Preparation and X-Ray crystal structure of a Novel Nickel(II) complex with dithiocarbimate

The reaction of potassiumN-(methanesulfonyl)-dithiocarbimate, K₂[S₂C=NSO₂CH₃], with nickel(II) chloride hexahydrate, NiCl₂·6H₂O, formed the complex anion bis(N-(methanesulfonyl)-dithiocarbimate)nickelate(II), [Ni(S₂C=NSO₂CH₃)₂]^2}-, which was isolated as its tetra-n-butylammonium salt. The UV-Vis data obtained were consistent with the formation of a nickelsulfur diamagnetic planar complex. The¹H NMR and the¹³C NMR spectra showed the expected signals for then-Bu₄N⁺ cation and the dithiocarbimate moiety. The single-crystal structure analysis showed that tetra-n-butylammonium bis(N-(methanesulfonyl)-dithiocarbimate)nickelate(II), (Bu₄N)₂[Ni(S₂C=NSO₂CH₃)₂], crystallizes in the monoclinic space groupP2_l/c witha=9.3197(5),b=15.0795(8),c=17.5286(9) å,=91.262(3),V=2462.8(3) å³, andZ=2. The nickel atom is coordinated to four sulfur atoms.     

Synthesis, characterization, and structure of a new N-nitrosamine of cyclam (1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)

A novel N-nitrosamine of cyclam has been synthesized. The N-N bond lengths values, as determined from the X-ray crystal structure, fall in the 1.318(2) and 1.320(2) Å range, smaller than the ones expected for the N-N single bond. The N-NO bond angles are in the 115.0(1)° and 114.8(1)° range. The νNO, νNN, and δN-NO vibrational modes were observed in the infrared spectrum at 1454, 1139, and 555 cm⁻¹, respectively. The photolysis of the cyclam(NO)₄ compound gives rise to the nitrosyl release through an heterolytic cleavage of the N-NO bonds, as indicated by the appearance of the νNO⁺ band at 2228 cm⁻¹ at the expense of decreasing the νNO, νNN, and δN-NO bands.     

Unraveling the primary mechanisms leading to synchronization response in dissimilar oscillators

We study how the phenomenon of response to synchronization arises in sets of pulse-coupled dissimilar oscillators. One of the sets is constituted by oscillators that can easily synchronize. Conversely, the oscillators of the other set do not synchronize. When the elements of the first set are not synchronized, they induce oscillation death in the constituents of the second set. By contrast, when synchronization is achieved in oscillators of the first set, those of the second set recover their oscillatory behavior and thus, responding to synchronization. Additionally, we found another interesting phenomenon in this type of systems, namely, a new control of simultaneous firings in a population of similar oscillators attained by means of the action of a dissimilar oscillator.     

Voltammetric Determination of Cocaine Using Carbon Screen Printed Electrodes Chemically Modified with Uranyl Schiff Base Films

Chemically modified screen printed electrodes (CM‐SPE) using [UO₂(4‐MeOSalen)(H₂O)] ? H₂O films were employed in the voltammetric determination of cocaine. The chemical modification was performed by dip coating electrode surfaces (carbon, gold, and platinum) with methanolic solution containing the Schiff base complex with subsequent drying step at room temperature. The optimized amount of the chemical modifier over the working electrode was found to be 2.39 µg mm^?2 (geometric area). The voltammetric measurements were carried out in 50 : 50 v/v methanol:water solution containing 0.05 mol L^?1 KCl and 0.1 mol L^?1 LiCl as a supporting electrolyte without oxygen elimination by inert gas flow. The best results were obtained with carbon electrodes. Cocaine exhibits a well defined irreversible anodic peak current (i_pa) at a potential (E_pa) of 0.85 V vs Ag/AgCl. The current is directly proportional to the drug concentration. An optimal accumulation potential (E_prec), and time (t_prec) of ?0.80 V (vs Ag/AgCl), and 120 s, respectively, were determined. The linear dependence of i_pa with square root of scan rate (υ) indicates that the mass transport at the electrode surface is controlled by diffusion. An optimized scan rate of 100 mV s^?1 was obtained for analytical purposes. A limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) in 110 and 390 µmol L^?1, respectively, with intra and inter‐day repeatability of 2.61 % and 3.77 %, respectively, were obtained. In interference studies the proposed method demonstrated high specificity for cocaine in the presence of morphine and 3,4‐methylenedioxymethanphetamine. The above results demonstrate that this method provides a fast and low cost procedure for determination of cocaine in trace levels.     

