Polymerization of methyl methacrylate using isatoic anhydride–bromine donor–acceptor complex as the photoinitiator

Isatoic anhydride (IA) alone did not initiate photopolymerization of methyl metacrylate (MMA) at 40°C when exposed to visible light for about 180 min. But IA, when used in combination with bromine (Br₂) as the initiator, initiated the photopolymerization of MMA readily under the same conditions. This behavior was explained by the formation of a donor-acceptor type of complex between IA and Br₂ in the presence of MMA. The polymerization was found to proceed via a free radical mechanism and the radical generation process was considered to follow an initial complexation reaction between the initiator components and monomer. The complex initiator showed nonideal kinetics for the present system (initiator exponent < 0.5) and was analyzed. The monomer exponents varied from 0.83 to 1.15 normally depending on the nature of solvent used. Initiator-dependent chain termination was significant as well as the bimolecular mode of chain termination. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Novel Synthesis of Agaritine,a 4-Hydrazinobenzyl-Alcohol Derivative Occurring in Agaricaceae

The 4-hydrazinobenzyl alcohol ( 3 was prepared (58%)) by diiobutylaluminiumhydride reduction of methyl 4-hydrazinobenzoate ( 4 ), whereas LiA1H₄ or LiBh₄ reduction of 4 proceeded further to yield (via intermediate 3 ) (4-tolyl)hydrazine ( 5 ). The alcohol 3 was stable under O₂-free conditions and exhibited no tendency to eliminate H₂O, neither thermally nor with H⁺ catalysis. Oxidation of 3 with SeO₂ yielded 4-(hydroxymethyl)benzine-diazonium ion ( 8 ), identified by its azo coupling product 9 with 2-naphthol. Condensation of 3 with 1-benzyl 5-Hydrogen N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L-glutamate ( 10 ) in presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide afforded 81% of N²-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-L- glutamic acid 1-(benzyl-ester) 5-{2-[4-(hydroxymethyl)phenyl]hydrazide} ( 11 ) which upon controlled hydrogenolysis (quinoline-sulfur-poisoned Pd/C catalyst) gave 82% of L-Glutamic acid 5-{2-[4-(hydroxymethyl)phenyl] hydrazide} ( 1 ), i. e. agaritine, a metabolite of Agaricus bisporus. Without poisoning of the catalyst, hydrogenolysis of ( 11 ) yielded L-glutamic acid 5-[2-(4-tolyl)hydrazide] ( 12 ).     

Kinetics of oxidation of ethyldigol by vanadium(V) in aqueous acidic medium

The kinetics of oxidation of ethyldigol by vanadium(V) in aqueous acidic medium has been carried out. The reaction is first order with respect to vanadium(V) and the substrate and is acid catalysed.Hammett acidity function (H ₀) andBunnett hypothesis have been applied. The formation of free radicals during the course of the reaction has been indicated. A probable reaction mechanism is proposed.

---

Die Kinetik der Oxidation von Ethyldigol mit Vanadium(V) in wäßrigem saurem Medium

Zusammenfassung Es wurde die Kinetik der Oxidation von Ethyldigol mittels Vanadium(V) in wäßriger saurer Lösung untersucht. Die Reaktion ist erster Ordnung bezüglich Vanadium(V) und Substrat und ist säurekatalysiert. Es wurden dieHammett-Aciditätsfunktion (H ₀) und dieBunnett-Hypothese angewandt. Die Bildung von freien Radikalen während der Reaktion konnte bestätigt werden. Es wird ein Reaktionsmechanismus vorgeschlagen.

     

Studies in inorganic polyelectrolytes — Part II

Viscosity behaviour of several samples ofGraham's salt with varying molecular weight has been studied. Reduced viscosity (η _sp /c) versus concentration curves were found to be characteristic of polyelectrolytes. They are dependent on the molecular weight and can be reduced to straight lines by plotting the reciprocal of the reduced viscosity against the square root of concentration. The intrinsic viscosities obtained by extrapolation were found to be proportional to the square of molecular weights. The value of reduced viscosity at any particular concentration in the concentration range between 0.25% and 4.0% was linearly related to the molecular weight. Reduced viscosities were found to decrease considerably on addition of electrolytes. Reduced viscosity versus added salt concentration curves were remarkably molecular weight dependent. The p_H of the medium seemed to have no effect at all. Bivalent salts reduce the viscosity to a much greater extent than monovalent ones. By keeping the concentration of the added salt constant and varying that ofGraham's salt, curves showing hump which disappeared at higher concentration of the added salt, were obtained. In the action of electrolytes the more important factor is the valency of cation rather than the ionic strength of the medium. Most observations confirm the already well-establishedFolding-Chain Theory of polyelectrolytes developed byKatchalsky, Fuoss and others.     

Quadruplex formation by a guanine-rich PNA oligomer

A guanine-rich PNA dodecamer having the sequence H-G4T4G4-Lys-NH2 (G-PNA) hybridizes with a DNA dodecamer of homologous sequence to form a four-stranded quadruplex (Datta, B.; Schmitt, C.; Armitage, B. A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 4111-4118). This report describes quadruplex formation by the PNA alone. UV melting curves and fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments reveal formation of a multistranded structure stabilized by guanine tetrads. The ion dependency of these structures is analogous to that reported for DNA quadruplexes. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry indicates that both dimeric and tetrameric quadruplexes are formed by G4-PNA, with the dimeric form being preferred. These results have implications for the use of G-rich PNA for homologous hybridization to G-rich targets in chromosomal DNA and suggest additional applications in assembling quadruplex structures within lipid bilayer environments.     

Hybridization of PNA to structured DNA targets: quadruplex invasion and the overhang effect

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes have been synthesized and targeted to quadruplex DNA. UV-vis and CD spectroscopy reveal that the quadruplex structure of the thrombin binding aptamer (TBA) is disrupted at 37 degrees C by a short PNA probe. The corresponding DNA probe fails to bind to the stable secondary structure at this temperature. Thermal denaturation experiments indicate surprisingly high thermal and thermodynamic stabilities for the PNA-TBA hybrid. Our results point to the nonbonded nucleobase overhangs on the DNA as being responsible for this stability. This "overhang effect" is found for two different PNA-DNA sequences and a variety of different overhang lengths and sequences. The stabilization offered by the overhangs assists the PNA in overcoming the stable secondary structure of the DNA target, an effect which may be significant in the targeting of biological nucleic acids, which will always be much longer than the PNA probe. The ability of PNA to invade a structured DNA target expands its potential utility as an antigene agent or hybridization probe.