New route for the synthesis of benzimidazoles by a one-pot multistep process with mono and bifunctional solid catalysts

One-pot multistep reactions involving a new environmentally friendly catalytic procedure have been developed for the synthesis of benzimidazoles. Benzimidazole derivatives with biological and pharmaceutical interest have been prepared by a one-pot four step process with a solid catalyst containing basic and oxidation sites. The four steps refer to: (a) oxidation of the alcohol; (b) cyclocondensation of the aldehyde formed with ortho-phenylenediamines, (c) oxidation of the carbon-nitrogen bond, (d) N-alkylation reaction. The process is illustrated by the synthesis of 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazole derivative with antiviral activity.     

Theoretical study on structural and mechanistic aspects of synthesis of a 3-aminopyrazole derivative

The structure of 5-hydroxy-3,5-dimethyl-1-S-methylisothiocarbamoyl-2-pyrazolinium iodide (HDMCPI), a cyclic intermediate for a 3-aminopyrazole derivative, was determined by means of X-ray analysis and spectroscopic techniques. In a treatment of HDMCPI in alkaline aqueous solution, 4-acetyl-3(5)-amino-5(3)-methylpyrazole (AAMP) was unexpectedly yielded. The reaction of HDMCPI was monitored by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that keto-imine tautomer appears as the only tautomeric form. Density functional theory explained the spontaneous formation of keto-imine tautomer, whose existence is the main condition for generating a carbanion in alkaline medium. The carbanion further undergoes cyclization and elimination of MeSH, thus yielding AAMP. In the reaction of acetylacetone with thiosemicarbazide instead of S-methylisothiosemicarbazide, there were no traces of AAMP. This result can be attributed to the absence of keto-imine form in the tautomeric equilibrium, which would provide the formation of a carbanion for a nucleophilic attack and further cyclization.     

Elimination of motion and pulsation artifacts using BLADE sequences in knee MR imaging

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of proton density (PD)-BLADE sequences in reducing or even eliminating motion and pulsatile flow artifacts in knee magnetic resonance imaging examinations. Eighty consecutive patients, who had been routinely scanned for knee examination, participated in the study. The following pairs of sequences with and without BLADE were compared: (a) PD turbo spin echo (TSE) sagittal (SAG) fat saturation (FS) in 35 patients, (b) PD TSE coronal (COR) FS in 19 patients, (c) T2 TSE axial in 13 patients and (d) PD TSE SAG in 13 patients. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed based on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and relative contrast (ReCon) measures of normal anatomic structures. The qualitative analysis was performed by experienced radiologists. Also, the presence of image motion and pulsation artifacts was evaluated. Based on the results of the SNR, CRN and ReCon for the different sequences and anatomical structures, the BLADE sequences were significantly superior in 19 cases, whereas the corresponding conventional sequences were significantly superior in only 6 cases. BLADE sequences eliminated motion artifacts in all the cases. However, motion artifacts were shown in (a) six PD TSE SAG FS, (b) three PD TSE COR FS, (c) three PD TSE SAG and (d) two T2 TSE axial conventional sequences. In our results, it was found that, in PD FS sequences (sagittal and coronal), the differences between the BLADE and conventional sequences regarding the elimination of motion and pulsatile flow artifacts were statistically significant. In all the comparisons, the PD FS BLADE sequences (coronal and sagittal) were significantly superior to the corresponding conventional sequences regarding the classification of their image quality. In conclusion, this technique appears to be capable to potentially eliminate motion and pulsatile flow artifacts in MR images.     

Two-Dimensional Supramolecular Polymerization of DNA Amphiphiles is Driven by Sequence-Dependent DNA-Chromophore Interactions

Two-dimensional (2D) assemblies of water-soluble block copolymers have been limited by a dearth of systematic studies that relate polymer structure to pathway mechanism and supramolecular morphology. Here, we employ sequence-defined triblock DNA amphiphiles for the supramolecular polymerization of free-standing DNA nanosheets in water. Our systematic modulation of amphiphile sequence shows the alkyl chain core forming a cell membrane-like structure and the distal π-stacking chromophore block folding back to interact with the hydrophilic DNA block on the nanosheet surface. This interaction is crucial to sheet formation, marked by a chiral “signature”, and sensitive to DNA sequence, where nanosheets form with a mixed sequence, but not with a homogeneous poly(thymine) sequence. This work opens the possibility of forming well-ordered, bilayer-like assemblies using a single DNA amphiphile for applications in cell sensing, nucleic acid therapeutic delivery and enzyme arrays.