Synthesis of Some New Thiazole,Oxazole, Pyrimidine and Pyridazine Derivatives from 2‐cyano‐N‐octadecyl‐acetamide as Antimicrobial and Surface Active Agents

The motivation behind the present work is to synthesize some nonionic surfactants containing heterocyclic nucleus with intermediate fatty compounds for improving their surfactants properties. 2‐Cyano‐N‐octadecylacetamide was utilized as key intermediate for the synthesis of some new thiazole, pyrazole, oxazole, pyrimidine, 1,3‐dithiolane, thiophene, coumarin, oxazine and pyridazine derivatives. The newly synthesized compounds undergo propoxylation using propylene oxide to afford nonionic surface active agents. The antimicrobial and surface activities were evaluated and characterized through investigations of their spreading behavior in monolayer on water.     

Preparation and characterization of Cu (II) supported on poly(8‐hydroxyquinoline‐p‐styrene sulphonate) and its application as catalyst for the synthesis of hexahydroquinolines

Cu ( II ) supported on poly(8‐hydroxyquinoline‐p‐styrenesulfonate) (Cu ( II )@PHQSS) was prepared and fully characterized by the different techniques including fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal gravimetric (DTG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDS). Afterward, the Cu ( II )@PHQSS as nanostructured catalyst was used as catalyst for the synthesis of hexahydroquinolines.     

Enantioconvergent Biocatalytic Redox Isomerization

Alcohol dehydrogenases can act as powerful catalysts in the preparation of optically pure γ‐hydroxy‐δ‐lactones by means of an enantioconvergent dynamic redox isomerization of readily available Achmatowicz‐type pyranones. Imitating the traditionally metal‐mediated “borrowing hydrogen” approach to shuffle hydrides across molecular architectures and interconvert functional groups, this chemoinspired and purely biocatalytic interpretation effectively expands the enzymatic toolbox and provides new opportunities in the assembly of multienzyme cascades and tailor‐made cellular factories.     

Antimicrobial and anticancer activities of Schiff base ligand and its transition metal mixed ligand complexes with heterocyclic base

A new Schiff base ligand (HL) was prepared via a condensation reaction of quinoline‐2‐carboxaldhyde with 2‐aminophenol in a molar ratio of 1:1. Its transition metal mixed ligand complexes with 1,10‐phenanthroline (1,10‐phen) as co‐ligand were also synthesized in a 1:1:1 ratio. HL and its mixed ligand complexes were characterized using elemental analysis, infrared, ¹H NMR, mass and UV–visible spectroscopies, molar conductance, magnetic measurements, solid reflectance, thermal analysis, electron spin resonance and X‐ray diffraction. Molar conductance measurements showed that all complexes have an electrolytic nature, except Cd(II) complex. From elemental and spectral data, the formulae [M(L)(1,10‐phen)(H₂O)]Cl_x?nH₂O (where M = Cr(III) (x = n = 2), Mn(II) and Ni(II) (x = 1, n = 2), Fe(III) (x = n = 2), Co(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) (x = 1, n = 2)) and [Cd(L)(1,10‐phen)Cl]?3H₂O for the metal complexes have been proposed. The geometric structures of complexes were found to be octahedral. Powder X‐ray diffraction reflected the crystalline nature of the complexes; however, the Schiff base is amorphous. HL and its mixed ligand complexes were screened against Gram‐positive bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae and Bacillus subtilis) and Gram‐negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli). Antifungal activity was determined against Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans, the data showing that most complexes had activity less than that of the Schiff base while Mn(II), Fe(III) and Ni(II) complexes showed no significant antifungal activity. The anticancer activity of HL and its metal complexes was also studied against breast and colon cell lines. The metal complexes showed IC₅₀ higher than that of HL, especially the Cu(II) complex which showed the highest IC₅₀ against breast cell line.     

Color Bricks: Building Highly Organized and Strongly Absorbing Multicomponent Arrays of Terpyridyl Perylenes on Metal Oxide Surfaces

Terpyridine‐substituted perylenes containing cyclic anhydrides in the peri position were synthesized. The anhydride group served as an anchor for assembly of the terpyridyl‐crowned chromophores as monomolecular layers on metal oxide surfaces. Further coordination with Zn²⁺ ions allowed for layer‐by‐layer formation of supramolecular assemblies of perylene imides on the solid substrates. With properly selected anchor and linker molecules it was possible to build high quality structures of greater than ten successive layers by a simple and straightforward procedure. The prepared films were stable and had a broad spectral coverage and high absorbance. To demonstrate their potential use, the synthesized dyes were employed in solid‐state dye‐sensitized solar cells, and electron injection from the perylene antennas to titanium dioxide was observed.     

Modelling the soundscape quality of urban waterfronts by artificial neural networks

The renewal of the urban waterfronts has become a major focus of attention for politicians and decision makers in the city’s management programs. The recognition of the patterns that define the waterfronts’ identity is essential to select new strategies of intervention for the environmental recovery. In order to create adequate environments for everyday life within a sustainable development, new links between human senses, human perception and design need to be created. Within this wide approach, the landscape and the soundscape play a significant role and can become a key driving force in the implementation of the changes. New techniques have to be tested to identify the sonic and visual parameters capable to explain the specificity of a waterfront. With this purpose, an artificial neural network (ANN) was developed, and the relative importance of the input variables was evaluated. The collected database was also analysed by multiple linear regression (MLR) to compare the outcomes of both models. The urban waterfront of Naples (Italy) was chosen as case study. The results obtained show that the performance of the neural network is better than the one of the linear regression (rANN = 0.949, rMLR = 0.639). The interpretation of the relative importance method is also quite satisfactory in the ANN.     

Bimetallic Gold(I) Complexes with Ethynyl‐Helicene and Bis‐Phosphole Ligands: Understanding the Role of Aurophilic Interactions in their Chiroptical Properties

Monometallic gold(I)‐alkynyl‐helicene complexes ( 1 a , b ) and bimetallic gold(I)‐alkynyl‐helicene architectures featuring the presence ( 2 a , b ) or absence ( 3 a , b ) of aurophilic intramolecular interactions were prepared by using different types of phosphole ligands (mono‐phosphole L1 or bis‐phospholes L2 , 3 ). The influence of the Au^I d¹⁰ metal center(s) on the electronic, photophysical, and chiroptical properties of these unprecedented phosphole‐gold(I)‐alkynyl‐helicene complexes was examined. Experimental and theoretical results highlight the importance of ligand‐to‐ligand‐type charge transfers and the strong effect of the presence or absence of Au^I–Au^I interactions in 2 a , b .