Silver (I)-promoted asymmetric halohydrin reaction of chiral N-enoyl-2-oxazolidinones: scope and limitations

The halohydrin reaction of chiral N-enoyl-2-oxazolidinones 1 by halogen (Br₂/I₂) and water were efficiently carried out in aqueous organic solvent promoted by silver(I) with high anti- and regioselectivity and moderate to good diastereoselectivities. The alkenoyl, cinnamoyl and electron-deficient cinnamoyl substrates smoothly underwent bromohydrin reaction in aqueous acetone but no iodohydrin reaction, where as electron-rich cinnamoyl substrates preferred to undergo iodohydrin reaction in aqueous acetone with moderate diastereoselectivity and enhanced diastereoselectivity was observed in aqueous THF.     

Stereoselective syntheses of (−)-chloramphenicol and (+)-thiamphenicol

Chloramphenicol and thiamphenicol have been enantioselectively synthesized using an asymmetric halohydrin reaction as a key step. In particular, halomethoxylation reaction was used, where O-methyl functions as a hydroxyl protecting group and eliminates an additional protection step.     

Solution-based assembly of conductive gold film on flexible polymer substrates

Conductive films of gold were assembled on flexible polymer substrates such as Kapton and polyethylene using a solution-based process. The polymer substrates were modified by using argon plasma and subsequent coupling of silanes with amino- or mercapto- terminal groups. These modified surfaces were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. Colloidal gold was assembled onto the silane-modified surface from solution. The gold particles are attached to the surface by covalent interactions with the thiol or amine group. Formation of a conductive film is achieved by increasing the coverage of gold by using a "seeding" method to increase the size of the attached gold particles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy was used to follow the growth of the film. The surface resistance of the films, measured using a four-point probe, was about 1 Omega/sq.     

Autofluorescence characterization of advanced glycation end products of hemoglobin

This article describes the analysis of autofluorescence of advanced glycation end products of hemoglobin (Hb-AGE). Formed as a result of slow, spontaneous and non-enzymatic glycation reactions, Hb-AGE possesses a characteristic autofluorescence at 308/345 nm (lambda(ex)/lambda(em)). Even in the presence of heme as a quenching molecule, the surface presence of the glycated adduct gave rise to autofluorescence with the quantum yield of 0.19. The specificity of monoclonal antibody developed against common AGE structure with Hb-AGE was demonstrated using reduction in fluorescence polarization value due to increased molecular volume while binding. The formation of fluorescent adduct in hemoglobin in the advanced stage of glycation and the non-fluorescent HbA(1c) will be of major use in distinguishing and to know the past status of diabetes mellitus. While autofluorescence correlated highly with HbA(1c) value under in vivo condition (r = 0.85), it was moderate in the clinical samples (r = 0.55). The results suggest a non-linear relation between glycemia and glycation, indicating the application of Hb-AGE as a measure of susceptibility to glycation rather than glycation itself.     

Kinetics and mechanism of formation of square-planar copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes of ethylenebisbiguanide in aqueous acetate buffer media

Summary The kinetics of formation of square-planar Cu^II and Ni^II complexes of the quadridentate ligand, ethylenebisbiguanide, have been studied spectrophotometrically in aqueous HOAc–NaOAc buffer, at ionic strength 0.2 mol dm^–3, in the 25–35°C temperature range. The observed rate constants for the formation reactions are independent of pH (and of OAc^– concentration) in the pH range used (3.6–4.8 for Cu^II and 5.0–5.8 for Ni^II) where the product complexes form stoichiometrically, but show first-order dependence on the ligand concentration;i.e. k_obs=k_f[L]_total. At 25°C k_f values (dm³ mol^–1s^–1) are 35.2±0.4 for Cu^II and (8.4±0.1)×10^–3 for Ni^II. The mechanism of the reactions is discussed.     

Microwave Assisted Rupture of Furoxans to Nitrile Oxides and Intermolecular Capture by Dipolarophiles

3,4-Diaroylfuroxans 1 react with various dipolarophiles 3 under microwave activation to afford the cycloadduct 4 instead of the expected isoxazole 5 in good yields in the absence of solvent.