Strong Direct Magnetic Coupling in a Dinuclear CoII Tetrazine Radical Single‐Molecule Magnet

The ligand‐centered radical complex [(CoTPMA)₂‐μ‐bmtz^.?](O₃SCF₃)₃ ? CH₃CN (bmtz=3,6‐bis(2′‐pyrimidyl)‐1,2,4,5‐tetrazine, TPMA=tris‐(2‐pyridylmethyl)amine) has been synthesized from the neutral bmtz precursor. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction studies have confirmed the presence of the ligand‐centered radical. The Co^II complex exhibits slow paramagnetic relaxation in an applied DC field with a barrier to spin reversal of 39 K. This behavior is a result of strong antiferromagnetic metal–radical coupling combined with positive axial and strong rhombic anisotropic contributions from the Co^II ions.     

Multiplicity of periodic orbits for dynamically convex contact forms

We give a sharp lower bound for the number of geometrically distinct contractible periodic orbits of dynamically convex Reeb flows on prequantizations of symplectic manifolds that are not aspherical. Several consequences of this result are obtained, like a new proof that every bumpy Finsler metric on \(S^n\) carries at least two prime closed geodesics, multiplicity of elliptic and non-hyperbolic periodic orbits for dynamically convex contact forms with finitely many geometrically distinct contractible closed orbits and precise estimates of the number of even periodic orbits of perfect contact forms. We also slightly relax the hypothesis of dynamical convexity. A fundamental ingredient in our proofs is the common index jump theorem due to Y. Long and C. Zhu.     

Complete Caps in with Both N and q Odd

In this work, an inductive method to construct complete caps in affine spaces is provided. Using this tool, for odd and q odd, complete caps smaller than all already known ones are obtained.     

Adsorption studies of Cd(II) onto Al2O3/Nb2O5 mixed oxide dispersed on silica matrix and its on-line preconcentration and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The present study describes the adsorption characteristic of Cd(II) onto Nb₂O₅/Al₂O₃ mixed oxide dispersed on silica matrix. The characterization of the adsorbent has been carried out by infrared spectroscopy (IR), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (EDXRF) and specific surface area (S_BET). From batch experiments, adsorption kinetic of Cd(II) was described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The Langmuir linear isotherm fitted to the experimental adsorption isotherm very well, and the maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 17.88 mg g⁻¹. Using the effective material, a method for Cd(II) preconcentration at trace level was developed. The method was based on on-line adsorption of Cd(II) onto SiO₂/Al₂O₃/Nb₂O₅ at pH 8.64, in which the quantitative desorption occurs with 1.0 mol L⁻¹ hydrochloric acid towards FAAS detector. The experimental parameters related to the system were studied by means of multivariate analysis, using 2⁴ full factorial design and Doehlert matrix. The effect of SO₄²⁻, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Ni²⁺ foreign ions showed no interference at 1:100 analyte:interferent proportion. Under the most favorable experimental conditions, the preconcentration system provided a preconcentration factor of 18.4 times, consumption index of 1.08 mL, sample throughput of 14 h⁻¹, concentration efficiency of 4.35 min⁻¹, linear range from 5.0 up to 35.0 μg L⁻¹ and limits of detection and quantification of 0.19 and 0.65 μg L⁻¹ respectively. The feasibility of the proposed method for Cd(II) determination was assessed by analysis of water samples, cigarette sample and certified reference materials TORT-2 (Lobster hepatopancreas) and DOLT-4 (Dogfish liver).     

