Inclusion complexes with cyclodextrin and usnic acid

Molecular inclusion complexes of usnic acid (UA) with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and 2-hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (HP β-CD) were prepared by the co-precipitation method in the solid state in the molar ratio of 1:1. Structural complexes characterization was based on different methods, FTIR, ¹H NMR, XRD and DSC. Parallel to the complex by the above methods, corresponding physical mixtures of UA with cyclodextrins and complexing agents (β-CD, HP β-CD and UA) were analyzed. The results of DSC analysis showed that, at around 200 °C, the endothermal peak in the complexes with cyclodextrins originating from the UA melting has disappeared. Complex diffractogram patterns do not contain peaks characteristic for the pure UA. They are more appropriate to cyclodextrin diffractogram. This fact points to the molecular encapsulation of UA in the cyclodextrin cavity. Chemical shifts in ¹H NMR spectra after the inclusion of UA into the cyclodextrin cavity, especially H-3 protons (0.0012 and 0.0102 ppm in the β-CD and HP β-CD, respectively) and H-5 and H-6 (0.0134 ppm) and hydrogen from CH₃ (0.0073 ppm) HP β-CD also points to the formation of molecular inclusion complexes. The improved solubility of UA in water was achieved by molecular incapsulation. In the complex with β-CD the solubility is 0.3 mg/cm³, with HP β-CD 4.2 mg/cm³ while the uncomplexed UA solubility is 0.06 mg/cm³. The microbial activity of UA and both complexes was tested against eight bacteria and two fungi and during the test no reduced activity of UA in the complexes was observed.     

Intraspecific Diversity within <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ganoderma lucidum</Emphasis> in the Production of Laccase and Mn-Oxidizing Peroxidases During Plant Residues Fermentation

Comparison of the potential for laccase and Mn-oxidizing peroxidases synthesis by ten strains of Ganoderma lucidum, originating from different worldwide areas, during solid-state fermentation of selected plant raw materials was the aim of this study. The great intraspecific variability in the production of analyzed enzymes as well as the dependence of the enzyme activity on plant raw materials were reported. The strain HAI 957 was the best laccase producer in the presence of corn stem, as a unique carbon source (129.46 U/L). The highest level of Mn-dependent peroxidase activity was noted after wheat straw fermentation by G. lucidum HAI 246 (78.64 U/L), while the maximal versatile peroxidase production (59.72 U/L) was observed in strain HAI 957 in the medium with oak sawdust.     

Click mechanochemistry: quantitative synthesis of "ready to use" chiral organocatalysts by efficient two-fold thiourea coupling to vicinal diamines

Mechanochemical methods of neat grinding and liquid-assisted grinding have been applied to the synthesis of mono- and bis(thiourea)s by using the click coupling of aromatic and aliphatic diamines with aromatic isothiocyanates. The ability to modify the reaction conditions allowed the optimization of each reaction, leading to the quantitative formation of chiral bis(thiourea)s with known uses as organocatalysts or anion sensors. Quantitative reaction yields, combined with the fact that mechanochemical reaction conditions avoid the use of bulk solvents, enabled solution-based purification methods (such as chromatography or recrystallization) to be completely avoided. Importantly, by using selected model reactions, we also show that the described mechanochemical reaction procedures can be readily scaled up to at least the one-gram scale. In that way, mechanochemical synthesis provides a facile method to fully transform valuable enantiomerically pure reagents into useful products that can immediately be applied in their designed purpose. This was demonstrated by using some of the mechanochemically prepared reagents as organocatalysts in a model Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction and as cyanide ion sensors in organic solvents. The use of electronically and sterically hindered ortho-phenylenediamine revealed that mechanochemical reaction conditions can be readily optimized to form either the 1:1 or the 1:2 click-coupling product, demonstrating that reaction stoichiometry can be more efficiently controlled under these conditions than in solution-based syntheses. In this way, it was shown that excellent stoichiometric control by mechanochemistry, previously established for mechanochemical syntheses of cocrystals and coordination polymers, can also be achieved in the context of covalent-bond formation.     

Coordination behaviour and two‐dimensional‐network formation in poly[[μ‐aqua‐diaqua(μ5‐propane‐1,3‐diyldinitrilotetraacetato)dilithium(I)cobalt(II)] dihydrate]: the first example of an MII–1,3‐pdta complex with a monovalent metal counter‐ion

