Synthesis of enantiomerically pure C2-branched-2-deoxy-heptitols

2,3; 4,5-Di-O-isopropylidene-al- -(+)-arabinose 1a reacts with di-l-menthylmalonate to give the hepturonates 2a and 3a in a manno-glaco 7.8:2.2 ratio. The C-2 branched 2-Deoxy-2-hydroxy-methyl- -manno-heptitol 6 and 2-Deoxy-2-hydroxy-methyl- -gluco-heptitol 7 were obtained by submitting 2a and 3a to routine procedures. When the same reaction was performed with di-d-menthylmalonate a 3.5:6.5 mixture of 2b and 3b was obtained. A 8.2:1.8 anti-diastereosetectivity was also observed by reacting 2,3,4,5-O-tetraacetyl-al- -(−)-arabinose 1b with di-d-menthylmalonate. The absolute stereochemistry of the major hepturonate 10 obtained in this reaction was secured by a single crystal X-ray analysis.     

A review on flammability of epoxy polymer,cellulosic and non‐cellulosic fiber reinforced epoxy composites

Natural fiber is well‐known reinforcement filler in polymer‐matrix composites. Composite components like organic polymers and natural fibers are natural fire conductors as the natural fiber consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, and hence are as highly flammable as wood. Natural fiber reinforced composite materials are progressively being used in a variety of applications where their fire response is a hazardous consideration, for example, in the automotive (transportation) and building‐construction industries. As a result, an awareness of their performance or response during a fire and the use of conventional fire retardants are of great importance, as they are subject to thermal decomposition when exposed to intensive high heat or fire sources. In this review paper, fire flammability is the main concern for cellulosic and non‐cellulosic fiber‐reinforced polymer composites, especially epoxy composites. This paper reviews the literature on the recent developments in flammability studies concerning polymers, epoxy polymers, cellulosic‐fibers, and non‐cellulosic fiber‐reinforced epoxy bio‐composites. The prime objective of this review is to expand the reach of “fire retardants for polymer materials and composites” to the science community, including physicists, chemists, and engineers in order to broaden the range of their applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biofabrication of a flexible and conductive 3D polymeric scaffold for neural tissue engineering applications; physical,chemical, mechanical,and biological evaluations

Tissue engineering approach aims to overcome the transplant drawbacks and facilitate tissue repair and regeneration. Here, a new conductive, highly porous, and flexible polycaprolactone/gelatin/polypyrrole/graphene 3D scaffolds for nerve tissue repair is presented. A simple and efficient porogen leaching fabrication method is applied to create a 3D network with a pore radius of 3.8 ± 0.7 to 4.2 ± 0.8 μm with an exceptional uniform circular porous structure. The conductivity of the polymeric scaffold without graphene, in wet conditions, was found to be 0.78 ± 0.1 S.m⁻¹ and it increased to 3.3 ± 0.2 S.m⁻¹ for the optimized sample containing 3wt% graphene (G3). Tensile strength was measured at 163 KPa for the base sample (without graphene) and improved to 526 KPa for G3 sample. Following 42 days of incubation in PBS, 32.5% degradation for the base sample (without graphene) was observed. The cell study demonstrated a non-cytotoxic nature of all scaffolds tested and the cells had mostly stretched and covered the surface. Overall, the sum of results presented in this study demonstrate a simple fabrication platform with extraordinary aspects that can be utilized to mimic the native conductive tissue properties, and also because of its flexibility it can easily be rolled into a nerve conduit to fill gaps in nerve tissue regeneration.     

Fabrication of the polyethersulfone/functionalized mesoporous carbon nanocomposite nanofiltration membrane for dyes and heavy metal ions removal: Experimental and quantum mechanical simulation method

The presence of industrial pollutants, especially salts, heavy metals ions, and dyes in water and wastewater is considered a serious environmental issue. To eliminate these pollutants, a high-performing nanofiltration (NF) membrane was prepared by blending the functionalized mesoporous carbon CMK-5 (F-CMK-5) nanofiller. This membrane was synthesized by introducing the active groups of sulfonyl and amide to the surface of mesoporous carbon CMK-5 through covalent functionalization. Characterizations were conducted to study the membranes' physical properties and separation performance in terms of antifouling properties and rejection of salts, heavy metal ions, and dyes. The interactions between the active sites of the nanocomposite membrane and the studied solutes, including dyes and heavy metal ions in aqueous solutions, were studied by the density functional based tight binding method and structural optimization was carried out. Insertion of the F-CMK-5 nanofiller was eventuated in a remarkable increase in surface hydrophilicity, pure water flux, and antifouling properties. For all membranes, the lowest and the highest salt rejection was obtained for NaCl and Na₂SO₄, respectively, exhibiting the characteristics of NF membranes. Moreover, M_0.3 with 0.3 wt% nanofiller showed the highest rejection for heavy metal ions (Fe²⁺ = 99.9%, Zn²⁺ = 99.9%, Cu²⁺ = 99.7%, and Pb²⁺ = 99.2%) and dyes (RB5 = 99.21, DR16 = 98.87, and MB = 98.12%), as well as high separation performance for filtration of multipollutant solutions. The reusability and 144 h uninterrupted filtration experiments for M_0.3 confirmed the stability of the membrane. The findings suggest that the PES/F-CMK-5 nanocomposite NF membrane is a promising candidate for water and wastewater treatment.     

