Crystal Structure of 1-nitro-2-phenylcycloprop-2-enecarbonitrile

The synthesis and x-ray crystal structure of 1 -nitro-2-phenylcycloprop-2-enecarbonitrile [1] is reported. The C-NO₂ bond length in1 is similar to but slightly shorter than that reported for 1, 2-diphenyl-3-nitrocyclopropene (2). Unlike2, 1 shows no tendency to ionize to the corresponding cyclopropenium ion in solution. This result is further supported by ab initio calculations.     

Base-catalyzed hydrolysis of 6-aminopenicillanic acid. The kinetic and thermodynamic products

In the presence of sodium hydroxide or a β-lactamase, 6-APA has been shown to hydrolyze rapidly at room temperature to penicic acid 3 , the kinetic product of the reaction. In a subsequent equilibration 3 isomerizes at C-5, by way of intermediate imine 4 , affording 5-epi-penicic acid 6 as the major hydrolysis product (～ 95% at equilibrium). The pH and temperature parameters of equilibration are discussed and HPLC, optical rotation, proton nmr and ¹³C nmr data are presented.     

Light-enhanced catalysis by pyridoxal phosphate-dependent aspartate aminotransferase

The mechanisms of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes require substrates to form covalent "external aldimine" intermediates, which absorb light strongly between 410 and 430 nm. Aspartate aminotransferase (AAT) is a prototypical PLP-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the reversible interconversion of aspartate and α-ketoglutarate with oxalacetate and glutamate. From kinetic isotope effects studies, it is known that deprotonation of the aspartate external aldimine C(α)-H bond to give a carbanionic quinonoid intermediate is partially rate limiting in the thermal AAT reaction. We show that excitation of the 430-nm external aldimine absorption band increases the steady-state catalytic activity of AAT, which is attributed to the photoenhancement of C(α)-H deprotonation on the basis of studies with Schiff bases in solution. Blue light (250 mW) illumination gives an observed 2.3-fold rate enhancement for WT AAT activity, a 530-fold enhancement for the inactive K258A mutant, and a 58600-fold enhancement for the PLP-Asp Schiff base in water. These different levels of enhancement correlate with the intrinsic reactivities of the C(α)-H bond in the different environments, with the less reactive Schiff bases exhibiting greater enhancement. Time-resolved spectroscopy, ranging from femtoseconds to minutes, was used to investigate the nature of the photoactivation of C(α)-H bond cleavage in PLP-amino acid Schiff bases both in water and bound to AAT. Unlike the thermal pathway, the photoactivation pathway involves a triplet state with a C(α)-H pK(a) that is estimated to be between 11 and 19 units lower than the ground state for the PLP-Val Schiff base in water.     

Fabrication of titania and titania–silica aerogels using rapid supercritical extraction

Titania (TiO₂) and titania–silica (TiSi) aerogels are suitable for photocatalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds for pollution mitigation; however, methods for fabricating these aerogels can be complex. In this work we describe the use of a rapid supercritical extraction (RSCE) technique to prepare TiO₂ and TiSi aerogels in as little as 8 h. The RSCE technique uses a metal mold and a four-step hydraulic hot press procedure to bring the solvents in the sol–gel pores to a supercritical state and control the supercritical fluid release process. Resulting TiO₂ aerogels were powdery with BET surface areas of 130–180 m²/g, pore volumes ~0.5 cm³/g and skeletal densities of 3.6 g/mL. Monolithic TiSi aerogels were made using two different methods. An impregnation process, in which titania precursor was added to a silica sol–gel, took 4–8 days to complete with a 7-h RSCE and resulted in translucent aerogels with high surface area (560–650 m²/g) and pore volume (2.0–2.6 cm³/g), bulk densities ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 g/mL and skeletal densities of 2.3 g/mL. A co-precursor method for preparing TiSi aerogels took 8 h to complete. The precursor chemical mixture was poured directly into the mold and processed in a 7-h RSCE process. The resulting aerogels were opaque, with high surface areas (510–580 m²/g), low bulk density (0.03 g/mL), skeletal densities of 2 g/mL and pore volumes of 2.6–3.5 cm³/g. Preliminary solar simulator studies show that TiO₂ and TiSi aerogels are capable of photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution.     

