Inhibitors of biotin biosynthesis as potential herbicides

Isosteric derivatives and analogues of the 7-keto-8-aminopelargonic acid (KAPA), 7,8-diaminopelargonic acid (DAPA) and desthiobiotin (DTB) vitamer intermediates involved in the biosynthetic pathway of biotin were prepared and evaluated as potential herbicides. The most active compound was desmethyl-KAPA which displayed a GR₅₀ (concentration of the active compound that causes a 50% growth inhibition) value of 8 ppm, where values <50 ppm are considered herbicidal. Other KAPA analogs where the terminal Me group was replaced by bulkier substituents such as Et, i-Pr and HOCH₂ showed moderate activity.     

Alkylation and acylation of basic salts of anthranilic acid

The O-nucleophilicity of basic anthranilic acid salts was documented, analyzed, and utilized in synthesis. Specifically substitutions leading to esters instead of secondary amines, and formation of anthranilic acid anhydrides were studied.     

Effect of External Acidity of Mordenite-Supported Catalysts on the 2,2-Dimethylbutane Content in Hydroisomerization Products of n-Hexane

We have used potentiometric titration with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide to determine the acid center content on the outer surface of dealuminated natural and synthetic mordenites. We have established a symbatic relationship between the 2,2-dimethylbutane content in the hydroisomerization products of n-hexane on dealuminated palladium-containing mordenites and the number of their external acid centers. We have studied the possibility of partial deactivation of such centers during ion-exchange deposition of palladium on the catalysts, using a tetraammine palladium solution.     

Structural characterization of nanopatterned surfaces

In this work, chemically and topographically nanopatterned surfaces were produced by a top-down processing approach for biosensing devices. The nanopatterning was the result of the combination of plasma polymerisation (pp) of biofunctional materials and colloidal lithography techniques. The morphological and chemical properties induced by the plasma deposition-etching treatment were characterised by optical method combining ellipsometry and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy studies. This method supported by atomic force microscopy measurements, allowed the full optical characterization of each step of the top-down process. The optical characterization of the end-up nanopatterned samples demonstrated that the chosen process is able to produce well-defined nanostructured surfaces with controlled chemical and morphological properties.     

Creation of entangled states of excitons in coupled quantum dots

We present two methods for the creation of two-particle entangled states of excitons in a coupled quantum dot system. The system contains two identical quantum dots that are coupled by an inter-dot hopping process. The manipulation of the system is succeeded by proper application of an external laser field.     

Synthesis of aromatic poly(thioether ketone)

Aromatic poly(thioether ketone)s were prepared by the direct polycondensation of aromatic dicarboxylic acids with aryl compounds containing ether or sulfide structures using phosphorus pentoxide/methanesulfonic acid (PPMA) as a condensing agent and solvent. Polycondensation proceeded smoothly and produced aromatic poly(thioether ketone)s with inherent viscosities up to 0.73 dL/g. The synthesis of substituted aryl ketones by the reaction of substituted benzoic acids with aryl compounds in PMMA was studied in detail to demonstrate the feasibility of the reaction for polymer formation. The thermogravimetry of the aromatic poly(thioether ketone)s showed a 10% weight loss in air and nitrogen at around 450 and 460°C, respectively. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Influence of humic substances on sorption and methylation processes of inorganic- and organo-tin species

The influence of humic substances on sorption and methylation processes for inorganic- and organotin species is presented. Four sediment samples from different locations of the Rivers Elbe, Mulde and Spittelwasser, Germany, with different organotin and humic contents were selected to extract the humic and fulvic acids. The various fractions—the original sediment, the humic acid, the fulvic acid and the residual sediment—were analysed for their organotin content. The individual buyltin species show quite different distribution patterns. Monobutyltin is found mostly associated with humic acids. Dibutyltin shows a nonunique behaviour. At low total organotin content, dibutyltin is found bonded to humic and fulvic acids, whereas at high organotin content dibutyltin is distributed more with the residual sediment. Most of the tributyltin remains in the sediment unextracted; only small quantities of it are in the fulvic acid fraction. Tetrabutyltin is only in the humic acid fraction when it binds to humic matter; it mostly remains in the sediment. General observations indicate that ionic butyltin species bind to fulvic acids whereas the non-polar tetrabutyltin is not found in the fulvic acid fractions in any of the samples. The appearance of monomethyl- and dimethyl-tin species in the humic and fulvic acid fractions after the alkaline extraction was surprising. There is a correlation between the humic content of the sample and the formation of methyltin species. Evidence is provided by experiments that humic substances act as methylation agents.