Losartan potassium,a non‐peptide agent for the treatment of arterial hypertension

In the title compound, potassium 2‐butyl‐4‐chloro‐1‐{[2′‐(5‐tetrazolido)­bi­phenyl‐4‐yl]­methyl}‐1H‐imidazol‐5‐yl­methanol, K⁺·C₂₂H₂₂ClN₆O^?, the imidazole and tetrazole rings are at angles of 85.0 (2) and 51.8 (1)°, respectively, to the phenyl rings to which they are attached, while the dihedral angle between the latter two rings is 46.7 (1)°. The coordination sphere of the metal cation consists of six tetrazoyl N atoms, the methanol O atom and the π cloud of one of the phenyl rings. These interactions determine the formation of columns of molecular anions that lie parallel to the b axis, while hydrogen bonding contributes to intercolumnar cohesion. Far from the centre of the columns, the hydro­carbon chain is immersed in a hydro­phobic environment.     

HPLC determination of 2-furaldehyde and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde in alcoholic beverages

A method for the determination of 2-furaldehyde (F) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (HMF) in alcoholic beverages by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. A C-18 column and an acetonitrile-water mobile phase with isocratic elution were used. UV detection at 280 nm was carried out. The method was validated according to the EURACHEM guidelines. The procedure offers a high specificity and detection limits of the order of 0.005 μg mL^− 1. Recoveries of 94-103% were obtained from spiked samples at different levels with both analytes. Intermediate precision calculated for a period of 2 months was + 0.8% for HMF and + 0.4% for F. The method was applied to the analysis of alcoholic beverages like bourbon, rum, brandy, liquors and aperitif wines.     

Photochemistry of perfluoroacyl halides in the presence of O2 and CO

Photolyses of CF₃C(O)X and C₂F₅C(O)X (X=Cl, F) at 254 nm in the presence of O₂ yield the perfluorinated radicals C₂F₅O (C₂) and CF₃O (C₁), respectively. The C₂ radicals decompose to give CF₃ radicals:

C₂F₅O→CF₃+CF₂O

which, in turn, react with O₂ leading to the formation of C₁ radicals. When in addition to O₂, CO is present, the C₁ radicals react with it leading to its catalytic oxidation to CO₂. The trioxide CF₃OC(O)O₃C(O)OCF₃ was observed following the photolysis of all four halides in the presence of O₂ and CO.

The other radical partners coming from the initial step in the photolysis (XC(O)) as well as the products of their reaction with O₂ (XC(O)O_y, y=1, 2) do not react with CO but when X=F they lead to the formation of a new stable peroxy molecule with the formula CF₃OC(O)O₂C(O)F. Some of the properties of this new molecule, its stability and its IR features are presented in this work.     

Microgravimetric study of electrochemically controlled nucleophilic addition of sulfite to polyaniline

The sulfonation of polyaniline (PANI) films by nucleophilic addition of sulfite ion has been controlled through the polymer oxidation state under electrochemical control. The process was monitored by in situ electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM), and the polymer oxidation was accomplished by electrode potential steps in sulfite aqueous solutions. The nucleophilic addition of sulfite to PANI only takes place on the oxidized polymer. From the ratio of added mass to the injected charge, the degree of sulfonation has been obtained with a yield as high as 50%. It has been observed that the ion-exchange mechanism during the oxidation-reduction process in the resulting sulfonated polymer is analogous to the polymer produced by electrophilic sulfonation of polyaniline or by copolymerization of aniline with aminosulfonic acids, unlike the ionic exchange observed for unmodified PANI.     

Validity of the Hammond postulate and constraints on general one-dimensional reaction barriers

The Hammond postulate is a useful, qualitative tool that interrelates structural similarities between reactants, transition structures, and products with the exo- or endothermicity of reactions. It applies to most chemical reactions, although several exceptions are known. In this study the following problem is addressed: is it possible to formulate conditions for the validity of the quantitative Hammond postulate in terms of simple physical quantities characteristic to the molecules involved? A detailed analysis is given for the conditions of validity of the postulate, in terms of bounds on the internal forces and force constants of nuclear arrangements encountered along a reaction path. We have determined a broad class of constraints on barrier shapes that must be satisfied in order to obtain a critical situation that violates the Hammond postulate: a reactant-like transition structure (“transition state”) for endothermic reactions, and a product-like one for exothermic reactions. The general constraints are formulated in terms of physically meaningful quantities: (i) energy differences, (ii) restrictions on slopes (e.g., an upper bound on internal forces), and (iii) restrictions on curvatures (e.g., upper bounds on force constants) along potential curves.     

