Isomeric [RuCl2(dmso)2(indazole)2] complexes: ruthenium(II)-mediated coupling reaction of acetonitrile with 1H-indazole

Reaction of the antitumor complex trans-[Ru(III)Cl4(Hind)2]- (Hind = indazole) with an excess of dimethyl sulfoxide (dmso) in acetone afforded the complex trans,trans,trans-[Ru(II)Cl2(dmso)2(Hind)2] (1). Two other isomeric compounds trans,cis,cis-[Ru(II)Cl2(dmso)2(Hind)2] (2) and cis,cis,cis-[Ru(II)Cl2(dmso)2(Hind)2] (3) have been obtained on refluxing cis-[Ru(II)Cl(2)(dmso)(4)] with 2 equiv. of indazole in ethanol and methanol, respectively. Isomers 1 and 2 react with acetonitrile yielding the complexes trans-[Ru(II)Cl2(dmso)(Hind){HN=C(Me)ind}].CH3CN (4.CH3CN) and trans,cis-[Ru(II)Cl2(dmso)2{HN=C(Me)ind}].H2O (5.H2O), respectively, containing a cyclic amidine ligand resulting from insertion of the acetonitrile C triple bond N group in the N1-H bond of the N2-coordinated indazole ligand in the nomenclature used for 1H-indazole. These are the first examples of the metal-assisted iminoacylation of indazole. The products isolated have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, electrospray mass-spectrometry, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and solid-state 13C CP MAS NMR spectroscopy. The isomeric structures of 1-3 and the presence of a chelating amidine ligand in 4 and 5 have been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The electrochemical behavior of 1-5 and the formation of 5 have been studied by cyclic voltammetry.     

Magnetic switch of permeability for polyelectrolyte microcapsules embedded with Co@Au nanoparticles

We explored using a magnetic field to modulate the permeability of polyelectrolyte microcapsules prepared by layer-by-layer self-assembly. Ferromagnetic gold-coated cobalt (Co@Au) nanoparticles (3 nm diameter) were embedded inside the capsule walls. The final 5 mum diameter microcapsules had wall structures consisting of 4 bilayers of poly(sodium styrene sulfonate)/poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PSS/PAH), 1 layer of Co@Au, and 5 bilayers of PSS/PAH. External alternating magnetic fields of 100-300 Hz and 1200 Oe were applied to rotate the embedded Co@Au nanoparticles, which subsequently disturbed and distorted the capsule wall and drastically increased its permeability to macromolecules like FITC-labeled dextran. The capsule permeability change was estimated by taking the capsule interior and exterior fluorescent intensity ratio using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Capsules with 1 layer of Co@Au nanoparticles and 10 polyelectrolyte bilayers are optimal for magnetically controlling permeability. A theoretical explanation was proposed for the permeability control mechanisms. "Switching on" of these microcapsules using a magnetic field makes this method a good candidate for controlled drug delivery in biomedical applications.     

Non-trivial behavior of palladium(II) acetate

Reaction of activated palladium metal with a HNO3/acetic acid mixture produces both orange Pd3(OAc)6, 1, and purple Pd3(OAc)5(NO2), 2. Compound has a trinuclear structure derived from that of the well-known triangular complex 1 in which one acetate group has been replaced by a nitrite group which is bonded to one palladium atom by the nitrogen atom and to another Pd atom using one of the oxygen atoms. Highly pure 1 can be made by continuous removal of the nitric oxides from the reaction mixture using a flow of N2. 1H NMR spectra of solutions of 1 in CDCl3 and C6D6 show several signals of various intensities when a small amount of water is present in the deuterated solvents but only one signal when the solvents are thoroughly dried. These results are consistent with the occurrence of one or more hydrolysis processes when the solvents contain water and suggest that hypotheses about various [Pd(OAc)2]n aggregates that have previously been brought forward in the literature to explain the complexity of the spectrum of 1 are unnecessary, especially for nonpolar solvents. Compound 2 does not hydrolyze, and in wet or dried solvents shows a 1H NMR spectrum that consists of five equal-intensity signals due to the five nonequivalent acetate groups.     

