Synoxazolidinone C; a bicyclic member of the synoxazolidinone family with antibacterial and anticancer activities

Synoxazolidinone C is a new member of the synoxazolidinone family of compounds which are dibrominated guanidinium 4-oxazolidinones isolated from the sub-Arctic ascidian Synoicum pulmonaria. The compound was isolated along with synoxazolidinones A and B from the same ascidian extract. Spectroscopic methods revealed that the synoxazolidinone C differed from the other synoxazolidinones by an unprecedented bicyclic partial structure, containing an additional pyrrolidine ring. Synoxazolidinone C exhibited both antibacterial and anticancer activities.     

On general two-scale convergence and its application to the characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">G</Emphasis>-limits

We characterize some G-limits using two-scale techniques and investigate a method to detect deviations from the arithmetic mean in the obtained G-limit provided no periodicity assumptions are involved. We also prove some results on the properties of generalized two-scale convergence.     

Comparison of methodologies for determination of residual peracetic acid in wastewater disinfection

The use of peracetic acid (PAA) in the disinfection of sanitary effluents provides an opportunity for the study of analytic methods that permit the determination of the residual concentration of the disinfectant in the effluent. The object of the present study is to compare different methodologies for the determination of residual PAA in concentrations recommended for disinfection of wastewater. The methodologies adopted in this study include three redox titration methods and one spectrophotometric method. Preliminary tests were performed by adding PAA (0.1; 0.5; 1.0; 5.0 and 10.0?mg?L^?1) to distilled water, and later reevaluated by applying the same concentrations of the disinfectant in wastewater. The results obtained were statistically evaluated and showed that the concentrations between 0.5 and 10?mg?L^?1 of PAA could be determined both by the cerimetric/iodometric titration method and by the spectrophotometric method using DPD chromophore with catalase. For concentrations between 0.1 and 0.5?mg?L^?1, only the spectrophotometric method provided satisfactory results.     

Synthesis of cationic rhenium(VII) oxo imido complexes and their tunability towards oxygen atom transfer

A facile method is described for the synthesis of cationic Re(VII) cis oxo imido complexes of the form [Re(O)(NAr)(salpd)+] (salpd = N,N'-propane-1,3-diylbis(salicylideneimine)), 4, [Re(O)(NAr)(saldach)+] (saldach = N,N'-cyclohexane-1,3-diylbis(salicylideneimine)), 5, and [Re(O)(NAr)(hoz)2+] (hoz = 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)-2-oxazoline) (Ar = 2,4,6,-(Me)C(6)H(2); 4-(OMe)C(6)H(4); 4-(Me)C(6)H(4); 4-(CF3)C6H4; 4-MeC(6)H(4)SO(2)), 6, from the reaction of oxorhenium(V) [(L)Re(O)(Solv)+] (1-3) and aryl azides under ambient conditions. Unlike previously reported cationic Re(VII) dioxo complexes, these cationic oxo imido complexes can be obtained on a preparative scale, and an X-ray crystal structure of [Re(O)(NMes)(saldach)+], 5a, has been obtained. Despite the multiple stereoisomers that could arise from tetradentate ligation of salen ligands to rhenium, one major isomer is observed and isolated in each instant. The electronic rationalization for stereoselectivity is discussed. Investigation of the mechanism suggests that the reactions of Re(V) with aryl azides proceed through an azido adduct similar to the group 5 complexes of Bergman and Cummins. Treatment of the cationic oxo imido complexes with a reductant (PAr(3), PhSMe, or PhSH) results in oxygen atom transfer (OAT) and the formation of cationic Re(V) imido complexes. [(salpd)Re(NMes)(PPh(3))(+)] (7) and [(hoz)2Re(NAr)(PPh(3))(+)] (Ar = m-OMe phenyl) (9) have been isolated on a preparative scale and fully characterized including an X-ray single-crystal structure of 7. The kinetics of OAT, monitored by stopped-flow spectroscopy, has revealed rate saturation for substrate dependences. The different plateau values for different oxygen acceptors (Y) provide direct support for a previously suggested mechanism in which the reductant forms a prior-equilibrium adduct with the rhenium oxo (ReVII = O<--Y). The second-order rate constants of OAT, which span more than 3 orders of magnitude for a given substrate, are significantly affected by the electronics of the imido ancillary ligand with electron-withdrawing imidos being most effective. However, the rate constant for the most active oxo imido rhenium(VII) is 2 orders of magnitude slower than that observed for the known cationic dioxo Re(VII) [(hoz)2Re(O)(2)(+)].     

