Chiral dipeptide mimics possessing a fluoroolefin moiety: a relevant tool for conformational and medicinal studies

The replacement of the amide bond in a peptide backbone is a promising strategy in peptidomimetic drug research. Over the various amide bond surrogates, the fluoroolefin moiety has been successfully developed as an effective mimic. Today, fluorine-containing compounds account for a large proportion of new active molecules in life sciences. The synthesis of fluoroolefin peptide mimics is not a trivial task and innovative approaches often need to be addressed, in particular for the stereocontrol of the double bond configuration and the chiral centres adjacent to the fluoroalkene. These fluorinated peptidomimetics have been synthesised and evaluated as metabolically stable and/or conformationally constrained analogs of enzyme inhibitors, and as tools for probing the function, structure, and binding process of receptors.     

New insights into the initial steps of the formation of SBA-15 materials: an in situ small angle neutron scattering investigation

Time-resolved in situ SANS investigations have provided direct experimental evidence for the three initial steps in the formation of the SBA-15 mesoporous material: an induction period is followed by a shape transformation of the micelles from spherical to cylindrical ones followed by the precipitation of a two-dimensional hexagonal phase.     

Cyclometallated iridium(III) complexes with substituted 1,10-phenanthrolines: a new class of highly active organometallic second order NLO-phores with excellent transparency with respect to second harmonic emission

[Ir(ppy)(2)(5-R-1,10-phen)][PF(6)] (ppy = cyclometallated 2-phenylpyridine, phen = phenanthroline, R = H, Me, NMe(2), NO(2)) and [Ir(ppy)(2)(4-R',7-R'-1,10-phen)][PF(6)] (R' = Me, Ph) complexes are characterized by one of the highest second order NLO response (measured by the EFISH technique) reported for a metal complex, mainly due (as suggested by a theoretical SOS-TDDFT investigation) to MLCT processes from the ppy-Ir based moiety acting as donor push system to pi* orbitals of phen, acting as an acceptor pull system; the good transparency to the second harmonic emission renders these NLO-phores appealing as building blocks for molecular materials with second harmonic generation.     

Accurate heteronuclear J-coupling measurements in dilute spin systems using the multiple-quantum filtered J-resolved experiment

A new solid-state MAS NMR experiment is proposed to accurately measure heteronuclear (19)F-(207)Pb J-coupling constants, even though these couplings are not visible on high speed (19)F 1D MAS spectra; in particular, we demonstrate that the J-resolved experiment combined with scalar multiple-quantum filtering considerably improves the resolution of J-multiplet patterns for dilute spin systems.     

Structure-reactivity relationships in SHOP-type complexes: tunable catalysts for the oligomerisation and polymerisation of ethylene

For over 30 years complexes with the general formula [NiPh(P,O)L] (L = tertiary phosphine; P,O = chelating phosphanylenolato ligand) have been used as highly efficient oligomerisation catalysts suitable for the production of linear alpha-olefins. The same complexes, which are usually referred to as SHOP-type catalysts (SHOP = Shell Higher Olefin Process) can also be used as ethylene polymerisation catalysts, provided they are treated with a phosphine scavenger that selectively removes the tertiary phosphine ligand (L). This Perspective examines the impact of various parameters (influence of the substituents, backbone size, solvent, use of co-catalysts, etc.) on the catalytic outcome of the complexes. Overall, this review shows that the selectivity and activity of the catalyst may be tuned efficiently through directed modification of the P,O chelator.     

