Use of Oxygen Gas in the Low-Temperature Time-Resolved EPR Experiments

A large transient microwave signal seen in low-temperature time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) experiments is attributed to the presence of nitrogen as a flushing gas, when pulses of a 266- or 248-nm laser light is used for photolysis. We report here that, using oxygen as the flushing gas, this transient can be largely removed. Based on the studies using 355 nm laser light and also nitrous oxide as the flushing gas, photoelectron emission from the inner walls of the microwave cavity is proposed to be the origin of this transient, and the electron attachment to oxygen gas is the mechanism of its removal. Using oxygen as the flushing gas, recording of TREPR spectra at low temperatures as well as very close to the laser pulse of 266 or 248 nm is possible.     

Potential Therapeutic Target Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase-1B for Modulation of Insulin Resistance with Polyphenols and Its Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship

The increase in the number of cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the complications associated with the side effects of chemical/synthetic drugs have raised concerns about the safety of the drugs. Hence, there is an urgent need to explore and identify natural bioactive compounds as alternative drugs. Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) functions as a negative regulator and is therefore considered as one of the key protein targets modulating insulin signaling and insulin resistance. This article deals with the screening of a database of polyphenols against PTP1B activity for the identification of a potential inhibitor. The research plan had two clear objectives. Under first objective, we conducted a quantitative structure–activity relationship analysis of flavonoids with PTP1B that revealed the strongest correlation (R² = 93.25%) between the number of aromatic bonds (naro) and inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) of PTP1B. The second objective emphasized the binding potential of the selected polyphenols against the activity of PTP1B using molecular docking, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation and free energy estimation. Among all the polyphenols, silydianin, a flavonolignan, was identified as a lead compound that possesses drug-likeness properties, has a higher negative binding energy of −7.235 kcal/mol and a pKd value of 5.2. The free energy-based binding affinity (ΔG) was estimated to be −7.02 kcal/mol. MD simulation revealed the stability of interacting residues (Gly183, Arg221, Thr263 and Asp265). The results demonstrated that the identified polyphenol, silydianin, could act as a promising natural PTP1B inhibitor that can modulate the insulin resistance.     

Pyridiniums as potential synthetic substitutes for nitrogen mustards

Dialkylamino-alkyl primary amines 1b and 2b are converted by pyrylium salts into the corresponding pyridinium derivatives. The pyridinium salts act as aminoalkylating agents for representative O-, S-, N-, and C-nucleophiles and are potentially safe substitutes for nitrogen mustards in the reactions.     

A simple synthesis of α, β-unsaturated aldehydes by 1,3-carbonyl transposition through one carbon homologation

α,β-Unsaturated aldehydes are conveniently prepared from ketones through their β-diethoxymethyl derivatives by sodium borohydride reduction followed by acid-catalysed rearrangement of the resulting diacetal carbinols.     

Synthetic applications of 2-chloro-3-formylquinoline

New examples of synthetic applications of 2-chloro-3-formylquinoline, as evident from the novel and facile syntheses of 3-aminoisooxazolo[5,4-b]quinoline (4), 3-hydroxyfuro[2,3-d]theino[2,3-b]quinoline-2-carboxamide (7) and 3-hydroxymethyl-2-(3-formyl)phenylquinoline ( 13 ), have been furnished.     

Proton decay of the isobaric analogs of the ground states of207Pb and208Pb

The proton decays \(\tilde p\) of isobaric analog states of^{207, 208}Pb in the reactions^{207, 208}Pb(p, n) have been studied using a neutron-proton coincidence technique. The width anomaly observed in (p, n) [4] and (p, n \(\tilde p\) ) singles spectra [11] is resolved in the coincident spectra.     

Fluorophenylantimony carboxylates(II): synthetic and spectroscopic studies (UV, IR, H, F and C NMR) of pentafluorophenylantimony(V) di- and tetracarboxylates

Pentafluorophenylantimony(V) di- and tetracarboxylates of the molecular formula C₆F₅SbX₂L₂ (when X=L=OCOR (R=CH₃, CH₂Cl, CHCl₂, CCl₃, CF₃, CH₂OC₆H₃Cl₂-2,4, CH₂OC₆H₂Cl₃-2,4,5) and when X=Cl; L=OCOCH_3, OCOCHCl₂) have been synthesized by the metathetical reaction of pentafluorophenylantimony(V) tetrachloride and (dibromide)dichloride with corresponding sodium salt of carboxylic acids in appropriate molar ratio using 15-crown-5 as phase transfer catalyst. The van’t Hoff factor ‘i’ and molar conductance data of the compounds revealed them to be monomeric and non-conducting in nature. Elemental analysis, UV, IR and NMR (¹H, ¹⁹F and ¹³C) were used to characterize the derivatives. Compounds are tentatively assigned as a pentacoordinated square pyramidal structure in which carboxylate ligand behaving as a monodentate ligand.     

Metamaterial inspired terahertz devices: from ultra-sensitive sensing to near field manipulation

We present a review of terahertz plasmonic metamaterial devices that have functionalities and applications ranging from sensing, enhanced electromagnetic fields, and near field manipulation. Metamaterials allow the properties of light propagation to be manipulated at will by using a combination of appropriately designed geometry and suitable materials at the unit cell level. In this review, we first discuss the sensing aspect of a planar plasmonic metamaterial and how to overcome its limitations. Conventional symmetric metamaterials are limited by their low Q factor, thus we probed the symmetry broken plasmonic metamaterial structures in which the interference between a broad continuum mode and a narrow localized mode leads to the excitation of the sharp Fano resonances. We also discuss the near field mediated excitation of dark plasmonic modes in metamaterials that is caused by a strong coupling from the bright mode resonator. The near field coupling between the dark and bright mode resonances leads to classical analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency in plasmonic systems. Finally, we discuss active switching in terahertz metamaterials based on high temperature superconductors that holds the promise of reducing the resistive losses in these systems, though it fails to suppress the radiation loss in plasmonic metamaterial at terahertz frequencies.