Electrogenerated N-Heterocyclic Carbene in Ionic Liquid: An Insight into the Mechanism of the Oxidative Esterification of Aromatic Aldehydes

An N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC), generated by cathodic reduction of BMImBF4, mediates the oxidative esterification of aromatic aldehydes with organic bromides in the corresponding ionic liquid as solvent. The product recovery by simple extractive work-up with diethyl ether allowed the ionic liquid to be recycled up to 9 times for subsequent electrolyses, with no significant loss in the product yield. The isolation of an intermediate, whose structure was confirmed by synthesis and transformation into the ester, provided the key for a mechanistic insight into the reaction. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

A Markov-model simulation of IVF programs for PCOS patients indicates that coupling myo-Inositol with rFSH is cost-effective for the Italian Health System

Accumulating evidence suggests that oral supplementation with myo-Inositol (myo-Ins) is able to reduce the amount of gonadotropins and days of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COS) necessary to achieve adequate oocyte maturation in assisted reproduction technology (ART) protocols, particularly in women affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We used computational calculations based on simulation modellings. We simulated in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures-with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)-with 100,000 virtual patients, accounting for all the stages of the entire IVF procedure. A Monte Carlo technique was used to account for data uncertainty and to generate the outcome distribution at each stage. We considered virtual patients with PCOS undergoing IVF cycles to achieve pregnancy. Computational data were retrieved from clinical experience and published data. We investigated three parameters related to ART protocols: cost of single procedure; efficacy to achieve ongoing pregnancy at 12 gestational weeks; overall cost per single pregnancy. The administration of oral myo-Ins during COH protocols, compared to the standard COH with recombinant Follicle Stimulating Hormone (rFSH) only, may be considered a potential strategy to reduce costs of ART for the Italian Health System

“Anion recognition in water: complexation by uranyl-salophen derivatives and a glimpse of stochastic sensing”

Università di Roma la Sapienza and IMC-CN

An electrochemical methodology for the cyclic CO2 "catch and release". The role of the electrogenerated N-heterocyclic carbene in BMIm-BF4

According to the property of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) to yield NHC-CO2 adducts, a solution of NHCs in the parent room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) as solvent may act as a system able to catch and release carbon dioxide cyclically and in mild conditions. The system has been set up and analyzed via simple electrochemical methodologies. NHCs have been generated by electrolysis of BMIm-BF4 (as solvent and parent of NHC) in the absence of any base and organic solvent. CO2 has been caught and released in every cycle by bubbling of CO2 in the system at 60 °C, heating and stirring at 120 °C, and subsequently cooling down to 60 °C. In a single series of 10 cycles, performed as a preliminary control, the system is able to catch and release 4 mol of CO2 per Faraday consumed in the electrolysis. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Stability of electrogenerated 1-butyl-3-methylimidazol-2-ylidene in DMF. Part 2. Role of acid substrates. [1]

The stability of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazol-2-ylidene (NHC) in N,N-dimethylformammide (DMF) in the presence of acids was studied by cyclic voltammetry. The NHC was easily obtained by cathodic reduction of a solution of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium salt (BMImX) in DMF. The voltammetric measurements allowed to determine the NHC presence (and its concentration) in solution, due to the NHC oxidation peak. Moreover, carrying out the measurements as a function of time, it was possible to determine the half-life of NHC in DMF containing three different organic acids. The half-life was defined as the time to halve the NHC concentration (with respect to the initial one) t1/2. It was found that when acetic acid is present in solution t1/2 is considerably smaller than t1/2 in its absence (15 min vs 69), while in the presence of 2,6-dimethylphenol and diethyl malonate (weaker acids than the NHCH+) t1/2 is considerably higher (130 and 140 min vs 69). A hypothesis on the role of BMIm+ and X on the stability of NHC in DMF containing acids is reported. The reactivity of the NHC (studied in this paper) was tested in classical base-induced organic reactions, and the results are in accordance with the voltammetric analysis