Selective hydrogenation of butadiene-styrene copolymers using a Ziegler-Natta type catalyst 2. Thermal properties

Three types of butadiene-styrene copolymers, diblock, triblock and random, were partially hydrogenated in their elastomeric units in order to determine the influence of hydrogenation extent on their thermal properties. The hydrogenation reactions were carried out using a Ziegler-Natta type catalyst and the extent of hydrogenation was evaluated by FTIR spectroscopic technique. The percentage of crystallinity was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), considering the low density polyethylene (LDPE) as reference since the saturation of elastomeric units with low content of 1,2-vinyl bonds gives a structure which resembles to LDPE, thus semi-crystalline polymers were obtained. On the other hand, the glass transition temperature (T_g) for the hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated copolymers as well as their heat of fusion, were also determined by DSC. An equation to evaluate the T_g of partially hydrogenated random copolymers is proposed considering both the saturated and unsaturated fractions. The thermo-oxidative behaviour of certain hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated copolymers was evaluated by thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). The results obtained by TGA suggest that a minimum saturation level is necessary in order to improve the thermo-oxidative resistance of the polymers.     

IR spectra simulation as auxiliary tool for gas chromatography/Fourier transform IR spectroscopy/mass spectrometry identification of unknown compounds. 2. PM3, AM1, MNDO and MINDO3 simulations for simple nitriles

A set of the semi-empirical methods (PM3, AM1, MNDO and MINDO3) supplied by the HyperChem™ package has been tested to find the best auxiliary tool for the gas chromatography/Fourier transform IR spectroscopy/mass spectrometry identification of nitriles, taking 23 relatively simple nitriles as test compounds. Of the four methods, MNDO can be considered as the most advantageous since: (1) for 17 compounds of 23 tested, the IR spectra simulated by this method best match the experimental spectra (and in additional 3 cases, the results are as good as those obtained by AM1 method); (2) within the range of experimental wavenumbers of 900–3100 cm⁻¹, MNDO provides the best linearity between the calculated and experimental values (with a correlation coefficient of 0.989). A scaling factor of 0.85 can be used to afford better correspondence between the calculated and experimental wavenumbers. A disadvantage of the MINDO simulations is underestimation of ν_CN (and sometimes ν_CH) band intensities.     

Michael additions to trifluoromethylvinyl sulfone

Michael addition reactions of trifluoromethyl vinyl sulfone with organic compounds with labile hydrogen atoms are studied. Such additions can be successfully accomplished using potassium fluoride and 18-crown-6-ether or benzyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (Triton B) as catalysts.     

Medium-size polarized basis sets for high-level-correlated calculations of molecular electric properties

Summary The first-order polarized basis sets for the use in high-level-correlated investigations of molecular electric properties have been generated for Pb, Bi, Po, and At. The performance of the standard [10.17.14.5/13.11.8.2] and extended [20.17.14.9/13.11.8.4] basis sets has been examined in nonrelativistic and quasirelativistic calculations for atoms and simple closed-shell hydrides. The relativistic contributions to electric dipole properties of those systems have been evaluated by using the recently developed quasirelativistic scheme. The predicted dipole polarizability of At is in good agreement with the results of other relativistic calculations. The calculated quasirelativistic dipole moments of BiH₃ (–0.499 a.u.), PoH₂ (–0.207 a.u.), and AtH (+0.036 a.u.) involve a significant relativistic contribution which amounts to —0.230 a.u., –0.177 a.u., and –0.097 a.u., respectively. The basis set details append this paper. They are also available as a part of the basis set library of the MOLCAS system.     

Artificial neural network modification of simulation-based fitting: application to a protein-lipid system

Simulation-based fitting has been applied to data analysis and parameter determination of complex experimental systems in many areas of chemistry and biophysics. However, this method is limited because of the time costs of the calculations. In this paper it is proposed to approximate and substitute a simulation model by an artificial neural network during the fitting procedure. Such a substitution significantly speeds up the parameter determination. This approach is tested on a model of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) within a system of site-directed fluorescence labeled M13 major coat protein mutants incorporated into a lipid bilayer. It is demonstrated that in our case the application of a trained artificial neural network for the substitution of the simulation model results in a significant gain in computing time by a factor of 5 x 10(4). Moreover, an artificial neural network produces a smooth approximation of the noisy results of a stochastic simulation.     

Solubility Behavior in Ternary Water-Salt Systems under Sub- and Supercritical Conditions

Summary.  Two main types of binary systems with distinctive solubility behavior under sub- and supercritical conditions were used to subdivide ternary water-salt systems into three classes. Characteristic features of solubility behavior and phase equilibria in ternary water-salt systems of each class at temperatures above 200°C are discussed on the basis of available experimental data and some conclusions obtained as a result of theoretical derivation of fluid and complete phase diagrams. Corresponding author. E-mail: Valyashko@IGIC.RAS.RU Received September 25, 2002; accepted (revised) November 28, 2002 Published online April 24, 2003 RID="a" ID="a" Dedicated to Prof. Dr. H. Gamsjaeger on the occasion of his 70^th birthday anniversary