Interpretation of structure formation during the sol-gel transition of a resorcinol-formaldehyde solution by population balance

Growth of colloidal particles formed during the sol-gel transition of a resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) solution was simulated based on the population balance equation by using the discrete-sectional model (DSM). During the early stage of the sol-gel transition, the transient change of sizes of colloidal particles estimated by this method agreed well with the previous experimental observation by dynamic light scattering (DLS), which confirmed the influence of the catalyst concentration of a starting RF solution on the growth rate of the particles. From the size distribution of colloidal particles predicted at the gelation time, the surface area of a RF hydrogel after the completion of the sol-gel transition was estimated, which coincided with the BET surface area of a RF aerogel because the porous structure of a hydrogel was maintained and few micropores were formed during supercritical drying.     

Irreversible and Reversible Deactivation of Bilirubin Oxidase by Urate

Oxygen is electroreduced to water on a carbon cathode coated with wired bilirubin oxidase in a pH 7.4 0.15 M NaCl phosphate buffer solution at 37 °C at much lesser polarization than it is on a pure platinum cathode in 0.5 M H₂SO₄. While the wired bilirubin oxidase cathode operates for over a week in the aerated or oxygenated buffer solution, it is degraded rapidly when in serum. We reported earlier that in the presence of O₂ an intermediate product of the electrooxidation of urate, which is a normal serum component, irreversibly damages the wired bilirubin oxidase and also reported that the electrocatalyst is irreversibly damaged, in the absence of urate, when it is brought, by disconnecting the electrode, to the O₂/H₂O half cell potential at pH 7.4. Here we report that a) dissolved bilirubin oxidase is irreversibly and rapidly damaged by urate in the presence of O₂; and b) that the immobilized wired bilirubin oxidase electrocatalyst is not only irreversibly deactivated by urate in the presence of O₂ in a few hours, but is initially reversibly deactivated, in 1 min or less, by the urate in the presence of O₂.     

Synthesis and reactivity of 1,2-bis(chlorodimethylgermyl)carborane and 1,2-bis(bromodimethylstannyl)carborane

The 1,2-bis(chlorogermyl)- (1) and 1,2-bis(bromostannyl)carborane (2) have been prepared by the reaction of dilithio-o-carborane with Me(2)GeCl(2) and Me(2)SnBr(2), respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 are found to be good precursors for the synthesis of a variety of cyclization compounds. The Wurtz-type coupling reaction of 1 and 2 using sodium metal afforded the four-membered digerma compound 3 and five-membered tristanna compound 4, respectively. The salt elimination reactions of 1 and 2 using Li(2)N(t)Bu and Li(2)PC(6)H(5) afforded the cyclic products [structure: see text]. The 1,2-bis(dimethylgermyl)carborane 9 and 1,2-bis(dimethylstannyl)carborane 10 were prepared by the reaction of 1 and 2 with sodium cyanoborohydride. The reactions of 9 and 10 with Pd(PPh(3))(4) afforded the bis(germyl)palladium 12 and bis(stannyl)palladium 13 complexes, respectively.     

Cyclic vinylogous triflate hemiacetals as new surrogates for alkynyl aldehydes

Cyclic vinylogous triflate hemiacetals can serve as ‘synthetic equivalents’ for alkynyl aldehydes: treatment of a vinylogous triflate hemiacetal with excess amounts of Grignard reagents produces acyclic alkynyl alcohols in good to high yields. This transformation likely involves the Grob-type C-C bond cleaving fragmentation to form the alkynyl aldehyde in situ. Subsequent nucleophilic attack of the Grignard reagent furnishes secondary alkynols. Vinylogous triflate hemiacetals are easily prepared by DIBALH reduction of vinylogous acyl triflates, which are derived from cyclic 1,3-diketones.     

Azido- or hydroxyl-capped half-cubanes containing Cp*Rh fragments: [Cp*3Rh3(mu-X)3(mu3-X)]2+ (X-=OH- or N3-)

Treatment of [Cp*Rh(H(2)O)(3)](OTf)(2) (1) with Me(3)SiNH-t-Bu in acetone gave a hydroxyl-capped half-cubane [Cp*(3)Rh(3)(mu-OH)(3)(mu(3)-OH)](OTf)(3)(t-BuNH(3)) (2). Slow diffusion of Me(3)SiN(3) in diethyl ether into compound in acetone produced an azido-capped half-cubane [Cp*(3)Rh(3)(mu-N(3))(3)(mu(3)-N(3))](OTf)(2) (3). On the other hand, treating 1 with Me(3)SiN(3) in acetone gave an azido-bridged, dinuclear rhodium(III) complex [Cp*Rh(mu-N(3))(OH(2))](2)(OTf)(2) (4). Complexes 2 and 3 represent the first azido- or hydroxyl-capped, incomplete cubane-type Rh clusters. Under appropriate conditions, complexes 2 and 3 could be converted to complex 4. The structures of all products were determined by X-ray diffraction.     

