Nucleophilic displacements in supercritical carbon dioxide under phase-transfer catalysis conditions. 2. Effect of pressure and kinetics

The nucleophilic displacement on n-octylmesylate (n-C(8)H(17)OSO(2)CH(3), 1) with four different anions (I(-), Br(-), N(3)(-), and SCN(-)) is investigated under liquid-supercritical phase-transfer catalysis (LSc-PTC) conditions, i.e. in a biphase system of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)) and water, in the presence of both silica supported and conventional onium salts. The CO(2) pressure greatly affects the concentration of 1 in the sc-phase and plays a major role on its conversion. For example, at 50 degrees C and with a supported PT-catalyst, the conversion of 1 into n-octyl iodide drops by a factor of 5 as the CO(2) pressure is increased from 80 to 150 bar, while in the same pressure range, the solubility of n-octylmesylate in scCO(2) shows a 6-fold increase, indicating that the reagent is desorbed from the catalyst. Under LSc-PTC conditions, pseudo-first-order kinetic rate constants, evaluated for the investigated reactions, show that the performance of scCO(2) as a PTC solvent and the relative nucleophilicity order of the anions (N(3)(-) > I(-) > or = Br(-) > SCN(-)) are comparable to those of toluene and n-heptane. The behavior of conventional phosphonium salts in the scCO(2)/H(2)O biphase system suggests that the reaction may take place either within small droplets of PT-catalyst containing water or in a separate third liquid phase of the PT-catalyst itself.     

Mass spectrometry of heterocyclic compounds. VI—retro-1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and competitive fragmentation reaction of 2,5-diaryl-1,3,4-dioxazoles

The process of retro-1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 2,5-diaryl-1,3,4-dioxazoles induced by electron-impact is discussed. For this purpose, 2-phenyl-5-p-chlorophenyl-1,3,4-dioxazole was prepared, labelled with ¹⁸O in position 1; the spectrum of this compound showed clear evidence of retro-cycloaddition, the dipole fragment retaining the positive charge. This labelled compound also provides a reliable interpretation of other cleavage modes of the heterocyclic ring. The elemental compositions of the ions considered were determined by exact mass measurements and the metastable transitions were detected through the defocusing technique of the electrostatic sector.     

Ion chemistry of α-diazoketones. 2. Synthesis of Ionized or protonated N-tosylpyrrolidin-3-ones from 1-diazo-4-tosylaminobutan-2-ones under electron impact or chemical ionization

Mass spectral syntheses of gaseous ionized or protonated N-tosylpyrrolidin-3-ones from 1-diazo-4-tosylaminobutan-2-one substrates under electron impact or protonating chemical ionization conditions, respectively, are supported by collisional activation experiments.     

Mono-N-methylation of primary amines with alkyl methyl carbonates over Y faujasites. 2. Kinetics and selectivity

In the presence of a Na-exchanged Y faujasite, the reaction of primary aromatic amines 1 with 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)methylethyl carbonate [MeO(CH(2))(2)O(CH(2))(2)OCO(2)Me, 2a] yields the corresponding mono-N-methyl derivatives ArNHMe with selectivity up to 95%, at substantially quantitative conversions. At 130 degrees C, the reaction can be run under diffusion-free conditions and is strongly affected by the solvent polarity: for instance, in going from xylene (epsilon(r) = 2.40) to triglyme (epsilon(r) = 7.62) as the solvent, the pseudo-first-order rate constant for the aniline (1a) disappearance shows a 5-fold decrease. In DMF (epsilon(r) = 38.25), the same reaction does not occur at all. Competitive adsorption of the solvent and the substrate onto the catalytic sites accounts for this result. The behavior of alkyl-substituted anilines ZC(6)H(4)NH(2) [Z = p-Me, p-Et, p-Pr, p-(n-Bu) (1b-e); Z = 3,5-di-tert-butyl- and 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylanilines (1f,g)] and p-alkoxyanilines p-ZC(6)H(4)NH(2) [Z = OMe, OEt, OPr, O-n-Bu (1b'-e')] clearly indicates a steric effect of ring substituents: as diffusion of the amine into the catalytic pores is hindered, the reaction hardly proceeds and the mono-N-methyl selectivity (S(M/D)) drops as well. Moreover, the strength of adsorption of the amine onto the catalyst influences the rate and the selectivity as well: the reaction of p-anisidine and p-toluidine-despite the higher nucleophilicity of these compounds-is slower and even less selective with respect to aniline. From a mechanistic viewpoint, the intermediacy of carbamates ArN(Me)CO(2)R [R = MeO(CH(2))(2)O(CH(2))(2)] is suggested. At 90 degrees C, the reaction of benzylamine (7)-a model for aliphatic amines-with dimethyl carbonate shows that the reaction outcome can be improved by tuning the amphoteric properties of the catalyst: in going from CsY to the more acidic LiY zeolite, methylation is not only more selective (S(M/D) ratio increases from 77% to 84%) but even much faster (CsY, conversion of 36% after 22 h; LiY, conversion of 43% after 7 h).     

