a zirconium phosphate (ZrP) framework has been accomplished. The physical and spectroscopic properties of [{Pt(dmbpy)(μ-pz)}(2)](2+) intercalated in ZrP were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray photoelectron, infrared, absorption, and luminescence spectroscopies. Zirconium phosphate layers have a special microenvironment that is capable of supporting a variety of platinum oxidation states. Diffuse reflectance spectra from powders of the blue-gray intercalated materials show the formation of a low-energy band at 600 nm that is not present in the platinum dimer salt. The nonintercalated complex is nonemissive in room-temperature fluid solution, but gives rise to intense blue-green emission in a 4:1 ethanol/methanol 77 K frozen glassy solution. Powders and colloidal suspensions of [{Pt(dmbpy)(μ-pz)}(2)](2+)-exchanged ZrP materials exhibit intense emissions at room-temperature.     

Recoil spectrometry: Ion accelerator based elemental characterisation of surface layers

Recoil Spectrometry covers a group of techniques that are very similar to the well known Rutherford backscattering Spectrometry technique, but with the important difference that one measures the recoiling target atom rather than the projectile ion. This makes it possible to determine both the identity of the recoil and its depth of origin from its energy and velocity, using a suitable detector system. The incident ion is typically high-energy (30–100MeV)³⁵C1,⁸¹Br or¹²⁷I. Low concentrations of light elements such as C, O and N can be profiled in a heavy matrix such as Fe or GaAs. Here we present an overview of mass and energy dispersive recoil Spectrometry and illustrate its successful use in some typical applications.     

5‐Butyl‐4‐(4,4,5,5‐tetra­methyl‐1,3,2‐dioxaborolan‐2‐yl)‐3‐(2,4,6‐tri­methyl­phenyl)­isoxazole

A novel [3+2]‐cyclo­addition reaction of alkynyl­boronates and nitrile oxides gave the title compound, C₂₂H₃₂BNO₃, as a single regioisomer. The X‐ray crystal structure analysis of this compound shows two independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, each with approximately coplanar isoxazole and boronate rings.     

Sodiation as a tool for enhancing the diagnostic value of MALDI‐TOF/TOF‐MS spectra of complex astaxanthin ester mixtures from Haematococcus pluvialis

The microalga Haematococcus pluvialis produces the pigment astaxanthin mainly in esterified form with a multitude of fatty acids, which results in a complex mixture of carotenol mono‐ and diesters. For rapid fingerprinting of these esters, matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF/TOF‐MS) might be an alternative to traditional chromatographic separation combined with MS. Investigation of ionization and fragmentation of astaxanthin mono‐ and diester palmitate standards in MALDI‐TOF/TOF‐MS showed that sodium adduct parent masses [M + Na]⁺ gave much simpler MS² spectra than radical / protonated [M]^+● / [M + H]⁺ parents. [M + Na]⁺ fragments yielded diagnostic polyene‐specific eliminations and fatty acid neutral losses, whereas [M]^+● / [M + H]⁺ fragmentation resulted in a multitude of non‐diagnostic daughters. For diesters, a benzonium fragment, formed by polyene elimination, was required for identification of the second fatty acid attached to the astaxanthin backbone. Parents were forced into [M + Na]⁺ ionization by addition of sodium acetate, and best signal‐to‐noise ratios were obtained in the 0.1 to 1.0 mM range. This method was applied to fingerprinting astaxanthin esters in a crude H. pluvialis extract. Prior to MALDI‐TOF/TOF‐MS, the extract was fractionated by normal phase Flash chromatography to obtain fractions enriched in mono‐ and diesters and to remove pheophytin a, which compromised monoester signals. All 12 types of all‐trans esterified esters found in LC were identified with MALDI‐TOF/TOF‐MS, with the exception of two minor monoesters. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The synthesis,structural characterization and biological evaluation of N‐(ferrocenylmethyl amino acid) fluorinated benzene‐carboxamide derivatives as potential anticancer agents

