Search

Bioinspired mesoporous activated carbon was synthesized using rice husks. SEM (scanning electron microscopy), XRD (X-ray powder diffraction), FTIR (fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), and BET(Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) were used to detrmine the textural qualities and physicochemical properties of the produced activated carbon .Monolayer and multilayer isotherm models were evaluated to examine the adsorption investigations on hydrophobic Scarlet RR. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm best explained the results because the monolayer's adsorption capacity was 996 mg/g at adsorbent dosage of 1.5 g/L. The results suggested that bio-inspired activated carbon would work well as an adsorbent for dye removal from polluted water.

Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a serious global health concern. New drugs are needed that can overcome existing drug resistance and limit the development of new resistances.

Rickettsia is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria that has for centuries caused large-scale morbidity and mortality. In recent years, the resurgence of rickettsial diseases as a major cause of pyrexias of unknown origin, bioterrorism concerns, vector movement, and concerns over drug resistance is driving a need to identify novel treatments for these obligate intracellular bacteria. Utilizing an uvGFP plasmid reporter, we developed a screen for identifying anti-rickettsial small molecule inhibitors using Rickettsia canadensis as a model organism. The screening data were utilized to train a Bayesian model to predict growth inhibition in this assay. This two-pronged methodology identified anti-rickettsial compounds, including duartin and JSF-3204 as highly specific, efficacious, and noncytotoxic compounds. Both molecules exhibited in vitro growth inhibition of R. prowazekii, the causative agent of epidemic typhus. These small molecules and the workflow, featuring a high-throughput phenotypic screen for growth inhibitors of intracellular Rickettsia spp. and machine learning models for the prediction of growth inhibition of an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium, should prove useful in the search for new therapeutic strategies to treat infections from Rickettsia spp. and other obligate intracellular bacteria.

Summary The triazine antitubercular JSF-2019 was of interest due to its in vitro efficacy and the nitro group shared with the clinically relevant delamanid and pretomanid. JSF-2019 undergoes activation requiring F420H2 and one or more nitroreductases in addition to Ddn. An intrabacterial drug metabolism (IBDM) platform was leveraged to demonstrate the system kinetics, evidencing formation of NO⋅ and a des-nitro metabolite. Structure-activity relationship studies focused on improving the solubility and mouse pharmacokinetic profile of JSF-2019 and culminated in JSF-2513, relying on the key introduction of a morpholine. Mechanistic studies with JSF-2019, JSF-2513, and other triazines stressed the significance of achieving potent in vitro efficacy via release of intrabacterial NO⋅ along with inhibition of InhA and, more generally, the FAS-II pathway. This study highlights the importance of probing IBDM and its potential to clarify mechanism of action, which in this case is a combination of NO⋅ release and InhA inhibition.

A conjugate-base-stabilized Brønsted acid facilitates catalytic enantioselective Pictet-Spengler reactions with unmodified tryptamine. The chiral carboxylic acid catalyst is readily assembled in just two steps and enables the formation of β-carbolines with up to 92% ee. Achiral acid additives or in situ Boc-protection facilitate catalyst turnover.

A dual-catalysis approach, namely the combination of an achiral nucleophilic catalyst and a chiral anion-binding catalyst, was applied to the Steglich rearrangement to provide α,α-disubstituted amino acid derivatives in a highly enantioselective fashion. Replacement of the nucleophilic co-catalyst for isoquinoline resulted in a divergent reaction pathway and an unprecedented transformation of O-acylated azlactones. This strategy provided highly substituted α,β-diamino acid derivatives with excellent levels of stereocontrol.

A dual-catalysis approach enables the small-molecule catalyzed kinetic resolution of allylic amines by acylation. By employing 2 mol % of each 4-(pyrrolidino)pyridine (PPY) and a readily available chiral hydrogen-bonding cocatalyst, the first nonenzymatic kinetic resolution of allylic amines was accomplished with s factors of up to 20.

