Synthesis and Structural Characterization of cis- and trans-bis(4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine)cadmium(II) Nitrates Prepared in a One-pot Reaction

The cis and trans isomers of [Cd(dmbpy)₂](NO₃)₂] (dmbpy = 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine) have been synthesized simultaneously via a one-pot reaction of Cd(NO₃)₂ · 4H₂O with the dmbpy ligand in a MeOH/H₂O mixture; they can be obtained individually by means of the mechanical separation due to their different growing habit of the single-crystals. Different π-stacking interactions are observed in the cis and trans isomers forming different one-dimensional networks. The outcome of the DFT calculations agrees well with the experimental results.     

Design and Synthesis of 1-Benzyl-3-(a-hydroxy-(un)substituted benzylidene)pyrrolidine-2,4-diones as Potential Herbicides

The inhibitors of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD, EC 1.13.11.27) are an new kind of herbicides.[1]Generally, in structure, potent herbicides of this kind must possess: (1) a tricarbonyl methane structure and one of the three carbonyl groups must be a subustituted benzoyl group; (2) the compound must be able to enolise so that the enolate is capable of inhibiting HPPD enzyme by competitive combination with Fe2+, the reaction center of HPPD enzyme.[2]Recently, we noticed that the 3-acyltetramic acids form an expanding group of antibiotics and pigments from micro-organisms,[3] they display a range of biological activities[4] and all of this kind compounds possess all of the characters mentioned above. Tests of their antimicrobial activities indicated that the structure of the acyl substituent at the 3-position was important to many typical antibiotics.[4～6] These characters stimulated us to study this kind of compounds so as to discover new herbicides. In this report, we synthesized a series of compounds 3 and tested their herbicidal activities to investigate their structure-activity relationships.     

Immunosuppressive ent‐Kaurene Diterpenoids from Isodon serra

Three new enmein‐type ent‐kaurenoids, i.e., the two pairs 1 and 2 of 20‐epimers and the (20R)‐isomer 3 , besides the seven known diterpenoids 4 – 10 , were isolated from the aerial parts of Isodon serra. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques and X‐ray diffraction. The immunosuppressive effect for T‐lymphocytes proliferation induced by Con A in BALB/c mouse was evaluated for the isolates 1 – 10 . They all displayed a remarkable inhibitory effect, with multi‐glycosides of Tripterygium wilfordii as positive reference substance (Table 3).     

Virus Particles Monitored by Fluorescence Spectroscopy: A Potential Detection Assay for Macromolecular Assembly¶

Native fluorescence spectroscopy was used for in situ investigations of two lipid‐containing bacteriophages from the cystovirus family as well as their Pseudomonad host cells. Both the viruses φ6 and φ12 and their bacterial host proteins contain the amino acid tryptophan (trp), which is the predominant fluorophore in UV. Within proteins, trp's structural environment differs, and the differences are reflected in their spectroscopic signatures. It was observed that the peak of the trp emission from both viruses was at 330 nm, a significantly shorter wavelength than trp in either the Pseudomonad host cells or the amino acid's chemical form. This allowed us to monitor the viral attachment process and subsequent lytic release of progeny virus particles by measurement of the trp emission spectra during the infection process. This work demonstrates that fluorescence may offer a novel tool to detect viruses and monitor viral infection of cells and may be part of a biodefense application.     

Observations on the swelling characteristics of the zwitterionic hydrogel of poly(1-3-sulfopropyl)-2-vinyl-pyridinium-betaine hydrogel

Samples of poly[1-(3-sulfopropyl)-2-vinyl-pyridinium-betaine] (PSPV) have been synthesized to high conversion by free radical polymerization in aqueous solution of the zwitterionic monomer SPV with several concentrations of the crosslinker N,N′-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA). The densities of the resultant xerogels increased regularly with the content of MBA. Hydrogels obtained by swelling them in water and aqueous KSCN solution were examined by gravimetric and dimensional analysis. The water contents increased with decreasing content of MBA, the value of 92.7 wt% at the lowest MBA content being higher than that for other zwitterionic hydrogels. Enhanced swelling occurred in 1 M aq. KSCN at each MBA content, the total swelling being 98.1 wt% at the lowest crosslinker content. Swelling increased with increasing temperature. An approximate procedure to formulating swelling equilibrium in term of the volume fraction of water in hydrogel, in conjunction with the van’t Hoff equation, yields a small positive value for the enthalpy of swelling. This is compared with values derived similarly for other hydrogels.     

Mössbauer Studies on Spin State of the Thermal Decomposition of Substituted Tris (2-Pyridylimine) Iron (II) Thiocyanate

The spin states of iron (II) in FeL₂(NCS)₂ produced from the thermal decomposition of FeL₈(NCS)₂ (L=2-py-CR₁=NR₂, R₁ or R₂=H, Me(CH₃), Ph) under nitrogen atmosphere are investigated by means of Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic measurements. It was found that the spin states of iron (II) in substitutited bis (2-pyridylimine) iron (II) thiocyanate are included: intermediate-spin (³T₁, S=1), mixed-spin of ⁵T₂(S=2)+³T₁ and spin incomplete transition of ⁵T₂?³T₁.     

A Facile Three-Component One-Pot Synthesis of Structurally Constrained Tetrahydrofurans, Which Are t-RNA Synthetase Inhibitor Analogues

A one-pot procedure for the efficient synthesis of a small library of t-RNA inhibitor analogues was developed. Thus,Rh2(OAc)4 catalyzed three-component 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of carbonyl ylides derived from diazoindan-1,3-dione and aldehydes with other dipolarophiles in 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane at 80 ℃ gave ring fused tetrahydrofurans having three stereocenters in good yield.     

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Study of Radical Pairs and Isolated Radicals Trapped in Irradiated Long-Chain Hydrocarbons at Low Temperatures

The intrinsic characteristics of radical pairs produced in squalane and in cetane receiving high gamma-dose are extensively studied with the EPR technique at temperatures from 77°K up to 150°K. The spectra of the paired radicals occur at g=4 with a very low transition probability in contrast to that of isolated radicals which appear at g=2 A well-resolved hyperfine spectrum corresponding to the species (CH₃CH₂.CH₂CH₃) is observed in cetane. The isothermal decay rates of radical pairs in cetane below 100°K are significantly slow; however, the decay kinetics at 150°K is first order with rate constant=1.86 min^?1. A relatively slower decay rate is obtained for isolated radicals suggesting that the decay mechanism of paired radicals is through geminate recombination. The relative inter-radical distance in radical pairs is known from a decay curve as a function of temperature. The yields of radical pairs are low in both matrices, only few percents of those of isolated radicals. The formation mechanisms of paired radicals with direct radiolytic bond scission process are discussed in connection with the experimental observations.     

芦荟中多糖的光度测定新方法

利用正交试验考察了芦荟多糖与刚果红显色反应的最佳条件；研究了麦芽糖糊精等多糖、蔗糖等低聚糖和葡萄糖等单糖对显色反应的影响；建立了简便快速、常见糖类基本无干扰的测定芦荟多糖含量的吸光光度法。对芦荟鲜叶和芦荟制品中的多糖进行分析，加标回收率在92％～96％范围内，相对标准偏差≤5％。     

Converting the sacrificial DNA repair protein N-ada into a catalytic methyl phosphotriester repair enzyme

Mutation of the active-site residue Cys38 of N-Ada converts it from a sacrificial DNA repair protein to an enzyme that uses methanethiol as an external sacrificial reagent to repair DNA methyl phosphotriesters catalytically.