Amperometric proton selective sensors utilizing ion transfer reactions across a microhole liquid/gel interface

A new cost-effective amperometric proton selective sensor utilizing a single microhole interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES) is developed. The sensing methodology is based on measuring currents associated with proton transfer across the interface assisted by a proton selective ionophore. The ellipse shaped micro-interface was first fabricated by simple mechanical punching with a sharp needle on a thin PVC film (12 μm thick) commercially available as a food wrapping material. The microhole was then filled up with a gellified polyvinylchloride (PVC)-2-nitrophenyloctylether (NPOE) to create a single microhole liquid/liquid interface. Direct ion transfer reactions across the polarized interface serving as ion sensing platforms were studied using cyclic voltammetry. In order to enhance the selectivity of proton sensing, a proton selective ionophore, octadecyl isonicotinate (ETH1778), was incorporated into the organic gel layer and their electrochemical sensing characteristics were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse stripping voltammetry. As an example, we employed the proton selective sensor for the determination of glucose concentrations. The detection scheme involves two steps: (i) protons are first generated by the oxidation of glucose with glucose oxidase in the aqueous phase; and (ii) the current associated with the proton transfer across the interface is then measured for correlating the concentration of glucose.     

Fe(CO)5 promoted C-S bond activation and formation of an unusual C2S3 ligand in [{Fe2(CO)6}2(μ-C2S3)]

Photolysis of a hexane solution containing Fe(CO)₅ and CS₂ leads to desulfurization and formation of a novel cluster [{Fe₂(CO)₆}₂(μ-C₂S₃)] (1). Its molecular structure was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction methods and shown to consist of two distinct Fe₂(CO)₆ units linked by an unusual C₂S₃ unit.     

Modulation of Excited‐State Proton Transfer of 2‐(2′‐Hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole in a Macrocyclic Cucurbit[7]uril Host Cavity: Dual Emission Behavior and pKa Shift

The effect of the macrocyclic host, cucurbit[7]uril (CB7), on the photophysical properties of the 2‐(2′‐hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole (HPBI) dye have been investigated in aqueous solution by using ground‐state absorption and steady‐state and time‐resolved fluorescence measurements. All three prototropic forms of the dye (cationic, neutral, and anionic) form inclusion complexes with CB7, with the largest binding constant found for the cationic form (K≈2.4×10⁶ M ^?1). At pH≈4, the appearance of a blue emission band upon excitation of the HPBI cation in the presence of CB7 indicates that encapsulation into the CB7 cavity retards the deprotonation process of the excited cation, and hence reduces its subsequent conversion to the keto form. Excitation of the neutral form (pH≈8.5), however, leads to an increase in the keto form fluorescence, indicating an enhanced excited‐state intramolecular proton‐transfer process for the encapsulated dye. In both the ground and excited states, the two pK_a values of the HPBI dye show upward shifts in the presence of CB7. The prototropic equilibrium of the CB7‐complexed dye is represented by a six‐state model, and the pH‐dependent changes in the binding constants have been analyzed accordingly. It has been observed that the calculated pK_a values using this six‐state model match well with the values obtained experimentally. The changes in the pK_a values in the presence of CB7 have been corroborated with the modulation of the proton‐transfer process of the dye within the host cavity.     

Fine Tuning of Metallaborane Geometries: Chemistry of Metallaboranes of Early Transition Metals Derived from Metal Halides and Monoborane Reagents

Reaction of [Cp_nMCl_4?x] (M=V: n=x=2; M=Nb: n=1, x=0) or [Cp*TaCl₄] (Cp=η⁵‐C₅H₅, Cp*=η⁵‐C₅Me₅), with [LiBH₄?thf] at ?70 °C followed by thermolysis at 85 °C in the presence of [BH₃?thf] yielded the hydrogen‐rich metallaboranes [(CpM)₂(B₂H₆)₂] ( 1 : M=V; 2 : M = Nb) and [(Cp*Ta)₂(B₂H₆)₂] ( 3 ) in modest to high yields. Complexes 1 and 3 are the first structurally characterized compounds with a metal–metal bond bridged by two hexahydroborate (B₂H₆) groups forming a symmetrical complex. Addition of [BH₃?thf] to 3 results in formation of a metallaborane [(Cp*Ta)₂B₄H₈(μ‐BH₄)] ( 4 ) containing a tetrahydroborate ligand, [BH₄]^?, bound exo to the bicapped tetrahedral cage [(Cp*Ta)₂B₄H₈] by two Ta‐H‐B bridge bonds. The interesting structural feature of 4 is the coordination of the bridging tetrahydroborate group, which has two B? H bonds coordinated to the tantalum atoms. All these new metallaboranes have been characterized by mass, ¹H, ¹¹B, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis and the structural types were established unequivocally by crystallographic analysis of 1 – 4 .     

