Supramolecular recognition and structural elucidation of inclusion complexes of an achiral carbene precursor in beta- and permethylated beta-cyclodextrin

[structure: see text] Inclusion of achiral carbene precursor endo-8-azibicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-ol (1) in chiral beta-cyclodextrin (7-Cy) and tri-O-methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (TRIMEB) leads to 1:1 complexes 1@7-Cy and 1@TRIMEB, respectively. The combined methods of induced circular dichroism, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray structure determination were employed for the first time for structural elucidation of the complexes in solution and the solid state. Significantly different orientations of 1 were observed. Compared with 1@7-Cy, 1@TRIMEB exhibits a different guest orientation and an association constant one-twentieth lower.     

1H and 13C NMR characterization of pyridinium-type isoniazid-NAD adducts as possible inhibitors of InhA reductase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Oxidative activation of the antituberculous drug isoniazid (INH) in the presence of the NADH cofactor gives a pool of INH-NAD adducts proposed to be involved in the mechanism of action of this drug through inhibition of the reductase InhA. Among these adducts and besides dihydropyridine derivatives, two pyridinium-type isoniazid-NAD adducts were shown to be formed in solution and have been fully characterized by 1H/13C NMR and MS. One of them results from the oxidation of dihydropyridine-type INH-NAD adducts. The spectral data strongly support its existence under two epimeric structures. These epimers arise from a cyclization process between the carboxamide group and the ketone function with the creation of a new chiral center at C-7. The second pyridinium-type adduct was formed in acidic solution by dehydration of the cyclized dihydropyridine-type INH-NAD adducts and also exists as a cyclized structure. Both of these pyridinium-type compounds were inactive as inhibitors of InhA activity and can be considered as deactivated species.     

Influence of electrolyte nature on the separation selectivity of amphetamines in nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis: protonation degree versus ion pairing effects

The simultaneous analysis of Ecstasy and its derivatives in an acetonitrile-methanol (80:20 v/v) mixture was previously shown to be strongly dependent on the nature of the electrolyte (acetate versus formate). To elucidate the phenomena involved, systematic experiments were conducted in this solvent medium. Conductivity measurements allowed to evaluate the ion-pairing rate in the background electrolyte (BGE) and thereby distinguish between electrolyte concentration and ionic strength. The influence of electrolyte concentration on analyte effective mobilities micro(eff)) was studied by capillary electrophoresis (CE). As micro(eff) extrapolated to infinite dilution proved to be independent of the nature of the electrolyte, selectivity changes could not be attributed to a modification in the protonation degree of amphetamines. Experimental mobility data were then confronted to existing theoretical mobility models to discriminate between ion pairing or simple ionic strength effect. Ion-pair formation in a BGE containing acetate was highlighted with an ion-pairing model and ion-pair formation constants between each amphetamine and acetate ion were calculated.     

Photoinduced charge generation and recombination dynamics in model donor/acceptor pairs for organic solar cell applications: a full quantum-chemical treatment

This work focuses on two fundamental processes in organic solar cells-exciton dissociation and charge recombination-and describes how quantum-chemical calculations can be exploited to estimate the molecular parameters that determine the rates of these processes. The general concepts behind our approach are illustrated by considering a donor-acceptor complex made of a phthalocyanine (electron donor) molecule and a perylene (acceptor) molecule. The results highlight how the relative rates of the two processes depend on the dimensionality of the molecules, their relative positions, the symmetry of the relevant electronic levels, and the polarity of the medium. It is shown, for instance, that highly symmetric configurations of the complex can strongly limit charge recombination; this emphasizes the need for a fine control of the supramolecular organization at organic-organic interfaces in donor-acceptor blends.     

Couplage mixte entre sulfones vinyliques et réactifs de grignard en présence de sels de métal de transition: synthèse stéréosélective d'oléfines trisubstituées.

A new cross coupling reaction of vinylic sulphones with Grignard reagents catalyzed by nickel and iron complexes is described. This reaction is stereospecific: tri-substituted olefins of defined stereochemistry are obtained in good yield.     

Etude de l'equilibre entre l'oxyde de nickel et l'oxygene. Essai d'interpretation des lois de variation de la conductivite electrique en fonction de la temperature

In a previous paper we have shown that at 740°C and under an oxygen pressure less than 1,3 torr the electrical conductance G of a NiO powder reaches rapidly an apparently stabilized signal G_i which sharply decreases after a sufficiently long time to a G₀ value independent of P_O2.From this observation we have studied the influence of the temperature successively on the electrical conductance G_i and G₀. The Arrhenius law is only verified for the G₀ = f(T) curve. G₀ appears as the representative value of the gas-solid equilibrium.     

