Oxidic or metallic palladium: which is the active phase in pd-catalyzed aerobic alcohol oxidation?

In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy combined with on-line catalytic measurements using FT-IR spectroscopy unequivocally identified that metallic palladium is the more active phase in the aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol than palladium oxide. The aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol in cyclohexane at 50 degrees C was low over oxidized 0.5%Pd/Al2O3 and 5%Pd/Al2O3 catalysts. XANES and EXAFS showed that the catalysts in the as-received state were almost fully oxidized and no reduction of the palladium constituent was observed during time-on-stream. After in situ reduction by hydrogen-saturated cyclohexane, the catalysts were much more active (over 50 times) than before reduction. Both XANES and EXAFS uncovered that the palladium constituent was mainly in a reduced state under these conditions of high catalytic activity. This demonstrates that metallic palladium is the active phase for alcohol dehydrogenation.     

An insight into the radical thiol/yne coupling: the emergence of arylalkyne-tagged sugars for the direct photoinduced glycosylation of cysteine-containing peptides

An explorative study of the Thiol-Yne Coupling (TYC) reaction has been carried out using an aliphatic (1-octyne) and an aromatic alkyne (phenylacetylene) and two alkanethiols (methyl thioglycolate and N-acetyl-L-cysteine methyl ester). The outcomes of the TYC reactions strongly depend on the experimental conditions (e.g., temperature, solvent, and alkyne/thiol ratio), but these can be properly adjusted to achieve selective production of either mono- or bis-coupling products. With respect to 1-octyne, phenylacetylene undergoes notably easier radical hydrothiolation, further showing a notably higher aptitude for monohydrothiolation exclusive of bis-hydrothiolation. The overall findings were exploited in glycosylation of cysteine derivatives as well as of cysteine-containing peptides. A sugar featuring an arylacetylene moiety gave rise to a true click-reaction, that is, glycosylation of the tripeptide glutathione in its native form, by means of virtually equimolar amounts of reagents. This reaction was successfully applied, under physiological conditions, to a cysteine-containing nonapeptide with marked advantages over the analogous Thiol-Ene Coupling (TEC) derivatization. A TYC/TEC sequence affording bis-armed cysteine derivatives through dual functionalization of an alkynyl sugar was additionally devised.     

Water-assisted reaction mechanism of monozinc beta-lactamases

Hybrid Car-Parrinello QM/MM calculations are used to investigate the reaction mechanism of hydrolysis of a common beta-lactam substrate (cefotaxime) by the monozinc beta-lactamase from Bacillus cereus (BcII). The calculations suggest a fundamental role for an active site water in the catalytic mechanism. This water molecule binds the zinc ion in the first step of the reaction, expanding the zinc coordination number and providing a proton donor adequately oriented for the second step. The free energy barriers of the two reaction steps are similar and consistent with the available experimental data. The conserved hydrogen bond network in the active site, defined by Asp120, Cys221, and His263, not only contributes to orient the nucleophile (as already proposed), but it also guides the second catalytic water molecule to the zinc ion after the substrate is bound. The hydrolysis reaction in water has a relatively high free energy barrier, which is consistent with the stability of cefotaxime in water solution. The modeled Michaelis complexes for other substrates are also characterized by the presence of an ordered water molecule in the same position, suggesting that this mechanism might be general for the hydrolysis of different beta-lactam substrates.     

Nylon Nanofibrous Biosensors for Glucose Determination

Nanofibrous membranes have been produced by electrospinning to develop first generation glucose biosensors. The direct immobilization of glucose oxidase onto the polyamide nanofibrous surfaces by drop coating revealed a simple and efficient method for the development of sensitive, stable, and reproducible electrochemical biosensors. The biosensor showed a linear response over the range 1–9×10^?3 glucose (R²=0.9997) with a sensitivity of 1.11 μA/mM and a limit of detection of 2.5×10^?6 M (S/N=3). The uncertainty of repeatability was 2% (RSD%, n=30). After one month of storage, the signal decreased of 35%. The recovery of glucose, evaluated in real samples of honey, was 98% (RSD%=1%, n=3).     

