Ring expansive routes to quinolizidine alkaloids: formal synthesis of (-)-lasubine II

The application of two nitrogen ring expansion reactions to lasubine alkaloid synthesis is reported. The approach involves a conjugate reduction/alkylation sequence carried out on triisopropylsilyl-protected (S)-4-(-)-hydroxycyclopentenone, the formation of the quinolizidone ring system through nitrogen ring expansion, and the addition of an arylmetallic species to the resulting lactam. This work resulted in the preparation of 2-epi-lasubine II and a formal synthesis of lasubine II. [reaction: see text]     

Nickel(II)-selective sensor based on dibenzo-18-crown-6 in PVC matrix

Nickel(II)-selective sensors have been fabricated from poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix membranes containing neutral carrier dibenzo-18-crown-6 as electroactive material, sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) as an anion excluder and tris-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP) as plasticizing solvent mediator. The membrane having the composition of crown ether:NaTPB:TEHP:PVC in the ratio 10:1:200:200 (w/w) exhibits best results with linear potential response in the concentration range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.0 × 10⁻¹ M and a Nernstian slope of 29.5 mV/decade of activity between 2.6 and 6.8. The sensor exhibits a fast response time of <25 s, is inert towards non-aqueous medium up to 15% (v/v) and was used over a period of 4 months with good reproducibility. It is selective over a number of mono-, bi- and trivalent cations. The practical utility of the sensor has been demonstrated by using it as an indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of Ni²⁺ against EDTA and also for the estimation of Ni²⁺ in some Indian brand chocolates.     

Unlike surfactant–polymer interactions of sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate with water-soluble polymers

Single and mixed micelle formation by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) and their mixtures in pure water and in the presence of water-soluble polymers such as Synperonic 85 (triblock polymer, TBP), hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), and carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (CMC) were studied with the help of conductivity, pyrene fluorescence, cyclic voltammetry, and viscosity measurements. Conductivity measurements showed a single aggregation process for pure surfactants and their mixtures both in pure water as well as in the presence of water-soluble polymers. Triple breaks corresponding to two aggregation processes for SDS, SDBS, and their mixture in the presence of TBP were observed from fluorescence measurements. The first one demonstrated the critical aggregation process due to the adsorption of surfactant monomers on TBP macromolecule. The second one was attributed to the participation of surfactant–polymer aggregates formed at the first one, in the micelle formation process. The aggregation number ( N _agg) of single and mixed micelles and diffusion coefficient ( D) of electroactive probe were computed from the fluorescence and cyclic voltammetry measurements, respectively. Both parameters, along with the viscosity results, indicated stronger SDS–polymer interactions in comparison to SDBS–polymer interactions. Mixed surfactant–polymer interactions showed compensating effects of both pure surfactants. The nature of mixed micelles was found to be ideal in all cases, as evaluated by applying the regular solution and Motomura's approximations.     

The photochemistry of polymers containing anthrylmethyl vinyl ketone

The photolysis of copolymers of anthrylmethyl vinyl ketone (AMVK) with styrene and methyl methacrylate has been studied, both in solution and in the solid phase. Quantum yields of the order of 0.01 were observed in both cases for release of the major product, methyl anthracene (MA). Photolysis of an aqueous emulsion of a styrene-AMVK copolymer showed similar yields of MA. The results indicate the possibility of using the Norrish type I process as a means of releasing drugs or other biologically active compounds from polymeric matrices. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Probabilistic teleportation of a qudit

In this work, we investigate the feasibility of teleporting an unknown qudit with unit fidelity and non-unit probability using partially entangled state as a shared resource. We also give an expression for the probability of success for teleportation of an unknown qudit.     

Star-shaped alkylated poly(glycerol methacrylate) reverse micelles: Synthesis and evaluation of their solubilizing properties in dichloromethane

Amphiphilic star-shaped polymers were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Four-, 5-, and 6-arm ATRP initiators were prepared and used to polymerize glycidylmethacrylate. The resulting polymers were hydrolyzed to yield poly(glycerolmethacrylate)s (PG_OHMAs), and then partially esterified with lauroyl or stearoyl chloride (40–60 mol % vs. hydroxyl groups). Alkylated PG_OHMAs were found to assemble into 20–60 nm aggregates in dichloromethane (DCM) above a critical concentration. Particle size essentially depended on the branching degree of the polymer. The micelles were extremely efficient in extracting Congo red from water into DCM, with the highest incorporations (97 mg/g) obtained for the 6-arm polymer modified with stearoyl chloride (60 mol %). The entrapment efficiency for the latter was further improved in alkaline solution. The high level of incorporation achieved for these amphiphilic multiarm polymers suggests that such reverse micelles could be potentially useful as drug delivery systems and nanoreactors in catalytic organic reactions or for water purification. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2425–2435, 2007     

