Synthesis and Photophysical Characterizations of Pyrroloquinolone Photosensitizers for Singlet Oxygen Production†

A series of pyrroloquinolone photosensitizers bearing different halogen substituents (Cl, Br, I) on the heterocyclic framework was studied. These structures were readily prepared through a multi-step synthetic sequence involving an oxidative protocol as an important step to access the quinolone framework. Spectroscopic characterizations and computational investigations were carried out to study the dyes before and after the oxidative step. Interestingly, the fluorescence emission was significantly reduced upon oxidation. In spite of a low photostability under UV light, the pyrroloquinolone photosensitizers proved effective to produce singlet oxygen. Higher singlet oxygen quantum yields were obtained with photosensitizers bearing halogen atoms with a higher atomic number.     

Commissioning of the J-PET detector in view of the positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy

The Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomograph (J-PET) is the first PET device built from plastic scintillators. It is a multi-purpose detector designed for medical imaging and for studies of properties of positronium atoms in porous matter and in living organisms. In this article we report on the commissioning of the J-PET detector in view of studies of positronium decays. We present results of analysis of the positron lifetime measured in the porous polymer. The obtained results prove that J-PET is capable of performing simultaneous imaging of the density distribution of annihilation points as well as positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy.     

Chemometric Classification of Colombian Cacao Crops: Effects of Different Genotypes and Origins in Different Years of Harvest on Levels of Flavonoid and Methylxanthine Metabolites in Raw Cacao Beans

The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of chemical markers in raw cacao beans in two clones (introduced and regional) in Colombia over several years. Multivariate statistical methods were used to analyze the flavanol monomers (epicatechin and catechin), flavanol oligomers (procyanidins) and methylxanthine alkaloids (caffeine and theobromine) of cocoa samples. The results identified genotype as the main factor contributing to cacao chemistry, although significant differences were not observed between universal and regional clones in PCA. The univariate analysis allowed us to establish that EET-96 had the highest contents of both flavanol monomers (13.12 ± 2.30 mg/g) and procyanidins (7.56 ± 4.59 mg/g). In addition, the geographic origin, the harvest conditions of each region and the year of harvest may contribute to major discrepancies between results. Turbo cocoa samples are notable for their higher flavanol monomer content, Chigorodó cocoa samples for the presence of both types of polyphenol (monomer and procyanidin contents) and the Northeast cocoa samples for the higher methylxanthine content. We hope that knowledge of the heterogeneity of the metabolites of interest in each clone will contribute to the generation of added value in the cocoa production chain and its sustainability.     

Copper(II)-phenylmalonate complexes with the bifunctional ligands nicotinamide and isonicotinamide

The use as coligands of the nicotinamide (nia) and isonicotinamide (inia) molecules in the complex formation between copper(II) and phenylmalonate [Phmal = dianion of phenylmalonic acid] yielded the compounds of formula [Cu(inia)(Phmal)(H₂O)] (1) and [Cu(inia)(Phmal)(H₂O)]_n (2). Although single crystals of 1 of appropriate size were grown, their unresolved twinning and space group ambiguity prevented a satisfactory X-ray structure determination. The crystal structure 2 consists of corrugated layers of copper(II) ions with intralayer carboxylate-phenylmalonate bridges in the anti-syn (equatorial-apical) coordination mode. A water molecule and the isonicotinamide group are coordinated to the copper atom in trans position being located above and below each layer. The Phmal ligand adopts the bidentate/monodentate coordination mode with the bidentate coordination involving one equatorial and one apical bonds, a feature which is unprecedented for the copper(II) complexes with alkyl(aryl)substituted-malonate derivatives. Intra- and interlayer H-bonds together with intralayer π-π type interactions between the phenyl and inia aromatic groups contribute to the stabilization of the three-dimensional supramolecular structure. Magnetic susceptibility measurements of complexes 1 and 2 in the temperature range 1.9-300 K are quasi identical and they correspond to a very weak ferromagnetic interaction between the copper(II) ions [J = +0.091(2) cm⁻¹ (1) and +0.097(2) cm⁻¹ (2) through the spin Hamiltonian for an isotropic square grid of interacting spin doublets which is defined as H = −JΣ_iS_i · S_i+1]. The strong similarity in the magnetic properties of 1 and 2 allow us to conclude that although they are not isostructural species, their structures have to be very close.     

