Naturally Occurring Alkaline Amino Acids Function as Efficient Catalysts on Knoevenagel Condensation at Physiological pH: A Mechanistic Elucidation

To maintain biological functions, thousands of different reactions take place in human body at physiological pH (7.0) and mild conditions, which is associated with health and disease. Therefore, to examine the catalytic function of the intrinsically occurring molecules, such as amino acids at neutral pH, is of fundamental interests. Natural basic α-amino acid of l-lysine, l-arginine, and l-histidine neutralized to physiological pH as salts were investigated for their ability to catalyze Knoevenagel condensation of benzaldehyde and ethyl cyanoacetate. Compared with their free base forms, although neutralized alkaline amino acid salts reduced the catalytic activity markedly, they were still capable to perform an efficient catalysis at physiological pH as porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL), one of the best enzymes that catalyze Knoevenagel condensation. In agreement with the fact that the three basic amino acids were well neutralized, stronger basic amino acid Arg and Lys showed more obvious variation in NH bend peak from the FTIR spectroscopy study. Study of ethanol/water system and quantitative kinetic analysis suggested that the microenvironment in the vicinity of amino acid salts and protonability/deprotonability of the amine moiety may determine their catalytic activity and mechanism. The kinetic study of best approximation suggested that the random binding might be the most probable catalytic mechanism for the neutralized alkaline amino acid salt-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation.     

Micellization of anionic gemini surfactants and their interaction with polyacrylamide

A series of anionic gemini surfactants have been synthesized. The surface properties and micellization process of as-prepared sulfonate gemini surfactants (SGS) and carboxylate gemini surfactant (CGS) have been studied by surface tension measurement and isothermal titration microcalorimetry. Meanwhile, the interaction of these five surfactants with polyacrylamide (PAM) was investigated using surface tension, steady-state fluorescence measurement, and isothermal titration microcalorimetry. The results show that the critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) of above-mentioned surfactants are more than 1 order of magnitude lower than those of corresponding single chain surfactants. Moreover, the enthalpy of micelle formation (ΔH _mic) for the investigated gemini surfactants is negative. In the surfactant–PAM systems, the thermodynamic parameters of binding have also been determined. The conclusion may be drawn that the binding strength of SGS onto PAM is stronger than that of CGS, resulting from more compact structure of SGS aggregates. With increasing surfactant hydrophobicity, the values of ΔH _agg become more exothermic and a ΔS _agg decrease was observed. Therefore, the interaction between SGS and PAM is enthalpy-driven.     

Synthesis and self-assembly behavior of thermoresponsive poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate)-POSS with tunable lower critical solution temperature

This article reports on the synthesis of a novel amphiphilic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) end-capped poly(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate)-co-oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (POSS-P(MEO₂MA-co-OEGMA)). These thermoresponsive organic–inorganic hybrid polymers exhibit critical phase transition temperature in water, which can be finely tuned by changing the feed ratio of OEGMA and MEO₂MA. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of POSS-P(MEO₂MA-co-OEGMA) increases from 31 to 59 °C with the increasing of OEGMA content. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies show that these polymers can self-assemble into spherical micelles with the thermosensitive block into the corona and the POSS forming the core, and larger aggregates are formed when the temperature values are above their LCSTs. These thermoresponsive polymers POSS-P(MEO₂MA-co-OEGMA) with self-assembly behavior and tunable tempetature-responsive property have the potential applications in material science and biotechnology.     

Biotransformation of iminodiacetonitrile to iminodiacetic acid by Alcaligenes faecalis cells immobilized in ACA-membrane liquid-core capsules

Biotransformation of iminodiacetonitrile (IDAN) to iminodiacetic acid (IDA) was investigated with a newly isolated Alcaligenes faecalis ZJUTBX11 strain showing nitrilase activity in the immobilized form. To reduce the mass transfer resistance and to increase the toleration ability of the microorganisms to the toxic substrate as well as to enhance their ability to be reused, encapsulation of the whole cells in alginate-chitosan-alginate (ACA) membrane liquid-core capsules was attempted in the present study. The optimal pH and temperature for nitrilase activity of encapsulated A. faecalis ZJUTBX11 cells were 7.5°C and 35°C, respectively, which is consistent with free cells. Based on the Michaelis-Menten model, kinetic parameters of the conversion reaction with IDAN as the substrate were: K _m = (17.6 ± 0.3) mmol L^?1 and V _max = (97.6 ± 1.2) μmol min^?1 g^?1 of dry cell mass for encapsulated cells and (16.8 ± 0.4) mmol L^?1 and (108.0 ± 2.7) μmol min^?1 g^?1 of dry cell mass for free cells, respectively. After being recycled ten times, the whole cells encapsulated in ACA capsules still retained 90 % of the initial nitrilase activity while only 35 % were retained by free cells. Lab scale production of IDA using encapsulated cells in a bubble column reactor and a packed bed reactor were performed respectively.     

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels: synthesis and rapid thermoresponsive properties

In this contribution, we reported the synthesis of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PNIPAAm-b-PAA) copolymer networks via sequential reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The PNIPAAm-b-PAA block copolymer networks were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The volume phase transition (VPT) temperatures of the PNIPAAm-b-PAA hydrogels were measured by means of micro-differential scanning calorimetry (micro-DSC). It was found that the block copolymer hydrogels displayed the VPT temperatures lower than the control PNIPAAm hydrogel. Compared to the control PNIPAAm hydrogel, the deswelling and reswelling properties of the block copolymer hydrogels were significantly improved. The improved thermoresponsive properties of the PNIPAAm-b-PAA hydrogels have been interpreted on the basis of the formation of the architecture of the block copolymer networks.     

Crystal structures, magnetic, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of two copper(II) complexes with m-nitrobenzoic acid

Reactions of CuCl₂, m-nitrobenzoic acid (HNBA) and NaOH with 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) or 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) in aqueous ethanol afforded two Cu(II) complexes Cu(bpy)(NBA)₂, 1, and [Cu(phen)(H₂O)₂(NBA)](NBA), 2. The monomolecular Cu(bpy)(NBA)₂ moieties are both bridged by hydrogen bonding interactions and interlayer π ^*–π ^*stacking interactions to form a 3D (3,4,6)-connected supramolecular architecture with the Schäfli symbol of (4⁴·6²)(4⁴·6⁶·8⁵)(6³)₂. Complex 2 crystallizes in a noncentrosymmetric space group P2₁ where all molecules show the same orientation along the polar b axis. Preliminary investigations suggest that 2 exhibits ferroelectric hysteresis loops at room temperature with remanent polarization (P _r) of ca. 0.09 μC cm^?2 and coercive electric fields of 2.53 kV cm^?1, respectively. It may be a potential ferroelectric with a relatively large spontaneous polarization (P _s) of 0.22 μC cm^?2. Furthermore, permittivity property measurements reveal a dielectric constant (ε _r) of 6.36. Variable-temperature (2–300 K) magnetic susceptibility measurements showed the presence of weak ferromagnetic interactions between the Cu(II) ions for both 1 and 2.     

锰催化的C?C键生成反应研究进展

迄今为止,贵金属(铑、钯、钌等)在过渡金属催化的碳碳键生成反应中发挥着主导作用,然而使用廉价金属催化剂更符合可持续发展的要求。锰是地壳中含量排第三位的过渡金属,价格便宜,环境危害性小,有潜力成为贵金属催化剂的替代品并发挥其自身独特的反应性。尽管锰参与的当量反应有大量文献报道,目前锰催化的反应尤其是碳碳键生成反应的发展还不成熟,如何实现高效的催化循环是锰催化领域面临的主要难题之一。本文对锰催化的付-克烷基化反应、格氏试剂的酰化反应、偶联反应、碳金属化反应、自由基反应和碳氢键活化反应进行了综述。     

ChemStable: a web server for rule-embedded naïve Bayesian learning approach to predict compound stability

Predicting compound chemical stability is important because unstable compounds can lead to either false positive or to false negative conclusions in bioassays. Experimental data (COMDECOM) measured from DMSO/H₂O solutions stored at 50 °C for 105 days were used to predicted stability by applying rule-embedded naïve Bayesian learning, based upon atom center fragment (ACF) features. To build the naïve Bayesian classifier, we derived ACF features from 9,746 compounds in the COMDECOM dataset. By recursively applying naïve Bayesian learning from the data set, each ACF is assigned with an expected stable probability (p _s ) and an unstable probability (p _uns ). 13,340 ACFs, together with their p _s and p _uns data, were stored in a knowledge base for use by the Bayesian classifier. For a given compound, its ACFs were derived from its structure connection table with the same protocol used to drive ACFs from the training data. Then, the Bayesian classifier assigned p _s and p _uns values to the compound ACFs by a structural pattern recognition algorithm, which was implemented in-house. Compound instability is calculated, with Bayes’ theorem, based upon the p _s and p _uns values of the compound ACFs. We were able to achieve performance with an AUC value of 84 % and a tenfold cross validation accuracy of 76.5 %. To reduce false negatives, a rule-based approach has been embedded in the classifier. The rule-based module allows the program to improve its predictivity by expanding its compound instability knowledge base, thus further reducing the possibility of false negatives. To our knowledge, this is the first in silico prediction service for the prediction of the stabilities of organic compounds.     

苏丹红猝灭吖啶染料荧光的动力学研究

在体积分数95%乙醇介质中,吖啶黄、吖啶橙的荧光发射波长与苏丹红染料的吸收波长十分接近。实验数据表明,随着苏丹红I~IV用量的增加,溶液中吖啶黄、吖啶橙荧光发射强度明显降低,其荧光猝灭程度与苏丹红用量成正比。动力学研究表明苏丹红I,II与吖啶黄或吖啶橙之间可形成非共价复合物,从而发生静态荧光猝灭;而苏丹红III,IV猝灭吖啶黄或吖啶橙则表现为一种复杂的动力学特点,可能同时存在静态荧光猝灭与动态猝灭。     

两种异马来二氰基二硫烯镍(II)-取代苄基喹啉鎓盐的制备及其光谱性质和晶体结构

以甲醇为溶剂,将异马来二氰基二硫烯酸钾[K2(i-mnt)]和六水氯化镍分别与溴化4-溴苄基喹啉盐([4-BrBzQl]Br)或溴化4-硝基苄基喹啉盐([4-NO2BzQl]Br)直接反应,得到两种新的离子对配合物[4-BrBzQl]2[Ni(i-mnt)2](1)和[4-NO2BzQl]2[Ni(i-mnt)2](2);测定了其红外光谱和紫外-可见光谱,并利用X射线衍射表征了配合物1的晶体结构.结果表明,配合物[4-BrBzQl]2[Ni(i-mnt)2]为三斜晶系,P-1空间群,其每个不对称单元含半个[Ni(i-mnt)2]2-阴离子和1个[4-BrBzQl]+阳离子,晶体中的阴、阳离子通过静电作用和C-H…S、C-H…N氢键作用形成网络结构.