Binary and Ternary Metal Complexes Derived from Cu Acetate with Some Sulfur-Containing Chemotherapeutic Agents

Two ternary complexes, [Cu₂(Pir)(Pen)(OH)(Ac)H₂O] and [Cu(Pir)(Cap)(Ac)] ½H₂O (where, Pen = D-penicillamine, Cap = captopril, and Pir = piroxicam) have been synthesized and characterized using elemental analyses, spectroscopic analyses (IR, UV-vis, MS), thermal analyses (TGA), conductance measurements, and magnetic measurements. The binary complexes, [Cu₂(Pen)(OH)₂(H₂O)₂] 4H₂O and [Cu(Cap)Ac] 3/2H₂O, have also been prepared and characterized by these techniques to facilitate the interpretation of the mixed ligand complexes. The results show that D-penicillamine can coordinate two copper atoms through amino nitrogen, and thiol sulfur after displacement of a hydrogen atom. At the same time, the ligand coordinates to the second copper atom through a carboxyl group after displacement of a hydrogen from the latter group. Captopril coordinates through thiol sulfur and carbonyl oxygen. Piroxicam coordinates as a neutral bidentate ligand in the keto form through carbonyl oxygen and pyridyl nitrogen. The magnetic moment measurements of complexes containing captopril indicate the reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) by the thiol group.     

An integrated framework for wireless sensor network management

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have significant potential in many application domains, ranging from precision agriculture and animal welfare to home and office automation. Although sensor network deployments have only begun to appear, the industry still awaits the maturing of this technology to realize its full benefits. The main constraints to large‐scale commercial adoption of WSN have been the lack of available network management and control tools, such as for determining the degree of data aggregation prior to transforming it into useful information, localizing the sensors accurately so that timely emergency actions can be taken at an exact location, routing data by reducing sensor energy consumption, and scheduling data packets so that data are sent according to their priority and fairness. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, no integrated network management solution comprising efficient localization, data scheduling, routing, and data aggregation approaches exists in the literature for a large‐scale WSN. Thus, we introduce an integrated network management framework comprising sensor localization, routing, data scheduling, and data aggregation for a large‐scale WSN. Experimental results show that the proposed framework outperforms an existing approach that comprises only localization and routing protocols in terms of localization energy consumption, localization error, end‐to‐end delay, packet loss ratio, and network energy consumption. Moreover, the proposed WSN management framework has potential in building a future “Internet of Things”. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chiral Separation of 4-Iminoflavan Derivatives on Several Polysaccharide-Based Chiral Stationary Phases by HPLC

The HPLC enantiomeric separation of seven 4-iminoflavans was successfully accomplished in the normal phase mode using six polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases namely, Chiralcel^®OD-H, Chiralcel^®OD, Chiralcel^®OJ, Chiralpak^®AD, Chiralpak^®IA and Chiralpak^®IB under normal and polar organic phase modes. The resolution depended on nature and concentration of alcoholic modifier. The results demonstrate clearly that the chromatographic system based on the coated and immobilized type Chiralpak^®IB and Chiralcel^®OD-H CSPs provide a powerful analytical tool for enantiomeric separation of all the 4-iminoflavans used in this study.

     

Design,characterization and applications of new ionic liquid matrices for multifunctional analysis of biomolecules: A novel strategy for pathogenic bacteria biosensing