Electrochemical template synthesis of adherent polyaniline thin films with tubular structure

The synthesis of nano and microstructured thin polyaniline (PANI) films by a simple and very efficient template-assisted method is presented. This work shows the synthesis and characterization of acoustically rigid thin films structured at nanotubular shape by using methyl orange (MO) as a template-assisted system. The amount of the tubes can be easily controlled by the charge passed. The morphology for different films growth was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation mode (QCM-D). Raman spectroscopy results show important changes in the conformational PANI chain of the tubular material compare with a non-tubular one that provokes the increase of bipolarons population. This should be responsible by some changes in the electrochemical behavior of tubular film compared with the granular material, due to the higher conductivity when the emeraldine form starts to be formed.     

Enantiomeric high‐performance liquid chromatography resolution and absolute configuration of 6β‐benzoyloxy‐3α‐tropanol

The absolute configuration of the naturally occurring isomers of 6β‐benzoyloxy‐3α‐tropanol ( 1 ) has been established by the combined use of chiral high‐performance liquid chromatography with electronic circular dichroism detection and optical rotation detection. For this purpose (±)‐ 1 , prepared in two steps from racemic 6‐hydroxytropinone ( 4 ), was subjected to chiral high‐performance liquid chromatography with electronic circular dichroism and optical rotation detection allowing the online measurement of both chiroptical properties for each enantiomer, which in turn were compared with the corresponding values obtained from density functional theory calculations. In an independent approach, preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography separation using an automatic fraction collector, yielded an enantiopure sample of _OR(+)‐ 1 whose vibrational circular dichroism spectrum allowed its absolute configuration assignment when the bands in the 1100–950 cm^‐1 region were compared with those of the enantiomers of esters derived from 3α,6β‐tropanediol. In addition, an enantiomerically enriched sample of 4 , instead of _OR(±)‐ 4 , was used for the same transformation sequence, whose high‐performance liquid chromatography follow‐up allowed their spectroscopic correlation. All evidences lead to the _OR(+)‐(1S,3R,5S,6R) and _OR(?)‐(1R,3S,5R,6S) absolute configurations, from where it follows that samples of 1 isolated from Knightia strobilina and Erythroxylum zambesiacum have the _OR(+)‐(1S,3R,5S,6R) absolute configuration, while the sample obtained from E. rotundifolium has the _OR(?)‐(1R,3S,5R,6S) absolute configuration.     

Synthesis and application of a functionalized resin in on-line system for copper preconcentration and determination in foods by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

An on-line system for preconcentration and determination of copper at μg l⁻¹ level by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) is proposed. Amberlite XAD-2 functionalized with 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid packed in a minicolumn was used as sorbent. Copper(II) ions were sorbed in the minicolumn, from which it could be eluted by hydrochloric acid solution directly to the nebulizer-burner system of the FAAS. Eluent solution was carried by water at a flow rate of 5.00 ml min⁻¹. Signals were measured as peak height by using an instrument software. Achieved sampling rate was 27 samples per hour. Analytical parameters were evaluated and the results demonstrated that copper can be determined, with acetate buffer to adjust the sample pH at 6.0, preconcentration time of 120 s and a sample flow rate of 6.50 ml min⁻¹. The desorption was carried out with 30 μl of a 1.0 mol l⁻¹ hydrochloric acid solution. An enrichment factor of 33 in 13.00 ml of sample (120 s preconcentration time) was achieved by using the time-based technique. The detection limit (DL) (3 s) was 0.27 μg l⁻¹ and the precision (assessed as the relative standard deviation) reached values of 5.7-1.1% in copper solutions of 5.00 to 50.00 μg l⁻¹ concentration, respectively. The accuracy of procedure was confirmed by copper determination in certified reference materials. Recoveries of spike additions (1.0 or 2.0 μg g⁻¹) to food samples were quantitative (90.0-110.0%). These results proved also that the procedure is not affected by matrix interference and can be applied satisfactorily for copper determination in rice flour and starch samples.     

