The initiation of polymerization by organometallic compounds—V. The termination mechanism in the polymerization of acrylonitrile initiated by tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium(IV)

A simple method is described for the preparation of pure, dry alcohols, tritiated in the hydroxyl group. The polymerization of acrylonitrile initiated by tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium(IV) has been terminated by quenching with tritiated isopropanol at varying reaction times, and the radioactivity of the polymer has been determined, in order to measure the concentration of metal-polymer bonds present in the reaction. The results indicate that about 97 per cent of the polymer present has been terminated by a reaction leading to detachment of the polymer chain from the metal centre. A very small fraction of the total polymer is terminated by a reaction which does not lead to detachment of the polymer. Possible reaction mechanisms are discussed.     

Volumes of solid state ions and their estimation

Formula unit volume, Vm, has recently been identified as the key link to a number of thermodynamic functions and has given rise to an alternative approach to thermodynamics for modern inorganic materials (volume-based thermodynamics, VBT). In an earlier publication, we reported over 400 ion volumes for commonly encountered cations and anions derived from crystal structure data which can, in turn, be used to generate formula unit volumes for those ionic salts, for which crystal structure data, which is the preferred source of such volume data, is not available. The purpose of the present paper is to report a further 147 supplementary ion volumes. These are compared to ion volumes obtained from the summation of Hofmann's elemental volumes, a convenient and alternative approach for the estimation of Vm. It is shown that many elusive ion volumes can be estimated using these databases in tandem by adopting the newly proposed isomegethic rule and other volume additivity rules. Generation of volume data for new, hypothetical, and counterintuitive ions, as well as for traditional ions, is now a reality, as is demonstrated.     

Car exhaust catalysis from first principles: selective NO reduction under excess O2 conditions on Ir

Combining energetic data from density functional theory with thermodynamic calculations, we have studied in detail selective NO reduction under excess O2 conditions on Ir. We show that excess O2 can readily poison the Ir catalyst for NO reduction and the poisoning starts from a low O coverage on the surface. The adsorbed O switches the reaction selectivity from reduction (N2 production) to oxidation (NO2 production). As the O coverage is built up, Ir metal can eventually be oxidized to IrO2, which is predicted to be thermodynamically possible under reaction conditions. To prevent O poisoning the surface, the presence of reductants is thus essential. We demonstrate that NO reduction is sensitive to the choice of reductant, and that alkenes are the most effective, mainly because they are able to produce surface C atoms that can selectively remove O atoms from Ir steps. On the basis of our analyses of the electronic structures, the mechanism of O-poisoning is elucidated and the reactant sensitivity in NO reduction is also discussed in terms of the bonding competition effect. We found that for different adsorbates, such as NO, O, and N, their bondings with surface d-states are remarkably similar. This gives rise to an indirect repulsion between adsorbates whenever they may bond with the same metal atoms. This energy cost can be qualitatively correlated with the valency of the adsorbate, and this is the key to understand the O-poisoning effect and the structure sensitivity in NO reduction.     

Interaction between a partially fluorinated alkyl sulfate and gelatin in aqueous solution

The interaction of a partially fluorinated alkyl sulfate, sodium 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl sulfate (C6F13CH2CH2OSO3Na), with the polyampholyte gelatin has been examined in aqueous solution using surface tension and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The 19F chemical shift of each fluorine environment in the surfactant is unaltered by the addition of gelatin, indicating that there is no contact between the gelatin and the fluorocarbon core of the micelle. The chemical shift of the two methylene groups closest to the headgroup is altered when gelatin is present, disclosing the location of the polymer. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) of the surfactant, cmc = 17+/-1 mM, corresponds to an effective alkyl chain (CnH2n+1) length of n = 11. In the presence of gelatin, the cmc is substantially reduced as expected, cmc(1) = 4+/-1 mM, which is also consistent with an effective alkyl chain length of n = 11. In the presence of the fluorosurfactant, the monotonic decay of the SANS from the gelatin-only system is replaced by a substantial peak at an intermediate Q value mirroring the micellar interaction. At low ionic strengths, the gelatin/micelle complex can be described by an ellipsoid. At higher ionic strengths, the electrostatic interaction between the micelles is screened and the peak in the gelatin scattering disappears. The correlation length describing the network structure decreases with increasing SDS concentration as the bound micelles promote a collapse of the network.     

Multivalent drug design. Synthesis and in vitro analysis of an array of vancomycin dimers

The design, synthesis, and in vitro microbiological analysis of an array of forty covalently linked vancomycin dimers are reported. This work was undertaken to systematically probe the impact of linkage orientation and linker length on biological activity against susceptible and drug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens. To prepare the array, monomeric vancomycin synthons were linked through four distinct positions of the glycopeptide (C-terminus (C), N-terminus (N), vancosamine residue (V), and resorcinol ring (R)) in 10 unique pairwise combinations. Amphiphilic, peptide-based linkers of four different lengths (11, 19, 27, and 43 total atoms) were employed. Both linkage orientation and linker length were found to affect in vitro antibacterial potency. The V-V series displayed the greatest potency against vancomycin-susceptible organisms and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE) of VanB phenotype, while the C-C, C-V, and V-R series displayed the most promising broad-spectrum activity that included VRE of VanA phenotype. Dimers bearing the shortest linkers were in all cases preferred for activity against VRE. The effects of linkage orientation and linker length on in vitro potency were not uniform; for example, (1) no single compound displayed activity that was superior against all test organisms to that of vancomycin or the other dimers, (2) linker length effects varied with test organism, and (3) whereas one-half of the dimers were more potent than vancomycin against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), only one dimer was more potent against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and glycopeptide-intermediate susceptible S. aureus (GISA). In interpreting the results, we have considered the potential roles of multivalency and of other phenomena.     

Crosslinker Copolymerization for Property Control in Inverse Vulcanization

Sulfur is an underused by-product of the petrochemicals industry. Recent research into inverse vulcanization has shown how this excess sulfur can be transformed into functional polymers, by stabilization with organic crosslinkers. For these interesting new materials to realize their potential for applications, more understanding and control of their physical properties is needed. Here we report four new terpolymers prepared from sulfur and two distinct alkene monomers that can be predictively tuned in glass transition, molecular weight, solubility, mechanical properties, and color.     

Synthesis of New Triazolopyrazine Antimalarial Compounds

A radical approach to late-stage functionalization using photoredox and Diversinate^™ chemistry on the Open Source Malaria (OSM) triazolopyrazine scaffold (Series 4) resulted in the synthesis of 12 new analogues, which were characterized by NMR, UV, and MS data analysis. The structures of four triazolopyrazines were confirmed by X-ray crystal structure analysis. Several minor and unexpected side products were generated during these studies, including two resulting from a possible disproportionation reaction. All compounds were tested for their ability to inhibit the growth of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (3D7 and Dd2 strains) and for cytotoxicity against a human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cell line. Moderate antimalarial activity was observed for some of the compounds, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.3 to >20 µM; none of the compounds displayed any toxicity against HEK293 at 80 µM.