Glycerol Valorization towards a Benzoxazine Derivative through a Milling and Microwave Sequential Strategy.

Glycerol and aminophenol intermolecular condensation has been investigated through a milling and microwave-assisted sequential strategy, towards the synthesis of a benzoxaxine derivative. Mechanochemical activation prior to the microwave-assisted process could improve the probability of contact between the reagents, and greatly favors the higher conversion of aminophenol. At the same time, following a mechanochemical-microwave sequential approach could tune the selectivity towards the formation of a benzoxazine derivative, which could find application in a wide range of biomedical areas.

Whey as an Alternative Nutrient Medium for Growth of and Its Effect on CaCO Polymorphism and Fly Ash Bioconsolidation.

Whey in large quantities can cause environmental problems when discarded, because it reduces dissolved oxygen and aquatic life. Nonetheless, it could be used as an easily available and economical alternative to reduce culture medium costs in microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP). In this work, a native was isolated and then cultured by using different proportions of whey (W) in nutrient broth (NB).

Mechanochemically Synthetized PAN-Based Co-N-Doped Carbon Materials as Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

We report a new class of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based Co-N-doped carbon materials that can act as suitable catalyst for oxygen evolution reactions (OER). Different Co loadings were mechanochemically added into post-consumed PAN fibers. Subsequently, the samples were treated at 300 °C under air (PAN-A) or nitrogen (PAN-N) atmosphere to promote simultaneously the CoO species and PAN cyclization.

Turning Spent Coffee Grounds into Sustainable Precursors for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots.

Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) are known for containing many organic compounds of interest, including carbohydrates, lipids, phenolic compounds and proteins. Therefore, we investigated them as a potential source to obtain carbon dots (CDs) via a nanotechnology approach. Herein, a comparison was performed between CDs produced by SCGs and classic precursors (e.

One-Pot Cu/TiO Nanoparticles Synthesis for Trans-Ferulic Acid Conversion into Vanillin.

In this study, the co-synthesis of TiO and Cu metallic nanoparticles obtained via one-pot cost-efficient hydrothermal process has been addressed. Different nanocatalysts with Cu contents were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen porosimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The TiO and Cu metallic nanoparticles were synthesized with copper loading up to one (Cu/Ti atomic ratio).

Effect of Bay Leaves Essential Oil Concentration on the Properties of Biodegradable Carboxymethyl Cellulose-Based Edible Films.

Films containing bay leaves essential oils (BEOs) were prepared and evaluated for edible packaging applications. The BEOs were extracted by the Soxhlet method, using ethanol or methanol as organic solvent. Then, films were prepared by "solvent casting" technique using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), with different concentrations for the as-obtained BEOs (from 1% to 30% wt.

Continuous Flow Synthesis of High Valuable N-Heterocycles via Catalytic Conversion of Levulinic Acid.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) was successfully functionalized with a low platinum loading to give rise to an effective and stable catalytic material. The synthesized g-CN/Pt was fully characterized by XRD, N physisorption, XPS, SEM-Mapping, and TEM techniques. Remarkably, XPS analysis revealed that Pt was in a dominant metallic state.

Ultrasound-Assisted Esterification of Valeric Acid to Alkyl Valerates Promoted by Biosilicified Lipases.

A novel, environmentally friendly, and sustainable ultrasound-assisted methodology in the valorization of valeric acid to alkyl valerate using a biosilicified lipase from is reported. This one-pot room temperature methodology of enzyme biosilicification leads to biosilicified lipases with improved activity and reaction efficiency as compared to free enzymes. Yields in the ultrasound-promoted esterification of valeric acid was ca.

Construction of protein-resistant pOEGMA films by helicon plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.

This paper describes the formation of protein-resistant, poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (pOEGMA) thin films by helicon plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (helicon-PECVD). pOEGMA was successfully grafted onto a silicon substrate, as a model substrate, without any additional surface initiators, by plasma polymerization of OEGMA. The resulting pOEGMA films were characterized by ellipsometry, FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle goniometry.

Effects of base changes at the transcription start site on stringent control of rnpB in Escherichia coli.

The GC-rich discriminator sequence between the -10 region and the transcription start site of the rnpB promoter is responsible for stringent control of M1 RNA synthesis. The rnpB promoter also contains a G nucleotide at the previously identified transcription start site. In this study, we examined by mutagenesis of G to A whether this +1G nucleotide is involved in the stringent response.

A novel solution-processible heterodinuclear AlIII/IrIII complex for host-dopant assembly OLEDs.

A discrete heterodinuclear Al (III)/Ir (III) complex shows bright-orange light emission when used as an active layer in host-dopant assembly organic light-emitting diodes based on a solution process.

Aluminium-salen luminophores as new hole-blocking materials for phosphorescent OLEDs.

The organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) employing complex [salen(tBu)4Al(OC6H4-p-C6H5)] (4) as a hole-blocking layer produced stable green EL emission of Ir(ppy)3 irrespective of changing current density and showed higher brightness and device efficiency than the BAlq-based device.

Copper-nitrenoid formation and transfer in catalytic olefin aziridination utilizing chelating 2-pyridylsulfonyl moieties.

We have developed an efficient protocol for copper-catalyzed olefin aziridination using 5-methyl-2-pyridinesulfonamide or 2-pyridinesulfonyl azide as the nitrenoid source. The presence of a 2-pyridyl group significantly facilitates aziridination, suggesting that the reaction is driven by the favorable formation of a pyridyl-coordinated nitrenoid intermediate. Using this chelation-assisted strategy, synthetically acceptable yields of aziridines could be obtained with a range of aryl olefins even in the absence of external ligands.

