Water-soluble Ag nanoclusters exhibit strong two-photon-induced fluorescence

Water-soluble ssDNA-encapsulated Ag clusters exhibit large two-photon cross sections reaching 50 000 GM, with high quantum yields in the red and near-IR. Three distinct, spectrally pure, several atom clusters emitting at 660, 680, or 710 nm have been created with two-photon cross sections rivaling those of much larger water-soluble semiconductor quantum dots. Their stability, biocompatibility, and small size offer the promise of nontoxic, sensitive high-resolution biological imaging.     

Pyridinium Iodochloride: An Efficient Reagent for Iodination of Hydroxylated Aromatic Ketones and Aldehydes

Direct iodination of several reactive aromatic compounds like hydroxy substituted acetophenones and aldehydes with pyridinium iodochloride (PyICl) proceeded smoothly to afford the corresponding aromatic iodides in good to excellent yield. Pyridinium iodochloride has been found to be an efficient solid iodinating reagent with no hazardous effect and it can be handled safely.     

A distorted cubic tetranuclear copper(II) phosphonate cage with a double-four-ring-type core

The reaction of Cu2(O2CMe)(4).2H2O with tert-butylphosphonic acid and 3,5-di-tert-butylpyrazole in the presence of triethylamine leads to a high-yield synthesis of the tetranuclear compound [Cu2(3,5-t-Bu2PzH)2(t-BuPO3)2]2 (1). The latter has a distorted cubic cage structure and its core resembles the D4R (double-four-ring) motif found in zeolites. The phosphonate, [t-BuPO3]2-, functions as a dianionic tridentate ligand, while the pyrazole ligands are neutral and are monodentate. The coordination geometry at each copper atom is distorted square planar with a 3O,1N coordination environment. Magnetic measurements on 1 reveal that the chiT product continuously decreases to reach a value very close to zero at 1.8 K, indicating dominant antiferromagnetic interactions between Cu(II) ions that leads to an S=0 ground state. The tetranuclear cage 1 functions as a very effective artificial nuclease in the presence of an external oxidant, magnesium monoperoxyphthalate.     

Nickel-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation for the Synthesis of a Key Intermediate of Sitagliptin

Nickel-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of enamines leading to the efficient synthesis of 3-R-Boc-amino-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)butyric esters, the key intermediate of the blockbuster antidiabetic drug (R)-SITAGLIPTIN, is described. The sitagliptin motifs were isolated in more than 99% yield and with 75–92% ee using the earth-abundant nickel catalyst. Upon chiral resolution with (R)- and (S)-1-phenylethylamines, the partially enantioenriched (R)- and (S)-Boc-3-amino-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)butanoic acids provided >99.5% ee of the crucial sitagliptin intermediate. The asymmetric hydrogenation protocol was scaled up to 10 g with consistency in yield and ee, and has been reproduced in multiple batches.     

Bioanalytical Method Development and Validation Study of Neuroprotective Extract of Kashmiri Saffron Using Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS): In Vivo Pharmacokinetics of Apocarotenoids and Carotenoids

Kashmir saffron (Crocus sativus L.), also known as Indian saffron, is an important Asian medicinal plant with protective therapeutic applications in brain health. The main bioactive in Kashmir or Indian Saffron (KCS) and its extract (CSE) are apocarotenoids picrocrocin (PIC) and safranal (SAF) with carotenoids, crocetin esters (crocins), and crocetins. The ultra-fast liquid chromatography(UFLC)- photodiode array standardization confirmed the presence of biomarkers PIC, trans-4-GG-crocin (T4C), trans-3-Gg-crocin (T3C), cis-4-GG-crocin (C4C), trans-2-gg-crocin (T2C), trans-crocetin (TCT), and SAF in CSE. This study’s objectives were to develop and validate a sensitive and rapid UFLC-tandem mass spectrometry method for PIC and SAF along T4C and TCT in rat plasma with internal standards (IS). The calibration curves were linear (R² > 0.990), with the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) as 10 ng/mL. The UFLC-MS/MS assay-based precision (RSD, <15%) and accuracy (RE, −11.03–9.96) on analytical quality control (QC) levels were well within the acceptance criteria with excellent recoveries (91.18–106.86%) in plasma samples. The method was applied to investigate the in vivo pharmacokinetic parameters after oral administration of 40 mg/kg CSE in the rats (n = 6). The active metabolite TCT and T4C, PIC, SAF were quantified for the first time with T3C, C4C, T2C by this validated bioanalytical method, which will be useful for preclinical/clinical trials of CSE as a potential neuroprotective dietary supplement.     

