Radical deoxygenation of 3-azatricyclo[2.2.1.0]heptan-5-ols to 2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-enes and 1,2-dihydropyridines

Additions of alkyl or aryl Grignard reagents, or pyridin-3-yl-lithiums or lithium alkoxides, to exo-5,6-epoxy-7-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-2-tosyl-7-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene lead to 7-substituted-1-tosyl-3-azatricyclo[2.2.1.0^2,6]heptan-5-ols. Radical deoxygenations of 7-alkyl-1-tosyl-3-azatricyclo[2.2.1.0^2,6]heptan-5-ols give 7-alkyl-4-tosyl-2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-enes, whereas 7-aryl-1-tosyl-3-azatricyclo[2.2.1.0^2,6]heptan-5-ols give 2-(arylmethyl)-5-tosyl-1,2-dihydropyridines.     

QCM study of microbiological activity during long-term exposure to atmosphere—aluminium colonisation by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus Niger</Emphasis>

The study demonstrated a possibility to sense the activity of microorganisms on metals in situ under atmosphere conditions using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) as a sensitive mass change detector. Other innovative aspects of the QCM application include long-term monitoring (over month), taking count of the influence of atmospheric pressure and application of Al-glued foil electrodes. The research subject was aluminium colonisation by Aspergillus niger Tiegh., a filamentous ascomycete fungus. The difference between the QCM data for abiotic and biotic samples reflected microbiological activity, which resulted in exponential mass gain during exposure. The increase in mass was due to various phenomena, i.e. development of biomass, secretion of metabolites, water uptake by the colony and microbially induced corrosion. The glued foil method demonstrated a possibility to expand the scope of the QCM studies from evaporated, sputtered or electroplated materials to those, from which thin foils may be produced. Dedicated to Professor Dr. Algirdas Vaškelis on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

On surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization using diazonium chemistry to introduce the initiator layer

This work features the controllability of surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) of methyl methacrylate, initiated by a multilayered 2-bromoisobutyryl moiety formed via diazonium chemistry. The thickness as a function of polymerization time has been studied by varying different parameters such as the bromine content of the initiator layer, polarity of reaction medium, ligand type (L), and the ratio of activator (Cu(I)) to deactivator (Cu(II)) in order to ascertain the controllability of the SI-ATRP process. The variation of thickness versus surface concentration of bromine shows a gradual transition from mushroom to brush-type conformation of the surface anchored chains in both polar and nonpolar reaction medium. Interestingly, it is revealed that very thick polymer brushes, on the order of 1 μm, can be obtained at high bromine content of the initiator layer in toluene. The initial polymerization rate and the overall final thickness are higher in the case of nonpolar solvent (toluene) compared to polar medium (acetonitrile or N,N-dimethylformamide). The ligand affects the initial rate of polymerization, which correlates with the redox potentials of the pertinent Cu(II)/Cu(I) complexes (L = Me(6)TREN, PMDETA, and BIPY). It is also observed that the ability of polymer brushes to reinitiate depends on the initial thickness and the solvent used for generating it.     

Enhancing the effect of the nanofiber network structure on thermoresponsive wettability switching

This letter reports the enhancing effects of a nanofiber network structure on stimuli-responsive wettability switching. Thermoresponsive coatings composed of nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning from thermoresponsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm). The nanofiber coatings showed a large amplitude of thermoresponsive change in the wettability from hydrophilic to hydrophobic states compared to a smooth cast film. In particular, the combination of the surface chemistry and unique topology of the electrospun nanofiber coatings enables a transition from the Wenzel state to the metastable Cassie-Baxter state with an increase in temperature and consequently an enhanced amplitude of change in the water contact angles: the apparent contact angle differences between 25 and 50 °C are Δθ*(25-50?°C?)= 108 and 10° for the nanofiber coatings with a diameter of 830 nm and a smooth cast film, respectively. The fabrication of the 3D nanofiber network structure by electrospinning from stimuli-responsive materials is a promising option for highly responsive surfaces in wettability.     

