A New Series of C‐6 Unsubstituted Tetrahydropyrimidines: Convenient One‐Pot Chemoselective Synthesis,Aggregation‐Induced and Size‐Independent Emission Characteristics

A new series of C‐6 unsubstituted tetrahydropyrimidines 6 have been directly synthesized via a convenient urea‐catalyzed chemoselective five‐component reaction (5CR) under mild conditions. Compounds 6 show typical aggregation‐induced emission enhancement (AIEE) characteristics because they are practically no emissive in solution but emit blue or green fluorescence in aggregates with fluorescence yield up to 93 %. One of the 5CR products, 6 aa , exhibits blue‐ and green‐fluorescence aggregates (bf‐ and gf‐aggregates). The bf‐ and gf‐aggregates are prepared under different conditions and proved to result from different J‐aggregations by single‐crystal X‐ray analysis. In addition, the bf‐ and gf‐aggregates of 6 aa show unusual size‐independent emission (SIE) characteristics because their maximum emission wavelengths in different sizes (suspension particles, film, powder and crystals) are the same, 434 and 484 nm, respectively. Based on the obtained experimental results, the 5CR mechanism, the origins of AIEE and SIE characteristics are discussed.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel triazole derivatives as antifungal agents

A series of 1-(benzylamino)-2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-l-yl)propan-2-ols compounds were synthesized and evaluated for their antifungal activities in vitro.The results showed that compounds 6A and 6B exhibited good antifungal activity.Compound 6A8 showed the strongest antifungal activity,which was significantly higher than that of the lead compounds and positive-control drugs Fluconazole and Itraconazole.In particular,the antifungal activity of compound 6A8 against Candida albicans and Candida krusei(MIC80 both at 0.00097μg/mL) was 515 and 64 times that of Fluconazole,respectively.The structure-activity relationships of the synthesized compounds were discussed,and the docking model of the target compounds with fungal lanosterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) was analyzed.     

A novel lipase-based stationary phase in liquid chromatography

A streptavidin functionalized capillary immune microreactor was designed for highly efficient flow-through chemiluminescent (CL) immunoassay. The functionalized capillary could be used as both a support for highly efficient immobilization of antibody and a flow cell for flow-through immunoassay. The functionalized inner wall and the capture process were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. Compared to conventional packed tube or thin-layer cell immunoreactor, the proposed microreactor showed remarkable properties such as lower cost, simpler fabrication, better practicality and wider dynamic range for fast CL immunoassay with good reproducibility and stability. Using α-fetoprotein as model analyte, the highly efficient CL flow-through immunoassay system showed a linear range of 3 orders of magnitude from 0.5 to 200 ng mL⁻¹ and a low detection limit of 0.1 ng mL⁻¹. The capillary immune microreactor could make up the shortcoming of conventional CL immunoreactors and provided a promising alternative for highly efficient flow-injection immunoassay.     

One-pot synthesis of peony-like Bi2S3/BiVO4(040) with high photocatalytic activity for glyphosate degradation under visible light irradiation

In this work, samples consisting of BiVO₄ with exposed (040) facets coupled with Bi₂S₃ (Bi₂S₃/BiVO₄) were prepared through a one-pot hydrothermal method, using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as directing agent and L-cysteine as sulfur source and soft template. X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy measurements indicated that the Bi₂S₃ content had a significant influence on the growth of (040) and (121) facets as well as on the morphology of the Bi₂S₃/BiVO₄ samples. When the Bi₂S₃ content reached 1 mmol, the Bi₂S₃/BiVO₄ samples exhibited a peony-like morphology. The results of transient photocurrent tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements confirmed that a more effective charge separation and a faster interfacial charge transfer occurred in Bi₂S₃/BiVO₄ than BiVO₄. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Bi₂S₃/BiVO₄ samples could be attributed to the improved absorption capability in the visible light region and the enhanced electron-hole pair separation efficiency due to the formation of the Bi₂S₃/BiVO₄ heterostructure. In addition, the Bi₂S₃/BiVO₄ samples showed relative stability and reusability. The simple method presented in this work could be used to fabricate composite photocatalysts with high activity for different applications, such as photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, photocatalytic splitting of water, and photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide.     

