Diels-Alder chemistry on alkene functionalized films

A substrate-independent method has been devised for ring formation at solid surfaces. This entails the aminolysis reaction of allylamine with maleic anhydride pulsed plasma polymer films to yield terminal alkene groups at the surface. Subsequent exposure to 1,3-cyclohexadiene leads to a Diels-Alder type (4 + 2) cycloaddition reaction to give a mixture of endo- and exo-bicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene rings.     

Applications of chalcogenide glass optical fibers

Chalcogenide-glass fibers based on sulfide, selenide, telluride and their rare-earth-doped compositions are being actively pursued worldwide. Great strides have been made in reducing optical losses using improved chemical purification techniques, but further improvements are needed in both purification and fiberization technology to attain the theoretical optical losses. Despite this, chalcogenide-glass fibers are enabling numerous applications that include laser power delivery, chemical sensing, and imaging, scanning near field microscopy/spectroscopy, IR sources/lasers, amplifiers and optical switches.     

Diels-Alder chemistry at furan ring functionalized solid surfaces

A substrate-independent method for Diels-Alder chemistry at solid surfaces is described for the first time.     

Luminescent PtII and PtIV Platinacycles with Anticancer Activity Against Multiplatinum-Resistant Metastatic CRC and CRPC Cell Models

Platinum-based chemotherapy persists to be the only effective therapeutic option against a wide variety of tumours. Nevertheless, the acquisition of platinum resistance is utterly common, ultimately cornering conventional platinum drugs to only palliative in many patients. Thus, encountering alternatives that are both effective and non-cross-resistant is urgent. In this work, we report the synthesis, reduction studies, and luminescent properties of a series of cyclometallated (C,N,N′)Pt^IV compounds derived from amine–imine ligands, and their remarkable efficacy at the high nanomolar range and complete lack of cross-resistance, as an intrinsic property of the platinacycle, against multiplatinum-resistant colorectal cancer (CRC) and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) metastatic cell lines generated for this work. We have also determined that the compounds are effective and selective for a broader cancer panel, including breast and lung cancer. Additionally, selected compounds have been further evaluated, finding a shift in their antiproliferative mechanism towards more cytotoxic and less cytostatic than cisplatin against cancer cells, being also able to oxidize cysteine residues and inhibit topoisomerase II, thereby holding great promise as future improved alternatives to conventional platinum drugs.