Regiospecific photoisomerization of fluorinated (E,E)-1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadienes

Photoisomerization of five fluorinated E,E-1-(R-phenyl)-4-phenyl-1,3-butadienes in solution (R = 1: p-monofluoro, 2: m,m′-difluoro, 3: m,m′,p-trifluoro, 4: o,o′,m,m′-tetrafluoro, 5: o,o′,m,m′,p-pentafluoro) was investigated via direct irradiation. Our results indicated that cis-trans photoisomerization of the fluorinated 1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadienes in the excited singlet state took place exclusively at the CC bonds closer to the fluorine substituents.     

Ultrasensitive small molecule fluorogenic probe for human heparanase

Heparanase (HPA) is a critical enzyme involved in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and its elevated expression has been linked with diseases such as various types of cancer and inflammation. The detection of heparanase enzymatic activity holds tremendous value in the study of the cellular microenvironment, and search of molecular therapeutics targeting heparanase, however, no structurally defined probes are available for the detection of heparanase activity. Here we present the development of the first ultrasensitive fluorogenic small-molecule probe for heparanase enzymatic activity via tuning the electronic effect of the substrate. The probe exhibits a 756-fold fluorescence turn-on response in the presence of human heparanase, allowing one-step detection of heparanase activity in real-time with a picomolar detection limit. The high sensitivity and robustness of the probe are exemplified in a high-throughput screening assay for heparanase inhibitors.

Heparanase, a critical enzyme involved in the remodeling of the extracellular matrix, activates a disaccharide probe HADP to give a strong fluorescence signal.     

Structure and microporous formation of cellulose/silk fibroin blend membranes: Part II. Effect of post-treatment by alkali

Blend membranes (RCF1) were prepared from mixture solution of cellulose and silk fibroin (SF) in cuoxam by coagulating with acetone–acetic acid (4:1 by volume). The blend membranes were subjected to post-treatment with 10% NaOH aqueous solution, and their structure and properties were characterized by FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, DSC, SEM and DMTA. In previous work, cellulose/SF blend membranes (RCF2) prepared by coagulating with 10% NaOH aqueous solution formed a microporous structure, in which the SF as a pore former was almost completely removed from the membrane. However, when the blend membranes RCF1 were immersed in 10% NaOH aqueous solution for post-treatment, a strong hydrogen bonding between cellulose and SF inhibited the removal of SF. Although alkali is a good solvent for SF, the blend membranes RCF1 such obtained from cellulose and SF were alkali resistant. The crystallinity and the mean pore size of the blend membranes slightly decreased with increasing post-treatment time. This work provided a cellulose/silk blend membrane, which can be used under alkaline medium.     

Thermodynamics and dynamics of metallic glass formers: their correlation for the investigation on potential energy landscape

Great progress has been made in basic features of the potential energy landscape (PEL) theoretically. The present work, however, attempts to cast new light on it from experimental aspects. By a survey of experimental data related to thermodynamics or dynamics of metallic glass-forming liquids, it is found that the increased rate of excitation of vibrational entropy at glass transition tends to increase the rate of generation of configurational part. Although for the type of metallic materials a generally positive relationship exists between the density of the energy minima at glass transition and the liquid fragility strength, just as expected, our main attention is paid to the phenomenon of the scattering of the slopes. Analysis shows that the phenomenon results from the different average height of energy barriers between minima near glass transition. Investigation on the PdNiP metallic system indicates that the mismatch entropy is a dominant factor in the barrier height: a large value of it results in low energy barriers. Our previous work on the AlNiCe system gives the support to this finding.     

Bifunctional activation of amine-boranes by the W/Pd bimetallic analogs of “frustrated Lewis pairs”

The reaction between basic [(PCP)Pd(H)] (PCP = 2,6-(CH₂P(t-C₄H₉)₂)₂C₆H₄) and acidic [LWH(CO)₃] (L = Cp (1a), Tp (1b); Cp = η⁵-cyclopentadienyl, Tp = κ³-hydridotris(pyrazolyl)borate) leads to the formation of bimolecular complexes [LW(CO)₂(μ-CO)⋯Pd(PCP)] (4a, 4b), which catalyze amine-borane (Me₂NHBH₃, ^tBuNH₂BH₃) dehydrogenation. The combination of variable-temperature (¹H, ³¹P{¹H}, ¹¹B NMR and IR) spectroscopies and computational (ωB97XD/def2-TZVP) studies reveal the formation of an η¹-borane complex [(PCP)Pd(Me₂NHBH₃)]⁺[LW(CO₃)]⁻ (5) in the first step, where a BH bond strongly binds palladium and an amine group is hydrogen-bonded to tungsten. The subsequent intracomplex proton transfer is the rate-determining step, followed by an almost barrierless hydride transfer. Bimetallic species 4 are easily regenerated through hydrogen evolution in the reaction between two hydrides.

Bimetallic complexes [LW(CO)₂(μ-CO)⋯Pd(PCP)] cooperatively activate amine-boranes for their dehydrogenation via N–H proton tunneling at RDS and H₂ evolution from two neutral hydrides.     

