The quest for selective C-H functionalization reactions, able to provide new strategic opportunities for the rapid assembly of molecular complexity, represents a major focus of the chemical community. Examples of non-directed, remote Csp3-H activation to forge complex carbon frameworks remain scarce due to the kinetic stability and thus intrinsic challenge associated to the chemo-, regio- and s...

The structural composition of PM2.5 monitored in the atmosphere is usually divided by the analysis of organic carbon, black (also called elemental) carbon, and inorganic salts. The characterization of the chemical composition of aerosols represents a significant challenge to analysts, and studies are frequently limited to determination of aerosol bulk properties. To better understand the potent...

In this study, we perform a morphological evaluation of the diverse nanostructures formed by varying concentration and amino acid sequence of a unique class of ultrasmall self-assembling peptides. We modified these peptides by replacing the aliphatic amino acid at the C-aliphatic terminus with different aromatic amino acids. We tracked the effect of introducing aromatic residues on self-assembl...

The study of meteoritic organic compounds provides a unique window into the chemical inventory of the early Solar System and prebiotic chemistry that may have been important for the origin of life on Earth. Multiple families of organic compounds have been extracted from the Murchison meteorite, which is one of the most thoroughly studied carbonaceous chondrites. The amino acids extracted from M...

A series of amino acid methyl ester hydrochlorides were prepared in good to excellent yields by the room temperature reaction of amino acids with methanol in the presence of trimethylchlorosilane. This method is not only compatible with natural amino acids, but also with other aromatic and aliphatic amino acids.

The decarboxylation of free carboxylic acids was effected by a photogenerated cation radical of phenanthrene to yield the reduction product in the presence of a thiol, which provides an alternative method to the Barton decarboxylation procedure for aliphatic acids such as N-Boc amino acids.

The first studies in this series included only simple aromatic amino compounds. An extension of the investigation to aliphatic substances, such as tartaric acid (1), pepfides (2) and carbohydrates (3, 4), was made possible by the expedient of combining them to aromatic amines to form diazotizable compounds which could be linked to protein. Since simple aliphatic compounds have not been examined...

Replacement of glycine by serine at positions 123 and 124 of phenylalanine dehydrogenases from Bacillus badius and Bacillus sphaericus respectively strikingly decreased enzyme activity toward aromatic amino acids and resulted in an elevation of relative activity toward aliphatic amino acids. The mutant from B. badius preferentially dehydrogenated branched-chain amino acids, while that from B. s...

A copper(I) catalyzed procedure for carbon-nitrogen bond formation utilizing aryl halides and either amines, including amino acids and diphenylamine, or aliphatic and aromatic amides is described.