Quantum-chemical gas-phase calculations on the protonation forms oftrans- andcis-urocanic acid

The neutral, cationic, and anionic structures of both prototropic tautomers oftrans- andcis-urocanic acid [(E)- and (Z)-3-(1H-imidazol-4(5)-yl)propenoic acid, respectively] were studied by using semiempirical andab initio gas-phase calculations. Potential energy surfaces of the structures were calculated by using the semiempirical AM1 method, and the geometries corresponding to global minima on these surfaces were optimized up to the MP2/6-31G^* level of theory. The calculated protonation forms of each urocanic acid isomer have a planar molecular structure due to a delocalized -electron system, and all of them prefer thes-trans conformation with respect to the bond between the imidazole and the propenoic acid moieties. Thecis-urocanic acid structures are stabilized by an intramolecular hydrogen bond. The chargedcis-urocanic acid isomers have a lower molecular energy than the correspondingtrans-isomers, whereas the neutral molecules have, after inclusion of thermodynamic corrections, approximately the same energy. The cationic urocanic acid structures have about 2500 kJ mol^–1 lower energy than the anionic ones and about 1000 kJ mol^–1 lower energy than the neutral ones. The nonzwitterionic forms of the neutral urocanic acid isomers have about 200 kJ mol^–1 lower energy than the zwitterionic ones. These energy differences are explained by the proton affinities of the imidazole and the propenoic acid moieties of the urocanic acid structures.     

Dissociation constants of phenols in methanol--water mixtures

A preferential solvation model that relates solute properties with solvent composition in binary mixtures has been applied to the dissociation pKa values of a set of 28 substituted phenols in methanol-water mixtures. The parameters of the model allow estimation of the pKa value of each phenol for any methanol-water composition. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the pKa values of the whole set of phenols at any methanol-water composition are linearly related to the pKa values of the phenols in water. Equations that relate the correlations' slope and intercept values with the solvent composition have been derived and tested with the set of phenols. The general parameters obtained for these equations allow an accurate calculation of the pKa value of any phenol, even of those not included in the original set, at any methanol-water composition solely from the pKa value of the phenol in water. These calculated pKa values can be used for quantitative structure-HPLC retention relationships. The method is tested by comparison of the calculated pKa values with the HPLC determined pKa values of 26 phenols in a polymeric column with a 50% methanol as mobile phase.     

Thermal investigations on the crystallization of sorbitol

The melting and crystallization of sorbitol were investigated with the DSC method and thermal microscopy. Sorbitol was found to have two crystalline modifications (confirmed by X-ray diffraction) with different melting points, while rapid cooling of molten sorbitol resulted in an amorphous form. The effect of inoculation on the crystallization of the melt was studied too. Powders of both crystalline modifications were used for this purpose. A new technological process for rapid crystallization of molten sorbitol has been worked out on the basis of the thermal analysis results.     

Kinetic study of copper(II) complexation with 9-ethyl-3-carbazolecarboxaldehyde-thiosemicarbazone and kinetic-spectrophotometric determination of copper(II)

The kinetics of complexation reaction of Cu(II) with 9-ethyl-3-carbazolecarboxaldehyde-thiosemicarbazone (ECCAT) has been examined spectrophotometrically. The ligand was synthesized for the first time. The complexation reaction was carried out in a DMF-water medium at 35°C. The complex has maximum absorbance at 393 nm. Kinetic and activation parameters of the complexation reaction were calculated by the Arrhenius and Eyring equations using the data obtained from investigating the effect of temperature on reaction rates under the specified conditions. We also proposed reaction rate equations. Based on the studied complexation reaction, a simple kinetic method for the spectrophotometric determination of copper(II) has been developed. The calibration graphs are linear in the concentration range 0.2–1.9 μg/mL. The species that caused interference were investigated. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Synthesis and conformational analysis of novel N(OCH3)-linked disaccharide analogues

