Temperature dependence of the exciton and magnon-phonon sidebands in RbMnF3 in the 5500Å region

Absorption spectra of RbMnF₃ in the 5500Å region were investigated in the temperature interval 4.2–77°K. Similar temperature dependence was observed for the exciton-magnon and the magnon-phonon sidebands. The position of the exciton lines does not vary as the temperature is increased.     

Chemistry of geminal-dithiolates derived from cyano-substituted tetrathiafulvalenes

Tetracyanotetrathiafulvalene reacts with two equivalents of thiol salts (RS^?) to give 1,2-dicyano-1,2-di RS ethene and a geminal dithiolate intermediate which reacts with a variety of reagents to provide novel tetrathioethene derivatives, such as reaction with 3-chloro-2-butanone and acid to give dimethyldicyanotetrathiafulvalene.     

Diversity oriented synthesis of fused-ring 1,3-oxazines from carbohydrates as biorenewable feedstocks

Microwave enhanced diversity oriented synthesis (MEDOS) of various N- and O-heterocyclic systems fused with 1,3-oxazine ring is reported. The synthesis represents a new montmorillonite K-10 clay-catalyzed green protocol, which utilizes d-glucose/d-xylose as biorenewable feedstocks. d-Glucose/d-xylose-derived 1,3-oxazin-2-ones(thiones) either directly undergo K-10 clay-catalyzed cyclization to yield pyrano-/furo-1,3-oxazine systems under solvent-free microwave irradiation conditions or afford azolo-/azino-1,3-oxazines when subjected to Malaprade reaction followed by cyclization with appropriate reagents, viz. phenylhydrazine, hydroxylamine, acetamidine, phenylurea and semi(thiosemi)carbazide.     

Suppression of the reversible thermal behavior of the layered double hydroxide (LDH) of Mg with Al: stabilization of nanoparticulate oxides

The layered double hydroxide of Mg with Al decomposes below 600 degrees C with the loss of nearly 48% mass, resulting in the formation of an oxide residue having the rock salt structure and nanoparticulate morphology. However, this product reconstructs back into the parent LDH, owing to its compositional and morphological metastability. The oxide can be kinetically stabilized within an amorphous phosphate network built up through an ex situ reaction with a suitable phosphate source such as (NH4)H2PO4. This oxide transforms into a thermodynamically more stable phase with a spinel structure on soaking in an aqueous medium. The oxide residue has a nanoparticulate morphology as revealed by the Scherrer broadening of the Bragg reflections as well as by electron microscopy. This work shows that the hydroxide reconstruction reaction and spinel formation are competing reactions. Suppression of the former catalyzes spinel formation as the excess free energy of the metastable oxide residue is unlocked to promote the diffusion of Mg2+ ions from octahedral to tetrahedral sites, which is the essential precondition to the formation of a normal spinel. This reaction taking place as it does at ambient temperature and in solution helps in the retention of a nanostructured morphology for the spinel. Another way of stabilizing the oxide is by incorporating the thermally stable borate anion into the LDH. This paves the way for an in situ reaction between the cations of the host LDH and the borate guest. The in situ reaction directly leads to the formation of an oxide with a spinel structure.     

β-Sitosterol Circumvents Obesity Induced Inflammation and Insulin Resistance by down-Regulating IKKβ/NF-κB and JNK Signaling Pathway in Adipocytes of Type 2 Diabetic Rats

β-sitosterol (SIT), the most abundant bioactive component of vegetable oil and other plants, is a highly potent antidiabetic drug. Our previous studies show that SIT controls hyperglycemia and insulin resistance by activating insulin receptor and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT-4) in the adipocytes of obesity induced type 2 diabetic rats. The current research was undertaken to investigate if SIT could also exert its antidiabetic effects by circumventing adipocyte induced inflammation, a key driving factor for insulin resistance in obese individuals. Effective dose of SIT (20 mg/kg b.wt) was administered orally for 30 days to high fat diet and sucrose induced type-2 diabetic rats. Metformin, the conventionally used antidiabetic drug was used as a positive control. Interestingly, SIT treatment restores the elevated serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines including leptin, resistin, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) to normalcy and increases anti-inflammatory adipocytokines including adiponectin in type 2 diabetic rats. Furthermore, SIT decreases sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) and enhances Peroxisome Proliferator–activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) gene expression in adipocytes of diabetic rats. The gene and protein expression of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase-1 (JNK1), inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase subunit beta (IKKβ) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) were also significantly attenuated in SIT treated groups. More importantly, SIT acts very effectively as metformin to circumvent inflammation and insulin resistance in diabetic rats. Our results clearly show that SIT inhibits obesity induced insulin resistance by ameliorating the inflammatory events in the adipose tissue through the downregulation of IKKβ/NF-κB and c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway.     

