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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    DNAzymes as Catalysts for l-Tyrosine and Amyloid β Oxidation
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2020) Köhler, Tony; Patsis, Panagiotis A.; Hahn, Dominik; Ruland, André; Naas, Carolin; Müller, Martin; Thiele, Julian
    Single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acids have an enormous potential for catalysis by applying tailored sequences of nucleotides for individual reaction conditions and substrates. If such a sequence is guanine-rich, it may arrange into a three-dimensional structure called G-quadruplex and give rise to a catalytically active DNA molecule, a DNAzyme, upon addition of hemin. Here, we present a DNAzyme-mediated reaction, which is the oxidation of l-tyrosine toward dityrosine by hydrogen peroxide. With an optimal stoichiometry between DNA and hemin of 1:10, we report an activity of 101.2 ± 3.5 μUnits (μU) of the artificial DNAzyme Dz-00 compared to 33.0 ± 1.8 μU of free hemin. Exemplarily, DNAzymes may take part in neurodegeneration caused by amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregation due to l-tyrosine oxidation. We show that the natural, human genome-derived DNAzyme In1-sp is able to oxidize Aβ peptides with a 4.6% higher yield and a 33.3% higher velocity of the reaction compared to free hemin. As the artificial DNAzyme Dz-00 is even able to catalyze Aβ peptide oxidation with a 64.2% higher yield and 337.1% higher velocity, an in-depth screening of human genome-derived DNAzymes may identify further candidates with similarly high catalytic activity in Aβ peptide oxidation.
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    Aerobic iron-catalyzed site-selective C(sp3)–C(sp3) bond cleavage in N-heterocycles
    (Amsterdam : Elsevier, 2021) Leonard, David K.; Li, Wu; Rockstroh, Nils; Junge, Kathrin; Beller, Matthias
    The kinetic and thermodynamic stability of C(sp3)–C(sp3) bonds makes the site-selective activation of these motifs a real synthetic challenge. In view of this, herein a site-selective method of C(sp3)–C(sp3) bond scission of amines, specifically morpholine and piperazine derivatives, using a cheap iron catalyst and air as a sustainable oxidant is reported. Furthermore, a statistical design of experiments (DoE) is used to evaluate multiple reaction parameters thereby allowing for the rapid development of a catalytic process. © 2021
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    Oxidative Esterification of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural under Flow Conditions Using a Bimetallic Co/Ru Catalyst
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH Verlag, 2020) Salazar, Abel; Linke, Alexander; Eckelt, Reinhard; Quade, Antje; Kragl, Udo; Mejía, Esteban
    Furanic di-carboxylate derivatives of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) are nowadays important in the polymer industry as they are used as building blocks for bio-based polyesters. The high reactivity of HMF compels to avoid harsh synthetic conditions. Therefore, developing mild catalytic processes for its selective oxidation is a challenging task. Herein, we report the first oxidative esterification of HMF to dimethyl furan-2,5-dicarboxylate (FDCM) under flow conditions using oxygen as oxidant. For that purpose, a new series of nitrogen-doped carbon-supported bimetallic Co/Ru heterogeneous catalysts were prepared and characterized by XRD, XPS and N2 physisorption. These analyses revealed that the porosity of the materials and order of impregnation of the metals to the carbon supports lead to varying catalytic activities. Under optimized conditions the flow reactor showed a 15-fold increase on the production of FDCM compared to batch conditions. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.
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    Evaluation of Sonocatalytic and Photocatalytic Processes Efficiency for Degradation of Humic Compounds Using Synthesized Transition-Metal-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solution
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Hindawi, 2021) Maleki, Afshin; Seifi, Mehran; Marzban, Nader
    The existence of a humic substance in water causes the growth of microorganisms and reduces the quality of water; therefore, the removal of these materials is crucial. Here, the ZnO nanoparticles doped using transition metals, copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn), were used as an effective catalyst for photocatalytic removal of humic substances in an aqueous environment under ultraviolet, visible light, and light-emitting diode irradiations. Also, we study the effect of the sonocatalytic method. A solvothermal procedure is used for doping, and the Cu- and Mn-doped ZnO nanocatalyst were characterized by means of FTIR, XRD, AFM, SEM, and EDAX analyses. We investigate the effect of operational variables, including doping ratio, initial pH, catalyst dose, initial HS content, and illuminance on the removal efficiency of the processes. The findings of the analyses used for the characterization of the nanoparticles illustrate the appropriate synthesis of the Cu- and Mn-doped ZnO nanocatalysts. We observe the highest removal efficiency rate under acidic conditions and the process efficiency decreased with increasing solution pH, when we tested it in the range of 3–7. Photocatalytic decomposition of HS increases with a rise in catalyst dose, but an increase in initial HS content results in decreasing the removal efficiency. We observe the highest photocatalytic degradation of humic acid while using the visible light, and the highest removal efficiency is obtained using Cu.ZnO. The Cu.ZnO also shows better performance under ultraviolet irradiation compared to other agents.
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    Examining the early stages of thermal oxidative degradation in epoxy-amine resins
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2020) Morsch, Suzanne; Liu, Yanwen; Lyon, S.B.; Gibbon, S.R.; Gabriele, Benjamin; Malanin, Mikhail; Eichhorn, Klaus-Jochen
    Epoxy-amine resins continue to find widespread use as the binders in protective and decorative organic coatings, as the matrix in composite materials, and as adhesives. In service, exposure to the environment ultimately results in oxidative deterioration of these materials, limiting the performance lifetime. Defining this auto-oxidation process is therefore a key challenge in developing more durable high-performance materials. In this study, we investigate oxidative degradation of a model resin based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) and an aliphatic amine hardener, triethylenetetraamine (TETA). Using infrared spectroscopy, we find that prior to the expected detection of formate groups (corresponding to the well-known radical oxidation mechanism of DGEBA), a band at 1658 cm−1 forms, associated with amine cross-linker oxidation. Infrared microspectroscopy, in-situ heated ATR-infrared, Raman spectroscopy and AFM-IR techniques are thus employed to investigate the early stages of resin oxidation and demonstrate strong parallels between the initial stages of cured resin degradation and the auto-oxidation of TETA cross-linker molecules.
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    Ruthenacycles and Iridacycles as Transfer Hydrogenation Catalysts
    (Basel : MDPI, 2021) Ritleng, Vincent; de Vries, Johannes G.
    In this review, we describe the synthesis and use in hydrogen transfer reactions of ruthenacycles and iridacycles. The review limits itself to metallacycles where a ligand is bound in bidentate fashion to either ruthenium or iridium via a carbon-metal sigma bond, as well as a dative bond from a heteroatom or an N-heterocyclic carbene. Pincer complexes fall outside the scope. Described are applications in (asymmetric) transfer hydrogenation of aldehydes, ketones, and imines, as well as reductive aminations. Oxidation reactions, i.e., classical Oppenauer oxidation, which is the reverse of transfer hydrogenation, as well as dehydrogenations and oxidations with oxygen, are described. Racemizations of alcohols and secondary amines are also catalyzed by ruthenacycles and iridacycles.