New guanosine derivatives: facile O6-phosphorylation,thiophosphinylation sulfonylation and silylation of guanosine derivatives by 4-dimethylaminopyridine catalized reaction

Appropriately protected guanosine derivatives were successfully converted to the corresponding O⁶-substituted guanosine derivatives by treatment with dialkyl- or diaryl-phosphoryl halides, dialkyl- or diaryl-phosphinothioyl halides, arenesulfonyl chlorides, and trialkylsilyl chlorides.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of Secondary (E)-allyl alcohols from acetylenes and aldehydes via (1-alkenyl)zinc intermediates. Preliminary Communication

Hydroboration of aliphatic 1-alkynes with freshly prepared dicyclohexylborane (1 mol-equiv., hexane), treatment of the resulting [(E)-1-alkenyl]boranes 5 with Et₂Zn or Me₂Zn (1.05 mol-equiv.) followed by addition of (?)-3-exo-(dimethylamino)isoborneol (DAIB, 8 ; 0.01 mol-equiv.), subsequent addition of a solution of an aromatic or aliphatic aldehyde (1 mol-equiv., hexane), and quenching with aq. NH₄Cl provided (E)-allyl alcohols 6 usually in 70–95% yield with 79–98% enantiomeric excess (Scheme 3 and Table).     

Formation of polyelectrolyte multilayer architectures with embedded DMPC studied in situ by neutron reflectometry

The coupling of lipid molecules to polymer components in a planar biomimetic model membrane made of a lipid bilayer (dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine) supported by polyelectrolyte multilayers is studied. The polyelectrolyte support was prepared by layer-by-layer deposition of positively charged poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and negatively charged poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS). Two polymer sample terminations were considered: positively charged (PAH-terminated) and negatively charged (PSS-terminated). Neutron reflectometry studies showed that, whereas positively charged samples did not favor the deposition of lipid, negatively charged samples allowed the deposition of a lipid bilayer with a thickness of approximately 5 nm. In the latter case, formation of polyelectrolyte layers after the deposition of the lipid layer was also possible.     

Influence of assembling pH on the stability of poly(L-glutamic acid) and poly(L-lysine) multilayers against urea treatment

Polyelectrolyte multilayers of poly(L-glutamic acid) (PGA) and poly(L-lysine) (PLL) were built up using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique in low pH (3.6, PM3.6) and in neutral pH (7.4, PM7.4) solutions. The multilayers were then treated with a concentrated urea (one kind of denaturant for proteins and polypeptides) solution (8M) and rinsed with corresponding buffer. The buildup and treatment processes were investigated by ultraviolet visible spectroscopy and ellipsometry. The surface morphology was observed by scanning force microscopy (SFM). The inner structures were determined by X-ray reflectometry and circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD). An exponential growth of the optical mass and the layer thickness was observed for both PM3.6 and PM7.4. After urea treatment, a significant mass loss for PM3.6 was found, while no mass change was recorded for PM7.4. The dominant driving force for PM7.4 is electrostatic interaction, resulting in multilayers with an abundant beta-sheet structure, which has higher stability against urea treatment. By contrast, the dominant driving force for PM3.6 is hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction, which are sensitive to the urea treatment. The mechanism is substantiated by molecular mechanics calculation. This has offered a convenient pathway to mediate the multilayer properties, which is of great importance for potential applications.     

Luminescent Complexes of Europium (III) with 2-(Phenylethynyl)-1,10-phenanthroline: The Role of the Counterions

New antenna ligand, 2-(phenylethynyl)-1,10-phenanthroline (PEP), and its luminescent Eu (III) complexes, Eu(PEP)₂Cl₃ and Eu(PEP)₂(NO₃)₃, are synthesized and characterized. The synthetic procedure applied is based on reacting of europium salts with ligand in hot acetonitrile solutions in molar ratio 1 to 2. The structure of the complexes is refined by X-ray diffraction based on the single crystals obtained. The compounds [Eu(PEP)₂Cl₃]·2CH₃CN and [Eu(PEP)₂(NO₃)₃]∙2CH₃CN crystalize in monoclinic space group P2_1/n and P2_1/c, respectively, with two acetonitrile solvent molecules. Intra- and inter-ligand π-π stacking interactions are present in solid stat and are realized between the phenanthroline moieties, as well as between the substituents and the phenanthroline units. The optical properties of the complexes are investigated in solid state, acetonitrile and dichloromethane solution. Both compounds exhibit bright red luminescence caused by the organic ligand acting as antenna for sensitization of Eu (III) emission. The newly designed complexes differ in counter ions in the inner coordination sphere, which allows exploring their influence on the stability, molecular and supramolecular structure, fluorescent properties and symmetry of the Eu (III) ion. In addition, molecular simulations are performed in order to explain the observed experimental behavior of the complexes. The discovered structure-properties relationships give insight on the role of the counter ions in the molecular design of new Eu (III) based luminescent materials.     