Electrochemical Behaviour of HOPG and CVD‐Grown Graphene Electrodes Modified with Thick Anthraquinone Films by Diazonium Reduction

Highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and graphene grown on Ni (Ni‐Gra) or Cu (Cu‐Gra) by chemical vapour deposition were modified with thick anthraquinone (AQ) films (7?60 nm) by redox grafting of the pertinent diazonium salt. Glassy carbon (GC) electrodes were used for comparison. The AQ‐modified GC electrodes showed excellent blocking properties towards the Fe(CN)₆^3?/4? redox probe, although it was noted that in the case of Ni‐Gra and Cu‐Gra, the blocking ability depended strongly on the underlying substrate. Oxygen reduction studies revealed good electrocatalytic activity of AQ‐modified HOPG, Ni‐Gra, and Cu‐Gra, compared with the bare electrodes.     

Large time asymptotic problems for optimal stochastic control with superlinear cost

The paper is concerned with stochastic control problems of finite time horizon whose running cost function is of superlinear growth with respect to the control variable. We prove that, as the time horizon tends to infinity, the value function converges to a function of variable separation type which is characterized by an ergodic stochastic control problem. Asymptotic problems of this type arise in utility maximization problems in mathematical finance. From the PDE viewpoint, our results concern the large time behavior of solutions to semilinear parabolic equations with superlinear nonlinearity in gradients.     

The ammonia-free partial reduction of substituted pyridinium salts

This paper reports a study into the partial reduction of N-alkylpyridinium salts together with subsequent elaboration of the intermediates thus produced. Activation of a pyridinium salt by placing an ester group at C-2, allows the addition of two electrons to give a synthetically versatile enolate intermediate which can be trapped with a variety of electrophiles. Furthermore, the presence of a 4-methoxy substituent on the pyridine nucleus enhances the stability of the enolate reaction products, and hydrolysis in situ gives stable dihydropyridone derivatives in good yields. These versatile compounds are prepared in just three steps from picolinic acid and can be derivatised at any position on the ring, including nitrogen when a p-methoxybenzyl group is used as the N-activating group on the pyridinium salt. This publication describes our exploration of the optimum reducing conditions, the most appropriate N-alkyl protecting group, as well as the best position on the ring for the methoxy group. Electrochemical techniques which mimic the synthetic reducing conditions are utilised and they give clear support for our proposed mechanism of reduction in which there is a stepwise addition of two electrons to the heterocycle, mediated by di-tert-butylbiphenyl (DBB). Moreover, there is a correlation between the viability of reduction of a given heterocycle under synthetic conditions and its electrochemical response; this offers the potential for use of electrochemistry in predicting the outcome of such reactions.     

Current-induced metallic state in an organic (EDT-TSF)2GaCl4 conductor

A newly prepared organic conductor, (EDT-TSF)(2)GaCl(4), shows considerable nonlinear conductance in the insulating state below 20 K, and a metallic state is restored by the application of moderate currents. This conductor has a stacking structure with a quasi-one-dimensional open Fermi surface, similar to the sulfur analogues. Since the interchain interaction is enhanced by the selenium substitution, the static magnetic susceptibility as well as ESR does not show any anomaly around 20 K, and low-temperature X-ray investigation does not show any extra spots. Isostructural (EDT-TSF)(2)FeCl(4) shows similar conducting properties, although the magnetic interaction of the anion is weak. Like this, nonlinear conductance is a versatile tool to restore a metallic state when the metal-insulator transition is almost suppressed.     

RNA detection using peptide-inserted <Emphasis Type="Italic">Renilla</Emphasis> luciferase

A novel complementation system with short peptide-inserted-Renilla luciferase (PI-Rluc) and split-RNA probes was constructed for noninvasive RNA detection. The RNA binding peptides HIV-1 Rev and BIV Tat were used as inserted peptides. They display induced fit conformational changes upon binding to specific RNAs and trigger complementation or discomplementation of Rluc. Split-RNA probes were designed to reform the peptide binding site upon hybridization with arbitrarily selected target RNA. This set of recombinant protein and split-RNA probes enabled a high degree of sensitivity in RNA detection. In this study, we show that the Rluc system is comparable to Fluc, but that its detection limit for arbitrarily selected RNA (at least 100 pM) exceeds that of Fluc by approximately two orders of magnitude.