Facial selectivity of the Ireland-Claisen rearrangement of allylic esters of 2-methyl and 2-methoxycyclopentanecarboxylic acids

Ketene silylacetals derived from prenyl and (Z)- and (E)-crotyl 2-methylcyclopentanecarboxylates (9) were subjected to the Ireland-Claisen rearrangement. All three substrates rearranged with complete facial selectivity, but the (Z)- and (E)-crotyl systems gave a mixture comprised of the same diastereomers of 1-(1-methyl-2-propenyl)-2-methylcyclopentanecarboxylic acid (14) in ratios of 2:1 and 1:2, respectively. In contrast, the ketene silylacetals prepared from allyl and prenyl 2-methoxycyclopentanecarboxylates (22) underwent rearrangements with both facial stereochemistries.     

Blue myoglobin reconstituted with an iron porphycene shows extremely high oxygen affinity

Myoglobin will be a good scaffold for engineering a function into proteins. To modulate the physiological function of myoglobin, almost all approaches have been demonstrated by site-directed mutagenesis, however, there are few studies which show a significant improvement in the function. In contrast, we focused on the replacement of heme in the protein with an artificial prosthetic group. Recently, we prepared a novel myoglobin reconstituted with an iron porphycene as a structural isomer of mesoheme. The bluish colored reconstituted myoglobin is relatively stable and the deoxymyoglobin reversibly binds ligands. Interestingly, the O2 affinity of the reconstituted myoglobin, 1.1 x 109 M-1, is a significant 1,400-fold higher than that of the native myoglobin. Furthermore, the unfavorable autoxidation kinetics show 7-fold decrease in rate for the reconstituted myoglobin relative to the native myoglobin, indicating the stable oxy-form against autoxidation. The net results come from the slow dissociation of the O2 ligand in the reconstituted myoglobin, koff = 0.11 s-1, because of the formation of strong hydrogen bond between His64 and negatively charged dioxygen. The present study indicates that the replacement of native heme with an artificially created prosthetic group will give us a unique function into a hemoprotein.     

Synthesis, structure, and fluorescence of the novel cadmium(II)-trimesate coordination polymers with different coordination architectures

Three novel complexes, Cd3tma2*13H2O (1), Cd3tma2*dabco*2H2O (2), and Cd3Htma3*8H2O (3) (tma = trimesate), of cadmium(II)-trimesate coordination polymers are obtained from hydrothermal reaction. 1 (C18H32O25Cd3) crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/c space group [a = 18.985(2) A, b = 7.3872(6) A, c = 20.432(2) A, = 97.1660(10), and Z = 4]. 2 (C24H22N2O14Cd3) crystallizes in the monoclinic P2(1)/c space group [a = 10.1323(2) A, b = 19.5669(5) A, c = 13.15880(10) A, = 108.9810(10), and Z = 4]. 3 (C27H28O26Cd3) belongs to the trigonal P31c space group [a = 15.7547(3) A, b = 15.7547(3) A, c = 7.93160(10) A, and Z = 2]. The Cd(II) centers in the three complexes are bridged by tma ligands in the coordination fashion of unidentate, bridging unidentate, bidentate, chelating bis-bidentate, chelating/bridging bis-bidentate, or chelating/bridging bidentate to form the T-shaped molecular bilayer motif for 1, chicken-wire-like motif for 2, and honeycomb-like porous structure for 3, respectively, in which the T-shaped molecular bilayer motif and chicken-wire-like motif are further interlinked in interdigitating or alternating fashion to construct the different coordination architectures. These three complexes exhibit strong fluorescent emission bands at 355 nm (lambda(ex) = 220 nm) for 1, 437 nm (lambda(ex) = 365 nm) for 2, and 353 nm (lambda(ex) = 218 nm) for 3 in the solid state at room temperature.     

Formation of a new crystalline silicate structure by grafting dialkoxysilyl groups on layered octosilicate

Dialkoxydichlorosilanes ((RO)2SiCl2, R = alkyl) react almost completely with interlayer silanol groups in a layered silicate octosilicate to create a new crystalline silicate structure consisting of new five-membered rings arranged regularly on both sides of the silicate layers. The introduction of dialkoxysilyl groups to the interlamellar region of layered silicates with regular reaction sites provides a new methodology for the design and construction of novel crystalline silicate frameworks by a soft chemical route.     

