DOSY NMR as a tool for predicting optimal conditions for hydrogel formation: The case of a hyperbranched polyglycidol cross‐linked with boronic acids

This article demonstrates the utility of DOSY NMR for the determination of the optimal conditions for the efficient covalent, reversible cross‐linking of macromolecules in water for hydrogel formation. The studied model system was hyperbranched polyglycidol (HbPGL) containing numerous diol groups in peripheral regions and two types of boronic acids, that is, B(OH)₄^? and benzene‐1,4‐boronic diacid, as cross‐linking agents. Diffusion coefficient changes of a polymer in solution, under the influence of various concentrations of cross‐linking agent and pH, which influences the equilibrium of the reaction between boronic acids and diols, were recorded. These data are consistent with the rheological properties, namely the G′_max(ω) of hydrogels prepared under analogous conditions, from more concentrated solutions of HbPGL. This approach appears to be promising as it facilitates avoiding the loss of a large amount of polymer that is necessary for the elaboration of appropriate conditions for network formation in aqueous media. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 2171–2178     

Asymmetric photocycloaddition between furan and chiral alkyl glyoxylates

High-pressure mercury lamp irradiation of chiral alkyl glyoxylates [R(?)-menthyl,R(?)- andS(+)-2-octyl,R(?)-andS(+)-2, 2-dimethyl-3-butyl] with furan led to alkyl 2,7-dioxabicyclo-[3.2.0] hept-3-ene-6-car?ylates (13a–e) exhibiting low (2.5–7.3%) optical purity. Compounds13a–e were isomerized to alkyl 3-furylglycolates (14a–e) in good yield. ConfigurationS was assigned to levorotary methyl 3-furlymethoxyacetate. Two interpretations of the results of asymmetric synthesis were proposed.     

Fingerprints of damped quantum rotation observed in solid-state proton NMR spectra.

(1)H NMR spectra of the methyl group in an oriented crystal sample of methylmalonic acid with all three non-methyl protons replaced by deuterons are interpreted in terms of the damped quantum rotation (DQR) theory of NMR line shapes. The DQR approach offers a perfect theoretical reproduction of the observed spectra while the conventional Alexander-Binsch line-shape model shows evident defects in the present case. The temperature trends of the quantities characterizing the coherent and incoherent dynamics of the methyl group in the DQR approach (the effective tunnelling frequency and two coherence-damping rates) derived from the spectra are fairly reproduced using a model reported previously. The present findings provide further evidence of limitations to the validity of the common belief that molecular rate processes in condensed phases are necessarily classical.     

Identification of indigoid dyes in natural organic pigments used in historical art objects by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Pigments are among the most important components of historical paintings and textiles and their nature provides the unique character of color. They can be divided into two main groups: inorganic and organic, extracted from plants or animals. Their identification is a necessary stage in the conservation of art objects. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and UV/visible spectrophotometric methods were elaborated for the identification of indigoid (indigo, indirubin, isoindigo, isoindirubin) color components of natural dyestuffs and their natural or synthetic precursors (indican, isatin, indoxyl, 2-indolinone). ES-MS offers detection limits in the range 0.03-5.00 microg ml(-1) for the color compounds examined. The method developed made it possible to identify indigo and its isomers in genuine Indian indigo, indigo from woad and Tyrian Purple. It was applied to the identification of natural dyes on fiber from a 19th century Japanese tapestry, 'Cranes in the landscape'. A procedure based on freezing and grinding of a sample before the extraction of dyes from the textile was developed. The components of the extract obtained were identified after acidic hydrolysis as indigotin and methylene blue.     

Higher Sucrose Analogs: Homologation of a Glucose Unit of Sucrose by Two Carbon Atoms

Abstract

The primary hydroxyl groups (at C-6 and C-6′) in 2,3,4,3′4′-penta-O-benzyl-l′-O-methoxymethyl sucrose (2) can be reactively differentiated with tert-butyldiphenylsilyl chloride. Reaction of 2 with TBDPSCl afforded only one monosilylated product protected at C-6′ (6). The regioisomeric monoprotected sucrose 8 was prepared by selective deprotection of the double silylated derivative 7. Compound 6 was converted into 2,3,4,3′,4′-penta-O-benzyl-6-carbomethoxymethylidene-1′-O-methoxymethylsucrose 10 in three steps. Osmylation of the double bond in 10 afforded stereoisomeric homologated sucroses: 11a [6(S),7(R)] and 11b [6(R),7(S)] in the ratio 3:2. A large downfield shift of the H-1 (up to 0.5 ppm) was observed for 6′-silylated derivatives.