Functionalized organosilica microspheres via a novel emulsion-based route

Thiol-functionalized organosilica microspheres were synthesized via a two-step process: (1) acid-catalyzed hydrolysis and condensation of 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS), followed by (2) base-catalyzed condensation, which led to the rapid formation of emulsion droplets with a narrow size distribution. These droplets continued to condense to form solid microspheres. Solution (29)Si NMR and optical microscopy were applied to study the mechanism of this novel synthetic route. Solid-state (29)Si NMR, SEM, zeta potential titration, and Coulter counter measurements were used to study the bulk and surface properties and to determine the particle size distributions of the final microspheres. Compared to conventional St?ber silica particles, these microspheres were shown to have a lower degree of cross-linking (average degree of condensation, r = 1.25), a larger average size (up to 6 microm), and a higher isoelectric point (pH = 4.4). Confocal microscopy of dye-labeled microspheres showed an even distribution of dye molecules throughout the interior, characteristic of a readily accessible and permeable organosilica network. These findings have implications for the production of functionalized solid supports for use in catalysis and biological applications, such as optically encoded carriers for combinatorial synthesis.     

Cluster Build-up Reactions using Di-gold Cationic Fragments: Synthesis and Structural Characterization of [Os7(CO)19(Au2dppm)]

The reaction of the di-gold cation [Au₂(dppx)]²⁺ with the heptanuclear cluster dianion [Os₇(CO)₂₀]^2– affords the mixed metal cluster [Os₇(CO)₂₀{Au₂(dppx)}] (x=m (1), e (2), b (3)). On standing, in solution, this complex undergoes decarbonylation to give the cluster [Os₇(CO)₁₉{Au₂(dppx)}] (x=m (4), e (5), b (6)). The complexes have been characterised spectroscopically, and an X-ray structure determination of the dppm derivative shows that it contains a metal core based on an Os₇ edge-bridged bicapped tetrahedron with the two ₃-Au atoms capping adjacent triangular Os₃ faces of the central tetrahedron. In an analogous reaction, the carbido anion [Os₇(H)C(CO)₁₉]^– affords the neutral cluster [Os₇C(CO)₁₉{Au₂(dppm)}] (7) when treated with [Au₂(dppm)]²⁺ in the presence of base.     

Rearrangement of spiro-benzimidazolines: preparation of N-alkenyl- and N-alkyl-benzimidazol-2-ones

A synthetically useful protocol has been developed for the preparation of highly functionalized N-alkenyl-benzimidazol-2-ones. Reaction of commercially available o-phenylenediamines with variously substituted cyclic ketones provides spiro-benzimidazolines. Treatment of these spiro-benzimidazolines with triphosgene in the presence of potassium carbonate results in rapid rearrangement and formation of N-alkenyl-benzimidazol-2-ones in modest to excellent yield for the two-step sequence. Extension of this methodology toward the preparation of a μ opiate receptor antagonist and droperidol, a potent antiemetic and antipsychotic agent, currently a marketed pharmaceutical is also described. Upon treatment of spiro-benzimidazolines with triphosgene in the presence of sodium triacetoxyborohydride, N-alkyl-benzimidazol-2-ones were formed.     

Gas chromatographic optimization studies on the side chain and ring regioisomers of methylenedioxymethamphetamine

Gas chromatographic (GC) optimization studies are conducted for the 10 methylenedioxyphenethylamine regioisomeric substances related to the drug of abuse 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy). These 10 compounds, having the same molecular weight and equivalent major mass spectral fragments, are not completely resolved using typical GC-mass spectrometry screening methods for illicit drugs. MDMA coelutes with at least one nondrug regioisomer under standard drug screening conditions. Separation of the 10 regioisomers is studied using stationary phases of varying polarities. Resolution optimization shows that very slow program rates give the best separation for the nonpolar stationary phases, requiring analysis times of as much as 85 min. Narrow-bore columns containing the same nonpolar stationary phases improve the analysis time to approximately 29 min. The polar stationary phase DB-35MS allows high-temperature programming rates, yielding complete resolution of all 10 compounds in less than 7 min. Temperature program optimization studies on the DB-35MS phase allow the separation time to be reduced to approximately 4.5 min.     

