N,N,N′,N′‐Tetrabromobenzene‐1,3‐Disulfonamide and Poly(N‐Bromo‐N‐Ethyl‐Benzene‐1,3‐Disulfonamide) as Efficient Catalysts for the Methoxymethylation of Alcohols under Solvent‐Free Conditions

Methoxymethylation of a variety of alcohols was performed using formaldehyde dimethyl acetal in the presence of N,N,N′,N′‐tetrabromobenzene‐1,3‐disulfonamide [TBBDA] and poly(N‐bromo‐N‐ethylbenzene‐1,3‐disulfonamide) [PBBS] as catalysts at room temperature and solvent‐free conditions. The methoxymethyl ethers (MOM‐ethers) were obtained with good to excellent yields.     

Trace determination of malachite green in water samples using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection

A simple and reliable method has been developed for the rapid analysis of trace levels of malachite green from water samples using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection. Factors relevant to the microextraction efficiency, such as the type and volume of extraction solvent, nature and volume of the disperser solvent, the effect of salt, sample solution temperature and the extraction time were investigated and optimised. Under the optimal conditions the linear dynamic range of malachite green was from 0.2 to 100.0?µg?L^?1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9962. The detection limit and limit of quantification were 0.1?µg?L^?1 and 0.3?µg?L^?1, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 2.6% (n?=?5) and the recoveries of malachite green (5.0?µg?L^?1) from water samples were in the range of 99.2?±?1.7%. Finally the proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of malachite green from fish farming water samples.     

Molecular Design Approach Managing Molecular Orbital Superposition for High Efficiency without Color Shift in Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Molecular design principles of thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) emitters having a high quantum efficiency and a color tuning capability was investigated by synthesizing three TADF emitters with donors at different positions of a benzonitrile acceptor. The position rendering a large overlap between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) enhances the quantum efficiency of the TADF emitter. Regarding the orbital overlap, donor attachments at 2- and 6-positions of the benzonitrile were more beneficial than 3- and 5-substitutions. Moreover, an additional attachment of a weak donor at the 4-position further increased the quantum efficiency without decreasing the emission energy. Therefore, the molecular design strategy of substituting strong donors at the positions allowing a large molecular orbital overlap and an extra weak donor is a good approach to achieve both high quantum efficiency and a slightly increased emission energy.     

Clean synthesis and antibacterial activities of spiro[pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline-5,5'-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine]-pentaones

A simple, clean and efficient method for the synthesis of spiro[pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline-5,5'-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine]-pentaone derivatives by condensation reaction of 6-amino-uracils and isatins in aqueous media is reported. These products were evaluated in vitro for their antibacterial activities.     

Clotrimazole-triiodide ion association as an ion exchanger for a triiodide ion-selective electrode.

A novel triiodide ion-selective electrode based on a clotrimazole-triiodide ion pair as a membrane carrier was prepared. It has a linear response to triiodide from 8 x 10(-6) to 5 x 10(-3) M with a slope of -68.9 mV per decade and a detection limit of 5 x 10(-6) M. The electrode response is independent of the pH of the solution in the pH range 2-9. It has a very short response time and can be used for at least 3 months without any considerable divergence in the potentials. The proposed sensor revealed very good selectivities for I3- over a variety of other anions. It was used as an indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of triiodide ions and in an indirect potentiometric determination of clotrimazole in pharmaceutical preparations.     

Virtual screening of some heterocyclic structures toward novel antibacterial agents

Infectious diseases and their treatment are among the most important issues in global health and economy. Moreover, increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria necessitates the considerable need for discovering new drugs. Some heterocyclic structures with dihydropyridine (DHP) scaffold have been reported as antimicrobial agents. Herein, we report a structure-based virtual screening of a pool of 3,5-disubstituted DHPs and a post-analysis of virtual hits through in vitro antibacterial assessment. Four top-ranked DHP structures (6a–d) were found to interact with the relevant target active sites and exhibited superior stereoelectronic features within their enzyme inhibition. Selected compounds were synthesized and assessed for their antibacterial activity via microdilution method. Results of this study represented a significant application of multi-step virtual screening strategy in identifying privileged DHP structures as good starting points for further developments toward more potent antibacterial agents.     

Tracking control of chaotic spinning disks via nonlinear dynamic output feedback with input constraints

In many control engineering applications, it is impossible or expensive to measure all the states of the dynamical system and only the system output is available for controller design. In this study, a new dynamic output feedback control algorithm is proposed to stabilize the unstable periodic orbit of chaotic spinning disks with incomplete state information. The proposed control structure is based on the T‐S fuzzy systems. This investigation also introduces a new design procedure to satisfy a constraint on the T‐S fuzzy dynamic output feedback control signal. This procedure is independent of the exact value of initial states. Finally, computer simulations are accomplished to illustrate the performance of the proposed control algorithm. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 148–159, 2016     

N-Chloro-2,2-dimethyltaurines: a new class of remarkably stable N-chlorotaurines

The preparation of novel N-chloro-2,2-dimethyltaurine (4) and N,N-dichloro-2,2-dimethyltaurine (5) is described. These 2,2-dimethyltaurines were strategically designed to avoid the hydrolytic dehydrochlorination of N-chlorotaurines. Thus, they possess long-term stability in contrast to the parent N-chlorotaurines, which exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities.     

Direct organocatalytic coupling of carboxylated piperazine-2,5-diones with indoles through conjugate addition of carbon nucleophiles to indolenine intermediates

Organocatalytic conjugate addition of diketopiperazines to indoles was achieved in good to excellent yields through electrophilic indolenine intermediates generated under mild conditions. Screening of catalysts and solvents at different temperatures was performed in order to achieve high product yields.