Regioselective addition reactions at C-2 of 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones. Synthesis and evaluation of multifunctionalized tetrahydropyrimidines

Multifunctionalized tetrahydropyrimidines derivatives have been synthesized from Biginelli 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-(1H)-thiones (DHPMs) efficiently. The transformation includes desulfurization of DHPMs with Raney-Ni and subsequent regioselective C-2 functionalization using a variety of C-nucleophiles with simultaneous activation with ethyl chloroformate. Functionalized pyrimidine derivatives containing bulky substituents at C-2 of the pyrimidine ring are cytostatic.     

Histone deacetylase inhibitors: synthesis of cyclic tetrapeptides and their triazole analogs

Synthesis of nine macrocyclic peptide HDAC inhibitors and three triazole derivatives is described. HDAC inhibitory activity of these compounds against HeLa cell lysate is evaluated. The biological data demonstrate that incorporation of a triazole unit improves the HDAC inhibitory activity.     

The allylic nucleophilic substitution of Morita-Baylis-Hillman acetates with isocyanides: a facile synthesis of trisubstituted olefins

Morita-Baylis-Hillman acetates undergo smooth allylic nucleophilic substitution (S_N2′) with tosylmethyl isocyanide (TosMIC) in the presence of a catalytic amount of BF₃·OEt₂ under mild conditions to furnish trisubstituted olefins in high yields with (E)-stereoselectivity.     

Strategic utilization of catalytic metathesis and photo-thermal metathesis in caged polycyclic frames

Highly functionalized cage compounds have been prepared via cross-metathesis (CM) using Grubbs modified N-tolyl catalyst 7. A strategic utilization of photo-thermal metathesis and catalytic metathesis sequence for the synthesis of functionalized caged molecules has been demonstrated.     

Towards the catalytic formation of α,β-vinylesters and alkoxy substituted γ-lactones

A facile, one pot, high yield synthesis of α,β-vinylester (1-14) and alkoxy substituted γ-lactones (15-28) has been achieved by the photochemical reaction of terminal acetylene (ferrocenyl phenyl trimethylsillyl, hexyl and cyclohexyl) with alcohol (methanol, ethanol and isopropanol) and carbon monoxide in presence of iron pentacarbonyl as a catalyst. The selectivity of the compounds depends on the time of photolysis of the reaction as well as the solvent used. A stable reaction intermediate ferrole was isolated, and further photolysis with alcohols, resulted in the formation of α,β-vinylester. All the compounds were fully characterised by spectroscopic methods and the molecular structures of compounds 1, 16, 17 and 20 were established crystallographically.     

A one-flask synthesis and characterization of novel symmetrical pyridyl monoselenides and X-ray crystal structure of bis(5-bromo-2-pyridyl) selenide and bis(2-bromo-5-pyridyl) selenide

The present work reports an efficient one-pot synthesis of symmetrical pyridyl monoselenides by the reaction of bromo-/iodopyridines with the isopropylmagnesium chloride, ⁱPrMgCl followed by quenching with selenyl chloride, SeCl₂. The current methodology constitutes a convenient synthesis of bis(5-bromo-2-pyridyl) selenide (I), bis(2-bromo-5-pyridyl) selenide (II) and bis(2,5-dibromo-3-pyridyl) selenide (III) under cryogenic conditions requiring shorter time duration to give satisfactory yields. The hitherto unknown compounds have been characterized by elemental analysis and various spectroscopic techniques i.e., ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, FT-IR, mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography.     

Gold nano-popcorn-based targeted diagnosis, nanotherapy treatment, and in situ monitoring of photothermal therapy response of prostate cancer cells using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among the American male population, and the cost of treating prostate cancer patients is about $10 billion/year in the United States. Current treatments are mostly ineffective against advanced-stage prostate cancer and are often associated with severe side effects. Driven by these factors, we report a multifunctional, nanotechnology-driven, gold nano-popcorn-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) assay for targeted sensing, nanotherapy treatment, and in situ monitoring of photothermal nanotherapy response during the therapy process. Our experimental data show that, in the presence of LNCaP human prostate cancer cells, multifunctional popcorn-shaped gold nanoparticles form several hot spots and provide a significant enhancement of the Raman signal intensity by several orders of magnitude (2.5 × 10(9)). As a result, it can recognize human prostate cancer cells at the 50-cells level. Our results indicate that the localized heating that occurs during near-infrared irradiation can cause irreparable cellular damage to the prostate cancer cells. Our in situ time-dependent results demonstrate for the first time that, by monitoring SERS intensity changes, one can monitor photothermal nanotherapy response during the therapy process. Possible mechanisms and operating principles of our SERS assay are discussed. Ultimately, this nanotechnology-driven assay could have enormous potential applications in rapid, on-site targeted sensing, nanotherapy treatment, and monitoring of the nanotherapy process, which are critical to providing effective treatment of cancer.     

Response Surface Optimization of Medium Components for Naringinase Production from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus xylosus MAK2</Emphasis>

Response surface methodology was used to optimize the fermentation medium for enhancing naringinase production by Staphylococcus xylosus. The first step of this process involved the individual adjustment and optimization of various medium components at shake flask level. Sources of carbon (sucrose) and nitrogen (sodium nitrate), as well as an inducer (naringin) and pH levels were all found to be the important factors significantly affecting naringinase production. In the second step, a 22 full factorial central composite design was applied to determine the optimal levels of each of the significant variables. A second-order polynomial was derived by multiple regression analysis on the experimental data. Using this methodology, the optimum values for the critical components were obtained as follows: sucrose, 10.0%; sodium nitrate, 10.0%; pH 5.6; biomass concentration, 1.58%; and naringin, 0.50% (w/v), respectively. Under optimal conditions, the experimental naringinase production was 8.45 U/mL. The determination coefficients (R ²) were 0.9908 and 0.9950 for naringinase activity and biomass production, respectively, indicating an adequate degree of reliability in the model.     

Studies on the curing and thermal behaviour of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) in the presence of aromatic diimide–diacids

This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of aromatic diimide–diacids (DIDAS) obtained by reacting pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 4,4′-oxo diphthalic anhydride (ODA), 1,4,5,8-naphthalene tetra carboxylic dianhydride (NTDA) with excess of 4-aminobutyric acid (B) or 6-aminohexanoic acid (H) using N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) as solvent. The synthesized compounds were used as curing agents to investigate the effect of structure on the curing and thermal behaviour of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA). Structural characterization of DIDAS was done by using FTIR, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Curing behaviour of DGEBA in the presence of aromatic DIDAS was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The peak exotherm temperature (T _P) was low in the case of DIDAS synthesized from ODA and high in the case of DIDAS synthesized from NTDA. Thermal stability of the isothermally cured DGEBA with DIDAS was investigated using dynamic thermogravimetry in nitrogen atmosphere. The char yield was highest for resin cured with DIDAS containing NTDA.