Synthesis, structure, and reactivity of diazoketiminato complexes of platinum(II) and palladium(II): cytotoxic properties of a platinum complex - Pratihar, Jahar Lal; Shee, Biswaranjan; Pattanayak, Poulami; Patra, Debprasad; Bhattacharyya, Arindam; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Hung, C. H.; Chattopadhyay, Surajit (European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2007)
{Reaction of the 2-(arylazo)anilines Ar-N = N-C6H4NH2 [
19th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering (ISCRE 19), Pottsdam, GERMANY, SEP, 2006
Keywords: CFD; hydro processing; scale-down; scale-up; trickle bed

Tethered Pd-complex on solid support: catalyst for acid-free carbonylation reactions - Sarkar, Bibbas R.; Mukhopadhyay, Kausik; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Catalysis Communictions, 2007)
{Palladium complex [
Keywords: decomposition; direct H2O2 synthesis; halides; Promoter

Total synthesis of (+)-camptothecin via an intramolecular palladium-catalyzed cyclization strategy - Chavan, Subhash P.; Pathak, Ashok B.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Synlett, 2007)
The novel cascade intramolecular Pd-catalyzed cyclization followed by aromatization for the construction Of D ring of (+)-camptothecin as a key step is demonstrated.
Keywords: alkaloids; antitumor; cyclizations; Natural products; Palladium

Total synthesis of pulchellalactam via an RCM strategy - Chavan, Subhash P.; Pathak, Ashok B.; Dhawane, Abasaheb N.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Synthetic Communications, 2007)
Total synthesis of (Z) pulchellalactam, a CD protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, from commercially available methallyl chloride employing ring-closure metathesis (RCM) as a key step is described.
Keywords: alkaloid; Natural products; pulchellalactam; RCM; Total synthesis

Tungstophosphoric acid and zirconia supported on mesoporous silica catalyst in veratrole acetylation - Halligudi, Shivaraj B. (From ZEOLITES to Porous Mof Materials: The 40th Anniversary of International ZEOLITE Conference, Proceedings of The 15th International ZEOLITE Conference, 2007)
Tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) over zirconia dispersed uniformly in mesoporous silica (MS) channels of MCM-41 and MCM-48 was synthesised and tested for its catalytic activity in veratrole acetylation. Catalysts with different TPA loadings (5 to 50 wt.%) on 22.4 wt.% ZrO(2)/MCM-41 and 15 wt.% TPA on different zirconia loadings (10-70 wt.%)/MCM-41 were prepared and calcined at 1123 K. Catalysts were characterised by known techniques. Mesoporous silica supports play an important role in stabilising catalytically active TPA along with tetragonal phase of zirconia. Among the catalysts, 15 wt.% TPA/22.4 wt.% ZrO(2)/MCM-41 calcined at 1123 K was found to have the highest acidity and be at least four times more active than neat 15 wt.% TPA/ZrO(2) in veratrole acetylation to acetoveratrone by acetic anhydride.
15th International Zeolite Conference, Beijing, PEOPLES R CHINA, AUG 12-17, 2007

Use of poly(o-toluidine)/ZrO2 nanocomposite coatings for the corrosion protection of mild steel - Chaudhari, Sudeshna; Patil, P. P.; Mandale, A. B.; Patil, K. R.; Sainkar, S. R. (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2007)
This study explored the possibility of using poly(o-toluidine) (POT)/ZrO2 nanocomposite coatings for the corrosion protection of mild steel in a chloride environment. POT/ZrO2 nanocomposite coatings were synthesized on steel substrates through an electrochemical route. These coatings were characterized with cyclic voltammetry, ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The performance of POT/ZrO2 nanocomposites as protective coatings against the corrosion of mild steel in aqueous 3 wt % NaCl was evaluated with the potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results of this study demonstrate that POT/ZrO2 nanocomposite coatings provide better protection for mild steel against corrosion than pure POT coatings. The corrosion potential was about 0.312 V versus a saturated calomel electrode, more positive in aqueous 3 wt % NaCl for the nanocomposite-coated steel than the uncoated steel, and the corrosion rate of steel was reduced by a factor of almost 51. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: Coatings; conjugated polymers; FTIR; Nanocomposites; synthesis

Blob-spring model for the dynamics of ring polymer in obstacle environment - Lele, Ashish K.; Iyer, Balaji V. S.; Juvekar, Vinay A. (XVTH International Congress on Rheology - the Society of Rheology 80th Annual Meeting, Pts 1 and 2, 2008)
The dynamical behavior of cyclic macromolecules in a fixed obstacle (FO) environment is very different than the behavior of linear chains in the same topological environment; while the latter relax by a snake-like reptational motion from their chain ends(1) the former can relax only by contour length fluctuations since they are endless.(2) Duke, Obukhov and Rubinstein proposed a scaling model (the DOR model) to interpret the dynamical scaling exponents shown by Monte Carlo simulations of rings in a FO environment.(2) We present a model (blob-spring model) to describe the dynamics of flexible and non-concatenated ring polymer in FO environment based on a theoretical formulation developed for the dynamics of an unentangled fractal polymer.(3) We argue that the perpetual evolution of ring perimeter by the motion of contour segments results in an extra frictional load. Our model predicts self-similar dynamics with scaling exponents for the molecular weight dependence of diffusion coefficient and relaxation times that are in agreement with the scaling model proposed by Obukhov et al.(2).
15th International Congress on Rheology/80th Annual Meeting of the Society-of-Rheology, Monterey, CA, AUG 03-08, 2008
Keywords: fractal polymer dynamics; linear viscoelasticity; ring polymer dynamics

Characterization of MoSe2 thin film deposited at room temperature from solution phase - Hankare, P. P.; Patil, A. A.; Chate, P. A.; Garadkar, K. M.; Sathe, D. J.; Manikshete, A. H.; Mulla, Imtiaz S. (Journal of Crystal Growth, 2008)
A simple, low-temperature method has been developed to synthesis molybdenum diselenide semiconductor thin films, based on the chemical reaction of conlplexed ammonium molybdate, hydrazine hydrate and sodium Selenosulphate in aqueous alkaline medium. The deposition parameter of the MoSe2 thin film is interpreted in the present investigation. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical absorption and electrical measurements. The deposited film was found to be polycrystalline in hexagonal form. The direct band gap `E-g' for the film was found to be 1.43eV and electrical conductivity in the order of 10(-2)(Omega cm)(-1) with n-type conduction mechanism. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Crystal morphology; Growth from solution; Inorganic compound; Polycrystalline deposition; Semiconducting materials; X-ray diffraction

Co : CdS diluted magnetic semiconductor nanoparticles: radiation synthesis, dopant-defect complex formation, and unexpected magnetism - Bogle, Kashinath A.; Ghosh, Saurabh; Dhole, Sanjay D.; Bhoraskar, Vasant N.; Fu, Lian-feng; Chi, Miao-Fang; Browning, Nigel D.; Kundaliya, Darshan; Das, Gour P.; Ogale, Satishchandra B. (Chemistry of Materials, 2008)
Incorporating a dopant into a nanoparticle is a nontrivial proposition in view of the size dependent surface versus bulk energy considerations and the intrinsic proximity of the surface to the interior, which facilitates migration to the surface. If realized and controlled, however, it can open up new avenues to novel nanomaterials. Some previous studies have shown the dopability of nanosystems but only with specific surface functionalization. Here, we demonstrate the successful dopant incorporation via a new route of pulsed high energy electron induced synthesis. We choose a system Co:CdS (dilutely cobalt doped cadmium sulfide) in view of the well-known application-worthy properties of CdS and the potential possibility of its conversion to a diluted magnetic semiconductor of interest to spintronics. By using various techniques, we show that matrix incorporation and uniform distribution of cobalt are realized in US nanocrystals without the need for additional chemical or physical manipulation. Optical and photoluminescence properties also support dopant incorporation. Interestingly, although magnetism is realized, it is weak, and it decreases at higher cobalt concentration. First principle density functional calculations are performed to understand this counterintuitive behavior. These calculations suggest that the introduction of parent cation or anion vacancies lead to magnetic moment reduction, albeit marginally. However, with some Co impurity fraction in the octahedral interstitial site inside the wurtzite cage, the magnetic moment drops down drastically. This study reveals that defect states may have an interesting role in dopant stabilization in nanosystems, with interesting system dependent consequences for the properties.

Comparison of Metarhizium isolates for biocontrol of helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) in chickpea - Kulkarni, Shuklangi A.; Ghormade, Vandana; Kulkarni, Girish; Kapoor, Manisha; Chavan, Santosh B.; Rajendran, Armugam; Patil, Sanjay K.; Shouche, Yogesh; Deshpande, Mukund V. (Biocontrol Science and Technology, 2008)
Metarhizium isolates from soil (53) and insect hosts (10) were evaluated for extracellular production of cuticle degrading enzyme (CDE) activities such as chitinase, chitin deacetylase (CDA), chitosanase, protease and lipase. Regression analysis demonstrated the relation of CDE activities with Helicoverpa armigera mortality. On basis of this relation, ten isolates were selected for further evaluation. Subsequently, based on LT(50) of the 10 isolates towards H. armigera, five isolates were selected. Out of these five isolates, three were selected on the basis of higher conidia production (60-75 g/kg rice), faster sedimentation time (ST(50)) (2.3-2.65 h in 0.1% (w/v) Tween 80) and lower LC(50) (1.4- 5.7 x 10(3) conidia/mL) against H. armigera. Finally, three Metarhizium isolates were selected for the molecular fingerprinting using ITS sequencing and RAPD patterning. All three isolates, M34412, M34311 and M81123, showed comparable RAPD patterns with a 935G primer. These were further evaluated for their field performance against H. armigera in a chickpea crop. The percent efficacies with the three Metarhizium isolates were from 65 to 72%, which was comparable to the chemical insecticide, endosulfan (74%).
Keywords: appressorium formation; chitin deacetylase; chitinase; chitosanase; Helicoverpa armigera; Lipase; Metarhizium anisopliae; Protease

Cu-Ce mixed oxides supported on Al-pillared clay: effect of method of preparation on catalytic activity in the preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide - Ramaswamy, Veda; Malwadkar, Sachin S.; Chilukuri, Satyanarayana V. (Applied Catalysis B-Environmental, 2008)
The possibility of using Al-pillared montmorillonite (Al-PILC) clay as a high-surface-area support for CuO-CeO2-based catalysts has been investigated. The preparation of the samples was done by three different methods, viz., amorphous citrate route (ACR), deposition precipitation (DP) and wet impregnation method (WIM). Samples with different CuO-CeO2 loadings (10-50 wt.%) were prepared by each of the three methods. The catalytic activity of these samples was investigated for the preferential oxidation (PROX) of carbon monoxide (CO) in excess of H-2. The samples prepared by DP and WIM methods show better activity than the samples prepared by ACR method. At low Cu content, the samples prepared by DP method have a slight edge over samples prepared by WIM method. The DP-30 sample shows a very high CO conversion of 96.1% at 423 K. A higher dispersion of CuO-CeO2 on pillared montmorillonite clay and better reducibility of copper oxide species may be responsible for the good activity of these samples even at lower reaction temperatures. A higher O-2/CO ratio increased the CO conversion but led to a reduction in oxidation selectivity. No methanation of CO or CO2 was observed at the reaction temperature. These CuO-CeO2/Al-PILC samples could be considered as comparable in performance with supported noble metal catalysts for the preferential oxidation of CO in excess hydrogen. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Alumina-pillared clay; Clay-supported CuO-CeO2; CuO-CeO2; PROX of CO

Dielectric relaxations in PVDF/BaTiO3 nanocomposites - Chanmal, Chetan; Jog, Jyoti Prakash (Express Polymer Letters, 2008)
The present work aims at the study of molecular relaxations in PVDF/BaTiO3 nanocomposites using broadband dielectric spectroscopy. The nanocomposites of PVDF with BaTiO3 ( 10-30% by wt%) are prepared using simple melt mixing method. In dielectric permittivity study, two relaxation processes are identified corresponding to the crystalline, glass transition in the PVDF/BaTiO3 nanocomposites. The peaks shift to higher frequencies as the temperature is increased. Electric modulus formalism is used to analyze the dielectric relaxations to overcome the conductivity effects at low frequencies. In M `' spectra two peaks are observed only at high temperature and low frequency whereas a single relaxation peak appears at low temperatures. The single relaxation peak appearing at low temperatures is the alpha(c) relaxation attributed to crystalline chain relaxation in PVDF and the second relaxation peak which appears only at high temperatures and at a frequency lower than alpha(c) relaxation is identified as MWS relaxation. The temperature dependence of alpha(c) relaxation and MWS relaxation follows Arrhenius type behavior.
Keywords: dielectric spectroscopy; Interfacial polarization; MWS relaxation; Nanocomposites

Direct H(2)-to-H(2)O(2) oxidation in aqueous acidic medium containing Br promoter over Pd/Al(2)O(3) and Pd/C catalysts thermally pretreated under different conditions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas; Bhargava, Suresh Kumar (Catalysis Letters, 2008)
Influence of thermal pretreatments (under N(2), air or H(2) gas atmosphere at 500 degrees C or 700 degrees C) has been investigated for the Pd/Al(2)O(3) and Pd/Carbon catalysts in terms of its effect on their Pd particle size and performance in the H(2)-to-H(2)O(2) oxidation and H(2)O(2) destruction (by decomposition and/or hydrogenation) reactions in aqueous acidic medium containing Br promoter. The influence on the net H(2)O(2) formation is found to depend strongly upon the catalyst support due to support-Pd cluster interactions. For both the catalysts, the thermal treatments (except in air) caused a large increase in their Pd particle size. The increase in Pd particle size caused an increase in the H(2)O(2) formation activity of Pd/Al(2)O(3) but a decrease in the H(2)O(2) formation activity of Pd/C.
Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide; oxidation of H(2) to H(2)O(2); Pd/Al(2)O(3); Pd/C

Direct oxidation of H-2 to H2O2 over different supported PdO catalysts in aqueous acidic medium: Influence of the reduction, calcination temperature and support of the catalyst on its net H2O2 formation activity - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
Effects of the catalyst reduction (by hydrazine), calcination temperature (400-800 degrees C) and support (viz. Al2O3, SiO2, CeO2, ZrO2, HP or HM) on the performance of supported PdO (2.5 wt%) catalyst in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation (with H-2:O-2 = 1: 1) in an aqueous acidic (0.1 M H3PO4) medium under ambient conditions have been investigated. All the supported PdO catalysts showed lower H2 conversion activity, but higher H2O2 selectivity, as compared to their reduced counter parts. The catalyst performance for the net H2O2 formation is strongly influenced by both the support and calcination temperature of the supported PdO catalysts. The catalysts calcined at 400 degrees C showed better performance. Among the catalysts, PdO/Al2O3 catalyst (calcined at 400 degrees C) showed the best performance (17.0% H2O2 yield) in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation. The influence of the calcination temperature of PdO/Al2O3 catalyst on its H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation activities has also been investigated. Both the H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation activities increased with increasing the calcination temperature. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide; oxidation of H-2 to H2O2; supported PdO catalysts

Direct oxidation of H-2 to H2O2 over Pd/CeO2 catalyst under ambient conditions: influence of halide ions - Samanta, Chanchal; Choudhary, Vasant R. (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2008)
Direct oxidation of H-2 by O-2 to H2O2 and decomposition/hydrogenation of H2O2 have been investigated over Pd/CeO2 catalyst in presence of different halide ions. All reactions were carried out in an aqueous acidic (0.03 M H3PO4) medium at room temperature (25 degrees C) and atmospheric pressure. When different halide ions were added directly to the reaction medium or incorporated in the catalyst, the activity/selectivity of Pd/CeO2 catalyst in the H-2 to H2O2 oxidation changed significantly, depending upon the nature of the halide ions. Different ammonium halides impregnated reduced Pd/CeO2 catalyst calcined under inert (flowing nitrogen) and oxidizing (static/flowing air) gaseous atmospheres revealed that bulk oxidation state of Pd and the nature of the halide ions incorporated into the catalyst cooperatively control the activity/selectivity of catalyst in H-2 to H2O2 oxidation. Both H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation were found to affect strongly depending upon the nature of the halide ions present in the reaction medium or in the catalyst. Among the different halides, bromide was found the most effective promoter for enhancing the H2O2 yield/selectivity in H-2 to H2O2 oxidation, irrespective of the Pd oxidation state in the catalyst. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Br- ions; H-2 to H2O2 oxidation; H2O2 decomposition; H2O2 hydrogenation; Pd/CeO2 catalyst

Direct oxidation of H-2 to H2O2 over PdO/Al2O3 catalysts in aqueous acidic medium: influence on H2O2 formation of Pd loading, calcination temperature and reduction of catalyst and presence of halide anions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
Effects of the Pd loading (0.2-10 wt%), calcination temperature (400-900 degrees C) and reduction of PdO/Al2O3 on its performance in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation (with H-2/O-2 = 1:1) in an aqueous 0.1 M H3PO4 medium, in the absence and presence of different halide anions, under ambient conditions have been investigated. The effect of calcination temperature on the H2O2 formation varied depending upon the Pd loading. The influence of the different halide anions was found to depend strongly on the nature of halide anion (F-, Cl-, Br- or I-) and the oxidation state of Pd and its loading in the catalyst. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: halide catalyst promoters; Hydrogen peroxide; oxidation of H-2 to H2O2; Pd/Al2O3; PdO/Al2O3

Effect of repeated in vitro sub-culturing on the virulence of metarhizium anisopliae against helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) - Nahar, Pallavi B.; Kulkarni, Shuklangi A.; Kulye, Mahesh S.; Chavan, Santosh B.; Kulkarni, Girish; Rajendran, Armugham; Yadav, Priya D.; Shouche, Yogesh; Deshpande, Mukund V. (Biocontrol Science and Technology, 2008)
The effect of repeated conidial sub-culturing of Metarhizium anisopliae on its virulence against Helicoverpa armigera (Hbner) was studied. The LT(50) observed against third instar larvae of H. armigera for the first sub-culture was 3.4 days; it increased to 4.5 and 5.6 days for the 20th and the 40th sub-cultures, respectively. The LT50 values after passage of the 40th sub-culture on H. armigera decreased to 4.4 and 3.7 days for the 40th (first in vivo) and the 40th (fifth in vivo) passages, respectively. Similarly, the LC(50) of M. anisopliae towards third instar larvae of H. armigera increased from the first sub-culture (0.17x10(4)) to (3.0x10(4)) for the 40th conidial transfers on potato dextrose agar and again decreased to 0.74x10(4) and 0.23x10(4) in the 40th (first in vivo) and the 40th (fifth in vivo) passage, respectively. Similar trends for LC(50) and LT(50) values were seen when sugarcane woolly aphid, Ceratovacuna lanigera Zehntner was used as a host. Significant variation in appressorium formation and cuticle-degrading enzyme production such as chitinase, chitin deacetylase, chitosanase and protease during subsequent sub-culturing and passage through H. armigera was observed. Though there was no effect on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence pattern, interestingly, in randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), significant differences in the band intensities and in the banding pattern for different sub-cultures of M. anisopliae were observed. As stable virulence towards the insect pest is desirable for commercialisation of a mycoinsecticide, such changes in virulence due to repeated in vitro transfer need to be monitored and minimised.
Keywords: appressorium formation; chitin deacetylase; chitinase; Helicoverpa armigera; in vitro sub-culturing; Lipase; Metarhizium anisopliae; Protease

Energy-efficient syngas production through, catalytic oxy-methane reforming reactions - Choudhary, Tushar V.; Choudhary, Vasant R. (Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2008)
Keywords: fuels; heterogeneous catalysis; methane activation; Partial oxidation; Syngas

Factors influencing the in situ generation of hydrogen peroxide from the reduction of oxygen by hydroxylamine from hydroxylammonium sulfate over Pd/alumina - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2008)
Influence of the concentration of bromide (KBr) promoter, reaction period, temperature, catalyst loading and initial concentration of hydroxylammonium sulfate on the formation of H2O2 due to the reaction between hydroxylamine from the hydroxylammonium salt and molecular oxygen over Pd (1 wt%)/Al2O3 catalyst in a neutral aqueous medium at close to the ambient conditions has been investigated. Effect of pH and temperature on the destruction of H2O2, Occurring in the consecutive reactions, over the catalyst in the presence or absence of bromide promoter and hydroxylamine has also been studied. In the absence of O-2, the conversion of hydroxylamine by its decomposition over the catalyst increases sharply with increasing the pH, particularly above the pH of 7.0; at or below the pH of 7.0, it is quite small. The H2O2 destruction increases markedly with increasing the pH of medium and reaction temperature but it is found to decrease in the presence of hydroxylamine. For the highest net H2O2 formation, not only the optimum pH (7.0) of reaction medium but also the optimum other reaction conditions (viz. bromide promoter concentration, reaction period, temperature or catalyst loading) are necessary. The reaction path and mechanism for the generation of H2O2 have also been suggested. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: H2O2 destruction; Hydrogen peroxide; hydroxylamine; Hydroxylammonium sulfate; Pd/Al2O3 catalyst; reduction of O-2

Functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes with azides derived from amino acids using click chemistry - Kumar, Indresh; Rana, Sravendra; Rode, Chandrashakher V.; Cho, Jae Whan (Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2008)
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were chemically functionalized with amino acid-based moieties. The covalent functionalization of alkyne-derived SWCNTs with well defined azides derived from amino acids was accomplished through Cu(I)-catalyzed Huisgen [3+2] dipolar cycloaddition click chemistry. Transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopic measurements confirmed the functionalization of SWCNTs by organic molecules derived from amino acids, and the resulting material showed some good solubility in the organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, CH2Cl2, and CHCl3.
Keywords: Amino acids; Carbon nanotubes; Click chemistry; Functionalization

GaAlCl(x)-grafted Mont.K-10 clay: highly active and stable solid catalyst for the friedel-crafts type benzylation and acylation reactions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jha, Rani (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
A liquid phase reaction of anhydrous GaCl(3) and AlCl(3) with the surface hydroxyl groups (with HCl evolution) of Mont. K-10 clay in dry CCL(4) under reflux resulted in a novel GaAlCl(x),-grafted Mont.K-10 catalyst [with Cl/(Ga + Al) = 1]. The catalyst showed high activity and stability in the Freidel-Crafts type benzylation and benzoylation (by benzyl chloride and benzoyl chloride, respectively) of benzene, naphthalene and substituted benzenes, even in the presence of moisture. It also showed good activity for the benzoylation of nitrobenzene (i.e. even in the presence of strong electron withdrawing group, like nitro group, attached to the benzene ring). The catalytically active surface species in the catalyst are -(O)(2)-Ga(or Al)Cl. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: benzoylation of aromatics; benzylation of aromatics; GaAlCl(x)-grafted Mont.K-10

Gelation of regenerated fibroin solution - Nagarkara, Shailesh; Lele, Ashish K.; Chassenieux, Christophe; Nicolai, Taco; Durand, Dominique (15th International Congress on Rheology/80th Annual Meeting of the Society-of-Rheology, 2008)
Silk fibroin is a high molecular weight multiblock ampiphillic protein known for its ability to form high strength fibers. It is also biocompatible; silk sutures have been traditionally used for many centuries. Recently, there has been much interest in making silk hydrogels for applications ranging from tissue engineering to controlled delivery. Fibroin gels can be formed from aqueous solutions by changing one or more state variables such as pH, temperature and ionic strength. In this work we present our investigations on the gelation of aqueous fibroin solutions derived from Bombyx Mori silk using light scattering, confocal microscopy and rheological techniques.
15th International Congress on Rheology/80th Annual Meeting of the Society-of-Rheology, Monterey, CA, AUG 03-08, 2008
Keywords: dynamic light scattering; Rheology; silk fibroin gel

Highly efficient sulfimidation of 1,3-dithianes by Cu(I) complexes - Giribabu, Lingamallu; Singh, Surya P.; Patil, Nandkumar M.; Kantam, M. Lakshmi; Gupte, Sunil P.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Synthetic Communications, 2008)
A series of four Cu(I) complexes were tested for sulfimidation of 1,3-dithianes in the presence of [N-(p-tolysulfonyl)imino]phenyliodinane (PhI = NTs) as the nitrene-transfer agent. Cu(TMPhen)(PPh3)Br is an efficient catalyst with more than 90% yield of the corresponding product with less reaction time as compared to the literature copper(I) complexes.
Keywords: 1; 3-dithianes; Cu(I) complexes; PhI = NTs; sulfimidation

Highly selective approach for the total synthesis of (+)-heliconol A - Mohapatra, Debendra K.; Chatterjee, Bhaskar; Gurjar, Mukund K. (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2008)
The total synthesis of heliconol A, a representative of a new class of polyketide-derived hemiketals containing a reduced furanocyclopentane unit, has been achieved via the stereoselective reduction of a ketone, the face selective dihydroxylation, a Sonogashira coupling reaction, and a cis-selective reduction as the key steps. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Highly selective synthesis of mono-ethylene glycol phenyl ethers via hydroxyalkoxylation of phenols by cyclic carbonates using large pore zeolites - Kinage, Anil K.; Gupte, Sunil P.; Chaturvedi, Rajiv K.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
Hydroxyalkoxylation of phenols by cyclic carbonates catalyzed by alkali loaded large pore zeolites has been reported. The study shows that KL type zeolite was recyclable and selective in producing mono-ethylene glycol pheryl ethers in similar to 98.5% yield. Various substituted simple phenols were converted into mono-ethylene glycol ether of phenols with over 90% yields, except 3-bromo and 2-methyl phenols. Mono hydroxyl plienols such as hydroquinone, biphenol and BPA (2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane) also produce corresponding mono- and di-ethylene glycol ethers. The ratio of ethylene carbonate to phenol was found to be critical for selective formation of monoethylene glycol phenyl ether of phenols. A ratio of two results in formation of appreciable amount of diether derivative viz., 2-(2-phenoxyethoxy) ethanol. Compared to ethylene carbonate, a lower reactivity of 1,2-propane carbonate was found for hydroxyalkoxylation of phenol. It was found that ring opening at less hindered methylene carbon of 1,2-propylene carbonate prevailed giving rise to selective formation of beta-hydroxy phenyl ethers. The reactivity of ethylene carbonate towards O-alkylation versus transesterification of phenol has been explained on the basis of HSAB concept. Finally, it has been shown that yield of mono-ethylene glycol phenyl ether is controlled both by basicity and channel architecture of zeolite structure. KL zeolite was found to be the most effective zeolite because of it's intermediate basicity and one dimensional channel architect. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: cyclic carbonate; ethylene glycol phenyl ether; hydroxyalkoxylation; phenol

