Heteroannulation of naphthoquinones. Studies on the reaction of 2-bromo-2,3-dihydronaphthoquinone derivatives with 1,2-binucleophiles.

Heterocyclic derivatives of naphthoquinones were synthesized via their 2-bromo-2,3-dehydro-intermediates. This new route may lead to the formation of benzo[a]phenothiazin-5-ones, benzo[f]quinoxalin-6-ones as well as their 1,4 (or 7,10) dihydroxy-derivatives in high yields. The possible mechanisms involved in the formation of these compounds are discussed.     

9-Substituted acridines. Demethoxylation of 9-methoxyacridine and dechlorination of 9-chloroacridine in hydroxylic solvents

In methanol-water mixtures containing sodium or potassium hydroxide (up to 2.00M) the demethoxylation of 9-methoxyacridine to 9-acridone is of first order in both the free form of 9-methoxyacridine and the hydroxyl ion. The rate of the reaction is increased with an increase in the concentration of water. Sodium perchlorate has a small retarding effect on the reaction. In methanol-water mixtures containing perchloric or hydrochloric acid (up to 3.45M) the demethoxylation is of first order with respect to the protonated form of 9-methoxyacridine. The rate of the reaction decreases with an increase in the concentration of the acid or of sodium perchlorate, but when the concentration of water is increased (≈?1.7 to 50M) and that of the acid is not changed, it reaches a maximum value in mixtures containing 8 to 10M-water. The dechlorination of 9-chloroacridine to 9-methoxyacridine in methanol containing sodium hydroxide or methoxide (up to 0.31 M) is of first order in both the 9-chloroacridine and the hydroxyl or methoxyl ions.     

New Analogs of Polyamine Toxins from Spiders and Wasps: Liquid Phase Fragment Synthesis and Evaluation of Antiproliferative Activity

Polyamine toxins (PATs) are conjugates of polyamines (PAs) with lipophilic carboxylic acids, which have been recently shown to present antiproliferative activity. Ten analogs of the spider PATs Agel 416, HO-416b, and JSTX-3 and the wasp PAT PhTX-433 were synthesized with changes in the lipophilic head group and/or the PA chain, and their antiproliferative activity was evaluated on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, using Agel 416 and HO-416b as reference compounds. All five analogs of PhTX-433 were of very low activity on both cell lines, whereas the two analogs of JSTX-3 were highly active only on the MCF-7 cell line with IC₅₀ values of 2.63–2.81 μΜ. Of the remaining three Agel 416 or HO-416b analogs, only the one with the spermidine chain was highly active on both cells with IC₅₀ values of 3.15–12.6 μM. The two most potent compounds in this series, Agel 416 and HO-416b, with IC₅₀ values of 0.09–3.98 μΜ for both cell lines, were found to have a very weak cytotoxic effect on the MCF-12A normal breast cells. The present study points out that the structure of both the head group and the PA chain determine the strength of the antiproliferative activity of PATs and their selectivity towards different cells.     

Theoretical study of the microhydration of 1-chloro and 2-chloro ethanol as a clue for their relative propensity toward dehalogenation

This work reports a computational analysis of hydrogen-bonded clusters of mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrahydrates of the chlorohydrins CH₃CHClOH (1ClEtOH) and CH₂ClCH₂OH (2ClEtOH). The goal of the study is to assess the role of the water solvent into the facilitation of the initial step for dehalogenation of these compounds, a process of interest in several contexts. Molecular orbital methods (MP2), density functional methods (B3LYP, M06, and ωB97X-D), and composite model chemistries (CBS-QB3, G4) were employed to investigate the structure, electronic distribution, and hydrogen-bonded structure of seven monohydrates, six dihydrates, five trihydrates, and five tetrahydrates of both species. Standard reaction enthalpy and standard Gibbs free reaction energy () were computed for all aggregates with respect to n independent water molecules and with respect to the dimer, trimer, and tetramer of water, respectively, in order to evaluate stability and hydrogen bonding network. The influence of the water chains on the length and vibrational frequencies, especially of the C Cl and O H bonds, was evaluated. Hydrogen bonding in the complexes is discussed at length.     

Prediction of microscopic structure and physical properties of complex fluid mixtures based on molecular simulation

Molecular simulation calculations are presented for two types of complex fluid mixtures, namely elastomer polymer mixtures and water–1-octanol binary and ternary mixtures. Elastomer polymers are used widely as membrane materials for gas separation. In this respect, the solubility and diffusion coefficient of gases need to be known accurately. Predictions for both properties are presented here. Water–1-octanol mixture is a widely used prototype system used to assess the partitioning of various chemical compounds with applications to chemical industry, biotechnology, etc. The microscopic structure of the water–1-octanol mixture is examined and the Gibbs free energy of solvation of four organic solutes is calculated. In all cases, detailed atomistic force fields are used to account for inter- and intra-molecular interactions. Simulation results are shown to be in excellent agreement with literature experimental data.     