Absorption, first-pass metabolism, and disposition of itraconazole in rats

This study examined the pharmacokinetic disposition, oral absorption and hepatic extraction of itraconazole and its active metabolite, hydroxyitraconazole, in rats. After i.v. injection, serum itraconazole concentrations decreased biexponentially, with an average terminal elimination half-life, volume of distribution and systemic clearance of 4.9 h, 6.0 l/kg and 14.2 ml/min/kg, respectively. When given orally, its absorption was low, with a mean absolute bioavailability of 16.6%. The metabolite to parent drug area under the curve (AUC) ratio was higher after oral administration compared with i.v. injection (mean ratio, 2.7 vs. 0.9). The hepatic drug extraction ratio determined after femoral and portal vein administration averaged 18.5%. When hydroxyitraconazole was injected i.v., the elimination half-life, volume of distribution and systemic clearance of itraconazole averaged 10.0 h, 2.4 l/kg and 3.4 ml/min/kg, respectively. The fraction of the systemically available itraconazole that was metabolized to hydroxyitraconazole was 21.0% and 76.0% after i.v. and oral administration, respectively. In summary, this study is the first reporting the hepatic extraction of itraconazole and the i.v. disposition characteristics of hydroxyitraconazole in rats. Itraconazole is a drug with a low hepatic extraction ratio and its systemic clearance appears to be largely accounted for by hepatic metabolism.     

Highly stereoselective synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted 3-vinylidene tetetrahydrofurans via Prins-type cyclization

[reaction: see text]. A novel synthetic methodology for 2,5-disubstituted tetrahydrofurans having an allenyl group at the 3-position via Prins-type cyclization was developed. The reaction led to excellent selectivity and moderate to high yields.     

Imide-siloxane block copolymer/silica hybrid membranes: preparation, characterization and gas separation properties

Imide-siloxane block copolymer/silica hybrid membranes with covalent bonds were prepared via sol–gel reaction. The structural informations of these hybrid membranes were obtained by using Fourier transform-infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), ²⁹Si nuclear magnetic resonance (²⁹Si NMR), XPS and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The gas separation properties of the hybrid membranes were also investigated in terms of organosiloxane (PDMS) or silica content at various temperatures. In the hybrids, the addition of PDMS phase increased the permeabilities of gases such as He, CO₂, O₂, and N₂, indicating that the gas transport occurred mainly through rubbery organic matrix. Meanwhile, the PDMS phase contributed the decreased gas selectivities to nitrogen but the reduction in selectivities was very small in comparison with other siloxane containing polymeric membranes. This might be due to the restriction of chain mobility by the existence of inorganic component such as silica network in the hybrids. Additionally, the increase of silica content in these hybrid membranes considerably retarded the falling-off of gas selectivity at elevated temperature. The increase of silica content in hybrid membranes resulted in well-formed silica networks and hence these inorganic components restricted the plasticization of organic matrix by the thermal segmental motion of organic components, leading to preventing the large decrease of the gas selectivity.     

State-to-state reaction dynamics of CH3I photodissociation at 304 nm

The detailed reaction dynamics of CH(3)I photodissociation at 304 nm were studied by using high-resolution long time-delayed core-sampling photofragment translation spectroscopy. The vibrational state distributions of the photofragment, i.e., CH(3), are directly resolved due to the high kinetic resolution of this experiment for the first time. CH(3) radicals produced from I((3)Q(0+)), I((1)Q(1) <--( 3)Q(0+)), and I((3)Q(1)) channels are populated in different vibrational state distributions. The I((3)Q(0+)) and I((3)Q(1)) channels show only progressions in the nu2'(a2") umbrella bending mode, and the I((1)Q(1) <-- (3)Q(0+)) channel shows both progression in the nu2' umbrella bending mode and a small amount of excitation in the nu1'(a1') C-H stretching mode. The photodissociation processes from the vibrational hot band of CH(3)I (upsilon3 = 1, upsilon3 = 2) were also detected, primarily because of the absorption probability from the vibrational excited states, i.e., hot bands are relatively enhanced. Photofragments from the hot bands of CH(3)I show a cold vibrational distribution compared to that from the vibrational ground state of CH(3)I. The I* quantum yield and the curve crossing possibility were also studied for the ground vibrational state of CH(3)I. The potential energy at the curve crossing point was calculated to be 32 790 cm(-1) by using the one-dimensional Landau-Zener model.     

Synthesis and crystal structures of novel calix[4]azacrowns

A series of novel 1,3‐altemate calix[4]arene azacrowns having mono and bis crown ethers on the lower rim of the calix[4]arene framework were synthesized. Solid‐state structures confirmed the three dimensional conformation of compounds 1–3.