Direct high-performance liquid chromatography enantioseparation of terazosin on an immobilised polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phase under polar organic and reversed-phase conditions

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) enantioseparation of terazosin (TER) was accomplished on the immobilised-type Chiralpak IC chiral stationary phase (CSP) under both polar organic and reversed-phase modes. A simple analytical method was validated using a mixture of methanol–water–DEA 95:5:0.1 (v/v/v) as a mobile phase. Under reversed-phase conditions good linearities were obtained over the concentration range 8.76–26.28 μg mL⁻¹ for both enantiomers. The limits of detection and quantification were 10 and 30 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The intra- and inter-day assay precision was less than 1.66% (RSD%). The optimised conditions also allowed to resolve chiral and achiral impurities from the enantiomers of TER. The proposed HPLC method supports pharmacological studies on the biological effects of the both forms of TER and analytical investigations of potential drug formulations based on a single enantiomer. At the semipreparative scale, 5.3 mg of racemic sample were resolved with elution times less than 12 min using a mobile phase consisting of methanol–DEA 100:0.1 (v/v) and both enantiomers were isolated with a purity of ≥99% enantiomeric excess (ee). The absolute configuration of TER enantiomers was assigned by comparison of the measured specific rotations with those reported in the literature.     

Processing and Final Properties Improvement of Polyolefin-Sepiolite and Carbon Nanofibre Nanocomposites

Summary: In this work polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites with different nanofillers (sepiolites and carbon nanofibres) have been produced, processed by injection moulding and fibre spinning and analyzed in terms of mechanical properties improvements. Different concentrations of both fillers were used in nanocomposites preparation. The influence of nanofiller type and amount on mechanical properties were analyzed and discussed for each process studied. This study was completed with a basic morphological characterization in order analyze the nanofiller dispersion, distribution and orientation in the nanocomposites. The results achieved show that it is possible to obtain a good dispersion and distribution of the each kind of nanofillers with conventional processing methodologies when the nanofiller concentration is small. Moreover the nanocomposites obtained had better properties than the starting polymers, showing that sepiolite and carbon nanofiller are able to provide an important contribution to the improvement of mechanical properties of the materials analyzed, enlarging the final application possibilities of PP based products.     

The nicholas approach to natural product hybrids

The intermolecular Nicholas reaction of terpene-based scaffolds is an excellent access to natural product hybrid compounds. These intermolecular reactions have a low selectivity and are scarcely efficient for non-conjugated cations, but they are highly efficient to produce new terpene structures through an intramolecular reaction pathway. The use of cations derived from natural product derived [Co(2)(CO)(6)]-enyne complexes is, in contrast, a highly efficient regio- and stereoselective procedure to prepare very complex structures, incorporating diverse densely functionalized or labile moieties. Thus, beta-pinene-diterpene-alkaloid or homohybrids can be accessed in totally stereo-, regio- and siteselective fashion. This approach efficiently discriminates between different propargylic positions by selecting the nature of the alcohol, being the enyne-derived cations the most reactive. The chimera 38 with a steroid-terpene-indole skeleton was prepared in this way.     

Weak exchange interaction supported by a biologically relevant long chemical bridge in a Cu-peptide model compound

The copper complex of the dipeptide L-alanyl-L-phenylalanine, catena-(L-alaninate-L-phenylalaninate-copper(II) monohydrate), identified as Cu(II)Ala-Phe, provides a convenient system to study a weak exchange interaction between unpaired spins transmitted through a biologically relevant long chemical bridge (18.34 A). In this complex, the copper ions are arranged in two symmetry-related anisotropic layers parallel to the ab plane at 13.17 A, separated by a double layer of water molecules. The equatorial-equatorial bridge considered as the most relevant path for exchange interactions between copper ions in neighbor layers contains 11 diamagnetic atoms (including three hydrogens), with two covalent amidate bridges plus three weak and moderate H bonds that go across the water layer. This interaction was studied using electron paramagnetic resonance in single-crystal samples, at 9.5 and 34.5 GHz. The measured magnitude of the interlayer interaction, |J3|/kB = 1.7(2) x 10(-3) K, is discussed in terms of values obtained for similar paths in other model compounds and in proteins. These results in model systems provide information that may be important in understanding biological functions at the molecular level.     

Platinum-catalysed bisindolylation of allenes: a complementary alternative to gold catalysis

Pt versus Au: Platinum-catalysed addition of nucleophiles to allenes follows a distinctly different pathway to the process catalysed by gold(I) complexes; the platinum catalyst leads to different products with indoles involving a bisindolylation reaction, whereas gold(I) gives allyl indoles from a single addition (see scheme).     

