The Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Regioisomeric Benzothiazolyl Coumarins

Various 4-aryloxymethylcoumarins have been obtained by the r.t. allylic substitution with formylphenols. These have been further reacted with o-aminothiophenol resulting in the formation of a benzothiazole skeleton. These compounds have been synthesised with a view to study their potential as microbial growth inhibitors. Comparative studies on the spectral and antimicrobial activities have also been carried out.     

TRANSPORT STUDIES ON MACROMOLECULES USED AS DRUG CARRIERS

Abstract

Modecular transport of drugs through carier polymeric materds has been an active area of research. A number of soluble polymers have been used to deliver the drugs selectively to specific parts of the body. The literature in this area of research is extensive and diverse. An effort has been made to review the transport of drug molecules through physiological systems via polymeric materials. A brief introduction to the fundamentals and concepts which are frequently used in the drug-delivery area are covered in the following sections. Various aspects of the problems related to polymer-drug complexes, carrier molecules, and their degradability have been discussed. Both natural and synthetic biopolymers have been included in the discussion. Only representative references during the period 1977–1989 have been used in the discussion of results, and thus the reader is advised to look further into the original literature for greater information.     

A Preferred Intramolecular ‘Ene’ Reaction Between Ketene and Olefin

Aplysin (1), a marine sesquiterpene was isolated from ‘aplysia kurodai’ and its structure was ellucidated by Hirata-et-al¹. They also reported the synthesis of racemic aplysin². Their synthetic route involved cyclopentanone (2) as a well-characterized intermediate. We visualized the synthesis of cyclobutanone (3) and its subsequent conversion to (2) as an attractive alternative. But during our attempts to synthesize the said cyclobutanone, we have come across a very facile intramolecular ‘ene’ reaction between ketene and olefin. We report our unexpected observations in this communication.     

Selective SN2′ Solvolysis in Borohydride Reduction of 2-Isobutylidene-1-indanone/Tetralone

Selective s_N2′ solvolysis in borohydride reduction of the title compounds is described. As a result, an isomer more stable than the normal reduction product is obtained. Confirmative studies have also been carried out to eliminate the probable acid catalysed rearrangement mechanism.     

Investigation of Diels–Alder Reaction of 7‐Substituted 4‐Styrylcoumarins with Symmetrical Dienophiles Leading to 3,4‐Annulated Coumarins

The thermal [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of 7‐substituted 4‐styrylcoumarins with N‐phenylmaleimide and tetracyanoethylene in nitrobenzene under reflux conditions rapidly gives 3,4‐annulated coumarins as the Diels–Alder adducts. The position of the surviving double bond was determined on the basis of NMR and supported by energies of the possible structures. The effects of the 7‐substituent and the solvent on the reaction were studied.     

Shear‐induced lamellar phase of an ionic liquid crystal at room temperature

The phase behaviour of a number of N‐alkylimidazolium salts was studied using polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffraction. Two of these compounds exhibit lamellar mesophases at temperatures above 50°C. In these systems, the liquid crystalline behaviour may be induced at room temperature by shear. Sheared films of these materials, observed between crossed polarisers, have a morphology that is typical of (wet) liquid foams: they partition into dark domains separated by brighter (birefringent) walls, which are approximately arcs of circle and meet at “Plateau borders” with three or more sides. Where walls meet three at a time, they do so at approximately 120° angles. These patterns coarsen with time and both T1 and T2 processes have been observed, as in foams. The time evolution of domains is also consistent with von Neumann's law. We conjecture that the bright walls are regions of high concentration of defects produced by shear, and that the system is dominated by the interfacial tension between these walls and the uniform domains. The control of self‐organised monodomains, as observed in these systems, is expected to play an important role in potential applications.     

