Synthesis of ethyl 3-(hydroxyphenoxy)benzyl butylphosphonates as potential antigen 85C inhibitors

All three isomers of ethyl 3-(hydroxyphenoxy)benzyl butylphosphonates as potential antigen 85C inhibitors were synthesized from 3-bromobenzoic acid using Ullman diaryl ether synthesis combined with benzyl- and trityl protection strategy for the phenol hydroxyl groups.     

An azo dye for photodynamic therapy that is activated selectively by two-photon excitation

Two-photon photodynamic therapy (TP-PDT) is a promising approach for the treatment of cancer because of its better penetration depth and superior spatial selectivity. Here, we describe an azo group containing cyclized-cyanine derivatives (ACC1 and ACC2) as a two-photon activated, type I based photosensitizer (PS). These small-molecule and heavy atom-free organic dyes showed marked reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating ability under physiological conditions, as well as fast loading ability into the cells and negligible dark toxicity. Live cell analyses with one- and two-photon microscopy revealed that these dyes showed higher ROS generation ability upon two-photon excitation than upon one-photon excitation via the type I process. The PSs have superior PDT properties compared to conventional Visudyne and 5-ALA under mild conditions. These characteristics allowed for precise PDT at the target region in mimic tumor spheroids, demonstrating that the developed TP PS could be useful in efficient PDT applications and in designing various PSs.

Azo containing dyes as a two-photon selective and type I based photosensitizers (PSs) were developed that exhibit excellent photodynamic therapy properties under mild condition.     

Improved expression by cytomegalovirus promoter/enhancer and behavior of vascular endothelial growth factor gene after myocardial injection of naked DNA

Direct injection of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene plasmid DNA into the myocardium was shown to induce development of new blood vessels to increase the circulation in the heart of patients with coronary artery diseases. However, such angiogenic gene therapy (via naked DNA) was limited by low level of gene expression. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial characteristics of VEGF gene transfer in the heart are not known. In this study, we demonstrated that a plasmid vector, containing the human cytomegalovirus immediate early (HCMV IE) promoter and enhancer, induces greater expression of gene in the rat heart monitored by gene fused to the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter, than four different viral and cellular promoters. Interestingly, expression of VEGF121 protein showed an earlier peak, a shorter duration, and a wider distribution than that of CAT only. Therefore, a plasmid vector with an HCMV IE promoter/enhancer provides clear advantages over other previously developed plasmids. Furthermore, expression profile of VEGF121 gene may provide useful information in the design of angiogenic gene therapy in the heart.     

Rapidly converging lattice sums for nonelectrostatic interactions

The relative energies of one-, two-, and three-dimensional Bravais lattice Lennard-Jones particles can be calculated by lattice sums. The expression of lattice sums over a Lennard-Jones potential can be manipulated into a form that converges rapidly. A formalism capable of calculating the lattice potential at arbitrary points of a completely general lattice has been developed. This method provides an alternative way to calculate the relative energies from the surface and the interior bulk sites of many chemical systems. The method is illustrated with application to hcp and fcc Lennard-Jonesium, both for the relative binding energy and for calculating the potential along the geometric diffusion pathway between tetrahedral and octahedral interstitial sites. Diffusion from the tetrahedral site to the octahedral site experiences a barrier of 752.600 in units of 4 epsilon. The reverse pathway experiences a barrier of 1035.614 in units of 4 epsilon.     

A Novel Method for the Synthesis of Substituted Benzochromenes by Ethylenediamine Diacetate‐Catalyzed Cyclizations of Naphthalenols to α,β‐Unsaturated Aldehydes. Concise Synthesis of the Natural Products Lapachenole,Dihydrolapachenole, and Mollugin

A new synthetic route for biologically interesting benzochromenes was developed starting from naphthalenols and α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes in the presence of ethylenediamine diacetate. This methodology was applied for the total synthesis of the biologically important natural products lapachenole, dihydrolapachenole, and mollugin with a benzochromene moiety.     

A convenient and efficient preparation of β-substituted α-haloenones from diazodicarbonyl compounds

Rhodium(II)-catalyzed reactions of cyclic diazodicarbonyl compounds with a variety of halides have been examined. With acid halides, β-acyloxy α-haloenones are produced in good yields. With benzyl halides, β-benzyloxy α-haloenones are obtained in good yields. Reactions with methylene halides yield β-halomethoxy α-haloenones in good yields, whereas reactions with ethyl halides and ethylene dihalides result in β-hydroxy α-haloenones in high yields. These reactions provide a useful and rapid entry to β-substituted α-haloenones. The mechanistic pathway for the formation of these products has been also described in terms of halonium ylides.     

Issue Information

An integrated finite element method (FEM) is proposed to simulate incompressible two‐phase flows with surface tension effects, and three different surface tension models are applied to the FEM to investigate spurious currents and temporal stability. A Q2Q1 element is adopted to solve the continuity and Navier–Stokes equations and a Q2‐iso‐Q1 to solve the level set equation. The integrated FEM solves pressure and velocity simultaneously in a strongly coupled manner; the level set function is reinitialized by adopting a direct approach using interfacial geometry information instead of solving a conventional hyperbolic‐type equation. In addition, a consistent continuum surface force (consistent CSF) model is utilized by employing the same basis function for both surface tension and pressure variables to damp out spurious currents and to estimate the accurate pressure distribution. The model is further represented as a semi‐implicit manner to improve temporal stability with an increased time step. In order to verify the accuracy and robustness of the code, the present method is applied to a few benchmark problems of the static bubble and rising bubble with large density and viscosity ratios. The Q2Q1‐integrated FEM coupled with the semi‐implicit consistent CSF demonstrates the significantly reduced spurious currents and improved temporal stability. The numerical results are in good qualitative and quantitative agreements with those of the existing studies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.