Purification and structure elucidation of three naturally bioactive molecules from the new terrestrial Streptomyces sp. TN17 strain

Thirty litres of fermentation broth was extracted from the newly isolated Streptomyces sp. strain TN17 and various separation and purification steps led to the isolation of three pure bioactive compounds (1-3). Compound 1: cyclo (L-Leu-L-Arg), a diketopiperazine 'DKP' derivative; 2: di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, a phthalate derivative; and 3: cyclo 1-[2-(cyclopentanecarbonyl-3-phenyl-propionyl]-pyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid (1-carbamoyl-propyl)-amide, a cyclic tetrapeptide derivative. The chemical structure of these three active compounds was established on the basis of spectroscopic studies (MS and NMR) and by comparison with data from the literature. According to our biological studies, the pure compounds (1-3) possess antibacterial and antifungal activities.     

Nanoporous carbons as promising novel methane adsorbents for natural gas technology

Nanoporous carbons were synthesized using furfuryl alcohol and sucrose as precursors and MCM-41 and mordenite as nanoporous templates.The produced nanoporous carbons were used as adsorbent for methane storage.The average pore diameter of the samples varied from 3.9 nm to 5.9 nm and the BET surface area varied from 320m2/g to 824m2/g.The volumetric adsorption experiments revealed that MCM-41 and sucrose had better performance compared with mordenite and furfuryl alcohol,correspondingly.Also,the effect of precursor to template ratio on the structure of nanoporous carbons and their adsorption capacities was investigated.The nanoporous carbon produced from MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve partially filled by sucrose shows the best methane adsorption capacity among the tested samples.     

Polyamine-substituted epoxy-grafted silica for aqueous metal recovery

Glycidoxypropyltriethoxysilane (GPS) was used as a reactive silane to graft metal- complexing ligands onto silica gel in aqueous media under mild conditions. The synthesis entailed the reaction of GPS with silica gel, followed by grafting polyamine onto the epoxy functional group. GPS was added to silica gel in ethanol with 5 vol. % water and the mixture was air-dried for 24 h. Subsequently, excess amounts of polyamines: triethylenetetramine, tetraethylenepentamine, and pentaethylenehexamine were individually added to the silanised silica, followed by solvent evaporation and ovendrying at 60°C. The ligand-grafted silica gel particles showed a rapid heavy metal uptake in batch or flow-through experiments with capacities reaching 0.1 mmol g⁻¹ for copper, zinc, cadmium, or lead ions. Columns packed with the modified particles could be readily regenerated by acid-washing with only a small decrease in activity. The particles could be used for the colourimetric detection of heavy metal pollution or for pre-concentration for analytical purposes. Competition between Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Cd²⁺ ions for the three synthesised silica showed that Cu²⁺ ions were adsorbed more strongly than the other metal ions. The general method developed can be applied to graft other molecules with terminal amino groups for other purposes.     

A Facile One‐Pot Synthesis of Substituted Quinolines via New Multicomponent Reaction

An efficient synthesis of quinoline derivatives is described via the reaction between ethyl chloropyruvate or alkyl 4‐chloroacetoacetate and activated acetylenic compounds in the presence of nucleophilic form of isatin in water as the solvent. Nucleophilic form of isatin is produced from the reaction of isatin and triethylamin.     

Magnetic exchange coupling in imido bimetallic uranium(V) complexes. A relativistic DFT study

Magnetic exchange coupling between uranium U(V) ions, in the case of the two para- and meta-imido diuranium complexes, respectively [(C₅H₅)₃U]₂(μ-1,4-N₂C₆H₄) and [(C₅H₅)₃U]₂(μ-1,3-N₂C₆H₄) exhibiting the 5f¹-5f¹ configuration, have been investigated using relativistic DFT calculations, combined with the broken symmetry (BS) approach. Using the B3LYP functional, the singlet BS state of the para complex has been found of lower energy than the high spin (HS) triplet one, in agreement with the observed antiferromagnetic character of the complex. On the contrary the BP86 functional fails to predict this magnetic property. The spin density distributions and MO analysis explain well the antiferromagnetic character of the para complex and clarify the failure of the BP86 functional. The effective participation of the 5f metal orbitals in bonding with the imido ligand plays a key role for electronic and magnetic communication between the two active U(V) 5f¹ electrons. The same technique led us to explain the ferromagnetic character of the meta isomer in agreement with experiment. For both isomers the spin polarization mechanism explains well their observed magnetic behaviour.     

Correlation of thermodynamic stabilities of charge transfer complexes of anthracene and chloranil with those of tetra-cyanoethylene

The formation constants of charge-transfer complexes of a number of 9- and 9,10-substituted anthracenes with chloranil have been measured by a spectrophotometric method and the corresponding thermodynamic parameters ΔG°_c, ΔH°_c and ΔS°_c evaluated in various solvents. v_max values of the chargetransfer band for chloranil were linearly related to those for tetracyanoethylene (TCNE). Good correlations were also obtained between v_max and the corresponding ionisation potentials Ip of the donor molecules. In addition ΔG°_c varied linearly with Ip and from these correlations, values of ΔG°_c, etc. for the corresponding TCNE complexes could be calculated. These values are otherwise very difficult to obtain due to the high reactivity of TCNE.     

K2CsYb(PO4)2

The crystal structure of dipotassium caesium ytterbium bis(phosphate) is built up from regular independent PO₄ tetrahedra and YbO₆ octahedra sharing corners and arranged in layers. The structure is, in many respects, similar to that of glaserite.