Gemifloxacin mesylate (GFM) stability evaluation applying a validated bioassay method and in vitro cytotoxic study

The validation of a microbiological assay applying the cylinder-plate method to determine the quinolone gemifloxacin mesylate (GFM) content is described. Using a strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228 as the test organism, the GFM content in tablets at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 4.5 μg mL⁻¹ could be determined. A standard curve was obtained by plotting three values derived from the diameters of the growth inhibition zone. A prospective validation showed that the method developed is linear (r = 0.9966), precise (repeatability and intermediate precision), accurate (100.63%), specific and robust. GFM solutions (from the drug product) exposed to direct UVA radiation (352 nm), alkaline hydrolysis, acid hydrolysis, thermal stress, hydrogen peroxide causing oxidation, and a synthetic impurity were used to evaluate the specificity of the bioassay. The bioassay and the previously validated high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method were compared using Student's t test, which indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between these two validated methods. These studies demonstrate the validity of the proposed bioassay, which allows reliable quantification of GFM in tablets and can be used as a useful alternative methodology for GFM analysis in stability studies and routine quality control. The GFM reference standard (RS), photodegraded GFM RS, and synthetic impurity samples were also studied in order to determine the preliminary in vitro cytotoxicity to peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The results indicated that the GFM RS and photodegraded GFM RS were potentially more cytotoxic than the synthetic impurity under the conditions of analysis applied.     

Synthesis and characterization of new porphyrin/4-quinolone conjugates

New porphyrin/4-quinolone conjugates were synthesized from the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction of a β-borylated porphyrin with bromo-4-quinolones containing N-ethyl and N-d-ribofuranosyl substituents. The use of electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry showed important information about the fragmentation pathways of the new compounds. It was possible to distinguish between those compounds with the porphyrin moiety linked at the 6-position of the quinolone unit from their 7-substituted isomers. The new compounds showed to be good singlet oxygen generators.     

Molecular cloning and transgenic expression of a synthetic human erythropoietin gene in tobacco

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone belonging to a group of hematopoietic growth factors that control the proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow cells. It induces the production of erythrocytes, thereby increasing the amount of circulating hemoglobin and oxygen. Previous attempts to transgenically express human EPO in plants failed to succeed because the plants exhibited abnormal morphology and infertility. In the present work, we describe the generation of fertile transgenic tobacco plants able to express a synthetic version of human EPO. A 582-bp fragment of the human EPO gene was synthesized using a PCR-based method and ligated into pCR-Blunt. After sequencing, the human EPO fragment was transferred to pWUbi.tm1 and the expression cassette was then transferred to the binary vector pWBVec4a. After Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Nicotiana tabacum SR1 plants, integration of the transgene into T₀ and T₁ plant genomes was confirmed by PCR. The human EPO gene was found to be expressed in tobacco leaves at the mRNA and protein levels. Self-crossing allowed us to obtain T₁ plants exhibiting Mendelian segregation of the transgene. None of the plants presented any kind of malformation or deformity.     

Phase equilibrium data for the ternary system (propane + chloroform + oryzanol)

The compound oryzanol available in the rice bran (oriza sativa) is well known for its antioxidant activity. Phase equilibrium data involving oryzanol in compressed fluids, hardly found in the literature, are important to provide the basis for the extraction and fractionation processes. In this sense, the aim of this work is to report phase equilibrium measurements for the system (γ-oryzanol + chloroform) in compressed propane. Phase equilibrium experiments were performed using the static synthetic method (cloud points transition data) in a high-pressure variable-volume view cell in the temperature range of 303 K to 353 K, pressures up to 17 MPa, for oryzanol overall mass fractions of 2 wt%, 5 wt% and 10 wt% in (propane + chloroform) mixtures. A complex phase behaviour comprising vapour–liquid, liquid–liquid, vapour–liquid–liquid, solid–liquid, solid–liquid–liquid, solid–liquid–liquid–vapour transitions were visually observed for the system studied.     

In vitro anti-HMPV activity of meroditerpenoids from marine alga Stypopodium zonale (Dictyotales)

In this paper, we evaluated the antiviral activity against HMPV replication of crude extract of the marine algae Stypopodium zonale and of two meroditerpenoids obtained from it, atomaric acid and epitaondiol, and a methyl ester derivative of atomaric acid. Their selectivity indexes were 20.78, >56.81, 49.26 and 12.82, respectively. Compared to ribavirin, the substances showed a relatively low cytotoxicity on LLC-MK2 cells, with a significant antiviral activity, inhibiting at least 90% of viral replication in vitro, which demonstrates the potential of these marine natural products to combat infections caused by HMPV in vitro.