Uranyl and/or rare-earth mellitates in extended organic-inorganic networks: a unique case of heterometallic cation-cation interaction with U(VI)═O-Ln(III) bonding (Ln = Ce, Nd)

A series of uranyl and lanthanide (trivalent Ce, Nd) mellitates (mel) has been hydrothermally synthesized in aqueous solvent. Mixtures of these 4f and 5f elements also revealed the formation of a rare case of lanthanide-uranyl coordination polymers. Their structures, determined by XRD single-crystal analysis, exhibit three distinct architectures. The pure lanthanide mellitate Ln(2)(H(2)O)(6)(mel) possesses a 3D framework built up from the connection of isolated LnO(6)(H(2)O)(3) polyhedra (tricapped trigonal prism) through the mellitate ligand. The structure of the uranyl mellitate (UO(2))(3)(H(2)O)(6)(mel)·11.5H(2)O is lamellar and consists of 8-fold coordinated uranium atoms linked to each other through the organic ligand giving rise to the formation of a 2D 3(6) net. The third structural type, (UO(2))(2)Ln(OH)(H(2)O)(3)(mel)·2.5H(2)O, involves direct oxygen bondings between the lanthanide and uranyl centers, with the isolation of a heterometallic dinuclear motif. The 9-fold coordinated Ln cation, LnO(5)(OH)(H(2)O)(3), is linked to the 7-fold coordinated uranyl (UO(2))O(4)(OH) (pentagonal bipyramid) via one μ(2)-hydroxo group and one μ(2)-oxo group. The latter is shared between the uranyl bonding (U═O = 1.777(4)/1.779(6) ?) and a long Ln-O bonding (Ce-O = 2.822(4) ?; Nd-O = 2.792(6) ?). This unusual linkage is a unique illustration of the so-called cation-cation interaction associating 4f and 5f metals. The dinuclear motif is then further connected through the mellitate ligand, and this generates organic-inorganic layers that are linked to each other via discrete uranyl (UO(2))O(4) units (square bipyramid), which ensure the three-dimensional cohesion of the structure. The mixed U-Ln carboxylate is thermally decomposed from 260 to 280 °C and then transformed into the basic uranium oxide (U(3)O(8)) together with U-Ln oxide with the fluorite structural type ("(Ln,U)O(2)"). At 1400 °C, only fluorite type "(Ln,U)O(2)" is formed with the measured stoichiometry of U(0.63)Ce(0.37)O(2) and U(0.60)Nd(0.40)O(2-δ).     

Design, synthesis, evaluation, and structure of vitamin D analogues with furan side chains

Based on the crystal structures of human vitamin D receptor (hVDR) bound to 1α,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D(3) (1,25 D) and superagonist ligands, we previously designed new superagonist ligands with a tetrahydrofuran ring at the side chain that optimize the aliphatic side-chain conformation through an entropy benefit. Following a similar strategy, four novel vitamin D analogues with aromatic furan side chains (3a, 3b, 4a, 4b) have now been developed. The triene system has been constructed by an efficient stereoselective intramolecular cyclization of an enol triflate (A-ring precursor) followed by a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of the resulting intermediate with an alkenyl boronic ester (CD-side chain, upper fragment). The furan side chains have been constructed by gold chemistry. These analogues exhibit significant pro-differentiation effects and transactivation potency. The crystal structure of 3a in a complex with the ligand-binding domain of hVDR revealed that the side-chain furanic ring adopts two conformations.     

Xylanase production by Aspergillus awamori in solid-state fermentation and influence of different nitrogen sources

The use of purified xylan as a substrate for bioconversion into xylanases increases the cost of enzyme production. Consequently, there have been attempts to develop a bioprocess to produce such enzymes using different lignocellulosic residues. Filamentous fungi have been widely used to produce hydrolytic enzymes for industrial applications, including xylanases, whose levels in fungi are generally much higher than those in yeast and bacteria. Considering the industrial importance of xylanases, the present study evaluated the use of milled sugarcane bagasse, without any pretreatment, as a carbon source. Also, the effect of different nitrogen sources and the C∶N ratio on xylanase production by Aspergillus awamori were investigated, in experiments carried out in solid-state fermentation. High extracellular xylanolytic activity was observed on cultivation of A. awamori on milled sugarcane bagasse and organic nitrogen sources (45 IU/mL for endoxylanase and 3.5 IU/mL for β-xylosidase). Endoxylanase and β-xylosidase activities were higher when sodium nitrate was used as the nitrogen source, when compared with peptone, urea, and ammonium sulfate at the optimized C∶N ratio of 10∶1. The use of yeast extract as a supplement to the these nitrogen sources resulted in considerable improvementin the production of xylanases, showing the importance of this organic nitrogen source on A. awamori metabolism.     

