The magnetic behaviour of [NnBu4]4[Ni16Pd16(CO)40]: an even-electron homoleptic carbonyl-metal cluster anion displaying a J = 2 ground state

The magnetic behaviour of the even-electron [Ni16Pd16(CO)40]4- cluster, in its [NnBu4]+ salt, has been investigated by magnetometry and muon spin rotation/relaxation (muSR) spectroscopy. The susceptibility measurements show an exceptionally high magnetic moment corresponding to a total spin value J=2. This suggests a Hund filling of a quadruplet ground state, quite unique in carbonyl-metal clusters. SQUID magnetometry shows a departure from the Curie-Weiss law, for T>150 K, and strong deviation from a Brillouin behaviour of the magnetisation curves. muSR spectroscopy in zero applied field shows a temperature independent decay of the muon spin polarisation, similar to that of a purely paramagnetic system. The observed muon spin repolarisation in a moderate external longitudinal field, however, invalidates this simple picture and suggests the presence of a local anisotropy field acting on the cluster's magnetic moment. A consistent interpretation of magnetometry and muSR results implies the occurrence of an additional interaction of the cluster spin with an effective crystalline field. The inclusion of this interaction in a model Hamiltonian allows us to successfully reproduce both the susceptibility and magnetisation data.     

Copper bronze catalyzed Heck reaction in ionic liquids

Heck reaction of aryl iodides and activated aryl bromides catalyzed by copper bronze in tetrabutylammonium bromide as solvent and tetrabutylammonium acetate as base was developed. The effective catalysts are Cu nanoparticles deriving from the reaction of iodobenzene with copper bronze. These nanoparticles are very stable in tetraalkylammonium salts, are easily recycled, and can be stored for months without a loss of catalytic efficiency. [reaction: see text]     

Trinuclear heterobimetallic complexes with binucleating dithioxamides: stereoselective synthesis and solution behavior involving Pd-N bond rupture

Bischelate platinum(II) complexes of the type [Pt(H-R(2)-N(2)C(2)S(2))(2)] (H-R(2)-N(2)C(2)S(2)(-) = dialkyl-dithioxamidate) are ditopic receptors which, after coordination of the first Pd(eta(3)-allyl)(+) moiety, induce the orientation of the second palladium-allyl fragment. Thus, a series of trimetallic complexes of formula bis-[(eta(3)-allyl)-palladium(II)](mu-bis-dialkyl-dithioxamidate-platinum(II) kappa-S,S-kappa-S',S'-Pt-kappa-N,N-Pd-kappa-N',N'-Pd') has been prepared in which the allyl fragments are oriented toward the same side of the molecular plane. We have also prepared the trimetallic complex using a dithioxamide obtained from the racemic phenylethylamine. Only two isomers were produced in equimolar ratio: the racemate that has four homochiral alkyl substituents and the mesoform containing the meso-dithioxamide that has homochiral substituents on the same side of molecular plane. Under the effect of the temperature, the trimetallic Pd-Pt-Pd complexes undergo rapid allyl isomerization; the mechanism of the isomerization, which is similar to that found by us in an analogue Pt-Pd bimetallic complex, is discussed. The crystal and molecular structure of bis-[(eta(3)-allyl)-palladium(II)](mu-bis-[S]-phenylethyl-dithioxamidate-platinum(II) kappa-S,S-kappa-S',S'-Pt-kappa-N,N-Pd-kappa-N',N'-Pd') has been reported.     

Enabling a circular economy for chemicals in plastics

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Broadband Sheet Parametric Oscillator for x~((2)) Optical Frequency Comb Generation via Cavity Phase Matching

We demonstrate a broadband optical parametric oscillation, using a sheet cavity, via cavity phase-matching. A21.2 THz broad comb-like spectrum is achieved, with a uniform line spacing of 133.0 GHz, despite a relatively large dispersion of 275.4 fs~2/mm around 1064 nm. With 22.6% high slope efficiency, and 14.9 kW peak power handling, this sheet optical parametric oscillator can be further developed for x~((2)) comb.     

Poly‐l‐Lactic Acid Nanofiber–Polyamidoamine Hydrogel Composites: Preparation,Properties, and Preliminary Evaluation as Scaffolds for Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Culturing

Electrospun poly‐l ‐lactic acid (PLLA) nanofiber mats carrying surface amine groups, previously introduced by nitrogen atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma, are embedded into aqueous solutions of oligomeric acrylamide‐end capped AGMA1, a biocompatible polyamidoamine with arg‐gly‐asp (RGD)‐reminiscent repeating units. The resultant mixture is finally cured giving PLLA‐AGMA1 hydrogel composites that absorb large amounts of water and, in the swollen state, are translucent, soft, and pliable, yet as strong as the parent PLLA mat. They do not split apart from each other when swollen in water and remain highly flexible and resistant, since the hydrogel portion is covalently grafted onto the PLLA nanofibers via the addition reaction of the surface amine groups to a part of the terminal acrylic double bonds of AGMA1 oligomers. Preliminary tested as scaffolds, the composites prove capable of maintaining short‐term undifferentiated cultures of human pluripotent stem cells in feeder‐free conditions.

