On the Dynamics of the Carbon–Bromine Bond Dissociation in the 1-Bromo-2-Methylnaphthalene Radical Anion

This paper studies the mechanism of electrochemically induced carbon–bromine dissociation in 1-Br-2-methylnaphalene in the reduction regime. In particular, the bond dissociation of the relevant radical anion is disassembled at a molecular level, exploiting quantum mechanical calculations including steady-state, equilibrium and dissociation dynamics via dynamic reaction coordinate (DRC) calculations. DRC is a molecular-dynamic-based calculation relying on an ab initio potential surface. This is to achieve a detailed picture of the dissociation process in an elementary molecular detail. From a thermodynamic point of view, all the reaction paths examined are energetically feasible. The obtained results suggest that the carbon halogen bond dissociates following the first electron uptake follow a stepwise mechanism. Indeed, the formation of the bromide anion and an organic radical occurs. The latter reacts to form a binaphthalene intrinsically chiral dimer. This paper is respectfully dedicated to Professors Anny Jutand and Christian Amatore for their outstanding contribution in the field of electrochemical catalysis and electrosynthesis.     

A Soft Zwitterionic Hydrogel as Potential Coating on a Polyimide Surface to Reduce Foreign Body Reaction to Intraneural Electrodes

Invasive intraneural electrodes can control advanced neural-interfaced prostheses in human amputees. Nevertheless, in chronic implants, the progressive formation of a fibrotic capsule can gradually isolate the electrode surface from the surrounding tissue leading to loss of functionality. This is due to a nonspecific inflammatory response called foreign-body reaction (FBR). The commonly used poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based low-fouling coatings of implantable devices can be easily encapsulated and are susceptible to oxidative damage in long-term in vivo applications. Recently, sulfobetaine-based zwitterionic hydrogels have emerged as an important class of robust ultra-low fouling biomaterials, holding great potential to mitigate FBR. The aim of this proof-of-principle in vitro work was to assess whether the organic zwitterionic—poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) [poly(SBMA)]—hydrogel could be a suitable coating for Polyimide (PI)-based intraneural electrodes to reduce FBR. We first synthesized and analyzed the hydrogel through a mechanical characterization (i.e., Young’s modulus). Then, we demonstrated reduced adhesion and activation of fibrogenic and pro-inflammatory cells (i.e., human myofibroblasts and macrophages) on the hydrogel compared with PEG-coated and polystyrene surfaces using cell viability assays, confocal fluorescence microscopy and high-content analysis of oxidative stress production. Interestingly, we successfully coated PI surfaces with a thin film of the hydrogel through covalent bond and demonstrated its high hydrophilicity via water contact angle measurement. Importantly, we showed the long-term release of an anti-fibrotic drug (i.e., Everolimus) from the hydrogel. Because of the low stiffness, biocompatibility, high hydration and ultra-low fouling characteristics, our zwitterionic hydrogel could be envisioned as long-term diffusion-based delivery system for slow and controlled anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic drug release in vivo.     

Sustainable Ketalization of Glycerol with Ethyl Levulinate Catalyzed by the Iron(III)-Based Metal-Organic Framework MIL-88A

The catalytic properties of a simple iron-containing MOF based on fumaric acid, MIL-88A, were investigated in the ketalization of ethyl levulinate with glycerol. The corresponding product is a component of current interest as a renewable building block for many uses. Under the following conditions (solventless, 120 °C, stoichiometric ratio, 1% cat.), the reaction proceeds with good yields (85%), and the catalyst can be recovered and recycled without loss of activity, despite some changes in the crystalline lattice and morphology. Moreover, the residual iron content in the product is in the order of units of ppm (≤2), which demonstrates the robustness of the MOF under the reaction conditions.     

Mesoporous materials incorporating a zinc(II) complex: Synthesis and direct luminescence quantum yield determination

New luminescent inorganic–organic hybrid materials incorporating the luminescent zinc(II) complex ZnL₂ (λ_em = 457 nm and Φ_em = 4.4% reference values for ZnL₂; HL = chelating ligand resulting from the reaction between salicylaldehyde and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane), covalently bonded to different types of mesoporous silica hosts (namely MCM-41, MCM-48 and SBA-15), were prepared via both the methods of grafting post-synthesis (GPS) and one-pot synthesis (OPS). The products obtained, which form the GPS [(GPS)(Zn/MCM-41), (GPS)(Zn/MCM-48), (GPS)(Zn/SBA-15)] and the OPS [(OPS)(Zn/MCM-41), (OPS)(Zn/MCM-48), (OPS)(Zn/SBA-15)] series, contain the ZnL₂ guest covalently bonded to the silica framework through silicon–oxygen bonds formed when the silane group is placed at the periphery of the Zn(II) coordination sphere. GPS and OPS materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption/desorption, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and UV/vis spectroscopy. For the new mesoporous materials the emission quantum yield (EQY) was measured by means of an integrating sphere combined with a spectrofluorimeter. The ZnL₂ loading (measured by the ZnL₂/SiO₂ ratio calculated from TGA data) for MCM-41 appears to be independent of the synthesis procedure, whereas, for both MCM-48 and SBA-15, the ZnL₂/SiO₂ ratio of the materials obtained via OPS is about four times higher than products obtained from GPS. The ZnL₂ loaded GPS and OPS series show λ_em maxima at about 485 and 455 nm, respectively. Moreover, with reference to EQY (GPS)(Zn/SBA-15) and (OPS)(Zn/SBA-15), although featuring ZnL₂/SiO₂ ratios of 0.13 and 0.45, respectively, they showed similar EQY values: 2% and 5%. On the contrary, (GPS)(Zn/MCM-41) and (OPS)(Zn/MCM-41) which give similar ZnL₂/SiO₂ ratios (0.09 and 0.14) exhibit very different EQY, i.e. 2% and 22%, respectively.     

