In the present work, an upper limit of absorbance of demineralized water, antifreeze, windscreen washer fluid, brake fluid, gasoline and 15 wt% saline solution, on the polyamide-6 nanocomposites\' samples containing 3 wt% montmorillonite (PA-6 / MMT) was determined. The results were compared to the values ​​obtained for pure nylon-6. The comparison allowed to evaluate the applicability of PA-6/MMT nanomaterials with potentially improved barrier properties for creating applications used in the automotive industry.

b-Carboline (BC) alkaloids represent a number of natural and synthetic compounds, which are associated with a vast spectrum of pharmacological properties.¹ The Pictet-Spengler condensation is commonly used to synthesize tetrahydro-b-carbolines (THC). Some groups² describe a sequence of Pictet-Spengler condensation followed by oxidation, without the isolation of the intermediate THC, to prepare the BC. Using the above sequence several BC were obtained in medium yields. The synthesis started from tryptophan (Trp), tryptophan methyl ester (TrpMe), and 2-amino-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)-propionic acid prop-2-ynyl ester and used 3,4-dimethoxy benzaldehyde (Dmb), or ethanal, followed by oxidation with KMnO₄. From Trp, and Dmb the decarboxylated BC was obtained. From TrpMe and Dmb, the methyl ester of a BC was formed. A similar sequence with ethanal, gave an ester that was hydrolysed to theacid, which reacted with a glucosylamine under peptide conditions giving the amide, in low yield. From Boc-Trp the alkynyl derivative was prepared and the Pictet-Spengler reaction with ethanal gave the BC alkynyl ester. This was used for the click reaction³ with an azide, produced in situ from treatment of a-acetobromoglucose with sodium azide. The final compound was obtained as an oil in good yield. Thanks to FCT, Portugal for financial support to the NMR portuguese network (PTNMR, Bruker Avance III 400-Univ. Minho) and to FCT and FEDER -COMPETE-QREN-EU for financial support to the Research Centre, CQ/UM [PEst-C/QUI/UI0686/2011 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022716)] 1. R, Cao, et al, Curr Med Chem. 2007. 14, 479-500 2. B. Wu, et al, Eur. J. Med. Chem.. 2009. 44, 533-540 3. M. Silva, J. C.O. Gonçalves, A. M.F. Oliveira-Campos, L. M. Rodrigues, A. P. Esteves, Synth. Commun. DOI:10.1080/00397911.2011.637655

The EGFR family plays an essential role in normal organ development by mediating morphogenesis and differentiation through effects on cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, invasion, and angiogenesis. Unlike normal cells that have tight regulatory mechanisms controlling EGFR pathways, tumor cells often have dysregulated EGFR signaling, allowing them to proliferate under adverse conditions, invade surrounding tissues, and increase angiogenesis. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a trans-membrane receptor tyrosine kinase that belongs to the Human epidermal receptor (HER) family of receptors. Receptor protein tyrosine kinases play a key role in signal transduction pathways that regulate cell division and differentiation. Among the growth factor receptor kinases that have been identified as being important in cancer is epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase (also known as erb-B1 or HER-1) and the related human epidermal growth factor receptor HER-2 (also known as erbB-2). The quinazoline and other heterocyclic skeletons are of great importance to chemists as well as biologists as it is available in a large variety of naturally occurring compounds. In this article we are emphasizing on various hetericycles such as Quinazoline, pyrrolotriazines etc. as promising anticancer agents. These hetocycles showed the anticancer activity through the inhibition of EGFR enzyme. Attempt will be taken to provide details information on the said topic in the benefit of medicinal chemist.