Incorporation of zirconium in medium-pore aluminophosphate molecular sieves with AEL framework - Ganguli, J. N.; Chakrabortty, Dhruba; Satyanarayana, C. V. V. (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2008)
Zirconium incorporated alurninophosphate molecular sieves ZrAPO-11 was synthesized by hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy, magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy (P-31 and Al-27). The acidity of the materials were determined by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of ammonia. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy reveals formation of crystalline material in pure phase. Thermal analysis shows higher template content in zirconium containing samples than the corresponding AlPOs. MAS NMR suggests incorporation of zirconium in the framework. TPD reveals that the ZrAPO-11 samples were of higher acidity than AIPO(4)-11 (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: AlPO4-11; Aluminophosphate; catalysis; Molecular sieve; ZrAPO-11

Influence of alkali metal doping on surface properties and catalytic activity/selectivity of CaO catalysts in oxidative coupling of methane - Rane, V. H.; Chaudhari, Sopan T.; Choudhary, Vasant R. (Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry, 2008)
Surface properties viz. surface area, basicity/base strength distribution, and crystal phases) of alkali metal doped CaO (alkali metal/Ca = 0.1 and 0.4) catalysts and their catalytic activity/selectivity ill oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) to higher hydrocarbons at different reaction conditions (viz. temperature. 700 and 750 degrees C: CH(4)/O(2) ratio. 4.0 and 8.0 and space velocity. 5140-20550 cm(3). g(-1).h(-1)) have been investigated. The influence of catalyst calcination temperature on the activity/selectivity has also been investigated. The surface properties (viz. surface area, basicity/base strength distribution) and catalytic activity/selectivity of the alkali metal doped CaO Catalysts are strongly influenced by the alkali metal promoter and its concentration in the alkali metal doped CaO catalysts. An addition of alkali Metal promoter to CaO results in a large decrease in the surface area but a large increase in the surface basicity (strong basic sites) and the C(2+) Selectivity and yield of the catalysts in the OCM process. The activity and selectivity are strongly influenced by the catalyst calcination temperature. No direct relationship between surface basicity and catalytic activity/selectivity has been observed. Among the alkali metal doped CaO catalysts. Na-CaO (Na/Ca = 0.1. before calcination) catalyst (calcined at 750 degrees C), showed best performance (C(2+) selectivity of 68.8% with 24.7% methane conversion), whereas (lie poorest performance was shown by the Rb-Cao Catalyst in the OCM process.
Keywords: alkali metal doped CaO catalysts; basicity/base strength distribution; catalytic activity/selectivity; oxidative coupling of methane

Introduction to the density matrix renormalization group ansatz in quantum chemistry - Chan, Garnet Kin-Lic; Dorando, Jonathan J.; Ghosh, Debashree; Hachmann, Johannes; Neuscamman, Eric; Wang, Haitao; Yanai, Takeshi (Frontiers in Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics, 2008)
The Density Matrix Renormalisation Group (DMRG) is an electronic structure method that has recently been applied to ab-initio quantum chemistry. Even at this early stage, it has enabled the solution of many problems that would previously have been intractable with any other method, in particular, multireference problems with very large active spaces. Historically, the DMRG was not originally formulated from a wavefunction perspective, but rather in a Renormalisation Group (RG) language. However, it is now realised that a wavefunction view of the DMRG provides a more convenient, and in some cases more powerful, paradigm. Here we provide an expository introduction to the DMRG ansatz in the context of quantum chemistry.

Iron-nickel bimetallic nanoparticles for reductive degradation of azo dye orange G in aqueous solution - Bokare, Alok D.; Chikate, Rajeev C.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V.; Paknikar, Kishore M. (Applied Catalysis B-Environmental, 2008)
The degradation of Orange G, a monoazo dye, in aqueous solutions was investigated using Fe-Ni bimetallic nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of as-synthesized nanoparticles showed the presence of spherical particles having a size of 20-40 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) did not detect the presence of nickel on the nanoparticle surface, which suggested a uniform distribution of both metals inside the particle core. Batch experiments with a minimum nanocatalyst loading of 3 g/L showed complete dye degradation after 10 min of reaction time. The degradation efficiency was linearly dependent on the initial dye concentration, pH of the solution and total Fe-Ni catalyst concentration. The efficiency increased with increasing Fe-Ni concentration and decreasing pH of the solution, but decreased with an increase in the dye concentration. The degradation rate followed first order reaction kinetics with respect to the dye concentration. High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) analysis of the degradation products revealed that the degradation mechanism proceeds through a reductive cleavage of the azo linkage resulting in the formation of aniline and surface-adsorbed naphthol amine derivatives. The latter are subsequently hydroxylated through an oxidative process. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Azo Dye; Degradation; iron; Nanoparticles; Nickel

Liquid-phase synthesized mesoporous electrochemical supercapacitors of nickel hydroxide - Chang, Jinho; Park, Mira; Ham, Dukho; Ogale, S. B.; Mane, Rajaram S.; Han, Sung-Hwan (Electrochimica Acta, 2008)
Electrochemical supercapacitive (ES) properties of liquid-phase synthesized mesoporous (pore size distribution centered similar to 12 nm) and of 120 m(2)/g surface area nickel hydroxide film electrodes onto tin-doped indium oxide substrate are discussed. The amounts of inner and outer charges are calculated to investigate the contribution of mesoporous structure on charge storage where relatively higher contribution of inner charge infers good ion diffusion into matrix of nickel hydroxide. Effect of different electrolytes, electrolyte concentrations, deposit mass and scan rates on the current-voltage profile in terms of the shape and enclosed area is investigated. Specific capacitance of similar to 85 F/g at a constant current density of 0.03 A/g is obtained from the discharge curve. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: electrochemical supercapacitors; mesoporous structure; nickel hydroxide

Local electronic structure and magnetic properties of LaMn(0.5)Co(0.5)O(3) studied by x-ray absorption and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy - Burnus, T.; Hu, Z.; Hsieh, H. H.; Joly, V. L. Joseph; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Haverkort, M. W.; Wu, Hua; Tanaka, A.; Lin, H. -J.; Chen, C. T.; Tjeng, L. H. (Physical Review B, 2008)
We have studied the local electronic structure of LaMn(0.5)Co(0.5)O(3) using soft-x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Co-L(3,2) and Mn-L(3,2) edges. We found a high-spin Co(2+)-Mn(4+) valence state for samples with the optimal Curie temperature. We discovered that samples with lower Curie temperatures contain low-spin nonmagnetic Co(3+) ions. Using soft-x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, we established that the Co(2+) and Mn(4+) ions are ferromagnetically aligned. We also revealed that the Co(2+) ions have a large orbital moment: morb/mspin approximate to 0.47. Together with model calculations, this suggests the presence of a large magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the material and predicts a nontrivial temperature dependence for the magnetic susceptibility.

Manufacturing of tinidazole by recovering and recycling catalyst - Dongare, Mohan K.; Chandorkar, J. G.; Rode, C. V. (Asian Journal of Chemistry, 2008)
In this paper, the recycle process of tungstic acid by recovering it from waste during the manufacture of tinidazole is described. The recovered tungstic acid gives desired quality and quantity of tinidazole.
Keywords: Recovery; tinidazole; tungstic acid

Mossbauer spectroscopic investigations of nanophase iron oxides synthesized by thermal plasma route - Nagar, Harshada; Kulkarni, Naveen V.; Karmakar, Soumen; Sahoo, B.; Banerjee, Indrani; Chaudhari, P. S.; Pasricha, R.; Das, A. K.; Bhoraskar, S. V.; Date, Sadgopal K.; Keune, W. (Materials Characterization, 2008)
Magnetic nanoparticles of iron oxide were synthesized by transferred arc plasma induced gas phase condensation method. Structural, morphological and magnetic studies of the as synthesized powder were carried out using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Mossbauer spectroscopy. These studies have revealed the simultaneous nucleation and condensation of different magnetic phases with a broad size distribution of the nanoparticles which is peaked at 30-50 nm and ranges from 10 nm to 80 nm. 57 Fe Mossbauer spectra recorded at various temperatures (5 K-300 K) in presence of external magnetic field (at 5 K) have suggested the presence of different phases of iron oxide with sizable amounts of gamma-Fe2O3 and alpha-Fe2O3 in addition to Fe3O4. The relative concentrations of these phases have been obtained by a self consistent spectral area analysis and were found to be 44:22:34 (%). (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: iron oxides; Mossbauer spectroscopy; phase analysis; plasma synthesis

NaIO4-KI-NaN3 as a new reagent system for C-H functionalization in hydrocarbons - Chouthaiwale, Pandurang V.; Suryavanshi, Gurunath; Sudalai, Arumugam (Tetrahedron Letters, 2008)
The NaIO4-KI-NaN3 combination has been found to be an efficient, reliable, and inexpensive reagent system for mono- and 1,2-difunctionalization of hydrocarbons via C-H bond activation to afford vicinal azido- and acetoxy iodinations of cyclic hydrocarbons. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: azides; C-H activation; Iodination; NaIO4

Nano-gold supported on Fe2O3: a highly active catalyst for low temperature oxidative destruction of methane green house gas from exhaust/waste gases - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Patil, V. P.; Jana, Prabhas; Uphade, B. S. (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2008)
A number of nano-gold catalysts were prepared by depositing gold on different metal oxides (viz. Fe2O3, Al2O3, Co3O4, MnO2, CeO2, MgO, Ga2O3 and TiO2), using the homogeneous deposition precipitation (HDP) technique. The catalysts were evaluated for their performance in the combustion of methane (1 mol% in air) at different temperatures (300-600 degrees C) for a GHSV of 51,000 h(-1). The supported nano-gold catalysts have been characterized for their gold loading (by ICP) and gold particle size (by TEM/HRTEM or XRD peak broadening). Among these nano-gold catalysts, the Au/Fe2O3 (Au loading = 6.1% and Au particle size = 8.5 nm) showed excellent performance. For this catalyst, temperature required for half the methane combustion was 387 degrees C, which is lower than that required for Pd(1%)/Al2O3 (400 degrees C) and Pt(1%)/Al2O3 (500 degrees C) under identical conditions. A detailed investigation on the influence of space velocity (GHSV = 10,000-100,000 cm(3) g(-1) h(-1)) at different temperatures (200-600 degrees C) on the oxidative destruction of methane over the Au/Fe2O3 catalyst has also been carried out. The Au/Fe2O3 catalyst prepared by the HDP method showed much higher methane combustion activity than that prepared by the conventional deposition precipitation (DP) method. The XPS analysis showed the presence of Au in the different oxidation states (Au-0, Au1+ and Au3+) in the catalyst. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Au/Fe2O3; Deposition precipitation; Homogeneous deposition precipitation; Methane combustion; Supported nano-gold catalysts

New microporous MOF material based on Zn(II)-polycarboxylate coordination polymer synthesized with the aid of 1,6-diaminohexane as template - Chandra, Debraj; Kasture, Mahesh W.; Bhaumik, Asim (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2008)
A new microporous metal-organic framework (MOF) material ZBTEC-1 has been synthesized by designing infinite coordination polymer network formed between Zn(II) and 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid (BTEC) under solvothermal conditions in the presence of 1,6-diaminohexane (DAH) as a single molecule template. Powder XRD data demonstrate that the ZBTEC-1 material has a new MOF structure. N-2 sorption studies indicated moderately good surface area (306 m(2) g(-1)) with large size micropores (average pore diameter ca. 0.7 nm) and very high pore volume (1.93 ccg(-1)). C-13 solid state MAS-NMR, FT-IR and UV-visible spectroscopic studies showed the presence of BTEC moieties in the framework. TEM and FE-SEM analysis indicated 30-60 nm diameter size microporous spherical particles for the ZBTEC-1 crystallites. This novel MOF material showed good hydrogen adsorption capacity at 77 K, indicating its potential application in hydrogen storage. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Coordination polymer; Metal-organic framework; Microporous material; porosity; Zinc complex

Nonaqueous synthesis and characterization of capped alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles from iron(III) hydroxy-oleate precursor - Chikate, Rajeev C.; Jun, Ki-Won; Rode, Chandrasekhar V. (Polyhedron, 2008)
The synthesis of capped alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles from thermal treatment of iron (III) hydroxy-oleate in boiling organic solvents around 250 degrees C with retention of the integrity of the oleate units during the reaction process is reported. The formation of capped iron oxide particles is accomplished under aerobic conditions while the solvents used in the synthesis have strong influence on the nature and morphology of nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are studied by means of X-ray powder diffraction, IR and XPS while the morphology and particle size of nanocrystals are evaluated using SEM and TEM analysis suggesting the formation of monocrystalline alpha-Fe2O3 particles having cubical and spherical morphologies with sizes ranging from 20 to 30 nm. This organophilic material with oleate capping around the surfaces can be readily dispersed in organic solvents thus forming organosols. These organosols exhibit band-edge emission photoluminescence band both in toluene as well as in solid state while FT-IR analysis reveals formation oleate capped nanoparticles The XPS data indicate ferric state having doublet from Fe 2P(3/2) and Fe 2p(1/2) core-level electrons. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: alpha-Fe2O3; capped nanoparticles; cubic morphology; ferrofluids; nonaqueous synthesis; Oleic acid; organosol

Orbital optimization in the density matrix renormalization group, with applications to polyenes and ss-carotene - Ghosh, Debashree; Hachmann, Johannes; Yanai, Takeshi; Chan, Garnet Kin-Lic (Journal of Chemical Physics, 2008)

ORGN 511-Total synthesis of 7-chloro-10-methoxycamptothecin: an important synthon for commercially important derivatives of camptothecin - Sharma, Anil; Chavan, Subhash P.; Venkatraman, M. S. (Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society, 2008)
235th American-Chemical-Society National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, APR 06-10, 2008

Phosphotungstic acid on silica with modified acid sites as a solid catalyst for selective cleavage of tert-butyldimethylsilyl ethers - Bhure, Mahesh H.; Kumar, Indresh; Natu, Arun D.; Chikate, Rajeev C.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V. (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
The strength and nature of acid sites of bulk phosphotungstic acid could be modified after dispersing it on silica support which was characterized by XRD, ammonia TPD and (31)P MAS NMR techniques. This solid acid catalyst was found to be highly selective for the cleavage of tert-butyldimethylsilyl ethers at room temperature. The catalyst was easily recovered by filtration and could be reused for several times without loss of any activity giving a TON of 9.5 x 10(5). (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Ammonia TPD; Catalytic cleavage; reaction pathway; solid acid; tert-butyldimethylsilyl ethers; XRD

Practical syntheses of 4-fluoroprolines - Chorghade, Mukund S.; Mohapatra, Debendra K.; Sahoo, Gokarneswar; Gurjar, Mukund K.; Mandlecha, Manish V.; Bhoite, Nitin; Moghe, Santosh; Raines, Ronald T. (Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 2008)
4-Fluoroprolines are among the most useful nonnatural amino acids in chemical biology. Here, practical routes are reported for the synthesis of the 2S, 4R, 2S, 4S, and 2R,4S diastereomers of 4-fluoroproline. Each route starts with (2S,4R)-4-hydroxyproline, which is a prevalent component of collagen and hence readily available, and uses a fluoride salt to install the fluoro group. Hence, the routes provide process-scale access to these useful nonnatural amino acids. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 4-Fluoroproline; 4-Hydroxyproline; collagen; Nonnatural amino acid; Process-scale synthesis

Protection of oligo deoxynucleotides against nuclease degradation through association with self-assembling peptides - Wang, M.; Adikane, H. V.; Duhamel, J.; Chen, P. (Biomaterials, 2008)
Aggregates of the self-assembling peptide EAK16II or EAK16IV and oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) were prepared, and their stability upon diluting the solution was investigated by UV-vis spectroscopy. The aggregates prepared at pH 4 and pH 7 did not dissociate after the solution was diluted 5- and 10-fold. The resistance against Escherichia coli exonuclease I of the ODN located in the EAK-ODN aggregates was studied by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) after the ODN had aggregated with EAK 16II or EAK 16IV at pH 4 or pH 7. The effect that the peptide sequence, peptide concentration, pH, and centrifugation had on protecting the aggregated ODN against nuclease degradation was investigated. Significant nuclease resistance was obtained after the EAK-ODN aggregates had been prepared at pH 4, with an EAK16IV concentration greater than a threshold value, and ensuring that the solution was not centrifuged immediately after sample preparation. Centrifuging the EAK16IV-ODN solution immediately after sample preparation resulted in the loss of this nuclease protection. However, if the solution of EAK-ODN aggregates was centrifuged 24h after sample preparation, the nuclease protection afforded by the EAK16IV-ODN aggregates to the ODN was maintained even after being subject to a 10-fold dilution and up to 4 rounds of centrifugation over 4 days. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: aggregate; centrifugation; Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET); nuclease resistance; oligonucleotide; self-assembling peptide

Recovery of ammonical salts from mother liquid of 2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole - Dongare, Mohan K.; Rode, C. V.; Chandorkar, J. G. (Asian Journal of Chemistry, 2008)
An attempt have been made to recover the ammonical salt (ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate) from the mother liquid of 2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole successfully.
Keywords: 2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole; ammonium nitrate; ammonium sulphate; Recovery

Selective epoxidation of styrene to styrene oxide by TBHP using simple transition metal oxides (NiO, CoO or MoO3) as highly active environmentally-friendly catalyst - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jha, Rani; Jana, Prabhas (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
Simple transition metal oxides, such as NiO, CoO or MoO3, etc. show high catalytic activity for the selective epoxidation of styrene to styrene oxide by TBHP. The order of choice for different transition metal oxides for epoxidation is NiO > CoO > MoO3 > Cr2O3 > Fe2O3 > ZnO >= U3O8 >> TiO2 >> MnO2. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: CoO; epoxidation; MoO3; NiO; styrene; Styrene oxide; TBHP

Sequence-specific unusual (1 -> 2)-type helical turns in alpha/beta-hybrid peptides - Prabhakaran, Panchami; Kale, Sangram S.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Chetina, Olga; Howard, Judith A. K.; Hofmann, Hans-Joerg; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2008)
This article describes novel conformationally ordered (alpha/beta-hybrid peptides consisting of repeating L-proline-anthranilic acid building blocks. These oligomers adopt a compact, right-handed helical architecture determined by the intrinsic conformational preferences of the individual amino acid residues. The striking feature of these oligomers is their ability to display an unusual periodic pseudo beta-turn network of nine-membered hydrogen-bonded rings formed in the forward direction of the sequence by 1–>2 amino acid interactions both in solid-state and in solution. Conformational investigations of several of these oligomers by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, solution-state NMR, and ab initio MO theory suggest that the characteristic steric and dihedral angle restraints exerted by proline are essential for stabilizing the unusual pseudo beta-turn network found in these oligomers. Replacing proline by the conformationally flexible analogue alanine (Ala) or by the conformationally more constrained alpha-amino isobutyric acid (Aib) had an adverse effect on the stabilization of this structural architecture. These findings increase the potential to design novel secondary structure elements profiting from the steric and dihedral angle constraints of the amino acid constituents and help to augment the conformational space available for synthetic oligomer design with diverse backbone structures.

Sn-119 magic angle spinning NMR of nanocrystalline SnO2 - Sabarinathan, V.; Chandran, C. Vinod; Ramasamy, S.; Ganapathy, Subramanian (Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2008)
Nanocrystalline SnO2 samples of different grain sizes, prepared by inert gas condensation technique (IGCT) and chemical precipitation method and conforming to the tetragonal phase, have been studied by variable speed (3-10 kHz) Sn-119 MAS NMR at 11.74 Tesla field. Sn-119 solid-state NMR results show that the IGCT prepared samples have good crystallinity and phase purity compared to the samples prepared by the chemical method. The determination of Sn-119 chemical shielding parameters (delta(iso), Delta delta and eta) from slow MAS spectra shows that the Sn-119 isotropic chemical shift (delta(iso)) is strongly influenced at smaller grain sizes, attributable to the change in the O2- local symmetry for the surface Sn-119 ions at smaller grain sizes. The observed line widths in MAS spectra are significantly larger than the life-time broadening due to spin-lattice (T-1) and spin-spin (T,) relaxation. The Sn-119 MAS NMR spectra are thus inhomogeneously broadened by a distribution of isotropic chemical shifts, the line broadening increasing with decrease in grain size.
Keywords: Hydrolysis; IGCT; MAS NMR; nanocrystalline SnO2

Structural elucidation of propargylated products of 3-substituted-1,2,4-triazole-5-thiols by NMR techniques - Chaudhary, Preeti M.; Chavan, Sayalee R.; Kavitha, M.; Maybhate, Shailaja P.; Deshpande, Sunita R.; Likhite, Anjali P.; Rajamohanan, P. R. (Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, 2008)
Propargylation of 3-substituted-1,2,4-triazole-5-thiols, which predominantly exist as their thione tautomers, was carried out with the view to synthesize different heterocycles and study their biological activity. Three different products namely, a mono S-propargyl and two S,N-dipropargyl regioisomers, arising from N1/N2 substitution, were isolated and characterized. Unambiguous structural elucidation of the regioisomers of S,N-dipropargyl derivatives was achieved by means of (13)C-(1)H HMBC technique. The proportion of the regioisomers was found to vary with the substituent on the 1,2,4-triazole thiols. No product corresponding to N4 substitution was isolated from any of the reactions carried out. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords: (1)H NMR; (13)C NMR; (15)N NMR; 1; 2; 4-triazoles; HMBC; NMR; Regioisomers

Study of a laboratory-scale froth flotation process using artificial neural networks - Kalyani, V. K.; Pallavika; Chaudhuri, Sanjay; Charan, T. Gouri; Haldar, D. D.; Kamal, K. P.; Badhe, Yogesh P.; Tambe, S. S.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2008)
A three-layer feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN) model, trained using the error back propagation algorithm, has been established to simulate the froth flotation process for the beneficiation of coal fines. The network model validates the experimentally observed qualitative and quantitative trends. The optimal model parameters in terms of network weights have been estimated and can be used to compute the parameters of the coal flotation process over wide-ranging experimental conditions.
Keywords: back propagation algorithm; froth flotation; laboratory-scale; neural network

Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of beta-lactam-bile acid conjugates linked via triazole - Vatmurge, Namdev S.; Hazra, Braja G.; Pore, Vandana S.; Shirazi, Fazal; Chavan, Pradnya S.; Deshpande, Mukund V. (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2008)
Synthesis of novel 1,2,3-triazole-linked beta-lactam-bile acid conjugates 17-24 using 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azido beta-lactam and terminal alkyne of bile acids in the presence of Cu( I) catalyst ( click chemistry) have been realized. These molecules were evaluated in vitro for their antifungal and antibacterial activities. Most of the compounds exhibited significant antifungal and moderate antibacterial activity against all the tested strains. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of bile acid dimers linked with 1,2,3-triazole and bis-beta-lactam - Vatmurge, Namdev S.; Hazra, Braja G.; Pore, Vandana S.; Shirazi, Fazal; Deshpande, Mukund V.; Kadreppa, Sreenath; Chattopadhyay, Samit; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2008)
We report herein the synthesis and biological evaluation of bile acid dimers 11-18 linked through 1,2,3-triazole and bis-beta-lactam. The dimers 11-18 were synthesized using 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of diazido bis-beta-lactams 3, 4 and terminal alkynes 7-10 derived from cholic acid/deoxycholic acid in the presence of Cu(I) catalyst (click chemistry). These novel molecules were evaluated in vitro for their antifungal and antibacterial activity. Most of the compounds exhibited significant antifungal as well as antibacterial activity against all the tested fungal and bacterial strains. Moreover, their in vitro cytotoxicities towards HEK-293 and MCF-7 cells were also established.

