Synthesis of Cyano‐pyrrolo[1,2‐a][1,10]phenanthroline Derivatives Using a Multicomponent Condensation

1,10‐Phenanthroline reacts with malonitrile and aldehydes in the presence of isocyanides as domino‐Knoevenagel‐nucleophilic cycloaddition for generation of a new class of 10‐(aryl)‐11‐(alkyl‐ or arylamino‐)pyrrolo[1,2‐a][1,10]phenanthroline‐9‐carbonitrile compounds in excellent yield. All compounds are fully characterized with one structurally authenticated by a single X‐ray diffraction study.     

In vitro antibacterial activity of some Iranian medicinal plant extracts against Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori infection causes lifelong chronic gastritis, which can lead to peptic ulcer, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and gastric cancer. The growing problem of antibiotic resistance by the organism demands the search for novel candidates from plant-based sources. In the present study, we evaluated the in vitro anti-H. pylori activity of some selected medicinal plants on clinical isolates of H. pylori. Gastric biopsy samples were obtained from patients presenting with gastroduodenal complications. Helicobacter pylori was isolated from the specimens following standard microbiology procedures. The disc-diffusion method was used to determine the susceptibility of three H. pylori isolates to methanol extracts of 23 Iranian plants. All tests were performed in triplicate. Among them, the extracts of Punica granatum and Juglans regia had remarkable anti-H. pylori activity with mean of inhibition zone diameter of 39 and 16?mm at 100?μg?disc?1, respectively. In view of the results obtained with P. granatum (pomegranate), the peel extracts of nine cultivars of pomegranate (Shirin-e-Pust Sefid, Agha Mohammad Ali-e-Shirin, Sefid-e-Shomal, Sefid-e-Torsh, Shirin-e-Malase, Tabestani-e-Torsh, Shirin-e-Saveh Malase, Alak-e-Shirin, Pust Siyah) were further assayed against the clinical isolates of H. pylori. The results revealed that all Iranian pomegranate cultivars, except for Alak-e-Shirin, showed significant in vitro anti-H. pylori activity against the clinical isolates of H. pylori (mean of inhibition zone diameter ranging from 16 to 40 mm at 50 μg disc?1).     

A Novel Route for the Diastereoselective Synthesis of Dispiro[tetrahydroquinoline‐bis(2,2‐dimethyl[1,3]dioxane‐4,6‐dione)] Derivatives via a One‐Pot Domino Multicomponent Reaction of Arylamines,Aromatic Aldehydes,and Meldrum's Acid

A protocol has been developed for the diastereoselective synthesis of dispiro[tetrahydroquinoline‐bis(2,2‐dimethyl[1,3] dioxane‐4,6‐dione)] derivatives via a one‐pot domino multicomponent reaction of arylamines, aromatic aldehydes, and Meldrum's acid for the first time. The products, with remarkable diastereoselectivity, were successfully synthesized in acetic acid media in ambient temperature along with the suggested mechanism through combination of domino Knoevenagel, Michael, and Diels–Alder reactions. The products have been characterized by IR, mass, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, and elemental analyses. The stereoselectivity of compounds was established with crystallography and NMR spectroscopy.     

A molecular-dynamics study of thermal and physical properties of platinum nanoclusters

Metallic nanoclusters are interesting because of their utility in catalysis and sensors. The thermal and physical characteristics of metallic Pt nanoclusters with different sizes were investigated via molecular-dynamics simulations using Quantum Sutton-Chen (QSC) potential. This force field accurately predicts solid and liquid states properties as well as melting of the bulk platinum. Molecular dynamic simulations of Pt nanoclusters with 256, 456, 500, 864, 1372, 2048, 2916, 4000, 5324, 6912, 8788 atoms have been carried out at various temperatures. The Pt-Pt radial distribution function, internal energy, heat capacity, enthalpy, entropy of the nanoclusters were calculated at some temperatures. These properties are used to characterize the physical phase and also to determine the melting transition of each nanocluster. The melting point predicted by the various properties is consistent with each other and shows that the melting temperature increases with the particle size, approaching to the bulk limit for the largest one. The size dependence of the melting point has been reported, both experimentally and theoretically for the atomic nanoclusters. We have found that the melting of the platinum nanoclusters commences at the surface and the relation T_m,N=T_m,bulk−αN^−1/3 between the melting point of nanocluster (T_m,N) and that of the bulk (T_m,bulk) holds. The extrapolation of T_m,N versus N^−1/3 gives T_m,bulk = 2058.1 K which is in a good agreement with the experimental value of 2041 K.     