Miscibility of sodium chloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate in the adsorbed film and aggregate

The adsorption, micelle formation, and salting out of sodium dodecyl sulfate in the presence of sodium chloride were studied from the viewpoint of their mixed adsorption and aggregate formation. The surface tension of aqueous solutions of a sodium chloride–sodium dodecyl sulfate mixture was measured as a function of the total molality and composition of the mixture. Phase diagrams of adsorption and aggregate formation were obtained by applying thermodynamic equations to the surface tension. Judging from the phase diagrams, sodium chloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate are miscible in the adsorbed film at very large composition of sodium chloride and in the salted-out crystalline particle, while they are immiscible in the micelle. The miscibilities in the adsorbed film, micelle, and crystalline particle increase in the following order: particle > adsorbed film > micelle. The difference in miscibility among the oriented states was ascribed to the difference in geometry between the adsorbed film and micelle and to the interaction between bilayer surfaces in the particle.     

Modulation of the internal structure and surface properties of natural and synthetic polymer matrices by graphene oxide doping

Controlling the surface properties and structure of thin nanosized coatings is of primary importance in diverse engineering and medical applications. Here we report on how the nanostructure, growth mechanism, thickness, roughness, and hydrophilicity of nanocomposites composed of weak natural or strong synthetic polyelectrolytes (PE) can be tailored by graphene oxide (GO) doping. GO reverses the build‐up mechanism affecting the internal structure and the hydrophilicity in a way depending on the type of the PE‐matrix. The extent of GO‐adsorption and its impact on the surface morphology was found to be independent on the type of the underlying PE‐matrix. The nanostructure of the hybrid films is not significantly altered when a single surface‐exposed GO‐layer is deposited, while increasing the number of embedded GO‐layers leads to pronounced surface heterogeneity. These results are expected to have valuable impact on the construction strategies of coatings with tunable surface properties.     

New (k; r)-arcs in the projective plane of order thirteen

A (k;r)-arc $\cal K$ is a set of k points of a projective plane PG(2, q) such that some r, but no r +1 of them, are collinear. The maximum size of a (k; r)-arc in PG(2, q) is denoted by m _r (2, q). In this paper a (35; 4)-arc, seven (48; 5)-arcs, a (63; 6)-arc and two (117; 10)-arcs in PG(2, 13) are given. Some were found by means of computer search, whereas the example of a (63; 6)-arc was found by adding points to those of a sextic curve $\cal C$ that was not complete as a (54; 6)-arc. All these arcs are new and improve the lower bounds for m _r (2, 13) given in [10, Table 5.4]. The last section concerns the nonexistence of (40; 4)-arcs in PG(2, 13).     

Electrical field and current distributions in electrochemotherapy

Electrochemotherapy is a method for cancer treatment consisting in combining intratumor injection of cytotoxic agent with the application of intensive electrical stimuli. Thus transient cell membranes permeabilization is created, allowing the agent to better exercise its destroying effect. Positive results have been published in the treatment of cutaneous malignant formations and other types of cancer are under consideration. The electrode configurations presently used are based mainly on empirical treatment results. In vivo imaging of stimulation currents was attempted in animal models. A preliminary study revealed that having in view the relatively high voltages and currents, there was a virtually resistive load to the electrical source. Assuming a homogeneous medium, potential and current distributions were modeled and studied. The results could help in selection of specific electrode designs, depending on tumor size and location. An optimization of the voltages and/or currents by different electrode arrays can lead to obtaining desired field distribution.