Derivatives of 2,4-diamino-6-methylpteridine

Eighteen derivatives of 2,4-diamino-6-methylpteridine related to methotrexate and aminopterin have been prepared from 6-(bromomethyl)-2,4-pteridinediamine by nucleophilic displacement reactions. None of these compounds showed any antileukemic acitivity.     

1,3-Diyl trapping reactions. Fundamental investigations with application to the synthesis of linearly fused tricyclopentanoids

A comparison of the inter- and intramolecular diyl trapping routes to linearly fused tricyclopentanoids is presented. In addition, several of the factors which are responsible for the stereoselectivity which is associated with the intramolecular process are examined and it is concluded that conformational rather than electronic (secondary orbital) factors play the dominant role. It is shown that gem methyl groups located on the acyclic chain which joins the diyl and diylophile (in reference to 32 and 35, but not to 47) have no practical effect upon the outcome of the trapping reaction. The intramolecular process is stereospecific with respect to diylophile geometry, and highly stereoselective with respect to the ring junction stereochemistry. Finally, an abortive attempt to synthesize the marine natural product Δ⁹⁽¹²)-capnellene (19) as well as a successful synthesis of the mold metabolite d,l- hirsutene (18) is presented.     

A 13C-NMR spectral study of cellulose and glucopyranose dissolved in the NH3/NH4SCN solvent system

The ¹³C-NMR chemical shifts of a cellulose with a DP_w of 23 dissolved in the NH₃/NH₄SCN solvent system were found to be very similar to those of cellulose dissolved in DMSO (cellulose oligomers), in the LiCl/DMAC system and in the N-methylmorpholine N-oxide/DMSO system. It was concluded from this that cellulose does not react with the NH₃/NH₄SCN solvent. It was found, however, that glucose reacts with the solvent at C-1 to form β-D -glucopyranosy-lamine. Separation of this compound from the solvent resulted in another compound which was determined to be β,β-di-D -glucopyranosylamine. The compounds β-D -glucopyranosylamine, N-acetyl-2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-D -glucopyranosylamine, β,β-di-D -glucopyranosylamine, α,β-di-D -glucopyranosylamine, 2,3,4,6,2′,3′,4′,6′-octa-O-acetyl-α,β-di-D -glucopyranosylamine were all synthesized and the ¹³C-NMR chemical shifts of these compounds are reported. It was also found that for the low-DP cellulose sample which was used the reducing end group existed and had reacted with the solvent to form an amine at C-1.     

Low Band Gap Donor‐Acceptor Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles and their NIR‐mediated Thermal Ablation of Cancer Cells

Low band gap D‐A conjugated PNs consisting of 2‐ethylhexyl cyclopentadithiophene co‐polymerized with 2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole (for nano‐PCPDTBT) or 2,1,3‐benzoselenadiazole (for nano‐PCPDTBSe) have been developed. The PNs are stable in aqueous media and showed no significant toxicity up to 1 mg · mL^?1. Upon exposure to 808 nm light, the PNs generated temperatures above 50 °C. Photothermal ablation studies of the PNs with RKO and HCT116 colorectal cancer cells were performed. At concentrations above 100 µg · mL^?1 for nano‐PCPDTBSe, cell viability was less than 20%, while at concentrations above 62 µg · mL^?1 for nano‐PCPDTBT, cell viability was less than 10%. The results of this work demonstrate that low band gap D‐A conjugated polymers 1) can be formed into nanoparticles that are stable in aqueous media; 2) are non‐toxic until stimulated by IR light and 3) have a high photothermal efficiency.