Spectroscopic studies and life time measurements of binding of a bioactive compound to bovine serum albumin and the effects of common ions and other drugs on binding

The mechanism of binding of anti-inflammatory drug, nimesulide (NIM) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated by fluorescence, absorption, circular dichroism (CD) and lifetime measurements under simulative physiological conditions. The analysis of fluorescence data indicated the presence of both dynamic and static quenching mechanism in the binding. Various binding parameters have been evaluated. The CD spectral data revealed the decrease in alpha-helical content of BSA from 70.9% (in free BSA) to 42.03% (in bound form) thereby indicating the conformational change in BSA upon binding. The binding of NIM to BSA was also confirmed by absorption spectra. Based on the F?rster's theory of non-radiation energy transfer, the binding average distance, r between the donor (BSA) and acceptor (NIM) was found to be 2.17 nm. The association constants of NIM-BSA decreased in presence of the common ions and other drugs thereby indicating the availability of higher concentration of free drug (NIM) in plasma.     

Sensitive extractive spectrophotometric methods for the determination of trazodone hydrochloride in pharmaceutical formulations

Two simple, rapid and sensitive extractive spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the assay of trazodone hydrochloride (TRH) in pure and pharmaceutical formulations. These methods are based on the formation of chloroform soluble ion-association complexes of TRH with bromothymol blue (BTB) and with bromocresol purple (BCP) in KCl-HCl buffer of pH 2.0 (for BTB) and in NaOAc-AcOH buffer of pH of 3.6 (for BCP) with absorption maximum at 423 nm and at 408 nm for BTB and BCP, respectively. Reaction conditions were optimized to obtain the maximum color intensity. The absorbance was found to increase linearly with increase in concentration of TRH, which was corroborated by the calculated correlation coefficient values (0.9996, 0.9945). The systems obeyed Beer's law in the range of 0.2-14.5 and 0.2-14.1 microg/ml for BTB and BCP, respectively. Various analytical parameters have been evaluated and the results have been validated by statistical data. No interference was observed from common excipients present in pharmaceutical formulations. The proposed methods are simple, accurate and suitable for quality control applications.     

Iron Pentacarbonyl Promoted Addition of CO and MeOH to 1,4-Disubstituted-1,3-butadiyne and Formation of Vinylallyl and Butatriene Ligand Systems

Abstract  Photochemical reaction of methanol solution containing 1,4-diferrocenyl- or 1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadiynes and iron pentacarbonyl into which CO was constantly bubbled, yielded diiron hexacarbonyl complexes of cumulene ligand systems, [η¹: η³-{RCHC₂CR(COOMe)}Fe₂(CO)₆] (1; E, R = Fc, 2; Z, R = Fc, 5; E, R = Ph, 6; Z, R = Ph) and [η³: η³-{RCHC₂CR(COOMe)}Fe₂(CO)₆] (3; E, R = Fc, 7; E, R = Ph), formed by 1,4-addition of –COOMe and –H to the butadiynes. Additionally, diferrole, [Fe(CO)₄{C(O)CC(Fc)C(O)}₂],4 was obtained in minor quantity. Compounds 1, 2, 5 and 6 contain vinylallyl carbon framework which is stabilized by MeOC=O → Fe bond along with η¹: η³ coordinated Fe₂(CO)₆ unit. Compounds 3 and 7 contain butatriene units which are stabilized by η³: η³ coordinated Fe₂(CO)₆ unit. Characterization of the new compounds was carried out by IR and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and by mass spectrometry. Molecular structures of 2–7 were established by single crystal X-ray diffraction methods. Graphical Abstract  Diiron hexacarbonyl complexes of cumulene ligand systems, [η¹: η³ {RCHC₂CR(COOMe)}] (1; E, R = Fc, 2; Z, R = Fc, 5; E, R = Ph, 6; Z, R = Ph) and [η³: η³-{RCHC₂CR(COOMe)}] (3; E, R = Fc, 7; E, R = Ph) were obtained from photochemical reactions between Fe(CO)₅, CO and methanol. Yield of the minor product, the diferrole, 4, was improved when the photoreaction was carried out in hexane in place of methanol      

Isolation,Purification, and Anti-Aging Activity of Melanin from Lachnum singerianum

