Electrochemical Method for the Design of New Possible Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a technique that employs strong magnetic fields and radio frequencies to generate detailed images of the body's interior. In oncology patients, gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) are frequently administered to enhance the visualization of tumors. Those contrast agents are gadolinium chelates, characterized by high stability that prevents the release of the toxic gadolinium ion into the body.

Enabling amidation in water: micellar catalysis approach for sustainable synthesis of iopamidol.

Micellar catalysis is becoming an increasingly versatile tool to carry out a wide range of organic transformations using water as the reaction medium. The approach was recently found to be effective also in the case of water sensitive organics such as acyl chlorides. This finding is of great relevance for the manufacturing of challenging substrates such as the known iodinated contrast agent iopamidol, requiring the use of aprotic dipolar solvents (DMF, NMP, DMAc) in the key amidation step of an acyl dichloride intermediate with serinol.

A serendipitous one-pot synthesis of the octahydro-2-pyrazino[1,2-]pyrazine core.

An unexpected nitro group displacement during a nitro-Mannich reaction led to the one-pot formation of the octahydro-2-pyrazino[1,2-]pyrazine core, representing the shortest access to date to this pharmacologically relevant heterobicyclic system. A mechanistic hypothesis is suggested and supported by specific experiments and HRMS analysis of reaction mixtures.

TRASUTA: The Effect of the Structural Rigidity of a Mesocyclic AAZTA-like Chelating Agent on the Thermodynamic, Kinetic, and Structural Properties of Some Divalent Metal and Ga Complexes.

Mesocyclic chelating agents such as AAZTA and its derivatives have been recently reported to overcome the relatively low thermodynamic stability of metal complexes of acyclic chelating agents and the slow complexation kinetics of macrocyclic chelating agents. This work reports the preparation of a spirobicyclic hexadentate AAZTA-like chelating agent (TRASUTA) and the investigation of the thermodynamic, kinetic, and structural properties of the corresponding chelates with the PET-relevant Ga and selected metal ions. A combination of analytical techniques allowed identification of a coordination isomerization process, involving the coordinating side arms and the inversion of a nitrogen atom and leading to lower thermodynamic and kinetic inertness with respect to mononuclear mesocyclic analogues.

A look at the past to draw lessons for the future: how the case of an urgent ICU transfer taught us to always be ready with a plan B.

Objective: The urgent transfer of an intensive care unit (ICU) is particularly challenging because it carries a high clinical and infectious risk and is a critical node in a hospital's patient flow. In early 2017, exceptional rainfall damaged the roof of the tertiary hospital in Udine, necessitating the relocation of one of the three ICUs for six months. We decided to assess the impact of this transfer on quality of care and patient safety using a set of indicators, primarily considering the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and mortality rates.