Aqueous Antibacterial Enhancement Using Kapok Fibers Chemically Modified in 3-D Crosslinked Structure.

The surface of a kapok fiber was coated with Dopamine (DOPA) through a three-dimensional (3-D) polymerization. Such surface-modified kapok fiber was useful in deactivating microbial activity of microorganisms such as bacteria. The morphology of the surface-modified kapok fiber was analyzed with a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). After a silver coating process along with DOPA functionalization, a strong antibacterial property was observed against Escherichia coli (E. coli), using a direct contact method. Almost 100% of bacterial cells were deactivated in 4 h, also showing a complete hindrance to a bacterial growth for 48 h. With the help of the images of FE-SEM and its analysis, the mechanism of an antibacterial assay was enlightened and reasonably estimated that silver ions from the poly-DOPA-coated kapok fiber with silver (KF-DOPA/Ag) led to alterations of cell morphology. This 3-D composite successfully interacted in vitro with functional groups in terms of bacterial deactivation.

Deformative transition of the Menschutkin reaction and helical atropisomers in a congested polyheterocyclic system.

A 4,7-phenanthroline polycyclic 1A designed for probing the limits of the Menschutkin reaction was synthesized in a six-step sequence. The rotational barrier of the phenyl ring nearby the N-methyl group in rac-2A was estimated to be ≫ 18.1 kcal/mol from VT-NMR experiments, making them a new type of helical atropisomer. The methylation rate constants of 9 and 1A with MeI was found to be 2.22 × 10(-4) and 9.62 × 10(-6) s(-1) mol(-1) L, respectively; thus, the formation rate of (P/M)-2A is one of the slowest rates ever reported for a Menschutkin reaction. The N-methyl protons in (P/M)-2A exhibit a significant upfield shift (Δδ 1.0 ppm) in its (1)H NMR, compared to those without a nearby phenyl, indicating a strong CH-π interaction is involved. Conformational flexibility in dipyridylethene 9 is clearly shown by its complexation with BH3 to form helical atropisomers (P,P/M,M)-10. The pKa values of the conjugate acids of 1A and 9 in acetonitrile were determined to be 4.65 and 5.07, respectively, which are much smaller compared to that of pyridine 14a (pKa = 12.33), implying that the basicity, nucleophilicity, and amine alkylation rates of 1A and 9 are markedly decreased by the severe steric hindrance of the flanking phenyl rings in the polyheterocycles.

Different sensing modes of fluoride and acetate based on a calix[4]arene with 25,27-bistriazolylmethylpyrenylacetamides.

25,27-Bis{1'-N-(1-pyrenyl)-aminocarbonylmethyl-1H-[1',2',3']tri-azolyl-4'-methoxy}-26,28-dihydroxycalix[4]arene, 4, is synthesized as a fluorescent chemosensor for the selective detection of both anions and ion pairs in MeCN. Sensor 4 uses bis-triazoles as ligands to bind a metal ion, bis-amides and bis-triazoles as the sites to recognize anions, and pyrenes as fluorophores. Among eight anions screened, chemosensor 4 showed a marked fluorescence change toward F(-), H2PO4(-) and AcO(-), but 4 responded to each anion in a distinct way. In the presence of F(-) at low concentrations, the dynamic excimer emission of compound 4 at λ(max) 482 nm was quenched, but an emission at λ(max) 472 nm appeared at large doses of F(-). A control compound 6 showed very similar red shifts in the UV-vis and excitation spectra as 4 did, and its 472 nm emission band grew as the fluoride doses increased. Thus, the growth of the 472 nm emission of 4 and 6 in the presence of excess F(-) may be because strong H-bonding interactions of amido protons with F(-) favoured the formation of pyrene dimers in the ground state with charge transfer characteristics. The addition of H2PO4(-), unlike F(-), to a solution of 4 showed an enhanced monomer emission but a decreased excimer emission (λ(max) 482 nm). Adding AcO(-) to 4 produced a systematic change from a dynamic excimer (λ(max) 482 nm) to λ(max) 472 nm but with very little change in the UV-vis spectrum. Time-resolved fluorescence measurements on compound 6 with F(-) and AcO(-) confirmed that the 472 nm emission band mainly came from static excimers for the former, but was partly from a dynamic excimer for the latter because it contained a growth component in the fluorescence decay traces. Without pre-treatment with an anion, chemosensor 4 showed recognition of only metal ions Cu(2+), Hg(2+) and Cr(3+), but it became sensitive to Ag(+) when it was pretreated with fluoride.

The synthesis of rigid polycyclic structures for the study of diatropic or steric effects of a phenyl ring on CF bond.

Polycyclic compounds 1a-c were synthesized to study the diatropic effects of a flanking phenyl ring on nearby CH and CF bonds. (19)F NMR spectra of 1b and 1c were strongly deshielded compared with those of the ring-opened compounds 3b, 7b, and 7c. DMol3 calculations on 1a-c provided quantitative bond lengths and torsional angles to support the conclusion that the downfield shifts in the (19)F NMR spectra are mainly due to steric interactions between the CF bonds and the π clouds of the phenyl ring(s).

Synthesis and unexpected oxidization of the tricyclic core of ugibohlin, isophakellin, and styloguanidine.

A series of 4-substituted 5,6,7,9-tetrahydropyrrolo[2,3-f]indolizin-9-ones, representing the tricyclic core skeleton of ugibohlin, isophakellin, and styloguanidine, were synthesized via an intramolecular Vilsmeier-Haack reaction. This reaction allows the chemoselective C-C bond formation between the pyrrole C3 and proline C5 of N-[(pyrrol-2-yl)carbonyl]prolinamides to construct the B-ring without the protection of the pyrrole nitrogen. Unexpected oxidizative property of the tricyclic core skeleton was observed, which could illuminate understanding of the biological formation of these marine secondary metabolites.