Chaotic time dependence in a disordered spin system

Stochastic Ising and voter models on ℤ ^d are natural examples of Markov processes with compact state spaces. When the initial state is chosen uniformly at random, can it happen that the distribution at time t has multiple (subsequence) limits as t→∞? Yes for the d = 1 Voter Model with Random Rates (VMRR) – which is the same as a d = 1 rate-disordered stochastic Ising model at zero temperature – if the disorder distribution is heavy-tailed. No (at least in a weak sense) for the VMRR when the tail is light or d≥ 2. These results are based on an analysis of the “localization” properties of Random Walks with Random Rates. Received: 10 August 1998     

Biharmonic problem in exterior domains

We study here a biharmonic equation in an exterior domain of $\text{R}{}^{\mathrm{n}}$. We give in L^p theory, with 1<p<∞ existence, uniqueness and regularity results. To cite this article: C. Amrouche, M. Fontes, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 338 (2004).     

On-resin cyclization of a head-to-tail cyclopeptide using an allyldimethylsilyl polystyrene resin pre-loaded by metathesis

Here, we report the solid-phase synthesis of a 17-mer cyclopeptide which is expected to have anti-angiogenic properties. The peptidic synthesis is performed on an allyldimethylsilyl polystyrene support loaded by metathesis with a conveniently functionalized d-Tyrosine amino acid. The linear peptide was assembled by standard Fmoc chemistry and on-resin cyclization was enabled after selective deprotection of the C-terminal group with 2% hydrazine/DMF at room temperature. Final cleavage was realized under mild acidic conditions allowing to obtain a cyclopeptide under partially protected form.     

Synthesis, characterization, and reactivity of trans-[PtCl(R'R'SO)(A)2]NO3 (R'R'SO = Me2SO, MeBzSO, MePhSO; A= NH3, py, pic). Crystal structure of trans-[PtCl(Me2SO)(py)2]+

Trans complexes such as trans-[PtCl(2)(NH(3))(2)] have historically been considered therapeutically inactive. The use of planar ligands such as pyridine greatly enhances the cytotoxicity of the trans geometry. The complexes trans-[PtCl(R'R'SO)(A)(2)]NO(3) (R'R'SO = substituted sulfoxides such as dimethyl (Me(2)SO), methyl benzyl (MeBzSO), and methyl phenyl sulfoxide (MePhSO) and A = NH(3), pyridine (py) and 4-methylpyridine or picoline (pic)) were prepared for comparison of the chemical reactivity between ammine and pyridine ligands. The X-ray crystal structure determination for trans-[PtCl(Me(2)SO)(py)(2)]NO(3) confirmed the geometry with S-bound Me(2)SO. The crystals are orthorhombic, space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with cell dimensions a = 7.888(2) A, b = 14.740(3) A, c =15.626(5) A, and Z = 4. The geometry around the platinum atom is square planar with l(Pt-Cl) = 2.304(4) A, l(Pt-S) = 2.218(5) A, and l(Pt-N) = 2.03(1) and 2.02(1) A. Bond angles are normal with Cl-Pt-S = 177.9(2) degrees, Cl-Pt-N(1) = 88.0(4) degrees, Cl-Pt-N(2) = 89.3(5) degrees, S-Pt-N(1) = 93.8(4) degrees, S-Pt-N(2) = 88.9(4) degrees, and N(1)-Pt-N(2) = 177.2(6) degrees. The intensity data were collected with Mo Kalpha radiation with lambda = 0.710 69 A. Refinement was by full-matrix least-squares methods to a final R value of 3.80%. Unlike trans-[PtCl(2)(NH(3))(2)], trans-[PtCl(2)(A)(2)] (A = py or pic) complexes do not react with Me(2)SO. The solvolytic products of cis-[PtCl(2)(A)(2)] (A = py or pic) were characterized. Studies of displacement of the sulfoxide by chloride were performed using HPLC. The sulfoxide was displaced faster for the pyridine complex relative to the ammine complex. Chemical studies comparing the reactivity of trans-[PtCl(R'R'SO)(amine)(2)]NO(3) with a model nucleotide, guanosine 5'-monophosphate (GMP), showed that the reaction gave two principal products: the species [Pt(R'R'SO)(amine)(2)(N7-GMP)], which reacts with a second equivalent of GMP, forming [Pt(amine)(2)(N7-GMP)(2)]. The reaction pathways were different, however, for the pyridine complexes in comparison to the NH(3) species, with sulfoxide displacement again being significantly faster for the pyridine case.     

New generation of sterically protected C18 stationary phases containing embedded urea groups for use in high-performance liquid chromatography

New monofunctional C18 urea stationary phases with sterically protecting dimethyl and diisopropyl groups were prepared by a single step modification process. ProntoSil spherical silica (3 microm) was chemically modified with the monofunctional ethoxysilanes, [(3-octadecylurea)propyl]dimethyl and [(3-octadecylurea)propyl]diisopropyl ethoxysilanes. The phases were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared and solid-state 29Si and 13C NMR spectroscopies. Chromatographic characterizations of the new phases in 50x3.9 mm HPLC columns were performed by the separation of two different test mixtures, containing nonpolar, polar and highly basic compounds.