Determination of hexavalent chromium in exhaled breath condensate and environmental air among chrome plating workers

Chromium speciation has attracted attention because of the different toxicity of Cr(III), which is considered relatively non-toxic, and Cr(VI), which can cross cell membranes mainly as a chromate anion and has been classified as a class I human carcinogen. The aims of the present study were to measure soluble Cr(VI) levels in environmental samples, to develop a simple method of quantifying Cr(VI) in exhaled breath condensate (EBC), and to follow the kinetics of EBC Cr(VI) in chrome plating workers.Personal air samples were collected from 10 chrome platers; EBC was collected from the same workers immediately after the work shift on Tuesday and before the work shift on the following Wednesday. Environmental and EBC Cr(VI) levels were determined by means of colorimetry and electrothermal absorption atomic spectrometry, respectively.The method of detecting Cr(VI) in environmental air was based on the extraction of the Cr(VI)-diphenylcarbazide (Cr(VI)-DPC) complex in 1-butanol, whereas EBC Cr(VI) was determined using a solvent extraction of Cr(VI) as an ion pair with tetrabutylammonium ion, and subsequent direct determination of the complex (Cr(VI)-DPC) in EBC.Kinetic data showed that airborne Cr(VI) was reduced by 50% in airway lining fluid sampled at the end of exposure and that there was a further 50% reduction after about 15 h. The persistence of Cr(VI) in EBC supports the use of EBC in assessing target tissue levels of Cr(VI).     

Synthesis of enantiomerically pure α-ethyl, α-vinyl and α-ethynyl 3,3,3-trifluoro alaninates

We describe the first synthesis of enantiomerically pure (S)-α-vinyl and (S)-α-ethynyl 3,3,3-trifluoro alanine (TF-Ala) ethyl esters, starting from the in situ generated sulfinimine (S)-2 as key fluorinated building-block. (S)-α-Ethyl TF-Ala-OEt has been prepared as well by this route.     

Niobium(V) Saponite Clay for the Catalytic Oxidative Abatement of Chemical Warfare Agents

A Nb^V‐containing saponite clay was designed to selectively transform toxic organosulfur chemical warfare agents (CWAs) under extremely mild conditions into nontoxic products with reduced environmental impact. Thanks to the insertion of Nb^V sites within the saponite framework, a bifunctional catalyst with strong oxidizing and acid properties was obtained. Remarkable activity and high selectivity were observed for the oxidative abatement of (2‐chloroethyl)ethyl sulfide (CEES), a simulant of sulfur mustard, at room temperature with aqueous hydrogen peroxide. This performance was significantly better compared to a conventional commercial decontamination powder.     

Radical reduction of aromatic azides to amines with tributylgermanium hydride

[reaction: see text] Aromatic azides are inert toward tributylgermanium hydride under thermal conditions in the absence and in the presence of a radical initiator but in the presence of catalytic amounts of benzenethiol undergo fast reaction, yielding reduced anilines and 2-germylated derivatives in high overall yields.     

Cationic lipid vesicles as coating precursors in capillary electrochromatography: separation of basic proteins and neutral steroids

1,2-Dioleyl-3-trymethylammoniumpropane (DOTAP) lipid vesicles were employed as coating precursors to obtain a semipermanent cationic lipid bilayer in silica capillary. The coating procedure was relatively fast and simple. Reliable results for the separation of four basic proteins (alpha-chymotrypsinogen A, ribonuclease A, cytochrome C, lysozyme) were obtained by using an acetate buffer under acidic conditions. The RSDs of the migration times were not higher than 0.5% run-to-run and about 1% day-to-day (3 days), while the RSDs of the peak areas were within 7% day-to-day (3 days). The day-to-day RSD of the EOF mobility of about 1%, confirmed that the DOTAP coating was stable for the separation of basic proteins, under acidic buffers. In addition to basic proteins the DOTAP coating was found suitable under acidic conditions for the repeatable separation of neutral steroids. The potential of DOTAP as a carrier in background electrolyte solution was studied.     

Potassium S2N-heteroscorpionates: structure and iridaboratrane formation

The potassium salts of the new S(2)N-heteroscorpionate ligand hydrobis(methimazolyl)(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate [HB(mt)(2)(pz(3,5-Me))](-) and its known analogue hydrobis(methimazolyl)(pyrazolyl)borate [HB(mt)(2)(pz)](-) (prepared from KTp' or KTp and methimazole, Hmt), and the adduct KTp·Hmt have polymeric structures in the solid state (the first a ladder and the other two chains). The iridaboratranes [IrHLL'{B(mt)(2)X}] (X = pz(3,5-Me) or pz), prepared from the heteroscorpionate anion and [{Ir(cod)(μ-Cl)}(2)] (LL' = cod), subsequent carbonylation [LL' = (CO)(2)] and then reaction with phosphine [LL' = (CO)(PR(3)), R = Ph or Cy], have a pendant pyrazolyl ring and a bicyclo-[3.3.0] cage formed by an S(2)-bound B(mt)(2) fragment. The binuclear species [(cod)HIr{μ-B(mt)(3)}IrCl(cod)], the only isolated product of the reaction of KTm with [{Ir(cod)(μ-Cl)}(2)], also has an S(2)-bound iridaboratrane unit but with the third mt ring linked to square planar iridium(I).