Facile reductive coupling of benzylic halides with ferrous oxalate dihydrate

Facile reductive coupling of benzylic halides is reported with ferrous oxalate dihydrate in DMF or HMPA under nitrogen atmosphere at 155-160 degrees C. The coupling is proposed to proceed by two successive oxidative additions of benzylic halides to ferrous oxalate to give an intermediate organoiron complex which undergoes concerted dimerization to give the corresponding reductively coupled dimers in high yields.     

UVB-induced photodamage to phycobilisomes of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942

The effect of UVB irradiation on the phycobilisomes (PBSs) of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 cells was studied. The sucrose density-gradient-isolated PBSs from in vivo UVB-treated (280–320 nm) cells showed a strong decrease in β-phycocyanin (βPC) and -phycocyanin (PC) polypeptides. In addition to a decrease in the linker polypeptides LCM 75 (linker connecting the core to the thylakoid membranes), LR 33 (linker in the rod structure), LRC 31.5 (linker connecting the rod to the core) and LRC 29. In vitro UVB treatment of gradient-isolated intact PBSs for 1 h had no effect on any of the constituent polypeptides, and only after 2 h was a degradation of LCM 75 and LR 33 and a decrease in βPC evident. Further investigation of phycobiliproteins (4 h of UVB irradiation) using polyclonal antibody directed against purified whole PBSs revealed that, in vivo, there was a gradual decline in the levels of LCM 75, LR 33, LRC 31.5, LRC 29, βPC and PC.     

Synthesis and characterization of toluene-3,4-dithiolatoantimony(III) derivatives with some oxygen and/or sulphur donor ligands

Replacement reactions of toluene-3,4-dithiolatoantimony(III) chloride with oxygen and/or sulphur donor ligands like benzoic acid, thiobenzoic acid, thioacetic acid, phenol, thiophenol, sodium salicylate and thio glycolic acid in 1:1 molar ratio as well as disodium oxalate in 2:1 molar ratio in refluxing anhydrous benzene yielded toluene-3,4-dithiolatoantimony(III) mono oxo and/or thio carboxylic or phenolic derivatives of the general formula {R = OOCC₆H₅, SOCC₆H₅, SOCCH₃, OC₆H₅, SC₆H₅, OOCC₆H₄(OH) and SCH₂COOH} and

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These newly synthesized derivatives are yellow and brown solids/liquids and are soluble in common organic solvents like benzene, chloroform, dichloromethane, etc. These derivatives have been characterized by melting point determination, molecular weight determination, elemental analysis (C, H, S and Sb), spectral {UV, IR and NMR (¹H and ¹³C)} and thermal (TGA, DTA and DSC) studies.     

Electrophoretic migration of proteins in semidilute polymer solutions

We present a systematic study of the electrophoretic migration of 10-200 kDa protein fragments in dilute-polymer solutions using microfluidic chips. The electrophoretic mobility and dispersion of protein samples were measured in a series of monodisperse polydimethylacrylamide (PDMA) polymers of different molecular masses (243, 443, and 764 kDa, polydispersivity index <2) of varying concentration. The polymer solutions were characterized using rheometry. Prior to loading onto the microchip, the polymer solution was mixed with known concentrations of SDS (SDS) surfactant and a staining dye. SDS-denatured protein samples were electrokinetically injected, separated, and detected in the microchip using electric fields ranging from 100 to 300 V/cm. Our results show that the electrophoretic mobility of protein fragments decreases exponentially with the concentration c of the polymer solution. The mobility was found to decrease logarithmically with the molecular weight of the protein fragment. In addition, the mobility was found to be independent of the electric field in the separation channel. The dispersion is relatively independent of polymer concentration and it first increases with protein size and then decreases with a maximum at about 45 kDa. The resolution power of the device decreases with concentration of the PDMA solution but it is always better than 10% of the protein size. The protein migration does not seem to correspond to the Ogston or the reptation models. A semiempirical expression for mobility given by van Winkle fits the data very well.     

Rotational dynamics of propylene inside Na-Y zeolite cages

We report here the quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) studies on the dynamics of propylene inside Na-Y zeolite using triple axis spectrometer (TAS) at Dhruva reactor, Trombay. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations performed on the system had shown that the rotational motion involves energy larger than that involved in the translational motion. Therefore, rotational motion was not observed in our earlier QENS studies on propylene adsorbed Na-Y zeolite using a higher resolution spectrometer at Dhruva. Analysis of the TAS spectra revealed that the quasielastic broadening observed in propylene-loaded zeolite spectra is due to the rotational motion of the propylene molecules. This is consistent with our simulation result. Further, the rotational motion is found to be isotropic. The rotational diffusion coefficient has been obtained.      