Nitric oxide interaction with cytochrome c' and its relevance to guanylate cyclase. Why does the iron histidine bond break?

Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), the mammalian receptor for nitric oxide (NO), is a heme protein with a histidine as the proximal ligand. Formation of a five-coordinate heme-NO complex with the associated Fe-His bond cleavage is believed to trigger a conformational change that activates the enzyme and transduces the NO signal. Cytochrome c' (cyt c') is a protobacteria heme protein that has several similarities with sGC, including the ability to form a five-coordinate NO adduct and the fact that it does not bind oxygen. Recent crystallographic characterization of cyt c' from Alcaligenes xylosoxidans (AXCP) has yielded the discovery that exogenous ligands are able to bind to the Fe center from either side of the porphyrin plane. In this paper, we explore the molecular basis of the NO interaction with AXCP using hybrid quantum-classical simulation techniques. Our results suggest that Fe-His bond breaking depends not only on the iron-histidine bond strength but also on the existence of a local minimum conformation of the protein with the histidine away from the iron. We also show that AXCP is a useful paradigm for NO interaction with heme proteins, particularly regarding the activation/deactivation mechanism of sGC. The results presented here fully support a recently proposed model of sGC activation in which NO is not only the iron ligand but also catalyzes the activation step.     

Influence of the beta-alkoxy group on the diastereoselectivity of Aldol reactions of tetrahydro-4H-thiopyran-4-one with 4-Alkoxytetrahydro-2H-thiopyran-3-carboxaldehydes

The diastereoselectivity of the aldol reaction of tetrahydro-4H-thiopyran-4-one (3) with 1,4-dioxa-8-thiaspiro[4.5]decane-6-carboxaldehyde (9a) under a variety of conditions is examined. Under optimized conditions, three of the four possible diastereomers from this aldol reaction can be obtained selectively (3-16:1). Reactions of 9a with the Li, B, Mg(II), and Ti(IV) enolates of 3 and with the corresponding trimethylsilyl enol ether 4b in the presence of BF(3) x OEt(2), SnCl(4), or TiCl(4) as promoters gave the Felkin adducts exclusively (>95%) as mixtures of syn (11a) and anti (12a) diastereomers. Use of the "amine-free" Li enolate of 3 gave 12a with a much higher diastereoselectivity (9:1) and yield (70%) than that obtained using the lithium diisopropylamide-generated Li enolate of 3 (2-3:1; 15-40%). The TiCl(4)-promoted reaction of 4b with 9a gave 11a with excellent selectivity (16:1). In contrast, the MgBr(2) x OEt(2)-promoted reaction of 4b with 9a gave the anti-Felkin adducts exclusively as a 3:1 mixture of syn (13a)/anti (14a) diastereomers. Similar aldol reactions of 3 with the cis and trans isomers of 4-(methoxy)methoxytetrahydro-2H-thiopyran-3-carboxaldehyde (9b and 9c) were examined to probe the influence of the ketal protecting group in 9a on the observed aldol diastereoselectivity. The results are rationalized by applying Evans' stereochemical model for merged 1,2- and 1,3-asymmetric induction (non-chelation), with the exception of the MgBr(2) x OEt(2)-promoted reactions of 4b with 9a, 9b, and 9c, which are accommodated by assuming chelation control. Comparison of the reactions of 9a, 9b, and 9c suggests that the ketal group in 9a uniquely allows high levels of either Felkin or anti-Felkin selectivity to be achieved.