Lukasz Popenda

Communication: Synperiplanar to antiperiplanar conformation changes as underlying the mechanism of Debye process in supercooled ibuprofen

In this Communication, we present experimental studies that put new insight into the puzzling nature of the Debye relaxation found in the supercooled liquid state of racemic ibuprofen. The appearance of D-relaxation in the loss spectra of non-hydrogen bonding methylated derivate of ibuprofen has proven that Debye relaxation is related solely with conformational changes of the carboxyl group, termed in this paper as synperiplanar-antiperiplanar. Our studies indicate that the presence of hydrogen bonding capabilities is not here the necessary condition to observe Debye process, however, their occurrence might strongly influence α- and D-relaxations dynamics. Interestingly, the activation energy of the D-process in ibuprofen methyl ester on approaching T(g) was found to be perfectly consistent with that reported for ibuprofen by Affouard and Correia [J. Phys. Chem. B 114, 11397-11402 (2010)] (~39 kJ/mol). Finally, IR measurements suggest that the equilibrium between conformers concentration depends on time and temperature, which might explain why the appearance of D-relaxation in supercooled ibuprofen depends on thermal history of the sample.

Structural characterization of a dimer of RNA duplexes composed of 8-bromoguanosine modified CGG trinucleotide repeats: a novel architecture of RNA quadruplexes

Fragile X syndrome and fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) are neurodegenerative disorders caused by the pathogenic expansion of CGG triplet repeats in the FMR1 gene. FXTAS is likely to be caused by a ‘toxic’ gain-of-function of the FMR1 mRNA. We provide evidence for the existence of a novel quadruplex architecture comprising CGG repeats. The 8-bromoguanosine (BrG)-modified molecule GCBrGGCGGC forms a duplex in solution and self-associates via the major groove to form a four-stranded, antiparallel (GCBrGGCGGC)4 RNA quadruplex with BrG3:G6:BrG3:G6 tetrads sandwiched between mixed G:C:G:C tetrads. Self-association of Watson–Crick duplexes to form a four-stranded structure has previously been predicted; however, no experimental evidence was provided. This novel four-stranded RNA structure was characterized using a variety of experimental methods, such as native gel electrophoresis, NMR spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Synthesis and singlet oxygen generation of pyrazinoporphyrazines containing dendrimeric aryl substituents

Pyrazinoporphyrazines and tribenzopyrazinoporphyrazines were synthesized and studied towards their potential applications in photodynamic therapy. The macrocycles were obtained via Linstead macrocyclization with good yields. The expansion of the porphyrazine periphery with hyperbranched aryl substituents was beneficial in terms of purification and isolation of compounds, effectively hampering their aggregation tendency in different concentrations. The obtained macrocycles were assessed for their singlet oxygen generation quantum yields and revealed far better efficacies for tribenzopyrazinoporphyrazines than pyrazinoporphyrazines. A comparison of the crystal packing of two 2,3-dicyanopyrazine derivatives revealed that the recurring motif of the supramolecular architecture is a dimer formed by π–π stacking interactions between aromatic pyrazine and phenyl rings of the inversion center related molecules.

Multiwalled carbon nanotube/sulfanyl porphyrazine hybrids deposited on glassy carbon electrode — effect of nitro peripheral groups on electrochemical properties

We report on the synthesis, MS, UV-vis, NMR, HPLC and electrochemical characterization of magnesium sulfanyl porphyrazine with 2-[2-(4-nitrophenoxy)ethoxy]ethylsulfanyl substituents in the periphery. The electrochemical properties of novel macrocycle were studied by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry in non-aqueous electrolyte. The experimental data indicated the occurrence of clearly defined four redox couples corresponded to one-electron reactions of the π-conjugated porphyrazine ring and substituents in the periphery. Multiwalled carbon nanotube/sulfanyl porphyrazine hybrids deposited on a glassy carbon electrode allowed for the evaluation of the effect of nitro peripheral groups on the electrochemical properties. The electrochemical behavior of immobilized nitro porphyrazine was consistent with the reduction mechanism for the various arylnitro compounds in aqueous media, with two processes characteristic of the redox transitions of the arylnitro group to the corresponding arylhydrox...