Photophysical Properties of Safranine T in Aqueous Glycol Oligomer Mixtures

The photophyscial behavior of the dye Safranine T in the ground and excited states in aqueous mixtures of glycol oligomers was investigated by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. The formation of a 1:1 complex in the excited state was inferred from fluorescence studies. The calculated equilibrium constants of the complex are directly proportional to the molar mass of the glycol. Microviscosity values of the aqueous glycol mixtures were determined by employing Auromine O as a fluorescence probe. Stokes shift values were correlated with the bulk dielectric constant and the microviscosity of the media. Also employing Stokes shifts, solvent parameters such as the Kowoser Z values and the intramolecular charge transfer energy, E _T (30), were evaluated. The fluorescence quenching of Safranine T by the inorganic ions [Fe(CN)₆]³⁻, [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻, and [I]⁻ in aqueous oligomer mixtures at a fixed concentration was investigated. The ions influenced the quenching process to different extents, and the efficiency of quenching of the dye in the glycol media for [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻ and [I]⁻ ions follows the order EG > DEG > TEG > TTEG. In the case of ferricyanide ion the reverse order was observed. The microviscosity and bulk dielectric constant of the media played a major role in the collisional quenching process.     

Sugar amino acid based scaffolds--novel peptidomimetics and their potential in combinatorial synthesis

To meet the growing demands for the development of new molecular entities for discovering new drugs and materials, organic chemists have started looking for new concepts to supplement traditional approaches. In one such approach, the expertise gained over the years in the area of organic synthesis and the rational drug-design concepts are combined together to create "nature-like" and yet unnatural organic molecules that are expected to provide leads in discovering new molecules. Emulating the basic principles followed by nature to build its vast repertoire of biomolecules, organic chemists are developing many novel multifunctional building blocks. Sugar amino acids constitute an important class of such polyfunctional scaffolds where the carboxyl, amino and hydroxyl groups provide an excellent opportunity for organic chemists to create structural diversities akin to nature's molecular arsenal. Recent advances in the area of combinatorial chemistry give unprecedented technological support for rapid compilations of sugar amino acid-based libraries exploiting the diversities of carbohydrate molecules and well-developed solid-phase peptide synthesis methods. This review chronicles the development of sugar amino acids as a novel class of peptidomimetic building blocks and their applications in generating desired secondary structures in peptides as well as in creating mimics of natural biopolymers.     

Characterization of micelles of polyoxyethylene nonylphenol (Igepal) and its complexation with 3,7-diamino-2,8-dimethyl- 5-phenylphenazinium chloride

This paper explores the association of a nonionic surfactant, Igepal (polyoxyethylene nonylphenol), in aqueous media by means of absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The critical micellar concentration (CMC) of the aggregate formed in the aqueous medium has been determined, using three different methods: UV-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and Stokes shift. The correlation of CMC with hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) indicates that the CMC decreases with decreased HLB. The obtained CMC values from different methods are close to each other and have allowed the determination of DeltaG values associated with the micellization. The association constant of the dye molecule Safranine T (ST) with the nonionic micelle of Igepal, aggregation number of the surfactant monomer, and location of the fluorophore in the micellar environment have been determined. The vertical ionization potential of Igepal, electron affinity of the dye, and degree of charge transfer from the micellar aggregate to the dye molecule have been determined by AM1 calculation. The experimental charge transfer transition energies are well correlated with the determined ionization potential values (ID) of Igepal. The degree of charge transfer (ground state complexes) has been found to be low. The polarity of the micelle solubilization sites has been estimated from the solvatochromic shift, Kosowar Z value, and ET30, and ETN values.     

Likelihood ratio tests for symmetry against one-sided alternatives

A random variableX is said to have a symmetric distribution (about 0) if and only ifX and –X are, identically distributed. By considering various types of partial orderings between the distributions ofX and –X, one obtains various notions of skewness or one-sided bias. In this paper we study likelihood ratio tests for testing the symmetry of a discrete distribution about zero against the alternatives, (i)X is stochastically greater than –X; and (ii) pr(X=j)pr(X=–j) for allj>0. In the process, we obtain maximum likelihood estimators of the distribution function under the above alternatives. The asymptotic null distributions of the test statistics have been obtained and are of the chi-bar square type. A simulation study was performed to compare the powers of these tests with other tests.     

A chiral pool based approach to antipodes of α-cuparenone

A synthetic route to both antipodes of α-cuparenone was achieved from the readily available chiral pool starting material l-malic acid and involved cyclopentannulation as the key step.