Molecular structures of benzoylbenzo-12-crown-4 and diphenylacetylbenzo-12-crown-4 and possible reasons for different conformational states of their macrocycles

The molecular structures of (benzoyl)benzo-12-crown-4 (a=22.387,b=4.503,c=16.167 Å,d _calc=1.34 g cm^–3,Z=4, space groupP2₁ nc, DAR-UM, Cu-K,R=0.056) and (diphenylacetyl)benzo-12-crown-4 (a=8.866,b=23.337,c=10.737 Å;d _calc=1.25 g cm^–3,Z=4, space groupP2₁2₁2₁, DAR-UM, Cu-K, R=0.056) have been investigated. The differences in the conformations of the macrocycles and the degree of conjugation between the benzene ring orbitals and the lone pairs on the adjacent oxygen atoms in the macrocycle are discussed.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 1906–1911, November, 1993.     

Inverse relaxation-model and relation to recovery internal friction

Inverse relaxation is studied for hard elastic polypropylene (HEPP), rubber and non-elastic polypropylene. The results show that contractive stress, stress, and internal friction are three essential factors related to the phenomenon. A three-element model in which each element has a definite meaning is proposed to describe this phenomenon. The results also show that, in the first cyclic deformation, relaxation time increases with the increase of recovery for all the materials, which indicates that recovery viscosity increases with the increase of recovery, but the stress rising amplitude (SRA) of inverse relaxation has a maximum in the recovery range. Analysis indicates that SRA equals recovery internal friction (RIF) for ideal material in which stress is solely a function of strain, independent of paths, and approximately equals RIF for non-ideal material at a given strain. From this principle it is found that the order of the work counteracted by RIF for the four materials is the same as that of their second hysteresis loop, and the RIF of HEPP has a sudden increase at the later recovery range.     

Proton magnetic relaxation study of water orientation around I− and Li+

Proton relaxation time measurements are performed for 6m aqueous solutions of⁷LiI and⁶LiI in D₂O containing small amounts of H₂O. The measurements are done at low temperatures and yield maxima of the relaxation rate plotted against 1/T. From the maxima of the relaxation rates, proteon-I^– and proton-Li⁺ distances in the first coordination sphere of the ions are determined, and from the knowledge of the ion-water oxygen distance it is shown that for iodide a somewhat broadened H-bonded configuration is valid and that for Li⁺ the electric dipole orientation deviates from the radial direction. In order to test the reliability of the method a proton-¹²⁷I interaction study is also performed in KI solution in glycerol. The I-H distance obtained is in satisfactory agreement with that found in the aqueous system.     

Oxidation of mandelic acid derivatives catalysed by Bi(0)/O2 systems: mechanistic considerations

Mandelic acid and some aryl substituted derivatives were oxidised under molecular oxygen and a catalytic amount of Bi(0). The corresponding aldehydes and/or the carboxylic acids were obtained selectively depending on the nature of the substituent. Aldehydes and α-keto acids were oxidised under the same Bi(0)/O₂ system and α-keto acids were proposed as intermediates in the formation of benzoic acid derivatives.     

Characteristic features of intra- and intermolecular interactions in crystals of pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde isonicotinoylhydrazone and its hydrate

Pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde isonicotinoylhydrazone (1) and its hydrate [1·H₂O] (2) were studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The introduction of the pyrrole substituent into N"-substituted isonicotinic hydrazide (INH) causes the intramolecular redistribution of the electron density compared to those in INHs studied earlier, which increases the basicity of the hydrazone nitrogen atom (N") involved in intermolecular hydrogen bonding. This effect has not been observed in the structures of N"-substituted INHs and benzhydrazides studied previously. Intermolecular hydrogen bonds play a decisive role in the formation of the crystal structures of 1 and 2.     

Studies on the properties of ionic liquid EMIInCl4

This paper reports that an ionic liquid (IL) has been prepared by directly mixing InCl₃ and 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium chloride (EMIC) with molar ratio 1/1 under dry argon atmosphere. The densities, and surface tension of the pure IL were determined at temperature range of 293.15 to 343.15 ± 0.1 K. The volumetric properties and the properties of surface for ionic liquid based on group III were discussed by Glasser's theory and Yang's interstice model.     

