Recognition of caffeine by a water-soluble acyclic phane compound

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is a chemical substance associated with everyday human life. In order to recognize caffeine in water, six water-soluble acyclic phane compounds composed of three aromatic rings were examined as artificial receptors. ¹H NMR titration experiments revealed that 6,6′-[1,3-phenylenebis(carbonylimino)]bis-1,3-naphthalenedisulfonate had the highest binding ability for caffeine, with a binding constant (K_b) of 127±5 M⁻¹ at 300 K. While this phane compound also formed a complex with theophylline (1,3-dimethylxanthine) at around half the value of the binding constant for caffeine (K_b=64±4 M⁻¹), it showed weak or little complexation for adenosine, guanosine, inosine, and their 5′-phosphates (sodium salts of adenylic acid, guanylic acid, and inosinic acid).     

Design and Synthesis of Polyoxazole‐based Macrocycles Tethered with a Phosphonate Group

We present the design and synthesis of polyoxazole‐based macrocycles containing a phosphonate group. A reliable route was established that allows for convenient and versatile incorporation of various phosphonate functionalities such as phosphonate ester, acid, and salt at the macrocyclic ring periphery. Such unprecedented macrocyclic compounds are anticipated to be appealing candidates as telomerase inhibitors.     

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Structural Characterization of a Novel 3-D Open Framework Zinc Phosphate Microporous Compound(C_5N_2H_(14))·[Zn_3(OH_2)(PO_4)_2(HPO_4)]

One novel organically templated zincophophate(C5N2H14)·[Zn3(OH2)(PO4)2(HPO4)] has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction together with elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and powder X-ray diffraction. The title compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n, with a = 9.7904(11), b = 14.0287(14), c = 11.8651(13) , β = 104.690(3), V = 1576.4(3) 3, Z = 4, T = 296(2) K, Mr = 601.31 and Dc = 2.533 g/cm3. The compound consists of a macroanionic [Zn3(OH2)(PO4)2(HPO4)]2- framework and(C5N2H14)2+ cations, and its structure is built up from ZnO3(OH2), ZnO4, HPO4 and PO4 tetrahedral units that result in 4, 8 and 10-ring channels.     

Origin of pressure-induced insulator-to-metal transition in the van der Waals compound FePS3 from first-principles calculations

Pressure-induced insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) has been studied in the van der Waals compound iron thiophosphate (FePS₃) using first-principles calculations within the periodic linear combination of atomic orbitals method with hybrid Hartree–Fock-DFT B3LYP functional. Our calculations reproduce correctly the IMT at ∼15 GPa, which is accompanied by a reduction of the unit cell volume and of the vdW gap. We found from the detailed analysis of the projected density of states that the 3p states of phosphorus atoms contribute significantly at the bottom of the conduction band. As a result, the collapse of the band gap occurs due to changes in the electronic structure of FePS₃ induced by relative displacements of phosphorus or sulfur atoms along the c-axis direction under pressure.     

Chemical properties of water-soluble,nonionic azo compounds as initiators for emulsion polymerization

Four kinds of water-soluble, nonionic azo compounds were studied in terms of their decomposition rate and initiator efficiency in radical polymerization, and then used for emulsion polymerization. They had relatively low initiator efficiency from 0.09 to 0.46. It was attributed to the susceptibility to a cage effect, depending on their molecular size and hydrophobicity. Four azo compounds initiated emulsion polymerization but nonionic latex particles were not obtained unexpectedly. Methanol-containing medium results in the formation of a bimodal particle size distribution as well as a bimodal molecular weight distribution. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Isolation and Purification of Unstable Iridoid Glucosides from Traditional Chinese Medicine by Preparative High Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Solid-phase Extraction

An efficient preparative method was successfully developed for isolation and purification of unstable components from medicinal plant extracts, using a combined method of preparative high performance liquid chro-matography(HPLC) and solid-phase extraction(SPE). The aim of this study was to obtain an effective method with high preparative efficiency and importantly to avoid the transformation of unstable compounds. The preparative HPLC system was based on an LC/MS controlled four-channel autopurification sys...     

Natural Compound Curcumin-a Channel Potentiator Rather Than a Corrector of the Defective Intracellular Processing of △F508 Mutant Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator

Cystic fibrosis(CF)is a severe genetic disease caused by the gene mutation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator(CFTR)chloride channel.The most common point mutation △F508,which leads to impaired intracellular processing and channel gating of CFTR, appears in about 90? patients.The natural compound curcumin was reported to correct the processing defect of △F508-CFTR and proposed as a potential therapeutic drug to cure CF.In the present study.we analyzed the efrect of curcumin on △F508-CFTR and demonstrated that curcumin can restore the impaired chloride conductance of △F508 mutant CFTR.The activity is rapid,reversible and cAMP-dependent.However,we couldn't reproduce the previously reported correction of the defective membrane trafficking of △F508-CFTR by curcumin.Therefore,curcumin may not be a superior lead compound for developing anti-CF drugs.     

Products of Photo- and Thermochemical Rearrangement of 19-Membered di-tert-Butyl-Azoxybenzocrown

The preparation and characterization of products of the photochemical and thermochemical rearrangements of 19-membered azoxybenzocrowns with two, bulky, tert-butyl substituents in benzene rings in the para positions to oligooxyethylene fragments (meta positions to azoxy group, i.e., t-Bu-19-Azo-O have been presented. In photochemical rearrangement, two colored typical products were expected, i.e., 19-membered o-hydroxy-m,m′-di-tert-butyl-azobenzocrown (t-Bu-19-o-OH) and 19-membered p-hydroxy-m,m′-di-tert-butyl-azobenzocrown (t-Bu-19-p-OH). In experiments, two colored atypical macrocyclic derivatives, one 6-membered and one 5-membered ring, bearing an aldehyde group (t-Bu-19-al) or intramolecular ester group (t-Bu-20-ester), were obtained. Photochemical rearrangement led to one more macrocyclic product being isolated and identified: a 17-membered colorless compound, without an azo moiety, t-Bu-17-p-OH. The yield of the individual compounds was significantly influenced by the reaction conditions. Thermochemical rearrangement led to t-Bu-20-ester as the main product. The structures of the four crystalline products of the rearrangement—t-Bu-19-o-OH, t-Bu-19-p-OH, t-Bu-20-ester and t-Bu-17-p-OH—were determined by the X-ray method. Structures in solution of atypical derivatives (t-Bu-19-al and t-Bu-20-ester) and t-Bu-19-p-OH were defined using NMR spectroscopy. For the newly obtained hydroxyazobenzocrowns, the azo–phenol⇄quinone–hydrazone tautomeric equilibrium was investigated using spectroscopic methods. Complexation studies of alkali and alkaline earth metal cations were studied using UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. ¹H NMR spectroscopy was additionally used to study the cation recognition of metal cations. Cation binding studies in acetonitrile have shown high selectivity towards calcium over magnesium for t-Bu-19-o-OH.     

新型带宽调制型Mott化合物的高压合成及其金属化相变

利用高温高压条件,制备了(SrCa)CrO3系列带宽可调型的钙钛矿Mott化合物。在10 GPa的外加压力下,观察到SrCrO3的绝缘体-金属化相变。原位高压X射线衍射实验表明,Sr/CaCrO3晶体结构在0-9 GPa压力范围内保持稳定。但SrCrO3在4 GPa时存在着电子结构变化所引起的等结构相变,表现为体弹性模量的反常软化。此外,由于电子关联效应,磁性和热输运性质的测试结果表明了材料的奇异电子态特征。