The title compound, {[CoLi₂(C₁₁H₁₄N₂O₈)(H₂O)₃]·2H₂O}_n, constitutes the first example of a salt of the [M^II(1,3‐pdta)]²⁻ complex (1,3‐pdta is propane‐1,3‐diyldinitrilotetraacetate) with a monopositive cation as counter‐ion. Insertion of the Li⁺ cation could only be achieved through application of the ion‐exchange column technique which, however, appeared unsuccessful with other alkali metals and the ammonium cation. The structure contains two tetrahedrally coordinated Li⁺ cations, an octahedral [Co(1,3‐pdta)]²⁻ anion and five water molecules, two of which are uncoordinated, and is built of two‐dimensional layers extending parallel to the (010) lattice plane, the constituents of which are connected by the coordinate bonds. O—H_water...O hydrogen bonds operate both within and between these layers. The crystal investigated belongs to the enantiomeric space group P2₁ with only one (Λ) of two possible optical isomers of the [Co(1,3‐pdta)]²⁻ complex. A possible cause of enantiomer separation during crystallization might be the rigidification and polarization of the [M(1,3‐pdta)]²⁻ core, resulting from direct coordination of Li⁺ cations to three out of four carboxylate groups constituting the 1,3‐pdta ligand. The structure of (I) differs considerably from those of the other [M^II(1,3‐pdta)]²⁻ complexes, in which the charge compensation is realized by means of divalent hexaaqua complex cations. This finding demonstrates a significant structure‐determining role of the counter‐ions.     

Thermal reaction of [3,4]-benzo-8-substituted-3Z,5Z,7E-octatetraenes and quantum-chemical study of the (8π,6π)-electrocyclisation

The first example of thermal (8π,6π)-electrocyclisation of 1,3,5,7-octatetraene with one double bond embedded in an aromatic moiety is described. By this process, [3,4]-benzo-8-substituted octatetraene derivatives, the cis,trans-1-(o-vinylphenyl)-4-(R = Me, Ph, 2-furyl)buta-1,3-dienes were transformed to a new endo-7-(R = Me, Ph, 2-furyl) and exo-7-(R = Me)-2,3-benzobicyclo[4.2.0]octa-2,4-dienes. Mechanism of reaction was also studied by DFT quantum-chemical calculations. The M06/6-311+G(d,p)//M06/6-31+G(d,p) calculations indicate that formation of the single endo-isomer in the case of phenyl and 2-furyl substituents is determined by higher activation barriers for exo-6π-electrocyclisation than for 8π-cycloreversion.     

Rapid honey characterization and botanical classification by an electronic tongue

In this paper a commercial electronic tongue (αAstree, Alpha M.O.S.) was applied for botanical classification and physicochemical characterization of honey samples. The electronic tongue was comprised of seven potentiometric sensors coupled with an Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Botanical classification was performed by PCA, CCA and ANN modeling on 12 samples of acacia, chestnut and honeydew honey. The physicochemical characterization of honey was obtained by ANN modeling and the parameters included were electrical conductivity, acidity, water content, invert sugar and total sugar. The initial reference values for the physicochemical parameters observed were determined by traditional methods. Botanical classification of honey samples obtained by ANN was 100% accurate while the highest correlation between observed and predicted values was obtained for electrical conductivity (0.999), followed by acidity (0.997), water content (0.994), invert sugar content (0.988) and total sugar content (0.979).All developed ANN models for rapid honey characterization and botanical classification performed excellently showing the potential of the electronic tongue as a tool in rapid honey analysis and characterization. The advantage of using such a technique is a simple sample preparation procedure, there are no chemicals involved and there are no additional costs except the initial measurements required for ANN model development.     

Chromatographic Behavior of Fosinopril Sodium and Fosinoprilat Using Neural Networks

In this paper, the chromatographic characterization of fosinopril sodium and fosinoprilat is presented. The first stept was pK _a determination for the active substance and its degradation product using RP-LC. It was followed by optimization employing the combination of experimental design and artificial neural networks. For the definition of input and output variables, the central composite design for three factors was built. Back propagation algorithm was applied to model the system, and then the optimization of the experimental conditions was carried out in the neural network with 3-8-2 structure, which confirmed to be able to provide the maximum performance. From the method optimization, the most appropriate experimental conditions for fosinopril sodium and fosinoprilat analysis were extracted. The optimized method was validated and applied in the quality control of tablets and for forced degradation studies.     

Enantiopure hydroxylactones from d-xylose. A novel approach to the enantiodivergent synthesis of (+)- and (−)-muricatacin suitable for the preparation of 7-oxa analogues

A new route towards enantiopure hydroxylactones 3 and ent-3, the final chiral precursors in an enantiodivergent synthesis of (+)- and (−)-muricatacin, has been developed starting from d-xylose.     

Photocatalytic degradation of metoprolol in water suspension of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanopowders prepared using sol–gel route

Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO₂) powders have been synthesized by sol–gel method using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄) or tetrabutyl titanate (Ti(OC₄H₉)₄ as precursors, different alcohols and calcination temperatures in the range from 400 to 650 °C. The photocatalytic activity of as-prepared powders has been tested for the degradation of metoprolol tartrate salt, a selective β-blocker used to treat a variety of cardiovascular diseases, and compared to photocatalytic activity obtained from Degussa P25. Nanosized TiO₂ powders prepared from TiCl₄ and amyl-alcohol, calcined at 550 °C, displayed an activity comparable to Degussa P25, whereas the sample from the same series, calcined at 650 °C, showed higher photocatalytic activity in the whole range of the catalyst loading. Structural, morphological and surface properties of synthesized TiO₂ nanopowders have been investigated by XRD, SEM, EDS and BET measurements, as well as FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, in order to find out the material properties which enable rapid an efficient decomposition of metoprolol under UV radiation.