Preferred dimerization of tetra-tolyl- and tetra-tosylurea derivatives of flexible and rigidified calix[4]arenes

The dimerization of tetratolyl- and tetratosyl-urea derivatives 1 and 2, derived from a tetrapentoxy calix[4]arene in the cone conformation and of the corresponding tetra-urea derivatives 3 and 4, in which the cone conformation is rigidified by the two crown-3 tethers, have been studied. All six possible equimolar mixtures were examined by 1H NMR using CDCl3 and CD2Cl2 as solvents. While no heterodimers are found for the combinations 1/3 and 2/4 in either solvent, all remaining combinations lead to the (exclusive) formation of heterodimers in CD2Cl2. In CDCl3 heterodimers are only observed for the combinations of 3 with 2 or 4. These results are discussed in terms of entropic and enthalpic contributions and compared with MD-simulations in a box of chloroform solvent molecules.     

Compensation of steric demand by cation-pi interactions,cobaltocenium cations as guests in tetraurea calix[4]arene dimers

The affinities of ferrocene (2) and the cobaltocenium cation (3+), which have roughly the same size and differ in their charge, towards the inner cavity of the dimeric capsule formed by tetraurea calix[4]arene (1) were studied in C2D4Cl2 solutions. While 3+, which occupies more than 75% of the internal volume of the dimer, is readily encapsulated this is not the case for 2. This is probably due to cation-pi interactions, which operate only between 3+ and the aromatic rings of the calix[4]arene dimer. We found that the affinity of the cobaltocenium cation is higher than that of the tropylium cation (4+) and is only 2-3 times less than that of the tetraethylammoniun cation (5+). From the variable temperature 1H NMR spectra of this capsule, the free energy of activation at 298 K (deltaGdouble dagger(298K)) for the reorientation of the hydrogen bonded belt between the two parts of the dimer could be determined by total line shape analysis for the aromatic protons of the calixarene. The value of 14.3 +/- 0.2 kcal mol(-1) for the dimeric capsules of 3+ PF6- is very similar to the free activation energy found for dimeric capsules of 1 with 4+ PF6- and 5+ PF6- in C2D4Cl2. It becomes significantly lower, if PF6- is replaced by BF4-. We also found that ten times more DMSO is needed to disrupt the capsule 1 x 3+ x 1 than the corresponding 1 x 1 dimer containing benzene as guest. This demonstrates again the importance of the cation-pi interactions for the stability of such hydrogen-bonded dimeric capsules.     

Synthesis and anticancer activity evaluation of 3-(4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-5-yl)-1H-indole-carboxylic acids derivatives

Abstract

A mild and efficient method for the synthesis of 1-oxo-9H-thiopyrano[3,4-b]indole-3-carboxylic acids and dimerized 3-(4-carboxy-1H-3-indolyl)-2-propenoic acids via alkaline hydrolysis of 3-(rhodanin-5-yl)-1H-indole-2-carboxylic acids derivatives was elaborated. Anticancer activity screening in NCI60-cell lines assay allowed identification of 5-fluoro-3-(4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-5-ylidenemethyl)-1H-indole-2-carboxylic acid methyl ester 2a with significant antimitotic activity at micromolar and submicromolar concentrations.     

Continuum percolation of the four-bonding-site associating fluids

Wertheim’s integral equation theory for associating fluids is reformulated for the study of the connectedness properties of associating hard spheres with four bonding sites. The association interaction is described as a square-well saturable attraction between these sites. The connectedness version of the Ornstein-Zernike (OZ) integral equation is supplemented by the PY-like closure relation and solved analytically within an ideal network approximation in which the network is represented as resulting from the crossing of ideal polymer chains. The pair connectedness functions and the mean cluster size are calculated and discussed. The condition for the percolation transition and the analytical form of the percolation threshold are derived. The connection of the percolation with the gas-liquid phase transition is discussed.     

Orientational preferences of aromatic guests in dimeric capsules of tetraurea calix[4]arenes--MD and NMR studies

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been performed for complexes of a dimeric capsule of a tetraurea calixarene with a series of twelve aromatic guests. A distinct orientational preference and a restriction of the internal mobility was found which depend on the size and electronic properties of the guests. The results are in agreement with the CIS values obtained from (1)H NMR spectroscopic measurements and with complexation selectivities obtained by competition experiments.     

Metal imaging on surface of micro- and nanoelectronic devices by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and possibility to measure at nanometer range

An analytical mass spectrometric method for the elemental analysis of nano-bioelectronic devices involved in bioengineering research was developed and applied for measurements of selected metals (Au, Ti, Pt, Cr, etc. ) on interdigitated electrode array chips (IDA-chip). An imaging laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (LA-ICP-MS) procedure was used to map the elements of interest on the surface of the analyzed sample. The obtained images of metals were in a good agreement and corresponded to the micro- and nanofabricated metal electrode pattern. For the analysis at nanometer resolution scale a NF-LA-ICP-MS (NF-near-field) procedure was applied, which utilize thin Ag needle to enhance laser beam energy and improve spatial resolution of the method. The results show a ∼100× enhancement of analyte signal, when the needle was positioned in the “near-field region” to the sample surface and the laser shot was performed. In addition, mass spectrometric studies of reproducibly for five separated NF-LA shots in different places of analyzed sample yielded an RSD of the measurement of 16%.     

Porous structure of natural and modified clinoptilolites

The evaluation of the pore-size distribution (PSD) of natural and modified mesoporous zeolites, i.e., clinoptilolites is presented. We demonstrate the SEM results showing that the pores of fracture-type from 25-50 nm to 100 nm in size between clinoptilolite grains, as well as pores between crystal aggregates up to 500 nm in size are present in the studied material. The detailed distribution of pore sizes and tortuosity factor of the above-mentioned materials are determined from the adsorption-desorption isotherms of nitrogen measured volumetrically at 77 K. To obtain the reliable pore size distribution (PSD) of the above-mentioned materials both adsorption and desorption branches of the experimental hysteresis loop are described simultaneously by recently developed corrugated pore structure model (CPSM) of Androutsopoulos and Salmas. Evaluated pore size distributions are characterized by well-defined smooth peaks placed in the region of the mesoporosity. Moreover, the mean pore diameter calculated from the classical static measurement of nitrogen adsorption at 77 K correspond very well to the pore diameters from SEM, showing the applicability of the CPSM for characterization of the porosity of natural zeolites. We conclude that classical static adsorption measurements combined with the proper modeling of the capillary condensation/evaporation phenomena are a powerful method which can be applied for pore structure characterization of natural and modified clinoptilolites.