The design, preparation and performance for novel UV-light absorbing (room-temperature) ionic liquid matrices (UV-RTILMs) for matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) were reported. A series of UV-RTILMs was prepared by ultrasonication of equimolar of acid (mefenamic acid) and bases (aniline (ANI), pyridine (Pyr), dimethyl aniline (DMANI) and 2-methyl picoline (2-P)). The UV-RTILMs have not only significant absorbance at the desired wavelength (337 nm of the N₂ Laser), but also have available protons that can easily undergo proton transfer reactions to ionize the target molecules. The novel UV-RTILMs have the ability to ionize different and wide classes of compounds such as drugs, carbohydrate, and amino acids. The new UV-RTILMs series have been successfully and selectively applied for biosensing the lysates of pathogenic bacteria in the presence of the cell macromolecules. A new strategy for biosensing pathogens was presented via sensing the pathogens lysate in the cell suspension. The new materials can effectively detect the bacterial toxins without separation or any pretreatment. They offered excellent ionization of labile oligosaccharides with protonated peaks. They could significantly enhance the analyte signals, produce homogeneous spotting, reducing spot-to-spot variation, excellent vacuum stability, higher ion peak intensity, and wide application possibility. The physical parameters such as molar refractivity, molar volume, parachor, surface tension, density and polarizability were calculated and tabulated. The new UV-RTILMs could offer excellent reproducibility and great repeatability and they are promising matrices for wide applications on MALDI-MS.     

Reactivity of molecular dioxygen towards a series of isostructural dichloroiron(III) complexes with tripodal tetraamine ligands: general access to mu-oxodiiron(III) complexes and effect of alpha-fluorination on the reaction kinetics

We have synthesized the mono, di-, and tri-alpha-fluoro ligands in the tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (TPA) series, namely, FTPA, F(2)TPA and F(3)TPA, respectively. Fluorination at the alpha-position of these nitrogen-containing tripods shifts the oxidation potential of the ligand by 45-70 mV per added fluorine atom. The crystal structures of the dichloroiron(II) complexes with FTPA and F(2)TPA reveal that the iron center lies in a distorted octahedral geometry comparable to that already found in TPAFeCl(2). All spectroscopic data indicate that the geometry is retained in solution. These three isostructural complexes all react with molecular dioxygen to yield stable mu-oxodiiron(III) complexes. Crystal structure analyses are reported for each of these three mu-oxo compounds. With TPA, a symmetrical structure is obtained for a dicationic compound with the tripod coordinated in the kappa(4)N coordination mode. With FTPA, the compound is a neutral mu-oxodiiron(III) complex with a kappa(3)N coordination mode of the ligand. Oxygenation of the F(2)TPA complex gave a neutral unsymmetrical compound, the structure of which is reminiscent of that already found with the trifluorinated ligand. On reduction, all mu-oxodiiron(III) complexes revert to the starting iron(II) species. The oxygenation reaction parallels the well-known formation of mu-oxo derivatives from dioxygen in the chemistry of porphyrins reported almost three decades ago. The striking feature of the series of iron(II) precursors is the effect of the ligand on the kinetics of oxygenation of the complexes. Whereas the parent complex undergoes 90 % conversion over 40 h, the monofluorinated ligand provides a complex that has fully reacted after 30 h, whereas the reaction time for the complex with the difluorinated ligand is only 10 h. Analysis of the spectroscopic data reveals that formation of the mu-oxo complexes proceeds in two distinct reversible kinetic steps with k(1) approximately 10 k(2). For TPAFeCl(2) and FTPAFeCl(2) only small variations in the k(1) and k(2) values are observed. By contrast, F(2)TPAFeCl(2) exhibits k(1) and k(2) values that are ten times higher. These differences in kinetics are interpreted in the light of structural and electronic effects, especially the Lewis acidity at the metal center. Our results suggest coordination of dioxygen as an initial step in the process leading to formation of mu-oxodiiron(III) compounds, by contrast with an unlikely outer-sphere reduction of dioxygen, which generally occurs at negative potentials.     

Synthesis, characterization and crystal structure determination of zinc (II) and mercury (II) complexes with 2,2′-dimethyl-4,4′-bithiazole

The 2,2′-dimethyl-4,4′-bithiazole ligand (1), (dm4bt), and its Zn and Hg complexes have been prepared. A conformational property calculation at the DFT level for the ligand shows the anti conformation is energetically more stable by about 22.83 kJ/mol and the rotational barrier is about 32.01 kJ/mol for the anti → syn conversion, a phenomena happening during complex formation. The complexes [Zn(dm4bt)Cl₂] (2) and [Hg(dm4bt)Cl₂] (3) have spectral properties typical for d¹⁰ metal diimine systems. The structures of the ligand and the two complexes have been determined by the single crystal diffraction method. The X-ray structure determinations show that both complexes are four coordinated by two chloride atoms and one bidentate dm4bt. In the Hg complex one of the two chlorides is set at a semi-bridging position.     

