Pure surface plasmon resonance enhancement of the first hyperpolarizability of gold core-silver shell nanoparticles

We report the optical second harmonic (SH) response from gold core-silver shell nanoparticles supported at a liquid-liquid interface in the spectral region where the second harmonic generation (SHG) frequency is resonant with the surface plasmon (SP) resonance excitation of the nanoparticles. We compare these results with that obtained by classical linear optical absorption spectroscopy and show that the nonlinear optical response is dominated by the SP resonance enhancement with negligible contributions from the interband transitions. As a result, the SH spectrum exhibits two clear SP resonance bands attributed to the two SP resonances of the composite nanostructure formed by the gold core-silver shell nanoparticles. Absolute values of the hyperpolarizabilities are measured by hyper Rayleigh scattering (HRS) and compared that of pure gold nanoparticles. The hyperpolarizability measured at a harmonic energy of 3.0 eV, enhanced through excitation of the high energy SP resonance of the nanoparticle, increases with the silver content whereas the hyperpolarizability measured at a harmonic energy of 2.4 eV, enhanced through the excitation of the low energy SP resonance of the nanoparticle, decreases because of the shift of this resonance away from the harmonic frequency. The hyperpolarizability determined by HRS and the square root of the SHG intensities, scaling with the nanoparticle hyperpolarizability, have similar trends with respect to the silver content indicative of closely related adsorption properties yielding similar surface concentrations at the liquid-liquid interface.     

Synthesis of multi-1,10-phenanthroline ligands with 1,3-phenylene linkers and their lithium complexes

The synthesis of two multisite ligands containing four and five 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) chelates in line, respectively, is presented. The connectors are 1,3-phenylene linkers. The two ligands were prepared following multistep procedures, the two key reactions being the Suzuki coupling reaction between aromatic nuclei and the nucleophilic addition of aryllithium derivatives onto a phen fragment. The coordination chemistry of both ligands with Li+ ions was very clean and selective, whereas their reaction with copper(I) led to intractable mixtures of insoluble complexes. The tetraphen and the pentaphen compounds afforded almost quantitatively the four- and five-lithium double-stranded helical complexes, respectively. The helical systems are probably highly wound, as indicated by NMR measurements. The pronounced strain of the 5-Li+ complex is reflected by the easy loss of a lithium cation, as shown by electrospray mass spectrometry.     

Identification and functional characterization of a novel α-conotoxin (EIIA) from Conus ermineus

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are one of the most important families in the ligand-gated ion channel superfamily due to their involvement in primordial brain functions and in several neurodegenerative pathologies. The discovery of new ligands which can bind with high affinity and selectivity to nAChR subtypes is of prime interest in order to study these receptors and to potentially discover new drugs for treating various pathologies. Predatory cone snails of the genus Conus hunt their prey using venoms containing a large number of small, highly structured peptides called conotoxins. Conotoxins are classified in different structural families and target a large panel of receptors and ion channels. Interestingly, nAChRs represent the only subgroup for which Conus has developed seven distinct families of conotoxins. Conus venoms have thus received much attention as they could represent a potential source of selective ligands of nAChR subtypes. We describe the mass spectrometric-based approaches which led to the discovery of a novel α-conotoxin targeting muscular nAChR from the venom of Conus ermineus. The presence of several posttranslational modifications complicated the N-terminal sequencing. To discriminate between the different possible sequences, analogs with variable N-terminus were synthesized and fragmented by MS/MS. Understanding the fragmentation pathways in the low m/z range appeared crucial to determine the right sequence. The biological activity of this novel α-conotoxin (α-EIIA) that belongs to the unusual α4/4 subfamily was determined by binding experiments. The results revealed not only its selectivity for the muscular nAChR, but also a clear discrimination between the two binding sites described for this receptor.     

Synthesis of dodecavalent fullerene-based glycoclusters and evaluation of their binding properties towards a bacterial lectin

Multivalency is playing a major role in biological processes and particularly in lectin-carbohydrate interactions. The design of high-affinity ligands of lectins should provide molecules capable of interfering with these biological processes and potentially inhibit bacterial or viral infections. Azide-alkyne "click" chemistry was applied to the synthesis of dodecavalent fullerene-based glycoclusters. The conjugation could be efficiently performed from alkyne or azide functions on either partners (i.e. hexakis-fullerene adduct or glycoside). PA-IL is a bacterial lectin from the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and is involved in the recognition of glycoconjugates on human tissues. The glycoclusters obtained were evaluated as ligands of PA-IL and for their potential for competing with its binding to glycosylated surfaces. The affinities measured by hemagglutination inhibition assay (HIA), enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA), and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) displayed a significant "glycoside cluster effect" with up to a 12,000-fold increase in binding when comparing a monovalent carbohydrate reference probe with a dodecavalent fullerene-based glycocluster, albeit with some differences depending on the analytical technique.     

Ecdysteroid glycosides: identification, chromatographic properties, and biological significance

Ecdysteroid glycosides are found in both animals and plants. The chromatographic behavior of these molecules is characteristic, as they appear much more polar than their corresponding free aglycones when analyzed by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), whereas the presence of glycosidic moieties has a very limited (if any) impact on polarity when using reversed-phase HPLC. Biological activity is greatly reduced because the presence of this bulky substituent probably impairs the interaction with ecdysteroid receptor(s). 2-Deoxy-20-hydroxyecdysone 22-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, which has been isolated from the dried aerial parts of Silene nutans (Caryophyllaceae), is used as a model compound to describe the rationale of ecdysteroid glycoside purification and identification.     