Simultaneous determination of polycarboxylic acids by capillary electrophoresis with a copper electrode

The simultaneous determination of polycarboxylic acids including oxalic acid, citric acid, malonic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, aspartic acid and glutamic acid was achieved by capillary electrophoresis with a copper disk electrode (d = 200 microm). In the system. 0.2 mmol/l cetylpridinium bromide (CPB) was used as an electroosmotic flow (EOF) modifier to reverse the direction of EOF. The effects of the solution pH and CPB concentration on separation were evaluated to achieve the optimum separation conditions. At the working potential of +0.14 V (vs. saturated calomel electrode), the calibration curves for all polycarboxylic acids studied were linear with 2 approximately 3-orders of magnitude and all the detection limits (S/N = 3) were below 15 fmol except malonic acid. Furthermore, the oxalic and citric acids in urine were successfully separated and determined with high sensitivity.     

A convenient catalytic approach to synthesize straight boron nitride nanotubes using synergic nitrogen source

Straight boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) with pure hexagonal phase were conveniently prepared by heating the mixture of Mg(BO₂)₂ · H₂O, NH₄Cl, NaN₃ and Mg powder in an autoclave at 600 °C for 20–60 h. These BNNTs had diameters mainly ranging 30–300 nm and lengths up to 5 μm, and a majority of them had at least one closed end. Besides the traditional end tips, additional cone-like tips were frequently found to be attached on the BNNTs. The effects of temperature, reactants and the possible mechanism of the catalytic formation of the BNNTs are discussed.     

Low-dimensional hybrid copper halides with novel D6R Cu(6)I(6) cores

Two low-dimensional hybrid copper halides, (2,2'-bipy)Cu(3)I(3) (1) and (2,2'-bipy)Cu(4)I(4) (2) (2,2'-bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine), with novel D6R (double six-membered rings) Cu(6)I(6) cores were synthesized by hydro(solvo)thermal reactions and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.     

Structure of microparticles in solid-stabilized emulsions

Emulsions of oil and water stabilized by adsorbed solid particles are known as solid-stabilized emulsions (often referred to as Pickering emulsions). Using confocal microscopy, we have studied the assembly of colloidal-sized polystyrene particles in poly(dimethylsiloxane)-in-water solid-stabilized emulsions. Monodisperse polystyrene particles, when included in the emulsions at low concentrations, were found to form small patches with local "hexagonal" order, separated by other particle-free domains. Polystyrene particles with different sizes (1 and 4 microm) and different wettability could simultaneously segregate to the emulsion interface; even mixtures of hydrophobic and hydrophilic solid particles were found to simultaneously segregate to the same interface.     

Investigation of ultraviolet curable waterborne polyurethane acrylate dispersion based on hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene

A new kind of ultraviolet (UV) curable waterborne polyurethane acrylate dispersion was synthesized based on hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), poly-(propylene glycol) (PPG), isophorene diisocyanate (IPDI), 2-hydroxy ethyl acrylate (HEA) and dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) after neutralizing by triethylamine (TEA). 2-Hydroxy-1-[4-2-hydroxyethoxy) phenyl]-2-methyl-1-propanone (Irgacure 2959) was used as a photoinitiator and deionized water as a diluent. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis was used to identify the chain structure of the UV-curable polyurethane prepolymer based on HTPB and the curing process. Effects of relative content of HTPB and PPG on emulsion stability, resistance to water and ethanol, thermal stability, compatibility of soft and hard segment, as well as the mechanical property of the cured film were investigated. Translated from Polymer Materials Science and Engineering, 2006, 22(3): 199–203 (in Chinese)     

Preparation of α-amino acids via Ni-catalyzed reductive vinylation and arylation of α-pivaloyloxy glycine

This work emphasizes easy access to α-vinyl and aryl amino acids via Ni-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling of bench-stable N-carbonyl-protected α-pivaloyloxy glycine with vinyl/aryl halides and triflates. The protocol permits the synthesis of α-amino acids bearing hindered branched vinyl groups, which remains a challenge using the current methods. On the basis of experimental and DFT studies, simultaneous addition of glycine α-carbon (Gly) radicals to Ni(0) and Ar–Ni(ii) may occur, with the former being more favored where oxidative addition of a C(sp²) electrophile to the resultant Gly–Ni(i) intermediate gives a key Gly–Ni(iii)–Ar intermediate. The auxiliary chelation of the N-carbonyl oxygen to the Ni center appears to be crucial to stabilize the Gly–Ni(i) intermediate.

We have developed Ni-catalyzed reductive coupling of N-carbonyl protected α-pivaloyloxy glycine with Csp²-electrophiles that enabled facile preparation of α-amino acids, including those bearing hindered branched vinyl groups.