The thermal behaviour of nickel, copper and zinc complexes with the Schiff bases cis- and trans-N,N′-bis(salicylidene)-1,2-ciclohexadiamine (Salcn)

The Schiff base complexes were prepared and characterised by UV, IR and NMR (¹H and ¹³C) spectroscopy, elemental analysis and X-ray powder diffractometry. Free ligands and some new complexes were submitted to thermal analysis (TG and DSC) under dynamic air atmosphere. The differences in the decomposition profiles were related to the structure of isomers and decomposition intermediates were characterised according to their X-ray diffraction pattern.     

Binding-affinity predictions of HSP90 in the D3R Grand Challenge 2015 with docking,MM/GBSA,QM/MM,and free-energy simulations

We have estimated the binding affinity of three sets of ligands of the heat-shock protein 90 in the D3R grand challenge blind test competition. We have employed four different methods, based on five different crystal structures: first, we docked the ligands to the proteins with induced-fit docking with the Glide software and calculated binding affinities with three energy functions. Second, the docked structures were minimised in a continuum solvent and binding affinities were calculated with the MM/GBSA method (molecular mechanics combined with generalised Born and solvent-accessible surface area solvation). Third, the docked structures were re-optimised by combined quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations. Then, interaction energies were calculated with quantum mechanical calculations employing 970–1160 atoms in a continuum solvent, combined with energy corrections for dispersion, zero-point energy and entropy, ligand distortion, ligand solvation, and an increase of the basis set to quadruple-zeta quality. Fourth, relative binding affinities were estimated by free-energy simulations, using the multi-state Bennett acceptance-ratio approach. Unfortunately, the results were varying and rather poor, with only one calculation giving a correlation to the experimental affinities larger than 0.7, and with no consistent difference in the quality of the predictions from the various methods. For one set of ligands, the results could be strongly improved (after experimental data were revealed) if it was recognised that one of the ligands displaced one or two water molecules. For the other two sets, the problem is probably that the ligands bind in different modes than in the crystal structures employed or that the conformation of the ligand-binding site or the whole protein changes.     

Branched-chain organic compounds. Part 11: Validation of a new method for determination of the potential energy of cohesion of an organic crystal and deduction of the heat capacity of the vapour

Abstract  

The cohesion energy of ethyl 3-cyano-3-(3,4-dimethyloxyphenyl)-2,2,4-trimethylpentanoate, as obtained from the change of kinetic and potential energies in the heat of sublimation of the crystal, E _p,coh = −46.7 kJ mol⁻¹ (78.6 °C), has been validated. A safe physicomathematic test based on the balance of entropy for the sublimation and Planck’s equation for changes of state, extended to entropy, was devised to ascertain the kinetic energies of the crystal and the gas molecule. Entropic equations were developed for the phase equilibrium to find precisely and with simplicity the vibrational energy of the crystal by using the vapour pressure exclusively and independently from the internal rotational and vibrational motion of the gas molecule. The heat capacity of the vapour was determined in this way, which in this case releases the solid allowing vibrational movement in the gas phase to meet the pressure of sublimation, C _p (T)/J K⁻¹ mol⁻¹ = 1.268 T/K + 58.62 (71.1–86.1 °C). An independent variational method of deducing the vibrational entropy, energy, or heat capacity of the gas molecule from each other was compared with the equations and was shown to yield the quantities with high accuracy. Values of the Nernst–Lindemann functions are tabulated.     

Quantification of Ion‐Pairing Effects on the Nucleophilic Reactivities of Benzoyl‐ and Phenyl‐Substituted Carbanions in Dimethylsulfoxide

Second‐order rate constants for the reactions of acceptor‐substituted phenacyl (PhCO?CH^??Acc) and benzyl anions (Ph?CH^??Acc) with diarylcarbenium ions and quinone methides (reference electrophiles) have been determined in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution at 20 °C. By studying the kinetics in the presence of variable concentrations of potassium, sodium and lithium salts (up to 10^?2 mol L^?1), the influence of ion‐pairing on the reaction rates was examined. As the concentration of K⁺ did not have any influence on the rate constants at carbanion concentrations in the range of 10^?4–10^?3 mol L^?1, the acquired rate constants could be assigned to the reactivities of the free carbanions. The counter ion effects increase, however, in the series K⁺<Na⁺<Li⁺, and the sensitivity of the carbanion reactivities toward variation of the counter ion strongly depends on the structure of the carbanions. The reactivity parameters N and s_N of the free carbanions were derived from the linear plots of log k₂ against the electrophilicity parameters E of the reference electrophiles, according to the linear‐free energy relationship log k₂(20 °C)=s_N(N+E). These reactivity parameters can be used to predict absolute rate constants for the reactions of these carbanions with other electrophiles of known E parameters.     

Steric shielding vs. σ–π orbital interactions in triplet–triplet energy transfer

The influence of non-covalent σ–π orbital interactions on triplet–triplet energy transfer (TTET) through tuning of the donor excitation energy remains basically unexplored. In the present work, we have investigated intermolecular TTET using donor moieties covalently linked to a rigid cholesterol (Ch) scaffold. For this purpose, diaryl ketones of π,π* electronic configuration tethered to α- or β-Ch were prepared from tiaprofenic acid (TPA) and suprofen (SUP). The obtained systems TPA-α-Ch, TPA-β-Ch, SUP-α-Ch and SUP-β-Ch were submitted to photophysical studies (laser flash photolysis and phosphorescence), in order to delineate the influence of steric shielding and σ–π orbital interactions on the rate of TTET to a series of energy acceptors. As a matter of fact, fine tuning of the donor triplet energy significantly modifies the rate constants of TTET in the absence of diffusion control. The experimental results are rationalized by means of theoretical calculations using first principles methods based on DFT as well as molecular dynamics.