Publications

Abstract In the present work, we report the standard combustion energies of 2-mercapto-l-methylimidazole, 2-mercapto-5-aminobenzimidazole and 2-mercapto-5-methoxybenzimidazole, obtained experimentally from measurements with a rotatory-bomb combustion calorimeter. With these data, for each one of the three aforementioned compounds, the corresponding standard molar combustion enthalpies and the standard molar enthalpies of formation, in the crystalline phase, are calculated. The enthalpies of sublimation of each compound, obtained experimentally using a Calvet Setaram HT 1000 microcalorimeter, are also reported. Using the values of the enthalpies of formation in the crystalline phase and the enthalpies of sublimation, both at 298.15 K, for each compound, the corresponding standard molar enthalpies of formation in gas phase were calculated. Complementary, the enthalpies of formation in the gaseous phase were derived from theoretical calculations made with Gaussian-n composite methodology with n = 3 and 4. The experimental and computational studies suggest that in gaseous phase, the form more stable of each compound is the thione form. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd.

Abstract The authors have synthesized water-dispersible NaYF4: Er3+/Yb3+ upconversion particles via a thermal decomposition route and optimized the green upconversion emission through a concentration variation of the Yb3+ sensitizer. The prepared particles were found to be ellipsoid in shape having an average particle dimension of 600 x 150 nm. It is observed that the sample with 18 mmol% Yb3+ ion concentration and 2 mmol% Er3+ ion gives optimum upconversion intensity in the green region under 980 nm excitation. Colloidal dispersibility of the sample in different solvents was checked and hexane was found to be the best medium for the prepared particles. The particle size of the sample was found to be suitable for the preparation of colloidal ink and security writing on a plain sheet of paper. This was demonstrated successfully using ink prepared in polyvinyl chloride gold medium.

Abstract Experimental and computational studies were performed in this work with the aim of evaluating and understanding the energetic effect inherent to the substitution of the hydrogen of the morpholine amino group by aminoalkyl substituents: N-(2-aminoethyl)morpholine and N-(3-aminopropyl)morpholine. The standard enthalpies of vaporization and the standard energies of combustion of the two morpholine derivatives obtained, respectively, from Calvet microcalorimetry and combustion calorimetry measurements, are reported. These data were used to derive the standard enthalpies of formation of the morpholine derivatives, in the liquid and gaseous phases, at T=298.15 K. The computational study involved the energetic analysis of the most stable conformers on the potential energy surfaces and the determination of their gas-phase standard enthalpies of formation at the reference temperature of 298.15 K. All the computational calculations were performed using the G3(MP2)//B3LYP composite method. The combination of experimental and computational data determined in this work for morpholine derivatives, together with other available in the literature for related molecules, enabled the analyses of the energetic effects associated with the substitution of the hydrogen of the morpholine amino group by substituents aminoalkyl and alkyl, as well as the establishment of incremental schemes for the determination of the gas-phase enthalpies of formation. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd.

Abstract The energetic study of 6-methyl-1-indanone, 6-methoxy-1-indanone and 5,6-dimethoxy-1-indanone has been developed using calorimetric techniques and a computational methodology. The enthalpies of combustion and of sublimation of these compounds were determined from, respectively, static-bomb combustion calorimetry and high-temperature Calvet microcalorimetry. From these experimental data, the gas-phase standard molar enthalpies of formation were derived. Also, the temperature and the enthalpy of fusion of each compound were obtained by differential scanning calorimetry. Additionally, the gas-phase standard molar enthalpies of formation of these compounds were obtained from high-level ab initio calculations, at the G3(MP2)//B3LYP level of theory. The computational approach of these three indanone derivatives allowed us to establish their molecular structures, the co-existence of two and four stable conformations for 6-methoxy-1-indanone and 5,6-dimethoxy-1-indanone, respectively. Furthermore, the energetic effects associated with the presence of one methyl group and one or two methoxy groups in the indanone structure were evaluated. These enthalpic increments were compared with the homologous substitutions in the benzene and naphthalene molecules.

Abstract Coelenterazine is a common substrate used by marine species in enzyme-catalyzed bioluminescent reactions, in which thermal energy is converted into excitation energy. Coelenterazine is also known to emit chemiluminescence, in the absence of enzymes. Moreover, the scaffold of this molecule is present in organisms of eight phyla, making it a prototypical system for marine chemi-/bioluminescence. The characterization of the chemiexcitation step responsible for light emission is essential for future applications in bioimaging, bioanalysis and biomedicine. We have found evidence to support the identification of a neutral dioxetanone intermediate as the responsible for efficient chemiexcitation. This is explained by attractive electrostatic interactions between the CO2 and Coelenteramide moieties, which allow the reacting dioxetanone to spend time in a PES region of degeneracy between singlet ground and excited states. Contrary to expected, there is no relationship between electron (ET)/charge (CT) transfer, from an electron-rich moiety to the peroxide, and efficient chemiexcitation. Thus, neither Chemically Induced Electron-Exchange Luminescence (CIEEL) nor Charge Transfer-Initiated Luminescence (CTIL) can be used to explain imidazopyrazinone-based chemi-/bioluminescence. We have also found a concentration-dependent quenching effect, more prevalent at acidic pH. © 2018