Modification of Rhodium Catalyst with Stibines for Hydroformylation of 1‐Pentene

Homogeneous hydroformylation of 1‐pentene under synthesis gas experimental conditions was studied using RhClCO(PPh₃)₂ complex with different triarylstibines. Three different stibine ligands SbR₃ [where R = 2,4,6‐mesityl (TMS), 2‐furyl (TFS), 2‐N,N‐dimethylbenzylamine (TDMBAS)], have been tested. It is interesting to note that 2:1 addition of these stibine ligands to the RhClCO(PPh₃)₂ complex catalyst increases the aldehydes yields with an appreciable n:iso ratio. The catalytic activity of the system shows a TDMBAS > TMS > TFS pattern which indicates that not only basicity of the ligand alone is playing a role in the activity but the steric effect is also very important, and it is combination of these two factors that contributes to the resulting catalytical activity. The maximum yield of aldehydes obtained were 98.7% with n/iso = 1.4 when RhClCO(PPh₃)₂ + TFS system was used and 93.7% with n/iso = 2.43 when TDMBAS ligand was studied.     

On polyhedra induced by point sets in space

Given a set S of n?3 points in the plane (not all on a line) it is well known that it is always possible to polygonize S, i.e., construct a simple polygon P such that the vertices of P are precisely the given points in S. For example, the shortest circuit through S is a simple polygon. In 1994, Grünbaum showed that an analogous theorem holds in R³. More precisely, if S is a set of n?4 points in R³ (not all of which are coplanar) then it is always possible to polyhedronize S, i.e., construct a simple (sphere-like) polyhedron P such that the vertices of P are precisely the given points in S. Grünbaum's constructive proof may yield Schönhardt polyhedra that cannot be triangulated. In this paper several alternative algorithms are proposed for constructing such polyhedra induced by a set of points, which may always be triangulated, and which enjoy several other useful properties as well. Such properties include polyhedra that are star-shaped, have Hamiltonian skeletons, and admit efficient point-location queries. We show that polyhedronizations with a variety of such useful properties can be computed efficiently in O(nlogn) time. Furthermore, we show that a tetrahedralized, xy-monotonic, polyhedronization of S may be computed in time O(n^1+ε), for any ε>0.     

Criticality of bifurcation in the tuned axial–torsional rotary drilling model

We study the bifurcation characteristics of a lumped-parameter model of rotary drilling with 1:1 internal resonance between the axial and the torsional modes which leads to the largest stability thresholds. For this special case, the two-degree-of-freedom model for the drill-string reduces to an effectively single-degree-of-freedom system facilitating further analysis. The regenerative effect of the cutting action due to the axial vibrations is incorporated through a delayed term in the cutting force with the delay depending on the torsional oscillations. This state dependency of the delay introduces nonlinearity in the current model. Steady drilling loses stability via a Hopf bifurcation, and the nature of the bifurcation is determined by an analytical study using the method of multiple scales. We find that both subcritical and supercritical Hopf bifurcations are present in this system depending on the choice of operating parameters. Hence, the nonlinearity due to the state-dependent delay term could both be stabilizing or destabilizing in nature, and the self-interruption nonlinearity is essential to capture the global behavior. Numerical bifurcation analysis of a global axial–torsional model of rotary drilling further confirms the analytical results from the method of multiple scales. Further exploration of the rotary drilling dynamics unravels more complex phenomena including grazing bifurcations and possibly chaotic solutions.     

Fabrication and electrochemical performance of La<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>CoO<Subscript>3</Subscript> impregnated porous YSZ cathode

La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃-yttria-stabilized zirconia (LSCO-YSZ) composite cathode for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has been fabricated by wet impregnation method. Nitrate precursors of La, Sr, and Co have been impregnated into the pre-sintered porous YSZ matrix, which is converted into LSCO phase after calcination at 850 °C in the presence of glycine as confirmed from X-ray diffraction. LSCO of 5, 7, and 10 wt% impregnated porous YSZ have been electrochemically characterized using 2-probe AC conductivity method. Maximum ionic conductivity of 0.27 S/cm at 800 °C and activation energy of 0.15 eV between 600 and 800 °C have been observed for 10 wt% LSCO-YSZ cathode. Area-specific resistance of 1.01 Ω cm² at 800 °C is estimated for the electrolyte-supported half-cell (10 wt% LSCO-YSZ/YSZ). After testing the LSCO-YSZ cathode matrix, the electrolyte-supported full cell (10 wt% LSCO-YSZ/YSZ/NiO-YSZ) has been tested and produced maximum power density 51.12 mW/cm² (109.38 mA/cm²) at 800 °C. The electrolyte-supported full cell exhibited 6 Ω cm² electrode polarization at 800 °C in H₂, which is in higher side leading to low performance. LSCO-YSZ/YSZ/NiO-YSZ SOFC found to give stable performance up to 2 h and scanning electron microscopy analysis has been carried out before and after cell testing to assess the morphological changes.