Lipophilicity of Tetraarylporphyrins. Part 1. Tetra-(Hydroxyphenyl)Porphyrins with Long Alkyl Chain in the Molecule

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - In the phototherapeutic use of photosensitizers, lipophilicity is an important parameter that allows predicting their biological...     

Advances in alkaline earth-nitrogen chemistry

This article provides a concise summary of alkaline earth metal nitrogen chemistry. This important area of s-block metal chemistry is shedding important light on the recent development of alkaline earth metal chemistry, as the preparation of the target compounds utilizes a large variety of synthetic methodology. Further, the compounds have been utilized in a range of applications, including polymerization initiation, catalysis, as solid-state precursors, and even high energy materials.     

Electronegativity and resonance parameters from the geometry of monosubstituted benzene rings

Reference values of the structural substituent parameters, S _E and S _R, measuring the electronegativity and resonance effects, respectively, of functional groups (Campanelli et al. J Phys Chem A 107:6429–6440, 2003) have been determined from the benzene ring geometries of 100 Ph–X species, including different conformations of the same molecule. Geometries have been obtained by quantum chemical calculations at the HF/6-31G*, HF/6-311++G**, and B3LYP/6-311++G** levels of theory. The substituent parameters from HF/6-311++G** calculations are in close agreement with those determined at the HF/6-31G* level. Using the B3LYP density functional yields S _E and S _R values which—in general—correlate well with the corresponding HF values. Exceptions occur with some charged groups, and, in the case of S _E, with a few dipolar groups having very high or low electronegativities. S _R values from B3LYP calculations are about 22% smaller than the corresponding HF values. The variations of the benzene ring geometry caused by electronegativity, resonance, and steric effects are illustrated in some detail.     

Crystal structures of Ziegler-Natta catalyst supports

The crystal structures of three MgCl(2)·nEtOH complexes with n=1.5, 2.8, and 3.3 have been fully determined. Such complexes are the fundamental precursors for Ziegler-Natta polymerization catalysts used to produce polyolefins on a multimillion-ton scale worldwide. The ab initio structure solution showed that the structure of MgCl(2)·nEtOH complexes with n=1.5 and 2.8 are based on ribbons of metal-centered octahedra, whereas for n=3.3 this chainlike arrangement breaks into a threadlike structure of isolated octahedra linked by hydrogen bonds. A clear correlation between catalyst performance and the crystal structure of precursors has been found, and reveals the fundamental role of the latter in determining catalyst properties. The direct knowledge of building blocks in the precursor structures will help to develop more accurate models for activated catalysts. These models will not require the arbitrary and oversimplified assumption of locating the catalyst active sites on selected cut surfaces of the α-MgCl(2) crystal lattice.     

Intramolecular [2+2+2] cycloaddition reactions of yne-ene-yne and yne-yne-ene enediynes catalysed by Rh(I): experimental and theoretical mechanistic studies

N-tosyl-linked open-chain yne-ene-yne enediynes 1 and 2 and yne-yne-ene enediynes 3 and 4 have been satisfactorily synthesised. The [2+2+2] cycloaddition process catalysed by the Wilkinson catalyst [RhCl(PPh(3))(3)] was tested with the above-mentioned substrates resulting in the production of high yields of the cycloadducts. Enediynes 1 and 2 gave standard [2+2+2] cycloaddition reactions whereas enediynes 3 and 4 suffered β-hydride elimination followed by reductive elimination of the Wilkinson catalyst to give cycloadducts, which are isomers of those that would be obtained by standard [2+2+2] cycloaddition reactions. The different reactivities of these two types of enediyne have been rationalised by density functional theory calculations.     

Synthesis, characterisation and in vitro anti-angiogenic potential of dendron VEGF blockers

To overcome the lack of in vivo stability of certain peptides used in cancer treatment and to increase their retention time in the extracellular matrix of the target tissue, the anti-angiogenic WHLPFKC sequence is synthesised at the uppermost branching generation of a poly(ε-lysine) dendron. The root of these dendrons is designed to interact preferentially with macromolecules of the extracellular matrix, whilst the uppermost branching generation of the dendron increased the exposed density of the bioactive peptide. Bioactivity testing of the blockers is performed on HUVECs. The results show that the dendron tethered with VEGF blockers was still able to inhibit proliferation and angiogenesis. Their relatively larger structure did not prevent the interaction with VEGF.     

Stability studies of clonazepam, diazepam, haloperidol, and doxepin with diverse polarities in an acidic environment

Stability of clonazepam, diazepam, haloperidol, and doxepin was determined in acidic solutions. In addition, determination of the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of this stability was carried out. Reaction rate constants (k), half-life times (t(0.1) and t(0.5)), and activation energy (Ea) were estimated for the drugs, which differed in polarity expressed with log P values. It was observed that estimated Ea values increased from 42.13 to 125.03 kJ/mol with an increase of lipophilicity (log P) beginning from the most hydrophilic drug (clonazepam, 2.70 log P) to the most lipophilic drug (doxepin, 4.10 log P). All degradation products were studied using an HPLC/electrospray ionization-MS technique in the positive ionization mode.     