Abstract Coelenterazine is a common substrate used by marine species in enzyme-catalyzed bioluminescent reactions, in which thermal energy is converted into light-emission. Besides bioluminescence, Coelenterazine is also known to emit chemiluminescence in aprotic solvents. We report here the study of Coelenterazine chemiluminescence in aqueous solution. Water inhibits light-emission even in mixtures with water content as low as 20%. Moreover, we provide convincing spectroscopic evidence that the presence of water affects the ground state (S0) chemical reaction, and not the excited state processes (as chemiexcitation and the fluorescent quantum yield). However, the energetics of the S0 chemical reaction is not affect by addition of water, which points to the inhibition being caused by the reduced lifetime of superoxide anion in water, which is an intermediate in the luminescent reactions of Coelenterazine. This finding indicates that one of the catalytic roles of bioluminescent enzymes is to extend the lifetime of this radical. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

Abstract The energetic study of 2-phenylbenzoxazole (PBO), 2-phenylbenzothiazole (PBT), 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl) benzoxazole (HBO) and 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl) benzothiazole (HBT) has been developed either using experimental techniques or computational calculations. The enthalpies of combustion and of sublimation of these compounds were determined and the gas-phase standard molar enthalpies of formation were derived. The experimental techniques used were static or rotating bomb combustion calorimetry, high temperature Calvet microcalorimetry and/or the Knudsen-effusion method. Additionally, we have obtained the gas-phase standard molar enthalpies of formation of these compounds, as well of 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl) benzimidazole (HBI), through high level ab initio calculations, at the G3(MP2)//B3LYP level. The computational study of the molecular structures of all these compounds has been carried out and four possible conformers were observed for the molecules of each compound, where the keto tautomers have always higher energy than the enol forms. Furthermore, the energetic effects associated to the presence of the hydroxyl group on the core of the 2-phenylbenzazole rings, in particular the hydrogen bond network, were also evaluated. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd.

Abstract Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a bioactive polyphenolic compound obtained from propolis extract. Although it has a broad therapeutic potential, the bioavailability of CAPE is limited, due to reduced solubility and poor plasmatic stability. Efforts to reduce these pharmacokinetic drawbacks resulted in the synthesis of caffeic acid phenethyl amide (CAPA). Cyclodextrins have been proved as promising excipients for the formulation of active ingredients. Herein, we report the inclusion complexation behavior and binding ability of CAPE and CAPA with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD). The supramolecular interactions were examined through UV and FTIR spectroscopy, DSC, H-1 NMR and 2D ROESY. The CAPE/HP-beta-CD and CAPA/HP-beta-CD inclusion complexes stability constants were determined to be, respectively, 2911.6 and 584.6 M-1 in water and 2866.2 and 700.1 M-1 at physiological pH. The aqueous solubility increased notably, proving that HP-beta-CD can be potentially useful to improve the biological, chemical and physical properties of CAPE and CAPA.

Abstract We used steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques to study the excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) and the nonradiative properties of two irreversible photoacids, 1-naphthol-4-sulfonate (1N4S) and l-naphthol-5sulfonate (1N5S). We found that the ESPT rate constant of 1N4S in water is 2.2 x 10(10) s(-1), whereas in methanol, it is smaller by about 3 orders of magnitude and is not observed. The ESPT process of 1N5S competes with a major nonradiative process of equal rate and k(pt)of 2.2 x 10(10) s(-1). in methanol-water mixtures of X-H2o = 0.2, the fluorescence lifetime of the ROH form of 1N5S is lower by a factor of 10 than that in pure methanol. In the steady-state fluorescence spectra of 1N5S in methanol-water mixtures, there are two iso-emissive points, one for X-H2o < 0.2 and one for X-H2o > 0.3. This large reduction in fluorescence intensity and the two iso-emissive points are explained by the existence of a mixed water-methanol bridge of about three molecules that connects the proton donor 1-OH with the 5-sulfonate in mixtures of X-H20 < 0.2. The bridge enhances both the ESPT and the nonradiative processes. For 1N4S in methanol-water mixtures at X-H2o approximate to 0.2, the reduction in the fluorescence lifetime is only by similar to 30%, and only one iso-emissive point exists in the steady-state fluorescence spectra for 0 <X-H2o < 1. TD-DFT computations show that a mixed bridge of one water molecule and two methanol molecules that connects the 1-OH with 5-sulfonate is more stable by 7.7 kcal/mol than the 1-OH reactant in the S-1 state, and the barrier is only 8.0 kcal/mol. The nonradiative channel is because the S-2 dark state is about 4.6 kcal/mol higher than the S-1 state.