Sequential Isotopic Determination of Strontium, Thorium, Plutonium, Uranium, and Americium in Bioassay Samples

A procedure is presented to provide sequential determination of isotopic strontium, thorium, plutonium, uranium, and americium in a single biological sample. The method begins with digestion and dissolution of the sample. Tracers and/or carriers are added to the sample for the purpose of chemical yield monitoring. Strontium is first separated from the actinides and from most of the interfering constituents of the sample by precipitation as carbonates. Strontium isotopes are purified, and ⁸⁹Sr and ⁹⁰Sr are measured by gas proportional counting. Actinides are separated and purified by ion exchange chromatography, co-precipitated with neodymium fluoride, filtered, and counted by alpha-particle spectrometry.     

Physical Properties of III-Antiminodes -- a First Principles Study

A comprehensive first principles study of III-Antimonide binary compounds is hardly found in literature. We report a broad study of structural and electronic properties of boron antimonide （BSb）, aluminium antimonide （AlSb）, gallium antimonide （GaSb） and indium antimonide （InSb） in zineblende phase based on density functional theory （DFT）. Our calculations are based on Full-PotentiM Lineaxized Augmented Plane wave plus local orbitals （FP- L（APWq-lo）） method. Different forms of exchange-correlation energy functional and corresponding potential are employed for structural and electronic properties. Our computed results for lattice parameters, bulk moduli, their pressure derivatives, and cohesive energy are consistent with the available experimental data. Boron antimonide is found to be the hardest compound of this group. For band structure calculations, in addition to LDA and GGA, we used GGA-EV, an approximation employed by Engel and Vosko. The band gap results with GGA-EV are of significant improvement over the earlier work.     

Antimicrobial Activity and Physical Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles Green Synthesized Using Nitrate Reductase from Fusarium oxysporum

Nanostructures from natural sources have received major attention due to wide array of biological activities and less toxicity for humans, animals, and the environment. In the present study, silver nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using a fungal nitrate reductase, and their biological activity was assessed against human pathogenic fungi and bacteria. The enzyme was isolated from Fusarium oxysporum IRAN 31C after culturing on malt extract-glucose-yeast extract-peptone (MGYP) medium. The enzyme was purified by a combination of ultrafiltration and ion exchange chromatography on DEAE Sephadex and its molecular weight was estimated by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. The purified enzyme had a maximum yield of 50.84 % with a final purification of 70 folds. With a molecular weight of 214 KDa, it is composed of three subunits of 125, 60, and 25 KDa. The purified enzyme was successfully used for synthesis of silver nanoparticles in a way dependent upon NADPH using gelatin as a capping agent. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering spectroscopy, and transmission and scanning electron microscopy. These stable nonaggregating nanoparticles were spherical in shape with an average size of 50 nm and a zeta potential of ?34.3. Evaluation of the antimicrobial effects of synthesized nanoparticles by disk diffusion method showed strong growth inhibitory activity against all tested human pathogenic fungi and bacteria as evident from inhibition zones that ranged from 14 to 25 mm. Successful green synthesis of biologically active silver nanoparticles by a nitrate reductase from F. oxysporum in the present work not only reduces laborious downstream steps such as purification of nanoparticle from interfering cellular components, but also provides a constant source of safe biologically-active nanomaterials with potential application in agriculture and medicine.     

Synthesis of 3-oxo-1,4-diazepine-5-carboxamides and 6-(4-oxo-chromen-3-yl)-pyrazinones via sequential Ugi 4CC/Staudinger/intramolecular nucleophilic cyclization and Ugi 4CC/Staudinger/aza-Wittig reactions

An efficient approach for the assembly of 1,4-diazepine-based and 6-(4-oxo-chromen-3-yl)-pyrazinone-based frameworks has been developed that involves the Ugi four-component reaction (U-4CR) followed by Staudinger/nucleophilic cyclization and Staudinger/Aza-Wittig reactions, respectively. This convergent approach exhibits a high bond-forming efficiency, involving the use of readily available commercial reagents and is an example of the reconciliation of structural complexity with operational simplicity in a time- and cost-effective manner.