Lewis Acid Catalyzed,Selective Cyclopropane‐Ring Opening in Ingol Diterpene Derivatives

Lewis acid mediated skeletal rearrangement of the ingol diterpenoids 1 and 4 via regio‐ and stereospecific cyclopropane‐ring opening afforded the four new compounds 2, 3, 5 , and 6 , named nivulianol A–D (Scheme 1). Their structures were established by means of IR, MS, and in‐depth NMR spectroscopic analyses. The rearranged congeners were tested for lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced prostaglandin (PG) E₂ (cyclooxygenase‐2) inhibition. Thereby, nivulianol B (=(1S*,2E,4R*,5S*,7Z,9S*,11R,13S*,14S*)‐14‐acetoxy‐5‐methoxy‐3,9,13‐trimethyl‐6‐(1‐methylethenyl)‐10‐oxo‐15‐oxatricyclo[9.3.1.0^1,11]pentadeca‐2,7‐dien‐4‐yl (2Z)‐2‐methylbut‐2‐enoate; 3 ) was found to be significantly active, with an IC₅₀ value of 36.3 μg/ml.     

Micropencils and microhexagonal cones of ZnO

Shape selective synthesis of ZnO micropencils and microhexagonal cones has been demonstrated using a controlled method of modified vapor deposition. A plausible growth mechanism based on the results of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and differential thermal analysis is proposed. Our results suggest that growth of micropencil takes place as per the vapor-liquid-solid progression while the microhexagonal cones grow in two steps following a vapor-solid/vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. Moreover, the geometry, the location of substrate and temperature are found to have key roles in governing the morphology. XPS studies clearly demonstrate the presence of Si species as SiO and SiO2, which act as catalysts enabling nucleating sites for ZnO microstructural growth.     

Copper-ion-induced photoluminescence tuning in CdSe nanoparticles

Investigations have been made on luminescence properties of copper-doped CdSe nanoparticles, synthesized via green chemical route. The nanoparticles remain stable under normal atmospheric conditions and can be redispersed in suitable solvents (water and dimethyl formamide). The photoluminescence peak positions in the copper doped CdSe nanoparticles are found to strongly depend on the copper ion concentration. Under UV irradiation visible luminescence covering the entire visible range has been observed.     

Integral motives and special values of zeta functions

For each field , we define a category of rationally decomposed mixed motives with -coefficients. When is finite, we show that the category is Tannakian, and we prove formulas relating the behaviour of zeta functions near integers to certain groups.

     

Effect of RuO2 in the shape selectivity of submicron-sized SnO2 structures

Several dissimilar types of tin oxide microstructures including bipyramids, cubes, and wires synthesized effectively by means of a simple approach were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry/differential thermometric analysis (TG-DTA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A possible growth mechanism is proposed using the results of these studies. The texture coefficient values of all the structures, indexed to a tetragonal lattice, exhibit amazing variation in the preferred orientation with respect to their shapes. Although XPS data indicate that wires and cubes have a strong SnO(2) type signal, bipyramids interestingly exhibit both SnO and SnO(2) signals and a correlation of the binding energy helps in understanding the growth kinetics of such submicron structures. The results suggest that the bipyramids are formed because of the vapor-solid process (VS) while wires and cubes are formed by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) progression.     

Stereoselective synthesis of tarchonanthuslactone via the Prins cyclisation

The stereoselective total synthesis of tarchonanthuslactone, a polyketide natural product, has been achieved. The synthesis exploits the high stereochemical control in the Prins cyclisation along with ring closing metathesis (RCM) as a key step.     

Unusual redox and chemical properties of N4-substituted pyridoxal thiosemicarbazone copper(II) complexes: their preparation,properties and reactivities

Summary New copper(II) complexes with pyridoxal N⁴-methylthiosemicarbazone (H₂Methsa), N⁴-ethylthiosemicarbazone (H₂Etthsa) and N⁴-phenylthiosemicarbazone (H₂Phthsa) have been prepared and characterized by analytical, magnetic, spectral, e.s.r. and electrochemical methods. All the compounds exhibit normal magnetic moments at room temperature. The variable temperature magnetic moments, however, show the presence of very weak intramolecular antiferromagnetic interaction (–2J = ca. 30cm^-1) between the copper(II) centres in the complexes. The e.s.r. spectra at 77 K in DMSO indicate the presence of a mixture of monomers and dimers consistent with the dissociation of the complexes. Electrochemical studies in non-aqueous solvents show that the complexes undergo a quasi-reversible one electron facile reduction at markedly low negative potentials versus saturated calomel electrode (s.c.e.).     

Manipulating valence and core electronic excitations of a transition-metal complex using UV/Vis and X-ray cavities

We demonstrate how optical cavities can be exploited to control both valence- and core-excitations in a prototypical model transition metal complex, ferricyanide ([Fe(iii)(CN)₆]³⁻), in an aqueous environment. The spectroscopic signatures of hybrid light-matter polariton states are revealed in UV/Vis and X-ray absorption, and stimulated X-ray Raman signals. In an UV/Vis cavity, the absorption spectrum exhibits the single-polariton states arising from the cavity photon mode coupling to both resonant and off-resonant valence-excited states. We further show that nonlinear stimulated X-ray Raman signals can selectively probe the bipolariton states via cavity-modified Fe core-excited states. This unveils the correlation between valence polaritons and dressed core-excitations. In an X-ray cavity, core-polaritons are generated and their correlations with the bare valence-excitations appear in the linear and nonlinear X-ray spectra.

We demonstrate how optical cavities can be exploited to control both valence- and core-excitations in a prototypical model transition metal complex, ferricyanide ([Fe(iii)(CN)₆]³⁻), in an aqueous environment.     

Three new ingol diterpenes from Euphorbia nivulia: evaluation of cytotoxic activity

The latex of Euphorbia nivulia afforded three new ingol diterpenes, 3-acetyl-8-methoxyl-7-angolyl-12-hydroxylingol (7), 3,12-diacetyl-7-hydroxy-8-methoxylingol (8), and 3,12-diacetyl-7-angolyl-8-hydroxylingol (9) along with five known ingol diterpenes 2-6 and a known triterpene cyclonivulinol (1). Their structures were established by means of spectroscopic analysis. Diterpenes 2-9 were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity.