Influence of dispersing agents and solution conditions on the solubility of crude kaolin

Experiments measuring the solubility of kaolin particles in terms of the concentration of aluminum and silicon ions in supernatant were carried out as a function of the pH of the slurry over a wide range of dosages of different dispersing agents varying from 0.5 to 12 mg/(g solids). The concentrations of the metal ions in supernatant were found to be strongly affected by the type and the dosage of the dispersants and pH of the solution. In this study, the mechanism of the reaction between the dispersing agents and kaolin particles was studied and the dissolution capacities of metal ions (aluminum and silicon) were identified from kaolin particles in the absence and presence of dispersing agents. The three anionic dispersing agents used were sodium polyacrylate (Na-PAA), sodium hexametaphosphate (Na-HMP), and sodium silicate (Na-silicate), based on the industrial application of these agents and their ability to produce a stable dispersion for this purpose.     

Asymmetric synthesis of the carbapenam core from serine

The stereospecific synthesis of the functionalized carbapenam core 16 from the serine-derived trisubstituted pyrrolidine 9 is reported. The synthetic strategy relies on synthesizing an appropriately functionalized pyrrolidine, followed by an intramolecular azetidone formation utilizing a modified Mukiyama reagent. The efficient one-pot conversion of the benzenesulfonamide-protected pyrrolidine 9 to the Cbz-protected pyrrolidine 10 is also reported.     

Hydroxylated pyrrolidines. Enantiospecific synthesis of all-cis 2,3,4,5-substituted pyrrolidine derivatives from serine

We report the enantiospecific synthesis of the sterically congested all-cis 2,3,4,5-substituted pyrrolidines 4, 5, and 6, from either D- or L-serine. Hemiaminal intermediate 13 is converted to the fully substituted pyrrolidine 15 by way of a tandem Wittig-Michael reaction. The endo stereochemistry of the C-3 methyl group of compound 15 is set by stereoselective reduction of the double bond in 11, driven by a preference for hydrogenation from the rear side of the molecule. The all-cis configuration of these fully substituted pyrrolidines has been established by X-ray analysis of compound 6. Removal of the benzenesulfonyl group from the highly substituted and functionalized intermediate 15 is successfully accomplished by sodium naphthalenide reduction.     

A fully synthetic self-adjuvanting globo H-Based vaccine elicited strong T cell-mediated antitumor immunity

Therapeutic cancer vaccines based on the abnormal glycans expressed on cancer cells, such as the globo H antigen, have witnessed great progress in recent years. For example, the keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) conjugate of globo H has been on clinical trials as a cancer vaccine. However, such vaccines have intrinsic problems, such as inconsistence in eliciting T cell-mediated immunity in cancer patients and difficult quality control. To address the issue, a structurally defined fully synthetic glycoconjugate vaccine composed of globo H and monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) was developed. The new vaccine was shown to elicit robust IgG1 antibody responses and T cell-dependent immunity, which is desired for anticancer vaccines, and induce significantly faster and stronger immune responses than the globo H–KLH conjugate. Moreover, it was self-adjuvanting, namely, inducing immune responses without the use of an external adjuvant, thus MPLA was not only a vaccine carrier but also a build-in adjuvant. It was also found that antibodies induced by the new vaccine could selectively bind to and mediate strong complement-dependent cytotoxicity to globo H-expressing MCF-7 cancer cell. All of the results have demonstrated that the globo H–MPLA conjugate is a better cancer vaccine than the globo H–KLH conjugate under experimental conditions and is worth further investigation and development.     

The synthesis of 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydro-β-carbolines induced by iodine

A mild access to 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydro-β-carbolines is described. Tryptamine is subjected to Pictet-Spengler cyclization with various ketones using iodine.     

Enantioselective Synthesis of ((1R,2R)-Cyclohexane-1,2-diyl)bis(methylene)dimethanesulfonate,a Lurasidone Hydrochloride Intermediate

A concise, economical, and highly enantioselective synthesis of bismesylate intermediate of lurasidone HCl, an antipsychotic, has been developed. The key steps involved in the synthesis are thionyl chloride–catalyzed esterification of tetrahydrophthalic anhydride in MeOH, epimerization of cis to trans isomer, hydrolysis of the diester, resolution of the diacid, reduction with Red-Al, and finally bismesylation of the corresponding diol, which provided the desired intermediate ((1 R,2 R)-cyclohexane-1,2-diyl)bis(methylene) dimethanesulfonate in overall good yield.     

Ufasomes as Plausible Carriers for Horizontal Gene Transfer

In this article, we propose ufasomes as carriers for the horizontal transfer of genes from plants. “Ufasome” is an abbreviation for unsaturated fatty acid liposomes, which are generated at specific pH. The formation of ufasomes is believed to occur due to associative interaction in mixtures of fully ionized and unionized fatty acids at pH > 7.0. In past, ufasomes have been widely considered as pre-biotic models for cellular compartments. Using same principles, in the present work, we provide a theoretical treatise presenting ufasomes as carriers for horizontal transfer of engineered genes from plants to either soil-microbes or to environment.     

Room temperature synthesis of water repellent silica coatings by the dip coat technique

The present paper describes the room temperature synthesis of dip coated water repellent silica coatings onto stainless steel substrates using 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane as a surface modifying agent. The hydrophobic property of the silica coating was enhanced by increasing its surface roughness, which was achieved by a proper control over the MeOH/TMOS molar ratio (S) during the synthesis. The contact angle of a water droplet (10 μl) increased from 72° to 145° with an increase in the S value from 9.1 to 36.4. The silica coating showed a minimum sliding angle of 15° for a water droplet of 10 μl. The water repellent silica coatings are thermally stable up to a temperature of 340 °C. The results have been discussed by taking into consideration the contact angle measurements, surface morphology and sol-gel parameters.     

The Binomial k‐Clique

A finite collection C of k‐sets, where is called a k‐clique if every two k‐sets (called lines) in C have a nonempty intersection and a k‐clique is a called a maximal k‐clique if and C is maximal with respect to this property. That is, every two lines in C have a nonempty intersection and there does not exist A such that , and for all . An elementary example of a maximal k‐clique is furnished by the family of all the k‐subsets of a ‐set. This k‐clique will be called the binomial k‐clique. This paper is intended to give some combinatorial characterizations of the binomial k‐clique as a maximal k‐clique. The techniques developed are then used to provide a large number of examples of mutually nonisomorphic maximal k‐cliques for a fixed value of k.