Fabrication,characterization, and drug release study of vitamin C–loaded alginate/polyethylene oxide nanofibers for the treatment of a skin disorder

Pigmented purpuric dermatosis (PPD) is a skin disorder mainly seen in the lower limbs. The nanofibrous web has been shown to be an appropriate alternative for the treatment of skin diseases as a drug delivery vehicle. In this study, sodium alginate (SA)/polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibers containing vitamin C (VC) were fabricated using both blended electrospinning and core/shell electrospinning. The resultant nanofibers were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Enhancing the VC content resulted in increasing the nanofibers diameter. Also, the degradation rate and drug release were investigated. Drug release was evaluated using the in vitro dissolution and permeation method. The degradation rate and the drug release of the core/shell nanofibers were found to be lower than those of the blended nanofibers. The drug release of the extended nanofibers followed a different pattern, indicating that the extension of the nanofibers could be a promising way to control the drug release.     

Copper-catalyzed domino reaction between terminal alkynes,isocyanates, and oxiranes: An atom-economic route to morpholine derivatives

In situ generated copper acetylides react with isocyanates and oxiranes to form a decent range of morpholine derivatives. The reactions proceeded with acceptable yields and excellent regioselectivity. The presence of oxygen and moisture completely inhibited the reaction. The scope of the reaction is wide and the reactions involve consecutive C–C, C–N, and C–O bond formations.     

Substituted six-membered ring carbenes: the effects of amino and cyclopropyl groups through DFT calculations

DFT calculations are employed to compare and contrast six-membered ring carbenes including 1,3-dimethyltetrahydropyrimidin-2-ylidene (1a), 1-methyl-3-cyclopropyltetrahydropyridine-2-ylidene (2a), and 1,3-dicyclopropylcyclohexane-2-ylidene (3a) as well as their unsaturated analogues 1b, 2b, 3b, and 2c. The amino groups exert singlet-triplet energy separation (?E_s−t) of 60.9 kcal/mol to 1a while cyclopropyls induce a ?E_s−t of 14.8 kcal/mol to 3a. The simultaneous presence of amino and cyclopropyl in 2a leads to a ?E_s−t of 43.3 kcal/mol. Unsaturation slightly increases the ?E_s−t of 1a and 3a but not that of 2a. Our thermodynamic, kinetic, and reactivity results are compared with those of synthetic five-membered ring N-heterocyclic carbenes.     

Factors affecting the reactivity and selectivity in the oxidation of sulfides with tetra-n-butylammonium peroxomonosulfate catalyzed by Mn(III) porphyrins: Significant nitrogen donor effects

The oxidation of aryl sulfides by tetra-n-butylammonium peroxomonosulfate (n-Bu₄NHSO₅) was carried out in the presence of six different manganese (III) tetraarylporphyrins [Mn(Por)s] as biomimetic catalysts and a number of nitrogen donors as co-catalysts. There is no noticeable difference between the reactivity of sulfides, in the presence of electron-rich Mn(por)s, whereas, for electron-deficient catalysts, conversion rates are different. Nevertheless, the over-oxidation of sulfoxide is more sensitive to both the nature of substituents attached to the sulfur atom in substrates as well as porphyrin complex structure. The degree of catalytic activity of Mn(Por)s for the formation of sulfone product increases as the following order: Mn(TPFPP)OAc < Mn[T(4-NO₂P)P]OAc < Mn(TDCPP)OAc < Mn(TPP)OAc < Mn(TMP)OAc < Mn[T(4-OMeP)P]OAc. Our results show that in the presence of electron-rich Mn(Por)s, the strong π-donor N-H imidazoles possess co-catalytic activity greater than that of strong σ-donor amines and weak π-donor pyridines. When electron-deficient Mn(Por)s were employed as catalyst, pyridines demonstrated a higher co-catalytic activity than that of N-H imidazoles. The pronounced effect of protic solvents on the rate and selectivity of oxidation reactions, particularly in the presence of electron-deficient Mn(Por)s has been observed. The outcome of our investigations accompanied by UV-Vis and Raman spectral data confirms the involvement of different active oxidant such as a high valent Mn-oxo species as well as a six-coordinate [(L)(Por)Mn-OHSO₄] complex.     

A quick and green ionic liquid-mediated approach for the synthesis of high-performance, organosoluble and thermally stable polyimides

Three diamine monomers with different derivatives of imidazole heterocyclic ring and meta-linked aryl ethers were synthesized and used in polycodensation reaction with various commercial dianhydrides for preparation of a series of novel poly(ether-imide) (PEI)s. The polycodensation reactions were carried out by using conventional method and in a green medium of ionic liquid (IL) without using NMP-pyridine-acetic anhydride. The PEIs were obtained in good yields (80% 96%) with moderate viscosity (0.48 0.66 dL/g) in a shorter reaction time (10 h) in IL as compared with the conventional method (36 h). All of the polymers were amorphous in nature, showed excellent solubility in amide-type polar aprotic solvents with ability to form tough and flexible films, and excellent thermal stability with Tgs in the range of 212 340 ℃ and 10% weight loss temperature (T10) up to 570℃ in N 2 and 528 ℃ in air.     

