Protein recognition by a self-assembled deep cavitand monolayer on a gold substrate

This paper details the first use of a self-folding deep cavitand on a gold surface. A sulfide-footed deep, self-folding cavitand has been synthesized, and its attachment to a cleaned gold surface studied by electrochemical and SPR methods. Complete monolayer formation is possible if the cavitand folding is templated by noncovalent binding of choline or by addition of space-filling thiols to cover any gaps in the cavitand adsorption layer. The cavitand is capable of binding trimethylammonium-tagged guests from an aqueous medium and can be deposited in 2 × 2 microarrays on the surface for characterization by SPR imaging techniques. When biotin-labeled guests are used, the cavitand:guest construct can recognize and immobilize streptavidin proteins from aqueous solution, acting as an effective supramolecular biosensor for monitoring protein recognition.     

Reactivity of N-nitrosoamides in confined spaces

The thermal rearrangement of several N-nitrosoamides was studied by ¹H NMR in the context of reversible encapsulation. The N-nitrosoamide guests were isolated from the bulk solvent in a hydrogen-bonded dimeric host capsule which prevented their rearrangement. The guests appear to be preserved in their ground state conformations by the pressure exerted by the host. The conformations of the free and bound N-nitrosoamides are of comparable relative energies as determined by DFT calculations.     

The First Mitsunobu Protocol for Efficient Synthesis of α-Acyloxyphosphonates Using 4,4′-Azopyridine

Abstract

This is the first report on applying the Mitsunobu protocol for the synthesis of various α-acyloxyphosphonates using 4,4′-azopyridine and PPh₃ with diverse aromatic and aliphatic carboxylic acids. Under these conditions, diethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD) as the traditional reagent for Mitsunobu reaction is not efficient. The insoluble pyridine hydrazine byproduct can be simply isolated and recycled to its azopyridine by an oxidation reaction and reused again.

[Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements for the following free supplemental resource: Characterization data of compounds 3a–3z2 and NMR spectra.]

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT      

Facile and One-Pot Synthesis of 2 H -Chromene Derivatives Mediated by Vinyl triphenylphosphonium Salt

An efficient process that converts 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde and their derivetives to chromene derivatives via intramolecular Wittig reaction is described.     

Effect of low-salinity water on asphaltene precipitation

The effect of low-salinity (1000 to 5000?ppm) and intermediate-salinity (5000 to 40000?ppm) water (MgSO₄, MgCl₂, Na₂SO₄, CaCl₂, NaCl and KCl) on asphaltene precipitation was investigated in this work. The results revealed that all brines intensify the amount of asphaltene precipitation. All cases exhibited initial downward trend followed by the upward trend for the amount of asphaltene precipitation with increasing the brine concentration. A similar trend was also observed for Interfacial Tension (IFT) between crude oil and brine in this study. IFT was tested for MgSO₄, MgCl₂, Na₂SO₄, CaCl₂, NaCl and KCl brines with concentrations of 1000 to 40000?ppm. Finally, experimental results showed that an increase in volume of all brines in the mixture (brine +oil) led to increase and decrease of the asphaltene precipitation in low and intermediate salinity regions, respectively.     

Biosurfactant production under extreme environmental conditions by an efficient microbial consortium, ERCPPI-2

The biosurfactant production potential of a new microbial consortium of Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas sp. (ERCPPI-2) which was isolated from heavy crude oil-contaminated soil in the south of Iran, has been investigated under extreme environmental conditions. The isolated consortium produces a biosurfactant mixture with excessive oil spreading and emulsification properties. This consortium was able to grow and produce biosurfactant at temperatures up to 70 °C, pressures up to 6000 psia, salinities up to 15% (w/v), and in the pH range 4-10. Besides, the optimum biosurfactant production conditions were found to be 40 °C and 7.0 for the temperature and pH value, respectively. These conditions gave the best biosurfactant production of 1.74 g/1 when the cells were grown on a minimal salt medium containing 1.0% (w/v) olive oil, 1.0% (w/v) sodium nitrate supplemented with 1.39% (w/v) K(2)HPO(4) at 40 °C and 150 rpm after 48 h of incubation. The ERCPPI-2 could reduce surface and interfacial tensions to 31.7 and 0.65 mN/m from the original values of 58.3 and 16.9 mN/m, respectively. The isolated consortium produced biosurfactant using heavy crude oil as the sole source of carbon and emulsified the available heavy crude oil up to E(24)=83.4%. The results of the core holder flooding tests at simulated reservoir conditions demonstrated that the oil recovery efficiency due to the injection of the cell-free biosurfactant solution was 27.2%, and the bacterium injection reduced the final residual oil saturations to below 3% at optimum conditions.     

Pool-Frenkel effect and high frequency dielectric constant determination of semiconducting P2O5-Li2MoO4-Li2O and P2O5-Na2MoO4-Na2O bulk glasses

The ternary 70P₂O₅-10Li₂MoO₄-20Li₂O and 70P₂O₅-10Na₂MoO₄-20Na₂O glasses, prepared by the press-melt quenching technique, were studied at temperatures between 298 and 418 K for their high dc electric field properties. For the above purpose, the effect of a strong electric field on the dc conduction of these amorphous bulk samples was investigated using the gap-type electrode configuration. At low electric fields, the current-voltage (I — V) characteristics have a linear shape, while at high electric fields (> 10³ V/cm), bulk samples show nonlinear effects (nonohmic conduction). Current-voltage curves show increasing departure from Ohm’s law with increasing current density, leading to critical phenomena at a maximum voltage (threshold voltage), known as switching (switch from a low-conduction state to a higher-conduction state at threshold voltage). The Pool-Frenkel high-field effect was observed at electrical fields of about 10³–10⁴ V/cm; then the lowering factor of the potential barrier, the high frequency dielectric constant, and the refractive index of these glasses were determined.      

Empirical correlation study of dryout heat transfer at high pressure using high order neural network and feed forward neural network

A hybrid high order neural network (HHONN) and a feed forward neural network (FNN) are developed and applied to find an optimized empirical correlation for prediction of dryout (DO) heat transfer. The values predicted by the HHONN and FNN models are compared with each other and also with the previous values of empirical correlation. HONN successfully provides an efficient open-box model of nonlinear input–output mapping which provides easier understanding of data mining. By removing the hidden layers, HONN structures become simpler than FNNs and initialization of learning parameters (weights) will not be catastrophic. The RMS results show that the HHONN model has superior fitting specification for prediction of DO heat transfer problem compared to the other prediction methods.