Synthesis and structure of amides of 4-aryl(hetaryl)-2-pyrrolidone-3-carboxylic acids

Amides of 4-aryl(hetaryl)-2-pyrrolidone-3-carboxylic acids have been prepared via ammonolysis of the corresponding esters of pyrrolidone carboxylic acids. The products structure has been characterized by means of IR, ¹H NMR, ¹H–¹³C HMQC, and HMBC spectroscopy.     

Chemistry of Iminofurans: XV. Decyclization of Ethyl 2-[5-Aryl-2-oxofuran-3(2<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>)-ylideneamino]-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1-benzothiophene-3-carboxylates by the Action of Secondary Amines

Ethyl 2-[5-aryl-2-oxofuran-3(2H)-ylideneamino]-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1-benzothiophene-3-carboxylates reacted with secondary amines to give 4-aryl-2-(thiophen-2-yl)-4-oxobutanamides, whereas their reaction with piperazine afforded N,N′-disubstituted piperazine derivatives regardless of the reactant ratio.     

Influence of ZrO<Subscript>5</Subscript> treatment temperature on the interaction with titanium tetrachloride

The data on phase and chemical transformations of nanosized zirconium dioxide upon annealing at 25–1300°С are presented. The in situ interaction of titanium tetrachloride with nanosized zirconia annealed at 200–800°С has been studied. The revealed regularities of the change of titanium content and the Cl/Ti ratio in the chemisorbed groups have confirmed that TiCl₄ predominantly reacts with zirconia treated at up to 400°С via the hydroxyl groups to yield the TiCl_4–n fragments. In the case of zirconia treated at higher temperature, the interaction with TiCl₄ involves the coordination-unsaturated Zr⁺ and Zr–O^– centers as well.     

Synthesis of Silver Glyconanoparticles Based on 3-Thiopropionylhydrazones of Mono- and Disaccharides

A method of synthesis of silver glyconanoparticles with average particle size 15–40 nm and low polydispersity index based on available 3-thiopropionylhydrazones of mono- and disaccharides has been elaborated. The prepared compounds have exhibited high antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral activity and are promising for further comprehensive study.     

Isolation of Novel Alkaliphilic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus</Emphasis> Strains for Cyclodextrin Glucanotransferase Production

New alkaliphilic Bacillus producers of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase, EC 2.4.1.19) were isolated from 17 Bulgarian alkaline and normal habitats (springs and soils) by three steps of a selection. None of the isolates obtained, producing CGTase, appeared to be thermophilic in character. One hundred and thirty-seven strains were estimated for CGTase activity by batch cultivation in a liquid alkaline medium. Twenty-seven of them had a detectable CGTase activity in their culture supernatants under the enzyme assay conditions, despite of the significant growth of all isolates. The phenotypic properties of three selected strains (20RF, 8SB and 24WE) were determined. They were aerobic endospore-forming Bacillus strains: two of them were obligated alkaliphiles (20RF and 8SB) and one, alkalitolerant (24WE). Both obligated alkaliphiles were further characterised by 16S rRNA analysis. According to the full 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained and deposited to the NCBI GenBank database, both isolated obligated alkaliphiles 20RF and 8SB were clustered into the group of alkaliphilic Bacillus species. The exhibited CGTase production by them (230–250 U ml⁻¹ for 20RF and 130–160 U ml⁻¹ for 8SB) defined these new isolates as promising producers of the enzyme, especially Bacillus sp. 8SB synthesising thermostable alkaline β-CGTase. Both new enzymes from 20RF and 8SB Bacillus strains formed only two types of cyclodextrins, beta and gamma, which could be of interest for their easy separation and industrial production.     