Germ cell-specific gene 1 targets testis-specific poly(A) polymerase to the endoplasmic reticulum through protein-protein interactions.

Testis-specific poly(A) polymerase (TPAP) is a cytoplasmic poly(A) polymerase that is highly expressed in round spermatids. We identified germ cell-specific gene 1 (GSG1) as a TPAP interaction partner protein using yeast two-hybrid and coimmunoprecipitation assays. Subcellular fractionation analysis showed that GSG1 is exclusively localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of mouse testis where TPAP is also present.

A new route to indolines by the Cu-catalyzed cyclization reaction of 2-ethynylanilines with sulfonyl azides.

It is revealed that 2-sulfonyliminoindolines can be efficiently synthesized by the Cu-catalyzed cyclization reaction of N-alkyl- or aryl-substituted 2-ethynylanilines with sulfonyl azides. This new route to the indoline derivatives is characterized by mild reaction conditions, facile introduction of functional groups at the 2-position of the indoline ring, and the wide substrate scope. Selective transformation of indoline to oxindole and isatin analogs is also demonstrated.

Enantioselective formation of tert-alkylamines by desymmetrization of 2-substituted serinols.

Novel enantioselective desymmetrization of 2-substituted 2-amino-1,3-propanediols has been established to generate asymmetric quaternary carbon centers comprising an amino group. Enantioselective as well as chemical conversion proved to be greatly dependent on the protecting group of the amino group in the substrate, desymmetrizing reagent, base, solvent, and naturally, catalyst. The highly effective desymmetrization has been implemented by using N-benzoylated substrates with benzoyl chloride and triethylamine in the presence of tetraphenylbisoxazoline (24)-CuCl(2) complex in THF at ambient temperature.

Dual function of RNase E for control of M1 RNA biosynthesis in Escherichia coli.

M1 RNA, the gene product of rnpB, is the catalytic subunit of RNase P in Escherichia coli. M1 RNA is transcribed from a proximal promoter as pM1 RNA, a precursor M1 RNA, and then is processed at its 3' end by RNase E. In addition to pM1 RNA, large rnpB-containing transcripts are produced from unknown upstream promoters.

ERK is a novel regulatory kinase for poly(A) polymerase.

Poly(A) polymerase (PAP), which adds poly(A) tails to the 3' end of mRNA, can be phosphorylated at several sites in the C-terminal domain. Phosphorylation often mediates regulation by extracellular stimuli, suggesting PAP may be regulated by such stimuli. In this study, we found that phosphorylation of PAP was increased upon growth stimulation and that the mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK was responsible for the increase in phosphorylation.

Selective immobilization of biomolecules onto an activated polymeric adlayer.

The authors report a facile method for the selective immobilization of biomolecules onto a gold surface that was preactivated by a polymeric adlayer. The polymeric adlayer was designed to perform triple functions: high resistance to nonspecific protein adsorption, efficient surface anchoring, and subsequent covalent attachment of biomolecules. For this purpose, a random copolymer, poly(PEGMA-r-NAS), was synthesized by radical polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) and N-acryloxysuccinimide (NAS).

Functionalization of poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) films on gold and Si/SiO2 for immobilization of proteins and cells: SPR and QCM studies.

Thin films of a biocompatible and nonbiofouling poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) ( pOEGMA) with various thicknesses were formed on gold and Si/SiO 2 substrates by a combination of the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) terminating in bromoester-an initiator of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)-and surface-initiated ATRP. After the formation of the pOEGMA films, terminal hydroxyl groups of side chains divergent from the methacrylate backbones were activated with N, N'-disuccinimidyl carbonate (DSC), and the DSC-activated pOEGMA films were reacted with (+)-biotinyl-3,6,9-trioxaundecanediamine (Biotin-NH 2) to form biotinylated pOEGMA films. By surface plasmon resonance experiments with the target protein (streptavidin) and model proteins (fibrinogen and lysozyme), we verified that the resulting films showed the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio ( approximately 10-fold enhancement) for the biospecific binding of streptavidin compared with the biotinylated substrate prepared from carboxylic acid-terminated SAMs.

Phosphoryl azides as versatile new reaction partners in the Cu-catalyzed three-component couplings.

Phosphoryl azide was successfully employed as an efficient reacting partner in the Cu-catalyzed three-component reaction with 1-alkynes and amines to produce the corresponding phosphoryl amidines in high yields. A range of fruitful applicability of the produced amidines was also demonstrated such as an alkoxide exchange and asymmetric alpha-alkylation of optically active BINOL-derived amidines.

Asymmetric iodocyclization catalyzed by salen-CrIIICl: its synthetic application to swainsonine.

The previously developed enantioselective iodocyclization of gamma-hydroxy-cis-alkenes required 30 mol% of (R,R)-salen-Co(II) complex as chiral catalyst and 0.75 equivalent of N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) as activator to produce 2-substituted tetrahydrofurans with 61 to 90% ee. Due to the considerable loading amount of the Co(II) complex, another more effective catalyst was pursued by screening (R,R)-salen-transition metal complexes.

Water-repellent coating: formation of polymeric self-assembled monolayers on nanostructured surfaces.

In this paper, we suggest a facile and effective method for water-repellent coating of oxide surfaces. As a coating material, we synthesized a new random copolymer, referred to as poly(TMSMA-r-fluoroMA), by the radical polymerization of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSMA) and a fluoromonomer(®) bearing methacrylate moiety (fluoroMA). The random copolymer was designed to consist of a 'surface-reactive part' (trimethoxysilyl group) for anchoring onto oxide-based surfaces and a 'functional part' (perfluoro group) for water repellency.