A novel design of a levoglucosenone derived chiral auxiliary

A two-step general approach to a new chiral auxiliary starting from levoglucosenone is reported. The compound is obtained by a [4+2] cycloaddition reaction with anthracene followed by a diastereoselective reduction of the C-2 keto function in high overall yield. The auxiliary has been used as chiral template in an asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of the corresponding acrylic ester derivative with cyclopentadiene and shown to be efficient for asymmetric induction.     

Microencapsulation of DNA Within alginate microspheres and crosslinked chitosan membranes for in vivo application

Calf thymus DNA was microencapsulated within crosslinked chitosan membranes, or immobilized within chitosan-coated alginate microspheres. Microcapsules were prepared by interfacial polymerization of chitosan, and alginate microspheres formed by emulsification/ internal gelation. Diameters ranged from 20 to 500 Μm, depending on the formulation conditions. Encapsulated DNA was quantifiedin situ by direct spectrophotometry (260 nm) and ethidium bromide fluorimetry, and compared to DNA measurements on the fractions following disruption and dissolution of the microspheres. Approximately 84% of the DNA was released upon core dissolution and membrane disruption, with 12% membrane bound. The yield of encapsulation was 96%. Leakage of DNA from intact microspheres/capsules was not observed. DNA microcapsules and microspheres were recovered intact from rat feces following gavage and gastrointestinal transit. Higher recoveries (60%) and reduced shrinkage during transit were obtained with the alginate microspheres. DNA was recovered and purified from the microcapsules and microspheres by chromatography and differential precipitation with ethanol. This is the first report of microcapsules or microspheres containing biologically active material (DNA) being passed through the gastrointestinal tract, with the potential for substantial recovery.     

RNA self-splicing and energy localization

We establish a mechanism for energy localization in regions of the sugar-phosphate RNA backbone which leads to the formation of transesterification or hydrolysis hot spots. In particular, our results account for the site specificity of the covalent cyclization and cycle reopening in the catalytic intervening sequence (IVS) of a ribosomal RNA.     

2-Dimension from the Topological Viewpoint

In this paper we study the 2-dimension of a finite poset from the topological point of view. We use homotopy theory of finite topological spaces and the concept of a beat point to improve the classical results on 2-dimension, giving a more complete answer to the problem of all possible 2-dimensions of an n-point poset.      

Pattern of separatrices and intrinsic reaction coordinates for degenerate thermal rearrangements

A structurally stable model of the standard adiabatic gradient field of the potential energy surface for certain pericyclic reactions is derived.These reactions are not subjected to the principles of orbital isomerism or to the Woodward-Hoffmann rules.Use is made of a principle established by Ariel Fernández and Oktay Sinanolu which precludes direct meta-IRC connections between transition states.It is shown that Jahn-Teller isomers of the singlet biradicals involved in the process are not interconvertible since the biradical configuration is not a transition state but a critical point with Hessian matrix with two negative eigenvalues.The topological features of the PES obtained by combinatorial methods are in full agreement with earlier results obtained from MINDO calculations.     

The Binary System BaF2/AlF3

The system BaF₂/AlF₃ is investigated by X-ray and D.T.A., and the liquid-solid phase diagram is established. Five ternary fluorides are disclosed: trimorphic BaAlF₅, Ba₃Al₂F₁₂, Ba₅AlF₁₉, polymorphic Ba₃AlF₉ and Ba₅AlF₁₃. Neutron thermodiffractometry experiments are performed to specify some parts of the diagram. The cell parameters of the fluorides are given and the results are discussed and compared with those of the previous works.     

Anodic stripping voltammetry in a flow-through cell with a fixed mercury film glassy carbon disc electrode. Part I

Anodic stripping voltammetry at a glassy carbon disc electrode covered by a thin mercury film was adapted for use in a flow-through cell. The resulting system is characterized by extreme simplicity of set-up and operation, high sensitivity and excellent precision and stability. Its performance was tested via the determination of hydrated or labile complex ions of heavy metal ions in sea water, using short (2–10 min) deposition periods. The dependence of the stripping peak charge on metal ion concentration, length of deposition period, solution flow rate and other variables was examined and the reliability of the results obtained were evaluated under conditions resembling continuous monitoring.     

The Crystal Structure of Pb8FeIIFeF24: an ordered Fluorite-like Compound

Pb₈Fe^IIFeF₂₄ is triclinic: a = 20.118(3) Å, b = 5.597(1) Å, c = 9.440(2) Å, α = 89.75(2)°, β = 105.79(2)°, α = 89.38(2)°, Z = 2. The structure is solved in the unconventional space group C1 , from X-ray single crystal data using 1 641 independent reflections (R = 0.048, R_w = 0.051). It is built up from the stacking of two subnetworks along the a axis: fluorite-like [Pb₈F₁₀]_n⁶ⁿ⁺ layers and infinite dimetallic [Fe^IIFeF₁₄]_n^6n? double-chains of corner-sharing octahedra running along the b axis.     

The electromagnetic interaction in chiral perturbation theory

We investigate electromagnetic effects in the framework of chiral perturbation theory. Using a completely independent method, we confirm Urech’s results for the divergences of the one-loop functional in the electromagnetic sector. We perform a one-loop analysis of allP _t2 (P=π, K, η) and theK _t3 form factors $f_ + ^{K^ + \pi ^o } (0),f_ + ^{K^o \pi ^ - } (0)$ , including a systematic treatment of theO(e ² p ²) contributions in the mesonic part. We illustrate our results by several numerical estimates.