Cellulose: the structure slowly unravels

This article attempts to bring together basic and complex information which has been gathered on cellulose structure, principally that of native cellulose, over the last few decades. Even though advances have been made in the field of crystallography, powder crystallography cannot yield a definitive cellulose structure and single crystal diffraction is not possible due to the lack of suitable crystals. Knowledge obtained on the biosynthesis of native cellulose and on the polymorphy of cellulose and its derivatives help our understanding of ultrastructure. Many inconsistencies between early crystallographic studies of native cellulose have been clarified by the discovery that two polymorphs (α and β) of cellulose I exist. Models of the possible ultrastructural arrangements within native cellulose have been put forward over the decades; with advancement in technology, computer simulations of small and large systems are being created to test the viability of these ultrastructural models. It is hoped that this review will aid in the understanding of the complexity and uncertainties that still exist in this subject. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The effect of the structure of bonded cyanoalkyl stationary phases on their selectivity in the liquid chromatographic separation of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons

Summary The paper discusses the effect of the length and structure of the hydrocarbon chain connecting the nitrile group to the silica gel surface on the chromatographic properties of cyanoalkyl phases.When using non-polar and polar mobile phases, the selectivity of the cyanodecyl phases toward PAHs is higher than of the cyanopropyl phase and of hydroxylated silica gel.Polar additives to the mobile phase drastically decrease the retention on silica gel and on the cyanopropyl phase while affect the properties of cyanodecyl phases only to a considerably less degree. Newly synthesized phases with different structures of the hydrocarbon chain are compared with the commerical cyano-and ODS-phases. The retention mechanism on the cyanoalkyl phases is discussed.     

Factor Xa: Simulation studies with an eye to inhibitor design

Factor Xa is a serine protease which activates thrombin and plays a key regulatory role in the blood-coagulation cascade. Factor Xa is at the crossroads of the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of coagulation and, hence, has become an important target for the design of anti-thrombotics (inhibitors). It is not known to be involved in other processes than hemostasis and its binding site is different to that of other serine proteases, thus facilitating selective inhibition. The design of high-affinity selective inhibitors of factor Xa requires knowledge of the structural and dynamical characteristics of its active site. The three-dimensional structure of factor Xa was resolved by X-ray crystallography and refined at 2.2 Å resolution by Padmanabhan and collaborators. In this article we present results from molecular dynamics simulations of the catalytic domain of factor Xa in aqueous solution. The simulations were performed to characterise the mobility and flexibility of the residues delimiting the unoccupied binding site of the enzyme, and to determine hydrogen bonding propensities (with protein and with solvent atoms) of those residues in the active site that could interact with a substrate or a potential inhibitor. The simulation data is aimed at facilitating the design of high-affinity selective inhibitors of factor Xa.     

Ionic conductivity of poly[N-(3,6,9-trioxadecyl)-4-vinylpyridinium)] salts with univalent counter-ions in aqueous solutions

In order to determine the counter-anion effect on conductivity of poly[N-(3,6,9-trioxadecyl)-4-vinylpyridinium)] backbone in aqueous solutions, a set of three polyelectrolytes with three different counter-ions: poly[N-(3,6,9-trioxadecyl)-4-vinylpyridinium]bromide P4VP164Br and its chlorate and tosylate derivatives P4VP164ClO₄ and P4VP164Ts respectively, were prepared by spontaneous polymerization of 4-vinylpyridine. This method gives a grafted polyelectrolyte having a positive charge on each pyridinic moiety on the backbone. The conductivities of cationic polyelectrolyte aqueous solution were determined in the concentration range from 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻² M at 25 °C. The variation of the conductivity versus concentration of the investigated system exhibits a typical polyelectrolyte behavior. The polycation mobility was found to be dependent on the counter-anion nature. Thus, the polyelectrolyte conductivity increases with the ion size. This shows that big ions are weakly or not associated to the backbone.In order to confirm this steric hindrance, we have considered the conductivities of these three anions Br⁻, ClO₄⁻ and Ts⁻ in their sodium salts, both alone and in the presence of 3,6,9-trioxadecanol (PEO164) free chains. In the two cases, the conductivities decrease in the order Λ_Br>Λ_ClO4>Λ_Ts.These results suggest that counter-ion mobility is mainly influenced by steric effect PEO164 grafted chains.Values of the conductivity predicted from Manning rod-like polyelectrolyte model were compared with our experimental results.