Analysis of the structures,energetics, and vibrational frequencies for the hydrogen-bonded interaction of nucleic acid bases with Carmustine pharmaceutical agent: a detailed computational approach

In the present study, it is attempted to scrutinize the hydrogen bonding interaction between Carmustine drug and DNA pyrimidine bases by means of density functional theory calculations regarding their geometries, binding energies, vibrational frequencies, and topological features of the electron density in the gas phase and the water solution. Based on the density functional theory results, it is found that the process of intermolecular interaction between Carmustine drug and nucleobases is exothermic and all of the optimized configurations are stable. Furthermore, the negative stability energy represented by a polarizable continuum model shows the significant increase in the solubility of the nucleobase after hydrogen bonding intermolecular interaction in the presence of water solvent. It is also found that the intermolecular hydrogen bonds between drug and the nucleobases play the significant role in the stability of the physisorption configurations. Hydrogen bond energies for hydrogen-bonded complexes are obtained from Espinosa method and the atoms-in-molecules theory are also applied to get a more precise insight into the nature of the intermolecular hydrogen bond interactions.     

One-pot five-component synthesis of highly functionalized piperidines using oxalic acid dihydrate as a homogenous catalyst

An efficient green protocol is described for the preparation of highly functionalized piperidines via a one-pot five-component reaction between aromatic aldehydes,anilines andβ-ketoesters in the presence of oxalic acid dihydrate as catalyst in ethanol at ambient temperature.The structure as well as the relative stereochemistry of these compounds was confirmed by single X-ray crystallographic analysis.     

A Study on Transreactions of PET/PEN Reactive Blending in a Twin‐Screw Extruder Using an Axial Dispersion Model

Transreactions of PET and PEN melt‐mixed in a twin‐screw extruder are investigated. The extruder is modeled and characterized in the frame of a tubular system of closed type. The kinetic modeling is based on a modified second‐order reversible reaction equation, which allows the dispersion equation to be solved analytically. The analysis shows a good agreement between the model and experiment. The axial dispersion model is employed to predict the extent of transesterification reactions (X) and degree of randomness (RD). ¹H NMR measurements are performed to estimate X and RD. Theoretical and experimental data are in good agreement. The model can thus be exploited to describe the effects of processing parameters, mixing time, mixing temperature, and blend composition on X and RD.

     

Purification of L-Lysine in Simulated Moving Bed and Fixed-Bed Chromatography

 L-Lysine was produced by a microbial process utilizing a Corynebacterium glutamicum (ATCC 21799) strain. L-Lysine was purified from the cultivated medium by fixed-bed and simulated moving bed （SMB） chromatography. The separation conditions including pH, eluent concentration and Lys+ and Lys2+ adsorption isotherms were studied in batch adsorption. The column capacity, eluent flow rate and eluent concentration have been studied in fixed-bed chromatography. Maximum purification rate of lysine was obtained as 0.066 g/(g·h) (per gram resin and per hour) at an eluent flow rate of 10 mL/min in fixed-bed chromatography. The results obtained from SMB were 0.11 g/(g·h) for L-lysine purification rate and 96% for L-lysine recovery.     

Synthesis of a polymer-capped palladium nanoparticles and its application as a reusable catalyst in oxidative coupling reaction of α-hydroxyketones and 1,2-diamines for preparation of pyrazines and quinoxalines

A novel method for the synthesis of pyrazines and quinoxalines has been developed using α-hydroxyketones and 1,2-diamines in the presence of cross-linked poly(4-vinylpyridine)-stabilized Pd(0) nanoparticles, [P4-VP]-PdNPs. The catalyst was easily prepared and characterized using various techniques such as FT-IR and UV–Vis spectroscopy, AAS, TEM, FESEM, EDX analysis and XRD. The results confirm a good dispersion of palladium nanoparticles on the polymer support. The catalyst displayed good catalytic activity when applied to the synthesis of quinoxalines via condensation of α-hydroxyketones with 1,2-diamines. A few pyrazine derivatives and various quinoxalines are prepared via coupling reaction of α-hydroxyketones and 1,2-diamines in high–excellent yields (81–99%) with short reaction times. The quinoxalines products were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, and the physical properties were compared to the literature values of known compounds. The advantages of the present method over conventional classical methods are rapid and very simple work-up, and the catalyst is reusable many times without a significant loss in its activity.