Self-Assembling Drug Formulations with Tunable Permeability and Biodegradability

This review focuses on key topics in the field of drug delivery related to the design of nanocarriers answering the biomedicine criteria, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, low toxicity, and the ability to overcome biological barriers. For these reasons, much attention is paid to the amphiphile-based carriers composed of natural building blocks, lipids, and their structural analogues and synthetic surfactants that are capable of self-assembly with the formation of a variety of supramolecular aggregates. The latter are dynamic structures that can be used as nanocontainers for hydrophobic drugs to increase their solubility and bioavailability. In this section, biodegradable cationic surfactants bearing cleavable fragments are discussed, with ester- and carbamate-containing analogs, as well as amino acid derivatives received special attention. Drug delivery through the biological barriers is a challenging task, which is highlighted by the example of transdermal method of drug administration. In this paper, nonionic surfactants are primarily discussed, including their application for the fabrication of nanocarriers, their surfactant-skin interactions, the mechanisms of modulating their permeability, and the factors controlling drug encapsulation, release, and targeted delivery. Different types of nanocarriers are covered, including niosomes, transfersomes, invasomes and chitosomes, with their morphological specificity, beneficial characteristics and limitations discussed.     

The synthesis and properties of homologous series of surfactants containing the pyrrolidinium head group with hydroxyethyl moiety

The surface activity, micelle formation, and solubilization ability towards hydrophobic compounds were estimated for the series of new cationic surfactants belonging to the type of 1-alkyl-1-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyrrolidinium bromides. The presence of 2-hydroxyethyl group in these surfactants leads to the twofold increase in their micelle-forming ability as compared to unsubstituted analogs. The critical micelle concentration for the investigated series of pyrrolidinium surfactants is lower at the same hydrophobicity than that for the analogs belonging to the alkylpyridinium, alkylimidazolium, and alkylmorpholinium types. The data acquired for the studied surfactants on their solubilization ability, antimicrobial activity, and hemolytic efficiency indicate their prospective applications to encapsulate hydrophobic biologically active molecules and as the promising bactericidal agents.

     

Purification and Properties of a New Thermostable Cyclodextrin Glucanotransferase from Bacillus pseudalcaliphilus 8SB

A new cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase, EC 2.4.1.19) from an alkaliphilic halotolerant Bacillus pseudalcaliphilus 8SB was studied in respect to its γ-cyclizing activity. An efficient conversion of a raw corn starch into only two types of cyclodextrins (β- and γ-CD) was achieved by the purified enzyme. Crude enzyme obtained by ultrafiltration was purified up to fivefold by starch adsorption with a recovery of 62% activity. The enzyme was a monomer with a molecular mass 71 kDa estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and native PAGE. The CGTase exhibited two pH optima, at pH 6.0 and 8.0, and was at most active at 60 °C and pH 8.0. The enzyme retained more than 80% of its initial activity in a wide pH range, from 5.0 to 11.0. The CGTase was strongly inhibited by 15 mM Cu(2+), Fe(2+), Ag(+), and Zn(2+), while some metal ions, such as Ca(2+), Na(+), K(+), and Mo(7+), exerted a stimulating effect in concentration of 5 mM. The important feature of the studied CGTase was its high thermal stability: the enzyme retained almost 100% of its initial activity after 2 h of heating at 40-60 °C; its half-life was 2 h at 70 °C in the presence of 5 mM Ca(2+). The achieved 50.7% conversion of raw corn starch into 81.6% β- and 18.4% γ-CDs after 24 h enzyme reaction at 60 °C and pH 8.0 makes B. pseudalcaliphilus 8SB CGTase industrially important enzyme for cyclodextrin production.     

Mixed antiplane boundary‐value problem for a piecewise‐homogeneous elastic body with a semi‐infinite interfacial crack

Antiplane stress state of a piecewise‐homogeneous elastic body with a semi‐infinite crack along the interface is considered. The longitudinal displacements along one of the crack edges on a finite interval, adjacent to the crack tip, are known. Shear stresses are applied to the body along the crack edges and at infinity. The problem reduces to a Riemann–Hilbert boundary‐value matrix problem with a piecewise‐constant coefficient for a complex potential in the class of symmetric functions. The complex potential is found explicitly using a Gaussian hypergeometric function. The stress state of the body close to the singular points is investigated. The stress intensity factors are determined. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.