Complexes of Click‐Derived Bistriazolylpyridines: Remarkable Electronic Influence of Remote Substituents on Thermodynamic Stability as well as Electronic and Magnetic Properties

2,6‐Bis(1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)pyridine (btp) ligands with substitution patterns ranging from strongly electron‐donating to strongly electron‐accepting groups, readily prepared by means of Cu‐catalyzed 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition (the “click” reaction), were investigated with regard to their complexation behavior, and the properties of the resulting transition‐metal compounds were compared. Metal–btp complexes of 1:1 stoichiometry, that is, [Ru(btp)Cl₂(dmso)] and [Zn(btp)Br₂], could be isolated and were crystallographically characterized: they display octahedral and trigonal‐bipyramidal coordination geometries, respectively, and exhibit high aggregation tendencies due to efficient π–π stacking leading to low solubilities. Metal–btp complexes of 1:2 stoichiometry, that is, [Fe(btp)₂]²⁺ and [Ru(btp)₂]²⁺, could also be synthesized and their metal centers show the expected octahedral coordination spheres. The iron compounds exhibit quite a complex magnetic behavior in the solid state including spin crossover near room temperature, and hysteresis and locking into high‐spin states on tempering at 400 K, depending on the substituents on the btp ligands. Cyclic voltammetry studies of [Ru(btp)₂]²⁺ reveal strong modulation of the oxidation potentials by more than 0.6 V and a clear linear correlation to the Hammett constant (σ_para) of the substituent at the pyridine core. Isothermal titration calorimetry was used to measure the thermodynamics of the Fe^II–btp complexation process and enabled accurate determination of the complexation enthalpies, which display a linear relationship with the σ_para values for the terminal phenyl substituents. Detailed NMR spectroscopic studies finally revealed that in the case of Fe^II complexation, dynamics are rapid for all investigated btp derivatives in acetonitrile, while replacing Fe^II by Ru^II or changing the solvent to dichloromethane effectively slows down ligand exchange. The results nicely demonstrate the utility of substituent parameters, originally developed for linear free‐energy relationships to explain reactivity in organic reactions, in coordination chemistry, and to illustrate the potential to custom‐design btp ligands and complexes thereof with predictable properties. The fast equilibration of the [Fe(btp)₂]²⁺ complexes together with their tunable stability and interesting magnetic properties should enable the design of dynamic metallosupramolecular materials with advantageous properties.     

Two minor phytoecdysteroids of the plant Silene viridiflora

Chemical investigations of Silene viridiflora (L.) yielded a new ecdysteroid, 20-hydroxyecdysone 20,22-monoacetonide-25-acetate (1), and a known ecdysteroid, 2-deoxypolypodine B-3-beta-D-glucoside (2). The elucidation of the chemical structures was established by 1D and 2D NMR experiments.     

A unique single carboxylate-bridged spin-frustrated chiral Mn(II) metallatriangle

The reaction between Hmbpymca ligand (prepared in situ from the hydrolysis of 5-methyl-4-cyano-bispyrimidine with NaOH and further neutralization with 2 M HCl) and Mn(ClO(4))(2)·4H(2)O in 1:1 molar ratio afforded the triangulo-trimanganese(II) complex [Mn(3)(bpymca)(3)(H(2)O)(6)]Cl(3)·6H(2)O 1. The chloride anions in this complex come from the HCl used in the neutralization process. The molecular structure of 1 consists of cationic molecular triangles [Mn(3)(μ-mbpymca)(3)(H(2)O)(6)](3+) with C(3) symmetry, chloride anions and crystallization water molecules, all of them involved in an extensive network of hydrogen bonds, leading to a chiral network. Within the [Mn(3)(μ-mbpymca)(3)(H(2)O)(6)](3+) cations, seven-coordinated Mn(II) ions are bridged by both oxygen atoms of the carboxylate groups and exhibit a MnO(5)N(2) compressed pentagonal bipyramidal coordination environment. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility shows the presence of weak antiferromagnetic interactions between Mn(II) ions mediated by the carboxylate group of the mbpymca ligand and the existence of a 3D antiferromagnetic ordering below 4 K, which has its origin in the AF inter-trimer exchange interactions mediated by the strong hydrogen bonds present in the crystal of 1. The experimental magnetic susceptibility data above 7 K could be satisfactorily fitted to the theoretical analytical expression derived from the spin Hamiltonian H = -J(S(1)S(2) + S(1)S(3) + S(2)S(3)) with J = -0.782(3) cm(-1) and g = 2.092(3). The model predicts a degenerate ground state with an S = 1/2, which is typical of triangular trimetallic spin frustrated systems containing metal with non-integer spins. DFT calculations were performed on the molecular structure as found in the solid state to support the experimental J value and the Mn-O(carb)-Mn as the primarily exchange pathway.     

Toward new camptothecins. Part 6: Synthesis of crucial ketones and their use in Friedländer reaction

In the context of the preparation of camptothecin and luotonin A analogs, the synthesis of some key keto-precursors and their use in Friedländer condensation are described. This paper also focuses on the stability of these keto intermediates and emphasizes the major differences between indolizinones and pyrroloquinazolinones series. Noteworthy is also the report of some original structures isolated as by-products of some experiments.