First investigation of non-classical dihydrogen bonding between an early transition-metal hydride and alcohols: IR, NMR, and DFT approach

The interaction of [NbCp(2)H(3)] with fluorinated alcohols to give dihydrogen-bonded complexes was studied by a combination of IR, NMR and DFT methods. IR spectra were examined in the range from 200-295 K, affording a clear picture of dihydrogen-bond formation when [NbCp(2)H(3)]/HOR(f) mixtures (HOR(f) = hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) or perfluoro-tert-butanol (PFTB)) were quickly cooled to 200 K. Through examination of the OH region, the dihydrogen-bond energetics were determined to be 4.5+/-0.3 kcal mol(-1) for TFE (TFE = trifluoroethanol) and 5.7+/-0.3 kcal mol(-1) for HFIP. (1)H NMR studies of solutions of [NbCp(2)H(2)(B)H(A)] and HFIP in [D(8)]toluene revealed high-field shifts of the hydrides H(A) and H(B), characteristic of dihydrogen-bond formation, upon addition of alcohol. The magnitude of signal shifts and T(1) relaxation time measurements show preferential coordination of the alcohol to the central hydride H(A), but are also consistent with a bifurcated character of the dihydrogen bonding. Estimations of hydride-proton distances based on T(1) data are in good accord with the results of DFT calculations. DFT calculations for the interaction of [NbCp(2)H(3)] with a series of non-fluorinated (MeOH, CH(3)COOH) and fluorinated (CF(3)OH, TFE, HFIP, PFTB and CF(3)COOH) proton donors of different strengths showed dihydrogen-bond formation, with binding energies ranging from -5.7 to -12.3 kcal mol(-1), depending on the proton donor strength. Coordination of proton donors occurs both to the central and to the lateral hydrides of [NbCp(2)H(3)], the former interaction being of bifurcated type and energetically slightly more favourable. In the case of the strong acid H(3)O(+), the proton transfer occurs without any barrier, and no dihydrogen-bonded intermediates are found. Proton transfer to [NbCp(2)H(3)] gives bis(dihydrogen) [NbCp(2)(eta(2)-H(2))(2)](+) and dihydride(dihydrogen) complexes [NbCp(2)(H)(2)(eta(2)-H(2))](+) (with lateral hydrides and central dihydrogen), the former product being slightly more stable. When two molecules of TFA were included in the calculations, in addition to the dihydrogen-bonded adduct, an ionic pair formed by the cationic bis(dihydrogen) complex [NbCp(2)(eta(2)-H(2))(2)](+) and the homoconjugated anion pair (CF(3)COO...H...OOCCF(3))(-) was found as a minimum. It is very likely that these ionic pairs may be intermediates in the H/D exchange between the hydride ligands and the OD group observed with the more acidic alcohols in the NMR studies.     

Spectrometric study ofα-methylene aromatic araminenone and aminoketone

Thirteenα-methylene aromatic araminenone and fourα-methylene aromatic aminoketones were prepared by modified Mannich reaction.On the basis of isotopic labeling,a plausible way of cleavage was proposed for the formation of the M~ -17 fragment peak in the MS of theα-methylene aromatic araminenone and aminoketones.The characteristic chemical shift of the olefinic protons in ~1H NMR is also discussed.     

A study of fluorescence properties of citrinin in β-cyclodextrin aqueous solution and different solvents

Citrinin (CIT) is a nephrotoxic mycotoxin initially isolated from filamentous fungus Penicilliu citrinum. It was later isolated from several other species, such as Aspergillus and Monascus. It has a conjugated, planar structure that gives it a natural fluorescence ability, which can be used to develop sensitive methods for detecting CIT in food. In this paper, we used the spectro?uorescence technique to study the effects of pH value, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and organic solvents on the CIT fluorescence intensity. The results show that lower pH value, aceitc acid, β-CD and acetonitrile can induce a higher fluorescence intensity of CIT, but methanol or H₂O has a decreasing effect on the fluorescence intensity of CIT. Findings in this study provide a theoretical basis for development of a high sensitivity fluorescence-based trace analysis for CIT detection.     

The Effect of Auxiliary Nitrogenated Linkers on the Design of New Cadmium-Based Coordination Polymers as Sensors for the Detection of Explosive Materials

Three new cadmium-based coordination polymers, denoted [Cd(hfipbb)(4,4’-bipy)] ( CdPF-1 ), [Cd(hfipbb)(2,2’-bipy)] ( CdPF-2 ), and [Cd(hfipbb)(1,10-phen)] ( CdPF-3 ), have been hydrothermally synthesized by using the well-known V-shaped organic linker 4,4’-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)bis(benzoic acid) (H₂hfipbb), together with different nitrogenated auxiliary linkers. Considering the d¹⁰ configuration of the transition metal selected, the luminescent properties for these CdPF-n materials were explored, finding that materials CdPF-2 and CdPF-3 act as excellent sensors in the detection of explosive nitro aromatic compounds. The photoluminescence properties of CdPF-2 and CdPF-3 revealed that significant and sensitive fluorescence quenching was observed toward NP (nitrophenol) for CdPF-2 and PA (picric acid) for CdPF-3 in MeOH suspensions.     

Optimization of Pretreatment Method for Alkylmercuries Speciation in Coal by High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with UV‐Digestion Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry

Abstract

Exhaustive extraction of analytes in their original chemical forms from samples with complex matrices is a pivotal step for speciation analysis. Herein we propose a pretreatment method for extracting and preconcentrating methylmercury and ethylmercury from coal samples by using KBr–H₂SO₄/CuSO₄–C₆H₅CH₃–Na₂S₂O₃ system. The extraction conditions, including the volume of the organic phase and the extraction time, were optimized in detail. Speciation analysis of alkylmercuries was carried out by high‐performance liquid chromatography online coupled with UV‐digestion and cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The detection limits were 0.6 ng mL^?1 for methylmercury and 1 ng mL^?1 for ethylmercury, respectively. The recoveries of methylmercury and ethylmercury spiked in a sample were 84% and 82%, respectively. The method was applied successfully to analysis of alkylmercuries in four coal samples collected from northeast China.