Nonequilibrium charge recombination from the excited adiabatic state of donor-acceptor complexes

A model of nonequilibrium charge recombination from an excited adiabatic state of a donor-acceptor complex induced by the nonadiabatic interaction operator is considered. The decay of the excited state population prepared by a short laser pulse is shown to be highly nonexponential. The influence of the excitation pulse carrier frequency on the ultrafast charge recombination dynamics of excited donor-acceptor complexes is explored. The charge recombination rate constant is found to decrease with increasing excitation frequency. The variation of the excitation pulse carrier frequency within the charge transfer absorption band of the complex can alter the effective charge recombination rate by up to a factor 2. The magnitude of this spectral effect decreases strongly with increasing electronic coupling.     

Hydrolytic and photoinduced degradation of tribenuron methyl studied by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS

The paper studies, with the help of HPLC-DAD-MS/MS technique, the hydrolytic and photoinduced degradation processes that take place in aqueous solutions of tribenuron methyl, both when preserved in the dark and when undergoing solar box irradiation under conditions that simulate sun light. The results indicate that the degradation products formed by hydrolysis alone and by photoirradiation are the same, but kinetics of the hydrolysis reaction is much slower. The degradation products are identified as 2-methoxy-4-methylamino-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazine (P1), methyl 2-aminosulfonylbenzoate (P2), and saccharin (P3) and quantified. Ecotoxicological biotests performed on 0.1 microg L(-1) photoirradiated solutions of the herbicide give a border line toxicity situation comparable to that of the precursor and indicate that the herbicide is characterized by low persistence in the environment, as required. Its degradation, however, does not lead to mineralization but to the formation of products of comparable toxicity. To evaluate the matrix effects, the photodegradation of the herbicide is also studied in the presence of rice paddy waters: the process is slower than in ultrapure water but leads to the same products. Experiments performed for comparison by irradiating ultrapure water solutions with UV lamp (254 nm) show that the degradation process is not only faster with respect to sunlight, but gives a different pathway, without in anyway leading to mineralization.     

Synthesis and characterization of some vanadyl complexes with flavonoid derivatives as potential insulin-mimetic agents

Two new complexes with formula VOL₂·nH₂O ((1) L: 4′,5,7-trihydroxyflavone-7-rhamnoglucoside (naringin), n = 8; (2) L: 3′,4′,7-tris[O-(2-hydroxyethyl)]rutin (troxerutin), n = 0) were synthesised and characterised. The IR and UV–Vis spectral data indicate that these flavones act as bidentate chelating ligands and generate VO(II) complexes with a square-pyramidal stereochemistry. The thermal analysis (TG, DTA) elucidated the composition and also the number and nature of the water molecules. The thermal behavior indicates also a strong interaction between oxovanadium (IV) and these oxygen donor ligands.     

Gold-catalyzed intramolecular hydroamination of α-amino allenamides as a route to enantiopure 2-vinylimidazolidinones

An efficient gold-catalyzed procedure for the preparation of 2-vinylimidazolidinones has been developed. The starting materials for the synthesis of these compounds are α-amino allenamides which undergo heterocyclization by means of nucleophilic attack of the amino group on the inside double bond of the 1,2-diene moiety. This is the first example of a gold-catalyzed cyclization on allene substrates bearing an amido group which, however, resulted inactive.     

Ferrocene‐modified thiopyrimidines: synthesis,enantiomeric resolution,antitumor activity

Ferrocenylalkyl thiopyrimidines ( 6a–d to 9a–d ) were prepared via the reaction of the α‐(hydroxy)alkyl ferrocenes, FcCHR(OH) ( 1a–d ; Fc = ferrocenyl; R = H, Me, Et, Ph), with 2‐thiopyrimidines ( 2 – 5 ) in acetone at room temperature in the presence of TFA, yielding 50–95%. The resulting enantiomers were resolved using HPLC on modified cellulose as chiral selector. The antitumor activities of S‐ferrocenylethyl 2‐thiopyrimidine ( 6b ) against two murine solid tumor models, carcinoma 755 (Ca755) and Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) were evaluated in vivo. The strong antitumor effect of compound 6b on Ca755 and LLC was demonstrated. The index of tumor growth inhibition on Ca755 equaled 95% in comparison with control. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis,characterization and biological studies of alkenyl‐substituted titanocene(IV) carboxylate complexes