Synthesis and magnetic properties of barium-calcium hexaferrite particles prepared by sol-gel and microemulsion techniques - Jotania, R. B.; Khomane, Ramdas B.; Chauhan, C. C.; Menon, Shamal K.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2008)
The preparation of W-type hexaferrite particles with the composition BaCa2Fe16O27 by microemulsion and a stearic acid sol - gel method with and without surfactant has been investigated at various sintering temperatures. The structural and magnetic characteristics have been studied by X-ray diffraction ( XRD), a vibrating sample magnetometer ( VSM), scanning electron microscopy ( SEM), thermogravimetric analysis ( TGA), differential scanning calorimetric ( DSC) and Fourier transform infrared ( FTIR) techniques. The effect of sintering temperature on the properties of BaCa2Fe16O27 hexaferrites has been studied. The value of saturation magnetization ( M-s) depends on types of surfactant used. The sample prepared in the presence of polyoxyethylene ( 20) sorbitan monooleat ( Tween 80) shows low saturation magnetization ( M-s 15.10 emu/g), whereas the other sample prepared in the presence of a surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) exhibits high saturation magnetization (M-s = 24.60 emu/g) compared to the normal sample. (C) 2007 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: BaCa2Fe16O27; hexaferrite; magnetic property; Microemulsion; Sol-gel method; surfactant

Synthesis and spectral studies of nitrogen-oxygen donor macrocyclic metal complexes of Mn(II), Cu(II) Zn(II), Pd(II) and Pt(II) - Chandra, Sulekh; Verma, Shweta; Meera, P. (Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, 2008)
The complexes of Mn(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Pd(II) and Pt(II) with a nitrogen-oxygen donor macrocyclic ligand, viz. 5,6,13,14-dibenzo[1,4,8,11]dioxadiaza-5,7,11,13-cyclotetradecin have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility measurements, spectral and electrochemical studies. The molar conductance measurements of the complexes in DMF solution correspond to non electrolytic nature for M(L)X(2) complexes and 1 : 2 electrolytes for M `(L)X(2) Complexes [where M = Mn(II), Cu(II); M ` = Zn(II), Pd(II) and Pt(II); X = Cl(-), NO(3)(-), and L = ligand]. Thus, the complexes may be formulated as [M(L)X(2)] and [M `(L)]X(2) respectively. Mn(II), Cu(II) complexes were of the high-spin type whereas the complexes of Zn(II), Pd(II) and Pt(II) were diamagnetic. On the basis of spectral studies an octahedral geometry has been assigned for Mull, tetragonal for Cull, tetrahedral for Zn(II) complexes whereas square planar for Pd(II) and Pt(II) complexes.
Keywords: Cu(II); macrocyclic; Mu(II); Pd(II); Pt(II); Zn(II)

Synthesis, characterization of chemically deposited indium selenide thin films at room temperature - Asabe, M. R.; Chate, P. A.; Delekar, S. D.; Garadkar, K. M.; Mulla, Imtiaz S.; Hankare, P. P. (Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 2008)
Polycrystalline In2Se3 semiconducting thin films were prepared by using relatively simple chemical bath deposition method at room temperature by the reaction between indium chloride, tartaric acid, hydrazine hydrate and sodium selenosulphate in an aqueous alkaline medium. Various preparative conditions of thin film deposition are outlined. The as grown films were found to be transparent, uniform, well adherent and red in color. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy and energy dispersive atomic X-ray diffraction (EDAX). The XRD analysis of the film showed the presence of polycrystalline nature with hexagonal crystal structure. SEM study revels that the grains are homogenous, without cracks or pinholes and well covers the glass substrate. The optical absorption and electrical conductivity was measured. The direct optical band gap value for the films was found to be of the order of 2.35eV at room temperature and have specific electrical conductivity of the order of 10(-2) (Omega cm)(-1) showing n-type conduction mechanism. The utility of the adapted technique is discussed from the view-point of applications considering the optoelectric and structural data. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chemical synthesis; Semiconductor

Synthesis of chimeric tetrapeptide-linked cholic acid derivatives: impending synergistic agents - Bavikar, Sudhir N.; Salunke, Deepak B.; Hazra, Braja G.; Pore, Vandana S.; Dodd, Robert H.; Thierry, Josiane; Shirazi, Fazal; Deshpande, Mukund V.; Kadreppa, Sreenath; Chattopadhyay, Samit (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2008)
Tetrapeptides derived from glycine and beta-alanine were hooked at the C-3 beta position of the modified cholic acid to realize novel linear tetrapeptide-linked cholic acid derivatives. All the synthesized compounds were tested against a wide variety of microorganisms (Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria and fungi) and their cytotoxicity was evaluated against human embryonic kidney (HEK293) and human mammary adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines. While relatively inactive by themselves, these compounds interact synergistically with antibiotics such as fluconazole and erythromycin to inhibit growth of fungi and bacteria, respectively, at 1-24 mu g/mL. The synergistic effect shown by our novel compounds is due to their inherent amphiphilicity. The fractional inhibitory concentrations reported are comparable to those reported for Polymyxin B derivatives. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Cholic acid; Cytotoxicity; Synergism; Tetrapeptide

Synthesis of five and six membered aminocyclitols: stereoselective michael and henry reaction approach with D-glucose derived alpha,beta-unsaturated ester - Chakraborty, Chaitali; Vyavahare, Vinod P.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Dhavale, Dilip D. (Tetrahedron, 2008)
The stereoselective intermolecular Michael addition of nitromethane to D-glucose derived alpha,beta-unSaturated ester 7 afforded L-ido-configurated nitroester 8 as the only product that on reduction of the ester functionality, cleavage of 1,2-acetonide and the intramolecular Henry reaction afforded exclusively muco-nitroinositol 9. While reduction of the ester functionality in 8, deprotection of 1,2-acetonide, oxidative cleavage with NaIO(4) and the intrarnolecular Henry reaction afforded nitrocyclopentitol 13. Nitrocyclitols 9 and 13 were converted to the hydroxyethyl substituted aminocyclohexitol 5 and aminocyclopentitol 6, respectively. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: aminocyclitols; carbohydrates; Henry reaction; Michael addition; nitroinositol

Synthesis of substituted styrenes and stilbenes mediated by palladium on zirconia - Borate, Hanumant B.; Dumbre, Deepa K.; Wakharkar, Radhika D.; Choudhary, Vasant R. (Journal of Chemical Research-S, 2008)
Palladium on zirconia has been found to be an effective catalyst for the synthesis of various substituted styrenes and stilbenes, including biologically active natural products, by reaction of aryl halides with olefins.
Keywords: heterogeneous catalyst; palladium on zirconia; stilbenes; styrenes

Synthesis, structure and reactivity of azosalophen complexes of palladium - Pattanayak, Poulami; Pratihar, Jahar Lal; Patra, Debprasad; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Chattopadhyay, Surajit (Polyhedron, 2008)
The ligands 2-(arylazo)-1-N-salicylidene phenylamine, H(2)L(sal), (where H represents the dissociable protons upon complexation) afford stable orthopalladated complexes, [(L(sal))Pd], upon treatment with Na(2)[PdCl(4)]. The dinegative anionic (L(sal))(2-) ligands bind Pd(II) in a tetradentate (C, N, N, O) fashion with a distorted square planar geometry. The newly synthesized palladium complexes underwent oxygen insertion into the Pd-C bond with mCPBA (m-chloroperbenzoic acid) or TBHP (terbutylhydroperoxide)/[VO(acac)(2)] leading to the formation of stable azosalophen complexes of Pd(II) with the (O, N, N, O) coordination mode of the oxygenated ligand. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 2-(arylazo)-1-N-salicylidene phenylamine; azosalophen complex; orthopalladation; oxygen insertion

Tandem aza-michael-condensation-aldol cyclization reaction: approach to the construction of DE synthon of (+/-)-camptothecin - Chavan, Subhash P.; Dhawane, Abasaheb N.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Synlett, 2008)
An efficient synthesis of the DE ring of camptothecin, employing a Reformatsky and a tandem one-pot, three-step transformation involving aza-Michael reaction, condensation with ethyl malonyl chloride followed by intramolecular `aldol' reaction to furnish the dihydropyridone derivative from commercially available starting materials, has been achieved.
Keywords: Aldol cyclizations; alkaloids; antitumor; Natural products; Reformatsky reaction

Tandem synthesis of beta-amino alcohols from aniline, dialkyl carbonate, and ethylene glycol - Shivarkar, Anandkumar B.; Gupte, Sunil P.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2008)
An efficient tandem route for selective synthesis of beta-amino alcohols from anilines, dialkyl carbonate and ethylene glycol in the presence of recyclable Na-Y zeolite has been demonstrated. Transesterification of dialkyl carbonate by ethylene glycol produce ethylene carbonate which further reacts with aniline to give beta-amino alcohols in a single step. This reaction system was studied under high-pressure as well as pot reaction condition. Various process parametric effects were investigated for the reaction of aniline, dialkyl carbonate, and ethylene glycol. It was observed that a maximum 51% yield of mono-beta-amino alcohol, i.e., N-phenylethanolamine (NPEA). is obtained under pressure conditions. The yield of NPEA was improved drastically (>91%) by carrying out the reaction under pot conditions using diethyl carbonate as transesterification agent. Finally activity and selectivity of solid catalyst was explained on the basis of nature of active sites and pore structure of the catalyst.

Temperature dependent structural studies and magnetic properties of BaCa2Fe16O27 hexaferrites prepared by stearic acid gel route in presence of SDS surfactant - Joyania, R. B.; Khomane, Ramdas B.; Chauhan, C. C.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Synthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic Metal-Organic and Nano-Metal Chemistry, 2008)
The preparation of BaCa2Fe16O27 hexaferrite powders by a stearic acid gel method with SDS surfactant has been investigated at various sintering temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), TGA, FTIR and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The effect of sintering temperature on properties of BaCa2Fe16O27 hexaferrites was studied. In presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant, the magnetic parameters, like saturation magnetization, coercivity and remanent magnetization, have been calculated from hysteresis loop.
Symposium on New Routes to Inorganic Materials, Films and Nanocrystals held at ICMAT 2007, Singapore, SINGAPORE, JUL 01-06, 2007
Keywords: BaCa2Fe16O27; magnetic properties; stearic acid gel method

Total synthesis and determination of relative and absolute configuration of multiplolide A - Ramana, C. V.; Khaladkar, Tushar P.; Chatterjee, Soumitra; Gurjar, Mukund K. (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2008)
A flexible approach for total syntheses of possible multiplolide A diastereomers establishing the relative and absolute configuration is documented. The adopted strategy features ring-closing metathesis (RCM) as the key reaction and screening of a set of substrates for the feasibility of RCM in general and for the requisite E-configuration of ring olefin in particular. Selective protecting groups manipulation prior to the assembly of the central macrocyclic core was instrumental in installing the epoxide functionality on a fully deprotected nonenolide at the end of the synthesis.

Transverse susceptibility study of the effect of varying dipolar interactions on anisotropy peaks in a three-dimensional assembly of soft ferrite nanoparticles - Poddar, Pankaj; Morales, Marienette B.; Frey, Natalie A.; Morrison, Shannon A.; Carpenter, Everett E.; Srikanth, Hariharan (Journal of Applied Physics, 2008)
Collective magnetization dynamics in nanoparticle assemblies is of current interest as it forms the basis of high density storage media. It is important to understand how interparticle interactions in a three-dimensional (3D) arrangement of superparamagnetic nanoparticles would affect the overall effective magnetic anisotropy of the system. We have studied the influence of varying strengths of dipolar interaction on the static and dynamic magnetic properties of surfactant-coated monodispersed manganese zinc ferrite nanoparticles using reversible transverse susceptibility. We track the evolution of the anisotropy peaks with varying magnetic field, temperature, and interaction strength. The blocking temperature shows an increase from 28 to 32 K and the coercive field (at 10 K) shows an increase from 144 to 192 Oe as the system changes from the case of weakly interacting to strongly interacting 3D assembly of the particles. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.2977592]

Tunable surface modification of silica nanoparticles through `click' chemistry - Chandran, S. Prathap; Hotha, Srinivas; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad (Current Science, 2008)
Tuning the surface functionality of silica nanoparticles through a `click' chemistry-based protocol is demonstrated. Pyrene, a fluorophore that displays excimer emission specifically at higher density/concentration is chosen for highlighting the fidelity of surface functionalization. The UV-visible absorbance of the pyrene chromophore capping the nanoparticle is used to determine the amount of pyrene units present on the surface of a silica nanoparticle.
Keywords: pyrene; silica nanoparticles; surface functionality; `Click' chemistry

Ultrasound promoted asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones using Ru(II)arene/amino alcohol catalyst system - Shingote, Savita K.; Kelkar, Ashutosh A.; Borole, Yogesh L.; Joshi, Pradip D.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 2008)
Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones using Ru(II)arene/amino alcohol catalyst system proceeds with significant rate enhancement by ultrasound promotion. Comparison of the silent reactions carried out at 25 degrees C with reactions under sonochemical activation at 25 degrees C clearly showed enhancement in catalytic activity by 5-10 times without significantly affecting the enantioselectivity. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: asymmetric catalysis; transfer hydrogenation; Ultrasound

Utilization of molasses sugar for lactic acid production by lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp delbrueckii mutant Uc-3 in batch fermentation - Dumbrepatil, Arti; Adsul, Mukund G.; Chaudhari, Shivani; Khire, Jayant Malhar; Gokhale, Digambar V. (Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2008)
Efficient lactic acid production from cane sugar molasses by Lactobacillus delbrueckii mutant Uc-3 in batch fermentation process is demonstrated. Lactic acid fermentation using molasses was not significantly affected by yeast extract concentrations. The final lactic acid concentration increased with increases of molasses sugar concentrations up to 190 g/liter. The maximum lactic acid concentration of 166 g/liter was obtained at a molasses sugar concentration of 190 g/liter with a productivity of 4.15 g/liter/h. Such a high concentration of lactic acid with high productivity from molasses has not been reported previously, and hence mutant Uc-3 could be a potential candidate for economical production of lactic acid from molasses at a commercial scale.

Accelerating convergence in iterative solution for large-scale complete active space self-consistent-field calculations - Yanai, Takeshi; Kurashige, Yuki; Ghosh, Debashree; Chan, Garnet Kin-Lic (International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, 2009)
An algorithm that accelerates the convergence of the iterative optimization of the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) wavefunction so as to find a optimum solution in fewer macroiterations is described. The algorithm is oriented to large-scale CASSCF problems that are to be solved with a combination of density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method for the configuration interaction (CI) process. The algorithm is based on the alternating (or two-step) CASSCF optimization in which the CI and molecular orbital (MO) parameters are optimized separately. Convergence ratio is improved by finding further optimized MOs from a linear extrapolation of the MO sets of the iteration history. The acceleration results in fewer diagonalizations in a total CASSCF calculation to save a considerable computational cost. The convergence performance is examined in a couple of realistic applications on SiC(3) and poly (phenyl)carbenes. For poly(phenyl)carbenes, the large-size CASSCF calculations with CAS(30e,30o) that entails full pi valence space as well as sp(2) orbital space of carbenes are performed by using the practical implementation of DMRG-CASSCF in conjunction with the acceleration technique. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 109: 2178-2190, 2009

Acetalization of glycerol using mesoporous MoO3/SiO2 solid acid catalyst - Shubhangi B. Umbarkar; Kotbagi, Trupti V.; Biradar, Ankush V.; Pasricha, Renu; Chanale, Jyoti; Dongare, Mohan K.; Mamede, Anne-Sophie; Lancelot, Christine; Payen, Edmond (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2009)
Acetalization of glycerol with various aldehydes has been carried out using mesoporous MoO3/SiO2 as a solid acid catalyst. A series of MoO3/SiO2 catalysts with varying MoO3 loadings(1-20 mol%) were prepared by sol-gel technique using ethyl silicate-40 and ammonium heptamolybdate as silica and molybdenum source respectively. The sol-gel derived samples were calcined at 500 degrees C and characterized using various physicochemical characterization techniques. The XRD of the calcined samples showed the formation of amorphous phase up to 10 mol% MoO3 loading and at higher loading of crystalline alpha-MoO3 on amorphous silica support. TEM analyses of the materials showed the uniform distribution of MoO3 nanoparticles on amorphous silica support. Raman spectroscopy showed the formation of silicomolybdic acid at low Mo loading and a mixture of alpha-MoO3 and polymolybdate species at high Mo loadings. Moreover the Raman spectra of intermediate loading samples also suggest the presence of beta-MoO3. Acetalization of glycerol with benzaldehyde was carried out using series of MoO3/SiO2 catalysts with varying MoO3 loadings (1-20 mol%). Among the series, MoO3/SiO2 With 20 mol% MoO3 loadings was found to be the most active catalyst in acetalization under mild conditions. Maximum conversion of benzaldehyde (72%) was obtained in 8 h at 100 degrees C with 60% selectivity for the six-membered acetal using 20% MoO3/SiO2. Interestingly with substituted benzaldehydes under same reaction conditions the conversion of aldehydes decreased with increase in selectivity for six-membered acetals. These results indicate the potential of this catalyst for the acetalization of glycerol for an environmentally benign process. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Acetalization; Aldehyde; Glycerol; Silicomolybdic acid; solid acid

Acylation of nitrobenzene and substituted nitrobenzenes by benzoyl chloride using GaClx- and GaAlClx-grafted meporous Si-MCM-41 catalysts - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jha, Rani (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2009)
A acylation of nitrobenzene and substituted nitrobenzene by benzoyl chloride can be accomplished with good yield in a short reaction period (<= 3 h), even in the presence of moisture, using GaClx- and GaAlClx-grafted mesoporous silica (Si-MCM-41) catalyst. The catalyst is reusable/environmentally friendly. The presence of moisture in the catalyst has beneficial effect on the acylation reaction. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Acylation; Benzoyl chloride; GaAlClx-grafted Si-MCM-41; GaClx-grafted Si-MCM-41; nitrobenzene

Arthrobacter sp lipase immobilization for preparation of enantiopure masked beta-amino alcohols - Chaubey, Asha; Parshad, Rajinder; Gupta, Pankaj; Taneja, Subhash C.; Qazi, Ghulam N.; Rajan, C. R.; Ponrathnam, S. (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 2009)
Recent reports on immobilization of lipase from Arthrobacter sp. (ABL, MTCC 5125; IIIM isolate) on insoluble polymers have shown altered properties including stability and enantioselectivity. Present work demonstrates a facile method for the preparation of enantiopure beta-amino alcohols by modulation of ABL enzyme properties via immobilization on insoluble as well as soluble supports using entrapment/covalent binding techniques. Efficacies of immobilized ABL on insoluble supports prepared from tetraethylorthosilicate/aminopropyltriethoxy silane and soluble supports derived from copolymerization of N-vinyl pyrrolidone-allylglycidyl ether (ANP type)/N-vinyl pyrrolidone-glycidyl methacrylate ( GNP type) for kinetic resolution of masked beta-amino alcohols have been studied vis-a-vis free ABL enzyme/wet cell biomass. The immobilized lipase on different insoluble/soluble supports has shown 21 - 110 mg/g protein binding and 30 - 700 U/g activity for hydrolyzing tributyrin substrate. The findings have shown a significant enhancement in enantioselectivity (ee 99%) vis-a-vis wet cell biomass providing ee 70-90% for resolution of beta-amino alcohols. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Arthrobacter sp lipase; beta-Aminoalcohol; Enantioselectivity; Immobilization; soluble polymer

Assembly of gold nanoparticles on single-walled carbon nanotubes by using click chemistry - Rana, Sravendra; Kumar, Indresh; Yoo, Hye Jin; Cho, Jae Whan (Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2009)
Azide moiety-functionalized gold nanoparticles were conjugated with acetylene functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes by employing copper-catalyzed Huisgen's [3+2] dipolar cycloaddition `click chemistry' reaction. Evidences of conjunction were observed by TEM, EDX and Raman images.
Keywords: Carbon nanotubes; Click chemistry; Functionalization; Nanoparticles

Changes in volatile composition during fruit development and ripening of `Alphonso' mango - Pandit, Sagar S.; Kulkarni, Ram S.; Chidley, Hemangi G.; Giri, Ashok P.; Pujari, Keshav H.; Koellner, Tobias G.; Degenhardt, Joerg; Gershenzon, Jonathan; Gupta, Vidya S. (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2009)
BACKGROUND: Volatile blends of five developing and five ripening stages of mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. Alphonso) were investigated along with those of flowers and leaves. Raw and ripe fruits of cv. Sabia were also used for comparison. RESULTS: A total of 55 volatiles belonging to various chemical classes such as aldehydes, alcohols, mono- and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, lactones and furanones were identified. In all Alphonso tissues monoterpenes quantitatively dominated, with 57-99% contribution; in particular, (Z)-ocimene was found in the highest amount. Ripeness was characterized by the de novo appearance of lactones and furanones in the blend of monoterpenes. Sabja was distinguished by the abundance of monoterpene hydrocarbons in the raw fruit, and that of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and their derivatives in the ripe stage. CONCLUSION: Various stages of the Alphonso fruit during transition from flower to ripe fruit are characterized by unique volatile signatures that are distinguished from each other by the qualitative and quantitative appearance of different volatile compounds. Thus volatiles can be highly informative markers while studying the development and ripening of mango. (C) 2009 Society of Chemical Industry
Keywords: Deogad; Gas chromatography; Mangifera indica; mango products; ripening indicator; Sabja

Click synthesis of isomeric compounds for assessing the efficiency of the bifurcated Br center dot center dot center dot NO2 synthon - Ramana, C. V.; Chatterjee, Soumitra; Durugkar, Kulbhushan A.; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (Crystengcomm, 2009)
We report herein the extention of the azide-alkyne ``click reaction'' to crystal engineering and synthesize a collection of isomeric compounds with modular positioning of Br and NO2 on a tricyclic template and crystal structural analyses of the derived isomers. It is quite remarkable to notice that none of the isomers displayed the bifurcated three-center NO2 center dot center dot center dot Br supramolecular synthon in their crystal structures

Combinatorial library of primaryalkylammonium dicarboxylate gelators: a supramolecular synthon approach - Sahoo, Pathik; Adarsh, N. N.; Chacko, George E.; Raghavan, Srinivasa R.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Dastidar, Parthasarathi (Langmuir, 2009)
Following the supramolecular synthon approach, a combinatorial library comprising 35 organic salts derived from 7 dicarboxylic acids (malonic, succinic-, adipic, L-tartaric-, maleic-, phthalic-, and isophthalicacid) and 5 primaryalkyl amines Me-(CH2)(n)-NH2 (n = 11 - 15) was prepared and scanned for gelation. About 66% of the salts in the combinatorial library were found to show moderate to good gelling ability in various polar and nonpolar solvents including commercial fuels such as petrol. The majority of the salts having a rigid, unsaturated anionic backbone (maleate, phthalate, and isophthalate) did not show gelation; only the corresponding hexadecylammonium salts showed gelation. Some of the representative gels were characterized by rheology, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), optical microscopy (OM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Single-crystal structures of two gelator and two nongelator salts were also discussed in the context of supramolecular synthon and structure-property correlation.

Concise enantioselective synthesis of (+)-decarestrictine L via proline-catalyzed sequential alpha-aminooxylation and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination - Rawat, Varun; Chouthaiwale, Pandurang V.; Suryavanshi, Gurunath; Sudalai, Arumugam (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2009)
A short enantioselective synthesis of (+)-decarestrictine L, a cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitor metabolite, is described using a D-proline catalyzed sequential alpha-aminooxylation and a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination. (C) 2009 Elsevier Lid All rights reserved

Consequence of hazards on some petroleum storage tanks and model for off-site emergency plan - Biswajit, Ruj; Chattaraj, Pratim Kumar; Rehman, I; Ray, B. C. (Disaster Advances, 2009)
Explosions, fire and the release of toxic gase cause deaths and injuries to workers and the public, resulting in the evacuation of communities and adversely affecting the environment as a whole. The primary objective of the off-site emergency plan for a hazardous installation is the prevention of accidents. The prevention of accidents involving hazardous substances is the concern of everyone. The poolfire from a petroleum storage tank leads to fatal consequences. This paper highlights some salient features of the emergency scenario from four petroleum storage tanks situated in Budge Budge area, 24 Pgs(S), West Bengal, which ultimately lead to poolfire with enormous heat wave all around and their consequence analysis, affected areas, rescue and evacuation plans, communication and public information systems, roles and responsibilities of the district emergency authority, police, fire and medical authorities.
Keywords: MAH industries; Off-site emergency plan; Petroleum storage tank; Poolfire; radial distance

Copper-based catalysts for water gas shift reaction: influence of support on their catalytic activity - Pradhan, S.; Reddy, A. Satyanarayana; Devi, R. N.; Chilukuri, Satyanarayana V. (Catalysis Today, 2009)
Three copper containing catalysts supported on ceria and mixed oxides of ceria with zirconia and titania were prepared by co-precipitation method and their catalytic activity was tested for water gas shift (WGS) reaction. High surface area (>100m(2)/g) mixed oxides were obtained following the present method of preparation. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, H(2)-temperature programmed reduction (TPR), UV-vis and XPS. Catalytic activity was evaluated for water gas shift reaction in the 200-400 degrees C temperature range, The gas hourly space velocity was varied from 5000 to 25,000h(-1) for better evaluation and comparison of their performance. The effect of CO(2) in the feed gas mixture on the WGS activity of these catalysts was also studied. Among the three catalysts studied, CuO-CeO(2)-ZrO(2) mixed oxide shows better activity, implying the influence of support. Characterization of the catalysts after WGS reaction was also carried out in order to investigate structure-property correlation. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
18th National Symposium and Indo-US Seminar on Catalysis, Indian Inst Petroleum, Dehradun, INDIA, APR 16-18, 2007
Keywords: ceria; Ceria-titania; Ceria-zirconia; Co-precipitation; Copper; Water gas shift

Cultivar relationships in mango based on fruit volatile profiles - Pandit, Sagar S.; Chidley, Hemangi G.; Kulkarni, Ram S.; Pujari, Keshav H.; Giri, Ashok P.; Gupta, Vidya S. (Food Chemistry, 2009)
Aroma volatiles of mango (Mangifera indica L.) determine consumer acceptability and influence selection, whilst breeding. To assess their variety, composition and possible impact on cultivar relationships, volatile blends of 22 Indian and five non-Indian cultivars were investigated using solvent extraction and gas chromatography. Totally 84 volatiles belonging to various chemical classes were detected. Based on the Cumulative Occurrence of members of these classes, cultivars were grouped as monoterpene or sesquiterpene dominant. a-Pinene, beta-myrcene and beta-caryophyllene were found in all 27 cultivars. For ordination, common compounds with high (relative) concentration provided quantitative characters, whereas the rare and lesser ones provided qualitative (binary) characters; non-Indian cultivars separated from Indian ones but displayed close relations within their groups. In conclusion, mango flavour is dominated qualitatively as well as quantitatively by terpene hydrocarbons; ancient selection of mango cultivars is hinted to be driven by different aroma characters in different parts of the world. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Flavour; GC-MS; Mangifera indica; Multivariate analysis; Ordination

Cu(OTf)(2)-catalyzed alpha-halogenation of ketones with 1,3-dichloro-5,5 `-dimethylhydantoin and N-bromosuccinimide - Jagdale, Arun R.; Chouthaiwale, Pandurang V.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Indian Journal of Chemistry Section B-Organic Chemistry including Medicinal Chemistry, 2009)
Copper(II) triflate catalyses efficiently the alpha-halogentation of aryl or alkyl ketones with 1,3-dichloro-5,5'-dimethyl-hydantoin and N-bromosaccinimde to give the corresponding alpha,alpha-dichloroketones and alpha-bromoketones in high yield with excellent product selectivity.
Keywords: Bromination; Catalyst; chlorination; copper (II); Ketone; Lewis acid

Dendritic effect of ligand-coated nanoparticles: enhanced apoptotic activity of silica-berberine nanoconjugates - Halimani, Mahantappa; Chandran, S. Prathap; Kashyap, Sudhir; Jadhav, V. M.; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad; Hotha, Srinivas; Maiti, Souvik (Langmuir, 2009)
We describe the synthesis and biological characterization of a novel prototype, namely, silica nanoconjugates bearing a covalently linked berberine, a plant alkaloid known to have antiproliferative activity. The effect of synthesized nanoconjugates on cell proliferation, the cell cycle profile, and apoptosis in the human cervical carcinoma cell line (HeLa), human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line (HepG2), and human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cell line has been studied and compared with the results obtained for free berberine. Our results show that all the nanoconjugates display higher antiproliferative activity than free berberine. The ability of these nanoconjugates to inhibit cellular proliferation is mediated by the cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. Moreover, silica nanoconugates caused selective apoptotic arrest with a higher efficiency than free berberine followed by apoptotic cell death as shown by quantitative fluorescence-activated cell sorting analyses. Efficiency of the nanoconjugates increases upon an increase in the linker chain length, demonstrating the distinct role of the spacer chain that conjugates nanoparticles and ligands. The actual reason to show enhanced efficiency by the nanoconjugates has not been elucidated in the present study; however, we hypothesize that an increase in local concentration due to the confinement of a ligand on the nanosurface (''dendritic'' effect) might have led to the observed effect.

