Efficient assembly of 3-substituted oxindole-based isoxazolines leading to the synthesis of (±)-flustraminol-B and related natural product building blocks

An efficient synthesis of oxindole-based isoxazolines has been developed and the resulting spirocyclic intermediates have been elaborated to synthetically versatile 3-hydroxy-3-alkyl oxindole building blocks such as the 3-hydroxy-3-methylenecyano-2-oxindoles (6) and γ-amino alcohols (12). Utility of this methodology is demonstrated through the synthesis of pyrrolo[2,3-b]indolines including the marine natural product (±)-flustraminol-B.     

Oxidation of alkyl aromatics to ketones by tert-butyl hydroperoxide on manganese dioxide catalyst

The catalytic activity of the manganese oxide was investigated for the oxidative functionalization of alkylaromatics to benzylic ketones using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidant. Manganese oxides of different types were tested for this reaction. Of all the oxides, the nano amorphous manganese dioxide exhibited significant catalytic activity and selectivity for the reaction. The nano amorphous MnO₂/TBHP catalytic system could also be reused for six consecutive cycles with no considerable loss in catalytic activity.     

A simple and effective metaheuristic for the Minimum Latency Problem

The Minimum Latency Problem (MLP) is a variant of the Traveling Salesman Problem which aims to minimize the sum of arrival times at vertices. The problem arises in a number of practical applications such as logistics for relief supply, scheduling and data retrieval in computer networks. This paper introduces a simple metaheuristic for the MLP, based on a greedy randomized approach for solution construction and iterated variable neighborhood descent with random neighborhood ordering for solution improvement. Extensive computational experiments on nine sets of benchmark instances involving up to 1000 customers demonstrate the good performance of the method, which yields solutions of higher quality in less computational time when compared to the current best approaches from the literature. Optimal solutions, known for problems with up to 50 customers, are also systematically obtained in a fraction of seconds.     

Analysis of current ‐ voltage ‐ temperature characteristics of In and Cu contacts on n‐type MoSe2 single crystals

The current voltage characteristics of In / Cu with n‐type MoSe₂ Schottky diodes were measured over a wide temperature range 50 < T < 300 K. The interface formed by In and MoSe₂ shows ohmic behavior after annealing the contact at 100 °C for 12 h. The ohmic nature was retained at all the measured temperatures. The Cu ‐ nMoSe2 interface formed a Schottky junction diode with a good rectification ratio. The Schottky barrier height and the ideality factor thereby obtained were 0.72 eV and 1.45, respectively, at room temperature. Below room temperature, the barrier height and the ideality factor vary with decreasing temperature. The changes are significant at low temperatures. Barrier height inhomogeneities at the interface cause deviation in the zero‐bias barrier height and the ideality factor at low temperatures, and produce extra current such that I‐V characteristics remain consistent with the thermionic emission mechanism. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Planar photonic crystals infiltrated with liquid crystals: optical characterization of molecule orientation

Nematic liquid crystals are infiltrated into InP-based planar photonic crystals. Optical measurements as a function of temperature and polarization are used to study the average director field configuration in the nanometer-size holes: a planar equilibrium state is found.     

Mechanics of interfacial composite materials

Recent experiments and simulations have demonstrated that particle-covered fluid/fluid interfaces can exist in stable nonspherical shapes as a result of the steric jamming of the interfacially trapped particles. The jamming confers the interface with solidlike properties. We provide an experimental and theoretical characterization of the mechanical properties of these armored objects, with attention given to the two-dimensional granular state of the interface. Small inhomogeneous stresses produce a plastic response, while homogeneous stresses produce a weak elastic response. Shear-driven particle-scale rearrangements explain the basic threshold needed to obtain the near-perfect plastic deformation that is observed. Furthermore, the inhomogeneous stress state of the interface is exhibited experimentally by using surfactants to destabilize the particles on the surface. Since the interfacially trapped particles retain their individual characteristics, armored interfaces can be recognized as a kind of composite material with distinct chemical, structural, and mechanical properties.     

Synthesis and extraction of beta-D-glucose-stabilized Au nanoparticles processed into low-defect, wide-area thin films and ordered arrays using CO2-expanded liquids

This letter presents a straightforward and economic strategy to create aqueous Au nanoparticle dispersions using small amounts of beta-D-glucose as a "green" alternative to the conventional phase-transfer catalyst approach. Furthermore, this new process provides for efficient extraction of these monodisperse Au nanoparticles into an organic phase that was successfully processed into wide-area, locally ordered nanoparticle arrays and thin films using a precisely controlled CO2-expanded liquid particle deposition technique. This CO2-based technique allows for pressure-tunable particle deposition while eliminating the detrimental surface tension and dewetting effects common to normal solvent-evaporation techniques.     

Microstructure, morphology, and lifetime of armored bubbles exposed to surfactants

We report the behavior of particle-stabilized bubbles (armored bubbles) when exposed to various classes and concentrations of surfactants. The bubbles are nonspherical, which is a signature of the jamming of the particles on the interface, and are stable to dissolution prior to the addition of surfactant. Armored bubbles exposed to surfactants, dissolve, and exhibit distinct morphological, microstructural, and lifetime changes, which correlate with the concentration of surfactant employed. For low concentrations of surfactant, an armored bubble remains nonspherical while dissolving, whereas for concentrations close to and above the surfactant cmc a bubble reverts to a spherical shape before dissolving. We propose a microstructural interpretation, supported by our experimental observations of particle dynamics on the bubble interface, that recognizes the role of interfacial jamming and stresses in particle-stabilization and surfactant-mediated destabilization of armored bubbles.     

Testing assumptions about solute concentration dependence in liquid crystal NMR

The NMR spectra of four solutes, used as probes of liquid crystal orientational order, were analyzed. For each solute, samples were prepared at different solute concentrations, and the concentration dependence was used to extrapolate zero-concentration properties. The mean-field (Maier-Saupe) model when applied to solutes neglects solute-solute interactions and assumes all solutes in a mixed-solute sample see the same average environment. The first assumption is only valid as one approaches zero concentration, while experiments are typically carried out at concentrations between 0 and 10 mol %. The solute concentration dependence has in the past been "scaled out" using an internal solute reference as an orientational standard. We measured the concentration dependence of the orientational order parameter and calculate the corresponding interaction energies based on a mean-field interaction potential for a solute. We find agreement at the 3% level between experiments for different solutes while using (i) the zero-concentration values as solute-dependent orientational references and (ii) scaling to either order parameters or interaction energies; these two scalings gave equivalent but not identical results. We find, too, that errors inherent in the experiment and the calculations will limit attempts to refine the theory to push the comparisons beyond the 2% level.     

A comparative study of immobilization techniques for urease on glass-pH-electrode and its application in urea detection in blood serum

Different techniques have been used (physical adsorption, physically entrapped sandwich and microencapsulation) for the immobilization of urease enzyme in tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS) derived sol-gel matrix on the sensing surface of glass-pH-electrode. No significant leaching of enzyme occurs from the microencapsulated and physically entrapped enzyme sandwich films. Potentiometric techniques have been used for the estimation of urea concentration in each instance. Various parameters of biosensor performance have been studied which indicates that microencapsulation technique is a better method of enzyme immobilization in sol-gel films derived from TMOS. The advantage of microencapsulated biosensor over others include higher sensitivity (dpH/dp(C) = 2.4), lower detection limit of 52 μg mL⁻¹, larger linear range (0.01-30 mM) of urea determination and reasonably long-term stability of about 25 days with 80% response signal.