Electrophilic aromatic substitution of electron-rich arenes with -fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) as an electrophile.

An efficient amidation of electron-rich arenes using NFSI as a nitrogen source has been successfully disclosed. This amidation process can be easily conducted at elevated temperatures, without the need for catalysts or additives. A wide range of arenes substituted with hydroxy, alkoxy, or carbonyl groups were found to be compatible, yielding the desired amination products.

Metal-free and solvent-free synthesis of -terphenyls through tandem cyclocondensation of aryl methyl ketones with triethyl orthoformate.

Reported here is a novel cyclocondensation of aryl methyl ketones and triethyl orthoformate for the simple synthesis of -terphenyls. In the presence of a catalytic amount of TfOH, alkyl- and chloro-substituted acetophenones produced a series of terphenyls through a tandem reaction which merged six steps into a one-pot procedure. Moreover, the corresponding ester products were obtained when using other substituted acetophenones as the starting materials under the same reaction conditions.

Biological roles of human bone morphogenetic protein 9 in the bone microenvironment of human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells.

Bone marrow stroma plays a critical role in the bone metastasis of breast cancer. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) are critical to facilitate cancer progression. Human bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) is the most potent osteogenic factor and one of bone-stored growth factors involved in both promotion and inhibition of different cancers.