During the last decade, studies on the isolation, characterization and catalytic activity of functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) received particular attention because of their specific catalytic applications compared to homogeneous catalysts. Schiff bases, which are an important class of ligands with extensive applications in different fields, showed excellent catalytic activity when grafted on CNTs.¹ Conjugated alkynyl ketones, best known as ynones, have received considerable synthetic interest due to their occurrence in a wide variety of bioactive molecules and natural products.² This class of compounds are synthesized through various reported methods.³ Some of the disadvantages of these protocols include high temperatures, long reaction times, use of air and moisture sensitive catalysts such as phosphorous containing catalysts, use of copper catalysts which are very much prone to form diyne side products, use of hazardous organic solvents, use of toxic carbon-monoxide gas and need of special instruments. In this work, we presented a solvent-, copper- and phosphorous-free cross-coupling reaction of terminal alkynes with acyl halides catalyzed by Pd-Schiff base@MWCNTs in the presence of triethylamine as base. The catalyst was reusable and air-stable which showed high activity for this simple, mild and green reaction with good to excellent yields of the product. References: [1] M. Salavati-Niasari, M. Bazarganipour, Appl. Surf. Sci. 2009, 255, 7610-7617. [2] C. A. Quesnelle, P. Gill, M. Dodier, D. St-Laurent, M. Serrano- Wu, A. Marinier, A. Martel, C. E. Mazzucco, T. M. Sticle, J. F. Barrett, D. M. Vyas, B. N. Balasubramanian, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2003, 13, 519-524. [3] (a) Perrone, S.; Bona, F.; Troisi, L. Tetrahedron, 2011, 67, 7386; (b)Shen, Q.; Huang, W.; Wang, J.; Zhou, X. Organometallics,2008, 27, 301.

Ynones or α,β-acetylenic ketones are useful synthetic intermediates for the preparation of many biologically-active compounds and heterocyclic derivatives such as pyrroles, furanes, furanones, pyrazoles, and isoxazoles.¹ Different methodologies for the preparation of α,β-acetylenic ketones have been reported in which various metals have been employed as catalysts.² Unfortunately, there are several disadvantages that confine the utility of the given protocols. Namely, copper salts which are very much likely to form diynes have been used as a co-catalyst in many studies. Moreover, phosphorous containing ligands have made the reaction conditions harsher owing to the need of inert atmosphere such as argon and nitrogen. The use of hazardous organic solvents and high temperatures are also unfavorable. In this study, we have successfully demonstrated a solvent-, copper- and phosphorous-free cross-coupling reaction of terminal alkynes with acyl halides catalyzed by Pd-Cryptand-22 as catalyst. This catalyst was simply prepared and showed air and moisture stability. The reaction was performed at room temperature and under aerial conditions using triethylamine as base. The simple, mild and green procedure, short reaction times and moderate to excellent yields make this method well-suited for ynone synthesis. References: [1] (a) Zora, M.; Kivrak, A.; Yazici, C. J. Org. Chem. 2011, 76, 6726; (b) Karpov, A. S.;Merkul, E.; Oeser, T.;Muller, T. J. J. Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2006, 13, 2991. [2] Perrone, S.; Bona, F.; Troisi, L. Tetrahedron 2011, 67, 738.

The ADME of a drug involves its transport across cell membranes. This process is essential and influenced by the characteristics of the drug, especially its molecular size and shape, solubility at the site of its absorption, relative lipid solubility, etc. Over the last ten years, the number of poorly soluble drugs has steadily increased. One of the progressive ways for increasing bioavaibility is a technique of nanoparticles preparation, which allows many drugs to reach the site of action. Candesartan cilexetil (BCS class II) was chosen as a model compound. Twenty samples were prepared by precipitation with various surface-active excipients. All the prepared samples were analyzed by means of photon cross-correlation sensor Nanophox. Eighteen samples contained nanoparticles smaller than 200 nm. Relationships between solvents and used excipients and their amount are discussed.

In this study a series of twenty-five ring-substituted 3-hydroxy-N-phenylnaphthalene-2-carboxanilides were prepared. The procedures for synthesis of the compounds are presented. The compounds were tested for their activity related to inhibition of photosynthetic electron transport (PET) in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts. Primary in vitro screening of the synthesized compounds was also performed against four Staphylococcus strains. Several compounds showed noteworthy biological activity especially against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. For all the compounds structure-activity relationships (SAR) are discussed.