Quantitative Analysis of Nicorandil in Commercial Tablets by Spectrophotometry

The main aim of this work is to develop and validate a spectrophotometric method for the determination of nicorandil in commercial tablets. The method is based on the reduction of the nitroxy ethyl group of nicorandil into carbonyl compound and nitrite ion by NH₄Cl and Zn dust. The nitrite ion thus formed reacts with potassium iodide and starch in dilute HCl medium to form a blue product, which absorbs maximally at 550 nm. Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration range 0.4‐4.0 μg mL^?1 with molar absorptivity of 7.92 × 10⁴L mol^?1 cm^?1. The detection limit is 0.017 μg mL^?1. The reaction conditions are optimized and validated as per the International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines (USA). The proposed method has been applied successfully for the determination of nicorandil in commercial tablets. The results of analyses are compared statistically with those of the author's spectrophotometric method, which confirmed that there is no significant difference between the methods compared.     

Role of the geometry, restricted rotations and solvents on the computed 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hyperfine tensors

The nuclear hyperfine tensor (A) components of the 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl neutral radical are computed using the UB1LYP hybrid density functional method. Solvent interactions via hydrogen bonding are found to play a crucial role in the position of the two phenyl rings relative to the picryl moiety. Under these conditions, the calculated isotropic hyperfine tensor components of the N 1 and N 2 hydrazyl backbone are within approximately 1.3 Gauss (G) of the experimental values determined by EPR and ENDOR spectroscopy. Just as important are the effects of restricted rotations of the phenyl rings on these tensors. Rotational averaging using a Maxwell-Boltzmann type distribution improves the agreement between theory and experiment to less than 1.0 G. In addition, rotational averaging of the twelve isotropic proton coupling constants has also been performed. They come within 0.3 G of the experimental values. Thus, for the first time, all the nuclear hyperfine tensor components of this large class of molecules are accurately calculated without resorting to post Hartree-Fock techniques.     

Reversible nethide shifts in the 2-tert-butyl-2-adamantyl cation

Treatment of either 3-$\text{tert}$-butyl-2-adamantanol or 2-isopropenyl-2-methyladamantane with acid in the presence of a reducing agent (hydrogen iodide or tri-$\text{2}$-hexylsilane) yielded 2-$\text{tert}$-butyladamantane as the major or exclusive product. Both precursors gave the 2-$\text{tert}$- butyl-2-adamantyl cation at ?78°C in FSO₃H-SbF₅-SO₂ClF.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of quinazolin-4(3H)-one Schiff base conjugates as potential antiamoebic agents

In an effort to develop novel antiamoebic scaffolds having better efficacy than the standard drug metronidazole (IC₅₀ = 1.80 μM) used against Entamoeba histolytica, quinazolin-4(3H)-one Schiff base conjugates were synthesized and evaluated against HM1: IMSS strain of E. histolytica. Out of the thirteen compounds (S2-S14), six compounds (S2, S3, S4, S5, S6 and S11) were found to be better inhibitors than metronidazole and showed low cytotoxicity on HeLa cells, a cervical cancer cell line. The structure of intermediate compound S1 was confirmed by crystal structure studies.     

Amino Acid Assisted Incorporation of Dye Molecules within Calcite Crystals

Biomineralisation processes invariably occur in the presence of multiple organic additives, which act in combination to give exceptional control over structures and properties. However, few synthetic studies have investigated the cooperative effects of soluble additives. This work addresses this challenge and focuses on the combined effects of amino acids and coloured dye molecules. The experiments demonstrate that strongly coloured calcite crystals only form in the presence of Brilliant Blue R (BBR) and four of the seventeen soluble amino acids, as compared with almost colourless crystals using the dye alone. The active amino acids are identified as those which themselves effectively occlude in calcite, suggesting a mechanism where they can act as chaperones for individual molecules or even aggregates of dyes molecules. These results provide new insight into crystal–additive interactions and suggest a novel strategy for generating materials with target properties.     

Radical chemistry of alkyl aluminum with quinoxaline ligands

The behavior of organo-aluminum species with 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl) quinoxaline (DPQ), a well-known polyazine capable of performing interesting radical transformations, was examined in the presence and absence of chromium. In spite of proving the presence of chromium as essential for reactivity, only organic radicals, coupled to aluminum-containing residues, have been isolated and characterized. The electronic structure of the organic radicals has been elucidated by a combination of crystallographic, DFT calculations and EPR studies. Experimental and computational work has highlighted the co-existence of both singlet and triplet forms in one di-radical complex.