Synthesis of 4a-carba-β-l-lyxofuranose, 4a-carba-β-l-arabinofuranose and 2,2,5-trimethyl-3a,6a-dihydro-cyclopenta[1,3]dioxol-4-one using Mn/CrCl3 mediated domino reactions and ring closing metathesis

A common method for the synthesis of 4a-carba-β-l-lyxofuranose and 4a-carba-β-l-arabinofuranose from d-mannose and 2,2,5-trimethyl-3a,6a-dihydro-cyclopenta[1,3]dioxol-4-one from d-ribose is described using catalytic Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi (NHK) conditions and ring closing metathesis (RCM). In this transformation, ω-deoxy-ω-iodo manno/ribo furanoside undergoes reductive elimination in the presence of Mn/CrCl₃ to give the corresponding olefin-aldehyde which was trapped by nucleophile under the same conditions to afford the desired diolefinic species. The ring closing metathesis reaction on these diolefinic species with Grubbs second generation catalyst produced the required carbocycles.     

Ferrocene Decorated N-doped Carbon Modified Electrode with Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity towards Non-enzymatic Glucose Detection

The nitrogen doped carbon (NDCN) have been synthesized by flame synthetic method to prepare ferrocene decorated NDCN. The hydrolysis product (FC-SH) of ferrocene benzyne derivative (FC-SAc) was immobilized onto NDCN modified GCE and used for glucose detection with high sensitivity. Cyclic voltammetric analysis reveal that FC-S-NDCN/GCE exhibit excellent activity for glucose oxidation when compared to FC/GCE. The FC-S-NDCN/GCE with wide linear responses range from 0.001 to 0.01 mM with the regression co-efficient of 0.998. The FC-S-NDCN/GCE show low detection limit (LOD) of 0.08 μM and exhibit sensitivity of 1580 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻². The FC-S-NDCN glucose sensor exhibit wide linear range, high sensitivity and lower detection limit on determination of glucose.     

Pyrene-Benzimidazole Derivatives as Novel Blue Emitters for OLEDs

Three novel small organic heterocyclic compounds: 2-(1,2-diphenyl)-1H-benzimidazole-7-tert-butylpyrene (compound A), 1,3-di(1,2-diphenyl)-1H-benzimidazole-7-tert-butylpyrene (compound B), and 1,3,6,8-tetra(1,2-diphenyl)-1H-benzimidazolepyrene (compound C) were synthesized and characterized for possible applications as blue OLED emitters. The specific molecular design targeted decreasing intermolecular aggregation and disrupting crystallinity in the solid-state, in order to reduce dye aggregation, and thus obtain efficient pure blue photo- and electroluminescence. Accordingly, the new compounds displayed reasonably high spectral purity in both solution- and solid-states with average CIE coordinates of (0.160 ± 0.005, 0.029 ± 0.009) in solution and (0.152 ± 0.007, 0.126 ± 0.005) in solid-state. These compounds showed a systematic decrease in degree of crystallinity and intermolecular aggregation due to increasing steric hindrance, as revealed using powder X-ray diffraction analysis and spectroscopic studies. An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) prototype fabricated using compound B as the non-doped emissive layer displayed an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.35 (±0.04)% and luminance 100 (±6) cd m⁻² at 5.5 V with an essentially pure blue electroluminescence corresponding to CIE coordinates of (0.1482, 0.1300). The highest EQE observed from this OLED prototype was 4.3 (±0.3)% at 3.5 V, and the highest luminance of 290 (±10) cd m⁻² at 7.5 V. These values were found comparable to characteristics of the best pure blue OLED devices based on simple fluorescent small-molecule organic chromophores.     

