New stabilising groups for lateral lithiation of ortho-cresol derivatives

1-(2-Methoxyethoxy)-2-methylbenzene and 1-(2-dimethylaminoethoxy)-2-methylbenzene have been lithiated using sec-BuLi under a variety of conditions and the laterally lithiated species trapped with electrophiles.     

The 39K(2) 2(3)Sigma(g)+ state: observation and analysis

The (39)K(2) 2 (3)Sigma(g) (+) state has been observed by perturbation-facilitated infrared-infrared double resonance spectroscopy and two-photon excitation. Resolved fluorescence spectra into the a (3)Sigma(u) (+) state have been recorded. The observed vibrational levels have been assigned as the v=23-25, 27, 28, 31-33, 38-45, 47, and 53 levels by comparing the observed and calculated spectra of the 2 (3)Sigma(g) (+)-->a (3)Sigma(u) (+) transitions. Molecular constants have been obtained using a global fitting procedure with a comprehensive set of experimental data. Fine and hyperfine splittings have been resolved in the excitation spectra. Perturbations between the 2 (3)Sigma(g) (+) and 2 (3)Pi(g) states were observed. The hyperfine patterns of the 2 (3)Sigma(g) (+) levels are strongly affected by the perturbation. The perturbation-free and weakly perturbed levels follow the case b(betaS) coupling scheme, while the perturbed levels follow case b(beta J) coupling. A Fermi contact constant, b(F)=65+/-10 MHz, has been obtained. Intensity anomalies of rotational lines appeared both in the 2 (3)Sigma(g) (+) approximately 2 (3)Pi(g)<--b (3)Pi(u) excitation spectra and in the 2 (3)Sigma(g) (+) approximately 2 (3)Pi(g)-->a (3)Sigma(u) (+) resolved fluorescence spectra. These intensity anomalies can be explained in terms of a quantum-mechanical interference effect.     

Development and optimization of ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography mass spectrometry method for high-throughput determination of tocopherols and tocotrienols in human serum

The goal of this study was to develop an effective supercritical fluid chromatography method using single quadrupole MS for analysis of all isomeric forms of vitamin E. Finally, two fast and effective methods, the high resolution one and the high speed one, for the determination of 8 vitamin E isomers in human serum were developed.     

Green solvent approach for printable large deformation thermoplastic elastomer based piezoresistive sensors and their suitability for biomedical applications

Composites based on biocompatible thermoplastic elastomer styrene‐ethylene/butylene‐styrene (SEBS) as matrix and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) as nanofillers show excellent mechanical and piezoresistive properties from low to large deformations. The MWCNT/SEBS composites have been prepared following a green solvent approach, to extend their range of applicability to biomedical applications. The obtained composites with 2, 4, and 5 wt % MWCNT content provide suitable piezoresistive response up to 80% deformation with a piezoresistive sensibility near 2.7, depending on the applied strain and MWCNT content. Composite sensors were also developed by spray and screen printing and integrated with an electronic data acquisition system with RF communication. The possibility to accurately control the composites properties and performance by varying MWCNT content, viscosity, and mechanical properties of the polymer matrix, shows the large potential of the system for the development of large deformation printable piezoresistive sensors. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 2092–2103     

Synthesis and Properties of TRANSDIP,a Rigid Chelator Built upon a Cyclodextrin Cavity: Is TRANSDIP an Authentic trans‐Spanning Ligand?

The C2-symmetrical diphosphane TRANSDIP was obtained in high yield by treating 6A,6B,6D,6E-tetramesylated, permethylated alpha-cyclodextrin with PPhLi2 in excess. The double cascade cyclisation thus produced is regioselective as phosphinidene capping involves only adjacent glucose units. It is also stereospecific, as both lone pairs on the phosphorus atoms are orientated towards the cyclodextrin axis. The restricted flexibility of the phosphorus atoms, which are part of nine-membered heterocyclic rings, is responsible for JP,C spin-spin couplings with the eight-bond distant CH2OMe carbon atoms of glucose units C and F. The treatment of TRANSDIP with Group 10 metal dihalides quantitatively gave square-planar chelate complexes, in which a M--X bond points towards the centre of the cavitand. The favourable P...P separation and the directional control of the lone pairs on the phosphorus atoms rule out the possibility of forming binuclear complexes or higher oligomers. Further, in all the complexes, the phosphorus atoms are in a trans arrangement. TRANSDIP may therefore be regarded as an authentic trans-spanning diphosphane. In the complex [NiBr2TRANSDIP], the cavity provides effective protection of the encapsulated M--X bond towards nucleophilic attack by MeLi. The same complex, upon activation with methylaluminoxane, efficiently dimerises ethene and propene.     

