Free Radical Synthetic Protocol for Benzothiazoles via Ring Opening of Benzotriazole: A Two‐step Organic Chemistry Experiment for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students

The utility and advantages of benzotriazole methodology have been described for the practical synthesis of benzothiazoles. The two‐step synthetic procedure includes nucleophilic acyl substitution followed by benzotriazole ring cleavage under the free radical condition and subsequent cyclization via elimination of molecular nitrogen (N₂). This protocol requires cheap and readily available reagents, and moreover easy to handle, thus can be used to teach undergraduate and postgraduate students about the importance of benzotriazole moiety in organic synthesis, ring cleavage chemistry, cyclization reactions, and use of industrial waste in free radical reactions. Students can also learn some important and common techniques useful in organic chemistry such as monitoring of organic reaction using thin‐layer chromatography and UV, microwave (MW) technique for the synthesis, and column chromatography for the product isolation and structure determination through NMR, MS, and IR spectral analysis of the pure compounds.     

An expeditious access of 2,5′-dioxo-5′,6′,7′,8′-tetrahydro-1′H-spiro[indoline-3,4′-quinoline]-3′-carboxylate by reaction of isatin,ethyl cyanoacetate and enaminone in water

We have demonstrated three component reaction of isatin, enaminone and ethyl cyanoacetate leading to sprirooxindole scaffold without catalyst in water. The synthetic protocol has several advantages like wide substrate scope, atom-economy and operationally simple experimental procedures which provides rapid access to library of compounds. The mechanistic details of the reaction has been investigated during the course of study.     

Molecular Dynamic and Docking Interaction Study of Heterodera glycines Serine Proteinase with Vigna mungo Proteinase Inhibitor

Many plants do produce various defense proteins like proteinase inhibitors (PIs) to protect them against various pests. PIs function as pseudosubstrates of digestive proteinase, which inhibits proteolysis in pests and leads to amino acid deficiency-based mortality. This work reports the structural interaction studies of serine proteinase of Heterodera glycines (SPHG) with Vigna mungo proteinase inhibitor (VMPI). 3D protein structure modeling, validation of SPHG and VMPI, and their putative protein–protein binding sites were predicted. Protein–protein docking followed by molecular dynamic simulation was performed to find the reliable confirmation of SPHG–VMPI complex. Trajectory analysis of each successive conformation concludes better interaction of first loop in comparison with second loop. Lysine residues of first loop were actively participating in complex formation. Overall, this study discloses the structural aspects and interaction mechanisms of VMPI with SPHG, and it would be helpful in the development of pest-resistant genetically modified crops.     

A class of exact solutions for coupled electromagnetic and scalar fields for einstein-rosen metric. I

A class of rigorous solutions for the Einstein-Rosen nonstatic cylindrically symmetric metric in the presence of combined electromagnetic and scalar meson fields has been obtained. Some of these solutions reduce to the solutions obtained by Misra and Radhakrishna [Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India Part A 28 (1962), 632] when the scalar field is not present.     

A Brief Overview of the Effect of High Pressures on the Vibrational Spectra of Biomaterials

Abstract

The application of high pressures to biomaterials can often result in significant structural modifications and, in some cases, also lead to changes in the rates and the equilibria of any associated biological activities. Pressure-induced changes can conveniently be monitored by molecular spectroscopy. We present here a brief overview of the effects of high pressures on the IR and Raman spectra of biomaterials that have been reported over the past 25 years. Examples of the biomaterials that have been examined are model antithyroid drugs, proteins, amino acids, dental materials, human bones, and bioorganometallic compounds. In addition, some recent investigations on the effect of pressure on microbial activity and the conversion of biomass into molecular hydrogen under supercritical water conditions are discussed. Two typical diamond-anvil cells (DACs), which are used for high-pressure vibrational spectroscopic measurements, are also described here.     

Poly‐L‐Arginine Grafted Silica Mesoporous Nanoparticles for Enhanced Cellular Uptake and their Application in DNA Delivery and Controlled Drug Release

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), that are capable of delivering gene and drugs to organisms in an effective and selective way have attracted much attention lately for its potential in the treatment of cancer. However, the successful application of MSNs for delivery of plasmid DNA or drugs requires surface modification of the silica with positively charged functional groups so that it binds to the negatively charged nucleic acids and also helps it penetrate through the cell membrane. We report for the first time the synthesis of a hybrid MSN where the cell penetrating cationic polypeptide poly‐L‐arginine synthesized by NCA polymerization is grafted onto the external surface of MSN using click chemistry. These poly‐L‐arginine grafted MSNs show low cytotoxity (85% cell viability at 100 μg/mL MSN concentration) and high cellular uptake by both HeLa and A549 (>90%). The poly‐L‐arginine grafted MSNs were used effectively to deliver mCherry DNA plasmid into cells leading to expression of the protein mCherry inside the cells (transfection efficiency 60%). In contrast, poly‐L‐arginine grafted non‐porous silica nanoparticles were unable to express the protein mCherry inside the cells although their uptake into the cells was as efficient as with poly‐L‐arginine grafted MSNs. We also show preliminary results to demonstrate that these hybrid MSNs can be used as a delivery vehicle for the anticancer drug Doxorubicin towards cancerous cells HeLa and A549. The biocompatibility of poly‐L‐arginine and its cell penetrating ability are expected to make these MSN conjugates very useful carriers for the delivery of genes and drugs into cancer cells.     

Emergence of Visible-Light Water Oxidation Upon Hexaniobate-Ligand Entrapment of Quantum-Confined Copper-Oxide Cores

The formation of small 1 to 3 nm organic-ligand free metal-oxide nanocrystals (NCs) is essential to utilization of their attractive size-dependent properties in electronic devices and catalysis. We now report that hexaniobate cluster-anions, [Nb₆O₁₉]⁸⁻, can arrest the growth of metal-oxide NCs and stabilize them as water-soluble complexes. This is exemplified by formation of hexaniobate-complexed 2.4-nm monoclinic-phase CuO NCs ( 1 ), whose ca. 350 Cu-atom cores feature quantum-confinement effects that impart an unprecedented ability to catalyze visible-light water oxidation with no added photosensitizers or applied potentials, and at rates exceeding those of hematite NCs. The findings point to polyoxoniobate-ligand entrapment as a potentially general method for harnessing the size-dependent properties of very small semiconductor NCs as the cores of versatile, entirely-inorganic complexes.     

Domain structure and birefringence studies on a 0.91Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 ‐0.09PbTiO3 single crystal

Domain structure and phase transition sequence of 0.91PZN‐0.09PT single crystal, grown from high temperature solution, have been analysed using polarised light microscopy. The domain structure of (001)_cub cut single crystal exhibit co‐existence of rhombohedral and tetragonal phases. The sequence and phase transition temperatures have been determined from temperature dependence of birefringence. Birefringence measurements during heating and cooling reveal a first order nature of phase transition between rhombohedral (R3m) and tetragonal (P4mm). The birefringence was measured with accuracy of 10^‐3. However, dielectric measurement does not provide any evidence of R3m ‐ P4mm phase transition. It is shown that in‐situ analysis of domain structure and phase transition can be used as non‐destructive analytical tool for determination of local composition and phase transition sequence. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)