Molecular design of ambipolar redox-active molecules II: closed-shell systems

This mini-review highlights key structural features that should be taken into account when creating ambipolar redox-active closed-shell metal-free molecules. This type of compound is strongly required for the fabrication of all-organic ‘poleless’ batteries and semiconductors. The suggested strategies aimed at stabilization of both oxidized (cationic) and reduced (anionic) redox-states are based on the comprehensive analysis of the most successful structures taken from the recent publications.     

Enhancing signal-to-noise ratio and resolution in low-field NMR relaxation measurements using post-acquisition digital filters

The traditional way to enhance signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals is to increase the number of scans. However, this procedure increases the measuring time that can be prohibitive for some applications. Therefore, we have tested the use of several post-acquisition digital filters to enhance SNR up to one order of magnitude in time domain NMR (TD-NMR) relaxation measurements. The procedures were studied using continuous wave free precession (CWFP-T₁) signals, acquired with very low flip angles that contain six times more noise than the Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) signal of the same sample and experimental time. Linear (LI) and logarithmic (LO) data compression, low-pass infinity impulse response (LP), Savitzky–Golay (SG), and wavelet transform (WA) post-acquisition filters enhanced the SNR of the CWFP-T₁ signals by at least six times. The best filters were LO, SG, and WA that have high enhancement in SNR without significant distortions in the ILT relaxation distribution data. Therefore, it was demonstrated that these post-acquisition digital filters could be a useful way to denoise CWFP-T₁, as well as CPMG noisy signals, and consequently reducing the experimental time. It was also demonstrated that filtered CWFP-T₁ method has the potential to be a rapid and nondestructive method to measure fat content in beef and certainly in other meat samples.     

Synthesis, structure, and antimetastatic activity of thetrans-[Pt(NC5H4C(O)NHC2H4ONO2)2Cl2] complex

Thetrans-[Pt(NC₅H₄C(O)NHC₂H₄ONO₂)₂Cl₂] complex (2) was prepared by the reaction of nicorandyl (N-nitroethoxynicotinamide), which is widely used in cardiology, with K₂PtCl₄ in water. The structure of2 was established by X-ray structural analysis. It was found that complex2 exhibits high antitumor activity, in particular, antimetastatic activity, unlike the analogous Cu^II complex with bromine atoms. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1672–1675, September, 1997.     

Fluorescence and absorption of polystyrene exposed to UV laser radiation

We show that when polystyrene is exposed (for 15–60 sec) to a UV laser light beam (λ = 248 nm), its absorption and luminescent properties change significantly. In the irradiated polymer, optical centers are formed with absorption bands in the 280–460 nm region and fluorescence bands in the 330–520 nm region. We have established the chemical structure of the optical centers for fluorescence of polystyrene. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 54–58, January–February, 2006.     

Semiempirical calculation of the fine structure of the indium ion

The fine-structure parameters of a series of configurations of the first ion of indium and the gyromagnetic ratios in intermediate coupling are calculated by a semiempirical method in the single-configuration approximation.     

Synthesis and characterization of oxidized cellulose

Samples of oxidized cellulose (OC) with various carboxyl contents and degrees of crystallinity were obtained by the oxidation of native and mercerized cellulose with a solution of nitrogen(IV) oxide in CCl₄. A detailed characterization of these OC samples was performed. The effect of oxidation conditions (concentration of N₂O₄ in the solution and oxidation time) and starting cellulose material on OC characteristics (carboxyl, carbonyl and nitrogen content, degree of crystallinity and polymerization, surface area and swelling, and acidic properties) was investigated. Reactivity in the oxidation process was higher in mercerized cellulose than in native cellulose. The action of dilute solutions (10–15%) of N₂O₄ did not affect the degree of crystallinity of cellulose samples. Under these conditions, the oxidation took place mainly in amorphous regions and on the surface of crystallites. Oxidation in a concentrated (40%) N₂O₄ solution led to the destruction of crystallites, which increased the surface area and swelling of cellulose in water. The surface area and the swelling of OC samples increased with a decrease in the index of crystallinity. The acidic properties of OC were shown to increase with an increase of swelling in water. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4785–4791, 2004     

Properties of the extraction system constituted by phosphoric acid produced from Khibiny apatite and tri-n-butyl phosphate

Data on the equilibrium distribution of phosphoric acid among the aqueous and organic phases in extraction of phosphoric acid with tri-n-butyl phosphate are presented for the system constituted by phosphoric acid produced from the Khibiny concentrate and by the extracting agent from the industrial system for purification of extraction phosphoric acid at 25–50°C.     

Physicochemical aspects of preservation of cellulose paper with polymers

The process of preservation of newspaper with aqueous solutions and dispersions of acrylic copolymers is considered from the instant of impregnation till removal of the polymeric preservative from paper.     

Contributions to the synthesis of some ferrocene-containing antibiotics

This Review discusses the synthesis and characterization by our Group of new antibiotics belonging to the class of penicillins, cephalosporins and rifamycins with ferrocenyl and 1, 1′-ferrocenilene residues in the molecule. As reactants for 6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA) and 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA) the following were used: 1, 1-bis(chlorocarbonyl)ferrocene, ferrocenyl sulfochloride, 1, 1′-ferrocenylenedisulfochloride and thioglycolic acids S-modified with ferrocene. In the synthesis of rifamycins, the hydrazides of the thioglycolic acids, S-modified with ferrocene, were employed as nucleophilic agents. The synthesized intermediates were characterized by elemental analysis, TLC, IR, UV and ¹H NMR spectra. The characterization of new antibiotics was made by TLC, IR and UV spectral analysis. Biological activity was tested on Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Good activity is reported towards Gram-positive bacteria in the case of derivatives containing residues of thioglycolic acid S-modified with ferrocene, the antibacterial activity being similar to that of amoxicillin, carbenicillin and cephalothin. All compounds are inactive towards Gram-negative bacteria.