Effect of loop orientation on quadruplex-TMPyP4 interaction

G-quadruplexes are believed to be potential targets for therapeutic intervention and this has resulted in designing of various quadruplex interacting ligands. Moreover, reports about existence of quadruplex forming sequences across the genome have propelled greater interest in understanding their interaction with small molecules. An intramolecular quadruplex sequence can adopt different conformations, owing to different orientation of loops in the structure. The differences in the loop orientation can affect their molecular recognition. Herein, we have studied the interaction of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methyl-4-pyridyl)-21H, 23H-porphine (TMPyP4), a well-known G quadruplex binding ligand with three DNA quadruplexes differing in loop orientations. Results obtained from UV, ITC, and SPR studies have coherently revealed that the TMPyP4 molecule shows preferential binding to parallel G-quadruplex ( c-myc and c-kit) over its antiparallel counterpart (human telomeric). The binding affinity for parallel quadruplex was (10(7)) 1 order of magnitude higher than that for antiparallel DNA quadruplex (10 ). The study shows two binding modes, stronger binding (10(7)) of TMPyP4 involving end stacking and a weaker external binding (10 ), while TMPyP4 shows only one binding mode with duplex with a binding affinity of the order of 10(6). Overall, the study emphasizes that differences in the loop orientation give rise to different conformations of quadruplex, which in turn govern its binding to small molecules, and thereby play a pivotal role in molecular recognition.     

Two enantiomers of [Cu(3)(mnt)(3)](3-) as ligands to Cu(i) or Ag(i) in building [Cu(6)M(2)(mnt)(6)](4-) complexes (M = Cu or Ag) with the reversal of the reaction by X(-) (X = Cl, Br)

Two enantiomers of [Bu(4)N](3)[Cu(3)(mnt)(3)] () formed by Na(2)(mnt) (mnt = maleonitriledithiolate, [S(2)C(2)(CN)(2)](2-)) and CuCl in a 1 : 1 molar ratio react further with MCl (M = Cu or Ag) involving both the enantiomers of to produce the larger complex, [Bu(4)N](4)[Cu(6)M(2)(mnt)(6)] (M = Cu (2), Ag (3)) from which the capped Cu(+) or Ag(+) ion can readily be removed by Bu(4)NX (X = Cl, Br), reverting or back to . Such reversal does not work with non-coordinating anions like BF(4)(-), ClO(4)(-) and PF(6)(-).     

An efficient FeCl3-catalyzed amidation reaction of secondary benzylic and allylic alcohols with carboxamides or p-toluenesulfonamide

A simple, inexpensive, environmentally friendly and high yielding amidation reaction of benzylic and allylic alcohols with primary amides using a catalytic amount of FeCl₃ (5 mol %) is described. Direct substitution of various amides such as benzamide, sulfonamide, acetamide and acrylamide is reported, and this method also works on a large scale in high yield.     

Trajectory surface hopping study of the O(3P) + ethylene reaction dynamics

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) induced intersystem crossing (ISC) has long been believed to play a crucial role in determining the product distributions in the O(3P) + C2H4 reaction. In this paper, we present the first nonadiabatic dynamics study of the title reaction at two center-of-mass collision energies: 0.56 eV, which is barely above the H-atom abstraction barrier on the triplet surface, and 3.0 eV, which is in the hyperthermal regime. The calculations were performed using a quasiclassical trajectory surface hopping (TSH) method with the potential energy surface generated on the fly at the unrestricted B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. To simplify our calculations, nonadiabatic transitions were only considered when the singlet surface intersects the triplet surface. At the crossing points, Landau-Zener transition probabilities were computed assuming a fixed spin-orbit coupling parameter, which was taken to be 70 cm-1 in most calculations. Comparison with a recent crossed molecular beam experiment at 0.56 eV collision energy shows qualitative agreement as to the primary product branching ratios, with the CH3 + CHO and H + CH2CHO channels accounting for over 70% of total product formation. However, our direct dynamics TSH calculations overestimate ISC so that the total triplet/singlet ratio is 25:75, compared to the observed 43:57. Smaller values of SOC reduce ISC, resulting in better agreement with the experimental product relative yields; we demonstrate that these smaller SOC values are close to being consistent with estimates based on CASSCF calculations. As the collision energy increases, ISC becomes much less important and at 3.0 eV, the triplet to singlet branching ratio is 71:29. As a result, the triplet products CH2 + CH2O, H + CH2CHO and OH + C2H3 dominate over the singlet products CH3 + CHO, H2 + CH2CO, etc.     