Borderline class II/III ligand-centered mixed valency in a porphyrinic molecular rectangle

A molecular rectangle of the form ([Re(CO)(3)](2)BiBzIm)(2)-mu,mu'-(LL)(2), where BiBzIm is 2,2'-bisbenzimidazolate and LL are cofacially aligned [5,15-bis(4-ethynylpyridyl)-10,20-bis(n-hexyl)-porphyrinato]zinc ligands, has been examined via electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, and electronic Stark effect methods. The rectangle displays three electrochemically accessible reductions assigned as LL based. The singly reduced rectangles are part of an unusual class of mixed-valence complexes where cofacial ligands, in this case porphyrins, comprise the degenerate redox centers. Absorption spectra for the singly reduced rectangle show two intense and narrow absorption bands in the near-infrared (NIR) region; the lower energy band is assigned as an intervalence transition. Time-dependent density functional theory electronic structure calculations support the assignment. Curiously, the transition displays a non-Marcus-type solvent dependence. NIR region electroabsorbance measurements of the singly reduced rectangle reveal a small but readily measurable dipole moment change of 0.56 +/- 0.05 eA. On the basis of spectroelectrochemical and electroabsorption measurements, the singly reduced rectangle is assigned as a borderline class II/class III mixed-valence species.     

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to study the diversity of whole-genome organization in the genus Ochrobactrum

The alpha-proteobacterial genus Ochrobactrum groups together organisms that display varied life-styles, such as free-living bacteria, members of rhizosphere and soil, nitrogen-fixing bacteria in plant nodules, xenobiotic-degrading bacteria, colonizers of nematodes and insects, and opportunistic human pathogens. The genomes of nine strains of Ochrobactrum anthropi and eight strains of Ochrobactrum intermedium were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of the whole genome and of I-CeuI digestion fragments. All isolates and type strains of O. anthropi and O. intermedium possessed two high-molecular-weight circular replicons identified as two independent chromosomes on the basis of 16S rDNA hybridization. The genome of the type strain of Ochrobactrum tritici, Ochrobactrum grignonense, and Ochrobactrum gallinifaecis also contained two circular chromosomes. The megaplasmid content was highly variable even among strains in the same species, leading to whole-genome sizes that ranged from 5.060 to 8.300 Mbp and from 4.690 to 7.680 Mbp for O. anthropi and O. intermedium, respectively. This exceptional level of genomic diversity could be related to the adaptability of Ochrobactrum spp. to various ecological niches.     

The Synthesis of [4-Carboranylalanine, 5-Leucine]-Enkephalin (Including an Improved Preparation of t-Butoxycarbonyl-L-o-carboranylalnine,New Derivatives of L-Propargylglycine,and a Note on Melanotropic and Opiate Receptor Binding Characteristics)

The title compound, an analogue of [Leu⁵]-enkephalin with L -o-carboranylalanine replacing L -phenylalanine in position 4, was prepared by fragment condensation. The analogue has a 3-fold higher affinity for rat brain opiate receptors in the [³H]naloxone competition assay than natural [Leu⁵]-enkephalin. Like [Leu⁵]-enkephalin and N^a-acetyl-[Leu⁵]-enkephalin, the N-terminal tripeptide fragment, H · Tyr-Gly-Gly · OH, had no melanotropic activity in the Rana pipiens frog skin assay. A convenient, direct synthesis of methyl t-butoxycarbonyl-L -propargylglycinate is described, and the ¹³C-NMR. spectra of L -o-carboranylalanine recorded. The procedure was extended to the preparation of BOC · Car-Leu · OMe from BOC · Pra-Leu · OMe. A number of new propargylglycine derivatives are reported.     

Polymeric surfactants in latex technology: polystyrene–poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers as stabilizers in emulsion polymerization

Polystyrene–poly(ethylene oxide) PS–PEO di- and triblock copolymers have been used as stabilizers in the emulsion polymerization of styrene and styrene–butylacrylate for the preparation of “hairy latexes”. The polymerization kinetics and the efficiency of these polymeric surfactants were correlated with the molecular characteristics of the block copolymer. It was shown that the efficiency decreased with increasing molecular weight and PS content of the block copolymer. The PEO frige, with a thickness of 4–25 nm, on the latex particle surface could be characterized and it was shown by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) that water is strucured in that PEO layer. Film formation with “hairy latexes” was also examined both by DSC and thermomechanical analysis. The properties and application possibilities, such as in controlled latex flocculation, have been reviewed.