One-pot, three-component, iron-catalyzed synthesis of benzimidazoles via domino C-N bond formation.

An efficient one-pot, three-component process for the synthesis of benzimidazole derivatives using a catalytic amount of Fe(iii) porphyrin has been developed. The reaction proceeds via domino C-N bond formation and cyclization reactions of benzo-1,2-quinone, aldehydes and ammonium acetate as a nitrogen source to selectively produce benzimidazole. A number of benzimidazole derivatives have been synthesized using this method in high yields under mild reaction conditions.

Visual diagnosis of COVID-19 disease based on serum metabolites using a paper-based electronic tongue.

This study aims to use a paper-based sensor array for point-of-care detection of COVID-19 diseases. Various chemical compounds such as nanoparticles, organic dyes and metal ion complexes were employed as sensing elements in the array fabrication, capturing the metabolites of human serum samples. The viral infection caused the type and concentration of serum compositions to change, resulting in different color responses for the infected and control samples. For this purpose, 118 serum samples of COVID-19 patients and non-COVID controls both men and women with the age range of 14-88 years were collected. The serum samples were initially subjected to the sensor, followed by monitoring the variation in the color of sensing elements for 5 min using a scanner. By taking into consideration the statistical information, this method was capable of discriminating COVID-19 patients and control samples with 83.0% accuracy. The variation of age did not influence the colorimetric patterns. The desirable correlation was observed between the sensor responses and viral load values calculated by the PCR test, proposing a rapid and facile way to estimate the disease severity. Compared to other rapid detection methods, the developed assay is cost-effective and user-friendly, allowing for screening COVID-19 diseases reliably.

Iodine-catalyzed synthesis of benzoxazoles using catechols, ammonium acetate, and alkenes/alkynes/ketones via C-C and C-O bond cleavage.

An efficient metal-free synthesis strategy of benzoxazoles was developed via coupling catechols, ammonium acetate, and alkenes/alkynes/ketones. The developed methodology represents an operationally simple, one-pot and large-scale procedure for the preparation of benzoxazole derivatives using molecular iodine as the catalyst.

Non-invasive detection of COVID-19 using a microfluidic-based colorimetric sensor array sensitive to urinary metabolites.

A colorimetric sensor array designed on a paper substrate with a microfluidic structure has been developed. This array is capable of detecting COVID-19 disease by tracking metabolites of urine samples. In order to determine minor metabolic changes, various colorimetric receptors consisting of gold and silver nanoparticles, metalloporphyrins, metal ion complexes, and pH-sensitive indicators are used in the array structure. By injecting a small volume of the urine sample, the color pattern of the sensor changes after 7 min, which can be observed visually. The color changes of the receptors (recorded by a scanner) are subsequently calculated by image analysis software and displayed as a color difference map. This study has been performed on 130 volunteers, including 60 patients infected by COVID-19, 55 healthy controls, and 15 cured individuals. The resulting array provides a fingerprint response for each category due to the differences in the metabolic profile of the urine sample. The principal component analysis-discriminant analysis confirms that the assay sensitivity to the correctly detected patient, healthy, and cured participants is equal to 73.3%, 74.5%, and 66.6%, respectively. Apart from COVID-19, other diseases such as chronic kidney disease, liver disorder, and diabetes may be detectable by the proposed sensor. However, this performance of the sensor must be tested in the studies with a larger sample size. These results show the possible feasibility of the sensor as a suitable alternative to costly and time-consuming standard methods for rapid detection and control of viral and bacterial infectious diseases and metabolic disorders.

Mask assistance to colorimetric sniffers for detection of Covid-19 disease using exhaled breath metabolites.