Theoretical studies on interactions between low energy electrons and protein-DNA fragments: valence anions of AT-amino acids side chain complexes

Electron attachment to trimeric complexes that mimic most frequent hydrogen bonding interactions between an amino acid side chain (AASC) and the Watson-Crick (WC) 9-methyladenine-1-methylthymine (MAMT) base pair has been studied at the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level of theory. Although the neutral trimers will not occur in the gas phase due to unfavorable free energy of stabilization (G(stab)) they should form a protein-DNA complex where entropy changes related to formation of such a complex will more than balance its disadvantageous G(stab). The most stable neutrals possess an identical pattern of hydrogen bonds (HBs). In addition, the proton-acceptor (N7) and proton-donor (N10) atoms of adenine involved in those HBs are located in the main groove of DNA. All neutral structures support the adiabatically stable valence anions in which the excess electron is localized on a π* orbital of thymine. The vertical detachment energies (VDEs) of anions corresponding to the most stable neutrals are substantially smaller than that of the isolated WC MAMT base pair. Hence, electron transfer from the anionic thymine to the phosphate group and as a consequence formation of a single strand break (SSB) should proceed more efficiently in a protein-dsDNA complex than in the naked dsDNA as far as electron attachment to thymine is concerned.     

Baltimore PM2.5 Supersite: highly time-resolved organic compounds—sampling duration and phase distribution—implications for health effects studies

As part of the Baltimore PM2.5 Supersite study, intensive three-hourly continuous PM2.5 sampling was conducted for nearly 4 weeks in summer of 2002 and as well in winter of 2002/2003. Close to 120 individual organic compounds have been quantified separately in filter and polyurethane foam (PUF) plug pairs for 17 days for each sampling period. Here, the focus is on (1) describing briefly the new sampling system, (2) discussing filter/PUF plugs breakthrough experiments for semi-volatile compounds, (3) providing insight into phase distribution of semi-volatile organic species, and (4) discussing the impact of air pollution sampling time on human exposure with information on maximum 3- and 24-h averaged ambient concentrations of potentially adverse health effects causing organic pollutants. The newly developed sampling system consisted of five electronically controlled parallel sampling channels that are operated in a sequential mode. Semi-volatile breakthrough experiments were conducted in three separate experiments over 3, 4, and 5 h each using one filter and three PUF plugs. Valuable insight was obtained about the transfer of semi-volatile organic compounds through the sequence of PUF plugs and a cut-off could be defined for complete sampling of semi-volatile compounds on only one filter/PUF plug pair, i.e., the setup finally used during the seasonal PM2.5 sampling campaign. Accordingly, n-nonadecane (C19) with a vapor pressure (vp) of 3.25 × 10⁻⁴ Torr is collected with > 95% on the filter/PUF pair. Applied to phenanthrene, the most abundant the PAH sampled, phenanthrene (vp, 6.2 × 10⁻⁵ Torr) was collected completely in wintertime and correlates very well with three-hourly PM2.5 ambient concentrations. Valuable data on the fractional partitioning for semi-volatile organics as a function of season is provided here and can be used to differentiate the human uptake of an organic pollutant of interest via gas- and particle-phase exposure. Health effects studies often relay on PM2.5 exposure measurements taken over 24 h or longer. We found that maximum 3-h concentrations are frequently two to five times higher than that found for maximum 24-h concentrations, an important aspect when considering that short-term exposure to higher air pollution levels are more likely to overpower defense mechanisms in the human lung with subsequent adverse effects even at lower pollutant levels.     

Oxidation of phenothiazine dyes by manganese(III) in sulfuric acid solution

Manganese(III) sulfato complexes cause the oxidative degradation of methylene blue and its partially and fully N-demethylated derivatives, azure B and thionine dyes, respectively, in sulfuric acid media. The reaction proceeds through a colored reactive organic radical generated in the first stage via one-electron oxidation of the starting material, leading to a mixture of N-demethylated and/or deaminated species. The rates of formation of the methylene blue and azure B radicals are much higher than those of their further decomposition, whereas the generation of the thionine radical is much slower than its immeasurably fast decay. The kinetics of decomposition of all three dyes and the methylene blue and azure B radicals were studied spectrophotometrically under isolation conditions at 298 K. The first stage of each reaction proceeds according to a second-order rate expression, being first order in the dyes and in the manganese(III) concentrations. Dependence of the pseudo-first-order rate constants on the oxidant concentration for the second stage exhibits a saturation effect under the applied conditions. It is postulated that electron transfer takes place between the [Mn(SO₄)₃]³⁻ complex and the protonated form of the dye. The reactivity order of the dyes as determined from the second-order rate constants for the first reaction stage corresponds to the order of their HOMO energies.