Bioisosterism: 1,2,4-Oxadiazole Rings.

Although studies in drug discovery have gained momentum in recent years, the conversion of drugs in use today into less toxic derivatives with pharmacologically superior properties is still of great importance in drug research. Bioisosterism facilitates the conversion of drugs into derivatives that present more positive pharmacological and toxicological profiles by changing existing groups in the drug structure within the framework of certain criteria that have been expanded today. The 1,2,4-oxadiazole ring is used as a bioisostere for ester and amide groups due to its resistance to hydrolysis. However, this ring is not limited to esters and amides, but can also be used as a bioisostere for other functional groups. In this review, cases in which the 1,2,4-oxadiazole ring is used as a bioisostere for various functional groups are discussed. Herein we shed light on 1,2,4-oxadiazole bioisosterism in the development of new drug candidates and in enhancing the pharmacological profiles of currently available drugs.

Polarization-dependent optical band gap energy of aligned semiconducting titanium oxide nanowire deposits.

Thin deposits of aligned semiconducting titanium oxide and of zinc oxide nanowires are prepared by grazing incidence spraying on transparent substrates. By measuring the transmittance of linearly polarized light of these anisotropic assemblies as compared to that of randomly oriented nanowires and of spherical nanoparticles, we find that titanium oxide nanowires exhibit an orientation-dependent variation of the apparent optical band gap energy at room temperature (>100 meV), depending on the direction of the polarization of the light with respect to the direction of alignment of the nanowires.

In-Situ XPS Monitoring and Characterization of Electrochemically Prepared Au Nanoparticles in an Ionic Liquid.

Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) have been electrochemically prepared in situ and in vacuo using two different electrochemical device configurations, containing an ionic liquid (IL), N-N-diethyl-N-methyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)ammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, that serves both as reaction and as stabilizing media for the NPs. It was observed in both devices that Au NPs were created using an anodically triggered route. The created Au NPs are relatively small (3-7 nm) and reside within the IL medium. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is utilized to follow not only the formation of the NPs but also their charging/discharging properties, by monitoring the charging shifts of the Au4f peak representing the electrodes and also the Au NPs as well as the F1s peak of the IL after polarizing one of the electrodes. Accordingly, DC polarization across the electrodes leads to a uniform binding energy shift of F1s of the IL along with that of Au4f of the NPs within. Moreover, this shift corresponds to only half of the applied potential. AC polarization brings out another dimension for demonstrating further the harmony between the charging/discharging property of the IL medium and the Au NPs in temporally and laterally resolved fashions. Polarization of the electrodes result in perfect spectral separation of the Au4f peaks of the NPs from those of the metal in both static (DC) and in time- and position-dependent (AC) modes.