Superheated drops of R114—as a neutron spectrometer

The basic principle that has been used in the application of superheated drops in neutron spectrometry is its dependence of threshold energy of nucleation on temperature. In the present work, superheated drops of R114 suspended in a visco-elastic gel were irradiated at different temperatures by neutrons obtained from an ²⁴¹Am–Be source. The temperature of the detector was converted to the energy of the incident neutrons following the method developed by us to unfold the neutron energy spectrum. The threshold energy obtained by us agrees well with other results obtained using monochromatic neutron sources, clearly demonstrating the validity of our principle of spectrometry.     

Toxicity and the cardiovascular activity of organotin compounds: a review

A comprehensive review on toxicity of organotin compounds including sources of their intake and mode of action, and cardiovascular activity of organotin compounds is presented. Further research to develop novel useful organotin compounds having hypertensive activity needs to be carried out. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Speciation and Multinuclear NMR Spectroscopic Studies of Di- and Trimethyltin(IV) Moieties with MESNA in Aqueous Medium

The interaction of Me₂Sn(IV)²⁺ and Me₃Sn(IV)⁺ with a prodrug, sodium 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate (HSCH₂CH₂SO₃Na, MESNA) abbreviated as (HL), has been studied potentiometrically in aqueous solution (I = 0.1 mol·L^?1 KNO₃, 298 K). The concentration distribution of various species formed in the solution was studied with changes in pH (~3–11). A strong coordination of MESNA with metal through the S atom of thiol group has been found. In the Me₂Sn(IV)–HL system, the species [Me₂Sn(L)]⁺ (53.1–75.6%) is predominant at acidic pH (3.73 ± 0.02) and the species [Me₂Sn(L)₂OH]^? (29.4–38.5%) is predominant at basic pH (10.32 ± 0.08). In contrast, for the Me₃Sn(IV)⁺ system, [Me₃SnL] (37.0–57.4%) is the major species at pH 7.65 ± 0.03 and [Me₃Sn(OH)] (49.9–67.2%) and [Me₃Sn(L)(OH)]^? (30.2–46.5%) are the major species at pH 11.05 ± 0.01. However, at physiological pH (7.01 ± 0.32), in both (1:1) and (1:2) Me₂Sn(IV)–HL systems, the species [Me₂Sn(L)(OH)] (67.2–89.9%) is predominant, whereas for Me₃Sn(IV)–HL (1:1) and (1:2) systems, [Me₃Sn(OH)] (53.5%) and [Me₃SnL] (56.8%) are the respective predominant species. In order to characterize the possible geometry of the proposed complex species, multinuclear (¹H, ¹³C and ¹¹⁹Sn) NMR studies were carried out at different pHs. No polymeric species were detected in the experimental pH range.     

Comparative Pharmacokinetics Profile of Vasa Swaras with Vasicine and Vasicinone

An RP-LC method was developed and validated for comparing the pharmacokinetics profile of Vasa Swaras (leaf juice of Adhatoda vasica Nees., Fam. Acanthaceae) with that of the pure vasicine and vasicinone (chief marker compounds of A. vasica) upon oral administration of Vasa Swaras in rats, and also in different animal groups. Significant difference with p < 0.05 was found in the oral bioavailability of vasicine and vasicinone when administered as Vasa Swaras and as single vasicine and/or vasicinone. Vasicine and vasicinone were found to be more bioavailable from Vasa Swaras than pure vasicine and/or vasicinone.     

α-Telluration of 2-acetylthiophene: Electronic influence of the heteroaromatic moiety on solid state structures

Room temperature oxidative addition of α-bromo-2-acetylthiophene to elemental tellurium and aryltellurium(II) bromide provides direct routes to (2-thiophenoylmethyl)tellurium(IV) dibromides, (2-(C₄H₃S)COCH₂)₂TeBr₂ (1b) and 2-(C₄H₃S)COCH₂ArTeBr₂ (Ar = 1-C₁₀H₇, Npl, 2b; 2,4,6-Me₃C₆H₂, Mes, 3b). The chloro analogues, 2-(C₄H₃S)COCH₂ArTeCl₂ (Ar = Npl, 2a; Mes, 3a) were prepared by the condensation reaction of the parent methyl ketone with NplTeCl₃ or MesTeCl₃. Metathesis of these products with an alkali iodide affords the iodo analogues 1c, 2c and 3c. These diorganotellurium dihalides are reduced with aqueous bisulfite to diorganotellurides 1-3, which can be oxidized readily with dihalogens to the desired diorganotellurium(IV) dihalides. Compound 1 is a rare example of a symmetrical telluroether with C_sp3-Te-C_sp3 grouping that has been characterized by single-crystal diffraction techniques. Preference of the 2-thiophenoylmethyl ligand for small-bite (C, O) chelation over less strained (C, S) coordination is evident in the crystal structures of the Te(IV) compounds 1b, 2a, 2b and 3a. The unexpected transoidal orientation of the two acylmethyl ligands in the solid state molecular configuration of symmetrical diorganotellurium(IV) dibromide 1b appears to be a combined effect of electronic repulsion due to the thiophene moieties and steric repulsion of bromo ligands.