Shape group theory of van der Waals surfaces

In this article we present a method for the study of shapes of general, asymmetric van der Waals surfaces. The procedure is simple to apply and it consists of two steps. First, the surface is decomposed into spherical domains, according to the interpenetration of the van der Waals atomic spheres. Each domain defines a topological object that is either a 2-manifold or some truncated 2-manifold. Second, we compute the homology groups for all the objects into which the surface is divided. These groups are topological and homotopical invariants of the domains, hence they remain invariant to conformational changes that preserve the essential features of these domains of decomposition. In particular, these homology groups do not depend explicitly on the molecular symmetry. Major rearrangements of the nuclear configurations, however, do alter the decomposition into spherical domains, and the corresponding variation of the homology groups can be followed easily under conformational rearrangements. We discuss a partitioning of the metric internal configuration spaceM into shape regions of van der Waals surfaces, which allows one to identify those rearrangements which introduce an essential change in shape and to distinguish them from those which do not alter the fundamental shape of the molecular surface. The dependence of the shape group partitioning ofM on the symmetry under permutation of nuclear changes is discussed briefly, considering a simple illustrative example.     

Electron-density-dependent fused-sphere surfaces derived from pseudopotential calculations

Fused-sphere surfaces can be used to mimic a molecular boundary associated with a constant value of the electron density. The simplest of such fused-sphere models are constructed by using the atomic radii for the spherical isodensity surfaces of individual atoms. In this work, we discuss the extension of this model to molecules containing atoms beyond the second row. In these many- electron systems, the computation of electron densities is usually simplified by adopting a pseudopotential (or effective-core potential) approach. Here, we discuss the performance of large- and small-core pseudo-potential calculations as a tool to derive atomic radii. Our results provide an optimum set of variable radii that can be used to build fused-sphere surfaces. This continuum of surfaces provides a simple approximation to the low-electron-density regions around molecules with heavy atoms.     

Culture conditions dictate protease and tannase production in submerged and solid-state cultures of Aspergillus niger Aa-20

Undesirable protease production by Aspergillus niger Aa-20 in submerged culture and solid-state culture was evaluated using different concentrations of tannic acid as sole carbon source in a model system designed for tannase production. Protease production was found to be dependent on the culture system used (submerged culture or solid-state culture) and on the initial tannic acid concentration. Expression of protease activity in submerged culture was higher (up to 10 times) than activity obtained in solid-state culture, using identical culture medium composition. In submerged culture, the lowest final protease activity (0.13 IU) was obtained with the highest tannic acid concentration, while in solid-state culture protease activity was not affected by changes in initial substrate concentration. Absence of detectable proteolytic activity in solid-state culture is related to high production of tannase enzyme. Hence, the use of solid-state culture for fungal enzyme production may allow for higher and more stable enzyme titers present in culture extracts.     

Monocyclopentadienylhydride derivatives of ruthenium: stereoselective proton transfer and proton-hydride exchange in an extremely short dihydrogen bond

Diastereomerically pure complexes of formula CpRuCl(PP) and CpRuH(PP) with chiral ferrocenyl diphosphines were prepared and the selectivity of proton-transfer processes over the monohydride compounds with different acids was studied. With 1 equiv of HBF(4) the cis-dihydrogen and trans-dihydride complexes were formed while with 3 equiv of CF(3)CO(2)H the trans-dihydride derivative was the only product. However, the use of 1 equiv of CF(3)CO(2)H led to a dihydrogen bonded complex with an extremely short RuH...HO(2)CF(3) interaction that exhibits proton-hydride exchange. Using the labeled acid CF(3)CO(2)D, a stereoselective transference of the deuteron was demonstrated that implies the previous epimerization of the monohydride and the subsequent attack of the acid in the position previously occupied by the hydride.     

Synthesis and characterization of aromatic polyamides containing alkylphthalimido pendent groups

A series of polyisophthalamides containing pendent phthalimido groups and flexible side spacers were prepared from four novel diacids and three commercial aromatic diamines. These polyamides were prepared in high yields and with high molecular weights by direct polycondensation with triphenyl phosphite and pyridine as condensing agents. The weight‐average and number‐average molecular weights, measured by gel permeation chromatography, were 70,000–137,000 and 47,000–86,000 g/mol, respectively. The novel polyamides were amorphous and readily soluble and showed glass‐transition temperatures of 150–240 °C, as measured by differential scanning calorimetry. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the 10% weight‐loss temperatures in nitrogen were 355–430 °C, a significant improvement in thermal stability having been observed with the increase in the side‐chain length. A theoretical quantum mechanical study was successfully carried out to explain these results. Flexible and tough films, cast from polymer solutions, showed tensile strengths of 50–125 MPa. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3711–3724, 2002