Evaluation of novel ZnO–Ag cathode for CO2 electroreduction in solid oxide electrolyser

CO₂ and steam/CO₂ electroreduction to CO and methane in solid oxide electrolytic cells (SOEC) has gained major attention in the past few years. This work evaluates, for the very first time, the performance of two different ZnO–Ag cathodes: one where ZnO nanopowder was mixed with Ag powder for preparing the cathode ink (ZnO_mix–Ag cathode) and the other one where Ag cathode was infiltrated with a zinc nitrate solution (ZnO_inf –Ag cathode). ZnO_mix–Ag cathode had a better distribution of ZnO particles throughout the cathode, resulting in almost double CO generation while electrolysing both dry CO₂ and H₂/CO₂ (4:1 v/v). A maximum overall CO₂ conversion of 48% (in H₂/CO₂) at 1.7 V and 700 °C clearly indicated that as low as 5 wt% zinc loading is capable of CO₂ electroreduction. It was further revealed that for ZnO_inf –Ag cathode, most of CO generation took place through RWGS reaction, but for ZnO_mix–Ag cathode, it was the synergistic effect of both RWGS reaction and CO₂ electrolysis. Although ZnO_inf –Ag cathode produced trace amount of methane at higher voltages, with ZnO_mix–Ag cathode, there was absolutely no methane. This seems to be due to strong electronic interaction between Zn and Ag that might have suppressed the catalytic activity of the cathode towards methanation.

     

Lattice engineering route for self-assembled nanohybrids of 2D layered double hydroxide with 0D isopolyoxovanadate: chemiresistive SO2 sensor

Tuning the interior chemical composition of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) via lattice engineering route is a unique approach to enable multifunctional applications of LDHs. In this regard, the exfoliated 2D LDH nanosheets coupled with various guest species lead to the lattice-engineered LDH-based multifunctional self-assembly with precisely tuned chemical composition. This article reports the synthesis and characterization of mesoporous zinc–chromium-LDH (ZC-LDH) hybridized with isopolyoxovanadate nanohybrids (ZCiV) via lattice-engineered self-assembly between delaminated ZC-LDH nanosheets and isopolyoxovanadate (iPOV) anions. Electrostatic self-assembly between 2D ZC-LDH monolayers and 0D iPOV significantly altered structural, morphological, and surface properties of ZC-LDH. The structural and morphological study demonstrated the formation of mesoporous interconnected sheet-like architectures composed of restacked ZCiV nanosheets with expanded surface area and interlayer spacing. In addition, the ZCiV nanohybrid resistive elements were used as a room-temperature gas sensor. The selectivity of ZCiV nanohybrid was tested for various oxidizing (SO₂, Cl₂, and NO₂) gases and reducing (LPG, CO, H₂, H₂S, and NH₃) gases. The optimized ZCiV nanohybrid demonstrated highly selective SO₂ detection with the maximum SO₂ response (72%), the fast response time (20 s), low detection limit (0.1 ppm), and long-term stability at room temperature (27 ± 2 °C). Of prime importance, ZCiV nanohybrids exhibited moderately affected SO₂ sensing responses with high relative humidity conditions (80%–95%). The outstanding SO₂ sensing performance of ZCiV is attributed to the active surface gas adsorptive sites via plenty of mesopores induced by a unique lattice-engineered interconnected sheet-like microstructure and expanded interlayer spacing.     

Gravity-free hydraulic jumps and metal femtoliter cups

Hydraulic jumps created by gravity are seen everyday in the kitchen sink. We show that at small scales a circular hydraulic jump can be created in the absence of gravity by surface tension. The theory is motivated by our experimental finding of a height discontinuity in spreading submicron molten metal droplets created by pulsed-laser ablation. By careful control of initial conditions, this leads to solid femtoliter cups of gold, silver, copper, niobium, and tin.     

A Photochemical/Thermal Switch Based on 4,4′-Bis(benzimidazolio)stilbene: Synthesis and Supramolecular Properties.

Stilbene derivatives are well-recognised substructures of molecular switches based on photochemically and/or thermally induced (E)/(Z) isomerisation. We combined a stilbene motif with two benzimidazolium arms to prepare new sorts of supramolecular building blocks and examined their binding properties towards cucurbit[n]urils (n=7, 8) and cyclodextrins (β-CD, γ-CD) in water. Based on the ¹H NMR data and molecular dynamics simulations, we found that two distinct complexes with different stoichiometry, i. e., guest@β-CD and guest@β-CD₂, coexist in equilibrium in a water solution of the (Z)-stilbene-based guests. We also demonstrated that the bis(benzimidazolio)stilbene guests can be transformed from the (E) into the (Z) form via UV irradiation and back via thermal treatment in DMSO.