Surface shape resonances of ridges on a thin film

The spectrum of surface shape resonances associated with a finite number of ridges on one interface of an otherwise plane film is calculated. The frequencies are obtained numerically by solving the homogeneous integral equations which describe the electrostatic field in the vicinity of a surface defect. The calculations are performed for a surface with ridges with Gaussian, Lorentzian and sinusoidal profiles. The results show a strong dependence of the localized plasmon frequencies on the surface profile, on the distance between the ridges, and on the thickness of the film. Received 5 April 1999 and Received in final form 6 July 1999     

Nanoscale interaction mechanism between a solid tip and a layered material while in relative motion: the boric acid case

The interaction occurring between a layered material (boric acid) and an atomic force microscope tip is discussed. It is shown that images containing the periodicity of a boric acid crystal, and the low friction occurring between the tip and the crystal surface, are caused by an effective tip composed of boric acid molecules. The friction at the sliding system decreases with an increase of the scanning velocity, suggesting that the dependence of friction on the velocity can be caused by a change of the energy dissipation regime from the nonlinear dynamics of a sliding system to phonon excitation.     

Two hydrates of 2,6‐bis­(1H‐benzimidazol‐2‐yl)­pyridine

The structures of the mono‐ and sesquihydrates of 2,6‐bis(1H‐benz­imi­da­zol‐2‐yl)­pyridine (bbip) are reported. Phase (I), C₁₉H₁₃N₅·H₂O, has one water and one bbip mol­ecule in the asymmetric unit, while phase (II), C₁₉H₁₃N₅·1.5H₂O, has three water mol­ecules and two bbip mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. The compounds exhibit very similar molecular geom­etries but different packing organizations, which result from intricate hydrogen‐bonding schemes.     

Enhanced Furfural Production in Deep Eutectic Solvents Comprising Alkali Metal Halides as Additives

The addition of alkali metal halide salts to acidic deep eutectic solvents is here reported as an effective way of boosting xylan conversion into furfural. These salts promote an increase in xylose dehydration due to the cation and anion interactions with the solvent being a promising alternative to the use of harsh operational conditions. Several alkali metal halides were used as additives in the DES composed of cholinium chloride and malic acid ([Ch]Cl:Mal) in a molar ratio of 1:3, with 5 wt.% of water. These mixtures were then used as both solvent and catalyst to produce furfural directly from xylan through microwave-assisted reactions. Preliminary assays were carried out at 150 and 130 °C to gauge the effect of the different salts in furfural yields. A Response Surface Methodology was then applied to optimize the operational conditions. After an optimization of the different operating conditions, a maximum furfural yield of 89.46 ± 0.33% was achieved using 8.19% of lithium bromide in [Ch]Cl:Mal, 1:3; 5 wt.% water, at 157.3 °C and 1.74 min of reaction time. The used deep eutectic solvent and salt were recovered and reused three times, with 79.7% yield in the third cycle, and the furfural and solvent integrity confirmed.     

High‐pressure Raman spectra of deuterated L‐alanine crystal

Raman spectra of deuterated L ‐alanine have been obtained at high‐pressure conditions. A phase transition at ∼1.5 GPa associated with the splitting of some internal modes and increase of the wavenumber of the external modes was observed. Similarly to the hydrogenated L ‐alanine crystal, this first transition was related to a symmetry change. Moreover, further modifications of the Raman spectra were observed at 4.4 GPa, which may be associated to conformational changes of the molecule. To give further support to such a hypothesis, neutron powder diffraction measurements were performed. Information about the cell parameter at atmospheric pressure gave valuable information about the N D distances, shedding light on the behavior of the torsional vibration of ND₃⁺. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-Toxic Dimeric Peptides Derived from the Bothropstoxin-I Are Potent SARS-CoV-2 and Papain-like Protease Inhibitors