N(OMe)-linked disaccharide analogues, isosteric to the corresponding natural disaccharides, have been synthesized by chemoselective assembly of unprotected natural monosaccharides with methyl 6-deoxy-6-methoxyamino-alpha-D-glucopyranoside in an aqueous environment. The coupling reactions were found to be chemo- and stereoselective affording beta-(1-->6) disaccharide mimics when using Glc and GlcNAc; in the case of Gal, the beta-anomer was prevalent (beta:alpha=7:1). An iterative method for the synthesis of linear N(OMe) oligosaccharide analogues was demonstrated, based on the use of an unprotected monosaccharide building block in which an oxime functionality at C-6 is converted during the synthesis into the corresponding methoxyamino group. The conformational analysis of these compounds was carried out by using NMR spectroscopy, ab initio, molecular mechanics, and molecular dynamics methods. Optimized geometries and energies of fourteen conformers for each compound have been calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G* level. Predicted conformational equilibria were compared with the results based on NMR experiments and good agreement was found. It appears that N(OMe)-linked disaccharide analogues exhibit a slightly different conformational behavior to their parent natural disaccharides.     

Reactivity of benzoyl chlorides in nonionic microemulsions: potential application as indicators of system properties

The solvolysis reactivity of benzoyl chlorides entails a high sensitivity on medium properties. A systematic study of the reaction of a series of these substrates, varying the electron-withdrawing character of the substituent, has been performed in nonionic microemulsions. The kinetic effects due to variation of microemulsion compositions can be assigned to modifications in system properties, to be precise, to modifications in interface properties. Microemulsion properties that are obtained from kinetic analysis of solvolysis show a good agreement with the characterization of the microemulsion that was made via 1H NMR and solvatochromic fluorescence probes. Benzoyl chlorides with electron-donating groups react through a dissociative mechanism, whereas electron-withdrawing groups favor an associative mechanism. A comparative analysis of reactivity between the different substrates at the interface shows a variation in the contributions of both reaction pathways, associative and dissociative, to the whole reaction mechanism. The confined media shift the point where the mechanism changes from an associative to a dissociative pathway, far away from the turning point in water. Furthermore, the change in mechanism can be modulated by modification of the microemulsion composition.     

Synthesis of CoFe2O4 nanowire in carbon nanotubes. A new use of the confinement effect

Cobalt ferrite nanowires with an average diameter of 50 nm and lengths up to several micrometers were synthesized inside carbon nanotubes under mild reaction conditions using the confinement effect provided by the carbon tubular template.     

Reductive complexation of cycloheptatrienes by iron pentacarbonyl and catalytic sodium borohydride

Fe(CO)5 and a catalytic amount of sodium borohydride react with cycloheptatrienes in protic solvents to yield the corresponding tricarbonyl(eta 4-1,3-diene)iron complexes in a one-pot procedure, which has been found to be particularly efficient for the synthesis of the useful tricarbonyl(cyclo-heptadiene)iron complex.     

On distribution of molecular weight in anionic polymerizates of caprolactam

Measurement has been made of the dependence of the molecular weight distribution on the ratio of the catalytic system components and on the polymerization time for polycaprolactam obtained by anionic polymerization. A bimodal character of the curves was observed for products made using molar ratios of activator (N-benzoylcaprolactam) to initiator (sodium dihydro-bis(methoxyethoxy)aluminate) of 1:1 and 1:3, when the polymerization times were less than 1 hr. This course is explained by the influence of fast side-reactions, mainly condensations. For a ratio of 3:1 of the components of the catalytic system, smooth integral distribution curves are obtained, accounting for a very fast decrease in the strong base concentration in the initial stages of the polymerization.     

Molecular orbital studies on the conformation of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid)

In distinction to Extended Hückel Theory which predicts as the most stable conformation of free zwitterionic GABA a totally extended form, PCILO and SCF ab initio studies show that the intrinsically preferred conformation of the isolated molecule is a highly folded one, resulting from strong interactions between the two charged ends. Computations are also carried out for hydrated GABA in the supermolecule approach allowing moreover for the flexibility of binding of some of the water molecules of the first hydration shell. They predict the coexistence in solution of a large number of conformations showing different degrees of folding (or extension), a result confirmed by recent NMR studies. This and a number of similar results show that we have to adapt our thinking on the role of conformations in pharmacological activity to this situation, which was frequently obscured by the more abundant results of X-ray crystallography yielding a single conformation.