Synthesis and Exon-Skipping Properties of a 3′-Ursodeoxycholic Acid-Conjugated Oligonucleotide Targeting DMD Pre-mRNA: Pre-Synthetic versus Post-Synthetic Approach

Steric blocking antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) are promising tools for splice modulation such as exon-skipping, although their therapeutic effect may be compromised by insufficient delivery. To address this issue, we investigated the synthesis of a 20-mer 2′-OMe PS oligonucleotide conjugated at 3′-end with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) involved in the targeting of human DMD exon 51, by exploiting both a pre-synthetic and a solution phase approach. The two approaches have been compared. Both strategies successfully provided the desired ASO 51 3′-UDC in good yield and purity. It should be pointed out that the pre-synthetic approach insured better yields and proved to be more cost-effective. The exon skipping efficiency of the conjugated oligonucleotide was evaluated in myogenic cell lines and compared to that of unconjugated one: a better performance was determined for ASO 51 3′-UDC with an average 9.5-fold increase with respect to ASO 51.     

Self-propagating frontal copolymerization

The application of self-propagating frontal polymerization (FP) to synthesize copolymers has been investigated. Frontal copolymerizations of methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid (MMA–MAA), acrylic acid and methacrylic acid (AA–MAA), and styrene and methacrylic acid (STY–MAA) with benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiator have been performed. The measured front velocities have been compared with the results of a suitably developed model. This is based on the pseudokinetic approach, accounts for the depropagation reaction, and is fully predictive; i.e., it does not include any adjustable parameter (although one had to be used for the specific experimental setup used in this work). An explicit, simplified solution of the model has been obtained using the constant pattern approximation. The microstructures of copolymers produced in bulk and by FP have been analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry. Their comparison indicates that self-propagating frontal copolymerization provides a substantial improvement in the uniformity of the chain composition distribution. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1117–1126, 1998     

End group chemistry of fluoro-oligomers: Highly selective syntheses of diepoxy,diallyl, and tetraol derivatives

Different synthetic methods for the preparation of polyfunctional fluorinated oligomers were explored and the results compared. Fluoropolyether macromonomers bearing epoxy, allyl, and polyhydroxy end groups were synthesized and spectroscopically characterized. For obtaining a polyol (namely tetraol) functionality, a highly selective route was the reaction of the fluoropolyether macrodiol ZDOL with allylic halides and subsequent oxidation reaction at the CC double bond by means of peroxyacids. This approach made it possible to obtain a segmented structure RH-RF-RH in which the molecular body RF consisted of a perfluoropolyether block endcapped by two hydrogenated segments RH, where RH = − CH₂OCH₂CH(OH)CH₂OH. Unlike other more conventional syntheses, which always produce byproducts and higher molecular weight species such as RH-(RF-RH)_n-RF-RH or RH-RF-(RH)_n-, the described method offers high yields and selectivity. The fluoropolyether polyfunctional derivatives offer the possibility to prepare a variety of highly crosslinked fluorinated materials and, owing to their well defined regularly segmented structures, they also constitute interesting models for the understanding of basic structure-property relations of fluoro-oligomers and their copolymers. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The spherilene process: Linear polyethylenes

The Spherilene process associates to a low cost gas phase technology the flexibility in the product mix. New grades, HP-LLDPE, offer a better benefit/cost balance.     

Novel Basic Isoflavones as Inhibitors of Bone Resorption

A number of aminoalkoxy analogues of ipriflavone (=7‐(1‐methylethoxy)isoflavone) were prepared and examined for their capacity to inhibit bone resorption induced by bovine parathyroid hormone fragment 1 – 34. Good‐to‐high activities were found for 7‐(aminoalkoxy)isoflavone analogues. Their activity was influenced by a number of structural features, among which the length of the basic side chain, the basicity of the amino group, and the nature and position of substituents on the 3‐phenyl ring. 4′‐(Aminoalkoxy)ipriflavone derivatives were less active.