Synthesis, structure, magnetism and nuclease activity of tetranuclear copper(II) phosphonates containing ancillary 2,2'-bipyridine or 1,10-phenanthroline ligands

The reaction of cyclohexylphosphonic acid (C(6)H(11)PO(3)H(2)), anhydrous CuCl(2) and 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) in the presence of triethylamine followed by a metathesis reaction with KNO(3) afforded [Cu(4)(mu-Cl)(2)(mu(3)-C(6)H(11)PO(3))(2)(bpy)(4)](NO(3))(2) (1). In an analogous reaction involving Cu(OAc)(2).H(2)O, the complex [Cu(4)(mu-CH(3)COO)(2)(mu(3)-C(6)H(11)PO(3))(2)(2,2'-bpy)(4)](CH(3)COO)(2) (2) has been isolated. The three-component reaction involving Cu(NO(3))(2).3H(2)O, cyclohexylphosphonic acid and 2,2'-bipyridine in the presence of triethylamine afforded the tetranuclear assembly [Cu(4)(mu-OH)(mu(3)-C(6)H(11)PO(3))(2)(2,2'-bpy)(4) (H(2)O)(2)](NO(3))(3) (3). Replacing 2,2'-bipyridine with 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) in the above reaction resulted in [Cu(4)(mu-OH)(mu(3)-C(6)H(11)PO(3))(2)(phen)(4)(H(2)O)(2)](NO(3))(3) (4). In all the copper(II) phosphonates (1-4) the two phosphonate ions bridge the four copper(II) ions in a capping coordination action. Each phosphonate ion bridges four copper(II) ions in a mu(4), eta(3) coordination mode or 4.211 of the Harris notation. Variable-temperature magnetic studies on reveal that all four complexes exhibit moderately strong intramolecular antiferromagnetic coupling. The DNA cleavage activity of complexes 1-4 is also described. Compounds 1 and 3 were able to completely convert the supercoiled pBR322 DNA form I to nick form II without any co-oxidant. In contrast, 50% conversion occurred with and 40% with 4. In the presence of magnesium monoperoxyphthalate all four compounds achieved rapid conversion of form I to form II.     

A novel one-pot synthesis of 3-carbomethoxy-4-arylfuran-2-(5H)-ones from ketones using [hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodo]benzene

A novel one-pot procedure for the synthesis of 3-carbomethoxy-4-aryl furan-2-(5H)-ones is reported via α-tosyloxylation of enolisable ketones with [hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodo]benzene, followed by treatment with potassium monomethyl malonate and K₂CO₃.     

Simultaneous determination of cefuroxime axetil and ornidazole in tablet dosage form using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

 A simple, accurate and sensitive reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of cefuroxime axetil and ornidazole in combined tablet dosage form has been developed. The method was performed with a HiQ-SiL C18 column (250 mm×4.6 mm) and photodiode array (PDA) detector, using 0.01 mol/L potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate-methanol (56∶44, v/v) as the mobile phase and tinidazole as the internal standard. Beer’s law obeys in the concentration ranges of 5-25 μg/mL and 10-50 μg/mL for cefuroxime axetil and ornidazole, respectively. The method has been successfully validated statistically and applied for the analysis of the drugs in pharmaceutical formulation.