Solution and solid-state effects on NMR chemical shifts in sesquiterpene lactones: NMR, X-ray, and theoretical methods

Selected guaianolide type sesquiterpene lactones were studied combining solution and solid-state NMR spectroscopy with theoretical calculations of the chemical shifts in both environments and with the X-ray data. The experimental (1)H and (13)C chemical shifts in solution were successfully reproduced by theoretical calculations (with the GIAO method and DFT B3LYP 6-31++G**) after geometry optimization (DFT B3LYP 6-31 G**) in vacuum. The GIPAW method was used for calculations of solid-state (13)C chemical shifts. The studied cases involved two polymorphs of helenalin, two pseudopolymorphs of 6α-hydroxydihydro-aromaticin and two cases of multiple asymmetric units in crystals: one in which the symmetry-independent molecules were connected by a series of hydrogen bonds (geigerinin) and the other in which the symmetry-independent molecules, deprived of any specific intermolecular interactions, differed in the conformation of the side chain (badkhysin). Geometrically different molecules present in the crystal lattices could be easily distinguished in the solid-state NMR spectra. Moreover, the experimental differences in the (13)C chemical shifts corresponding to nuclei in different polymorphs or in geometrically different molecules were nicely reproduced with the GIPAW calculations.     

Curing of dicyanate ester/epoxy copolymers modified with polysiloxane and butadiene-acrylonitrile rubbers

The cyanate ester (CE) and epoxy (EP) resins were cured together at various mass compositions. The curing behavior of CE and CE/EP systems was studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in non-isothermal conditions. The DSC measurements indicated that the curing reactions were dependent on the stoichiometric ratio of the mixtures and showed the dilution effect of the EP resin in the cyclotrimerization of the catalyzed CE resin. The CE and CE/EP (70/30) systems were modified using reactive liquid butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer (ETBN) and polysiloxane core?Cshell (PS) elastomer. The influence of ETBN and PS on the curing process and glass transition temperature (T _g) of CE/EP systems was determined. The impact resistance characteristics of the completely cured systems indicated the influence of the modifiers and the EP content in the mixtures on its impact resistance.     

Synthesis, spectral and solid state characterization of a new bioactive hydrazine bridged cyclic diphosphonium compound

The facile preparation of a racemic hydrazine bridged diphosphonium compound possessing a ring system analogous to bicyclo[3.3.2]decane is reported. Although the reaction yield is low, the structure of the compound, which possesses an eight-membered ring, two phosphonium cationic centers, a biimino bridge, molecular chirality and two fused aromatic rings locked into roughly perpendicular planes is unusual. The compound displays substantial biological activity in the brine shrimp test and cleaves plasmid DNA.     

Fluorescence Imaging of Heat-Stress Induced Mitochondrial Long-Term Depolarization in Breast Cancer Cells

Various thermotherapies are based on the induction of lethal heat in target tissues. Spatial and temporal instabilities of elevated temperatures induced in therapy targets require optimized treatment protocols and reliable temperature control methods during thermotherapies. Heat-stress induced effects on mitochondrial transmembrane potentials were analyzed in breast cancer cells, species MX1, using the potential sensor JC-1 (Molecular Probes, Invitrogen, Germany). Potential dependant labeling of heat-stressed cells was imaged and evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and compared with control cells. JC-1 stains mitochondria in cells with high mitochondrial potentials by forming orange-red fluorescent J-aggregates while in cells with depolarized or damaged mitochondria the sensor dye exists as green fluorescent monomers. In MX1 cells orange-red and green fluorescence intensities were correlated with each other after various heat-stress treatments and states of mitochondrial membrane potentials were deduced from the image data. With increasing stress temperatures the intensity of red fluorescent J-aggregates decreased while the green fluorescence intensity of JC-1 monomers increased. This heat-stress response happened in a nonlinear manner with increasing temperatures resulting in a nonlinear increase of red/green fluorescence ratios. These data indicated that mitochondria in MX1 cells were increasingly depolarized in response to increasing ambient temperatures.     

Trianglamines--readily prepared, conformationally flexible inclusion-forming chiral hexamines

Trianglamines, macrocyclic heteraphanes, were readily synthesised through a [3+3] cyclocondensation of (R,R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane with terephthalaldehyde, followed by NaBH4 reduction and N-alkylation. The macrocyclic ring shows a remarkable ability to change its conformation, as a consequence of rotation about the C-N bonds or nitrogen inversion due to protonation or N-alkylation, as revealed by circular dichroism spectra, computational modelling and X-ray diffraction analysis. The flexible natures of the trianglamine macrocycles allow ready accommodation of a variety of guest molecules to form crystalline inclusion complexes of highly diversified interpenetrating structures.     

An Efficient Method for the Preparation of Pure Long-Chain CIS-and Trans-2-n-Alkyl-5-Hydroxy-1,3-Dioxanes #

The title compounds were obtained with high yields from four-component mixtures of glycerol acetals by combining the transacetalization reaction with the crystallization process followed by fractional distillation.

     

Rhodamine 6G conjugated to gold nanoparticles as labels for both SERS and fluorescence studies on live endothelial cells

Microchimica Acta - Fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy were employed to investigate the cellular uptake of rhodamine 6G (R6G) alone and of R6G loaded with gold...     

Cytotoxic and Antimicrobial Properties of Copper(II) Complexes of Pyridine and Benzimidazole Derivatives

The cytotoxic and antimicrobial activity of a series of six copper(II) complexes with phosphate and hydroxymethyl derivatives of pyridine and benzimidazole were investigated. The complexes and the corresponding free ligands were tested against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Proteus hauseri ATCC 13315, and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. Among the tested copper(II) complexes, compounds 2 and 5 containing 1H‐benzimidazol‐2‐ylmethyl diethyl phosphate and 2‐(hydroxymethyl)benzimidazole as ligands, respectively, were most active and limited the growth of S. aureus, E. coli, and C. albicans by 30–60 % according to concentration and microorganism. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of the Cu^II complexes and free ligands towards cancerous B16 (murine melanoma) and non‐cancerous 10T1/2 (murine fibroblasts) cell lines was determined. The 10T1/2 cells were treated with the compounds at concentrations equal to IC₅₀ values for B16 cells. In spite of the use of relatively high concentrations of the complexes, the viability of 10T1/2 cells was very high, ca. 80 % in some cases. Stability of the Cu^II complexes was evaluated in water solutions by UV/Vis spectroscopy. The copper(II) complex of 4‐(hydroxymethyl)pyridine was synthesized and identified.     

Solubility of fragrance raw materials in water: Experimental study,correlations, and Mod. UNIFAC (Do) predictions

The (liquid + liquid) and (solid + liquid) phase equilibria of nine binary mixtures containing fragrance raw materials (FRM) such as aliphatic ketones and compounds based on cyclohexane with water were investigated. The systems {2-heptanone, or 2-nonanone, or 2-undecanone, or 2-tridecanone, or cyclohexyl carboxylic acid (CCA), or cyclohexyl acetic acid (CAA), or 2-cyclohexyl ethanol (2CE) or cyclohexyl acetate (CA), or 2-cyclohexyl ethyl acetate (2CEA) + water (2)} have been measured by a dynamic method in wide range of temperatures from (290 to 360) K and ambient pressure. For all systems immiscibility in the liquid phase was detected. The experimental data was correlated by means of the NRTL equation, utilizing parameters derived from the (liquid + liquid) equilibrium. Additionally, the binary mixtures were predicted with the Mod. UNIFAC (Do) model, with known from literature parameters, with very good results.