The identification of 10 and 11 substituted 7H-benzimidazo[2,1-a]benz[de]isoquinolin-7-ones through 1N NOE studies on their methyl p-toluenesulfonate salts

The spectral similarities of 10 and 11 substituted 7H-benzimidazo[2,1-a]benz[de]isoquinolin-7-ones hinder the identification of the individual isomers. Preparation of the 13-methyl p-toluenesulfonate salts of these compounds has allowed the assignment by the use of NOE techniques. Saturation of the N-methyl caused an NOE at H-12. The coupling pattern of H-12 then provides identification of the compound.     

Synthesis of mixed metal decaosmium carbido clusters: The X-ray structures of the monoanions [Os10C(CO)24Cu(NCMe)]− and [Os10C(CO)24AuPPh3]−

The high nuclearity mixed metal cluster monoanions [Os₁₀C(CO)₂₄Cu(NCMe)]^? (I) and [Os₁₀C(CO)₂₄AuPPh₃]^? (II) have been obtained by reaction of the carbido-dianion [Os₁₀C(CO)₂₄]^2? (III) with one equivalent of [Cu(NCMe)₄] [BF₄] and Ph₃PAuCl, respectively, in CH₂Cl₂. X-ray analysis of the [PPh₃Me]⁺ salts of I and II show that the Cu and Au ligands have added to capping tetrahedra of the dianion III in μ₃- and μ₂-bridging positions, respectively.     

Quantum mechanical coupled-channel collision-induced dissociation calculations with hyperspherical coordinates

A time-independent coupled-channel method, using hyperspherical coordinates, has been developed for calculating quantum mechanical collision-induced dissociation probabilities for collinear atom-diatom systems in which the exchange reaction can also occur. The results for a model potential energy surface are compared with quasi-classical trajectory calculations and discussed.     

Chimeric (alpha/beta + alpha)-peptide ligands for the BH3-recognition cleft of Bcl-XL: critical role of the molecular scaffold in protein surface recognition

Molecules that bind to specific surface sites on proteins are of great interest from both fundamental and practical perspectives. We are exploring a ligand development strategy that is based on oligomers with discrete folding propensities ("foldamers"); we target a specific cleft on the cancer-associated protein Bcl-xL because this system is well characterized structurally. In vivo, this cleft binds to alpha-helical segments (BH3 domains) of other proteins. We evaluated several types of helical foldamer, built entirely from beta-amino acid residues or from mixtures of alpha- and beta-amino acid residues, and ultimately identified foldamers in the latter class that bind very tightly to Bcl-xL. Our results suggest that combining different types of foldamer backbones will be an effective and general strategy for creating high-affinity and specific ligands for protein surface sites.     

The coupled-cluster method with a multiconfiguration reference state

The coupled-cluster approach to obtaining the bond-state wave functions of many-electron systems is extended, with a set of physically reasonable approximations, to admit a multiconfiguration reference state. This extension permits electronic structure calculations to be performed on correlated closed- or open-shell systems with potentially uniform precision for all molecular geometries. Explicit coupled cluster working equations are derived using a multiconfiguration reference state for the case in which the so-called cluster operator is approximated by its one- and two-particle components. The evaluation of the requisite matrix elements is facilitated by use of the unitary group generators which have recently received wide attention and use in the quantum chemistry community.     

Coulombic Basis for Relative Hydrogen-Bonding Basicities and Conformational Energies of Tertiary Amine Oxides and Phosphine Oxides

The structures, energies, and natural atomic charges of 2-dimethylaminophenol oxide, 2-Me₂N-(O)C₆H₄OH, and 2-dimethylphosphinylphenol, 2-Me₂P(O)C₆H₄OH, in three different conformations were computed at the ab initio MP2/6-31G* level. Computed natural charges indicate distributions of electron density in amine oxides and phosphine oxides that are quite different from what is normally assumed on the basis of the formal charges in the usual representations of these compounds. The charges on nitrogen and phosphorus in these compounds are typically computed to be approximately zero on nitrogen and +2 on phosphorus, and the oxygen is considerably more negative in the phosphine oxide than in the amino oxide. Electronegativity differences thus play a larger role and formal charges a smaller one in determining atomic charges in these compounds than is generally believed. Despite the more negative oxygen in phosphine oxides, amine oxides are computed to be considerably more basic when participating in hydrogen bonding. Calculations treating the computed natural charges on these six conformations as point charges for classical approximations of the coulombic energies support the idea that the quantum mechanically computed relative energies are largely determined by coulombic interactions.