A coulometric flow cell for in-line generation of reagent, titrant or standard solutions

A universal and easily ON–OFF time operated coulometric flow cell for generation of chemicals is proposed. The cell can be used for generation of reagents, titrants or standard solutions, and can be coupled to analytical equipments in combination with flow systems for generation of micro-quantity amounts of chemicals in a wide concentration range. Platinum wire electrodes and other common laboratory available materials were employed in the cell assembly. The application of the cell for analytical purposes was illustrated by employing it for generating triiodide ions as a carrier in a flow injection analysis system applied to the analysis of dipyrone in pharmaceuticals, and as a titrant in a flow-batch analysis system applied for analysis of ascorbic acid in natural orange juice samples. Preliminary studies demonstrate that such a flow cell is suitable to allow the use of unstable reagents in analytical chemistry, since they can be generated in a closed system and promptly used in subsequent reactions. In addition, it offers advantages of saving chemicals, time and specially the laborious calibrating standard solutions preparation task of routine laboratories. Taking in account its analytical performance, the proposed cell promises to be an important tool in analytical chemistry with a great competition potential as compared to the other ones proposed in the literature.     

On the simple Michaelis-Menten mechanism for chemical reactions

Several mathematical properties associated with the simple Michaelis-Menten mechanism for enzymatic reactions are proven. In particular it is shown that the usual interpretation of the slope of the experimental Michaelis-Menten rate law in terms of the reaction constants of the mechanism can be obtained, in the approximation in which the total concentration of the enzyme is small compared with the Michaelis-Menten constant, independently of the ratio between the total initial concentrations of the enzyme and substrate. Furthermore, the ratio of the total concentration of the enzyme to the Michaelis-Menten constant allows for the elimination of a fast variable in a singular perturbation method, yielding the Michaelis-Menten rate law as a first order approximation.     

Determining the structure and mode of action of microbisporicin, a potent lantibiotic active against multiresistant pathogens

Antibiotics blocking bacterial cell wall assembly (beta-lactams and glycopeptides) are facing a challenge from the progressive spread of resistant pathogens. Lantibiotics are promising candidates to alleviate this problem. Microbisporicin, the most potent antibacterial among known comparable lantibiotics, was discovered during a screening applied to uncommon actinomycetes. It is produced by Microbispora sp. as two similarly active and structurally related polypeptides (A1, 2246-Da and A2, 2230-Da) of 24 amino acids linked by 5 intramolecular thioether bridges. Microbisporicin contains two posttranslational modifications that have never been reported previously in lantibiotics: 5-chloro-trypthopan and mono- (in A2) or bis-hydroxylated (in A1) proline. Consistent with screening criteria, microbisporicin selectively blocks peptidoglycan biosynthesis, causing cytoplasmic UDP-linked precursor accumulation. Considering its spectrum of activity and its efficacy in vivo, microbisporicin represents a promising antibiotic to treat emerging infections.     

High pressure electrical resistivity study on nonlinear single crystal zinc thiourea sulphate (ZTS)

The Tris Zinc Thiourea Sulphate (ZTS) crystals have been crystallized by slow evaporation technique. The lattice parameters of the grown crystals have been determined by the Energy dispersive x‐ray diffraction technique (EDXRD) and the structure has been confirmed. And, the high pressure electrical resistivity study have been carried out on this crystal and the results have been reported here. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

High pressure electrical resistivity study on nonlinear bis thiourea cadmium chloride (BTCC) single crystal

The Bis Thiourea Cadmium Chloride (BTCC) crystals have been crystallized by slow evaporation technique. The lattice parameters of the grown crystals have been determined by the Energy dispersive x‐ray diffraction technique (EDXRD) and the structure has been confirmed. The high pressure electrical resistivity study have been carried out on this crystal and the results have been reported here. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)