Sustainable Synthesis of α-Hydroxycarboxylic Acids by Manganese Catalyzed Acceptorless Dehydrogenative Coupling of Ethylene Glycol and Primary Alcohols**

Herein, we report a straightforward synthesis of valuable α-hydroxycarboxylic acid molecules via an acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling of ethylene glycol and primary alcohols. A bench-stable manganese complex catalyzed the reaction, which is scalable, with the product being isolated with high yields and selectivities under mild conditions. The protocol is environmentally benign, producing water and hydrogen gas as the only byproducts. Methanol can also be used as a C1 source for producing the platform molecule lactic acid, with a high turnover of >10⁴. The methodology was also used to functionalize alcohols derived from natural products and fatty acids. Furthermore, it was applied for synthesizing α-amino acid, α-thiocarboxylic acid, and several drugs and bioactive molecules, including endogenous metabolites, Danshensu, Enalapril, Lisinopril, and Rosmarinic acid. Preliminary mechanistic studies were performed to shed light on the mechanism involved in the reaction.     

Synthesis of 3‐aminomethylidenechroman‐2‐carboxamides by a Sequential One‐pot Three Component Reaction and by Post‐Passerini Condensation Modification

3‐Arylaminomethylidenechroman‐2‐carboxamide has been synthesized by a one‐pot three component reaction among 3‐formylchromone, aromatic amine, and cyclohexyl isocyanide. 3‐(N‐alkylsubstitued/unsubstituted)aminomethylidenechroman‐2‐carboxamides were synthesized by heating Passerini products derived from chromone‐3‐carbaldehyde with different aliphatic primary amines. The products obtained from the reactions of aliphatic primary amines readily form chromeno[2,3‐c]pyrrole when heated in acetic acid. Bischromanones have also been synthesized using this methodology.     

Anomalous magnetic response of a quasi-periodic mesoscopic ring in presence of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions

We investigate the properties of persistent charge current driven by magnetic flux in aquasi-periodic mesoscopic Fibonacci ring with Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbitinteractions. Within a tight-binding framework we work out individual state currentstogether with net current based on second-quantized approach. A significant enhancement ofcurrent is observed in presence of spin-orbit coupling and sometimes it becomes orders ofmagnitude higher compared to the spin-orbit interaction free Fibonacci ring. We alsoestablish a scaling relation of persistent current with ring size, associated with theFibonacci generation, from which one can directly estimate current for any arbitrary flux,even in presence of spin-orbit interaction, without doing numerical simulation. Thepresent analysis indeed gives a unique opportunity of determining persistent current andhas not been discussed so far.     

Design, synthesis, and delivery properties of novel guanidine-containing molecular transporters built on dimeric inositol scaffolds

We have developed a novel class of synthetic molecular transporters that contain eight residues of guanidine with an inositol dimer as the scaffold. The dimers were prepared by connecting two units of myo- or scyllo-inositol via a carbonate or amide linkage, and the multiple units of the guanidine functionality were constructed on the inositol scaffold by means of peracylation with omega-aminocarboxylate derivatives of varying length. Bioassays based on confocal laser scanning microscopy and fluorescence-activated cell sorter analyses indicated that these transporters display a varying degree of membrane translocating ability, and the intracellular localization and mouse-tissue distribution studies strongly suggested that these transporters undergo substantially different mechanistic processes from those of peptide transporters reported to date. It was also shown that doxorubicin, an anticancer antibiotic, can be efficiently delivered into mouse brain by aid of this type of transporter.     

Polymerization under a magnetic field. VI. Triplet dye-sensitized photopolymerization of acrylamide and methyl methacrylate

Methylene blue sensitized photopolymerization of acrylamide (AM) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) using triethanolamine or the sodium salt of EDTA as a reducing agent has been investigated under the influence of a magnetic field (0–7.3 kG). There was no effect of the magnetic field (MF) on the polymerization of AM and MMA in aqueous medium. However, in the water–methanol mixture (1 : 1) the yield of polymer decreases and the molecular weight increases in both cases under MF. This has been explained on the basis of the triplet mechanism. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1509–1513, 1998     

XOR gate response in a mesoscopic ring with embedded quantum dots

We address XOR gate response in a mesoscopic ring threaded by a magnetic flux . The ring, composed of identical quantum dots, is symmetrically attached to two semi-infinite one-dimensional metallic electrodes and two gate voltages, viz, V_a and V_b, are applied, respectively, in each arm of the ring which are treated as the two inputs of the XOR gate. The calculations are based on the tight-binding model and the Green’s function method, which numerically compute the conductance–energy and current–voltage characteristics as functions of the ring-electrodes coupling strengths, magnetic flux and gate voltages. Quite interestingly it is observed that, for =₀/2 (₀=ch/e, the elementary flux-quantum) a high output current (1) (in the logical sense) appears if one, and only one, of the inputs to the gate is high (1), while if both inputs are low (0) or both are high (1), a low output current (0) appears. It clearly demonstrates the XOR behavior and this aspect may be utilized in designing the electronic logic gate.