alpha-TEPHOS: a cyclodextrin-derived tetraphosphine for multiple metal binding

The tetraphosphine 6(A),6(B),6(D),6(E)-tetradeoxy-6(A),6(B),6(D),6(E)-tetra(diphenylphosphinyl)-2(A),2(B),2(C),2(D),2(E),2(F),3(A),3(B),3(C),3(D),3(E),3(F),6(C),6(F)-tetradeca-O-methyl-alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-TEPHOS) has been prepared in high yield by reacting 6(A),6(B),6(D),6(E)-tetra-O-methylsulfonyl-2(A),2(B),2(C),2(D), 2(E),2(F),3(A),3(B),3(C),3(D),3(E),3(F),6(C),6(F)-tetradeca-O-methyl-alpha-cyclodextrin with excess PPh(2)Li. The product was purified in its BH(3)-protected form. alpha-TEPHOS is the first optically active tetraphosphine in which the four phosphine units are tethered to a cavity-shaped scaffold. When reacted with [AuCl(tetrahydrothiophene)], alpha-TEPHOS led to the corresponding tetragold complex [(alpha-TEPHOS)(AuCl)(4)] in which the four gold atoms are all located close to the primary face of the cyclodextrin. Reaction with [PdCl(o-C(6)H(4)CH(2)NMe(2))](2) gave the C(2)-symmetrical complex [(alpha-TEPHOS){PdCl(o-C(6)H(4)CH(2)NMe(2))}(4)]. Treatment of the ligand with two equiv. of [Rh(norbornadiene)(tetrahydrofuran)(2)]BF(4) afforded selectively the bimetallic complex [(alpha-TEPHOS){Rh(norbornadiene)}(2)](BF(4))(2) in which each metal centre is coordinated to two phosphorus atoms belonging to adjacent glucose units.     

An efficient and stereoselective synthesis of the monomeric counterpart of marinomycin A

[structure: see text] The monomeric counterpart of marinomycin A, an antitumor-antibiotic marine natural product, was synthesized efficiently in 11 steps from the commercially available ethyl (R)-(-)-3-hydroxybutyrate. The strategy was highlighted by a crucial regio- and stereoselective cross-metathesis to form the C20-C21 double bond, enantioselective allyltitanations to control the configuration of the C17, C23, and C25 stereogenic centers, and a stereocontrolled construction of the tetraene moiety based on an original Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination followed by a Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling.     

Disposable microfluidic ELISA for the rapid determination of folic acid content in food products

A micro-analytical system for rapid and quantitative analysis by inhibition immunoassay is presented and applied to the detection of folic acid. Eight polymer microchannels of 65-nL volume each and containing microelectrodes are embedded in a cartridge so that they can be operated simultaneously. All fluidic steps as well as the amperometric detection in the channels are operated by an instrument and software developed in-house. The fluidic steps of the immunoassay occur through hydrodynamic loading of the different solutions through the channels. The speed and duration of the flow and incubation parameters can thus be adapted to the biological and testing requirements. The effectiveness of the system was demonstrated by analysing folic acid concentrations in real infant formula samples within 5 min. In an effort to get a fully monitored assay, each fluidic step is monitored thanks to continuous amperometric detection of oxygen in the microchannel.     

High-accuracy structure of cyclobutane by femtosecond rotational Raman four-wave mixing

The femtosecond degenerate four-wave mixing (fs-DFWM) technique is applied for the measurement of accurate rotational constants of cyclobutane (C4H8). The vibrational levels of C4H8 exhibit tunneling splitting due to the ring-puckering interconversion between the symmetry-equivalent D2d minima via a planar D4h barrier. For the v = 0 ground state, the fs-DFWM method yields a rotational constant B + 0 = 10663.452(18) MHz. The ring-puckering tunneling leads to slightly different rotational constants for the 0+ and 0- levels, B + 0 - B -0 = 33 +/- 2 kHz. This difference increases by a factor of approximately 90 in the v = 1+/1- ring-puckering states to B +1 - B -1 = -3059 +/- 4 kHz. Combining the experimental rotational constants with the structure parameters and rotational constants calculated by high-level ab initio calculations allows us to determine accurate equilibrium and vibrationally averaged structure parameters for cyclobutane, for example, re(C-C) = 1.5474 A, re(C-Haxial) = 1.0830 A, re(C-Hequatorial) = 1.0810 A, and ring puckering angle theta e = 29.8 degrees .