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to create transparency for the psychometric methods employed for the development of the Association of Social Work Boards’ (ASWB) exams. Results: The article includes an assessment of the macro (political) and micro (statistical) environments of testing social work competence. The seven-step process used to ensure content validity is discussed. The types of reliability and validity methods employed to assess ASWB exams are discussed. Examples are offered to illustrate the statistical methods employed for selecting good items (questions, some of which are not in question form) and eliminating poor ones. A discussion of the finances of reliability and validity research is included. Conclusion: Readers will have a deeper understanding of how exams are constructed. The information housed within this article may facilitate preparing students for the exams.

Racemic benzylic amines undergo kinetic resolution via benzoylation with benzoic anhydride in the presence of a dual catalyst system consisting of a readily available amide-thiourea catalyst and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP). An evaluation of various experimental parameters was performed in order to derive a more detailed understanding of what renders this process selective. The catalyst’s aggregation behavior and anion-binding ability were evaluated in regard to their relevance for the catalytic process. Alternate scenarios, such as catalyst deprotonation or the in situ formation of a neutral chiral acylating reagent were ruled out. Detailed computational studies at the M06/6-31G(d,p) level of theory including solvent modeling utilizing a polarized continuum model provide additional insights into the nature of the ion pair and reveal a range of important secondary interactions that are responsible for efficient enantiodiscrimination.

Integrated computational approaches for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are useful to identify new molecules that could lead to future tuberculosis (TB) drugs. Our approach uses information derived from the TBCyc pathway and genome database, the Collaborative Drug Discovery TB database combined with 3D pharmacophores and dual event Bayesian models of whole-cell activity and lack of cytotoxicity. We have prioritized a large number of molecules that may act as mimics of substrates and metabolites in the TB metabolome. We computationally searched over 200,000 commercial molecules using 66 pharmacophores based on substrates and metabolites from Mtb and further filtering with Bayesian models. We ultimately tested 110 compounds in vitro that resulted in two compounds of interest, BAS 04912643 and BAS 00623753 (MIC of 2.5 and 5 μg/mL, respectively). These molecules were used as a starting point for hit-to-lead optimization. The most promising class proved to be the quinoxaline di-N-oxides, evidenced by transcriptional profiling to induce mRNA level perturbations most closely resembling known protonophores. One of these, SRI58 exhibited an MIC = 1.25 μg/mL versus Mtb and a CC50 in Vero cells of >40 μg/mL, while featuring fair Caco-2 A-B permeability (2.3 x 10−6 cm/s), kinetic solubility (125 μM at pH 7.4 in PBS) and mouse metabolic stability (63.6% remaining after 1 h incubation with mouse liver microsomes). Despite demonstration of how a combined bioinformatics/cheminformatics approach afforded a small molecule with promising in vitro profiles, we found that SRI58 did not exhibit quantifiable blood levels in mice.

Benzaldehydes bearing electron-withdrawing substituents in the para position afford the corresponding tetrahydro-β-carbolines in high yields and enantioselectivities.

A combination of achiral N,N-dipropylaminopyridine with a chiral 1,2-cyclohexanediamine derivative is tested as a catalytic system for the kinetic resolution of diamines (I).

A dual-catalysis/anion-binding approach with a chiral hydrogen bonding (HB) catalyst and an achiral nucleophilic cocatalyst was applied to the kinetic resolution of amines. Out of a structurally diverse collection of 22 nucleophilic species, 4-di-n-propylaminopyridine emerged as the most efficient cocatalyst, allowing for the kinetic resolution of benzylic amines with s-factors of up to 67.

O-acylated azlactones (I) can be efficiently rearranged to the corresponding C-acylated products (II) by using the combination of a chiral hydrogen-bonding catalyst and a simple nucleophilic catalyst.

The approach utilizes the use of an achiral nucleophylic catalyst (PPY or DMAP) and a hydrogen-bonding chiral catalyst (CTU).

The kinetic resolution of racemic C(2)-symmetric 1,2-diaryl-1,2-diaminoethanes was accomplished for the first time through application of a dual-catalysis approach.

A facile synthesis of a new bisoxazoline ligand is described. This ligand contains a urea bridging unit and is capable of stabilizing bimetallic complexes. An X-ray crystal structure of a bis-copper complex is reported.