Control over C-O and C-C bond formation: ruthenium catalyzed regiospecific addition of carboxylic acid to alkyne and stereoselective dimerization of alkyne

A cationic ruthenium(II) complex, [Ru(PPh₃)₂(CH₃CN)₃Cl][BPh₄] (1), has been found to be an effective catalyst for stereoselective dimerization of alkynes in the presence of a base, and for regiospecific addition of carboxylic acids to alkynes in presence of the Lewis acid, BF₃·Et₂O.     

High‐Density Lipoprotein Nanoparticles Deliver RNAi to Endothelial Cells to Inhibit Angiogenesis

Systemic delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids to target cells and tissues outside of the liver remains a major challenge. A biomimetic high‐density lipoprotein nanoparticle (HDL NP) is synthesized for delivery of a cholesteryl‐modified therapeutic nucleic acid to vascular endothelial cells (ECs), a cell type naturally targeted by HDL. HDL NPs adsorb cholesteryl‐modified oligonucleotides and protect them from nuclease degradation. As proof of principle, we deliver RNAi targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) to ECs to effectively silence target mRNA and protein expression in vitro. In addition, data show that treatment strongly attenuates in vivo neovascularization measured using a standard angiogenesis assay and in hypervascular tumor allografts where a striking reduction in tumor growth is observed. For effective delivery, HDL NPs require the expression of the cell surface protein scavenger receptor type‐B1 (SR‐B1). No toxicity of HDL NPs is measured in vitro or after in vivo administration. Thus, by using a biomimetic approach to nucleic acid delivery, data demonstrate that systemically administered RNAi–HDL NPs target SR‐B1 expressing ECs to deliver functional anti‐angiogenic RNAi as a potential treatment of cancer and other neovascular diseases.     

Palladium(ii) driven self-assembly of a saturated quadruple-stranded metallo helicate

Complexation of the bridging bidentate ligand N,N'-(pyridine-2,6-diyl)dinicotinamide, L with palladium(ii) resulted in a single discrete M(2)L(4) self-assembly, 1, in a quantitative manner. The entropically-controlled assembly of 1 resulted in a rare saturated, quadruple-stranded metallo-helicate, in which both the left-handed (M) and right-handed (P) helicates exist in the crystal structure.     

Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial investigation of mechanochemically processed silver doped ZnO nanoparticles

The application of nanomaterials has gained considerable momentum in various fields in recent years due to their high reactivity, excellent surface properties and quantum effects in the nanometer range. The properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) vary with its crystallite size or particle size and often nanocrystalline ZnO is seen to exhibit superior physical and chemical properties due to their higher surface area and modified electronic structure. ZnO nanoparticles are reported to exhibit strong bacterial inhibiting activity and silver (Ag) has been extensively used for its antimicrobial properties since ages. In this study, Ag doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by mechanochemical processing in a high energy ball mill and investigated for antimicrobial activity. The nanocrystalline nature of zinc oxide was established by X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. It is seen from the XRD data obtained from the samples, that crystallite size of the zinc oxide nanoparticles is seen to decrease with increasing Ag addition. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data also supported the nanoparticle formation during the synthesis. The doped nanoparticles were subjected to antimicrobial investigation and found that both increase in Ag content and decrease in particle size contributed significantly towards antimicrobial efficiency. It was also observed that Ag doped ZnO nanoparticles possess enhanced antimicrobial potential than that of virgin ZnO against the studied microorganisms of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.     

Range and energy-loss rate of 118 MeV Si in some polymers using PADC as detector

Heavy ion range and energy-loss data provide useful information for designing several nuclear physics experiments where the polymers employed find their use as absorber, in chamber windows and target backings. In the present work, the range and energy-loss rate of 118 MeV ²⁸Si in LR-115 (cellulose nitrate) and polypropylene (PP) have been calculated by track technique where polyallyldiglycol carbonate was used as a backing detector. The mean range of ²⁸Si in LR-115 has been calculated to be 59.4±2 μm and that in PP is calculated to be 74.9±2 μm. The experimentally evaluated range values are in agreement with the theoretical range values derived from some computer codes. The Bragg peak has also been obtained at 1.1 MeV/nucleon for ²⁸Si in both LR-115 and PP.     

Plasmon dispersion and linewidth in aluminium

Plasmon dispersion in Al is estimated using the expression for the dynamic structure function,S _pl(K,ω), corresponding to the plasmon excitations in a many-electron system derived earlier. An evaluation of its plasmon linewidth is also presented. It is observed that for Al both the dispersion and linewidth agree fairly well with experiments.     

Contraction of graded su(2) algebra

The Inönu-Wigner contraction scheme is extended to Lie superalgebras. The structure and representations of extended BRS algebra are obtained from contraction of the graded su(2) algebra. From cohomological consideration, we demonstrate that the graded su(2) algebra is the only superalgebra which, on contraction, yields the full BRS algebra.     

Uniformly damped general coupled anharmonic oscillators and the coherent state representation

We obtain a perturbative solution for a system of two unequal mass, uniformly-damped coupled oscillators perturbed by anharmonic terms of homogeneous power 4p of the position variables in the coherent state representation. A new frame of time, called quasi-time , has been exploited in the derivation. The solution does not contain the vicious secular terms and shows, explicitly, the damping and the anharmonic effects of a coupled system.     

Photoinitiated polymerization of acrylate,methacrylate, and vinyl ether end‐functional polyisobutylene macromonomers

Polyisobutylene‐based UV cured networks potentially useful as sealants were synthesized by photopolymerization of well‐defined polyisobutylene methacrylate (PIB‐MA), acrylate (PIB‐A) and vinyl ether (PIB‐VE) di‐ and trifunctional macromonomers. The kinetics of photocrosslinking were measured using an optical pyrometer apparatus and optimized with respect to different experimental parameters. PIB‐MA/A macromonomers displayed enhanced reactivity in radical photopolymerization in the presence of a bis(acylphosphine) oxide photoinitator. PIB‐VE macromonomers exhibited a high rates of photopolymerization with (4‐n‐octyloxyphenyl)phenyliodonium hexafluroantimonate as the photoinitiator. The rates as well as the ultimate monomer conversions were increased by increasing the irradiation light intensity. The inherent induction period associated with oxygen inhibition in the photopolymerization of PIB‐MA was significantly reduced by optimizing the choice of photoinitiator. A detailed investigation of the concentration of MA/A/VE end groups revealed the presence of a prominent saturation effect in the photopolymerization of PIB‐A, which was absent with PIB‐MA and PIB‐VE. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Synthesis,chemistry, physicochemical properties and industrial applications of amino acid surfactants: A review

Surfactant use throughout mankind is extensive, from their initial applications as detergents extending to use in medicine, lubricant, cosmetics and even enhanced oil recovery. However, the image of surfactant use has in the past been tarnished by issues with low biodegradability and their synthesis from nonsustainable resources. Amino acid–based surfactants are a class of surfactants derived from a hydrophobe source coupled with simple amino acids, mixed amino acids from synthesis or from protein hydrolysates, and as such can be derived solely from renewable resources. There are several pathways for their synthesis and this allows for extensive structural diversity in this class of surfactants, resulting in widespread tuneable functionality in their physiochemical properties. This review includes the details of most of the available routes of synthesis for amino acid surfactants (AASs) and the impact of the diverse routes on their final physiochemical properties, including solubility, dispersability, toxicity and biodegradability. The diversity offered by the structural variation in AASs offers many exciting commercial opportunities for this ever-growing class of surfactants. It also includes a discussion on current and future potential uses of AASs.