Caroline R. Bender

Preparation of TiO2 Nanoparticles Coated with Ionic Liquids: A Supramolecular Approach

Coated TiO2 nanoparticles by dicationic imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) were prepared and studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three ILs with different hydrophobicity degrees and structural characteristics were used (IL-1, IL-2, and IL-3). The interaction between IL molecules and the TiO2 surface was analyzed in both solid state and in solution. The physical and chemical properties of coated nanoparticles (TiO2 + IL-1, TiO2 + IL-2, and TiO2 + IL-3) were compared to pure materials (TiO2, IL-1, IL-2, and IL-3) in order to evaluate the interaction between both components. Thermal behavior, diffraction pattern, and morphologic characteristics were evaluated in the solid state. It was observed that all mixtures (TiO2 + IL) showed different behavior from that detected for pure substances, which is an evidence of film formation. DLS experiments were conducted to determine film thickness on the TiO2 surface comparing the size (hydrodynamic radius, Rh) of pure TiO2 with coated nanoparticles (TiO2 + IL). Results showed the thickness of the film increased with hydrophobicity of the IL compound. TEM images support this observation. Finally, X-ray diffraction patterns showed that, in coated samples, no structural changes in TiO2 diffraction peaks were observed, which is related to the maintenance of the crystalline structure. On the contrary, ILs showed different diffraction patterns, which confirms the hypothesis of interactions happening between IL and the TiO2 nanoparticles surface.

CuO nano particles and [bmim]BF4: an application towards the synthesis of chiral β-seleno amino derivatives via ring opening reaction of aziridines with diorganyl diselenides

A series of chiral β-seleno amino derivatives were synthesized via a ring opening reaction of different aziridines with diorganyl diselenides mediated by recyclable CuO nanopowder and an ionic liquid affording the corresponding products in good to excellent yields. The [bmim]BF4 ionic liquid acts as both promoter and reaction medium. Compared to the usual organic solvents the ionic liquid exhibited better performance with the advantage of its recyclability.

Energetic and topological insights into the supramolecular structure of dicationic ionic liquids

The crystal structures of dicationic ILs [DBMIM][2BF4] (1) and [DBMIM][2Br]·[2H2O] (2) were investigated in order to explore the intermolecular interactions in these compounds. An energetic and topological approach for characterization of supramolecular clusters in organic crystals was used. The study of the crystals was done by considering the stabilization energy and topological properties such as contact surfaces and energy content between cations and neighboring anions (supramolecular clusters). The study showed that: 1 is auto-organized into layers (one-dimensional structure) by an anion–cation interaction (weak electrostatic and ionic), and the three-dimensional supramolecular structure of 2 is constructed through simultaneous interactions between cations, anions, and water molecules. This network results in interaction chains in two different directions. Additionally, the supramolecular cluster approach allowed evaluation of the participation of the topological component during the formation of the crystals of 1 and 2. Among the different types of interactions proposed, the most predominant was the one classified as type III, which has small and medium energy values, and a medium-sized contact surface. The thermal and morphological properties were also studied to further characterize these materials and to better understand the resulting structure–property relationships.

Effect of diselenide administration in thioacetamide-induced acute neurological and hepatic failure in mice

Hepatic encephalopathy is a common complication of severe acute hepatic failure and has been associated with high short-term mortality rates. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of diphenyl diselenide (DPDS) and its analogues in protecting against thioacetamide (TAA)-induced acute neurological and hepatic failure in mice. The animals received a TAA dose of 200 mg kg−1 intraperitoneally, and then, 1 hour later, they received 15.6 mg kg−1 of diselenides intraperitoneally. Twenty three hours after diselenide administration, the animals were sacrificed, and blood, brain and liver samples were collected for analysis. The results showed that mice exposed to TAA presented oxidative stress characteristics, such as an increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO), enhanced glutathione peroxidase activity and a decrease in the GSH/GSSH ratio in the brain and liver. In addition, the TAA group showed a decrease in cellular viability in both tissues. TAA treatments also generate reactive oxygen species and cause inhibition of glutathione-S-transferase in liver, which were associated with TAA exacerbated half-life in this tissue. In the histopathological analyses, we observed that TAA induced a large inflammation process that was confirmed according to the elevation of liver myeloperoxidase activity. Moreover, the treatment with diselenides reduced the oxidative stress significantly. Additionally, after the establishment of acute hepatic failure (AHF), DPDS was able to inhibit the inflammatory processes with a more significant decrease in major hepatic damage effects than was presented after treatment with its analogues. Thus, our results showed that DPDS is a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of AHF and hepatic encephalopathy as mice returned to normal conditions after the damage.