Oxidation reactivity channels for 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-N,N-diphenylacetamides

Synthetic routes to 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-N,N-diphenylacetamide and 2-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)-N,N-diphenyl-acetamide are described along with results from the chemical oxidation of these compounds with peracetic acid, m-chloroperbenzoic acid, and OXONE. In each case, oxidations generate four products in varying amounts depending on the oxidant and reaction conditions. Each product has been characterized by spectroscopic methods and the molecular structures of several of the new compounds have been confirmed by X-ray crystallography.     

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha antagonism inhibits hepatitis C virus replication

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global health problem and a leading cause of liver disease. Here, we demonstrate that the replication of HCV replicon RNA in Huh-7 cells is inhibited by a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) antagonist, 2-chloro-5-nitro-N-(pyridyl)benzamide (BA). Downregulation of PPARgamma with RNA interference approaches had no effect on HCV replication in Huh-7 cells, whereas PPARalpha downregulation inhibited HCV replication. Fluorescence and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy demonstrate a clear buildup of lipids upon treatment with BA. These observations are consistent with the misregulation of lipid metabolism, phospholipid secretion, cholesterol catabolism, and triglyceride clearance events associated with the inhibition of PPARalpha. The inhibition of HCV replication by BA may result from disrupting lipidation of host proteins associated with the HCV replication complex or, more generally, by disrupting the membranous web where HCV replicates.     

EXAFS and IR structural study of platinum-based anticancer drugs' degradation by diethyl dithiocarbamate

Platinum compounds constitute a discrete class of DNA-damaging anticancer drug agents, including cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin. The toxicity of such drugs raises the problem of waste detoxification. Diethyl dithiocarbamate (DDTC) is recommended by the World Heath Organization (WHO) for the destruction of cisplatin, but the degradation product has not been structurally characterized. This paper deals with the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and IR structural study of the reaction products of DDTC with cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin. Cisplatin and carboplatin give the same reaction product: Pt(DDTC)2. In the case of oxaliplatin, we observed the formation of [(diaminocyclohexane)(DDTC)Pt(II)]. In all cases, the replacement of labile ligands by strong ligands should lead to inactive compounds. Our results suggest that the WHO inactivation protocol might be extended to carboplatin and oxaliplatin. Nevertheless, this should be validated by toxicity tests of the degradation products.     

Chromium‐Mediated Dearomatization: Application to the Synthesis of Racemic 15‐Acetoxytubipofuran and Asymmetric Synthesis of Both Enantiomers

An efficient dearomatization process of [Cr(arene)(CO)₃] complexes initiated by a nucleophilic acetaldehyde equivalent is detailed. It generates in a one‐pot reaction three C? C bonds and two stereogenic centers. This process allowed a rapid assembly of a cis‐decalin ring system incorporating a homoannular diene unit in just two steps starting from aromatic precursors (Scheme 2). The method was applied to the total synthesis of the eudesmane‐type marine furanosesquiterpene (±)‐15‐acetoxytubipofuran ( 2 ). Two routes were successfully used to synthesize the γ‐lactone precursor of the furan ring. The key step in the first approach was a Pd‐catalyzed allylic substitution (Scheme 3), while in the second approach, an Eschenmoser–Claisen rearrangement was highly successful (Scheme 4). The Pd‐catalyzed allylic substitution could be directed to give either the (normal) product with overall retention as major diastereoisomer or the unusual product with inversion of configuration (see Table). For the synthesis of the (?)‐enantiomer (R,R)‐ 2 of 15‐acetoxytubipofuran, an enantioselective dearomatization in the presence of a chiral diether ligand was implemented (Scheme 7), while the (+)‐enantiomer (S,S)‐ 2 was obtained via a diastereoselective dearomatization of an arene‐bound chiral imine auxiliary (Scheme 8). Chiroptical data suggest that a revision of the previously assigned absolute configuration of the natural product is required.