A study of the properties of hemicelluloses adsorbed onto microfibrillar cellulose isolated from apple parenchyma.

Binding assays of commercially available hemicelluloses and pectins, and microfibrillar cellulose isolated form apple parenchyma were prepared. Initial studies showed that among all of the non-cellulosic polysaccharides examined, only the hemicelluloses (xyloglucan, xylan, glucomannan, ß-d-glucan) showed the ability to adsorb to microfibrillar cellulose. Among several adsorption models tested, the best fit was obtained for the Redlich-Peterson isotherm.

Stereoselective Wittig Olefination as a Macrocyclization Tool. Synthesis of Large Carbazolophanes.

Z-Selective Wittig olefination was applied to the synthesis of large carbazolophanes containing up to eight heteroaromatic subunits. A number of strategies were devised and tested, showing that cyclooligomerization yields can be significantly improved by using one-component schemes involving heterobifunctional reactants. [4]- and [6]Carbazolophanes were characterized in the solid state, revealing compact, highly folded structures.

Highly strained nonclassical nanotube end-caps. A single-step solution synthesis from strain-free, non-macrocyclic precursors.

Nonclassical nanotube end-caps have been constructed from strain-free heterocyclic precursors using a one-step synthetic procedure, involving multiple nickel-mediated Ullmann couplings. These systems consist of tubular macrocyclic sections that are tightly capped on one side with a bridging benzene ring, forming deep, chemically accessible cavities. The end-caps are characterized by exceptionally high internal strain energies reaching 144 kcal/mol.

Heteroaromatic belts through fold-in synthesis: mechanistic insights into a macrocycle-templated Friedel-Crafts alkylation.

Direct alkylation of 9,9',9''-triethyl[2.2.2](2,7)carbazolophane with dimethoxymethane or paraformaldehyde affords a belt-like heteroaromatic structure, which forms as a kinetic product in acid-catalyzed condensations.