Development of mycoinsecticide for the control of insect pests: comparative evaluation of metarhizium isolates to identify strains for commercialization - Deshpande, Mukund V.; Kulkarni, Shuklangi A.; Ghormade, Vandana; Kapoor, Manisha; Chavan, Santosh B.; Kulkarni, Grish; Shouche, Yogesh (New Biotechnology, 2009)

Direct H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation over highly active/selective Br-F-Pd/Al2O3 catalyst in aqueous acidic medium: Influence of process conditions on the H2O2 formation - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2009)
The influence of the O-2/H-2 mote ratio in the gaseous feed and also those of other reaction conditions [viz. concentration of H3PO4 (0-5 mol/dm(3)). temperature (5-50 degrees C, gas (H-2 and O-2) space velocity (5.8-23.4 h(-1)) and reaction time (0.1-8 h)] on the H2O2 formation in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation over the Br(1 wt%)-F(1 wt%)-Pd(5 wt%)/Al2O3 catalyst in an aqueous acidic (H3PO4) medium have been thoroughly investigated. The effects of the O-2/H-2 ratio, reaction temperature and acid concentration on the destruction of H2O2 by its decomposition and/or hydrogenation reactions over the catalyst in the acidic reaction medium have also been studied. The net H2O2 formation (H2O2 yield) over the catalyst passed through a maximum with increasing the acid concentration, the temperature or the O-2/H-2 feed ratio. However, it decreased markedly with increasing the gas space velocity or the reaction period. The H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation activities of the catalyst increased appreciably with increasing the reaction temperature and decreased with increasing the acid concentration. The H2O2 destruction during the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation increased with increasing the concentration of H-2 (relative to that of O-2) due to the increased H2O2 hydrogenation rate over the catalyst. The net H2O2 formation in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation decreased sharply with increasing the initial amount of H2O2 present in the reaction mixture. The presence of H2O2 and the higher H-2/O-2 ratios have detrimental effects on the net formation of H2O2. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Br-F-Pd/Al2O3 catalyst; H2O2 decomposition; H2O2 hydrogenation; hydrogen oxidation; Hydrogen peroxide

Efficient formal synthesis of (S)-dapoxetine from enantiopure 3-hydroxy azetidin-2-one - Chincholkar, Pinak M.; Kale, Ajaykumar S.; Gumaste, Vikas K.; Deshmukh, Abdul Rakeeb A. S. (Tetrahedron, 2009)
An efficient formal synthesis of S-(+) dapoxetine starting from 3-hydroxy azetidin-2-one is described. The intermediate (S)-3-(dimethyl amino)-3-phenylpropan-1-ol was synthesized in enantiopure form starting with 3-hydroxy azetidin-2-one in seven steps. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Azetidin 2 ones; beta-Lactams; Enantioselective synthesis; reduction; Staudinger reaction

Electronic structure and catalytic study of solid solution of GaN in ZnO - Mapa, Maitri; Thushara, K. S.; Saha, Biswajit; Chakraborty, Purushottam; Janet, C. M.; Viswanath, R. P.; Nair, C. Madhavan; Murty, K. V. G. K.; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Chemistry of Materials, 2009)
Solid solutions of GaN in ZnO (Zn1-zGaz)(O1-xNx) (x and z <= 0.15) have been prepared by simple solution combustion method, Except for minor changes in the lattice contraction, no significant change in the Wurtzite structure was observed. Raman and secondary ion mass spectrometry results show the direct Zn-N and Ga-N bonds in (Zn1-zGaz)(O1-xNx). Visible light absorption and XPS results demonstrate that N 2p states of nitride occupy the states above the O 2p valence band, and hence a change in optical band gap reduction occurs to similar to 2.5 eV from 3.37 eV for ZnO. Significant nitrogen fixation catalytic activity through NH3 formation has been observed at ambient pressure oil virgin (Zn1-zGaz)(O1-xNx) material, indicating its potential as a catalyst.

Enantioselective synthesis of decarestrictine J - Chowdhury, Partha Sarathi; Gupta, Priti; Kumar, Pradeep (Tetrahedron Letters, 2009)
An efficient total synthesis of decarestrictine J has been achieved using ring-closing metathesis and Yamaguchi esterification as key steps. The stereogenic centres were generated by means of iterative hydrolytic kinetic resolution (HKR) of racemic epoxides. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Decanolides; epoxides; Hydrolytic kinetic resolution; Ring-closing metathesis; Yamaguchi esterification

Exploration of click reaction for the synthesis of modified nucleosides as chitin synthase inhibitors - Chaudhary, Preeti M.; Chavan, Sayalee R.; Shirazi, Fazal; Razdan, Meenakshi; Nimkar, Prachi; Maybhate, Shailaja P.; Likhite, Anjali P.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Hazra, Braja G.; Deshpande, Mukund V.; Deshpande, Sunita R. (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 2009)
Click reaction approach toward the synthesis of two sets of novel 1,2,3-triazolyl linked uridine derivatives 19a-19g and 21a-21g was achieved by Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 5'-azido-5'-deoxy-2',3'-O-(1-methylethylidene) uridine (17) with propargylated ether of phenols 18a-18g and propargylated esters 20a-20g. Structure of one of the representative compound 19d was unambiguously confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Chitin synthase inhibition study of all these compounds 19a-19g and 21a-21g was carried out to develop antifungal strategy. Compounds 19d, 19e, 19f, and 21f were identified as potent chitin synthase inhibitors by comparing with nikkomycin. Compounds 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 21a, and 21b showed good antifungal activity against human and plant pathogens. Compounds 19a, 19b, 19f, 21c, 21f, and 21g were identified as lead chitin synthase inhibitors for further modi. cations by comparing results of inhibition of growth, % germ tube formation and chitin synthase activity. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 1; 2; 3-dipolar cycloaddition; 3-Triazole; 4-Disubstituted-1; 5 `-Azidouridine; Antifungal compounds; Chitin synthase activity; Click reaction; Uridine nucleosides

First asymmetric total synthesis of aspinolide A - Chowdhury, Partha Sarathi; Gupta, Priti; Kumar, Pradeep (Tetrahedron Letters, 2009)
The first total synthesis of aspinolide A has been achieved using ring-closing metathesis as a key step. The stereogenic centers were generated by means of hydrolytic kinetic resolution (HKR) of racemic epoxides. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Decanolides; epoxides; Hydrolytic kinetic resolution; Ring-closing metathesis

Formal synthesis of (-) anisomycin via organocatalysis - Chouthaiwale, Pandurang V.; Kotkar, Shriram P.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Arkivoc, 2009)
An efficient formal synthesis of (-) anisomycin (1), a potent antibiotic agent, has been achieved in good yields and excellent diastereoselectivity. The key steps are proline-catalyzed sequential alpha-amination or alpha-aminoxylation of aldehyde 2 followed by tandem Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination.
Keywords: alpha-Amination; alpha-aminoxylation; anisomycin; olefination; Proline

Fullerenol-cytotoxic conjugates for cancer chemotherapy - Chaudhuri, Padmaparna; Paraskar, Abhimanyu; Soni, Shivani; Mashelkar, Raghunath Anant; Sengupta, Shiladitya (ACS Nano, 2009)
In the present study, we report the novel application of polyhydroxylated fullerenes (fullerenols) in cancer drug delivery. The facile synthetic procedure for generating multiple hydroxyl groups on the fullerene cage offers scope for high drug loading in addition to conferring hydrophilicity. Doxorubicin, a first line cancer chemotherapeutic, was conjugated to fullerenols through a carbamate linker, achieving ultrahigh loading efficiency. The drug-fullerenol conjugate was found to be relatively stable in phosphate buffer saline but temporally released the active drug when incubated with tumor cell lysate. The fullerenol-doxorubicin conjugate suppressed the proliferation of cancer cell-lines in vitro through a G2-M cell cycle block, resulting in apoptosis. Furthermore, in an in vivo murine tumor model, fullerenol-doxorubicin exhibited Comparable antitumor efficacy as free drug without the systemic toxicity of free doxorubicin. Additionally, we demonstrate that the fullerenol platform can be extended to other chemotherapeutic agents, such as the slightly water-soluble cisplatin, and can emerge as a new paradigm in the management of cancer.
Keywords: chemotherapy; doxorubicin; drug delivery; fullerenol; nanoparticle

Functional delivery of siRNA in mice using dendriworms - Agrawal, Amit C.; Min, Dal-Hee; Singh, Neetu; Zhu, Haihao; Birjiniuk, Alona; von Maltzahn, Geoffrey; Harris, Todd J.; Xing, Deyin; Woolfenden, Stephen D.; Sharp, Phillip A.; Charest, Alain; Bhatia, Sangeeta N. (ACS Nano, 2009)

Highly stereoselective approach toward the synthesis of the macrolactone core of amphidinolide W - Mohapatra, Debendra K.; Chatterjee, Bhaskar; Gurjar, Mukund K. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2009)
The diastereoselective synthesis of the macrolactone core of amphidinolide W was successfully accomplished using Evans' asymmetric alkylation, Aldol reaction, Julia-Kocienski olefination, and Kita's macrocyclization protocol. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Amphidinolide W; Evans aldol; Evans alkylation; Julia-Kocienski olefination; Kita's macrocyclization

Hydroesterification of 2-vinyl-6-methoxynaphthalene using palladium complexes containing chelating nitrogen ligands - Atla, Shashi B.; Kelkar, Ashutosh A.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2009)
Hydroesterification of 2-vinyl-6-methoxynaphthalene (VMN) to methyl ester of 6-methoxy naphthyl propionic acid (ester of naproxen) has been investigated using palladium complexes containing the chelating N(boolean AND)O and N(boolean AND)N ligands (pyridine-2-carboxylate, 2-acetylpyridine, 2-pyridine-carboxaldehyde, and bipyridine) as catalysts. Palladium complex containing 2-acetylpyridine as the ligand was found to be superior to other Pd-complexes. Both acid and halide promoters were necessary for high activity and selectivity. As an acid promoter, benzenesulfonic acid was found to be more effective compared to p-toluenesulfonic acid. Formation of ether 2-methoxy-6-(1-methoxyethyl)naphthalene and a polymer of VMN was observed in all the reactions. It was observed that active catalytic species generated during carbonylation reaction was responsible for the polymer formation. The effect of various parameters such as solvents, CO pressure, and alcohols on the catalytic activity as well as the selectivity was investigated. The turnover frequency using the complex Pd(acpy)(PPh(3))(OTs)(2) (acpy = 2-acetylpyridine) catalyst was found to be 42 h(-1), which is the highest for the hydroesterification of VMN. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Carbonylation; Hydroesterification; Naproxen; Palladium complex; Polymer of VMN; Promoters

Hydroformylation of 1,4-diacetoxy-2-butene using HRh(CO)(PPh3)(3) tethered on alumina as a catalyst: kinetic study - Chansarkar, Rashmi; Kelkar, Ashutosh A.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2009)
Hydroformylation of 1,4-diacetoxy-2-butene (DAB) was studied using [HRh(CO)(PPh3)(3)] complex catalyst tethered on alumina using phosphotungstic acid (PTA) as an anchoring agent, with the aim to understand the product distribution, selectivity, and intrinsic kinetics. It was observed that with the tethered heterogeneous catalyst a simultaneous hydroformylation followed by deacetoxylation steps was possible, which is relevant for combining two steps in the sequence of synthesis of vitamin-A intermediate [2-formyl-4-acetoxy butene (FAB)]. P-31 cross-polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (CP MAS NMR) and infrared (IR) instrumental techniques were found be the most effective techniques to establish the catalyst structure and true heterogeneity. On the basis of the spectroscopic evidence, we postulate the loss of a PPh3 group during tethering to give HRh(CO)(PPh3)(2)-PTA-Al2O3 as a heterogeneous complex catalyst. Experimental data on the concentration-time and CO/H-2 consumption-time profiles were obtained and the effects of DAB concentration, CO partial pressure, H-2 partial pressure, and catalyst loading were studied in a 50 mL stirred batch reactor over a temperature range of 338-358 K. The analysis of solid-liquid-gas mass transfer effects was investigated to ensure that the reaction was operating in the kinetic regime Various models were developed, and the best model was chosen by a model discrimination procedure. The agreement between the model prediction and the experimental data was found to be excellent. The activation energies for the hydroformylation and deacetoxylation steps were found to be 42.5 and 80.2 kJ/mol.

Identification of defensins employing recurrence quantification analysis and random forest classifiers - Karnik, Shreyas; Prasad, Ajay; Diwevedi, Alok; Sundararajan, V.; Jayaraman, Valadi K. (Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, Proceedings, 2009)
Defensins represent a class of antimicrobial peptides synthesized in the body acting against various microbes. In this paper we study defensins using a non-linear signal analysis method Recurrence Quantication Analysis (RQA). We used the descriptors calculated employing RQA for the classification of defensins with Random Forest Classifier. The RQA descriptors were able to capture patterns peculiar to defensins leading to an accuracy rate of 78.12% using 10-fold cross validation.
3rd International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, IIT Delhi, New Delhi, INDIA, DEC 16-20, 2009

Identification of N-glycosylation sites with sequence and structural features employing random forests - Karnik, Shreyas; Mitra, Joydeep; Singh, Arunima; Kulkarni, B. D.; Sundarajan, V.; Jayaraman, Valadi K. (Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, Proceedings, 2009)
N-Glycosylation plays a very important role in various processes like quality control of proteins produced in ER, transport of proteins and in disease control. The experimental elucidation of N-Glycosylation sites is expensive and laborious process. In this work we build models for identification of potential N-Glycosylation sites in proteins based on sequence and structural features. The best model has cross validation accuracy rate of 72.81%.
3rd International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, IIT Delhi, New Delhi, INDIA, DEC 16-20, 2009

Kinetics of arylation of 3-bromo-benzophenone with n-butylacrylate using NC palladacycle catalyst - Atla, Shashi B.; Rajurkar, Kalpendra B.; Kelkar, Ashutosh A.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2009)
The kinetics of arylation of n-butylacrylate (n-BA) with 3-bromo-benzophenone (BBP) using a monomeric palladacycle complex [Pd(ppy)(PPh(3))(OTs)](ppy=2-phenylpyridine) catalyst has been studied. The effect of concentration of the substrate, base (NaOAc), and catalyst was studied at three different temperatures (413-433 K). The rate was found to be first order with respect to catalyst, first order tending to zero order with respect to n-butylacrylate and NaOAc concentrations. The rate passed through a maximum with variation of BBP concentration. The observed results have been explained on the basis of formation of Pd species (PdX(2), PdX(3)(-), PdX(4)(2-), and Pd(2)X(6)(2-)) which are inactive for the Heck reaction. Various empirical rate equations were considered to fit the rate data and the best fitting model has been selected. The rates predicted by model were found to be in good agreement with the observed experimental data. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Arylation; Heck reaction; kinetics; Palladacycle

Lombardo's reagent - Chand, Hemender R. (Synlett, 2009)

Magnesium oxide supported nano-gold: a highly active catalyst for solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by TBHP - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Dumbre, Deepa K. (Catalysis Communications, 2009)
Nano-size gold particles deposited on MgO by the homogeneous deposition- precipitation showed very high catalytic activity with nearly 100% conversion of benzyl alcohol in a short reaction period (0.5 h) and more over showed excellent reusability in the process. Influence of the catalyst support (MgO, CaO, BaO, SrO, Al(2)O(3), Ga(2)O(3) and In(2)O(3)), method of gold deposition, Au loading and catalyst calcination temperature and also that of the reaction conditions (viz. reaction time and temperature) on the benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde oxidation have been thoroughly investigated. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Alkaline earth oxides; Benzaldehyde; Benzyl alcohol; Gr.IIIa metal oxides; Oxidation

Magnetic and dielectric properties of nanophase manganese-substituted lithium ferrite - Hankare, P. P.; Patil, R. P.; Sankpal, U. B.; Jadhav, S. D.; Mulla, Imtiaz S.; Jadhav, K. M.; Chougule, B. K. (Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2009)
Nanocrystalline manganese-substituted lithium ferrites viz. Li0.5Fe2.5-xMnxO4 (2.5 <= x >= 0) were prepared by sol-gel autocombustion method. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that as the concentration of manganese increases the cubic phase changes to the tetragonal phase. The variation of saturation magnetization was studied as a function of manganese content. All the compositions indicate that they are ferrimagnetic in nature. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent and ac conductivity of all samples were measured at room temperature as a function of frequency. These parameters decrease with increase in frequency for all of the samples. The substitution of manganese plays an important role in changing the structural and magnetic properties of these ferrites. The compositional variation of dielectric constant and d.c. resistivity shows an inverse trend of variation with each other. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dielectric constant; Ferrite; Magnetization; X-ray diffraction

Manipulation of magnetic nanostructures through low temperature metal-oxygen chemistry: Co/CoO exchange biased nanodonuts and Co nanotips - Phase, Deodatta; Choudhary, Ram Janay; Ganesan, V.; Reddy, V. Raghvendra; Gupta, Ajay; Selvi, N.; Kulkarni, Sneha; Ogale, Satishchandra (Solid State Communications, 2009)
Dense nanodonut and nanotip type morphologies are shown to self-evolve in Ultrathin cobalt films during growth under Vacuum, depending oil the level of oxygen incorporation and temperature. The nanodonut morphology forms at room temperature and the corresponding magnetic hysteresis shows exchange bias (similar to 35 Oe shift along the field axis), which is attributed to the presence of CoO and its exchange Coupling with cobalt. The morphology evolves into nanotip features with increase of growth temperature, with Concurrent elimination of the oxide component and exchange bias. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Co/CoO; Magnetic film; self assembly; Vacuum evaporation

Nanoparticle-mediated targeting of MAPK signaling predisposes tumor to chemotherapy - Basu, Sudipta; Harfouche, Rania; Soni, Shivani; Chimote, Geetanjali; Mashelkar, Raghunath Anant; Sengupta, Shiladitya (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009)
The MAPK signal transduction cascade is dysregulated in a majority of human tumors. Here we report that a nanoparticle-mediated targeting of this pathway can optimize cancer chemotherapy. We engineered nanoparticles from a unique hexadentate-polyD, L-lactic acid-co-glycolic acid polymer chemically conjugated to PD98059, a selective MAPK inhibitor. The nanoparticles are taken up by cancer cells through endocytosis and demonstrate sustained release of the active agent, resulting in the inhibition of phosphorylation of downstream extracellular signal regulated kinase. We demonstrate that nanoparticle-mediated targeting of MAPK inhibits the proliferation of melanoma and lung carcinoma cells and induces apoptosis in vitro. Administration of the PD98059-nanoparticles in melanoma-bearing mice inhibits tumor growth and enhances the antitumor efficacy of cisplatin chemotherapy. Our study shows the nanoparticle-mediated delivery of signal transduction inhibitors can emerge as a unique paradigm in cancer chemotherapy.
Keywords: cancer; Signal transduction

Natural yeast flora of different varieties of grapes used for wine making in India - Chavan, Pradnya; Mane, Sarika; Kulkarni, Girish; Shaikh, Shamim; Ghormade, Vandana; Nerkar, Devidas P.; Shouche, Yogesh; Deshpande, Mukund V. (Food Microbiology, 2009)
The natural Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeast flora present on the grape berries significantly affect wine production. Six grape varieties, Bangalore blue, Zinfandel, Cabernet, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz are being used in India for wine making. The yeast diversity was studied on the basis of morphological, colony, physiological characteristics and 5.8S-ITS sequencing of rDNA of the isolates. Eleven different species belonging to seven genera were identified as: Candida azyma, Candida quercitrusa, Debaryomyces hansenii, Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, Hanseniaspora viniae, Hanseniaspora uvarum. Issatchenkia orientalis, Issatchenkia terricola, Pichia membranifaciens, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zygoascus steatolyticus. H. guilliermondii was the predominant species while S. cerevisiae was observed occasionally in the six vine varieties. For the first time, C. azyma was isolated from Bangalore blue and Cabernet varieties grown in different localities. This association may be attributed to the change in cropping pattern from sugarcane to viticulture in the vine growing regions and the known association of C. azyma with sugarcane phylloplane. Further analysis of the indigenous strains and the qualitative and quantitative changes in the flora during fermentation will be useful to understand wine quality and to design preservation strategies to control wine spoilage. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 5.8S-ITS sequence; Identification; Physiological; Wine yeasts

NC palladacycles in the Heck arylation of ethylene: synthesis, structure and their reactivity - Atla, Shashi B.; Kelkar, Ashutosh A.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Bensch, Wolfgang; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, 2009)
Monomeric cyclopalladated complexes with NC coordination using ligands 2-phenylpyridine, 2-phenylquinoline, 8-methylquinoline have been synthesized and the structures have been determined by single crystal X-ray structure analysis. The crystal structures of monomeric palladacycles prepared using benzophenone oxime, and 2-phenylpyridine have also been determined. The use of these complexes in the Heck arylation of ethylene with 2-bromo-6-methoxynaphthalne (BMN) to give 2-vinyl-6-methoxynapthalene which is an intermediate for the synthesis of anti-inflammatory drug Naproxen has been examined and also arylation of ethylene with 3-bromo-benzophenone and 4-bromo-isobutylbenzene was investigated. These palladacycles with NC coordination show excellent catalytic activity with a TOF > 4000 h (1). (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: alpha-Aryl propionic acids; Arylation; Palladacycle

Nitric oxide reduction with ethanol on palladium surfaces: a molecular beam study - Nagarajan, Sankaranarayanan; Thirunavukkarasu, Kandasamy; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Counsell, Jonathan; Gilbert, Lee; Bowker, Michael (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2009)
Nitric oxide (NO) reduction with ethanol has been carried out with molecular beam instruments in order to understand the influence of ethanol blended gasoline on NO reduction. Maximum NO reduction and nitrogen production was observed between 500 and 600 K. Oxidation products, CO, CO(2), and H(2)O were also observed. Beam switching experiments have been performed between fuel-rich and fuel-lean compositions to demonstrate that the NO reduction can be managed under net oxidizing conditions on Pd surfaces. Nitrogen production only occurs transiently on the relatively clean Pd surface in the oxygen-rich condition due to slow build up and blockage of the reaction by surface oxygen atoms. This shows the need to maintain relatively oxygen free surfaces to manage NO reduction under net-oxidizing conditions by beam oscillation between fuel-rich and fuel-lean compositions.

Novel foldamer structural architecture from cofacial aromatic building blocks - Prabhakaran, Panchami; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Chandran, Jima N.; Rajamohanan, Pattuparampil R.; Hofmann, Hans-Joerg; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (Chemical Communications, 2009)
This communication demonstrates the utility of peri-substituted 1,8-diphenylnaphthalene as an effective building block for the construction of novel conformationally ordered synthetic oligomers displaying cofacial structural features.

Organocatalytic enantioselective synthesis of beta-blockers: (S)-propranolol and (S)-naftopidil - Panchgalle, Sharad P.; Gore, Rohitkumar G.; Chavan, Subhash P.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2009)
An efficient enantioselective synthesis of beta-adrenergic blockers (S)-propranolol and (S)-naftopidil with > 98% ee using an L-proline-catalyzed alpha-aminoxylation of an aldehyde as a key step is described. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by tert-butyl hydroperoxide over nanogold supported on TiO2 and other transition and rare-earth metal oxides - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Dumbre, Deepa K.; Bhargava, Suresh Kumar (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2009)
Liquid-phase oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by tertiary butyl hydroperoxide (at 95 degrees C) over nanogold supported oil TiO2 and other transition-metal oxides (viz, MnO2, Fe2O3, CoOx, NiO, CuO, ZnO, and ZrO2) or rare-earth oxides (viz, La2O3, Sm2O3, Eu2O3, and Yb2O3) by the homogeneous deposition-precipitation (HDP) method has been investigated. The Au/TiO2 catalyst, prepared using the HDP method, showed high activity and selectivity in the reaction. The ZrO2-Supported nanogold catalyst (HDP) also showed very good performance. The Au/TiO2 catalyst that was prepared using the deposition-precipitation (DP) method, however, showed poor catalytic activity, mostly because of its much-lower gold loading and/or lower Au3+/Au-0 ratio. Irrespective of the catalyst preparation method, the catalytic activity increased as the gold loading increased. The gold deposition method strongly influenced the amount of gold that was deposited on TiO2, the gold particle size distribution, and also the surface Au3+/Au-0 ratio; using the HDP method, the gold deposition was much larger, the gold particle size was smaller, the gold particle size distribution was much narrower, and the Au3+/Au-0 ratio was higher. Both the metallic and ionic gold species (Au-0 and Au3+) are present in the Au/TiO2 catalyst. However, the Au3+ species are mostly responsible for the high catalytic activity in the oxidation process.