According to World Health Organization reports, large numbers of people around the globe have been infected or died for Covid-19 due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Researchers are still trying to find a rapid and accurate diagnostic method for revealing infected people by low viral load with the overriding goal of effective diagnostic management. Monitoring the body metabolic changes is known as an effective and inexpensive approach for the evaluation of the infected people. Here, an optical sniffer is introduced to detect exhaled breath metabolites of patients with Covid-19 (60 samples), healthy humans (55 samples), and cured people (15 samples), providing a unique color pattern for differentiation between the studied samples. The sniffer device is installed on a thin face mask, and directly exposed to the exhaled breath stream. The interactions occurring between the volatile compounds and sensing components such as porphyrazines, modified organic dyes, porphyrins, inorganic complexes, and gold nanoparticles allowing for the change of the color, thus being tracked as the sensor responses. The assay accuracy for the differentiation between patient, healthy and cured samples is calculated to be in the range of 80%-84%. The changes in the color of the sensor have a linear correlation with the disease severity and viral load evaluated by rRT-PCR method. Interestingly, comorbidities such as kidney, lung, and diabetes diseases as well as being a smoker may be diagnosed by the proposed method. As a powerful detection device, the breath sniffer can replace the conventional rapid test kits for medical applications.

A colorimetric electronic tongue for point-of-care detection of COVID-19 using salivary metabolites.

The monitoring of profile concentrations of chemical markers in saliva samples can be used to diagnose COVID-19 patients, and differentiate them from healthy individuals. Here, this purpose is achieved by designing a paper-based colorimetric sensor with an origami structure, containing general receptors such as pH-sensitive organic dyes, Lewis donors or acceptors, functionalized nanoparticles, and ion metal complexes. The color changes taking place in the receptors in the presence of chemical markers are visually observed and recorded with a digital instrument. Different types and amounts of the chemical markers provide the sensor with a unique response for patients (60 samples) or healthy (55 samples) individuals. These two categories can be discriminated with 84.3% accuracy. This study evidences that the saliva composition of cured and healthy participants is different from each other with accuracy of 85.7%. Moreover, viral load values obtained from the rRT-PCR method can be estimated by the designed sensor. Besides COVID-19, it may possible to simultaneously identify smokers and people with kidney disease and diabetes using the specified electronic tongue. Due to its high efficiency, the prepared paper device can be employed as a rapid detection kit to detect COVID-19.

One-Pot Multicomponent Coupling Reaction of Catechols, Benzyl Alcohols/Benzyl Methyl Ethers, and Ammonium Acetate toward Synthesis of Benzoxazoles.

The multicomponent coupling reaction of catechol, ammonium acetate, and benzyl alcohol/benzyl methyl ether in the presence of a Fe(III) catalyst precursor afforded benzoxazole derivatives in good to excellent yields. The notable features of this protocol are abundant availability of the catalyst system, large-scale synthesis, high diversity, and high yields of products.

One-Pot Multicomponent Reaction of Catechols, Ammonium Acetate, and Aldehydes for the Synthesis of Benzoxazole Derivatives Using the Fe(III)-Salen Complex.

The Fe(III)-salen complex has been applied successfully as a catalyst for the novel, simple, efficient, and one-pot multicomponent synthesis of benzoxazole derivatives from catechols, ammonium acetate as the nitrogen source, and aldehydes (nontoxic and cheap alternatives of amines) for the first time. Using this procedure, a wide range of benzoxazoles was successfully synthesized in the presence of a catalyst in EtOH under mild conditions, and all products were obtained in excellent yields. To the best of our knowledge, this method is the first example of the multicomponent synthesis of benzoxazole derivatives using these starting materials. The notable features such as the use of air that is considered as a benign oxidant and EtOH as a green solvent, ease of product separation, readily available and inexpensive aldehydes, and mild conditions make our procedure more efficient and practical for organic synthesis. Moreover, the current protocol is successfully applied to synthesize desirable products on a large scale.

An overview on recent advances in the synthesis of sulfonated organic materials, sulfonated silica materials, and sulfonated carbon materials and their catalytic applications in chemical processes.