Intracellular melanin from Lachnum singerianum YM296 (LIM) was obtained by the method of microwave-assisted extraction. On the basis of single factor experiment, the optimum microwave-assisted extraction conditions of LIM using Box–Behnken design were as follows: NaOH concentration, 1.05 mol/L; ratio of raw material to liquid ratio, 1:14.72 (g/mL); microwave time, 118.70 s; and microwave power, 320 W. Under these conditions, the extraction yield of LIM was 11.08 %, and 40.43 % higher than that of extraction by alkali extraction and acid precipitation. The results showed that microwave-assisted extraction could increase the extraction yield of LIM. Three homogeneous components were fractionated from LIM by Sephadex G-15 column. LIM-a was the main homogeneous component, accounting for 75.7 % of the total content of the homogeneous components. Aged mice model were induced by injecting d-galactose, and the aged mice were given LIM-a of different dosages, respectively. The results showed that LIM-a can significantly increase body weight, thymus indexes, and spleen indexes of the aged mice; effectively elevate the levels of SOD, GSH-PX, and CAT; and decrease the level of MDA in mice liver homogenate, brain homogenate, and serum, indicating that LIM-a had significant anti-aging activity.     

Tuning the Electronic Properties in Ruthenium–Quinone Complexes through Metal Coordination and Substitution at the Bridge

A rare example of a mononuclear complex [(bpy)₂Ru(L¹_?H)](ClO₄), 1 (ClO₄) and dinuclear complexes [(bpy)₂Ru(μ‐L¹_?2H)Ru(bpy)₂](ClO₄)₂, 2 (ClO₄)₂, [(bpy)₂Ru(μ‐L²_?2H)Ru(bpy)₂](ClO₄)₂, 3 (ClO₄)₂, and [(bpy)₂Ru(μ‐L³_?2H)Ru(bpy)₂](ClO₄)₂, 4 (ClO₄)₂ (bpy=2,2′‐bipyridine, L¹=2,5‐di‐(isopropyl‐amino)‐1,4‐benzoquinone, L²=2,5‐di‐(benzyl‐amino)‐1,4‐benzoquinone, and L³=2,5‐di‐[2,4,6‐(trimethyl)‐anilino]‐1,4‐benzoquinone) with the symmetrically substituted p‐quinone ligands, L, are reported. Bond‐length analysis within the potentially bridging ligands in both the mono‐ and dinuclear complexes shows a localization of bonds, and binding to the metal centers through a phenolate‐type “O^?” and an immine/imminium‐type neutral “N” donor. For the mononuclear complex 1 (ClO₄), this facilitates strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding and leads to the imminium‐type character of the noncoordinated nitrogen atom. The dinuclear complexes display two oxidation and several reduction steps in acetonitrile solutions. In contrast, the mononuclear complex 1 ⁺ exhibits just one oxidation and several reduction steps. The redox processes of 1 ¹⁺ are strongly dependent on the solvent. The one‐electron oxidized forms 2 ³⁺, 3 ³⁺, and 4 ³⁺ of the dinuclear complexes exhibit strong absorptions in the NIR region. Weak NIR absorption bands are observed for the one‐electron reduced forms of all complexes. A combination of structural data, electrochemistry, UV/Vis/NIR/EPR spectroelectrochemistry, and DFT calculations is used to elucidate the electronic structures of the complexes. Our DFT results indicate that the electronic natures of the various redox states of the complexes in vacuum differ greatly from those in a solvent continuum. We show here the tuning possibilities that arise upon substituting [O] for the isoelectronic [NR] groups in such quinone ligands.     

Synthesis and In Vitro Antimicrobial Screening of New Azetidin‐2‐ones of 5‐Ethyl Pyridine‐2‐ethanol

A new series of azetidinones is described in this paper; Schiff base ( 4a , 4b , 4c , 4d , 4e , 4f , 4g , 4h , 4i , 4j , 4k , 4l , 4m , 4n , 4o ) were synthesized from 4‐[2‐(5‐ethylpyridin‐2‐yl)ethoxy]benzaldehyde, which was used to synthesize azetidinones ( 5a , 5b , 5c , 5d , 5e , 5f , 5g , 5h , 5i , 5j , 5k , 5l , 5m , 5n , 5o ), ( 6a , 6b , 6c , 6d , 6e , 6f , 6g , 6h , 6i , 6j , 6k , 6l , 6m , 6n , 6o ), and ( 7a , 7b , 7c , 7d , 7e , 7f , 7g , 7h , 7i , 7j , 7k , 7l , 7m , 7n , 7o ). The structures of the synthesized compounds were assigned on the basis of elemental analysis, IR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectral data. All the products were screened against different strains of bacteria and fungi. Most of the monosubstituted and disubstituted chloro groups are more effective to both bacterial and fungal species in comparison with the standard drugs.