Plant-Derived Antiviral Compounds as Potential Entry Inhibitors against Spike Protein of SARS-CoV-2 Wild-Type and Delta Variant: An Integrative in SilicoApproach

The wild-type SARS-CoV-2 has continuously evolved into several variants with increased transmissibility and virulence. The Delta variant which was initially identified in India created a devastating impact throughout the country during the second wave. While the efficacy of the existing vaccines against the latest SARS-CoV-2 variants remains unclear, extensive research is being carried out to develop potential antiviral drugs through approaches like in silico screening and drug-repurposing. This study aimed to conduct the docking-based virtual screening of 50 potential phytochemical compounds against a Spike glycoprotein of the wild-type and the Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant. Subsequently, molecular docking was performed for the five best compounds, such as Lupeol, Betulin, Hypericin, Corilagin, and Geraniin, along with synthetic controls. From the results obtained, it was evident that Lupeol exhibited a remarkable binding affinity towards the wild-type Spike protein (−8.54 kcal/mol), while Betulin showed significant binding interactions with the mutated Spike protein (−8.83 kcal/mol), respectively. The binding energy values of the selected plant compounds were slightly higher than that of the controls. Key hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions of the resulting complexes were visualized, which explained their greater binding affinity against the target proteins—the Delta S protein of SARS-CoV-2, in particular. The lower RMSD, the RMSF values of the complexes and the ligands, Rg, H-bonds, and the binding free energies of the complexes together revealed the stability of the complexes and significant binding affinities of the ligands towards the target proteins. Our study suggests that Lupeol and Betulin could be considered as potential ligands for SARS-CoV-2 spike antagonists. Further experimental validations might provide new insights for the possible antiviral therapeutic interventions of the identified lead compounds and their analogs against COVID-19 infection.     

Deciphering the Role of MicroRNAs in Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a type of peripheral sympathetic nervous system cancer that most commonly affects children. It is caused by the improper differentiation of primitive neural crest cells during embryonic development. Although NB occurs for 8% of paediatric cancers, it accounts for 15% of cancer-related deaths. Despite a considerable increase in cytotoxic chemo- and radiotherapy, patients in advanced stages remain virtually incurable. Therefore, there is a desperate necessity for new treatment strategies to be investigated. Accumulating evidence suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs with 19–25 nucleotides lengths and play a central role in the development of NB carcinogenesis. Fascinatingly, miRNA inhibitors have an antisense property that can inhibit miRNA function and suppress the activity of mature miRNA. However, many studies have addressed miRNA inhibition in the treatment of NB, but their molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways are yet to be analysed. In this study, we impart the current state of knowledge about the role of miRNA inhibition in the aetiology of NB.     

High Tg polyimide nanofoams derived from pyromellitic dianhydride and 1,1-bis(4-aminophenyl)-1-phenyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethane

New routes for the synthesis of high T_g thermally stable polymer foams with pore sizes in the nanometer regime have been developed. Foams were prepared by casting well-defined microphase-separated block copolymers comprised of a thermally stable block and a thermally labile material. At properly designed volume fractions the morphology provides a matrix of the thermally stable material with the thermally labile material as the dispersed phase. Upon thermal treatment, the thermally unstable block undergoes thermolysis generating pores, the size and shape of which are dictated by the initial copolymer morphology. Triblock copolymers comprised of a high T_g, amorphous polyimide matrix with poly(propylene oxide) as the thermally decomposable coblock, were prepared. The copolymer synthesis was conducted through the poly(amic acid) precursor and subsequent cyclodehydration to the polyimide by either thermal or chemical means. Dynamic mechanical analysis confirmed microphase separated morphologies for all copolymers, irrespective of the propylene oxide block lengths investigated. Upon decomposition of the thermally labile coblock, a 9–18% reduction in density was observed, consistent with the generation of a foam which was stable to 400°C. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

D-branes, exceptional sheaves and quivers on Calabi–Yau manifolds: from Mukai to McKay

We present a method based on mutations of helices which leads to the construction (in the large-volume limit) of exceptional coherent sheaves associated with the (∑_al_a=0) orbits in Gepner models. This is explicitly verified for a few examples including some cases where the ambient weighted projective space has singularities not inherited by the Calabi–Yau hypersurface. The method is based on two conjectures which lead to the analog, in the general case, of the Beilinson quiver for . We discuss how one recovers the McKay quiver using the gauged linear sigma model (GLSM) near the orbifold or Gepner point in Kähler moduli space.