This review article discusses the progress related to the synthesis and catalytic applications of sulfonated organic materials, sulfonated silica materials, and sulfonated carbon materials for industrial and laboratory products. These catalysts are widely used in acid-catalyzed processes. Most of these acid catalysts are eco-friendly, reusable, and stable. Moreover, the discovery of unique catalysts is vital for developing new, efficient, and reusable catalysts for industrial and laboratory applications. The aim of this review article is to review the recent studies (2014-2018) in the field of the utility of sulfonated organic materials, sulfonated silica materials, and sulfonated carbon materials for developing acidic catalysts.

Transduction of interaction between trace tryptophan and surface-confined chromium salen using impedance spectroscopy. A sensing device that works based on highly selective inhibition of mediator's Faradaic process.

It is known that tryptophan (Trp) tends to be electropolymerized over a potential window that is mostly applied for voltammetric determination of Trp. Furthermore, over the applied potential range, most of Trp-sensors suffer from some possible interferences. Knowing these challenges motivated us to establish a novel sensing device able to monitor Trp before approaching the mentioned potential range, decreasing memory-effects and some sources of non-linearity during electrochemical measurements. However, considering its molecular structure, it is unrealistic to expect tryptophan oxidation in negative potentials. This work reports the application of a surface-confined chromium-salen complex that delivered a redox couple attributed to Cr(II)/Cr(III) at a low positive potentials. The recorded cyclic voltammograms (CVs) clarified that Trp has a high inhibitory activity toward the chromium oxidation peak in the alkaline medium at a low potential of -0.18 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The positive shift of the anodic peak potential of redox reaction disclosed that Trp drastically influenced the capability of the interfacial charge transfer of the modified electrode, the features that was exploited in establishing a sensitive Trp detection method using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The proposed sensor was successfully employed to determine Trp over a concentration range of 4.0-60.0 nM with the calculated detection limit of 0.78 nM.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of some novel diastereoselective benzothiazole ß-lactam conjugates.

Highly diastereoselective synthesis of some novel benzothiazole-substituted ß-lactam hybrids was achieved starting from (benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenol as an available precursor. This is the first time (benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenoxyacetic acid has been used as ketene source in synthesizing monocyclic 2-azetidinones. These compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities against a large panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains and moderate activities were encountered. Antimalarial data revealed that adding methoxyphenyl or ethoxyphenyl group on the ß-lactam ring makes compounds that are more potent. Moreover, hemolytic activity and mammalian cell toxicity survey of the compounds showed their potential as a medicine.

The Effects of Different Ionic Liquid Coatings and the Length of Alkyl Chain on Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Properties of Silver Nanoparticles.

INTRODUCTION: The antibacterial efficacy and toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) depends on their physicochemical properties including size, shape, surface charge and surface coatings. The Objectives of this study were: i) To synthesize and characterize positively charged AgNPs coated by different ionic-liquids with different alkyl chain lengths, ii) To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of these nanoparticles against Enterococcus faecalis compared to sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and chlorhexidine (CHX), iii) To compare the cytocompatibility of these solutions against L929 mouse fibroblasts. METHODS AND MATERIALS: AgNPs with positive surface charges capped by two different ionic liquids [imidazolium (Im) and pyridinium (Py)] with two alkyl chain lengths (C12 and C18) were synthesized. Im and Py were also tested as control groups. The characterization revealed synthesis of spherical NPs in the size range of 6.7-18.5 nm with a surface charge ranging from +25 to +58 mV. To standardize the comparisons, the surface charge to radius ratio of each nanoparticle was calculated. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the AgNP solutions, NaOCl and CHX were determined against E. faecalis by a microdilution test. An MTT-based cytotoxicity assay evaluated the cytotoxicity of the solutions in different concentrations on L929 fibroblasts. One-way and two-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: All tested AgNPs reached MIC90 in significantly lower concentrations compared to CHX and NaOCl. C12 Py-coated AgNPs had the lowest MIC90 value. CHX and NaOCl were more toxic on fibroblasts than all tested AgNPs. Im-coated AgNPs had better compatibility with fibroblasts than Py-coated particles; and C12 Im AgNPs had the best biocompatibility. Variations in alkyl chain length had no effects on the biocompatibility of AgNPs. CONCLUSION: Py improved the antibacterial efficacy of AgNPs compared to Im; however, it had a negative effect on cytocompatibility. Alkyl chain length had no effects on AgNPs' bioactivity.