The COVID-19 outbreak has rapidly spread on a global scale, affecting the economy and public health systems throughout the world. In recent years, peptide-based therapeutics have been widely studied and developed to treat infectious diseases, including viral infections. Herein, the antiviral effects of the lysine linked dimer des-Cys¹¹, Lys¹²,Lys¹³-(pBthTX-I)₂K ((pBthTX-I)₂K)) and derivatives against SARS-CoV-2 are reported. The lead peptide (pBthTX-I)₂K and derivatives showed attractive inhibitory activities against SARS-CoV-2 (EC₅₀ = 28–65 µM) and mostly low cytotoxic effect (CC₅₀ > 100 µM). To shed light on the mechanism of action underlying the peptides’ antiviral activity, the Main Protease (M^pro) and Papain-Like protease (PL^pro) inhibitory activities of the peptides were assessed. The synthetic peptides showed PL^pro inhibition potencies (IC₅₀s = 1.0–3.5 µM) and binding affinities (K_d = 0.9–7 µM) at the low micromolar range but poor inhibitory activity against M^pro (IC₅₀ > 10 µM). The modeled binding mode of a representative peptide of the series indicated that the compound blocked the entry of the PL^pro substrate toward the protease catalytic cleft. Our findings indicated that non-toxic dimeric peptides derived from the Bothropstoxin-I have attractive cellular and enzymatic inhibitory activities, thereby suggesting that they are promising prototypes for the discovery and development of new drugs against SARS-CoV-2 infection.     

Compatibility study between chlorpropamide and excipients in their physical mixtures

Chlorpropamide ((4-chloro-N-(propylamino)-carbonyl)-benzenesulfonamide) belongs to compounds having sulfonylurea group and is widely used as an oral antidiabetic agent. In this work differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used during pre-formulation of chlorpropamide tablets to determine the drug-excipients compatibility. The DSC curves of chlorpropamide and binary mixtures with excipients (sodium croscarmellose, sodium lauryl sulfate, microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate and calcium carbonate) showed that chlorpropamide exhibited interaction with magnesium stearate and sodium lauryl sulfate. The binary mixtures of chlorpropamide–magnesium stearate presented a single endothermic process at 96–108 °C and chlorpropamide–sodium lauryl sulfate showed a wide endotherm at 99–120 °C.     

3-Phenyl-4-benzoyl-5-isoxazolonate complex of Eu3+ with tri-n-octylphosphine oxide as a promising light-conversion molecular device

Three new europium complexes, [Eu(PBI)3.3H2O] (1), [Eu(PBI)3.2TOPO] (2), and [Eu(PBI)3.2TPPO.H2O] (3) (where HPBI, TOPO, and TPPO stand for 3-phenyl-4-benzoyl-5-isoxazolone, tri-n-octylphosphine oxide, and triphenylphosphine oxide, respectively), with different neutral ligands were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared, (1)H NMR, thermogravimetric analysis, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The coordination geometries of the complexes were calculated using the Sparkle/AM1 (Sparkle Model for the Calculation of Lanthanide Complexes within the Austin Model 1) model. The ligand-Eu3+ energy-transfer rates were calculated in terms of a model of the intramolecular energy-transfer process in lanthanide coordination compounds reported in the literature. The room-temperature PL spectra of the europium(III) complexes are composed of the typical Eu3+ red emission, assigned to transitions between the first excited state (5D0) and the multiplet (7F(0-4)). On the basis of emission spectra and lifetimes of the 5D0-emitting level, the emission quantum efficiency (eta) was determined. The results clearly show that the substitution of water molecules by TOPO leads to greatly enhanced quantum efficiency (i.e., 26% vs 92%) and longer 5D0 lifetimes (250 vs 1160 micros). This can be ascribed to a more efficient ligand-to-metal energy transfer and a less nonradiative 5D0 relaxation process. Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters (Omega2 and Omega4) were determined from the emission spectra for the Eu3+ ion based on the 5D0 --> 7F2 and 5D0 --> 7F4 electronic transitions, respectively, and the 5D0 --> 7F1 magnetic-dipole-allowed transition was taken as the reference. A point to be noted in these results is the relatively high value of the Omega2 intensity parameter for all of the complexes. This may be interpreted as being a consequence of the hypersensitive behavior of the 5D0 --> 7F2 transition. The dynamic coupling mechanism is, therefore, dominant, indicating that the Eu3+ ion is in a highly polarizable chemical environment.