A series of N‐(ferrocenylmethyl amino acid) fluorinated benzene‐carboxamide derivatives 4b , 4c , 4d , 4e , 4f , 4g , 4h , 4i and 5b , 5c , 5d , 5e , 5f , 5g , 5h , 5i have been synthesized by coupling ferrocenylmethyl amine 3 with various substituted N‐(fluorobenzoyl) amino acid derivatives using the standard N‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl)‐N′‐ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride, 1‐hydroxybenzotriazole protocol. The amino acids employed in this study were glycine and L‐alanine. All of the compounds were fully characterized using a combination of ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ¹⁹F NMR, distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT)‐135, ¹H–¹H correlation spectroscopy (COSY) and ¹H–¹³C COSY (heteronuclear multiple‐quantum correlation) spectroscopy. The compounds were biologically evaluated on the oestrogen‐positive MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line. Compounds 4g , 4i , 5h and 5i exhibited cytotoxic effects on the MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line. N‐(Ferrocenylmethyl‐L‐alanine)‐3,4,5‐trifluorobenzene‐carboxamide ( 5h ) was the most active compound, with an IC₅₀ value of 2.84 μm . Compounds 4i , 5h and 5i had lower IC₅₀ values than that found for the clinically employed anticancer drug cisplatin (IC₅₀ = 16.3 μm against MCF‐7). Guanine oxidation studies confirmed that 5h was capable of generating oxidative damage via a reactive oxygen species‐mediated mechanism. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of 4-methylumbelliferyl beta-(1-->4)-D-xylooligosides: new substrates for beta-D-xylanase assays

Transglycosylation catalyzed by a beta-D-xylosidase from Aspergillus sp. was used to synthesize a set of 4-methylumbelliferyl (MU) beta-1-->4-D-xylooligosides having the common structure [beta-D-Xyl-(1-->4)]2-5-beta-D-Xyl-MU. MU xylobioside synthesized chemically by the condensation of protected MU beta-D-xylopyranoside with ethyl 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-1-thio-beta-D-xylopyranoside was used as a substrate for transglycosylation with the beta-D-xylosidase from Aspergillus sp. to produce higher MU xylooligosides. The structures of oligosaccharides obtained were established by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. MU beta-D-xylooligosides synthesized were tested as fluorogenic substrates for the GH-10 family beta-D-xylanase from Aspergillus orizae and the GH-11 family beta-D-xylanase I from Trichoderma reesei. Both xylanases released the aglycone from MU xylobioside and the corresponding trioside. With substrates having d.p. 4 and 5, the enzymes manifested endolytic activities, splitting off MU, MUX, and MUX2 primarily.     

Synthesis and characterization of interpenetrating polymer networks with nonlinear optical properties

We report the synthesis and characterization of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) exhibiting nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. The network consists of aliphatic polycarbonate urethane (PCU) and poly(methyl methacrylate-co-N,N-disubstituted urea), with a nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophore incorporated into N,N-disubstituted urea. The full IPNs have only one T_g, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), together with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, suggest a single phase morphology. The thin films of IPNs are transparent and the unpoled samples produced second harmonic generation (SHG) signals at room temperature. This result indicates that the NLO chromophore is oriented noncentrosymmetrically during the IPN formation process and is tightly held between the permanent entanglements of the two component networks of the IPN. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A general approach to detect protein expression in vivo using fluorescent puromycin conjugates

Understanding the expression of known and unknown gene products represents one of the key challenges in the post-genomic world. Here, we have developed a new class of reagents to examine protein expression in vivo that does not require transfection, radiolabeling, or the prior choice of a candidate gene. To do this, we constructed a series of puromycin conjugates bearing various fluorescent and biotin moieties. These compounds are readily incorporated into expressed protein products in cell lysates in vitro and efficiently cross cell membranes to function in protein synthesis in vivo as indicated by flow cytometry, selective enrichment studies, and Western analysis. Overall, this work demonstrates that fluorescent-puromycin conjugates offer a general means to examine protein expression in vivo.