Solvent-free and room temperature synthesis of 3-arylquinolines from different anilines and styrene oxide in the presence of Al2O3/MeSO3H.

A highly efficient, simple and environmentally friendly synthesis of 3-arylquinolines has been developed in the presence of Al2O3/MeSO3H via one-pot reaction of anilines and styrene oxide. This methodology provides very rapid access to 3-arylquinolines in good to excellent yields under solvent-free conditions at room temperature in air.

Cu(II) complex of pyridine-based polydentate as a novel, efficient, and highly reusable catalyst in C-N bond-forming reaction.

In this paper, a highly reusable copper(II) complex of pyridine-based polydentate is able to efficiently catalyze a C-N bond-forming reaction under mild conditions. A variety of N-heterocyclic and amine compounds arylated with different aryl iodides, bromides, and chlorides produced N-substituted compounds in good to excellent yields. This methodology can be also used for the arylation of N-unsubstituted compounds using arylboronic acids under solvent-free conditions. All reactions are performed in short times under air, and the catalyst can be reused up to seven times.

Application of a new phosphorus-free palladium heterogeneous nanocatalyst supported on modified MWCNT the highly selective and efficient cleavage of propargyl, allyl, and benzyl phenol ethers under mild conditions.

A stable and efficient phosphorus-free, low Pd-loading heterogeneous nanocatalyst comprising palladium and a multi-walled carbon nanotube was prepared and characterized by various techniques such as SEM, TEM, AFM, FT-IR, and Raman spectrometry, N2 adsorption isotherm and thermogravimetric analysis. This catalyst was used for the deprotection of phenol ethers. The catalyst selectivity for deprotection of between propargyl, allyl, and benzyl, as a protecting group, was studied. Also, the presence of different functional groups was studied to establish the scope and limitations of this method. The catalytic activity of recycled catalyst was evaluated. The results indicated that the catalyst is heterogeneous, stable, and very active under the established conditions, and it could be reused up to five times without any significant leaching. In addition, according to ICP analysis, low leaves of leaching of palladium from the catalyst was observed, which indicates that anthraquinone has an excellent ability to coordinate with palladium.

Development of a novel fluorimetric bulk optode membrane based on meso-tetrakis(2-hydroxynaphthyl) porphyrin (MTHNP) for highly sensitive and selective monitoring of trace amounts of Hg2+ ions.

The fluorescence spectra and response characteristics of two porphyrin compounds meso-tetrakis(2-hydroxynaphthyl) porphyrin and meso-tetra (2-thiophene) porphyrin (MTHNP) to Hg(2+) were investigated. MTHNP showed preferable fluorescence response to Hg(2+). Thereby, an efficient and selective fluorimetric optode membrane based on the fluorescence quenching of MTHNP for Hg(2+) ion determination at low concentration levels has been developed. The sensing membrane containing MTHNP reversibly responded to Hg(2+) with a working concentration range covering from 5.0×10(-9) to 1.25×10(-5)M with a relatively fast response time less than 3min. In addition to high stability, reversibility and reproducibility, the sensor showed extremely high selectivity toward Hg(2+) ion with respect to some alkali, alkaline earth and heavy metal ions. The limit of detection for Hg(2+) was 5.0×10(-9)M. The proposed fluorescent sensor was successfully applied to the direct determination of mercury content of biofenac eye drop, hair and different water samples.

A mild, three-component one-pot synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles using Mo(IV) salen complex in homogeneous catalytic system and Mo(IV) salen complex nanoparticles onto silica as a highly active, efficient, and reusable heterogeneous nanocatalyst.

