The Ritter reaction in the synthesis of ortho-fused nitrogen-containing heterocycles

The acid-catalysed condensation of a 1,4- and a 1,5-ditertiary diol with various arylated nitriles is shown to provide a simple and novel route to reduced benz[f]indoles, naphth[1,8a,8-fg]indoles, benzo[4,5]cyclohepta[1,2-b]pyrroles, and benzo[g]quinolines.     

Self-injection length in La0.7Ca0.3MnO3-YBa2Cu3O7-δ ferromagnet-superconductor multilayer thin films

We have carried out extensive studies on the self-injection problem in barrierless heterojunctions between La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ (LCMO) and YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ (YBCO) thin films. The heterojunctions were formed in situ by sequentially growing LCMO and YBCO films on 〈100〉 LaAlO₃ (LAO) substrate using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) system. YBCO micro-bridges with 64 μm width were patterned both on the LAO (control) and LCMO side of the substrate. Critical current, I _c, was measured at 77 K on both the control side as well as the LCMO side for different YBCO film thickness. It was observed that while the control side showed a J _c of ∼ 2 × 10⁶ A/cm², the LCMO side showed about half the value for the same thickness (1800 ?). The difference in J _c indicates that a certain thickness of YBCO has become ‘effectively’ normal due to self-injection. From the measurement of J _c at two different thicknesses (1800 ? and 1500 ?) of YBCO films both on the LAO as well as the LCMO side, the value of self-injection length (at 77 K) was estimated to be ∼ 900 ?. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first time that self-injection length has been quantified. A control experiment carried out with LaNiO₃ deposited by PLD on YBCO did not show any evidence of self-injection.     

Membrane Disruption and Enhanced Inhibition of Cell‐Wall Biosynthesis: A Synergistic Approach to Tackle Vancomycin‐Resistant Bacteria

Resistance to glycopeptide antibiotics, the drugs of choice for life‐threatening bacterial infections, is on the rise. In order to counter the threat of glycopeptide‐resistant bacteria, we report development of a new class of semi‐synthetic glycopeptide antibiotics, which not only target the bacterial membrane but also display enhanced inhibition of cell‐wall biosynthesis through increased binding affinity to their target peptides. The combined effect of these two mechanisms resulted in improved in vitro activity of two to three orders of magnitude over vancomycin and no propensity to trigger drug resistance in bacteria. In murine model of kidney infection, the optimized compound was able to bring bacterial burden down by about 6 logs at 12 mg kg^?1 with no observed toxicity. The results furnished in this report emphasize the potential of this class of compounds as future antibiotics for drug‐resistant Gram‐positive infections.     

Reactions in Water – A Greener Approach Using Ruthenium Catalysts

Reactions using transition metals as catalysts have emerged as an efficient method in the recent times. However, the selection of solvent plays a crucial role in this regard. Several solvents used traditionally suffer majorly with problems of toxicity; high boiling point etc. leading to drastic reaction conditions. Water being a non‐toxic, non‐inflammable and environmentally benign can replace the hazardous organic solvents in laboratory as well as industry. Maintaining a minimum catalyst loading percentage we can advantageously avail high levels of selectivity. Water was found to be a good solvent medium for several metal catalysed reactions. An intramolecular deprotonation mechanism is followed by the ruthenium (II) catalysts in water; thereby, facilitating the catalytic action of the metal. These studies can help the industrial chemists to utilize water as a solvent for their reactions towards improvement of their waste management procedure. This review mainly focuses on the several recent developments in the above direction.     

Crystal structure of tylophorine methiodide monohydrate,C25H30NO 4 + I−·H2O

The crystal structure of tylophorine (Chemical name 2,3,6,7 tetramethoxy phenanthro [9,10:6, 7] indolizidine. Contribution No. 0871.) methiodide monohydrate has been determined. C₂₅H₃₀NO ₄ ⁺ I^–·H₂0, triclinic, P,a=8.831(1)Å, b=10.842(2),c=13.902(2), =105.0(1)^o, =104.7(1), =97.3(1),V=1210.22ų, Z=2,D _x =1.428 g./cm^–3, (CuK)=1.54184Å, (CUK)=107.2 cm^–1, F(000)=544,T=295^oK,R=0.038,Rw=0.046, for 2331 observed reflections withI2(I). Apart from van der Waals forces, the structure is stabilized by two hydrogen bonds of the type Ow(H) ... O and Ow(H) ... I^– involving the water molecule as the donor and atom O4 of the methoxy group and I^– as acceptors.     

Determination of lanthanum with n-benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine

N-Benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine is proposed for the gravimetric determination of lanthanum, at pH 6.4–7.2. The precipitates can be weighed directly or ignited to the oxide. By suitable pH adjustment, many metals can be separated from lanthanum, which can then be determined in the filtrates. Interferences of Ni, Cu, Zn and Fe(II) are masked with cyanide. About 99.5% of cerium can be separated from lanthanum by precipitating cerium(IV) at pH 4.8–5.2.