Physico-chemical, photo-catalytic and O-2-adsorption properties of TiO2 nanotubes coated with gold nanoparticles - Malwadkar, Sachin S.; Gholap, Ramkrishna S.; Awate, Shobhana V.; Korake, Prakash V.; Chaskar, Manohar G.; Gupta, Narendra M. (Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A-Chemistry, 2009)
Gold-containing titania nanotubes (Au/NT) were found to display higher activity for photooxidation of acetaldehyde, as compared to corresponding gold-free nanotubes and also a Degussa P-25 catalyst. Besides CO2 as a major reaction product, small amounts of H-2, CH4, CO, H2O and CH3COOH were also formed, irrespective of the catalyst employed. High-resolution TEM examination showed that most of the gold particles in Au/NT were of 1.5-5 nm size, distributed both within and at outside surface of the nanotubes. Some larger size (10-70 run) clusters were also seen at the external surfaces, particularly in the samples calcined at an elevated temperature. The temperature-programmed desorption measurements revealed that, compared to P-25 TiO2, a significant entrapment of O-2 occurred at two distinct tubular sites of NT samples, corresponding activation energy of desorption (E,) being around 36 and 41 kcal mol(-1). On the other hand, gold nanoparticles in Au/NT served as independent low-energy (E-a = 26 kcal mol(-1)) sites for adsorption/activation of O-2. These adsorptive properties of TiO2 and Au were lost completely on calcination, thus revealing a crucial role played by the particle size. In situ IR spectroscopy results showed that room-temperature exposure to acetaldehyde + air gave rise to a molecularly bound state, i.e. CH3CHOad, over both NT and Au/NTsamples, which in turn transformed quickly to yield certain acetate (CH3COOad-) and formate (HCOOad-) type transient species with the involvement of the surface OH groups. The decomposition and oxidation of these surface species with the help of O-2(-), O-ad and hydroxyl ion radicals (OH-) formed at photo-excited Au/NT interfaces led to the reaction products mentioned above. We conclude that, besides electron-hole charge separation, the adsorptive properties of host matrix and nanosize gold may together play a significant role in deciding the photo-catalytic properties of Au/TiO2. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Acetaldehyde oxidation; Gold co-catalyst; O-2-adsorption; Photo-catalytic activity; TiO2 nanotubes

Poly(amide-imide)-silica gel hybrids: synthesis and characterization - Avadhani, C. V.; Chujo, Y. (Journal of Macromolecular Science Part A-Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2009)
{Several poly(amide-imide)-silica gel hybrids containing metal salts were prepared by the sol-gel reaction. Poly(amide-imide)s were prepared by low temperature polycondensation reaction of trimellitic anhydride (TMA) and diisocyanates [
Keywords: 2; 4-diphenyl thiophene; 5-Bis(4-carboxymethylene phenyl) 3; poly(amide-hydrazide)s; Thermal properties; Yamazaki's phosphorylation polycondensation

Polymeric ladderphanes - Chou, Chih-Ming; Lee, Shern-Long; Chen, Chih-Hsien; Biju, Akkattu T.; Wang, Hsian-Wen; Wu, Yi-Lin; Zhang, Guo-Fu; Yang, Kuang-Wei; Lim, Tsong-Shin; Huang, Min-Jie; Tsai, Po-Yu; Lin, Kin-Chuan; et al. (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2009)
A new class of polymers, which have a double-stranded polybinorbornene skeleton with multilayer planar oligoaryl linkers, defined as polymeric ladderphanes, are synthesized. The structures of these ladderphanes are determined by spectroscopic means. Photophysical studies and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopic investigations reveal that there is a strong interaction between the chromophore linkers. Thus, Soret band splitting in the absorption spectrum of the polymer with porphyrin linker (12e), significant fluorescence quenching with oligoaryl linkers (12b−d), and excimer emission with a terphenylene-diethynylene linker (12a) are characteristic photophysical properties of these polymers. Scanning tunneling microscopy shows that polymers 12b and d exhibit a ladder-like morphology and form a supramolecular assembly leading to a two-dimensional ordered array on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface.

Poly(o-anisidine) coatings on brass: synthesis, characterization and corrosion protection - Chaudhari, Sudeshna; Gaikwad, A. B.; Patil, P. P. (Current Applied Physics, 2009)
Poly(o-anisidine) (POA) coatings were synthesized on brass by electrochemical polymerization of o-anisidine in aqueous salicylate solution by using cyclic voltammetry. These coatings were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV-visible absorption spectroscopy., Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The corrosion protection aspects of POA coatings on brass in aqueous 3% NaCl solution were investigated by potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The potentiodynamic polarization measurements show that the POA coating has ability to protect the brass against corrosion. The corrosion potential was about 0.204 V versus SCE more positive for the POA coated brass than that of uncoated brass and reduces the corrosion rate of brass almost by a factor of 800. The corrosion behavior of the POA coatings was also investigated by EIS through immersion tests performed In aqueous 3% NaCl solution. The evolution of the impedance parameters with the immersion time was studied and the results Show that the POA acts as a protective coating on brass against corrosion in 3% NaCl solution. The water uptake and delamination area were also determined to further support the corrosion protection performance of the POA coating. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: brass; conducting polymers; Corrosion resistant coatings; cyclic voltammetry; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; Electrochemical polymerization; poly(o-anisidine)

Polypyrrole functionalized with ferrocenyl derivative as a rapid carbon monoxide sensor - Paul, Santhosh; Chavan, Nayaku; Radhakrishnan, S. (Synthetic Metals, 2009)
A rapid carbon monoxide detection system was developed with the electrochemical functioncalization of polypyrrole (PPy) with ferrocenylmethyltrimethylammonium iodide (FTMA-I) as a co-dopant exhibits very high sensitivity to ppm levels of carbon monoxide gas and fast recovery under normal dry room temperature conditions. The co-dopant was synthesized mainly to incorporate into PPy electrochemically to modify the properties in order to sense carbon monoxide (CO) gas. The FTMA-I doped PPy exhibited the characteristics oxidation/reduction peaks for ferrocene in its cyclic voltammograms. The modified PPy films deposited on interdigited electrodes gave rapid sensitivity within a second to 300 ppm carbon monoxide gas and good sensitivity factor was observed even at 4 mmol of the functional groups in the polymer for 300 ppm carbon monoxide gas. This material detected the CO gas concentration as low as 100 ppm. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: carbon monoxide; Chemical sensor; conducting polymer; polypyrrole

Preparation and nonisothermal crystallization behavior of polypropylene/layered double hydroxide nanocomposites - Lonkar, Sunil P.; Morlat-Therias, Sandrine; Caperaa, N.; Leroux, Fabrice; Gardette, Jean Luc; Singh, R. P. (Polymer, 2009)
Polypropylene (PP)/layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites were prepared via melt intercalation using dodecyl sulfate anion modified LDH and maleated PP as compatibilizing agent. Evidently the interlayer anions in LDH galleries react with maleic anhydride groups of PP-g-MA and lead to a finer dispersion of individual LDH layers in the PP matrix. The nanostructure was characterized by XRD and TEM; the examinations confirmed the nanocomposite formation with exfoliated/intercalated layered double hydroxides well distributed in the PP matrix. The nonisothermal crystallization behavior of resulting nanocomposites was extensively studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique at various cooling rates. In nonisothermal crystallization kinetics, the Ozawa approach failed to describe the crystallization behavior of nanocomposites, whereas the Avrami analysis and Jeziorny method well define the crystallization behavior of PP/LDH nanocomposite. Combined Avrami and Ozawa analysis (Liu model) also found useful. The results revealed that very small amounts of LDH (1%) could accelerate the crystallization process relative to the pure PP and increase in the crystallization rates was attributed to the nucleating effect of the nanoparticles. Polarized optical microscopy (POM) observations also support the DSC results. The effective crystallization activation energy was estimated as a function of the relative degree of crystallinity using the isoconversional analysis. Overall, results indicated that the LDH particles in nanometer size might act as nucleating agent and distinctly change the type of nucleation, growth and geometry of PP crystals. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Layered double hydroxide; Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics; Polypropylene nanocomposites

Recyclable amberlyst-70 as a catalyst for biginelli reaction: an efficient one-pot green protocol for the synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones - Chandak, Hemant S.; Lad, Nitin P.; Upare, Pravin P. (Catalysis Letters, 2009)
An environmentally benign aqueous protocol for the synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones using Amberlyst-70 as a recyclable catalyst has been developed. The use of resinous, nontoxic, thermally stable and inexpensive Amberlyst-70, as a recyclable heterogeneous catalyst, makes the process simple with negligible chemical waste. Thus renders this method an environmentally acceptable synthetic tool for Biginelli reaction.
Keywords: Amberlyst-70; Biginelli reaction; green chemistry; heterogeneous catalysis

Short total synthesis of (+)-cryptocarya diacetate - Gurjar, Mukund K.; Raghupathi, Neelarapu; Chorghade, Mukund S. (Heterocycles, 2009)
A short synthesis of (+)-cryptocarya diacetate was achieved by employing three component linchpin coupling, diastereoselective reduction of beta-hydroxyketone, and Z-selective HWE reaction as key transformations.
Keywords: Brook Rearrangement; cryptocarya diacetate; Diastereoselective Reduction; Horner-Wadswarth-Emmons Reaction; Linchpin coupling

Silver fused conducting fiber formation of Au-Ag core-shell nanoparticles mediated by ascorbic acid - Murugadoss, A.; Kar, Manoranjan; Pasricha, Renu; Chattopadhyay, Arun (Plasmonics, 2009)
In this paper, we report the spontaneous formation of fibrous structures consisting of assemblies of Au-Ag core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) from a solution consisting of Au-Ag core-shell NPs and l-ascorbic acid (AA). AA acted both as the reducing agent for the generation of NPs and also as the mediator for the formation of fibers. The process of fiber formation involved three steps-reduction of HAuCl(4) to Au NPs by AA, subsequent formation of Au-Ag core-shell NPs after addition of AgNO(3), and spontaneous formation of fibers from the mixtures in water. It took typically about 30 days to form complete fibers that are of lengths of several hundred micrometers to millimeters, although nanofibers started forming from the first day of solution preparation. The width of each of these fibers was typically about 1-4 A mu m with length of each segment of fiber bundle, on the order of 40 A mu m. Formation of fibers was also observed in absence of AgNO(3). These fibers consisted of Au NPs and polymer of AA degradation products and were not electrically conducting. Also, low concentrations of AgNO(3) produced fibers with low electrical conductivity. However, it was observed that increase in the amount of AgNO(3) leads to the formation of fibers that were electrically conducting with conductivity values in the range of metallic conductivity. Spectroscopic and electron microscopic investigations were carried out to establish the formation of fibers. The details of fiber formation mechanism under different conditions and electrical conductivities of the fibers are discussed in the article.
Keywords: Ascorbic acid; core-shell; Fiber; Gold; Nanoparticles; Silver

Solid acid catalysts: modification of acid sites and effect on activity and selectivity tuning in various reactions - Rode, C. V.; Garade, Ajit C.; Chikate, Rajeev C. (Catalysis Surveys from Asia, 2009)
The effects of acidity and variation in concentration of acid sites of dodecatungstophosphoric acid (DTP), supported DTP and montmorillonite-K catalysts were studied for various organic reactions such as the hydroxyalkylation of phenols to bisphenols, intramolecular rearrangement of benzyl phenyl ether (BPE) to 2-benzyl phenol (2-BP) and selective cleavage of tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) ether into the corresponding alcohol. Both dodecatungstophosphoric acid (DTP) impregnated on silica (SiO(2)) and montmorillonite catalysts showed the highest catalyst activity with 90-95% selectivity to bisphenol for the hydroxyalkylation of phenols to give bisphenol. Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) of ammonia and activity results of various catalysts showed that an appropriate combination of both strong and weak acidic sites in the catalyst was highly desirable for high bisphenol selectivity. A 10% DTP/SiO(2) catalyst was found to be highly selective for the cleavage of TBDMS ether into the corresponding alcohol at room temperature giving a high TON of 9.5 x 10(5) even after the 4th recycle. DTP was also found to be a promising solid acid catalyst for the intramolecular rearrangement of BPE giving 2-BP.
Keywords: Acidity tuning; Catalytic cleavage; Hydroxyalkylation; Intramolecular rearrangement; solid acid catalysts

Sterically controlled naphthalene homo-oligoamides with novel structural architectures - Prabhakaran, Panchami; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Chandran, Jima N.; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Hofmann, Hans-Joerg; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2009)
Herein we report novel naphthalene homo-oligoamides, derived from 4-amino-3-methoxy-naphthalene-2-carboxylic acid and 4-amino-1-methoxy-naphthalene-2-carboxylic acid as monomer building blocks, that display an anti-periplanar arrangement of the naphthyl rings, primarily induced by steric interactions between adjacent groups and functionalities.

Studies toward the total synthesis of carba analogue of motif C OF M. TB cell wall AG complex - Gurjar, Mukund K.; Reddy, Challa Nageswar; Kalkote, Uttam R.; Chorghade, Mukund S. (Heterocycles, 2009)
Herein we describe the synthesis of the carba analogue of motif C of arabinogalactan complex present in M tuberculosis cell wall. Pd(0) catalyzed allylic alkylation and Fraser-Reid's glycosidation are the two key reactions that were employed for the synthesis of central glycosyl accepter unit and the glycosylation respectively.
Keywords: Allylic Alkylation; desymmetrization; Fraser-Reid's Glycosidation; M. Tb Ag Complex; Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Study of cumulant approximations to n-electron valence multireference perturbation theory - Zgid, Dominika; Ghosh, Debashree; Neuscamman, Eric; Chan, Garnet Kin-Lic (Journal of Chemical Physics, 2009)
We investigate the possibility of reducing the complexity of multireference perturbation theory through cumulant based approximations to the high-order density matrices that appear in such theories. Our test cases show that while the cumulant approximated forms are degraded in accuracy relative to the parent theory and exhibit intruder state problems that must be carefully handled, they may provide a route to a simple estimation of dynamic correlation when the parent perturbation theory is infeasible. Nonetheless, further work is clearly needed on better approximations to the denominators in the perturbation theory.

Study of dielectric behavior in PVDF/clay nanocomposites - Chanmal, Chetan; Jog, Jyoti Prakash (E-Polymers, 2009)
A high dielectric permittivity nanocomposite based on poly( vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and organically modified clay is reported. The present work aims to study the effect of clay on dielectric behavior of PVDF. The dielectric permittivity study shows a remarkable enhancement in the permittivity of nanocomposites in the low frequency region. The obtained permittivity values fits quite well to the prediction of dielectric permittivity from Vo-Shi model, which takes contribution of interface to permittivity into account. This enhanced permittivity in nanocomposites is attributed to the presence of interfacial polarization. The interface effect is further studied with cole-cole plot analysis. The dielectric loss study of pristine PVDF shows two relaxations associated with segmental (glass transition relaxation) and crystalline chain relaxation. However in the PVDF/Clay nanocomposites crystalline relaxation peak disappears which is attributed to the formation of the beta phase in PVDF/clay nanocomposites.

Supported nano-gold catalysts for epoxidation of styrene and oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Dumbre, Deepa K. (Topics in Catalysis, 2009)
Nano-gold particles supported on different alkaline earth oxides (viz. MgO, CaO, BaO and SrO), Gr. IIIa metal oxides (viz. Al(2)O(3), Ga(2)O(3), In(2)O(3) and Tl(2)O(3)), transition metal oxides (viz. TiO(2), Cr(2)O(3), MnO(2), Fe(2)O(3), CoO(x), NiO, CuO, ZnO, Y(2)O(3) and ZrO(2)), rare earth metal oxides (viz. La(2)O(3), Ce(2)O(3), Nd(2)O(3), Sm(2)O(3), Eu(2)O(3), Tb(2)O(3), Er(2)O(3) and Yb(2)O(3)) and U(3)O(8) [all prepared by depositing gold on corresponding metal oxide support by deposition precipitation (DP) and/or homogeneous deposition precipitation (HDP) method] were evaluated for their catalytic performance in the liquid phase epoxidation of styrene by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) to styrene oxide and also in the solvent-free benzyl alcohol-to-benzaldehyde oxidation (by molecular oxygen or TBHP) reactions. For the epoxidation, the catalytic performance (styrene oxide yield) of the most promising nano-gold catalysts prepared by the HDP method was in the following order: Au/MgO > Au/Tl(2)O(3) > Au/Yb(2)O(3) > Au/Tb(2)O(3) > Au/CaO (or TiO(2)). However, for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by molecular oxygen, the order of choice for the most promising catalysts (based on benzaldehyde yield) was Au/U(3)O(8) > Au/Al(2)O(3) > Au/ZrO(2) > Au/MgO. Whereas, when TBHP was used as an oxidizing agent for the benzyl alcohol oxidation, the order of choice for the most promising catalysts was Au/U(3)O(8) > Au/MgO > Au/TiO(2) > Au/ZrO(2) > Au/Al(2)O(3). The catalytic performance of a particular supported nano-gold catalyst was thus found to depend on the reaction catalysed by them. Moreover, it is strongly influenced by a number of catalyst parameters, such as the metal oxide support, the method of gold depositon on the support, the gold loading and also on the catalyst calcination temperature. Nano-gold particles-support interactions seem to play an important role in controlling the deposition of gold ( amount of gold deposited and size and morphology of gold particles), formation of different surface gold species (Au(0), Au(1+) and Au(3+)) and electronic properties of gold particles and, consequently, control the catalytic performance (both the activity and selectivity) of the supported nano-gold catalysts in the reactions. The nano-gold catalysts prepared by the HDP method showed much better catalytic performance than those prepared by the DP, coprecipitation or impregnation method; in general, the HDP method provided supported gold catalysts with much higher gold loading and/or smaller size gold particles than that achieved by the DP and other methods.
Keywords: Benzaldehyde; Benzyl alcohol; epoxidation; Metal oxide supports; Nano-gold catalysts; Oxidation; styrene; Styrene oxide

Synthesis, characterization and effect of sintering temperature on magnetic properties of MgNi ferrite prepared by co-precipitation method - Hankare, P. P.; Jadhav, S. D.; Sankpal, U. B.; Chavan, Santosh S.; Waghmare, K. J.; Chougule, B. K. (Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2009)
Mixed MgNi ferrites with composition Mg(0.5)Ni(0.5)Fe(2)O(4) where the mole fraction for Ni (x = 0, 0.25, 0.75, 0.5 and 1) were prepared by following co-precipitation method at temperature 110 degrees C and maintaining a pH of solution equal to 9.5 enable to achieve large particle surface area. The resultant materials obtained in powder form were sintered at different temperatures. Thermogravimetry (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy, technique were applied to obtain structural parameters. The XRD patterns reveal the presence of(311) peak as the most intense one. The intensity of XRD peak increases with increase in sintering temperature. The saturation magnetization values showed increasing trend with increase in sintering temperature from 2.37 to 29.76 emu/g. These results along with the analysis of SEM micrographs are interpreted in terms of increase in particle grain size with increase in sintering temperature. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chemical synthesis; Ferrites; FT-IR; scanning electron microscopy; X-ray diffraction

Transfer of technology (ToT) document of polyimide binder resins - Ponrathnam, Surendra; Chelanattukizhakkemadath, Raman Rajan; Dwivedi, Mayank; Chavan. N. N.; Qureshi, Moham; Bhongale, Sunil Sitaram; Rao, Locanindi Hari Sarvothama; Dhansekharan, Janakiraman; Mohan, S. Krishna; Deokar, Sarika Babasaheb; Momin, Mohasin Shamshuddin (2009)

Ultrasound assisted synthesis of polyacrylic acid-nanoclay nanocomposite and its application in sonosorption studies of malachite green dye - Sonawane, S. H.; Chaudhari, P. L.; Ghodke, S. A.; Parande, M. G.; Bhandari, Vinay M.; Mishra, Satyendra; Kulkarni, R. D. (Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 2009)
Synthesis of nanoclay nanocomposite has been undertaken by using polyacryalic acid (PAA) in aqueous medium and ultrasound environment and its application in dye removal has been investigated. The synthesized product was characterized by using FTIR and XRD techniques. The sonosorption capacity of the product namely PAA-nanoclay composite was determined by choosing malachite green (MG) dye as a model pollutant. The effects of various parameters such as nanocomposite loading, pH, various process conditions etc. have been studied. On comparing the results obtained with that of nanoclay as an adsorbent, it was found for an initial concentration of 500 mg/l, the PAA-nanoclay nanocomposite exhibited higher percentage of pollutant removal (68%) and for nanoclay it was 54%. The adsorption data has been correlated using Langmuir and Freundlich models. The fit of the Freundlich isotherm model was found to be good in the entire range of concentration for the experimental sorption data obtained on the nanoclay nanocomposite. A plausible reaction mechanism for use of PAA-nanoclay nanocomposite as ail adsorbent is also proposed. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Malachite Green; Nanocomposite; Polyacrylic acid; Sonosorption; Ultrasound

Vapour sensing with conductive polymer nanocomposites (CPC): polycarbonate-carbon nanotubes transducers with hierarchical structure processed by spray layer by layer - Lu, Jianbo; Kumar, Bijandra; Castro, Mickael; Feller, Jean-Francois (Sensors and Actuators B-Chemical, 2009)
The development of conductive polymer nanocomposite (CPC) sensors for volatile organic compounds (VOC) detection has been carried out using a spray layer by layer (LbL) process. This technique was successfully used to hierarchically structure polycarbonate-multiwall carbon nanotubes (PC-CNT) solutions into a double percolated architecture as attested by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical microscopy (OM). PC-CNT vapour sensing behaviour was investigated as a function of CNT content, films thickness, vapour flow and vapours solubility parameter. The response ranking A(r)(toluene)>A(r)(methanol)>A(r)(water)of PC-CNT was found to be coherent with kappa(12) Flory-Huggins interaction parameters provided that signals are normalised by analyte molecules number. Signals shape was interpreted to the light of Langmuir-Henry-Clustering (LHC) model and found to be proportional to vapour content. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Atomic force microscopy; carbon nanotube; Chemo-electrical behaviour; Conductive polymer nanocomposite; Vapour Sensing; Volatile organic compounds

VLS-like growth and characterizations of dense ZnO nanorods grown by e-beam process - Agarwal, Dinesh C.; Chauhan, R. S.; Avasthi, D. K.; Sulania, I.; Kabiraj, D.; Thakur, P.; Chae, K. H.; Chawla, Amit; Chandra, Ramesh; Ogale, S. B.; Pellegrini, G.; Mazzoldi, P. (Journal of Physics D-Applied Physics, 2009)
We present a new approach to produce ZnO nanorods in a reproducible manner at a temperature lower than other physical vapour deposition techniques, such as the vapour-liquid-solid mechanism. Arrays of well-aligned ZnO nanorods of uniform diameter have been synthesized on the Si substrate precoated with Au, using a simple electron beam evaporation method without the flow of any carrier gas. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy characterizations show that as-grown nanorods are well aligned and uniform in diameter. X-ray diffraction measurements and clear lattice fringes in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy image show the growth of good quality polycrystalline hexagonal ZnO nanorods and a < 0 0 2 > growth direction. The polarization-dependent studies of near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) are performed to investigate the electronic structure of the zinc and oxygen ions. The analysis of NEXAFS spectra at different angles of incidence of photon flux indicates the formation of ZnO nanorods having anisotropic behaviour of O and Zn states. The photoluminescence spectrum exhibits strong ultraviolet emission at 385 nm and the UV-visible spectrum also shows a band-gap transition around 390 nm indicating the good quality of nanorods. The catalytic growth mechanism of the ZnO nanorods is discussed on the basis of experimental results in this work.

Abrupt shear thickening of aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified poly(N,N `-dimethylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) - Lele, Ashish K.; Shedge, Aarti; Badiger, Manohar V.; Wadgaonkar, Prakash; Chassenieux, Christophe (Macromolecules, 2010)
We report some new and interesting observations on the abrupt and large shear-induced thickening of aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified poly(N,N'-dimethylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid). High molecular weight copolymer was prepared by free radical copolymerization of N,N'-dimethylacrylamide [DMA] and acrylic acid [AA] and was subsequently modified to different extents using a hydrophobic compound, namely, 3-pentadecylcyclohexylamine [3-PDCA], which is derived from a renewable resource material, cashew nutshell liquid [CNSL]. The structural elucidation of the base copolymer and the hydrophobically modified copolymers was performed by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The zero shear viscosities [eta(0)] of the hydrophobically modified polymers were lower than that of the precursor poly(N,N'-dimethylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) until some critical polymer concentration, which increased with increase in hydrophobic modification. Above the critical concentrations, the eta(0) of the hydrophobically modified copolymers surpassed that of the precursor at the same concentration. At moderate shear rates some of these hydrophobically modified copolymers exhibited an abrupt shear-induced thickening in which the viscosity of the samples increased severalfold. We show here from creep experiments that thickening occurs only when the shear rate reaches a critical value, (gamma) over dot(crit), and that the thickened samples can be trapped in different metastable states by controlling the applied stress. Interestingly, the shear thickened samples showed further thickening upon decreasing the applied stress. Eventually, the metastable samples revert to their equilibrium states at characteristic time that depends on (small) probe stress.