A feasibility study of the time reversal violation test based on polarization of annihilation photons from the decay of ortho-Positronium with the J-PET detector

The Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomograph (J-PET) is a novel device being developed at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland based on organic scintillators. J-PET is an axially symmetric (M. Mohammed) has been affiliated to affiliation 6. Please check if correct, otherwise, provide the correct affiliation.and high acceptance scanner that can be used as a multi-purpose detector system. It is well suited to pursue tests of discrete symmetries in decays of positronium in addition to medical imaging. J-PET enables the measurement of both momenta and the polarization vectors of annihilation photons. The latter is a unique feature of the J-PET detector which allows the study of time reversal symmetry violation operator which can be constructed solely from the annihilation photons momenta before and after the scattering in the detector.     

Self‐recovery and fatigue of double‐network gels with permanent and reversible bonds

Double‐network (DN) gels subjected to cyclic deformation (stretching up to a fixed strain followed by retraction down to the zero stress) demonstrate a monotonic decrease in strain with time (self‐recovery). Observations show that the duration of total recovery varies in a wide interval (from a few minutes to several days depending on composition of the gel), and this time is strongly affected by deformation history. A model is developed for the kinetics of self‐recovery. Its ability to describe stress–strain diagrams in cyclic tests with various periods of recovery is confirmed by comparison with observations on several DN gels. Numerical simulation reveals pronounced enhancement of fatigue resistance in multi‐cycle tests with stress‐ and strain‐controlled programs when subsequent cycles of deformation are interrupted by intervals of recovery. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 438–453     

Molybdotellurates containing the 1-methyl-, 2-methyl- and 4-methyl imidazolium cations

Four molybdotellurates containing the 1-methylimidazolium, 2-methylimidazolium and 4-methylimidazolium cations have been synthesized and their structures: [2-H2-methyl-imz]6[TeMo6O24 ]·2H2O (2), [2-H2-methyl-imz]6[TeMo6O24 ]·2(2-H-methyl-imz)·2H2O (3) and [4-H2-methyl-imz]6[TeMo6O24 ]·Te(OH)6 (4) determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The protonated organic bases are bonded to the anion in the crystal by hydrogen bonds, except for (4) where the crystal structure consists of discrete [TeMo6O24]6– anions and Te(OH)6 units, both bonded to 4-methylimidazolium cations by hydrogen bonds. The hydrogen bonds were studied as a function of the unit charge of the oxygen atoms of the [TeMo6O24]6– anion. Distortions of the central octahedron of polyanions of formula [XMo6O24]n– (X=AlIII, MoVI, TeVI and IVII), and polyanions of formula [H6YMo6O24]n–, (Y=CoII, CuII, ZnII, CrIII, RhIII and PtIV) are discussed. 95Mo n.m.r spectroscopy of compounds [1-H2-methyl-imz]6[Te-Mo6O24]·Te(OH)6 (1), (2) and (4) indicates the existence of an octahedral oxygen atom arrangement around the molybdenum and a pH variation experiment, carried out with compound (1), confirmed the existence of hydrolytic processes of the compounds in aqueous solution. 125Te n.m.r. studies permitted identification of the Te atom in the [TeMo6O24]6– kernel in all compounds; the presence of two different Te(OH)6 moieties in compounds (1) and (4) was also detected. The similarity between the spectra of both compounds could indicate that (1) has the same structural arrangement as (4). Finally, the thermal behaviour and the thermal stabilities of the complexes as a function of the organic cation were studied.     

A theoretical study of the addition of silyl radicals to olefinic monomers

In this paper, the high reactivity of silyl macroradicals toward double bonds of olefinic compounds has been explained by means of quantum‐mechanical calculations through their frontier orbital characteristics. In this way, the main orbital interaction corresponds to the overlapping between the SOMO of the disilyl radical and the LUMO of the olefin. In order to obtain more accurate results of differential reactivity, an orbitalic SOMO‐HOMO interaction should be included in addition to the main SOMO‐LUMO one. Also, we theoretically studied the regioselectivity of the addition of silyl radicals to double bonds obtaining similar results as for carbon centered radicals where the reaction takes place on the less hindered carbon of the olefin. Regarding to the geometrical and electronic parameters, it has been shown that carbon radicals have a sp² geometry and a negative charge on the radical center whilst silyl radicals have a sp³ goemetry and a positive charge. Both factors contribute to the enhanced reactivity of silyl radicals with respect to carbon ones.