Enhancing laser beam performance by interfering intense laser beamlets.

Increasing the laser energy absorption into energetic particle beams represents a longstanding quest in intense laser-plasma physics. During the interaction with matter, part of the laser energy is converted into relativistic electron beams, which are the origin of secondary sources of energetic ions, γ-rays and neutrons. Here we experimentally demonstrate that using multiple coherent laser beamlets spatially and temporally overlapped, thus producing an interference pattern in the laser focus, significantly improves the laser energy conversion efficiency into hot electrons, compared to one beam with the same energy and nominal intensity as the four beamlets combined.

Boosting laser-ion acceleration with multi-picosecond pulses.

Using one of the world most powerful laser facility, we demonstrate for the first time that high-contrast multi-picosecond pulses are advantageous for proton acceleration. By extending the pulse duration from 1.5 to 6 ps with fixed laser intensity of 10 W cm, the maximum proton energy is improved more than twice (from 13 to 33 MeV).

Discovery of new chemotype dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors having (R)-3-amino-3-methyl piperidine as a pharmacophore.

Structures containing the (R)-3-amino-3-methyl piperidine unit as a new pharmacophore moiety have been shown to possess moderate inhibitory activity for DPP-4 with good pharmacokinetics profile. One of these compounds was found to have good oral bioavailability and PK/PD profile in ZF-rat.

Mixed La-Li heterobimetallic complexes for tertiary nitroaldol resolution.

A kinetic resolution of tertiary nitroaldols derived from simple ketones is described. Mixed BINOL/biphenol La-Li heterobimetallic complexes gave the best selectivity in retro-nitroaldol reactions of racemic tertiary nitroaldols. By using a mixture of La-Li3-(1a)3 complex (LLB 2a) and La-Li3-(1b)3 (LLB* 2b) complex in a ratio of 2/1, chiral tertiary nitroaldols were obtained in 80-97% ee and 30-47% recovery yield.

Dynamic ligand exchange of the lanthanide complex leading to structural and functional transformation: one-pot sequential catalytic asymmetric epoxidation-regioselective epoxide-opening process.

The characteristic property of the lanthanide complex, which easily undergoes a dynamic ligand exchange and alters its structure and function in situ, is described. After the completion of the catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of various alpha,beta-unsaturated amides 2 in the presence of the Sm-(S)-BINOL-Ph3As=O (1:1:1) complex 1 (2-10 mol %), the addition of Me3SiN3 directly to the reaction mixture led to smooth epoxide-opening at room temperature, affording the corresponding anti-beta-azido-alpha-hydroxyamide 4 in excellent overall yield (up to 99%) with complete regioselectivity and excellent enantiomeric excess (up to >99%). The key to the success of the sequential process was the in situ generation of the highly reactive samarium azide complex through dynamic ligand exchange.