Amino functionalized oligoimides telechelics - Dwivedi, Mayank; Rao, Locanindi Hari Sarvothama; Reddy, Krishna Mohan Srinivasulu; Dhanasekharan, Janakiraman; Rao, Bevara Madhusudana; Kumar, Sriperambudur Rajesh; Ponrathnam, Surendra; Rajan, Chelanattukizhakkemadath Raman; Deokar, Sarika Babasaheb; Mulani, Khudbudin Baban; Ghorpade, Ravindra V.; Bhongale, Sunil Sitaram; et al. (2010)
This invention relates to a process for the preparation of amino functionalized oligoimide telechelics. More particularly it relates to a process for the preparation of soluble oligoimide prepolymers which can be used as matrix resins that can be rapidly cured to form stable polyimides with amino end functionalities. The amino functionalized oligoimide telechelics are suitable for conversion into three dimensional polymeric systems through condensation chemistry such as reaction with oligo epoxies (epoxy-imide resins), polyacids (polyamide imides) and polyhalogenated compounds (poly amine - imides) to form crosslinked structures having enhanced thermal stability and mechanical strength. The polymers prepared by the process of this invention can be used as materials in advanced composites having high temperature stability.

Amino-phenol-formaldehyde resins by in-situ generation of catalyst - Dwivedi, Mayank; Rao, Locanindi Hari Sarvothama; Reddy, Krishna Mohan Srinivasulu; Dhanasekharan, Janakiraman; Rao, Bevara Madhusudana; Kumar, Sriperambudur Rajesh; Ponrathnam, Surendra; Chelanattukizhakkemadath, Raman Rajan; Tayal, Rajivkumar; Qureshi, Moham (2010)

Applications of zeolites in industrial and other purposes - Chumbhale, Vilas R. (Research Journal of Chemistry and Environment, 2010)

Beaded cross linked polymers containing tert-amino functional group moities - Dwivedi, Mayank; Rao, Locanindi Hari Sarvothama; Reddy, Krishna Mohan Srinivasulu; Dhanasekharan, Janakiraman; Rao, Bevara Madhusudana; Kumar, Sriperambudur Rajesh; Ponrathnam, Surendra; Chelanattukizhakkemadath, Raman Rajan; Tayal, Rajivkumar; Qureshi, Moham (2010)

Carbon dissolution and segregation in Pd(110) - Bowker, Michael; Counsell, Jonathan; El-Abiary, Kareem; Gilbert, Lee; Morgan, Chris; Nagarajan, Sankaranarayanan; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2010)
The bulk-surface diffusion of carbon in Pd(110) has been investigated using Molecular beams to examine the clean-off of carbon with gas-phase oxygen. The dominant product of the reaction above 600 K is CO CO, is only produced at much lower temperatures where the lifetime of adsorbed CO is significant. The segregation from the bulk Only Occurs at a measurable rate at >750 K, while loss of carbon into the bulk call occur at much lower temperatures. The reaction of carbon at high temperatures shows two regimes: (i) a non steady-state evolution of CO due to the clean-off of surface carbon already present on the surface, followed by (ii) a near steady-state reaction due to the continuous diffusion of carbon to the surface.

Catalytic asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones using [Ru(p-cymene)Cl-2](2) with chiral amino alcohol ligands - Deshpande, Sudhindra H.; Kelkar, Ashutosh A.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Shingote, Savita K.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Catalysis Letters, 2010)
Catalytic asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic alkyl ketones has been investigated using [Ru(p-cymene)Cl-2](2) and new derivatives of beta-amino alcohols synthesized from (S)-(-)-lactic acid and mandelic acid as ligands. Chiral secondary alcohols were obtained with good to excellent conversion (60-90%) and moderate to good enantioselectivities (40-86%). Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones has been investigated using [Ru(p-cymene)Cl-2](2) and beta-amino alcohols synthesized from (S)-(-)-lactic acid and Mandelic acid as ligands. Chiral secondary alcohols were obtained with good to excellent conversion (60-90%) and moderate to good enantioselectivities (40-86%).
Keywords: Amino alcohol ligand; Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation; Ketones; Ru catalyst

Chemical shielding of closed-shell molecules using extended coupled-cluster theory - Ravichandran, Lalitha; Joshi, Sayali; Vaval, Nayana (International Conference on Recent Advances in Spectroscopy - Theoretical, Astrophysical and Experimental Perspectives, 2010)
In this paper we report calculation of the nuclear magnetic shielding constant using extended coupled cluster response approach. We present the results for the HF, BH, CO and N(2) molecules. These results show importance of correlation corrections for the shielding constant.
International Conference on Recent Advances in Spectroscopy - Theoretical, Astrophysical and Experimental Perspectives, Indian Inst Astrophys, Kodaikanal Observatory, Bangalore, INDIA, JAN 28-31, 2009

Co(III)(salen)-catalyzed HKR of two stereocentered alkoxy- and azido epoxides: a concise enantioselective synthesis of (S,S)-reboxetine and (+)-epi-cytoxazone - Reddy, R. Santhosh; Chouthaiwale, Pandurang V.; Suryavanshi, Gurunath; Chavan, Vilas B.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Chemical Communications, 2010)
The HKR of racemic syn- or anti- alkoxy- and azido epoxides catalyzed by Co(salen) complex affords a practical access to a series of enantioenriched syn- or anti- alkoxy- and azido epoxides and the corresponding 1,2-diols. This strategy has been successfully employed in the concise, enantioselective synthesis of bioactive molecules such as (S, S)-reboxetine and (+)-epi-cytoxazone.

Comparison of the auxiliary density perturbation theory and the noniterative approximation to the coupled perturbed kohn-sham method: case study of the polarizabilities of disubstituted azoarene molecules - Shedge, Sapana V.; Carmona-Espindola, Javier; Pal, Sourav; Koster, Andreas M. (Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2010)
We present a theoretical study of the polarizabilities of free and disubstituted azoarenes employing auxiliary density perturbation theory (ADPT) and the noniterative approximation to the coupled perturbed Kohn-Sham (NIA-CPKS) method. Both methods are noniterative but use different approaches to obtain the perturbed density matrix. NIA-CPKS is different froth the conventional CPKS approach in that the perturbed Kohn-Sham matrix is obtained numerically, thereby yielding a single-step solution to CPKS. ADPT is an alternative approach to the analytical CPKS method in the framework of the auxiliary density functional theory. It is shown that the polarizabilities obtained using these two methods are in good agreement with each other. Comparisons are made for disubstituted azoarenes, which give support to the push-pull mechanism. Both methods reproduce the same trend for polarizabilities because of the substitution pattern of the azoarene moiety. Our results are consistent with the standard organic chemistry ``activating/deactivating'' sequence. We present the polarizabilities of the above molecules calculated with three different exchange-correlation functionals and two different auxiliary function sets. The computational advantages of both methods are also discussed.

Coupling growth-factor engineering with nanotechnology for therapeutic angiogenesis - Roy, Rituparna Sinha; Soni, Shivani; Harfouche, Rania; Vasudevan, Pooja R.; Holmes, Oliver; de Jonge, Hugo; Rowe, Arthur; Paraskar, Abhimanyu; Hentschel, Dirk M.; Chirgadze, Dimitri; Blundell, Tom L.; Gherardi, Ermanno; et al. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010)
Therapeutic angiogenesis is an emerging paradigm for the management of ischemic pathologies. Proangiogenic Therapy is limited, however, by the current inability to deliver angiogenic factors in a sustained manner at the site of pathology. In this study, we investigated a unique nonglycosylated active fragment of hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor, 1K1, which acts as a potent angiogenic agent in vitro and in a zebrafish embryo and a murine matrigel implant model. Furthermore, we demonstrate that nanoformulating 1K1 for sustained release temporally alters downstream signaling through the mitogen activated protein kinase pathway, and amplifies the angiogenic outcome. Merging protein engineering and nanotechnology offers exciting possibilities for the treatment of ischemic disease, and furthermore allows the selective targeting of downstream signaling pathways, which translates into discrete phenotypes.
Keywords: cardiovascular disease; HGF/SF; ischemic disease; nanoparticle; protein engineering

Enantioselective synthesis of (R)-(+)-alpha-lipoic acid via proline-catalyzed sequential alpha-aminoxylation and HWE olefination of aldehyde - Panchgalle, Sharad P.; Jogdand, Ganesh F.; Chavan, Subhash P.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2010)
An efficient enantioselective synthesis of (R)-(+)-alpha-lipoic acid is described, in high optical purity (>97% ee), using L-proline-catalyzed sequential alpha-aminoxylation and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination of aldehyde as the key step. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evidence for the co-existence of distorted tetrahedral and trigonal bipyramidal aluminium sites in SrAl12O19 from Al-27 NMR studies - Harindranath, K.; Viswanath, K. Anusree; Chandran, C. Vinod; Braeuniger, Thomas; Madhu, Perunthiruthy K.; Ajithkumar, Thalasseril G.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Solid State Communications, 2010)
Strontium aluminate, SrAl12O19, is a ceramic material having the hexagonal magnetoplumbite-type structure, with multiple Al coordination environments. An earlier low-field Al-27 solid-state NMR study reported five different Al sites in this system: one AlO4, one AlO5, and three AlO6 sites; whereas a later high-field study showed that the AlO5 site is a distorted AlO4 site with a very large quadrupolar coupling constant (similar to 20 MHz). Our magic angle spinning (MAS) and 3-quantum magic angle spinning (3QMAS) NMR studies at 7.05 T unambiguously show evidence for an AlO5 site. However, evidence for the presence of a distorted AlO4 site is obtained from studies at high fields (16.4 and 17.6 T), in addition to the AlO5 site. Thus the present solid-state NMR studies give evidence for the simultaneous presence of both the five-coordinated and distorted four-coordinated sites in this system. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Local structure; MQMAS; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Strontium aluminate

Exfoliation of clay layers in polypropylene matrix using potassium succinate-g-polypropylene as compatibilizer - Rama, Mallikarjuna Shroff; Neppalli, Ramesh; Chellaswamy, Ramesh; Swaminathan, Sivaram (Composites Science and Technology, 2010)
The efficiency of potassium succinate-g-polypropylene (KPPSA) as compatibilizer for the dispersion of clay in a high molecular weight polypropylene during melt mixing for the preparation of nanocomposites was evaluated and compared with maleic anhydride-g-polypropylene (PPMA). Nanocomposites were prepared by direct melt mixing and by masterbatch methods and the structure obtained was characterized by WAXD and TEM. The exfoliation and better dispersion of the organoclay was observed with KPPSA than PPMA. The dispersion of clay was found to be dependent on the method of preparation, type and the amount of compatibilizer used. The dispersion was better when the nanocomposites were prepared by two step masterbatch route than the single step direct mixing method. Flexural moduli and crystallization behavior were studied and correlated with the dispersion of organoclay in the PP matrix. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: differential scanning calorimetry; Mechanical property; Nano composites; Nanoclays; polypropylene

Facile enantioselective synthesis of (S)-N-(5-chlorothiophene-2-sulfonyl)-beta,beta-diethylalaninol via proline-catalyzed asymmetric alpha-aminooxylation and alpha-amination of aldehyde - Rawat, Varun; Chouthaiwale, Pandurang V.; Chavan, Vilas B.; Suryavanshi, Gurunath; Sudalai, Arumugam (Tetrahedron Letters, 2010)
A high-yielding enantioselective synthesis of the bioactive (S)-N-(5-chlorothiophene-2-sulfonyl)beta,beta-diethylalaninol (1), a Notch-1-sparing gamma-secretase inhibitor metabolite (with EC50 = 28 nM) effective in reduction of All production in vivo, has been realized starting from readily available 3-pentanone. The key steps of the synthesis are proline-catalyzed alpha-aminooxylation and alpha-amination of aldehyde: the latter contributing an overall yield of 45.2% and 98% ee. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: alpha-Amination; alpha-Aminooxylation; Alzheimer's disease; Amino alcohol; Proline

Facile synthesis of N-substituted maleimides - Deshpande, Sunita R.; Maybhate, Shailaja P.; Likhite, Anjali P.; Chaudhary, Preeti M. (Indian Journal of Chemistry Section B-Organic Chemistry Including Medicinal Chemistry, 2010)
A simple and efficient method for the synthesis of N-substituted malemides from the corresponding maleamie acids under the phase transfer catalysis has been described
Keywords: Maleamic acids; maleimides; phase transfer catalysis; synthesis

Field dependence of the magnetocaloric effect in core-shell nanoparticles - Franco, V.; Conde, A.; Sidhaye, Deepti; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad; Poddar, P.; Srinath, S.; Phan, M. H.; Srikanth, H. (Journal of Applied Physics, 2010)
The field dependence of the magnetic entropy change peak at the low temperature surface spin freezing transition in chemically synthesized, monodispersed Co, Co-Ag, and Ni-Ag core-shell nanoparticles is studied, with the aim of gaining insight into the critical exponents of this transition. It is evidenced that although the magnitude of the peak entropy change and position of the peak can be tuned by changing the composition and nature (metallic or organic) of the shell and surfactant layers, the characteristics of the spin freezing transition are not altered. The field dependence of the refrigerant capacity also confirms this finding. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3335514]
11th Joint MMM-Intermag Conference, Washington, DC, JAN 18-22, 2010

Fluconazole analogues containing 2H-1,4-benzothiazin-3(4H)-one or 2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one moieties, a novel class of anti-Candida agents - Borate, Hanumant B.; Maujan, Suleman R.; Sawargave, Sangmeshwer P.; Chandavarkar, Mohan A.; Vaiude, Sharangi R.; Joshi, Vinay A.; Wakharkar, Radhika D.; Iyer, Ramki; Kelkar, Ramesh G.; Chavan, Subhash P.; Kunte, Sunita S. (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2010)
As a part of our program to develop new antifungal agents, a series of fluconazole analogues was designed and synthesized wherein one of the triazole moieties in fluconazole was replaced with 2H-1,4-benzothiazin-3(4H)-one or 2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one moiety. The new chemical entities thus synthesized were screened against various fungi and it was observed that the compounds 4a and 4i are potent inhibitors of Candida strains. The structure-activity relationship for these compounds is discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: antifungal; Benzothiazinone; Benzoxazinone; Fluconazole

Formal synthesis of (+/-)-camptothecin via tricyclic lactone as key synthon - Chavan, Subhash P.; Dhawane, Abasaheb N.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2010)
Formal synthesis of (+/-)-camptothecin via CDE tricyclic lactone employing tandem Michael addition, Dieckmann condensation and addition-elimination reaction as key steps starting from glycinate is described. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gas-phase oxidant-free oxidation of cyclohexanol over V2O5-MoO3-M2O (M = Na, K, Cs) catalysts - Vyawahare, Y. K.; Chumbhale, Vilas R.; Pardhy, S. A.; Samuel, V.; Aswar, A. S. (Indian Journal of Chemical Technology, 2010)
Oxidant-free oxidation (dehydrogenation) of cyclohexanol is carried out in a down-flow integral laboratory scale reactor using different alkali doped catalysts. The effect of reaction temperature, contact time (W/F) and doping of alkali metals is studied to check its effect on nature of prominent products of the reaction (cyclohexanone and cyclohexene). At lower temperature the cyclohexanone prevails whereas at higher temperature cyclohexene is observed in prominence. Acid-modified catalysts (with boron and phosphorous) facilitated cyclohexene selectivity whereas alkali modified catalysts facilitated cyclohexanone selectivity. Calcination of sodium modified catalyst at different temperatures under static condition affect characteristic phase intensity and cyclohexanone selectivity. XRD investigation showed formation of different inorganic phases as the characteristic of dopant. Cesium modified catalyst showed better dehydrogenation activity.
Keywords: Cyclohexanol; dehydration; Dehydrogenation; Electronegativity; V2O5-MoO3

Harnessing structure-activity relationship to engineer a cisplatin nanoparticle for enhanced antitumor efficacy - Paraskar, Abhimanyu S.; Soni, Shivani; Chin, Kenneth T.; Chaudhuri, Padmaparna; Muto, Katherine W.; Berkowitz, Julia; Handlogten, Michael W.; Alves, Nathan J.; Bilgicer, Basar; Dinulescu, Daniela M.; Mashelkar, Raghunath Anant; Sengupta, Shiladitya (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010)
Cisplatin is a first line chemotherapy for most types of cancer. However, its use is dose-limited due to severe nephrotoxicity. Here we report the rational engineering of a novel nanoplatinate inspired by the mechanisms underlying cisplatin bioactivation. We engineered a novel polymer, glucosamine-functionalized polyisobutylene-maleic acid, where platinum (Pt) can be complexed to the monomeric units using a monocarboxylato and an O –> Pt coordinate bond. We show that at a unique platinum to polymer ratio, this complex self-assembles into a nanoparticle, which releases cisplatin in a pH-dependent manner. The nanoparticles are rapidly internalized into the endolysosomal compartment of cancer cells, and exhibit an IC50 (4.25 + 0.16 mu M) comparable to that of free cisplatin (3.87 +/- 0.37 mu M), and superior to carboplatin (14.75 +/- 0.38 mu M). The nanoparticles exhibited significantly improved antitumor efficacy in terms of tumor growth delay in breast and lung cancers and tumor regression in a K-ras(LSL/+)/Pten(fl/fl) ovarian cancer model. Furthermore, the nanoparticle treatment resulted in reduced systemic and nephrotoxicity, validated by decreased biodistribution of platinum to the kidney as quantified using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy. Given the universal need for a better platinate, we anticipate this coupling of nanotechnology and structure-activity relationship to rationally reengineer cisplatin could have a major impact globally in the clinical treatment of cancer.
Keywords: cancer; chemotherapy; nanomedicine

Heterogenized copper catalysts for the amination of arylhalide: synthesis, characterization and catalytic applications - Patil, Nandkumar M.; Gupte, Sunil P.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2010)
This research investigated the synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity of heterogenized copper complexes for the selective amination of aryl halides. Amination reactions using homogeneous copper catalyst systems are not generally selective and it is also difficult to recover the catalyst from the homogeneous system for recycling. To overcome these difficulties, our efforts were directed towards the development of cheaper heterogeneous catalyst systems, which can be easily recovered and recycled. Heterogenized analogs of the homogenous Cu complexes were prepared using two methods: (a) encapsulation of copper complexes in zeolite-Y and (b) tethering of copper complexes on various supports like zeolite-Y, silica, charcoal, or clay. The encapsulated and tethered copper catalysts on zeolite-Y were characterized using EPR, Diffused reflectance UV-vis, XRD, IAS, ICPES, SEM, and TEM. The results confirmed that the copper complexes were truly heterogenized in zeolite-Y support. Encapsulated and tethered copper complexes were tested for amination of aryl iodide. The effects of various reaction parameters were examined using tethered Cu(Phen)(PPh(3))Br-PTA-Y catalyst to determine optimum conditions. A recycle study of encapsulated and tethered Cu catalyst was carried out to test their robustness for possible commercial exploitation. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Amination; C-N coupling; Copper; heterogeneous catalysis; mesoporous materials

High current density, low threshold field emission from functionalized carbon nanotube bucky paper - Kakade, Bhalchandra A.; Pillai, Vijayamohanan K.; Late, Dattatray J.; Chavan, Padmakar G.; Sheini, Farid J.; More, Mahendra A.; Joag, Dilip S. (Applied Physics Letters, 2010)
Field emission studies of bucky paper of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), prepared after microwave (MW) assisted acid functionalization are reported along with a comparison with that of ``as-grown'' sample. MW treated bucky papers reveal an interesting linear field emission behavior in Fowler-Nordheim plot. The field emission currents at preset value are found to be remarkably stable over a period of more than 3 h sustaining current densities of 4.9 mA/cm(2) and 8.5 mA/cm(2) for ``as-grown'' and functionalized sample, respectively. The enhancement in the field emission due to functionalization has been discussed in terms of tip opening and defect induced charge transport caused by intershell and intertubular interaction. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3479049]
Keywords: Carbon nanotubes; current density; field emission; fullerenes

Identification of two flavin monooxygenases from an effluent treatment plant sludge metagenomic library - Singh, Ajit; Chauhan, Nar Singh; Thulasiram, H. V.; Taneja, Vibha; Sharma, Rakesh (Bioresource Technology, 2010)
Oxygenases are useful for the production of many industrially important molecules. Screening of an effluent treatment plant (ETP) sludge metagenomic library identified two clones encoding proteins, B1 and B2, with similarity to putative Flavin monooxygenases from Mesorhizobium loti and Sphingomonas wittichi, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences show only 20% identity, but both have a paired Rossman fold and a flavin monooxygenase (FMO) motif. B1 and B2 appear to be members of the Flavin-containing monooxygenase and the Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases subfamilies, respectively. When expressed in Escherichia coli, the two clones produced activities that oxidized indole to a mixture of indigo and indirubin pigments. These results suggest that B1 and B2 have potential as a biocatalyst in indigo/indirubin production. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Indigo; Indirubin; Metagenome; Metagenomic; Monooxygenase

Immobilized palladium nanoparticles catalyzed oxidative carbonylation of amines - Didgikar, Mahesh R.; Roy, Debdut; Gupte, Sunil P.; Joshi, Sunil S.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2010)
Catalytic application of immobilized palladium nanoparticles for synthesis or ureas by oxidative carbonylation of amines has been investigated. This is the first report oil oxidative carbonylation of amines to ureas using immobilized palladium nanoparticles catalyst. The palladium nanoparticles were immobilized on a NaY zeolite support through 3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (APTS) as anchoring agent. The [Pd]-APTS-Y catalyst along with NaI promoter showed high conversion and selectivity to the desired urea products over several amine compounds including ail example of an aliphatic amine precursor even at 333 K. The immobilized catalyst was easily separated and recycled several times without any loss of activity. The role of different solvents, iodide promoters, iodide to Pd ratio, concentration of substrates, and temperature on the overall yield of the reaction was also investigated.
Joint 7th International Symposium on Catalysis in Multiphase Reactors (CAMURE-7)/6th International Symposium on Multifunctional Reactors (ISMR-6), Montreal, CANADA, AUG 23-26, 2009

In situ encapsulation of pt nanoarchitectures of varying morphologies in mesoporous compounds - Prashar, Atul K.; Hodgkins, Robert P.; Chandran, Jima N.; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Devi, R. Nandini (Chemistry of Materials, 2010)
Nanoparticle morphology could be engineered and fine-tuned based on a novel in situ template method Different shapes of platinum nanoparticles were obtained from very low concentrations of precursors and could be isolated exclusively inside the mesochannels of SBA-15 This was achieved by dispersing a platinum precursor in surfactant modified polymer to different extents and using these composite materials as templates for the formation of mesoporous silica [PtCl(6)](2-) interacts with the cationic headgroup of the surfactant and facilitates the isolation of precursors within the composite template leading to the formation of nanoparticles molded by the walls of the mesochannels when calcined When this [PtCl(6)](2-)-surfactant-polymer micelle composite is aged for different duration, Pt nanoparticles of various morphologies like spheroids, nano rugby balls, and nanorods are obtained

Influence of zeolitic structure on photoreduction property and hydrogen evolution reaction - Chatti, Ravikrishna V.; Dubey, Nidhi; Joshi, Meenal V.; Labhsetwar, Nitin K.; Joshi, P. N.; Rayalu, Sadhana S. (International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2010)
A new photocatalytic material developed by supporting TiO(2) in combination with transition metal ion like cobalt and heteropolyacid (HPA) on the surface is facilitating enhanced photoreduction of water and methyl orange Zeolites being a solid acid play an important role in the electron transfer reaction, facilitated by the Lewis acid sites in the form of aluminium ions In the present work, four different zeolite matrices namely, NaY zeolite, ultrastable zeolite Y, beta zeolite and titanium silicate-1 have been used for the synthesis of new photocatalytic materials These materials have been evaluated for water splitting by an initial screening procedure using methyl orange photoreduction The photocatalyst containing Na Y has emerged as a potential photocatalyst with hydrogen evolution rate of 2730 mu mol/h/g of TiO(2) Hydrogen evolution was not observed for the composite photocatalysts synthesized using the other zeolite matrices It has been observed that physicochemical properties like Si/Al ratio, acidity and basicity of the zeolite support have a tremendous influence on the photoreduction property of these zeolite matrices (C) 2010 Professor T Nejat Veziroglu Published by Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved
Keywords: H(2) evolution; Lewis acidity; Si/Al ratio; water splitting; Zeolite structure

Isolation, structure, and functional elucidation of a modified pentapeptide, cysteine protease inhibitor (CPI-2081) from streptomyces species 2081 that exhibit inhibitory effect on cancer cell migration - Singh, Jay Prakash; Tamang, Sudarsan; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Jima, N. C.; Chakraborty, Goutam; Kundu, Gopal C.; Gaikwad, Sushama M.; Khan, Mohammad Islam (Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2010)
Cysteine proteases play an important role in cell migration and tumor metastasis. Therefore, their inhibitors are of colossal interest, having potential to be developed as effective antimetastatic drugs for tumor chemotherapy. Traditionally, secondary metabolites from streptomyces show a wide range of diversity with respect to their biological activity and chemical nature. In this article, we have described the characterization of small molecule cysteine protease inhibitor, CPI-2081 (compound 1), a mixture of two novel pentapeptides, compound 1a (736.71 Da), and compound 1b (842.78 Da), isolated from Streptomyces species NCIM2081, following solvent extraction and repeated HPLC based on C18 chemistry, and completely characterized using a variety of both ID and 2D NMR spectroscopy. Further, it was found that nanomolar concentration of compound 1 is able to inhibit papain hydrolytic activity. Also, compound 1 significantly inhibits tumor cell migration at sub cytotoxic concentration, indicating its remarkable potential to be developed as antimetastatic drug, which will make chemotherapy more localized and specific, thereby minimizing the hazardous side effects on normal tissues.

