A small fluorophore reporter of protein conformation and redox state

A new thiol-specific reagent introduces a small bis(methylamino)terephthalic acid fluorophore into proteins. The noninvasive probe with distinct spectroscopic properties offers many advantages for protein labeling, purification, and mechanistic work promising to serve as a powerful tool in studies of protein folding and heme redox reactions.     

Electrospinning of a functional perfluorinated block copolymer as a powerful route for imparting superhydrophobicity and corrosion resistance to aluminum substrates

Superhydrophobic aluminum surfaces with excellent corrosion resistance were successfully prepared by electrospinning of a novel fluorinated diblock copolymer solution. Micro- and nanostructuration of the diblock copolymer coating was obtained by electrospinning which proved to be an easy and cheap electrospinning technology to fabricate superhydrophobic coating. The diblock copolymer is made of poly(heptadecafluorodecylacrylate-co-acrylic acid) (PFDA-co-AA) random copolymer as the first block and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the second one. The fluorinated block promotes hydrophobicity to the surface by reducing the surface tension, while its carboxylic acid functions anchor the polymer film onto the aluminum surface after annealing at 130 °C. The PAN block of this copolymer insures the stability of the structuration of the surface during annealing, thanks to the infusible character of PAN. It is also demonstrated that the so-formed superhydrophobic coating shows good adhesion to aluminum surfaces, resulting in excellent corrosion resistance.     

High-pressure in situ 129Xe NMR spectroscopy and computer simulations of breathing transitions in the metal-organic framework Ni2(2,6-ndc)2(dabco) (DUT-8(Ni))

Recently, we have described the metal-organic framework Ni(2)(2,6-ndc)(2)(dabco), denoted as DUT-8(Ni) (1) (DUT = Dresden University of Technology, 2,6-ndc = 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate, dabco = 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane). Upon adsorption of molecules such as nitrogen and xenon, this material exhibits a pronounced gate-pressure effect which is accompanied by a large change of the specific volume. Here, we describe the use of high-pressure in situ (129)Xe NMR spectroscopy, i.e., the NMR spectroscopic measurements of xenon adsorption/desorption isotherms and isobars, to characterize this effect. It appears that the pore system of DUT-8(Ni) takes up xenon until a liquid-like state is reached. Deeper insight into the interactions between the host DUT-8(Ni) and the guest atom xenon is gained from ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. van der Waals interactions are included for the first time in these calculations on a metal-organic framework compound. MD simulations allow the identification of preferred adsorption sites for xenon as well as insight into the breathing effect at a molecular scale. Grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations have been performed in order to simulate adsorption isotherms. Furthermore, the favorable influence of a sample pretreatment using solvent exchange and drying with supercritical CO(2) as well as the influence of repeated pore opening/closure processes, i.e., the "aging behavior" of the compound, can be visualized by (129)Xe NMR spectroscopy.     

Two flavors of PEPPSI-IPr: activation and diffusion control in a single NHC-ligated Pd catalyst?

Abnormal reactivity has been observed in Negishi, Suzuki-Miyaura, and Kumada-Tamao-Corriu cross-couplings in which PEPPSI-IPr (where PEPPSI stands for pyridine enhanced precatalyst preparation, stabilization, and initiation and IPr refers to the NHC ligand) is employed, implicating the presence of two distinct Pd(0) species in the catalytic cycle. Polybrominated arenes and organometallic reagents react selectively to give the product of exhaustive polysubstitution regardless of the initial reaction stoichiometry. Competition experiments suggest that, after an initial activation controlled oxidative addition, reductive elimination produces an ultrareactive Pd(0) species which consumes all remaining C-Br bonds in the molecule under diffusion control.     

Carbopalladation of nitriles: synthesis of 2,3-diarylindenones and polycyclic aromatic ketones by the Pd-catalyzed annulation of alkynes and bicyclic alkenes by 2-iodoarenenitriles

2-iodobenzonitrile, its derivatives, and various heterocyclic analogues undergo palladium(0)-catalyzed annulation onto diarylacetylenes or bicyclic alkenes to afford 2,3-diarylindenones and polycyclic aromatic ketones in very good to excellent yields. This reaction represents one of the first examples of the addition of an organopalladium moiety to the carbon-nitrogen triple bond of a nitrile. The reaction is compatible with a number of functional groups. A reaction mechanism, as well as a model accounting for the electronic effects of substituents on the aromatic ring of the nitrile, is proposed.     

A general approach to indole-7-yl derivatives of isoxazole, oxadiazole, thiadiazole and pyrazole

Isosteric replacement of the α,β-unsaturated amide at the C-7 position of indoles with a diverse set of five-membered amino-heterocycles including isoxazole, oxadiazole, thiadiazole and pyrazole followed by subsequent derivatization of the heterocyclic amino group to yield amides, sulfonamides and phosphoramides is described. Distinctive features of these procedures include the versatility and robust nature of the synthetic steps along with the high yields of the targeted molecules.     

DFT, ab initio, NMR, and NBO analyses of N-substituted hydrazino acetamides: Experimental vs theoretical values

We studied the DFT (B3LYP) and HF at 6-31+G/6-31+G^∗∗ levels of theory in order to throw light on the conformation, structure, intramolecular hydrogen bond network, as well as proton and nitrogen NMR (GIAO method) of a series of model primary amides in the gas phase and/or in solution (chloroform, methanol, water, dimethyl sulfoxide, and heptane). In this manner, it was possible to show that the amidic group of these model compounds acts as the H-bond donor and interacts with two different H-bond acceptors, thus stabilizing the C₈ pseudocycle. The study was conducted to gain a better understanding of the conformation (both experimentally and theoretically) adopted by hydrazino acetamides (model compounds for aza-β³-peptides). In the light of this, we were able to explain why aza-β³-peptides develop a different H-bond network in comparison to their isosteric β³-peptide analogues (an extension of the β-peptide concept).     

Copper‐Mediated Formation of Aryl,Heteroaryl, Vinyl and Alkynyl Difluoromethylphosphonates: A General Approach to Fluorinated Phosphate Mimics

A general and efficient access to aryl, heteroaryl, vinyl and alkynyl difluoromethylphosphonates is described. The developed methodology using TMSCF₂PO(OEt)₂, iodonium salts and a copper salt provided a straightforward manifold to reach these highly relevant products. The reaction proved to be highly functional group tolerant and proceeded under mild conditions, giving the corresponding products in good to excellent yields. This method represents the first general synthetic route to this important class of fluorinated scaffolds, which are well‐recognized as in vivo stable phosphate surrogates.