Iron(III) Trifluoroacetate: Chemoselective and Recyclable Lewis Acid Catalyst for Diacetylation of Aldehydes,Thioacetalization and Transthioacetalization of Carbonyl Compounds and Aerobic Coupling of Thiols

Iron(III) trifluoroacetate [Fe(CF3CO2)3] was found to be a recyclable, highly efficient and chemoselective Lewis acid catalyst for protection of a variety of carbonyl compounds as thioacetals under nearly neutral conditions. With the use of this catalyst, 1,3-dithiolanes and 1,3-dithianes were obtained in high yields from various aldehydes. Under the same conditions ketones were similarly but more slowly thioketalized. This difference in reactivity between aldehydes and ketones was successfully utilized for the selective thioacetalization of aldehydes in the presence of ketones and also for the chemoselective conversion of β-diketone into the corresponding dithioacetal. Transthioacetalization of O,O-acetals and O,O-ketals into cyclic thioacetals was also achieved by using this catalyst. Additionally, iron(III) trifluoroacetate has been found to be efficient catalyst for the addition of acetic anhydride to both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes to afford 1,1-diacetates (gem diacetates). Aerobic dimerization of thiols was achieved by this reagent mediated by sodium iodide and air atmosphere.     

Study of hydrogen bonds in N-methylacetamide by DFT calculations of oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen solid-state NMR parameters

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) parameters of ¹⁷O, ¹⁴N/¹⁵N, and ²H/¹H nuclei were evaluated in two available neutron crystalline structures of N-methylacetamide (NMA) at 250 and 276 K, NMA-I and NMA-II, respectively. Density functional theory calculations were performed by B3LYP method and 6-311++G** and IGLO-II type basis sets to calculate the electric field gradient (EFG) and chemical shielding (CS) tensors at the sites of mentioned nuclei. In order to investigate hydrogen bonds (HBs) effects on NMR tensors, calculations were performed on four-model systems of NMA: an optimized isolated gas-phase, crystalline monomers, crystalline dimers, and crystalline trimers. Comparing the calculated results reveal the influence of N–H···O=C and C–H···O=C HB types on the NMR tensors which are observable by the evaluated parameters including quadrupole coupling constant, C _Q, and isotropic CS, σ _iso. Furthermore, the results demonstrate more influence of HB on the EFG and CS tensors of NMA at 276 K rather than that of 250 K.     

Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of Alkanna bracteosa and Alkanna tricophila

Alkanna bracteosa and Alkanna tricophila, Boraginaceae, have been reported to be useful for their anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effects in traditional medicine. Methanol extracts of A. bracteosa and A. tricophila were evaluated for their potential analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Alkanna bracteosa was observed to produce a maximum of 42% reduction of hind paw licking in acute as well as 68% alleviation in inflammatory phase of formalin test in mice and about 30% declination of carrageenan-induced rats paw swelling at doses 100-400?mg?kg?1 in comparison to negative control; on the other hand, A. tricophila required at least 200?mg?kg?1 to exhibit a significant reduction in paw licking or oedemas at the early phase of formalin test and the late phase of carrageenan test, respectively. Our results suggest that the extracts may be of use for their analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.     

Real-time automatic tuning of noise suppression algorithms for cochlear implant applications

The performance of cochlear implants deteriorates in noisy environments compared to quiet conditions. This paper presents an adaptive cochlear implant system, which is capable of classifying the background noise environment in real time for the purpose of adjusting or tuning its noise suppression algorithm to that environment. The tuning is done automatically with no user intervention. Five objective quality measures are used to show the superiority of this adaptive system compared to a conventional fixed noise-suppression system. Steps taken to achieve the real-time implementation of the entire system, incorporating both the cochlear implant speech processing and the background noise suppression, on a portable PDA research platform are presented along with the timing results.