Kinetics of reductive alkylations of phenylenediamines: influence of substrates isomeric structure - Roy, Debdut; Chaudhari, Amit S.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Chemical Engineering Science, 2010)
Reductive alkylation of ortho-, meta- and para-phenylenediamines (PDAs) with methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) has been studied in a semi-batch slurry reactor in the presence of a commercial 3% Pt/Al(2)O(3) catalyst. It was observed that the PDA isomers differ remarkably from each other in their activity in reductive alkylation and product distribution. The activity was found to decrease in the following order: PPDA > OPDA > MPDA. To understand the substrate structure-activity correlation, the homogeneous equilibrium reactions involved in the alkylation step and the overall catalytic reactions were studied separately. Kinetics of reductive alkylation of PDAs with MEK as a solvent and alkylating agent with 3% Pt/Al(2)O(3) catalyst was studied in a semi-batch slurry reactor over a temperature range of 373-453K and pressure range of 2.07-6.21 MPa. Semi-batch slurry reactor models were developed and kinetic parameters were estimated by fitting the integral batch reactor data at different temperatures to understand the influence of different reaction steps on the activity and selectivity of different products. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
20th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering, Kyoto, JAPAN, SEP, 2008
Keywords: Batch; catalysis; kinetics; Multiphase reactions; Phenylenediamines; Reaction engineering; Reductive alkylation

Kinetics studies and mechanism evolution of the epoxidation of styrene over nanoporous Au doped TS-1 - Saxena, Samidha; Dwivedi, Reena; Bhadauria, Sheenu; Chumbhale, Vilas R.; Prasad, Rajendra (Polish Journal of Chemical Technology, 2010)
{A kinetic investigation of the slurry phase epoxidation of styrene with hydrogen peroxide has been carried out, for the first time, over nanoporous Au doped TS-1 catalyst, in a batch reactor, in the temperature range of 313-333 K. It was found that product selectivity and the rate of reaction are greatly influenced by concentrations of styrene and hydrogen peroxide. Kinetics studies reveal that the mechanism of the reaction is of the ``Redox'' type. The rate equation
Keywords: Au/TS-1; epoxidation; kinetics; styrene; Styrene oxide

NaIO4/LiBr-mediated aziridination of olefins using chloramine-T - Karabal, Pratibha U.; Chouthaiwale, Pandurang V.; Shaikh, Tanveer M.; Suryavanshi, Gurunath; Sudalai, Arumugam (Tetrahedron Letters, 2010)
A new milder protocol for aziridination of a variety of olefins has been described. The process employs catalytic amount of sodium metaperiodate (NaIO4) as an oxidant and LiBr and chloramine-T as the bromine and nitrogen sources, respectively. Interestingly, the formation of aziridine products in all the cases studied takes place presumably through a process of 1,2-aminobromination of alkenes. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Aziridination; Chloramine-T; Lithium bromide; Olefin; Sodium metaperiodate

Novel poly(amide-hydrazide)s and copoly(amide-hydrazide)s from Bis-(4-aminobenzyl) hydrazide and aromatic diacid chlorides: synthesis and characterization - Medhi, M.; Patil, A. S.; Halhalli, Mahadeo R.; Choubey, A.; Wadgaonkar, P. P.; Maldar, Noormahamad N. (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2010)
A new aromatic diamine, viz., bis-(4-aminobenzyl) hydrazide (BABH), which contains preformed hydrazide and methylene linkage, was synthesized starting from alpha-tolunitrile. The BABH and intermediates involved in its synthesis were characterized by spectroscopic methods. Novel poly(amide-hydrazide)s were synthesized by low temperature solution polycondensation of BABH with isophthaloyl chloride (IPC) and terephthaloyl chloride (TPC). Furthermore, two series of copoly(amide-hydrazide)s, based on different mol % of BABH and bis-(4-aminophenyl) ether (ODA) with IPC/TPC were also synthesized. Poly(amidehydrazide)s and copoly(amide-hydrazide)s were characterized by inherent viscosity [eta(inh)], FTIR, solubility, X-ray diffraction (MUD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The polycondensation proceeded smoothy and afforded the polymers with inherent viscosities in the range of 0.18-093 dL/g in (NMP + 4% LiCl) at 30 degrees C +/- 0.1 degrees C. These polymers dissolved in DMAc, NMP or DMSO containing LiCl. The solubility of copolymers was considerably improved in line with less crystalline nature due to random placement of constituent monomers during the copolymerization. XRD data indicated that poly(amide-hydrazide)s from BABH alone and IPC/TPC had higher crystallinity than the corresponding copoly(amide-hydrazide)s derived from a mixture of BABH and bis-(4-aminophenyl) ether (ODA). Polymers showed initial weight loss around 160 degrees C which is attributed to the cyclodehydration leading to the formation of corresponding poly(amide-oxadiazole)s. Copolyamide-hydrazides showed, T(max) between 400 and 540 degrees C which is essentially the decomposition of poly(amide-oxadiazole)s. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J App Polym Sci 116: 2441-2450, 2010
Keywords: bis-(4-aminobenzyl) hydrazide; poly(amide-hydrazide); structure-property relations; Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA); x-ray diffractograms

Organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of (-)-delta-coniceine based on sequential proline-catalyzed asymmetric alpha-amination-HWE olefination - Panchgalle, Sharad P.; Bidwai, Harshad B.; Chavan, Subhash P.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2010)
An efficient asymmetric synthesis of (-)-delta-coniceine via sequential proline-catalyzed asymmetric alpha-amination and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination of an aldehyde with excellent enantiomeric excess (>99%) and high yields (overall yield 44%) is described. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxidation of propane to acrylic acid and acetic acid over alkaline earth-doped Mo-V-Sb-O-x catalysts - Chaudhari, Chandan S.; Sable, Shailesh S.; Gurav, Hanumant; Kelkar, Ashutosh A.; Rane, Vilas H. (Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry, 2010)
Alkaline earth metal (Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba)-doped Mo-V-Sb-O-x catalysts, prepared by a dry-up method, have been investigated for their catalytic performance in the oxidation of propane under different reaction conditions. The catalysts have been characterized by N-2 adsorption-desorption, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of NH3, SEM and XRD. Influence of water vapor on the catalytic performance, particularly on the selectivities to acetic acid and acrylic acid, has also been studied. The selectivity to acrylic acid was improved significantly by the doping of alkaline earth metals to Mo-V-Sb-O-x catalysts. The surface acidic sites of the catalyst decreased with the doping of the catalyst with alkaline earth metals, which ultimately was found to be beneficial for obtaining high selectivity to acrylic acid. The catalytic activity and product selectivities were found to be influenced by the reaction temperature, C3H8/O-2 ratio and space velocity. A significant improvement in the selectivity to acrylic acid has also been observed by the addition of water vapor in the feed of propane and oxygen in the oxidation of propane.
Keywords: Acetic acid; acrylic acid; alkaline earth doped Mo-V-Sb-O-x catalysts; oxidation of propane; Surface acidity

Oxidative coupling of methane over La-promoted CaO catalysts: influence of precursors and catalyst preparation method - Rane, Vilas H.; Chaudhari, Sopan T.; Choudhary, Vasant R. (Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry, 2010)
The oxidative coupling of methane to C(2) hydrocarbons has been studied over a series of La-promoted CaO (La/Ca = 0.05) catalysts, prepared using different precursor salts for CaO and La(2)O(3) (viz. acetates, carbonates, nitrates and hydroxides) and catalyst preparation methods (viz. physical mixing of precursors, co-precipitation using ammonium carbonate/sodium carbonate as a precipitating agent), under different reaction conditions (temperature: 700-850 degrees C, CH(4)/O(2) ratio: 4.0 and 8.0, and GHSV: 51360 cm(3).g(-1).h(-1)). The surface area and surface basicity/base strength distribution of the catalysts have also been investigated. The surface properties and catalytic activity/selectivity of the La-promoted CaO catalysts vary from catalyst to catalyst depending on the catalyst precursors used and catalyst preparation method. The basicity/base strength distribution is strongly influenced by the precursors (for CaO and La(2)O(3)) and catalyst preparation method. Basicity (total and strong basic sites measured in terms of CO(2) chemisorbed at 50 degrees C and 500 degrees C, respectively) observed for the catalyst prepared by co-precipitation method is higher than that of the catalysts prepared by physical mixing method. The catalysts prepared by the nitrates of La- and Ca- and co-precipitated by the solution of sodium carbonate and ammonium carbonate exhibit different catalytic performance in OCM. The finding that no direct relationship between the surface basicity and catalytic activity/selectivity in OCM exists indicates that basicity is not solely responsible for obtaining high selectivity to C(2) hydrocarbons.
Keywords: basicity distribution; La-promoted CaO catalysts; oxidative coupling of methane

Polyarylate based thin film composite (TFC) membranes: effects of coating parameters, gutter layer, and intrinsic material properties - Chendake, Yogesh J.; Bhole, Yogesh S.; Lohokare, Harshada R.; Kharul, Ulhas K. (Separation Science and Technology, 2010)
Investigations in thin film composite (TFC) membrane formation with polyacrylonitrile ultrafiltration membrane as a support and three polyarylates with sequentially increased polarity are reported. Effects of TFC membrane preparation parameters viz., concentration of the coating solution, dip time, presence of solvent in pores of UF membrane support, and presence of the gutter layer were examined towards the formation of the selective skin layer, which was assessed by gas permeation analysis. TFC membranes prepared using dimethyl bisphenol-A based polyarylate exhibited similar to 3 orders of magnitude higher permeability and comparable selectivity as that of its dense membrane.
Keywords: Gas permeation; gutter layer; polarity; polyarylates; TFC membrane

Preparation and characterization of CuInSe2 thin films by chemical bath deposition technique - Hankare, P. P.; Rathod, K. C.; Chate, P. A.; Jadhav, A. V.; Mulla, Imtiaz S. (Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2010)
Copper indium diselenide (CIS) thin films have been deposited using a precursor solution containing copper sulphate, indium trichoride, hydrazine hydrate and sodium selenosulphate in an aqueous alkaline medium at room temperature. The as grown brown colored films were found to be well adherent to glass substrates. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, optical absorption, electrical resistivity, and thermo electric measurement techniques. The analysis of optical absorption data shows band-gap energy (E-g) to be 1.1 eV. The electrical resistivity of the thin film was found to be of the order of 10(2) (Omega cm). Thermoelectric power measurement shows n-type conduction. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: CuInSe2; Optical properties; Thin films; X-ray diffraction

Process for synthesis of beaded cross linked polymers, water-in-oil-in-water emulsions and post functionalisation - Dwivedi, Mayank; Rao, Locanindi Hari Sarvothama; Reddy, Krishna Mohan Srinivasulu; Dhanasekharan, Janakiraman; Rao, Bevara Madhusudana; Kumar, Sriperambudur Rajesh; Ponrathnam, Surendra; Chelanattukizhakkemadath, Raman Rajan; Tayal, Rajivkumar; Qureshi, Moham (2010)

QTL mapping of 1000-kernel weight, kernel length, and kernel width in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) - Ramya, P.; Chaubal, A.; Kulkarni, K.; Gupta, L.; Kadoo, Narendra Y.; Dhaliwal, Harcharan Singh; Chhuneja, Parveen; Lagu, Meena D.; Gupta, V. (Journal of Applied Genetics, 2010)
Kernel size and morphology influence the market value and milling yield of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The objective of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling kernel traits in hexaploid wheat. We recorded 1000-kernel weight, kernel length, and kernel width for 185 recombinant inbred lines from the cross Rye Selection 111 x Chinese Spring grown in 2 agro-climatic regions in India for many years. Composite interval mapping (CIM) was employed for QTL detection using a linkage map with 169 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. For 1000-kernel weight, 10 QTLs were identified on wheat chromosomes 1A, 1D, 2B, 2D, 4B, 5B, and 6B, whereas 6 QTLs for kernel length were detected on 1A, 2B, 2D, 5A, 5B and 5D. Chromosomes 1D, 2B, 2D, 4B, 53 and 5D had 9 QTLs for kernel width. Chromosomal regions with QTLs detected consistently for multiple year-location combinations were identified for each trait. Pleiotropic QTLs were found on chromosomes 2B, 2D, 4B, and 5B. The identified genomic regions controlling wheat kernel size and shape can be targeted during further studies for their genetic dissection.
Keywords: composite interval mapping; kernel shape; kernel size; quantitative trait loci; Stable QTLs; Triticum aestivum

Reductive dechlorination of gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane using Fe-Pd bimetallic nanoparticles - Nagpal, Varima; Bokare, Alok D.; Chikate, Rajeev C.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V.; Paknikar, Kishore M. (Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2010)
Nanoscale Fe-Pd bimetallic particles were synthesized and used for degradation of lindane (gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane) in aqueous solution. Batch studies showed that 5 mg/Lof lindane was completely dechlorinated within 5 min at a catalyst loading of 0.5 g/L and the degradation process followed first-order kinetics. GC-MS analysis in corroboration with GC-ECD results showed the presence of cyclohexane as the final degradation product. The proposed mechanism for the reductive dechlorination of lindane involves Fe corrosion-induced hydrogen atom transfer from the Pd Surface. The enhanced degradation efficiency of Fe-Pd nanoparticles is attributed to: (1) high specific surface area of the nanoscale metal particles (60 m(2)/g), manyfold greater that of commercial grade micro- or milli-scale iron particles (similar to 1.6 m(2)/g); and, (2) increased catalytic reactivity due to the presence of I'd on the Surface. Recycling and column studies showed that these nanoparticles exhibit efficient and sustained catalytic activity. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Bimetallic; Cyclohexane; Degradation; kinetics; Lindane; Nanoparticles

Regiospecific azidoiodination of alkenes with sodium periodate, potassium iodide, and sodium azide: a high-yield synthesis of beta-iodoazides - Chouthaiwale, Pandurang V.; Karabal, Pratibha U.; Suryavanshi, Gurunath; Sudalai, Arumugam (Synthesis-Stuttgart, 2010)
The combination of sodium periodate, potassium iodide, and sodium azide has been found to be an efficient, simple, and inexpensive reagent system for azidoiodination of alkenes. The regiospecific 1,2-azidoiodination proceeds in an anti-Markovnikov fashion to produce beta-iodoazides in excellent yields.
Keywords: alkenes; azides; azidoiodination; beta-iodoazides; regio-specific

Solvent-free selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by tert-butyl hydroperoxide over U3O8-supported nano-gold catalysts - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Dumbre, Deepa K. (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2010)
Liquid-phase oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by tertiary butyl hydroperoxide over different uranium oxide supported nano-gold catalysts in the absence of a solvent has been thoroughly investigated. The influences of catalyst parameters [viz, method of gold deposition (impregnation, co-precipitation, deposition-precipitation and homogeneous deposition-precipitation), gold loading (08 wt%) and catalyst calcination temperature (100-900 degrees C)] on the catalyst performance have been investigated. The influence of reaction conditions [viz, reaction time (0-2 h) and temperature (25-94 degrees C)] on the process performance has also been studied. The Au/U3O8 catalyst prepared by the homogeneous deposition-precipitation and calcined at 400 degrees C showed very high activity (100% benzyl alcohol conversion with >85% selectivity for benzaldehyde) in the process for a short reaction period (0.5 h) at 94 degrees C. The catalyst also showed excellent reusability in the process. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Au/U3O8 catalyst; Benzaldehyde; Benzyl alcohol; Nano-gold; Partial oxidation; tert-Butyl hydroperoxide

Static hyper-polarizability of open shell molecules computed at the FSMRCCSD level using constrained variational approach - Bag, Arijit; Bhattacharya, S.; Pal, S. (International Conference on Recent Advances in Spectroscopy - Theoretical, Astrophysical and Experimental Perspectives, 2010)
In recent years, there has been a significant development in the analytic derivatives of energy with respect to electric fields based on the state-of-the-art multi-reference coupled-cluster method using Lagrangian based constrained variational approach. So far, the Lagrangian based Fock space multi-reference coupled cluster (FSMRCC) method has been successfully used to calculate electrical dipole moment and polarizability of open shell molecules, particularly, doublet radicals at the ground state and the electronic excited states of closed shell molecules. In this article, Lagrangian based FSMRCC method has been implemented for the first time for calculation of hyper polarizabilites of a few doublet radicals such as OH, OF, NO and NO(2). Orbital-relaxed finite field FSMRCC values are reported for comparison.
International Conference on Recent Advances in Spectroscopy - Theoretical, Astrophysical and Experimental Perspectives, Indian Inst Astrophys, Kodaikanal Observatory, Bangalore, INDIA, JAN 28-31, 2009

Structure and gelation mechanism of silk hydrogels - Nagarkar, Shailesh; Nicolai, Taco; Chassenieux, Christophe; Lele, Ashish K. (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2010)
Silk fibroin was regenerated from cocoons produced by the silkworm Bombyx Mori. Light scattering showed that an aqueous solution of the regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) was made of individual proteins with a weight average molar mass of about 4 x 10(5) g mol(-1) and a hydrodynamic radius of about 10 nm. Gel formation of RSF in acidic solutions was investigated as a function of the pH (2-4), concentration (0.5-10 g L(-1)) and temperature (5-70 degrees C). The structure of the gels was studied using light scattering and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The structure was found to be self-similar from length scales of less than 15 nm up to length scales of about 1 mm, and characterized by a correlation length of a few microns. Gel formation was tracked using turbidity, rheology, light scattering and circular dichroism. Gelation involves the formation of self-similar aggregates with a growth rate that increases exponentially. The protein aggregation is correlated to, and perhaps caused by, the formation of beta-sheets, the fraction of which also increases exponentially with time.

Structure, electronic structure, optical, and dehydrogenation catalytic study of (Zn1-zInz)(O1-xNx) solid solution - Mapa, Maitri; Sivaranjani, Kumarsrinivasan; Bhange, Deu S.; Saha, Biswajit; Chakraborty, Purushottam; Viswanath, Annamraju Kasi; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Chemistry of Materials, 2010)
Indium and nitrogen codoping in ZnO leads to a solid solution of InN in ZnO with I composition of(Zn1-zInz)(O1-xNx). A simple solution combustion method has been adopted to prepare the above materials in less than 10 min with metal nitrates as the metal loll source and urea as fuel. With reference to ZnO, significant increase in lattice parameters was observed with increasing In-content. However, the In2O3 phase was Observed along with InN for]it content >= 10%. Optical absorption extended into the Visible region, at least LIP to 550 nm, demonstrates an effective reduction of optical band gap due to the formation of solid Solution. A new feature observed just above O2p valence band in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) suggests the creation of N 2p states from InN; the N Is core level XPS result too confirms nitride contribution. Raman spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry results show direct In-N, Zn-N. and In-N-Zn fragments in (Zn1-zInz)(O1-x,N-x). Catalytic activity explored for Oxidation of 2-butanol to ethyl methyl ketone demonstrates a high selectivity at 350 and 400 degrees C. All of the above characteristics suggest the multifunctional nature of (Zn1-zInz)(O1-xNx) and its potential for other applications.

Synthesis and characterization of nickel selenide thin films deposited by chemical method - Hankare, P. P.; Jadhav, B. V.; Garadkar, K. M.; Chate, P. A.; Mulla, Imtiaz S.; Delekar, S. D. (Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2010)
Nickel selenide thin films have been deposited using chemical bath method on non-conducting glass substrates in a tartarate bath containing nickel sulphate octahydrate, hydrazine hydrate, sodium seleno-sulphate in an aqueous alkaline medium. The grown films were uniform, well adherent and black in color. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical absorption and electrical measurements. The nickel selenide thin film revealed polycrystalline nature with hexagonal system. The direct optical band gap of the film was found to be 1.61 eV. Electrical resistivity of film was observed in the order of 10(3) (Omega cm) with p-type conduction mechanism. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Crystal growth; Semiconductors; Thin films; X-ray diffraction

Synthesis and characterization of polyurethane-grafted single-walled carbon nanotubes via click chemistry - Rana, Sravendra; Cho, Jae Whan; Kumar, Indresh (Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2010)
Polyurethane (PU)-grafted carbon nanotubes were synthesized by the coupling of alkyne moiety decorated single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) with azide moiety containing PU using Cu(I) catalyzed Huisgen [3 + 2] cycloaddition click chemistry. The azide moiety containing poly(E-caprolactone)diol was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization and further used for PU synthesis. Alkyne-functionalizion of SWCNT was completed by the reaction of p-aminophenyl propargyl ether with SWCNT using a solvent free diazotization procedure. Nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared, and Raman spectroscopic measurements confirmed the functionalization of SWCNT. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images showed an excellent dispersion of SWCNTs, and specially debundling of SWCNTs could be observed due to polymer assisted dispersion. A quantitative grafting was successfully achieved even at high content of functional groups.
Keywords: Carbon nanotubes; Click chemistry; dispersion; polyurethane

Synthesis and corrosion protection aspects of poly(o-toluidine)/CdO nanoparticle composite coatings on mild steel - Chaudhari, Sudeshna; Gaikwad, A. B.; Patil, P. P. (Journal of Coatings Technology and Research, 2010)
This study examines the possibility of using poly(o-toluidine)/CdO (POT-CdO) nanoparticle composite coating for corrosion protection of mild steel in chloride environment. The POT-CdO nanoparticle composite coating was synthesized on mild steel from aqueous tartrate solution containing CdO-nanoparticles (size similar to 18 nm) by using cyclic voltammetry. These coatings were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction measurements. The corrosion protection aspects of the resulting POT-CdO nanocomposite structure were investigated in aqueous 3% NaCl solution by potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results of these investigations reveal that the POT-CdO nanoparticle composite acts as a protective coating on mild steel and reduces the corrosion rate of mild steel almost by factor of 70.
Keywords: CdO; Conducting polymer coatings; Corrosion resistant coatings; cyclic voltammetry; Electrochemical polymerization; Mild steel; Nanocomposites; Poly(o-toluidine)

Synthesis of hybrid 1,2,3-triazolo-delta-lactams/lactones using Huisgen [3+2] cycloaddition `click-chemistry' in water - Kumar, Indresh; Rana, Sravendra; Cho, Jae Whan; Rode, Chandrashekhar V. (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2010)
The synthesis of a new class of hybrid 1,2,3-triazozlo-delta-lactams/lactones has been achieved using the Huisgen [3+2] dipolar cycloaddition `click-chemistry' reaction of various organic azides with an activated alkyne in water, followed by cyclization. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal conductivity measurement of polyglycol alkyl ethers at temperatures from (303.15 to 393.15) K - Salavera, Daniel; Patil, Kashinath R.; Coronas, Alberto (Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, 2010)
Experimental Values of the thermal conductivity of five pure polyglycol alkyl ethers are presented in a temperature range from (303.15 to 393.15) K at a pressure of 1 MPa. Measurements were made with a Setaram C-80 II calorimetric device equipped with a suitable vessel Setup and ail auxiliary thermostat to measure at high-temperature conditions using the steady-state coaxial cylinders method. The measured values of the thermal conductivity were compared with data reported in the literature. The reliability and accuracy of the experimental method were confirmed with the measurements on pure benzene with well-known thermal conductivity values. Our data agreed with the limited data available in the literature and were correlated using an empirical expression. The Uncertainty of the results was estimated to be within 2.0 %, and the reproducibility of the data was better than +/- 0.5 %.

Unusual central indian drought of summer monsoon 2008: role of southern tropical indian ocean warming - Rao, Suryachandra A.; Chaudhari, Hemantkumar S.; Pokhrel, Samir; Goswami, B. N. (Journal of Climate, 2010)
While many of the previous positive Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) years were associated with above (below)normal monsoon rainfall over central (southern) India during summer monsoon months [June-September (JJAS)], the IOD event in 2008 is associated with below (above)-normal rainfall in many parts of central (southern peninsular) India. Because understanding such regional organization is a key for success in regional prediction, using different datasets and atmospheric model simulations, the reasons for this abnormal behavior of the monsoon in 2008 are explored. Compared to normal positive IOD events, sea surface temperature (SST) and rainfall in the southern tropical Indian Ocean (STIO) in JJAS 2008 were abnormally high. Downwelling Rossby waves and oceanic heat advection played an important role in warming SST abnormally in the STIO. It was also found that the combined influence of a linear warming trend in the tropical Indian Ocean and warming associated with the IOD have resulted in abnormal warming of the STIO. This abnormal SST warming resulted in enhancement of convection in the southwest tropical Indian Ocean and forced anticyclonic circulation anomalies over the Bay of Bengal and central India, leading to suppressed rainfall over this region in JJAS 2008. The above mechanism is tested by conducting several model sensitivity experiments with an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). These experiments confirmed that the subsidence over central India and the Bay of Bengal was forced mainly by the anomalous warming in the STIO region driven by coupled ocean-atmosphere processes. This study provides the first evidence of combined Indian Ocean warming, associated with global warming, and IOD-related warming influence on Indian summer monsoon rainfall. The combined influence may force below-normal rainfall over central India by inducing strong convection in the STIO region. The conventional seesaw in convection between the Indian subcontinent and the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean may shift to the central equatorial Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal if the central Indian Ocean consistently warms in the global warming scenario.

