Covalent and ionic Cu(II) complexes with cyclam and substituted benzoato ligands: structural,thermal, redox and mesomorphic properties

A covalent mononuclear complex, [Cu(p–HOC₆H₄COO)₂(cyclam)] (1), and two ionic mononuclear complexes, [Cu(cyclam)(H₂O)₂](p–CH₃OC₆H₄COO)₂ (2) and [Cu(cyclam)(H₂O)₂](p–CH₃(CH₂)₁₅OC₆H₄COO)₂·H₂O (3), were formed from reaction of cyclam with [Cu₂(p–HOC₆H₄COO)₄(H₂O)₂], [Cu₂(p–CH₃OC₆H₄COO)₄(H₂O)₂] and [Cu₂(p-CH₃(CH₂)₁₅OC₆H₄COO)₄(H₂O)₂], respectively. These complexes were isolated as purple crystals with molecular structures showing distorted octahedral N₄O₂ geometry. Complexes 1 and 2 were irreversibly reduced to Cu(I) and oxidized to Cu(III), while 3 was redox inactive. Complex 2 reacted with N-(hexadecyl)isonicotinamide (L) to form [Cu(cyclam)(L)₂](p–CH₃OC₆H₄COO)₂ (4). These complexes were thermally stable (T_dec > 200 °C for 1–3 and 174 °C for 4). Complexes 3 and 4 behaved as ionic liquids (melting temperatures lower than 100 °C) and exhibited mesomorphism.     

A Substrate-Driven Approach to Determine Reactivities of α,β-Unsaturated Carboxylic Esters Towards Asymmetric Bioreduction

The degree of C?C bond activation in the asymmetric bioreduction of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic esters by ene-reductases was studied, and general recommendations to render these "borderline-substrates" more reactive towards enzymatic reduction are proposed. The concept of "supported substrate activation" was developed. In general, an additional α-halogenated substituent proved to be beneficial for enzymatic activity, whereas β-alkyl or β-aryl substituents were detrimental for the reactivity of nonhalogenated substrates, and α-cyano groups showed little effect. The alcohol moiety of the ester functionality was found to have a strong influence on the reaction rate. Overall, activities were determined by both steric and electronic effects.     

Simultaneous Determination of Paracetamol and Orphenadrine Citrate in Dosage Formulations and in Human Serum by RP‐HPLC

Rapid liquid chromatographic procedures are proposed for analysis of paracetamol and orphenadrine citrate in pharmaceutical preparations and human serum using acetonitrile: water (50:50) as a mobile phase, adjusting pH to 2.6, UV detection at 215 nm and propylparaben sodium as internal standard. The advantages of this method include good and rapid separation, well resolved peaks, and only a small amount of sample is required for assay and adequate precision. The method showed good linearity in the range of 6 to 10000 ng/mL for paracetamol serum concentrations with a correlation coefficient 0.9999 (inter and intra day CV < 3.15) and in the range 3–10000 ng/mL for orphenadrine citrate serum concentrations with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 (inter and intra day CV < 3.58). The recovery of paracetamol and orphenadrine citrate was > 96.9% and > 96.7%, respectively. The proposed method may be used for the quantitative analysis of paracetamol and orphenadrine citrate alone or in combination from raw materials, in bulk drugs, dosage formulations and in serum.     

High-performance Liquid Chromatographic Analysis of Pioglitazone,Gliquidone,Rosuvastatin and Simvastatin in Formulations and Human Serum

Co‐administration of HMG‐CoA reductase with antidiabetic drugs is most common since antidiabetic drugs are mostly prescribed for long term therapy. In the present paper, we describe the simultaneous determination of antidiabetic (pioglitazone hydrochloride and gliquidone) in presence of statins (rosvastatin and simvastatin) in formulations and in human serum using RP‐HPLC technique. The serum samples were subjected to protein precipitation with acetonitrile prior to an HPLC analysis. At a flow rate of 1 mL·min⁻¹ isocratic elution was employed, using mobile phase consisting of methanol/water (90:10, V:V), pH 3.50 with phosphoric acid and absorbance was recorded at 235 nm. The assay was reproducible, linear (concentration range of 5–50 μg·mL⁻¹) and accurate. The LOD and LOQ values were 1.32, 0.28, 0.05 and 0.57 μg·mL⁻¹ and 4.39, 0.93, 0.16 and 1.90 μg·mL⁻¹ for pioglitazone hydrochloride, gliquidone, rosvastatin and simvastatin, respectively. There were no interfering peaks due to the excipients present in the pharmaceutical tablet and serum. Thus, the proposed method is simple and suitable for the analysis of active ingredient in tablet form and human serum.     

Metal ion-catalysed reduction of indolic imides,a facile β-carboline synthesis

A novel procedure for the synthesis of β-carbolines by metal catalysed reduction of imides with sodium borohydride is described.     

Rapid and ultrasensitive electrochemical detection of circulating tumor DNA by hybridization on the network of gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles

An accurate and robust method for quantifying the levels of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is vital if this potential biomarker is to be used for the early diagnosis of cancer. The analysis of ctDNA presents unique challenges because of its short half-life and ultralow abundance in early stage cancers. Here we develop an ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensor for rapid detection of ctDNA in whole blood. The sensing of ctDNA is based on hybridization on a network of probe DNA modified gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles (DNA-Au@MNPs). This DNA-Au@MNPs biosensor can selectively detect short- and long-strand DNA targets. It has a broad dynamic range (2 aM to 20 nM) for 22 nucleotide DNA target with an ultralow detection limit of 3.3 aM. For 101 nucleotide ctDNA target, a dynamic range from 200 aM to 20 nM was achieved with a detection limit of 5 fM. This DNA-Au@MNPs based sensor provides a promising method to achieve 20 min response time and minimally invasive cancer early diagnosis.

This study introduces a new electrochemical sensing strategy for the rapid detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from whole blood in combination with a network of DNA-Au@MNPs with high sensitivity and excellent selectivity.     

Structural and optical investigations of SiO2-CdS core-shell particles

Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (approximately 5 nm), chemically capped using thioglycerol molecules, have been anchored onto silica particles (approximately 80 nm) functionalized with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. Transmission electron microscopy clearly showed that at a low concentration of cadmium sulfide, nanoparticles were discretely and more or less uniformly attached onto the silica particles. At a high concentration of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles, an approximately 6-nm-thick compact shell of cadmium sulfide was formed on the silica particles. In both cases the nanocrystalline nature of cadmium sulfide particles was preserved, as is evident from X-ray diffraction and optical absorption spectra.     

Distribution behavior of astatine: Solvent extraction and back extraction

The distribution behavior of astatine was studied at tracer concentrations and over a wide range of carrier iodide concentration in both solvent extraction and back extraction processes. Astatine compounds were extracted instantly into the organic solvent, CS₂ from the carrier free and carrier iodide containing solutions. Back extraction of astatine with various NaOH solutions followed by solvent extraction caused the hydrolysis of astatine. The distribution behavior of astatine was explained by the extraction reaction schemes.