Templating Irreversible Covalent Macrocyclization by Using Anions

Inorganic anions were used as templates in the reaction between a diamine and an activated diacid to form macrocyclic amides. The reaction conditions were found to perform the macrocyclization sufficiently slow to observe a template effect. A number of analytical methods were used to clarify the reaction mechanisms and to show that the structure of the intermediate plays a decisive role in determining the product distribution. For the macrocyclization under kinetic control, it was shown that the amount of a template, the conformational rigidity of building blocks, and the anion affinities of reaction components and intermediates are important parameters that one should take into consideration to achieve high yields.     

Integration of quantitative DCE-MRI and ADC mapping to monitor treatment response in human breast cancer: initial results

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to assess changes in the water apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and in pharmacokinetic parameters obtained from the fast-exchange regime (FXR) modeling of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) during neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eleven patients with locally advanced breast cancer underwent MRI examination prior to and after chemotherapy but prior to surgery. A 1.5-T scanner was used to obtain T1, ADC and DCE-MRI data. DCE-MRI data were analyzed by the FXR model returning estimates of K(trans) (volume transfer constant), v(e) (extravascular extracellular volume fraction) and tau(i) (average intracellular water lifetime). Histogram and correlation analyses assessed parameter changes post-treatment. RESULTS: Significant (P < .05) changes or trends towards significance (P < .10) were seen in all parameters except tau(i), although there was qualitative reduction in tau(i) values post-treatment. In particular, there was reduction (P < .035) in voxels with K(trans) values in the range 0.2-0.5 min(-1) and a decrease (P < .05) in voxels with ADC values in the range 0.99 x 10(-3) to 1.35 x 10(-3) mm2/s. ADC and v(e) were negatively correlated (r = -.60, P < .02). Parameters sensitive to water distribution and geometry (T(1), v(e), tau(i) and ADC) correlated with a multivariable linear regression model. CONCLUSION: The analysis presented here is sensitive to longitudinal changes in breast tumor status; K(trans) and ADC are most sensitive to these changes. Relationships between parameters provide information on water distribution and geometry in the tumor environment.     

Synthesis of Rhenabenzenes from the Reactions of Rhenacyclobutadienes with Ethoxyethyne

Treatment of Na[Re(CO)₅] with RC?CCO₂Et (R=phenyl, naphthalen‐1‐yl, phenanthren‐9‐yl and pyren‐1‐yl) followed by reaction with acetyl chloride and ethanol afforded the rhenacyclobutadienes Re{‐C(R)?C(CO₂Et)C(OEt)?}(CO)₄. Reactions of these rhenacyclobutadienes with HC?COEt produced rhenabenzenes Re{‐C(R)?C(CO₂Et)C(OEt)?CHC(OEt)?}(CO)₄. Except for R=Ph, new rhenacyclobutadienes with pendant alkenyl substituents Re{‐C(R)?C(C(OEt)?CH(CO₂Et))C(OEt)?}(CO)₄ were also isolated from these reactions. The NMR spectroscopic and X‐ray structural data, as well as the aromatic stabilization energy (ASE) values suggest that the rhenabenzenes are aromatic, with extensive delocalized π character.     

Furanosyl Oxocarbenium Ion Stability and Stereoselectivity

Lewis acid mediated substitution reactions using [D]triethylsilane as a nucleophile at the anomeric center of the four pentofuranoses, ribose, arabinose, xylose, and lyxose, all proceed with good to excellent stereoselectivity to provide the 1,2‐cis adducts. To unravel the stereoelectronic effects underlying the striking stereoselectivity in these reactions we have mapped the energy landscapes of the complete conformational space of the oxocarbenium ions of the four pentofuranoses. The potential energy surface maps provide a detailed picture of the influence of the differently oriented substituents and their mutual interactions on the stability of the oxocarbenium ions and the maps can be used to account for the observed stereoselectivities of the addition reactions.     

