A Molecular Copper Catalyst for Electrochemical Water Reduction with a Large Hydrogen‐Generation Rate Constant in Aqueous Solution

The copper complex [(bztpen)Cu](BF₄)₂ (bztpen=N‐benzyl‐N,N′,N′‐tris(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl)ethylenediamine) displays high catalytic activity for electrochemical proton reduction in acidic aqueous solutions, with a calculated hydrogen‐generation rate constant (k_obs) of over 10000 s^?1. A turnover frequency (TOF) of 7000 h^?1 cm^?2 and a Faradaic efficiency of 96 % were obtained from a controlled potential electrolysis (CPE) experiment with [(bztpen)Cu]²⁺ in pH 2.5 buffer solution at ?0.90 V versus the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) over two hours using a glassy carbon electrode. A mechanism involving two proton‐coupled reduction steps was proposed for the dihydrogen generation reaction catalyzed by [(bztpen)Cu]²⁺.     

An M12(L1)12(L2)12 Cantellated Tetrahedron: A Case Study on Mixed‐Ligand Self‐Assembly

In the self‐assembly of Pd^II ions and two different, but similarly shaped, ligands ( 1 and 2 ), neither random mixing nor self‐sorting of the two ligands into two unmixed structures was observed. Instead a mixed, yet sorted, Pd₁₂( 1 )₁₂( 2 )₁₂ cantellated tetrahedron (and its pseudoisomer) was selectively formed, thus revealing a fine example of intramolecular self‐sorting. A case study showed that a homothetic ratio of >2 is necessary to observe cantellated tetrahedra.     

New analytical method for the study of the metabolism of gentiopicroside in rats after oral administration by LC–TOF‐MS following picolinoyl derivatization

The metabolism of gentiopicroside (GPS) in vivo was studied for the first time by LC–MS following picolinoyl derivatization. Incubation of erythrocentaurin, one of the main in vitro metabolites of GPS by intestinal bacteria, with liver microsome indicated that GPS might be metabolized to a final metabolite 3,4‐dihydro‐5‐(hydroxymethyl)isochroman‐1‐one (HMIO) in vivo. After hydrolysis with sulfatase, HMIO was successfully detected in rat plasma after oral administration of GPS by LC–MS following picolinoyl derivatization. 4‐Methoxyphenyl methanol was used as an internal standard to quantify HMIO in rat plasma. A metabolic pathway of GPS in rats is proposed. The monoterpene compound GPS was found to be metabolized to dihydroisocoumarin, which may be responsible for the pharmacological effect of GPS.     

Diastereoselective Synthesis of Functionalized Tetrahydropyrimidin‐2‐thiones via ZnCl2 Promoted One‐pot Reactions

In the presence of zinc chloride, the in situ generated β‐enamino ester from the reaction of morpholine, piperidine and pyrrolidine with methyl propiolate reacted, with aromatic aldehydes and thiourea in ethanol resulting in the functionalized tetrahydropyrimidin‐2‐thiones in satisfactory yields and with good diastereoselectivity. When aromatic aldehydes bearing electron‐withdrawing group were used in the reaction, the 4‐hydroxytetrahydropyrimidin‐2‐thione derivatives were obtained as the main product.     

4‐Benzamido‐TEMPO Catalyzed Oxidation of a Broad Range of Alcohols to the Carbonyl Compounds with NaBrO3 under Mild Conditions

4‐Benzamido‐TEMPO catalyzed oxidation system for conversion of a wide range of alcohols to the aldehydes or ketones with NaBrO₃ under room temperature conditions has been developed. The credible, operationally convenient and economical, and condition mild oxidation protocol is particularly of interest in laboratory and in fine chemicals manufacture.     

Synthesis of Functionalized 1‐Benzamido‐1,4‐dihydropyridines via a One‐Pot Two‐Step Four‐Component Reaction

The one‐pot four‐component reaction of benzohydrazide, acetylenedicarboxylate, aromatic aldehydes and malononitrile in ethanol with triethylamine as base catalyst afforded functionalized 1‐benzamido‐1,4‐dihydropyridines in satisfactory yields. Under similar conditions, picolinohydrazide or nicotinohydrazide can also be successfully utilized in the reactions to give corresponding functionalized 1,4‐dihydropyridines. ¹H NMR data indicated that an equilibrium of cis/trans‐conformations exist in 1‐benzamido‐1,4‐dihydropyridines.     

An efficient ionic liquid supported divergent assembly of 3,6-branched glucosamine-containing pentasaccharide

We utilized the glycosyl acceptor tagging method with ionic liquid support for synthesis of the core segment of Clostridium botulinum C2 toxin ligand through a divergent synthetic strategy without chromatographic purification.The total yield was 57.1% and the reaction was completed in 10 h.The efficient ionic liquid supported glycosylation and purification procedure was applied for the synthesis of branched glucosamine-containing oligosaccharides for the first time,which expanded the scope of ionic liquid supported synthesis of biologically important oligosaccharides.     

Synergistic effect of W and P on ZSM-5 and its catalytic performance in the cracking of heavy oil

In order to develop the conversion of heavy oil with a high yield of propylene in the catalytic cracking process, ZSM-5 zeolite was modified by tungsten and phosphorus, which was proved to be an effective method. Characterization results show that the improvement of catalytic performance could be correlated to the interaction of phosphorus and tungsten species on ZSM-5. P inhibited the aggregation of tungsten species on ZSM-5 and was conductive to convert the tungsten species with octahedral coordination into tetrahedral coordination. And this ultimately led to that more acid sites were reserved after hydrothermal treatment in the tungsten and phosphorus co-modified ZSM-5 catalyst. Phosphorus species played an important role to restrain the dehydrogenation activity of tungsten. In addition, a model reflecting the interaction between tungsten species and ZSM-5 framework was proposed.     

Mass Transfer Analysis of Growth and Substance Metabolism of NSCs Cultured in Collagen-Based Scaffold In Vitro

The aim of this study is to analyze the growth and substance metabolism of neural stem cells (NSCs) cultured in biological collagen-based scaffolds. Mass transfer and metabolism model of glucose, lactic acid, and dissolved oxygen (DO) were established and solved on MATLAB platform to obtain the concentration distributions of DO, glucose, and lactic acid in culture system, respectively. Calculation results showed that the DO influenced their normal growth and metabolism of NSCs mostly in the in vitro culture within collagen-based scaffolds. This study also confirmed that 2-mm thickness of collagen scaffold was capable of in vitro cultivation and growth of NSCs with an inoculating density of 1?×?10⁶ cells/mL.     

A New Near-Infrared Neutral pH Fluorescent Probe for Monitoring Minor pH Changes and its Application in Imaging of HepG2 Cells

A new near-neutral pH near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe utilizing a fluorophore–receptor molecular framework that can modulate the fluorescence emission intensity through a fast photoinduced electron transfer process was developed. Our strategy was to choose tricarbocyanine (Cy), a NIR fluorescent dye with high extinction coefficients, as a fluorophore, and N-methylpiperazine (MP) as a receptor. The pH titration indicated that MP-Cy can monitor the minor physiological pH fluctuations with a pKa of ～7.10 near physiological pH, which is valuable for intracellular pH researches. The probe responds linearly and rapidly to minor pH fluctuations within the range of 3.05–7.10 and exhibits strong dependence on pH changes. As expected, the real-time imaging of cellular pH and the detection of pH in situ was achieved successfully in living HepG2 cells by this probe. It is shown that the probe effectively avoids the influence of autofluorescence and native cellular species in biological systems and meanwhile exhibits high sensitivity, good photostability, and excellent cell membrane permeability.