Understanding the crystalline formation of triazene N-oxides and the role of halogen⋯π interactions

The crystallization of a series of 1-(4-halophenyl)-3-phenyltriazenide N1-oxides (1–4) and 1-(phenyl)-3-phenyltriazenide N1-oxide (5) was evaluated using the supramolecular cluster approach. This method is an efficient tool to assess the crystallization mechanism of compounds and, consequently, the steps involved in crystal formation. Compounds 1 and 4 show crystallization in two main steps while compounds 2 and 3 present three main steps, in which column formation occurs in the first step. The crystallization process for 5 occurs in 3 main steps, starting from a robust dimer formation (−16.82 kcal mol−1). Two new parameters – NCG% (topological and energetic contribution percentage) and NG/NC (energetic parameter/topological parameter ratio) – assisted in the interpretation of crystal growth. Compounds 1–4 showed NCG% = 50 in the first step while compound 5 reached only 50% of the contribution in the second step. The differences in NCG% were attributed to strong hydrogen bonds in the non-halogenated compound. The dominant parameter in each step of the crystallization process was indicated by the NG/NC parameter. The crystallization mechanism in all compounds was initially driven by an energetic process followed by a topological process. The existence of X⋯π interactions was shown and was observed to be a consequence of a topological process and without any major contributions to crystal formation. Thermal analysis and UV-vis spectral data were also discussed regarding the properties of these compounds.

Insights on the Similarity of Supramolecular Structures in Organic Crystals Using Quantitative Indexes

The quest for concepts of isostructurality in organic crystals has been long and mostly based on geometric data, even with the development of modern software. This field of study is of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry and for the prediction of crystal structures. Despite this, there is still no methodology that provides broad quantitative and comparable similarity data between two complete crystalline structures. The present study demonstrated that the similarity between two crystalline structures could be estimated from the similarity between the two “supramolecular clusters”. Quantitative indexes for similarity comparisons of crystal structures were shown using nine 5-aryl-1-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1H-pyrazoles as a model. This proposal includes the quantitative data of a geometric parameter (ID), a contact area parameter (IC), and an energetic parameter (IG). The proposed indexes exhibited good perspective regarding the similarity data and distinct regions of similarity. The range of similarity was set at IX ≥ 0.80, 0.80 > IX > 0.60, and IX ≤ 0.60 (X = D, C, or G). Indexes with a value near 1.0 indicate systems with isostructural, isocontact, and isoenergetic behavior. The results indicated that supramolecular structures with high similarity must have high values for all three indexes (ID, IC, and IG).

Thermodynamic Insights into the Binding of Mono- and Dicationic Imidazolium Surfactant Ionic Liquids with Methylcellulose in the Diluted Regime

Alkylimidazolium salts are an important class of ionic liquids (ILs) due to their self-assembly capacity when in solution and due to their potential applications in chemistry and materials science. Therefore, detailed knowledge of the physicochemical properties of this class of ILs and their mixtures with natural polymers is highly desired. This work describes the interactions between a homologous series of mono- (CnMIMBr) and dicationic imidazolium (Cn(MIM)2Br2) ILs with cellulose ethers in aqueous medium. The effects of the alkyl chain length (n = 10, 12, 14, and 16), type, and concentration range of ILs (below and above their cmc) on the binding to methylcellulose (MC) were evaluated. The thermodynamic parameters showed that the interactions are favored by the increase of the IL hydrocarbon chain length, and that the binding of monocationic ILs to MC is driven by entropy. The monocationic ILs bind more effectively on the methoxyl group of MC when compared to dicationic ILs, and this outcome may be rationalized by considering the structural difference between the conventional (CnMIMBr) and the bolaform (Cn(MIM)2Br2) surfactant ILs. The C16MIMBr interacts more strongly with hydroxypropylcellulose when compared to methylcellulose, indicating that the strength of the interaction also depends on the hydrophobicity of the cellulose ethers. Our findings highlight that several parameters should be taken into account when designing new complex formulations.