Photoinduced C-N bond cleavage in 2-azido-1,3-diphenyl-propan-1-one derivatives: photorelease of hydrazoic acid

Photolysis of 3-azido-1,3-diphenyl-propan-1-one (1a) in toluene yields 1,3-diphenyl-propen-1-one (2), whereas irradiation of 3-azido-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-diphenyl-propan-1-one (1b) results in the formation of mainly 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-diphenyl-propan-1-one. Laser flash photolysis (308 nm) of 1a,b in acetonitrile reveals a transient absorption (lambda max = approximately 310 nm) due to the formation of radicals 4a and 4b, respectively, which have lifetimes of approximately 14 micros at ambient temperature. TD-DFT calculations (B3LYP/6-31+G(d)) reveal that the first and second excited states of the triplet ketone (T1K (n,pi*) and T2K (pi,pi*)) in azide 1a are almost degenerate, at approximately 74 and 76 kcal/mol above the ground state (S0), respectively. Similarly, azide 1b has T1K and T2K 75 and 82 kcal/mol above S0, respectively. The calculated transition state for cleaving the C-N bond is located 71 and 74 kcal/mol above S0 in azides 1a and 1b, respectively. The calculated bond dissociation energies for breaking the C-N bond are 55 and 58 kcal/mol for azides 1a and 1b, respectively, making C-N bond breakage accessible from T1K in azides 1 at ambient temperature. In comparison, the irradiation of azides 1 in argon matrices at 14 K lead to the formation of the corresponding triplet alkyl nitrenes (1-n), via intramolecular energy transfer from T2K. The characterization of 1-n was supported by isotope labeling, IR spectroscopy, and molecular modeling.     

Intramolecular metal...sulfur interactions of platinum(II) 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane complexes with bipyridyl ligands: the relationship between molecular and electronic structures

Five platinum(II) 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane (ttcn) complexes with bidentate-substituted 2,2'-bipyridine ligands have been prepared and structurally characterized: [Pt(bpy)(ttcn)](PF6)2 (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine), triclinic, P1, a = 10.2529(3) A, b = 10.7791(3) A, c = 10.7867(3) A, alpha = 83.886(1) degrees, beta = 87.565(1) degrees, gamma = 84.901(1), V = 1179.99(6) A3, Z = 2; [Pt(4,4'-dmbpy)(ttcn)](PF6)2 x CH3CN x H2O (4,4'-dmbpy = 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine), triclinic, P1, a = 10.1895(3) A, b = 11.8566(4) A, c = 13.1004(4) A, alpha = 77.345(1) degrees, beta = 79.967(1) degrees, gamma = 72.341(1) degrees, V = 1461.56(8) A3, Z = 2; [Pt(5,5'-dmbpy)(ttcn)](PF6)2 (5,5'-dmbpy = 5,5'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine), triclinic, P1, a = 10.6397(4) A, b = 10.8449(4) A, c = 11.2621(4) A, alpha = 90.035(1) degrees, beta = 98.061(1) degrees, gamma = 91.283(1) degrees, V = 1286.32(8) A3, Z = 2; [Pt(dbbpy)(ttcn)](PF6)2 x CH3NO2 (dbbpy = 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine), triclinic, P1, a = 11.5422(7) A, b = 11.6100(7) A, c = 13.6052(9) A, alpha = 85.902(1) degrees, beta = 89.675(1) degrees, gamma = 74.942(1) degrees, V = 1755.90(19) A3, Z = 2; and [Pt(dtfmbpy)(ttcn)](PF6)2 x CH3CN (dtfmbpy = 5,5'-di-trifluoromethyl-2,2'-bipyridine): monoclinic, P2(1)/c, a = 13.1187(9) A, b = 20.9031(15) A, c = 11.3815(8) A, beta = 105.789(2) degrees, V = 3003.3(4) A3, Z = 4. For each salt, the platinum(II) center of the cation is bonded to two nitrogen atoms of the chelating diimine and two sulfur atoms of the thioether macrocycle. The third sulfur atom of ttcn forms a long apical interaction with the metal center (2.84-2.97 A), resulting in a flattened square pyramid structure. An examination of these and 17 other structures of platinum(II) ttcn complexes reveals a correlation between the apical Pt...S distance and the donor properties of the ancillary ligands, suggesting a means for using variations in ligand electronic properties to tune molecular structure. The room-temperature absorption spectra in acetonitrile solution show a broad and comparatively low-energy MLCT band maximizing near approximately 390 nm for the bpy and dialkyl-substituted bipyridyl derivatives. The maximum is dramatically red-shifted to 460 nm in the spectrum of the dtfmbpy complex as a result of the electron-withdrawing properties of the -CF(3) groups. The 3:1 EtOH/MeOH 77 K glassy solution emission spectra exhibit low-energy emission bands (lambdamax, 570-645 nm), tentatively assigned as originating from a lowest, predominantly spin-forbidden MLCT excited state that is stabilized by apical Pt...S interactions.     