Correlation of the Physicochemical and Structural Properties of pDNA/Cationic Liposome Complexes with Their in Vitro Transfection

In this study, we characterized the conventional physicochemical properties of the complexes formed by plasmid DNA (pDNA) and cationic liposomes (CL) composed of egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC), 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE), and 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) (50/25/25% molar ratio). We found that these properties are nearly unaffected at the studied ranges when the molar charge ratio (R(±)) between the positive charge from the CL and negative charge from pDNA is not close to the isoneutrality region (R(±) = 1). However, the results from in vitro transfection of HeLa cells showed important differences when R(±) is varied, indicating that the relationships between the physicochemical and biological characteristics were not completely elucidated. To obtain information regarding possible liposome structural modifications, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments were performed as a function of R(±) to obtain correlations between structural, physicochemical, and transfection properties. The SAXS results revealed that pDNA/CL complexes can be described as being composed of single bilayers, double bilayers, and multiple bilayers, depending on the R(±) value. Interestingly, for R(±) = 9, 6, and 3, the system is composed of single and double bilayers, and the fraction of the latter increases with the amount of DNA (or a decreasing R(±)) in the system. This information is used to explain the transfection differences observed at an R(±) = 9 as compared to R(±) = 3 and 6. Close to the isoneutrality region (R(±) = 1.8), there was an excess of pDNA, which induced the formation of a fraction of aggregates with multiple bilayers. These aggregates likely provide additional resistance against the release of pDNA during the transfection phenomenon, reflected as a decrease in the transfection level. The obtained results permitted proper correlation of the physicochemical and structural properties of pDNA/CL complexes with the in vitro transfection of HeLa cells by these complexes, contributing to a better understanding of the gene delivery process.     

Effectiveness, against tuberculosis, of pseudo-ternary complexes: peptide-DNA-cationic liposome

We report the effects of a synthetic peptide designed to act as a nuclear localization signal on the treatment of tuberculosis. The peptide contains 21 amino acid residues with the following specific domains: nuclear localization signal from SV 40T, cationic shuttle sequence, and cysteamide group at the C-terminus. The peptide was complexed with the plasmid DNAhsp65 and incorporated into cationic liposomes, forming a pseudo-ternary complex. The same cationic liposomes, composed of egg chicken L-α-phosphatidylcholine, 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane, and 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (2:1:1M), were previously evaluated as a gene carrier for tuberculosis immunization protocols with DNAhsp65. The pseudo-ternary complex presented a controlled size (250 nm), spherical-like shape, and various lamellae in liposomes as evaluated by transmission electron microscopy. An assay of fluorescence probe accessibility confirmed insertion of the peptide/DNA into the liposome structure. Peptide addition conferred no cytotoxicity in vitro, and similar therapeutic effects against tuberculosis were seen with four times less DNA compared with naked DNA treatment. Taken together, the results indicate that the pseudo-ternary complex is a promising gene vaccine for tuberculosis treatment. This work contributes to the development of multifunctional nanostructures in the search for strategies for in vivo DNA delivery.     

(E)‐5‐[(4‐Nitro­phenyl­hydrazono)­phenyl­acetyl]‐3‐phenyl­isoxazole

The title compound, C₂₃H₁₆N₄O₄, can be considered as consisting of two connected fragments: a nitro­phenyl­hydrazone moiety, which assumes an E configuration, and an isoxazole moiety. In this latter fragment, the weak π‐electron delocalization shortens the carbonyl–isoxazole O?O distance [2.643 (2) Å] to less than the van der Waals radii sum.     

Topological population analysis from higher order densities. I. Hartree–Fock level

In this work we present the formulation of a topological population analysis derived from reduced density matrices of arbitrary order. We describe the construction of a mathematical framework which is suitable for handling any number of physical atomic regions. The procedure provides appropriate tools for enabling the detection and direct localization of multicenter bondings in molecules.     

Synthesis, Characterization, and Fluxional Behaviour of Binuclear Palladium Complexes with a Half-A-Frame Structure

 Partial removal of chloride anions from the dimer [Pd(η³-2-CH₃*C₃H₄)(μ-Cl)]₂ with AgTf(Tf = CF₃SO₃) followed by addition of dppm affords [Pd₂(η³-Me*C₃H₄)₂(μ-Cl)(μ-dppm)]Tf (1). The substitution of Cl⁻ by X⁻ (X = pz, SC₆F₅, S _py ) using the appropriate salts yields the new derivatives [Pd₂(η³-Me*C₃H₄)₂(μ-X)(μ-dppm)]Tf (2–4). All complexes exhibit a dinuclear half-A-frame structure with two isomers present in solution. The isomers differ in the relative orientation of the two allyl groups (cis or trans). The isomer interconversion was studied by variable temperature ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The molecular structures of 2 and 4 were solved by X-ray diffraction studies. A distorted boat conformation of the seven- or six-membered metallacycle was found in both cases.