Insights on conformation in the solid state: a case study – s-cis and/or s-trans crystallization of 5(3)-aryl-3(5)-carboxyethyl-1-tert-butylpyrazoles

A series of 5(3)-aryl-3(5)-carboxyethyl-1-tert-butylpyrazoles (aryl, 4-X-C6H4, where X = H, F, Cl and Br) were studied in the solid state. The 1,3-regioisomers (carboxyethyl group in 3-position) of t-butylpyrazoles crystalized in three different forms: s-cis, s-trans or s-cis + s-trans. On the other hand, the 1,5-regioisomers (carboxyethyl group in 5-position) of t-butylpyrazoles showed only s-trans conformation. The 13C CPMAS and SCXRD data confirmed that each 1,3- and 1,5-regioisomers of t-butylpyrazoles crystallized only one of the three mentioned forms. The potential energy surface (PES) yielded insights regarding the formation of each conformer. In general, quantum mechanical calculations showed that the conformer s-trans is more stable than s-cis, and the calculated stability difference was 0.7 kcal mol−1 for the 1,3-regioisomers and 3.5 kcal mol−1 for the 1,5-regioisomers. Moreover, 1,5-regioisomers of t-butylpyrazoles showed intramolecular interactions of type CH⋯OC between the carbonyl and t-butyl group, which was obtained by QTAIM analysis. This interaction can influence the stabilization for s-trans conformation in the solid state. In contrast, the 1,3-regioisomers did not show intramolecular interaction with the COOEt group, and the conformation adopted in the solid state should be the consequence of the crystalline packing. The QTAIM analysis of the more stable dimers of s-trans-conformation for X = Cl, Br showed that the halogen atoms interact with the COOEt group, helping stabilize this conformation. On the other hand, in the s-cis⋯s-cis conformation dimer (X = Cl, Br), the COOEt group was stabilized by the phenyl group, which is the same stabilization for X = H.

Impact of Anions on the Partition Constant, Self-Diffusion, Thermal Stability, and Toxicity of Dicationic Ionic Liquids

Partition constants (KD°), molecular dynamics (T1, T2, and DOSY measurements), thermal stability, and toxicity of dicationic ionic liquids (ILs) were determined. The dicationic ILs derived from 1,n-bis(3-methylimidazolim-1-yl)octane, [BisOct(MIM)2][2X] (in which X = Cl, Br, NO3, SCN, BF4, and NTf2), were evaluated to verify the influence of anion structure on the IL properties. A monocationic IL [Oct(MIM)][Br] was also monitored for comparison. In general, the solubility of the ILs followed the anion free energy of hydration (ΔG°hyd). The thermokinetic and thermodynamic functions of activation of the ILs were determined via thermogravimetric data, and it was observed that polyatomic anions influence the decomposition mechanism of these IL structures. Furthermore, [Oct(MIM)][Br] had a decomposition rate greater than that of the dicationic analogue, and the thermodynamic parameters of activation data corroborate these results. Finally, the dicationic ILs did not indicate toxic effects (LD50 > 40 mM).

Regiochemistry of cyclocondensation reactions in the synthesis of polyazaheterocycles

The syntheses of several polyazaheterocycles are demonstrated. The cyclocondensation reactions between β-enaminodiketones [CCl3C(O)C(=CNMe2)C(O)-CO2Et] and aromatic amidines resulted in glyoxalate-substituted pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidinone, thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidinone and pyrimido[1,2-a]benzimidazole. Pyrazinones and quinoxalinones were obtained through the reaction of these glyoxalates with ethylenediamine and 1,2-phenylenediamine derivatives. On the other hand, the reaction of glyoxalates with amidines did not lead to the formation of imidazolones, but rather N-acylated products were obtained. All the products were isolated in good yields. DFT-B3LYP calculations provided HOMO/LUMO coefficients, charge densities, and the stability energies of the intermediates, and from these data it was possible to explain the regiochemistry of the products obtained. Additionally, the data were a useful tool for elucidating the reaction mechanisms.