Development and evaluation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method for the measurement of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in human urine

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was developed to quantitatively measure 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in human urine. Samples were diluted (1:5) with phosphate-buffered saline containing 0.05% Tween and 0.02% sodium azide, with analysis by a 96-microwell plate immunoassay format. No clean up was required as dilution step minimized sample interferences. Fifty urine samples were received without identifiers from a subset of pesticide applicators and their spouses in an EPA pesticide exposure study (PES) and analyzed by the ELISA method and a conventional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) procedure. For the GC/MS analysis, urine samples were extracted with acidic dichloromethane (DCM); methylated by diazomethane and fractionated by a Florisil solid phase extraction (SPE) column prior to GC/MS detection. The percent relative standard deviation (%R.S.D.) of the 96-microwell plate triplicate assays ranged from 1.2 to 22% for the urine samples. Day-to-day variation of the assay results was within ±20%. Quantitative recoveries (>70%) of 2,4-D were obtained for the spiked urine samples by the ELISA method. Quantitative recoveries (>80%) of 2,4-D were also obtained for these samples by the GC/MS procedure. The overall method precision of these samples was within ±20% for both the ELISA and GC/MS methods. The estimated quantification limit for 2,4-D in urine was 30 ng/mL by ELISA and 0.2 ng/mL by GC/MS. A higher quantification limit for the ELISA method is partly due to the requirement of a 1:5 dilution to remove the urine sample matrix effect. The GC/MS method can accommodate a 10:1 concentration factor (10 mL of urine converted into 1 mL organic solvent for analysis) but requires extraction, methylation and clean up on a solid phase column. The immunoassay and GC/MS data were highly correlated, with a correlation coefficient of 0.94 and a slope of 1.00. Favorable results between the two methods were achieved despite the vast differences in sample preparation. Results indicated that the ELISA method could be used as a high throughput, quantitative monitoring tool for human urine samples to identify individuals with exposure to 2,4-D above the typical background levels.     

Random hypergraph coloring algorithms and the weak chromatic number

We present a hypergraph coloring algorithm and analyze its performance in spaces of random hypergrpahs. In these spaces the number of colors used by our algorithm is almost surely within a small constant factor (less than 2) of the weak chromatic number of the hypergraph. This also establishes new upper and lower bounds for the weak chromatic number of uniform hypergraphs.     

Carbazole-based cyano-stilbene highly fluorescent microcrystals

Aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE) is reported for 1-cyano-trans-1,2-bis-(4-carbazolyl)phenylethylene (CN-CPE). The weak luminescence of dilute CN-CPE solutions is enhanced upon aggregate formation into 2-3 μm sized crystals. In contrast to general observations, crystal formation of CN-CPE causes a blue-shift in emission and enhances the intensity. X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that key factors causing high luminescence efficiency in the crystal are a lack of strong cofacial π-π alignment and the existence of the strong supramolecular interactions due to the intermolecular H-bonding. These factors seem to be responsible for the AIEE phenomenon as molecules of CN-CPE are held in a rigid twisted conformation, thereby increasing the fluorescence intensity in the solid or aggregated states. Accordingly, conformational twisting in the crystal packing process may be responsible for the unusual emission blue-shift in the aggregate.