Preparation of molecularly imprinted solid-phase microextraction fiber for the selective removal and extraction of the antiviral drug abacavir in environmental and biological matrices

In the present study, a molecularly imprinted solid-phase microextraction fiber (MIP-SPME_f) was synthesized and applied for the selective removal and extraction of the antiviral drug, abacavir (ABA). Morphology and structure characterization of fibers were performed by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectra, respectively. The effects on the adsorption behavior of the process parameters were studied and the equilibrium data were fitted by the Langmuir, Freundlich and Langmuir-Freundlich models. The maximum adsorption capability (Q_max) was determined by Langmuir- Freundlich model and was 149 mg/g for MIP-SPME_f. In the next step, SPME methodology followed by liquid desorption and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) has been developed and evaluated for the determination of the target compound in environmental and biological matrices (surface waters, wastewaters and urine). Parameters that could influence SPME efficiency were investigated. Then, optimization of stirring speed, extraction time and salt content was carried out by using a central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM). A quadratic model between dependent and independent variables was built. Under the optimum conditions (extraction time 40 min, stirring rate 650 rpm and salt content 0.3% NaCl w/v) the validated method presented a high sensitivity and selectivity with LODs and LOQs in the range of 10.1–13.6 and 33.3–43.9 ng/L, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of ABA in real samples. The percentage extraction efficiency ranged from 88 to 99% revealing good accuracy and absence of matrix effects.     

Computational study of the reaction of the methylsulfonyl radical,CH3S(O)2, with NO2

The mechanism of the reaction between the methylsulfonyl radical, CH₃S(O)₂, and NO₂ is examined using density functional theory and ab initio calculations. Two stable association intermediates, CH₃SNO₂ and CH₃S(O)ONO, may be formed through the attack of the nitrogen or the oxygen atom of NO₂ radical to the S atom. Interisomerization and decomposition of these intermediates are investigated using high level energy methods and specifically, CCSD(T), CBS‐QB3, and G3//B3LYP. The computational investigation indicates that the lowest energy reaction pathway leads to the products CH₃S(O)₃ + NO, through the decomposition of the most stable association adduct CH₃S(O)ONO. This result fully supports the relevant assumption of Ray et al. (Ray et al., J. Phys. Chem. 1996, 100, 8895], on which the experimental evaluation of the rate constant was based, namely that CH₃S(O)₃ + NO are the most probable products of the reaction CH₃S(O)₂ + NO₂. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Financial correlations at ultra-high frequency: theoretical models and empirical estimation

A detailed analysis of correlation between stock returns at high frequency is compared with simple models of random walks. We focus in particular on the dependence of correlations on time scales – the so-called Epps effect. This provides a characterization of stochastic models of stock price returns which is appropriate at very high frequency.     

Stationary solutions for a modified Peyrard-Bishop DNA model with up to third-neighbor interactions

We investigate a DNA model that takes into account stacking interactions with neighbors up to three bases away. The model is a generalization of the well-known Peyrard-Bishop (PB) model and is motivated by studies that suggest that nearest-neighbor models for base-pair interaction in a DNA chain might not be enough to capture the mechanism and dynamics of DNA base-pair opening. We study stationary solutions of the modified model and investigate their stability. A comparison with the PB model reveals that under a wide range of parameter values the main characteristics of the original model --such as the hyperbolicity of the equilibrium at the origin-- are preserved, but new types of stationary solutions emerge.     

Confirming the Molecular Basis of the Solvent Extraction of Cadmium(II) Using 2-Pyridyl Oximes through a Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry Approach and a Proposal for More Efficient Extractants

The present work describes the reactions of CdI₂ with 2-pyridyl aldoxime (2paoH), 3-pyridyl aldoxime (3paoH), 4-pyridyl aldoxime (4paoH), 2-6-diacetylpyridine dioxime (dapdoH₂) and 2,6-pyridyl diamidoxime (LH₄). The primary goal was to contribute to understanding the molecular basis of the very good liquid extraction ability of 2-pyridyl ketoximes with long aliphatic chains towards toxic Cd(II) and the inability of their 4-pyridyl isomers for this extraction. Our systematic investigation provided access to coordination complexes [CdI₂(2paoH)₂] (1), {[CdI₂(3paoH)₂]}_n (2), {[CdI₂(4paoH)₂]}_n (3) and [CdI₂(dapdoH₂)] (4). The reaction of CdI₂ and LH₄ in EtOH resulted in a Cd(II)-involving reaction of the bis(amidoxime) and isolation of [CdI₂(L’H₂)] (5), where L’H₂ is the new ligand 2,6-bis(ethoxy)pyridine diimine. A mechanism of this transformation has been proposed. The structures of 1, 2, 3, 4·2EtOH and 5 were determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The complexes have been characterized by FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra in the solid state and the data are discussed in terms of structural features. The stability of the complexes in DMSO was investigated by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Our studies confirm that the excellent extraction ability of 2-pyridyl ketoximes is due to the chelating nature of the extractants leading to thermodynamically stable Cd(II) complexes. The monodentate coordination of 4-pyridyl ketoximes (as confirmed in our model complexes with 4paoH and 3paoH) seems to be responsible for their poor performance as extractants.