Access to Optically Active 3‐Substituted Piperidines by Ring Expansion of Prolinols and Derivatives

The ring expansion of prolinols via an aziridinium intermediate gives C3‐substituted piperidines in good yields and enantiomeric excess, the substituent at the C3 position being derived from the most reactive nucleophile in the reaction mixture. Depending on the nucleophile, the reaction proceeds under thermodynamic or kinetic control. The regioselectivity of attack of nucleophiles on the aziridinium intermediate depends on the nature of the substituents on the nitrogen atom and the C4 position of the starting prolinols.     

A Silver Bite: Crystalline Heterometallic Architectures Based on Ag–π Interactions with a Bis‐Dipyrrin Zinc Helicate

An unprecedented mode of assembly of helical motives and Ag^I ions in the crystalline state is described. The combination of a Zn^II helicate based on a 2,2′‐bisdpm bearing peripheral benzonitrile moieties with AgX salts, leads to the formation of a tetranuclear core containing Ag–π interactions. Depending on the coordinating ability of the X^? anion and the solvents used, the tetranuclear complex self‐assembles into coordination polymers of varying dimensionality. From the sequence of coordination events (Ag–π or Ag–peripheral site), one may envisage two possible construction scenarios. However, the Ag–π as primary event seems reasonable owing to the rather weak binding propensity of the nitrile group and the chelating nature of the π‐clefts.     

Chemical Antibody Mimics Inhibit Cadherin-Mediated Cell–Cell Adhesion: A Promising Strategy for Cancer Therapy

One of the most promising strategies to treat cancer is the use of therapeutic antibodies that disrupt cell–cell adhesion mediated by dysregulated cadherins. The principal site where cell–cell adhesion occurs encompasses Trp2 found at the N-terminal region of the protein. Herein, we employed the naturally exposed highly conserved peptide Asp1-Trp2-Val3-Ile4-Pro5-Pro6-Ile7, as epitope to prepare molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (MIP-NPs) to recognize cadherins. Since MIP-NPs target the site responsible for adhesion, they were more potent than commercially available therapeutic antibodies for inhibiting cell–cell adhesion in cell aggregation assays, and for completely disrupting three-dimensional tumor spheroids as well as inhibiting invasion of HeLa cells. These biocompatible supramolecular anti-adhesives may potentially be used as immunotherapeutic or sensitizing agents to enhance antitumor effects of chemotherapy.     

Multiscale Approach to the Study of the Electronic Properties of Two Thiophene Curcuminoid Molecules

We studied the electronic and conductance properties of two thiophene–curcuminoid molecules, 2‐thphCCM ( 1 ) and 3‐thphCCM ( 2 ), in which the only structural difference is the position of the sulfur atoms in the thiophene terminal groups. We used electrochemical techniques as well as UV/Vis absorption studies to obtain the values of the HOMO–LUMO band gap energies, showing that molecule 1 has lower values than 2 . Theoretical calculations show the same trend. Self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) of these molecules were studied by using electrochemistry, showing that the interaction with gold reduces drastically the HOMO–LUMO gap in both molecules to almost the same value. Single‐molecule conductance measurements show that molecule 2 has two different conductance values, whereas molecule 1 exhibits only one. Based on theoretical calculations, we conclude that the lowest conductance value, similar in both molecules, corresponds to a van der Waals interaction between the thiophene ring and the electrodes. The one order of magnitude higher conductance value for molecule 2 corresponds to a coordinate (dative covalent) interaction between the sulfur atoms and the gold electrodes.     

Thermal diffusivity study of cheese fats by thermal lens detection

In this paper we used thermal lens spectrometry to determine the thermal diffusivity of cheese fats. We have used equal concentrations of cheese fats from oaxaca, chihuahua, gouda, manchego and mozzarella cheeses at 42°C temperature. The two lasers mismatched mode experimental configuration was used with a He-Ne laser, as a probe beam and an Ar⁺ laser as the excitation one. The characteristic time constant of the transient thermal lens was obtained by fitting the theoretical expression to the experimental data in order to obtain the thermal diffusivity of the cheese fat samples. This measured thermal property may contribute to a better understanding of the cheese fats quality, which is very important in food industry.     

Quasi-K-Cosymplectic submersions

In this paper we study the Riemannian submersions between manifolds belonging to those classes of almost contact metric manifolds which can be assembled under the common denomination of quasi-K-cosymplectic manifolds.     

Automatic reduction and evaluation of infrared and Raman spectra

Summary The automatic interpretation of digital recorded infrared and Raman spectra is described. The procedure starts with the automatic correction for an approximated base line. In the case of Raman spectra the spectral response of the spectrometer is corrected, too. Subsequently, the spectra are reduced to band lists, conserving the position, intensity and half-widths of the bands. These band lists are the input in an interpretation algorithm for the combined evaluation of infrared and Raman spectra by testing presence or absence of characteristic bands or groups of bands. The algorithm was tested with 300 substances. A balance of the interpretation results shows that the abscence of structural elements is found more safely than the presence. The algorithm may be modified for special purposes: evaluation of infrared or Raman spectra alone or application to special classes of substances.

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Automatische Reduktion und Auswertung von IR- und Raman-SpektrenI. Interpretation charakteristischer Banden

Zusammenfassung Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die automatische Interpretation von Infrarot- und Raman-Spektren mit Hilfe charakteristischer Banden. Die Bearbeitung der Spektren beginnt mit der Korrektur der digital registrierten Spektren auf eine angenÄherte Grundlinie. Bei Raman-Spektren wird zusÄtzlich die spektrale Empfindlichkeit des Spektrometers korrigiert. Die Spektren werden auf Bandenlisten reduziert, in denen die Lage, IntensitÄt und Halbwertsbreite der einzelnen Banden enthalten sind. Diese Bandenlisten dienen als Eingabe in einen Interpretationsalgorithmus mit dem durch Prüfung der Lage und IntensitÄt einzelner charakteristischer Banden und Bandengruppen auf Anwesenheit oder Abwesenheit von Strukturmerkmalen geschlossen wird. Der Algorithmus wurde an 300 Substanzen getestet. Die Aussage über das Fehlen bestimmter Gruppen ist sicherer als die über deren Vorhandensein. Die Struktur des Auswertealgorithmus erlaubt ein einfaches Anpassen an verschiedene Anwendungsgebiete: Auswertung von Infrarot-oder Raman-Spektrum allein, bzw. Anwendung bei speziellen Substanzklassen.