Single Quality Factor for Enthalpy-Entropy Compensation,Isoequilibrium and Isokinetic Relationships

Enthalpy-entropy compensation (EEC) is very often encountered in chemistry, biology and physics. Its origin is widely discussed since it would allow, for example, a very accurate tuning of the thermodynamic properties as a function of the reactants. However, EEC is often discarded as a statistical artefact, especially when only a limited temperature range is considered. We show that the likeliness of a statistical origin of an EEC can be established with a compensation quality factor (CQF) that depends only on the measured enthalpies and entropies and the experimental temperature range. This is directly derived from a comparison of the CQF with threshold values obtained from a large number of simulations with randomly generated Van ‘t Hoff plots. The value of CQF is furthermore a direct measure of the existence of a genuine isoequilibrium or isokinetic relationship.     

Mesoporous silica hybridized by ordered mesoporous carbon for in‐tube solid‐phase microextraction

To enhance the extraction performance, a mesoporous silica was modified with ordered mesoporous carbon for solid‐phase microextraction. Three stainless‐steel wires coated with the mesoporous material were placed in a polyetheretherketone tube for getting an extraction tube. The tube was coupled to high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector, and the online analysis system was constructed. Then its extraction performance was evaluated using hydrophobic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, and hydrophilic neonicotinoids. The best selectivity was presented for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Several main conditions were optimized such as sampling volume, sampling rate, methanol concentration in the sample, and desorption time, a rapid and sensitive analytical method was established toward polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The analytical method exhibited wide linear range from 0.017 to 15 µg/L with acceptable correlation coefficients more than 0.9990, limits of detection in 0.005‐0.020 µg/L, limits of quantification ranging from 0.017 to 0.066 µg/L as well as large enrichment factors of 377‐2314. It was successfully applied to detect trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in some real water samples including tap water, snow water, and domestic sewage.     

Growth Mechanism in Atomic Layer Epitaxy (I) Re-evaporation of Cd and Te from CdTe(111) Surfaces Monitored by Auger Electron Spectroscopy

The mechanism of atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) of cadmium telluride has been studied. Auger electron spectroscopy is used to measure the isothermal re-evaporation rates of elemental Cd and Te deposits on the (111)A and (111)B surfaces of CdTe substrates. The results include an observation that the sticking coefficients of Cd and Te are smaller than unity at the growth temperatures typical of CdTe ALE. After desorption the substrates are left partially covered: 35% by a Cd overlayer on the (111)B surface and 72% by Te on the (111)A surface. The re-evaporation rates of Cd and Te experience a drastic change near the substrate-deposit interface. These rates appear two orders of magnitude smaller than those of bulk-like amorphous Cd and Te solids. The activation energies for reevaporation of the near-interface layer region are estimated to be: 1.5 eV for Te on the (111)A face, 1.0 eV for Te on (111)B and 0.5 eV for Cd on (111)B. It has also been shown that AES can be used to identify the polarity of the CdTe(111) surfaces. The relative difference in peak-to-peak intensity ratios of Cd MNN to Te MNN for (111)A and (111)B is (11 ± 2)%.     

Copper and Zinc as Potential Biomarkers of Mood Disorders and Pandemic Syndrome

The diagnosis of affective disorders has been the subject of constant research by clinicians from all over the world for many years. Making an appropriate diagnosis among patients suffering from mood disorders is sometimes problematic due to the personality-changing nature of patients and the similarity in the clinical picture of episodes in affective disorders. For this reason, there is a need to develop rapid and effective methods of determining biological markers that differentiate these diseases. The research was carried out with blood taken from 15 patients and 15 volunteers. The analysis of biological material for trace concentrations of zinc and copper was carried out with the use of ultrasensitive triple-quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (TQ ICP-MS). The obtained results prove that the concentration of copper in the test group was lower than in the control group. For the zinc concentrations, the inverse relationship was observed. The group of patients was characterized by a higher concentration of this element than the group of healthy volunteers. Summarizing the obtained results and comparing them with the results of studies by other authors, it was found that zinc and copper may be potential biomarkers of affective disorders and pandemic syndrome.