The Neurodegenerative diseases have been increasing in the last years. Many of the drug candidates to be used in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease present specific 3D structural features. One important protein in this sense is the acetylcholinesterase (AChE); which is the target of many Alzheimer\'s dementia drugs. Consequently, the prediction of Drug-Proteins Interactions (DPIs/nDPIs) between new drug candidates with specific 3D structure and targets it is about the major importance. For it, we can use Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR) models to carry out rational DPIs prediction. Unfortunately, many previous QSAR models developed to predict DPIs take into consideration only 2D structural information and codify the activity against only one target. To solve this problem we can develop one 3D multi-target QSAR (3D Mt-QSAR) models. In this communication, we introduce the technique MI-DRA 3D a new predictor for DPIs based two different well-known software. We use the software MARCH-INSIDE (MI) and DRAGON to calculate 3D structural parameters for drugs and targets respectively. Both classes of 3D parameters were used as input to train Artificial Neuronal Network (ANN) algorithms using as benchmark datasets the complex network (CN) formed by all DPIs between US FDA approved drugs and their targets. The entire dataset was downloaded from Drug Bank. The best 3D Mt-QSAR predictor found is one ANN of type Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) with profile MLP 37:37-24-1:1. This MLP classifies correctly 274 out of 321 DPIs (Sensitivity = 85.35%) and 1041 out of 1190 nDPIs (Specificity = 87.48%), corresponding to training Accuracy = 87.03%. We validated the model with external predicting series with Sensitivity = 84.16% (542/644 DPIs; Specificity = 87.51% (2039/2330 nDPIs) and Accuracy = 86.78%. The new CNs of DPIs reconstructed from US FDA can be used to explore large DPIs databases in order to discover both new drugs and/or targets. We carried out theoretic-experimental studies to illustrate the practical use of MI-DRA 3D. First, we reported the prediction and pharmacological assay of 22 different rasagiline derivatives with possible AChE inhibitory activity.

The synthesis of 5-unsubstituted pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazol-6-one can be achieved by the reaction of carbazole and malonate derivatives, either in a 3-step synthesis via 5-acetyl-pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazolone or in a 1-step reaction from carbazole and malonic acid. The 5-acetyl-4-hydroxy derivative can be transformed to 4-azido-pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazolone, which cyclizes by thermal decomposition to isoxazolo-pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazolone. The thermolysis conditions were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Nitration of pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazol-6-one and subsequent introduction of azide leads to 4-azido-5-nitro-pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazol-6-one , which cyclizes on thermolysis to a furazan-oxide derivative. Again the thermolysis conditions were investigated by DSC. 5-Chloro-5-nitro-pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazole-4,6-dione, obtained from pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazol-6-one by subsequent nitration and chlorination, forms on oxidative thermolysis reaction pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazole-4,5,6-trione, which reacts e.g. with phenole by acylation to give 5-hydroxy-5-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazole-4,6-dione. A further C-C-coupling at position 4 starts from 4-chloro-5-nitro-pyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazol-6-one, which gives with diethyl diethyl malonate 5-nitro-6-oxopyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazol-4-yl)-malonate; with diemethyl malonate, 5-nitro-6-oxopyrido[3,2,1-jk]carbazol-4-yl)-acetate was obtained by loss of carbon dioxide.

The synthesis of new optically pure diselenides has been realized in one pot, starting from 2, 2′- diselenobisbenzoic acid and naturally occurring chiral alcohols through a Mitsunobu reaction.They were used to promote electrophilic methoxyselenenylation of styrene, affording moderate to poor diasteroselectivity. The reason of the low stereoselection has been investigated on the basis of 77Se - NMR experiments, evidencing an alternate double coordination with the oxygens of the carboxylic moiety. Some theoretical implications of these interactions in the GPx – like activity of the diselenides will be discussed. Acknowledgements: Financial support from M.I.U.R.-PRIN2007, Consorzio CINMPIS, Bari, University of Perugia, the grant "British- Italian Partnership" from the British Council/CRUI. Financial support from Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio – Perugia, Projects 2011 and 2012.