DFT Study of Polymorphism in Al(OH)3: A Structural Synthon Approach

All the known polymorphs of Al(OH)₃ comprise a stacking of charge neutral layers having the composition [Al_2/3□_1/3(OH)₂] (□: cation vacancy) and designated by the symbol P. Employing a single Al(OH)₃ layer (layer group p12₁/a1) as a structural synthon, the energy profile computed for the translations of P and $\bar{P}$ ($\bar{P}$ : mirror image of P) layers relative to each other within a bilayer model, not only show minima corresponding to the four known polymorphs of Al(OH)₃ but also predict three new polymorphs with energy minima at the stacking vectors (7/10, 5/18, 1) (polymorph B1), (1/2, 0, 1) (polymorph B2) and (2/5, 1/9, 1) (polymorph B4). Of these B1 and B2 are 0.30 eV and 0.23 eV below the energy of bayerite (B3), but 0.30 eV and 0.37 eV above the global minimum which corresponds to gibbsite. B4 is only 0.08 eV above the energy of bayerite. This quantitative structural synthon approach offers B1, B2, and B4 as legitimate targets for future synthetic efforts.     

Development of a high-performance liquid chromatography method for simultaneous determination of pioglitazone and felodipine in pig serum: application to pharmacokinetic study

A simple and sensitive high‐performance liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for simultaneous estimation of pioglitazone and felodipine in pig serum. The present method consists of protein precipitation, extraction of analytes from pig serum into dichloromethane and separation using reversed‐phase C₁₈ column. Nitrendipine was used as an internal standard and the eluent was monitored by UV detector at 240 nm. The mobile phase used was acetonitrile and 50 mm ammonium acetate buffer at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The retention times for pioglitazone, felodipine and nitrendipine were found to be 5.12, 10.53 and 7.14 min, respectively. The intraday and inter‐day coefficient of variation and percent error values of assay method were less than 7% and mean recovery was more than 94% for each analyte, and the method was found to be precise, accurate and specific during study. The method was successfully applied for pharmacokinetic study of pioglitazone and felodipine from bioadhesive buccal tablet after buccal administration to pigs. The C_Max, T_Max, and AUC_0–24 of pioglitazone and felodipine from buccal tablet were found to be 394.6 ng/mL, 5.6 h, 2624.2 ng h/mL and 44.4 ng/mL, 5.5 h, 275.8 ng h/mL, respectively. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sequential approach to the synthesis of 'U and Z' shaped polycyclic heteroarenes

The synthesis of three new classes of heteroarenes, built through the sequential fusion of naphthalene, benzo/naphtho[b]oxepine and thiochromene rings with pyran and pyrimidine ring systems to give 'U and Z' shaped structural frameworks is reported. The methodology is based on the synthesis of pyran fused intermediates, 1-methylthio-3-oxo-5,6-dihydro-3H-benzo[f]chromene-2-carbonitrile (3), 4-methylthio-2-oxo-5,6-dihydro-2H-benzo/naphtho[b]pyrano[2,3-d]oxepine-3-carbonitriles (10, 20) and 4-methylthio-2-oxo-2,5-dihydrothiochromeno[4,3-b]pyran-3-carbonitriles (15) from the reaction of 2-tetralone, benzo/naphtho[b]oxepin-5-ones and thiochromen-4-ones with methyl 2-cyano-3,3-dimethylthioacrylate respectively. Further condensation of intermediates 3, 10, 20 and 15 with amidines led to the formation of tetracyclic 'U' shaped 4-amino-2-aryl-7,8-dihydro-5-oxo-5H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrans (8) and 'Z' shaped 4-amino-2-aryl-5-oxo-12,13-dihydro-5H-benzo/naphtho[b]oxepino[5,4-b]pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrans (12, 22) and 4-amino-2-aryl-5-oxo-5,12-dihydrothiochromeno[4,3-b]pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrans (17). Compound 12f forms a chain of dimers through N-HO interactions as indicated by the X-ray structure analysis, and the quantum chemical calculations performed at the MP2 level indicate that this interaction energy is 10 kJ mol(-1).     

Facile and Simple Synthesis of Novel 1-Methyl-2-(2-substituted-oxazol-4-yl)-1H-benzimidazole Derivatives

Novel 1-methyl-2-(2-substituted-oxazol-4-yl)-1H-benzimidazole derivatives were obtained in good yields and purity by treating corresponding 2-benzimidazolyl esters with acetamide in the presence of BF₃-etherate, a Lewis acid.     

Graphene for energy harvesting/storage devices and printed electronics

Graphene-based materials are intriguing from the perspective of fundamental science and technology because they are non-toxic, chemically and thermally tolerant, and mechanically robust. Graphene exhibits superior electrical conductivity, high surface area and a broad electrochemical window that may be particularly advantageous for their applications in energy storage devices. In addition, graphene can be prepared in the form of a colloidal suspension with adjustable solubility and thus is suitable for printing applications and offers both transparency and good conductivity at the same time. In this review, applications of graphene in solar cells, batteries, supercapacitors and fuel cells are summarized with the latest developments. Furthermore, graphene as a conductive ink for printed electronics is also discussed.