The carboxylate compounds [Ti(η⁵‐C₅H₅)(η⁵‐C₅H₄{CMe₂(CH₂CH₂CH?CH₂)})(O₂CCH₂SXyl)₂] (2; Xyl = 3,5‐Me₂C₆H₃) and [Ti(η⁵‐C₅H₅)(η⁵‐C₅H₄{CMe₂(CH₂CH₂CH?CH₂)})(O₂CCH₂SMesl)₂] (3; Mes 1 = 2,4,6‐Me₃C₆H₂) were synthesized by the reaction of [Ti(η⁵‐C₅H₅)(η⁵‐C₅H₄{CMe₂(CH₂CH₂CH?CH₂)})Cl₂] (1) with 2 equivalents of xylylthioacetic acid or mesitylthioacetic acid, respectively. Compounds 2 and 3 were characterized by spectroscopic methods. The cytotoxic activity of 1–3 was tested against human tumor cell lines from four different histogenic origins—8505C (anaplastic thyroid cancer), DLD‐1 (colon cancer) and the cisplatin sensitive A253 (head and neck cancer) and A549 (lung carcinoma)—and compared with those of the reference complex [Ti(η⁵‐C₅H₅)₂Cl₂] (R1) and cisplatin. Surprisingly, the cytotoxic activities of the carboxylate derivatives were lower than those of their corresponding dichloride analogue (1). However, complexes 1–3 were more active than titanocene dichloride against all the studied cells with the exception of complex 2 against A253 and A549 cell lines. DNA‐interaction tests were also carried out. Solutions of all the studied complexes were treated with different concentrations of fish sperm DNA, observing modifications of the UV spectra with intrinsic binding constants of 2.99 × 10⁵, 2.45 × 10⁵, and 2.35 × 10⁵ M ^?1 for 1–3. Structural studies based on density functional theory calculations of 2 and 3 were also carried out. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary conditions in rational conformal field theories

We develop further the theory of Rational Conformal Field Theories (RCFTs) on a cylinder with specified boundary conditions emphasizing the role of a triplet of algebras: the Verlinde, graph fusion and Pasquier algebras. We show that solving Cardy's equation, expressing consistency of a RCFT on a cylinder, is equivalent to finding integer valued matrix representations of the Verlinde algebra. These matrices allow us to naturally associate a graph G to each RCFT such that the conformal boundary conditions are labelled by the nodes of G. This approach is carried to completion for sl(2) theories leading to complete sets of conformal boundary conditions, their associated cylinder partition functions and the A-D-E classification. We also review the current status for WZW sl(3) theories. Finally, a systematic generalisation of the formalism of Cardy–Lewellen is developed to allow for multiplicities arising from more general representations of the Verlinde algebra. We obtain information on the bulk–boundary coefficients and reproduce the relevant algebraic structures from the sewing constraints.     

Influence of exposure to vitrification solutions on 2-cell mouse embryos: I. Intracellular potassium and sodium content

Intracellular concentrations of potassium and sodium in two-cell mouse embryos in G1/S phase after exposure to vitrification solutions containing vitrificant agents (VFAs) ethane-1,2-diol (ethylene glycol, EG), propane-1,2-diol (propylene glycol, PG), or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and sucrose (S) after incubation in Dulbecco solution were measured by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) as described earlier (CryoLetters, 2006, 27: 87-98). The 4-step protocol was as followed: 10% VFA for 10 min => 30% VFA + 0.7 M S for 1.5 min ==> 0.5 M S for 10 min ==> 10 min pure Dulbecco's. The cytoplasmic concentration of potassium and sodium in immediately flashed out from the oviduct embryos was in range of 120 +/- 2 mM, with good concordance with the previous data (CryoLetters, 2006, 27:87-98). Exposure in Dulbecco's for 30 min did not alter elemental composition, neither did exposure in PG or DMSO for 1.5 min. In contrast, exposure for 1.5 min in EG dropped the level of potassium to 96 +/- 2 mM while elevating level of cytoplasmic sodium to 136 +/- 3 mM. Further exposure to 30%-EG for 3 min led to a two-fold decrease of both elements (60 +/- 3 mM and 66 +/- 2 mM for K and Na, respectively).