Frontispiece: Cationic Tetrylene-Iron(0) Complexes: Access Points for Cooperative,Reversible Bond Activation and Open-Shell Iron(−I) Ferrato-Tetrylenes

The open-shell cationic stannylene-iron(0) complex 4 ( 4 =[^PhiPDippSn⋅Fe⋅IPr]⁺; ^PhiPDipp={[Ph₂PCH₂Si(ⁱPr)₂](Dipp)N}; Dipp=2,6-ⁱPr₂C₆H₃; IPr=[(Dipp)NC(H)]₂C:) cooperatively and reversibly cleaves dihydrogen at the Sn−Fe interface under mild conditions (1.5 bar, 298 K), in forming bridging hydrido-complex 6 . The One-electron oreduction of the related Ge^II−Fe⁰ complex 3 leads to oxidative addition of one C−P linkage of the ^PhiPDipp ligand in an intermediary Fe^−I complex, leading to Fe^I phosphide species 7 . One-electron reduction reaction of 4 gives access to the iron(−I) ferrato-stannylene, 8 , giving evidence for the transient formation of such a species in the reduction of 3 . The covalently bound tin(II)-iron(−I) compound 8 has been characterised through EPR spectroscopy, SQUID magnetometry, and supporting computational analysis, which strongly indicate a high localization of electron spin density at Fe^−I in this unique d⁹-iron complex.     

Direct Addition of Grignard Reagents to Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids Enabled by Bulky turbo-Organomagnesium Anilides

The synthesis of ketones through addition of organometallic reagents to aliphatic carboxylic acids is a straightforward strategy that is limited to organolithium reagents. More desirable Grignard reagents can be activated and controlled with a bulky aniline-derived turbo-Hauser base. This operationally simple procedure allows the straightforward preparation of a variety of aliphatic and perfluoroalkyl ketones alike from functionalized alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl Grignard reagents.     

Nutritional Value and Preventive Role of Nigella sativa L. and Its Main Component Thymoquinone in Cancer: An Evidenced-Based Review of Preclinical and Clinical Studies

In recent times, scientific attention has been paid to different foods and their bioactive components for the ability to inhibit the onset and progress of different types of cancer. Nigella sativa extract, powder and seed oil and its main components, thymoquinone and α-hederin, have showed potent anticancer and chemosensitizing effects against various types of cancer, such as liver, colon, breast, renal, cervical, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate and skin tumors, through the modulation of various molecular signaling pathways. Herein, the purpose of this review was to highlight the anticancer activity of Nigella sativa and it constitutes, focusing on different in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies and projects, in order to underline their antiproliferative, proapoptotic, cytotoxic and antimetastatic effects. Particular attention has been also given to the synergistic effect of Nigella sativa and it constitutes with chemotherapeutic drugs, and to the synthesized analogs of thymoquinone that seem to enhance the chemo-sensitizing potential. This review could be a useful step towards new research on N. sativa and cancer, to include this plant in the dietary treatments in support to conventional therapies, for the best achievement of therapeutic goals.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of 2-aminoalkyl-3-sulfonyl-1,3-oxazolidines on solid support

Herein we report our investigation on the oxidation of solid-support-bound amino alcohols to their corresponding aldehydes. These aldehydes were converted into diastereomerically pure (>10:1) 2,4-cis-2-aminoalkyl-3-sulfonyl-1,3-oxazolidines using optically pure 1,2-amino alcohols. The relative configuration was determined using the nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE). The synthesized oxazolidines, which were obtained in high purities, represent a new, diverse scaffold for the solid-phase synthesis of libraries directed toward a pharmacological target.     

Amine-hydrogen halide complexes: experimental electric dipole moments and a theoretical decomposition of dipole moments and binding energies

The Stark effect has been observed in the rotational spectra of several gas-phase amine-hydrogen halide complexes and the following electric dipole moments have been determined: H(3)(15)N-H(35)Cl (4.05865 +/- 0.00095 D), (CH(3))(3)(15)N-H(35)Cl (7.128 +/- 0.012 D), H(3)(15)N-H(79)Br (4.2577 +/- 0.0022 D), and (CH(3))(3)(15)N-H(79)Br (8.397 +/- 0.014 D). Calculations of the binding energies and electric dipole moments for the full set of complexes R(n)()(CH(3))(3)(-)(n)()N-HX (n = 0-3; X = F, Cl, Br) at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level are also reported. The block localized wave function (BLW) energy decomposition method has been used to partition the binding energies into contributions from electrostatic, exchange, distortion, polarization, and charge-transfer terms. Similarly, the calculated dipole moments have been decomposed into distortion, polarization, and charge-transfer components. The complexes studied range from hydrogen-bonded systems to proton-transferred ion pairs, and the total interaction energies vary from 7 to 17 kcal/mol across the series. The individual energy components show a much wider variation than this, but cancellation of terms accounts for the relatively narrow range of net binding energies. For both the hydrogen-bonded complexes and the proton-transferred ion pairs, the electrostatic and exchange terms have magnitudes that increase with the degree of proton transfer but are of opposite sign, leaving most of the net stabilization to arise from polarization and charge transfer. In all of the systems studied, the polarization terms contribute the most to the induced dipole moment, followed by smaller but still significant contributions from charge transfer. A significant contribution to the induced moment of the ion pairs also arises from distortion of the HX monomer.     

Synthesis of 1,3-Dioxan-2-ones by Photo-Aerobic Selenium-π-Acid Multicatalysis

An expedient method for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from homoallylic carbonic acid esters by means of photo-aerobic selenium-π-acid multicatalysis is reported. Until now, conceptually related methods commonly relied either on the stoichiometric addition of electrophiles onto the substrate's alkene moiety or the presence of pre-installed leaving groups in allylic position of said alkene to – in part, catalytically – initiate an intramolecular attack by an adjacent carbonic acid ester group. In sharp contrast, the current study shows that the C−C double bond of homoallylic carbonic acid esters can be directly activated by the catalytic interplay of a pyrylium dye and a diselane using ambient air as the sole oxidant and visible light as an energy source.     

The colloid-structure of semicrystalline low-density polyethylene

The length-distribution of stereoregular sequences in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is determined by a computer-aided analysis of cp-melting curves within the framework of thermodynamics of eutectoid copolymers. Small-angle x-ray scattering patterns are then described by using the structure data derived. One of the results is that fluctuations of the mean electron-density are increasingly reduced with an increasing degree of crystallinity.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. W. Pechhold on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Equilibrium conformations of polymer chains Part II. Conformons in networks

With regard to the ideal network it is shown that the concept ofN non-interacting polymer chains can be transformed in a problem of non interacting excitations (called conformons) for rubber elasticity. Modelling the interaction on permanent crosslinks as a scattering problem and taking the finite chain length into account, an interpretation of the second Mooney coefficient can be given. There is some evidence that the junctions move by constrained self diffusion.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. W. Ruland on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Catalyzed Asymmetric Arylation Reactions

Addition and substitution reactions with carbon nucleophiles are fundamental processes in organic synthesis, and the development of general catalytic asymmetric variants thereof is still a major challenge today. In contrast to enantioselective alkyl transfer reactions, the corresponding arylations have not yet reached a high level of maturity. The existing protocols are either of no general applicability or are limited in terms of selectivity. This article summarizes established routes for catalytic asymmetric aryl transfer together with the latest developments in this area. The scope and limitations of this reaction are discussed.