Adaptive estimation of the stationary density of a stochastic differential equation driven by a fractional Brownian motion

Statistical Inference for Stochastic Processes - We build and study a data-driven procedure for the estimation of the stationary density f of an additive fractional SDE. To this end, we also prove...     

Synthesis, photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of macromolecular architectures featuring octupolar tris(bipyridine) ruthenium(II) moieties: evidence for a supramolecular self-ordering in a dentritic structure

The synthesis, photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of several new multi-octupolar tris(bipyridine) ruthenium complexes are reported. The preparation on these complexes is based on the initial construction of multipodal 4,4'-dialkylaminostyryl-2,2'-bipyridine ligands (DAAS-bpy). Thermally stable polyimides featuring octupolar ruthenium trisbipyridyl complexes have been readily obtained by a polycondensation reaction. The controlled coordination strategy of dipodal and tripodal bipyridines to ruthenium(II) has also been successfully used to build bimetallic, trimetallic as well as the first metallodendrimer made of seven metallo-octupoles. These polymetallic species exhibit very intense absorption bands in the visible and long-lived luminescence. The quadratic NLO-susceptibilities beta of these macromolecules have been characterized by harmonic light scattering at 1.91 microm and compared with those of the corresponding monometallic species. The NLO studies clearly demonstrates a quasi-supramolecular ordering in the metallodendrimer.     

On-resin cyclization of a head-to-tail cyclopeptide using an allyldimethylsilyl polystyrene resin pre-loaded by metathesis

Here, we report the solid-phase synthesis of a 17-mer cyclopeptide which is expected to have anti-angiogenic properties. The peptidic synthesis is performed on an allyldimethylsilyl polystyrene support loaded by metathesis with a conveniently functionalized d-Tyrosine amino acid. The linear peptide was assembled by standard Fmoc chemistry and on-resin cyclization was enabled after selective deprotection of the C-terminal group with 2% hydrazine/DMF at room temperature. Final cleavage was realized under mild acidic conditions allowing to obtain a cyclopeptide under partially protected form.     

Microsecond Protein Dynamics from Combined Bloch-McConnell and Near-Rotary-Resonance R1p Relaxation-Dispersion MAS NMR

Studying protein dynamics on microsecond-to-millisecond (μs-ms) time scales can provide important insight into protein function. In magic-angle-spinning (MAS) NMR, μs dynamics can be visualized by rotating-frame relaxation dispersion experiments in different regimes of radio-frequency field strengths: at low RF field strength, isotropic-chemical-shift fluctuation leads to “Bloch-McConnell-type” relaxation dispersion, while when the RF field approaches rotary resonance conditions bond angle fluctuations manifest as increased rate constants (“Near-Rotary-Resonance Relaxation Dispersion”, NERRD). Here we explore the joint analysis of both regimes to gain comprehensive insight into motion in terms of geometric amplitudes, chemical-shift changes, populations and exchange kinetics. We use a numerical simulation procedure to illustrate these effects and the potential of extracting exchange parameters, and apply the methodology to the study of a previously described conformational exchange process in microcrystalline ubiquitin.     

Increasing throughput and information content for in vitro drug metabolism experiments using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer

The field of drug metabolism has been revolutionized by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) applications with new technologies such as triple quadrupoles, ion traps and time-of-flight (ToF) instrumentation. Over the years, these developments have often relied on the improvements to the mass spectrometer hardware and software, which has allowed users to benefit from lower levels of detection and ease-of-use. One area in which the development pace has been slower is in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In the case of metabolite identification, where there are many challenges due to the complex nature of the biological matrices and the diversity of the metabolites produced, there is a need to obtain the most accurate data possible. Reactive or toxic metabolites need to be detected and identified as early as possible in the drug discovery process, in order to reduce the very costly attrition of compounds in late-phase development. High-resolution, exact mass measurement plays a very important role in metabolite identification because it allows the elimination of false positives and the determination of non-trivial metabolites in a much faster throughput environment than any other standard current methodology available to this field. By improving the chromatographic resolution, increased peak capacity can be achieved with a reduction in the number of co-eluting species leading to superior separations. The overall enhancement in the chromatographic resolution and peak capacity is transferred into a net reduction in ion suppression leading to an improvement in the MS sensitivity. To investigate this, a number of in vitro samples were analyzed using an ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) system, with columns packed with porous 1.7 mum particles, coupled to a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (ToF) mass spectrometer. This technique showed very clear examples for fundamental gains in sensitivity, chromatographic resolution and speed of analysis, which are all important factors for the demands of today's HTS in discovery.     

Enthalpy of absorption and limit of solubility of CO2 in aqueous solutions of 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol, 2-[2-(dimethyl-amino)ethoxy] ethanol,and 3-dimethyl-amino-1-propanol at T = (313.15 and 353.15) K and pressures up to 2 MPa

In order to study the influence of amine structure on absorption of carbon dioxide, enthalpies of solution of CO₂ in 2.50 mol · L^?1 aqueous solutions of 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol (THAM), 2-[2-(dimethyl-amino)ethoxy] ethanol (DMAEOE), and 3-dimethyl-amino-1-propanol (DMAP) were measured. The enthalpies of solution are determined as function of gas loading charge (moles of CO₂/mole of amine), at temperatures (313.15 and 353.15) K, and pressures range from (0.5 to 2) MPa. Measurements were carried out using a flow calorimetric technique. CO₂ solubilities in the aqueous solutions of amine are derived from calorimetric data. Molar volumes of aqueous amine solutions required to handle calorimetric data were determined at 303.15 K using a vibrating tube densimeter. Experimental enthalpies of solution are discussed on the basis of amines alkalinity.     

Concise Synthesis of the Antiplasmodial Isocyanoterpene 7,20‐Diisocyanoadociane

The flagship member of the antiplasmodial isocyanoterpenes, 7,20‐diisocyanoadociane (DICA), was synthesized from dehydrocryptone in 10 steps, and in 13 steps from commercially available material. Our previous formal synthesis was reengineered, leveraging only productive transformations to deliver DICA in fewer than half the number of steps of our original effort. Important contributions, in addition to the particularly concise strategy, include a solution to the problem of axial nucleophilic methylation of a late‐stage cyclohexanone, and the first selective synthesis and antiplasmodial evaluation of the DICA stereoisomer with both isonitriles equatorial.     

Fully biodegradable polymeric micelles based on hydrophobic‐ and hydrophilic‐functionalized poly(lactide) block copolymers

Novel amphiphilic diblock copolymers from a combination of hydrophobic‐functional poly(lactides) (PLAs) with hydrophilic‐functional PLAs or poly(malic acid), respectively, toward fully biodegradable materials for medical applications, such as micellar drug delivery systems, are reported for the first time. The presented PLA‐based polymeric micelles are characterized by their small size below 100 nm, low critical micellar concentrations, good in vitro stabilities at room and body temperature, and efficient incorporation capability of hydrophobic compounds, particularly with regard to potential drug substances. Moreover, the advantage of being totally degradable with different rates at different pH values, as investigated in medical cancer treatment, is demonstrated. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3244–3254, 2010