Adsorption of cresols on zinc-aluminium hydroxides - a comparison with zeolite-X - Vijayakumar, J.; Chikkala, Suresh K.; Mandal, Sujata; Mayadevi, S. (Separation Science and Technology, 2011)
Liquid phase adsorption of m-cresol on Zn-Al hydroxide adsorbents with three different Zn/Al molar ratios was studied in different solvents and compared with commercial zeolite 13X. Among the three adsorbents, ZA-16 showed adsorption capacity similar to commercial zeolite 13X. Solvents used for the preparation of m-cresol solution were found to influence the adsorption capacity. The adsorption capacity was maximum for the solution of m-cresol in n-hexane. Conventional Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm equations were used to explain the adsorption behavior. The kinetics of m-cresol adsorption followed the first-order Lagergren kinetic model. p-Cresol/m-cresol separation factor was the highest when toluene was used as the organic medium.
Keywords: Adsorption; cresol; zeolite; zinc-aluminium hydroxide

Amino functionalized zeolitic tetrazolate framework (ZTF) with high capacity for storage of carbon dioxide - Panda, Tamas; Pachfule, Pradip; Chen, Yifei; Jiang, Jianwen; Banerjee, Rahul (Chemical Communications, 2011)
A three dimensional -NH(2) functionalized Zeolitic Tetrazolate Framework (ZTF-1) has been reported. The framework adopts a dia topology (M-L-M angle is close to 156 degrees). ZTF-1 shows high CO(2) (273 K) and H(2) (77 K) uptake due to the presence of the free -NH(2) group and uncoordinated tetrazolate nitrogen.

Antifungal activity of novel synthetic peptides by accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and disruption of cell wall against Candida albicans - Maurya, Indresh Kumar; Pathak, Sarika; Sharma, Monika; Sanwal, Hina; Chaudhary, Preeti; Tupe, Santosh; Deshpande, Mukund V.; Chauhan, Virander Singh; Prasad, Rajendra (Peptides, 2011)
In the present work, we investigated the antifungal activity of two de novo designed, antimicrobial peptides VS2 and VS3, incorporating unnatural amino acid alpha,beta-dehydrophenylalanine (Delta Phe). We observed that the low-hemolytic peptides could irreversibly inhibit the growth of various Candida species and multidrug resistance strains at MIC(80) values ranging from 15.62 mu M to 250 mu M. Synergy experiments showed that MIC(80) of the peptides was drastically reduced in combination with an antifungal drug fluconazole. The dye PI uptake assay was used to demonstrate peptide induced cell membrane permeabilization. Intracellular localization of the FITC-labeled peptides in Candida albicans was studied by confocal microscopy and FACS. Killing kinetics, PI uptake assay, and the intracellular presence of FITC-peptides suggested that growth inhibition is not solely a consequence of increased membrane permeabilization. We showed that entry of the peptide in Candida cells resulted in accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to cell necrosis. Morphological alteration in Candida cells caused by the peptides was visualized by electron microscopy. We propose that de novo designed VS2 and VS3 peptides have multiple detrimental effects on target fungi, which ultimately result in cell wall disruption and killing. Therefore, these peptides represent a good template for further design and development as antifungal agents. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Antifungal peptides; Candida albicans; Cell wall; ROS

Assembly of polyethyleneimine in the hexagonal mesophase of nonionic surfactant: effect of pH and temperature - Sharma, Kamendra P.; Choudhury, Chandan Kumar; Srivastava, Sonal; Davis, Hilda C.; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Roy, Sudip; Kumaraswamy, Guruswamy (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2011)
We investigate the dispersion of a pH responsive polymer, polyethyleneimine, PEI, in a hexagonal (H(1)) mesophase of a nonionic surfactant, C(12)E(9), and water, at pH ranging from basic (pH = 12.8) to acidic (pH = 1). While the C(12)E(9)/H(2)O phase behavior is independent of pH, we demonstrate that, in the PEI/C(12)E(9)/H(2)O system, changing the pH influences PEI-C(12)E(9) interactions, and thus, influences the isotropic-H(1) phase transition. With decrease in pH, there is increasing protonation of the PEI chain, and consequently, the chain extends. We show, using a combination of SAXs, optical microscopy and visual experiments, that the inclusion of PEI in a 1:1 surfactant water mixture, lowers the hexagonal-isotropic transition temperature, T. At higher pH = 12.8 T(HI) shows a pronounced decrease from SO to 13 degrees C on addition of PEI, and the PEI/C(12)E(9)/H(2)O system forms a transparent gel. At pH = 1, we observe qualitatively different behavior and an opaque gel forms below T(HI)= 25 degrees C. The isotropic-H(1) transition, in turn, influences the phase separation of PEI chains from the C(12)E(9)/H(2)O system. 2D NMR ROESY data provides evidence that there are strong surfactant PEI interactions at high pH that significantly reduce at lower pH. The NMR data is in accord with molecular dynamics simulations that show that surfactants strongly aggregate with unprotonated PEI chains, but not with fully protonated chains; thus, in this system, the pH controls a cascade of microstructural organization: increasing pH decreases chain protonation and increases polymer-surfactant interactions, resulting in suppression of the isotropic-H(1) transition to lower temperatures, thus, influencing the phase separation of PEI from the surfactant/water system.

Assimilatory potential of helicoverpa armigera reared on host (chickpea) and nonhost (cassia tora) diets - Dawkar, Vishal V.; Chikate, Yojana R.; Gupta, Vidya S.; Slade, Susan E.; Giri, Ashok P. (Journal of Proteome Research, 2011)
Adaptation to plant allelochemicals is a crucial aspect of herbivore chemical ecology. To understand an insect ecology, we studied an effect of nonhost Cassia tora seed-based diet (Ct) on growth, development, and molecular responses in Helicoverpa armigera. We employed a comparative approach to investigate the proteomic differences in gut, hemolymph, and frass of H. armigera reared on a normal (chickpea seed-based, Cp) and Ct diet. In this study, a total of 46 proteins were identified by nano-LC-MS(E). Among them, 17 proteins were up-regulated and 29 proteins were down-regulated when larvae were exposed to the Ct diet. Database searches combined with GO analysis revealed that gut proteases engrossed in digestion, proteins crucial for immunity, adaptive responses to stress, and detoxification were down-regulated in the Ct fed larvae. Proteins identified in H. armigera hemolymph were found to be involved in defense mechanisms. Moreover, proteins found in frass of the Ct fed larvae were observed to participate in energy metabolism. Biochemical and quantitative real-time PCR analysis of selected candidate proteins showed differential gene expression patterns and corroborated with the proteomic data. Our results suggest that the Ct diet could alter expression of proteins related to digestion, absorption of nutrients, adaptation, defense mechanisms, and energy metabolism in H. armigera.
Keywords: adaptation; Cassia tora; Gene expression; Helicoverpa armigera; proteomics

Asymmetric total synthesis of (2S,3S)-3-hydroxypipecolic acid - Chavan, Subhash P.; Dumare, Nilesh B.; Harale, Kishor R.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2011)
A synthetic route to (2S,3S)-3-hydroxypipecolic acid was achieved from readily available nonchiral pool starting material cis-2-butene-1,4-diol and involved Claisen orthoester rearrangement, Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation and intramolecular lactamisation of azido lactone as the key steps. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bicyclic amino acid-carbohydrate-conjugates as conformationally restricted hydroxyethylamine (HEA) transition-state isosteres - Kale, Sangram S.; Chavan, Sanjay T.; Sabharwal, Sushma G.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2011)
This communication describes a general synthetic route to bicyclic amino acid-carbohydrate-conjugates, which would be useful as conformationally restricted hydroxyethylamine (HEA) transition-state isosteres. The synthesis was achieved in 12 steps starting from D-glucose. The striking features of this system are the bicyclic rigid core displaying an a-amino acid side chain and hydroxyethylamine moiety - both of which would be potentially important for receptor interactions, leading to various biomedical responses, as described in the literature. Crystal structure investigation suggested extensive intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions in this system, involving the backbone amide and hydroxyl groups.

Biochemical characterisation of alpha-amylase inhibitors from achyranthes aspera and their interactions with digestive amylases of coleopteran and lepidopteran insects - Hivrale, Vandana K.; Chougule, Nanasaheb P.; Giri, Ashok P.; Chhabda, Pavan J.; Kachole, Andmanvendra S. (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2011)
BACKGROUND: Starchy seeds are an important food and a source of dietary ingredients in many countries. However, they suffer from extensive predation by bruchids (weevils) and other pests. alpha-Amylase inhibitors are attractive candidates for the control of seed weevils, as these insects are highly dependent on starch as an energy source. RESULTS: A proteinaceous alpha-amylase inhibitor from the seeds of Achyranthes aspera was identified, purified and characterised. In electrophoretic analysis, two prominent amylase inhibitor activity bands (AI1 and AI2) were detected. The inhibitor was purified 9.99-fold with 1206.95 total amylase inhibitor units mg(-1) protein. The molecular weight of the purified inhibitor was around 6 kDa. The isolated alpha-amylase inhibitor was found to be resistant to heat and proteolysis. Feeding analysis of Callosobruchus maculatus larvae on a diet containing seed powder of A. aspera revealed that survival of the larvae was severely affected, with the highest mortality rate occurring on the fifth day of feeding. The isolated inhibitor inhibited the majority of amylase isoforms of C. maculatus, Tribolium confusum and Helicoverpa armigera in electrophoretic analysis and solution assays. CONCLUSION: The information obtained in the present investigation could be useful for a genetic engineering approach that would make seeds resistant to storage pest infestations. (C) 2011 Society of Chemical Industry
Keywords: Achyranthes aspera; Amylase inhibitors; amylases; Callosobruchus maculatus; Tribolium confusum

Bioresponsive mesoporous silica nanoparticles for triggered drug release - Singh, Neetu; Karambelkar, Amrita; Gu, Luo; Lin, Kevin; Miller, Jordan S.; Chen, Christopher S.; Sailor, Michael J.; Bhatia, Sangeeta N. (Journal of the Americal Chemical Society, 2011)

Combustion synthesis to incorporate nitrogen in ZnO and TiO2 and their applications in solar energy harvesting - Chinnakonda, Gopinath S. (241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS), 2011)
241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS), Anaheim, CA, MAR 27-31, 2011

Comparative genomics of the pathogenic ciliate Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, its free-living relatives and a host species provide insights into adoption of a parasitic lifestyle and prospects for disease control - Coyne, Robert S.; Hannick, Linda; Shanmugam, Dhanasekaran; Hostetler, Jessica B.; Brami, Daniel; Joardar, Vinita S.; Johnson, Justin; Radune, Diana; Singh, Irtisha; Badger, Jonathan H.; Kumar, Ujjwal; Saier, Milton; et al. (Genome Biology, 2011)
Background: Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, commonly known as Ich, is a highly pathogenic ciliate responsible for 'white spot', a disease causing significant economic losses to the global aquaculture industry. Options for disease control are extremely limited, and Ich's obligate parasitic lifestyle makes experimental studies challenging. Unlike most well-studied protozoan parasites, Ich belongs to a phylum composed primarily of free-living members. Indeed, it is closely related to the model organism Tetrahymena thermophila. Genomic studies represent a promising strategy to reduce the impact of this disease and to understand the evolutionary transition to parasitism. Results: We report the sequencing, assembly and annotation of the Ich macronuclear genome. Compared with its free-living relative T. thermophila, the Ich genome is reduced approximately two-fold in length and gene density and three-fold in gene content. We analyzed in detail several gene classes with diverse functions in behavior, cellular function and host immunogenicity, including protein kinases, membrane transporters, proteases, surface antigens and cytoskeletal components and regulators. We also mapped by orthology Ich's metabolic pathways in comparison with other ciliates and a potential host organism, the zebrafish Danio rerio. Conclusions: Knowledge of the complete protein-coding and metabolic potential of Ich opens avenues for rational testing of therapeutic drugs that target functions essential to this parasite but not to its fish hosts. Also, a catalog of surface protein-encoding genes will facilitate development of more effective vaccines. The potential to use T. thermophila as a surrogate model offers promise toward controlling 'white spot' disease and understanding the adaptation to a parasitic lifestyle.

Comparative study of porphyrin derivatives in monolayers at the air-water interface and in langmuir-blodgett films - Ghosh, Amrita; Mahato, Prasenjit; Choudhury, Sipra; Das, Amitava (Thin Solid Films, 2011)
The orientation and aggregation of various porphyrin derivatives at the air–water interface and in Langmuir–Blodgett films were investigated. Monolayer properties of these molecules, where long alkyl chain(s) were covalently bound through different functionality of varying hydrophilicity were studied by measuring surface pressure area isotherms. Such derivatives, where ether functionality (functionalities) was (were) used for linking long alkyl chain(s), did not form uniform monolayer; instead they were found to form multilayer clusters or aggregates on the water surface. On the other hand, porphyrin derivative functionalized at the four peripheral phenyl rings with eight hexadecyl ether chains formed stable spherical vesicles when deposited on mica. Tetra N-alkyl pyridinium porphyrins with long alkyl chain were found to form various phases on the water surface. Evidence of transition from horizontal orientation to vertical orientation of porphyrin rings of porphyrin molecules having C14 chains was observed. This type of transition was lost with the porphyrin molecule with a relatively smaller chain (C8).

Controlling stoichiometry in low temperature synthesis of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 nanoparticles - Azarifar, Ali; Yadav, P. A.; Chawla, A. K.; Jog, Jyoti Prakash; Patil, S. I.; Chandra, Ramesh; Ogale, S. B. (Advanced Science Letters, 2011)
Nanoparticles of complex oxides (<20 nm) are desirable for several applications in view of the diverse range of physical properties of such oxides. However the simultaneous presence of multiple cation precursors makes the corresponding chemical synthesis non-trivial with possible intermediate evolution of secondary phases. Such phases could react at high temperatures to form the desired stoichiometry, but this process is diffusion limited and can lead to larger particles. In this work we examine the role of three different reaction and growth controlling additives, namely dextran, citric acid and hexamine, on the synthesis of the well known colossal magneto-resistive (CMR) manganite La0.7Sr0.3MnO3. We demonstrate that phase evolutions differ significantly in the three cases, and the physical properties of the products also differ dramatically. Only dextran is shown to yield the desired phase with faceted nanoparticles at as low a temperature as 600 degrees C. A high saturation moment of similar to 47 emu/gm is realized at 10 K with a good square hysteresis loop. In 650 degrees C annealed sample, room temperature magnetization of similar to 15 emu/gm was obtained, which brings the nanoparticles in the applicability domain.
Keywords: Citric acid; Complex Oxide; Dextran; Hexamine; hydrothermal

Convenient formal synthesis of (2S,3S)-3-hydroxy pipecolic acid - Chavan, Subhash P.; Harale, Kishor R.; Dumare, Nilesh B.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2011)
A convenient synthesis of (2S,3S)-3-hydroxy pipecolic acid starting from inexpensive and easily available L-(+)-tartaric acid has been described. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cyclodiphosph(III)azane chemistry – ylides from the reaction of [(RNH)P-N(t-Bu)]2 [R = t-Bu, i-Pr] with dimethyl maleate and chiral ansa-type derivatives from reaction of [ClP-N(t-Bu)]2 with a substituted BINOL - Swamy, K.C. Kumara; Gangadhararao, G.; Srinivas, Venu; Kumar, N. N. Bhuvan; Balaraman, Ekambaram; Chakravarty, Manab (Inorganica Chimica Acta, 2011)
Use of a simple inorganic ring system with the cyclodiphosph(III)azane skeleton [e.g. [(RNH)P-N(t-Bu)]2 [R = t-Bu (7), i-Pr (8)] to probe some of the intermediates proposed in phosphine mediated organic reactions is highlighted. Thus the reaction of 7–8 with the allenylphosphine oxide Ph2P(O)C(Ph)double bond; length as m-dashCdouble bond; length as m-dashCH2 (9) affords the phosphinimines [(RNH)P(μ-N-t-Bu)2P(double bond; length as m-dashN-R)-C(double bond; length as m-dashCH2)CH(Ph)-P(O)Ph2] [R = t-Bu (10), i-Pr (11)], while a similar reaction of 7–8 with dimethyl maleate (or dimethyl fumarate) affords the ylides [(RNH)P(μ-N-t-Bu)2P(NH-R)double bond; length as m-dashC(CO2Me)-CH2(CO2Me) [R = t-Bu (18), i-Pr (19)]. The implication of such reactions on phosphine mediated organic transformations including Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction is mentioned. In a rather rare type of situation, an unusually long phosphoryl (Pdouble bond; length as m-dashO) bond [1.538 (5) Å] as revealed the X-ray structure of {(R)-6,6′-(t-Bu)2-1,1′-(C10H5)2-2,2′-O2-}{P(O)(N-t-Bu)2-P(Se)} (27) is rationalized by means of crystallographic disorder in packing after comparing the data with that in the literature and {1,1′-(C10H6)2-2,2′-O2}{P(Se)(N-t-Bu)2-P(Se)} (29). X-ray structures of the new compounds 10–11, 18–19, 27 and 29 are discussed. Compound 10 crystallizes in the chiral space group Pca2(1) with (S)-chirality at the carbon center [–C(double bond; length as m-dashCH2)CH(Ph)-P] suggesting a case of spontaneous resolution through crystallization.

Degradation of tannic acid by cold-adapted klebsiella sp NACASA1 and phytotoxicity assessment of tannic acid and its degradation products - Jadhav, Umesh; Kadu, Sudhir; Thokal, Nilesh; Padul, Manohar; Dawkar, Vishal V.; Chougale, Ashok D.; Salve, Abhay; Patil, Manoj (Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2011)
The focus of the present study is to know the potential of bacterial isolate for tannic acid degradation at low temperature. Also, we tried to evaluate the suitability of phytotoxicity testing protocol for the determination of tannic acid toxicity. Screening for tannic acid degrading bacterial strains was carried out by using microbial isolation techniques. The 16S rDNA amplicon of the isolate was used to identify the isolate. The effect of different concentrations of tannic acid and its degradation products on germination of Vigna unguiculata was evaluated. The study was carried out to determine total sugar and starch content of the used seeds and even to check the presence of alpha-amylase activity during seed germination. The isolated bacterium was identified as Klebsiella sp NACASA1 and it showed degradation of tannic acid in 40 (+/- 0.85***) h at 15A degrees C and pH 7.0. A gradual decrease in root/shoot length was observed with increasing concentration of tannic acid. There was 95.11 (+/- 0.24**)% inhibition in alpha-amylase activity at 20,000 ppm tannic acid, as compared to control. No such effects were observed on germination, root-shoot length, and alpha-amylase activity with tannic acid degradation products. The results obtained confirmed that tannic acid may act as a toxic agent in plant cells. The simple biodegradation process presented in this study was found to be effective in reducing toxicity of tannic acid. Also, it reveals the potential of soil bacterium to degrade tannic acid at low temperature.
Keywords: Cold-adapted bacterium; Phytotoxicity; Tannic acid degradation

Ecofriendly hydrogen production from abundant hydrogen sulfide using solar light-driven hierarchical nanostructured ZnIn2S4 photocatalyst - Chaudhari, Nilima S.; Bhirud, Ashwini P.; Sonawane, Ravindra S.; Nikam, Latesh K.; Warule, Sambhaji S.; Rane, Vilas H.; Kale, Bharat B. (Green Chemistry, 2011)
It is quite well-known that refineries are producing huge amount of H2S which has been used to produce sulphur and water using the well-known Claus process. This process is not an economically viable process, due to the high-cost chemical process and creates further acute environmental problems. Therefore, we have demonstrated the conversion of poisonous H2S into H-2 using an ecofriendly phocatalysis process which is a green unconventional energy source. We have investigated ecofriendly nanostructured ZnIn2S4 photocatalyst to produce hydrogen from H2S using solar light. We also demonstrate the controlled synthesis of hierarchical nanostructured ZnIn2S4 using a facile hydrothermal method. The morphologies obtained have been greatly influenced by the presence of triethylamine (TEA) with various concentrations during the reaction. Surprisingly, a highly crystalline hexagonal layer structured ZnIn2S4 was obtained instead of cubic spinel. The hierarchical nanostructure, i.e. marigold flower-like morphology, was obtained without any surfactant. The thin and transparent petals self-assembled to form the unique nanostructured marigold flower. The highly crystalline puffy marigold flowers and nanoplates/nanostrips were obtained using TEA-assisted hydrothermal synthesis. Optical study shows the band gap in the range of 2.34-2.48 eV. Considering the band gap in the visible region, ZnIn2S4 is used as photocatalyst for hydrogen production from hydrogen sulphide under solar light which is hitherto unattempted. The constant photocatalytic activity of hydrogen evolution, i.e. 5287 mu mol h(-1), was obtained using such hierarchical nanostructured ZnIn2S4 under visible light irradiation. It is noteworthy that the H-2 evolution rate obtained is much higher compared to earlier reported photocatalysts. Considering the significance of morphologies for photocatalytic application, the formation mechanism has also been furnished. The unique hierarchical nanostructured ZnIn2S4 ternary semiconductor having hexagonal layer will have potential applications in solar cells, LEDs, charge storage, electrochemical recording, thermoelectricity and other prospective electronic and optical devices.

Effect of tethering on the structure-property relationship of TPU-dual modified laponite clay nanocomposites prepared by ex-situ and in-situ techniques - Mishra, Ananta K.; Chattopadhyay, Santanu; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Nando, Golok B. (Polymer, 2011)
Novel Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU)-dual modified Laponite clay nanocomposites were prepared by ex-situ and in-situ techniques. Two types of modified clays used in this work differ from each other by the number of active functional groups (tethering). Modified nanoclays are characterized by FTIR, Solid State NMR, XRD and TGA. Structural differences in the modified clays lead to novel tubular, elliptical and spherically aggregated morphologies of clays together with the hard segments of TPU. Changes in such morphology result in the difference in segmental relaxation, mechanical and rheological properties of the nanocomposites. In-situ prepared nanocomposites register inferior properties as compared to their ex-situ counterparts. The percent improvement in tensile strength and elongation at break of the ex-situ prepared nanocomposites with the modified clay having lesser tethering are found to be 67% and 208%, respectively. Thermal stability is enhanced by 35 degrees C as compared to that of the neat TPU. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Dual modification; Nanocomposites; Thermoplastic polyurethane

Efficiency and recycling capability of montmorillonite supported Fe-Ni bimetallic nanocomposites towards hexavalent chromium remediation - Kadu, Brijesh S.; Sathe, Yogesh D.; Ingle, Abhijit B.; Chikate, Rajeev C.; Patil, Kashinath R.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V. (Applied Catalysis B-Environmental, 2011)
The remediation of Cr(VI) from simulated water streams is investigated using Fe-Ni bimetallic nanoparticles (Fe-Ni NPs) and their nanocomposites prepared with montmorillonite (MMT) clay. These nanocomposites are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analyses. XRD analysis revealed proper dispersion as well as intercalation of Fe-Ni NPs in the clay matrix. TEM of nanocomposites showed the presence of spherical particles having a size of 20-40 nm. Batch experiments with a 25 mg L(-1) Cr(VI) solution and 2 g L-1 Fe-Ni NPs exhibited complete reduction of Cr(VI) within 10 min that follows first order reaction kinetics. Amongst 25%, 50%, 75% in situ and loaded nanocomposites, 75% compositions possess better activity with enhanced reduction capacity below pH 4 due to generation of reactive H center dot species. XPS analysis of nanocomposites after Cr(VI) treatment suggested that reduction process occurs through Cr(111) formation followed by its subsequent reduction to Cr(0). Their potentiality towards reusage is established from the recycling experiments that revealed the order of efficiency as 75% in situ > Fe-Ni NPs > 75% loaded nanocomposites. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Cr(VI) remediation; Iron-nickel bimetallics; Montmorillonite; Nanocomposites; Recycling

Electronic decoupling of surface layers and its influence in oxidation catalysis: More wine in old bottle - Chinnakonda, Gopinath S. (241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS), 2011)
241st National Meeting and Exposition of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS), Anaheim, CA, MAR 27-31, 2011

Enhanced dielectric permittivity in poly (vinylidene) fluoride/multiwalled carbon nanotubes nanocomposite thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition - Chanmal, Chetan; Deo, Meenal S.; Jog, Jyoti Prakash (Applied Surface Science, 2011)
The fabrication of high quality thin films of poly (vinylidene fluoride) embedded with multiwalled carbon nanotubes using pulsed laser deposition technique is reported. The prepared films were characterized for structural, morphology and dielectric properties. The morphology analysis revealed uniform dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes throughout the polymer matrix. X-ray diffraction results suggested that the poly (vinylidene fluoride) film is in amorphous phase while addition of multiwalled carbon nanotubes showed presence of crystalline peaks in the nanocomposites films. It was interesting to note that the nanocomposite films exhibits significant enhancement of the ferroelectric beta-phase as evidenced by the X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results. The dielectric analysis shows a remarkable enhancement in the dielectric permittivity of nanocomposites with lower loss and conductivity level. The results can be attributed to the formation of minicapacitor network and relatively higher percolation threshold in the nanocomposites. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dielectric permittivity; Ferroelectric polymer; Percolation threshold; pulsed laser deposition; Thin films

Experimental and computational approach of understanding the gas adsorption in amino functionalized interpenetrated metal organic frameworks (MOFs) - Pachfule, Pradip; Chen, Yifei; Jiang, Jianwen; Banerjee, Rahul (Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2011)
Two isostructural, three dimensional, interpenetrated, amino (-NH2) functionalized Metal Organic Frameworks [Cd(ANIC)(2)] (Cd-ANIC-1) and [Co(ANIC)(2)] (Co-ANIC-1) with amine-lined pores have been reported. The framework adopts dia topology with interpenetration. Cd-ANIC-1 and Co-ANIC-1 show high CO2 (273 K) and H-2 (77 K) uptake due to the presence of free -NH2 groups and framework interpenetration. The effect of interpenetration and amino functionalization on gas uptake properties of MOFs has been analysed experimentally and computationally, in the isostructural MOFs Cd-ANIC-1 and Co-ANIC-1.

Exploration of L-proline-catalyzed -aminoxylation of aldehyde to (S)-guaifenesin-related drug molecules - Panchgalle, Sharad P.; Kunte, Sunita S.; Chavan, Subhash P.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Synthetic Communications, 2011)
[image omitted] An efficient enantioselective synthesis of (S)-guaifenesin with 99% ee using L-proline-catalyzed -aminoxylation of aldehyde as key step is described and explored for asymmetric syntheses of (S)-moprolol and (R)-methocarbamol.
Keywords: -Aminoxylation; guaifenesin; methocarbamol; moprolol; Proline