Mo(IV) salen complex (2.5 mol%) was found to be a highly efficient catalyst for the one-pot synthesis of 2,4,5-triarylimidazoles via a three-component reaction using benzil or benzoin, aryl aldehydes, and ammonium acetate as a nitrogen source under mild conditions. In order to recover and the reuse of the catalyst, a new Mo(IV) salen-silica nanoparticle as heterogeneous catalyst was prepared by simple and successful immobilization of the catalyst onto silica (3-aminopropyl functionalized silica gel). This procedure can be applied to large-scale conditions with high efficiency. Experimental evidence showed that the catalyst is stable and can be easily recovered and reused for at least five times without significant loss of activity. The nanocatalyst was characterized using FT-IR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction , transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric instrument for analysis of nitrogen adsorption, and inductively coupled plasma spectrometer.

An efficient catalytic system based on 7,8-dihydroxy-4-methylcoumarin and copper(II) for the click synthesis of diverse 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles under green conditions.

In this work, the combination of 7,8-dihydroxy-4-methyl coumarin (DHMC) as a novel bidentate O,O-chelating agent and copper(II) acetate monohydrate (2:1 molar ratio) has been found to form an efficient catalytic system. This catalyst provided good to excellent yields in the multi-component click synthesis of 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles by using various structurally diverse organic halides, different non-activated terminal alkynes, and sodium azide. This catalytic system eliminates the need for the isolation of the hazardous azide intermediates which are generated in situ. The reaction is carried out in aqueous phase at room temperature and it can be accelerated by sonication or by increasing the reaction temperature. Moreover, the reaction can be performed in large scale. It is noteworthy that DHMC is commercially available and that it can be easily synthesized with low cost materials.

Synthesis of chromeno[3,4-B]quinoline derivatives by heterogeneous [Cu(II)BHPPDAH] catalyst without being immobilized on any support under mild conditions using PEG 300 as green solvent.

The efficient synthesis of chromeno[3,4-[Formula: see text]]quinoline derivatives by condensation of O-propargylated salicylaldehyde, or corresponding compounds and primary aromatic amine derivatives using a catalytic amount of heterogeneous Cu(II)BHPPDAH complex without being immobilized on any supports (5.0 mol%) in PEG 300 as a "green" solvent is described. The remarkable features of this protocol are good to high yields in all cases, short reaction times, a cleaner reaction profile in an environmentally benign solvent (PEG 300), and the method is applicable to large-scale operation without any problem. Furthermore, the catalyst was quantitatively recovered from the reaction mixture by simple filtration and reused at least seven times with almost consistent activity.

A highly sensitive and selective bulk optode based on benzimidazol derivative as an ionophore and ETH5294 for the determination of ultra trace amount of silver ions.

A novel optical chemical sensor (optode) was fabricated for the determination of silver ions. The optical sensor was prepared by incorporating recently synthesized ionophore, 7-(1H-benzimidazol-1-ylmethyl)-5,6,7,8,9,10-hexahydro-2H-1,13,4,7,10-benzodioxatriaza cyclopentadecine-3,11(4H,12H)-dione, sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB) as an anionic additive, 3-octadecanoylimino-7-(diethylamino)-1,2-benzophenoxazine (ETH5294) as a chromoionophore, and dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as a plasticizer in a poly(vinyl chloride) membrane. The effect of several parameters in determining Ag(+) was studied and optimized. The spectrophotometric method (λ(max) of 660 nm) was used for the determination of Ag(+). Under the optimum conditions, the optical sensor has a wide dynamic range of 1.02×10(-11) to 8.94×10(-5) mol L(-1) Ag(+) with the detection limit as low as 2.8×10(-12) mol L(-1). The response time of the sensor was ~150 s, with a RSD% of 0.4% (for 1.0×10(-6) mol L(-1), n=7). The optode could be regenerated by 0.2 mol L(-1) HCl solution. The interferences of potential interfering ions were studied. It was shown that the new optode was very selective to silver ions and had no significant response to common ions such as Mn(2+), Cd(2+), Ni(2+), Hg(2+), and Co(2+). It can be claimed that the sensor can specifically detect silver ions. The sensor was successfully applied for the determination of silver ions in different real samples.