Direct Evidence for Intermolecular Oxidative Addition of σ(SiSi) Bonds to Gold

Oxidative addition plays a major role in transition‐metal catalysis, but this elementary step remains very elusive in gold chemistry. It is now revealed that in the presence of GaCl₃, phosphine gold chlorides promote the oxidative addition of disilanes at low temperature. The ensuing bis(silyl) gold(III) complexes were characterized by quantitative ³¹P and ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopy. Their structures (distorted Y shape) and the reaction profile of σ(Si? Si) bond activation were analyzed by DFT calculations. These results provide evidence for the intermolecular oxidative addition of σ(Si? Si) bonds to gold and open promising perspectives for the development of new gold‐catalyzed redox transformations.     

Targeting of sebocytes by aminolevulinic acid-dependent photosensitization

Photodynamic therapy using 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX has been developed as a very useful therapeutic modality. Recently, several authors have reported on the efficacy of this procedure for acne. This approach is based on the fact that 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX has strong selectivity for sebaceous glands. We used the immortalized human sebaceous gland cell line SZ95 to investigate cellular mechanisms of photodynamic therapy using 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX. Quantification of induced protoporphyrin IX production showed dependence on the applied 5-aminolevulinic acid dose. When SZ95 sebocytes were differentiated by arachidonic acid treatment, there was no difference between them and the control cells with respect to both the amount of 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX and the phototoxic effects. We altered protoporphyrin IX formation rates by growing cells scattered as single cells in the culture dishes. Single cells produced significantly lower protoporphyrin IX levels than those grown with intercellular contacts. Intracellular localization of protoporphyrin IX was imaged using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The differentiation-specific lipid droplets were virtually excluded from protoporphyrin IX fluorescence. In addition to weak mitochondrial and strong membrane fluorescence, distinctive spots with strong fluorescence were observed. These did not colocalize with fluorescent probes for mitochondria, lysosomes or the Golgi apparati.     

A Direct and Versatile Synthesis of 5-(2-Di-n-Propylaminoethyl)-7-methoxyindole

The Pummerer intermediate generated from 10 with TFAA was trapped intermolecularly in the presence of Lewis acid by the indoline 2 at position 5. Sequential treatment of the resulted compound 3 with Ra-Ni, LiAlH₄ and active MnO₂ gave compound 6 in high overall yield.     

Disposable mercury-free cell-on-a-chip devices with integrated microfabricated electrodes for the determination of trace nickel(II) by adsorptive stripping voltammetry

This work reports the fabrication of disposable three-electrode cells with integrated sputtered metal-film electrodes. The working electrode was a bismuth-film electrode (BiFE) while the reference and counter electrodes were made of Ag and Pt, respectively. The deposition of the metal layers was carried out by sputtering of the respective metals on a silicon substrate while the exact geometry of the electrodes was defined via a metal mask placed on the substrate during the deposition process. Initially, the electrodes were characterised by cyclic voltammetry. The utility of these devices was tested for the trace determination of Ni(II) by square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry (SWAdSV) after complexation with dimethylglyoxime (DMG). The experimental variables (the presence of oxygen, the DMG concentration, the preconcentration potential, the accumulation time and the SW parameters), as well as potential interferences, were investigated. Using the selected conditions, the 3sigma limit of detection was 100 ng L(-1) for Ni(II) (for 90 s of preconcentration) and the relative standard deviation for Ni(II) was 2.3% at the 10 microg L(-1) level (n=8). Finally, the method was applied to the determination of Ni(II) in a certified river water sample.     

A facile and effective synthesis of lipophilic 2,6-diketopiperazine analogues

Adamantane and cyclooctane lipophilic 2,6-diketopiperazines (2,6-DKPs) have been prepared by a simple and effective method, including the synthesis of the corresponding iminodiacetic amido-ester derivatives and their intramolecular cyclization. In this method, the key step of the imide formation was accomplished by a novel base-induced cyclization protocol, which involved the treatment of amido-ester 2,6-DKP precursors with potassium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide. Moreover, the cyclization methodology used allowed the synthesis of the respective 1-functionalized 2,6-DKPs in one pot and in excellent yields when the same primary amido-esters were treated with the previous base and the intermediate potassium imidate salts were then reacted with the electrophile benzyl bromoacetate. Hydrogenolysis of the benzyl 2,6-diketopiperazine acetates afforded the respective carboxylic acids, which constitute versatile intermediates in the synthesis of peptidomimetics and other bioactive molecules concerning our pharmacological studies.     

Synthesis of N-acyl-2-pyrrolidinones from the corresponding N-acyl-GABA derivatives

In this work, the synthesis of 1-(pyridine-3-carbonyl)pyrrolidin-2-one ( 1a ) and 1-(2-propyl-1-pentanoyl)pyrrolidin-2-one ( 1b ) by cyclization of the corresponding GABA derivatives, is reported. Two different methods are developed. For the synthesis of 1a , the parent molecule 4-[(pyridine-3-carbonyl)-amino]butanoic acid ( 2a ) is treated first with thionyl chloride and then with triethylamine. The second derivative, 1b , is produced by an intramolecular dehydration of 4-(2-propylpentanoylamino)butanoic acid ( 2b ) using an acid catalyst.     

Oscillator spacing and the probability for the recoilless Λ-production in nuclei

The relative contribution of the recoilless and quasifreeΛ-production in the (K^?,π^?) strangeness exchange reaction in nuclei is estimated by using the nuclear Debye-Waller factor. The expressions for theΛ-oscillator spacing ?ω_Λ needed for such an estimate are derived by means of procedures which lead to quite simple formulae for ?ω_Λ as function of the mass number and are useful in obtaining improved results.     

Study of the oxygen incorporation and diffusion in Sr(Ti0.65Fe0.35)O3 ceramics

For applications in high temperature fast conductometric gas sensors and oxygen membranes, several mixed conductors show promising features. In particular, acceptor-doped strontium titanate (STO) has been widely investigated for an application as a fast conductometric oxygen sensor. By a B-site substitution with 35% iron, the resulting ceramic solid solution SrTi_0.65Fe_0.35O₃ (STF35) exhibits a temperature-independent conductivity, an ideal prerequisite for a gas sensor.In the presented study, the oxygen tracer exchange behavior and the tracer diffusion of dense ceramic STF35 bulks have been investigated in the temperature range between 600 and 900 °C by means of ¹⁸O₂ tracer exchange experiments and subsequent secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), resulting in the determination of k* and D* values, respectively.Furthermore, by coating the samples with a thin alkaline earth metal oxide layer (CaO), a significantly enhanced oxygen surface exchange reaction was observed. These findings are in good agreement with previous results on STO single crystals.