     

Chirality in the Absence of Rigid Stereogenic Elements: The Absolute Configuration of Residual Enantiomers of C3‐Symmetric Propellers

Two new tris(aryl)phosphane oxides existing as configurationally stable residual enantiomers have been synthesised and their racemates resolved by semipreparative HPLC on a chiral stationary phase (CSP HPLC). One of them, recognised as a conglomerate, could be resolved by fractional crystallisation at a preparative scale level. In this case, the absolute configuration of the propeller‐shaped molecule was determined by anomalous X‐ray scattering. The problem of the correlative assignment of the absolute configuration to all known C₃‐symmetric three‐bladed propeller‐shaped molecules existing as stable residual enantiomers is discussed. The configurational stability of the new chiral phosphane oxides and of the corresponding phosphanes was evaluated by CD signal decay kinetics and dynamic ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The racemisation barriers in phosphanes were found about 10 kcal mol^?1 lower than those found for the corresponding oxides, though geometry and inter‐ring gearing would be very similar in the two series. Configurational stability of residual tris(aryl)phosphanes was found to be influenced by the electronic availability of the phosphorus centre, as evaluated by electrochemical CV experiments.     

Protective Properties of Novel S‐Acyl‐Glutathione Thioesters Against Ultraviolet‐induced Oxidative Stress

UV‐induced toxicity is characterized by marked oxidative stress, accompanied by the depletion of key cellular antioxidants, particularly glutathione (GSH). Replenishing cellular GSH may represent a means of counteracting UV‐induced toxicity: however, treatment with free GSH is not therapeutically effective due to its unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties. In this study, we show that S‐acyl‐glutathione (acyl‐SG) derivatives, which consist of an acyl chain (of variable length and saturation) linked via a thioester bond to GSH, increase intracellular levels of reduced GSH in primary skin fibroblasts, adenocarcinoma HeLa and neuroblastoma SH‐SY5Y cells. Consistent with this, acyl‐SG derivatives protect against UV‐induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and UV‐B/C‐mediated lipid peroxidation and caspase‐3 activation in the analyzed cell lines, with unsaturated thioesters displaying a significantly greater protective effect. Taken together, our findings suggest that acyl‐SG thioesters may be therapeutically effective in the treatment of UV‐related skin disorders and oxidative stress‐mediated conditions in general.     

Modeling Transverse Relative Locality

We investigate some aspects of relativistic classical theories with “relative locality”, in which pairs of events established to be coincident by nearby observers may be described as non-coincident by distant observers. While previous studies focused mainly on the case of longitudinal relative locality, where the effect occurs along the direction connecting the distant observer to the events, we here focus on transverse relative locality, in which instead the effect is found in a direction orthogonal to the one connecting the distant observer to the events. Our findings suggest that, at least for theories of free particles, transverse relative locality is as significant as longitudinal relative locality both conceptually and quantitatively. And we observe that “dual gravity lensing” can be viewed as one of two components of transverse relative locality. We also speculate about a type of spacetime noncommutativity for which transverse relative locality could be particularly significant.     

Development and Molecular Understanding of a Pd-Catalyzed Cyanation of Aryl Boronic Acids Enabled by High-Throughput Experimentation and Data Analysis

A synthetic method for the palladium-catalyzed cyanation of aryl boronic acids using bench stable and non-toxic N-cyanosuccinimide has been developed. High-throughput experimentation facilitated the screen of 90 different ligands and the resultant statistical data analysis identified that ligand σ-donation, π-acidity and sterics are key drivers that govern yield. Categorization into three ligand groups – monophosphines, bisphosphines and miscellaneous – was performed before the analysis. For the monophosphines, the yield of the reaction increases for strong σ-donating, weak π-accepting ligands, with flexible pendant substituents. For the bisphosphines, the yield predominantly correlates with ligand lability. The applicability of the designed reaction to a wider substrate scope was investigated, showing good functional group tolerance in particular with boronic acids bearing electron-withdrawing substituents. This work outlines the development of a novel reaction, coupled with a fast and efficient workflow to gain understanding of the optimal ligand properties for the design of improved palladium cross-coupling catalysts.