Black fungus derived aerogel with double faced properties

Black fungus aerogel (BFA) exhibited interesting double-faced properties. Weexplored the diverse properties of each side of the black fungus in three aspects:water contact angle measurements, liquid selective absorption capacity and air pollutant adsorption abilities.     

Synthesis of Cyclic Compounds via Photoinduced Radical Cyclization Cascade of C=C bonds

Cyclic compounds constitute a great important class of substances in the science of medicine and biology, which renders the research on facile and efficient construction of such complex scaffolds from simple starting materials to be hot and appealing. Recently, the radical cascade reaction involving multiple bond formation/cleavage has emerged as an ideal and powerful route to give high‐value cyclic products, along with diminished cost and waste. As a simple and benign methodology, photoredox catalysis offers a readily available access to the generation of radical species. Alkenes have been recognized as one of the most valuable building blocks for the reason they allow installation of different functional groups simultaneously through addition to the C=C bonds. This account summarizes the recent advances in photoinduced radical cascade cyclization to the synthesis of cyclic compounds with C=C bonds working as the initial radical acceptors, and emphasis is put on the related reaction mechanisms.     

Tetra‐ammonium Zinc Phthalocyanine to Construct a Graded 2D–3D Perovskite Interface for Efficient and Stable Solar Cells

The crystallographic defects inevitably incur during the solution processed organic‐inorganic hybrid perovskite film, especially at surface and the grain boundaries (GBs) of perovskite film, which can further result in the reduced cell performance and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, a simple defect passivation method was employed by treating perovskite precursor film with a hydrophobic tetra‐ammonium zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc). The results demonstrated that a 2D‐3D graded perovskite interface with a capping layer of 2D (ZnPc)_0.5MA_n ? 1Pb_nI_3n + 1 perovskite together with 3D MAPbI₃ perovskite was successfully constructed on the top of 3D perovskite layer. This situation realized the efficient GBs passivation, thus reducing the defects in GBs. As expected, the corresponding PSCs with modified perovskite revealed an improved cell performance. The best efficiency reached 19.6%. Especially, the significantly enhanced long‐term stability of the responding PSCs against humidity and heating was remarkably achieved. Such a strategy in this work affords an efficient method to improve the stability of PSCs and thus probably brings the PSCs closer to practical commercialization.     

Screening potential antagonists of epidermal growth factor receptor from Marsdenia tenacissima via cell membrane chromatography model assisted by HPLC–ESI–IT–TOF–MS

Marsdenia tenacissima, or Tongguanteng in Chinese, is a traditional Chinese herb and has a broad application in clinical practice for its pharmacological effects of treating asthma, pneumonia, tonsillitis, pharyngitis tumors, etc. However, few studies have reported the screening of the active components of this medicine for tumor therapy. In this work, a two‐dimensional analytical system was developed to screen antagonists of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) from M. tenacissima. A fraction was retained on the EGFR cell membrane chromatography (CMC) column, separated and identified as tenacissoside G (TG), tenacissoside H (TH) and tenacissoside I (TI) by two‐dimensional HPLC–IT–TOF–MS. Molecular docking and 3‐(4,5‐dimethyl‐2‐thiazolyl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2‐H‐tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay were carried out to assess the activity of TS (including TG, TH and TI). Molecular docking results showed that the binding mode of TS on EGFR is similar to that of gefitinib. The MTT assay demonstrated that gefitinib and TS (especially TI) could inhibit the growth of EGFR highly expressed cell lines in a dose‐dependent manner in the range of 5–50 μmol/L. In conclusion, the two‐dimensional EGFR/CMC–HPLC–IT–TOF–MS system could be a useful approach in drug discovery from traditional Chinese medicines for searching for potential antitumor candidates.     

Photodegradation mechanisms of acyclovir in water and the toxicity of photoproducts

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - In the present work the final products of coumarin radiation chemical transformation are investigated by chromatography. During radiolysis of...     

Metal- and acid-free,TBN-mediated direct CH nitration of arenes

A metal-free, acid-free, direct and eco-friendly nitration methodology has been developed. A tert-butyl nitrite efficiently promotes the direct CH nitration of electron-rich arenes with good to excellent yields and regioselectivities. The practical utility of this protocol has been demonstrated in gram-scale nitration of crown ether and mono nitration of Sesamin. A plausible free radical mechanism is proposed based on detailed experimental observations.