<p>Development in the field of materials science is propagated by the synthesis of polynuclear metal-containing complexes, that exhibit enhanced chemical and physical properties. This thesis describes the synthesis of new metal-containing linear polymers and dendritic molecules.</p> <p>Chapter 1 presents an overview of the field of metal-containing polymers, with particular attention to the synthesis of polymers via condensation polymerisation. This review includes the various types of metal-containing condensation polymers and the applications of these materials, where available. This discussion is followed by a brief summary of metal-containing dendrimers, which includes a concise description of their structure and applications in general.</p> <p>There are two routes to preparing metal-containing polymers. Chapter 2 describes the synthesis of three bifunctional organometallic monomers, of the general type [M]-O-{2,6-(CH2OH)2-4-CH3-C6H2}, where [M] represents the various metal-containing moieties, (&eta / 5-C5H5)(CO)2 Fe(CH2)3 (25), (&eta / 5-C5H4-CH2CH2CH2-)Re(CO)3 (26) and Fpdendr (27). These monomers were prepared using 2,6-bis(hydroxymethyl)-p-cresol as the key reagent. The monomers were used in classical polycondensation reactions with terephthaloyl chloride using ambient temperature solution techniques. This yielded new low molecular weight oligomeric polyesters, that were characterised using FTIR and 1HNMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and sizeexclusion chromatography.</p> <p>In Chapter 3, an alternate route to metal-containing polymers is described. In this case, bifunctional organic monomers were polymerised to give preformed organic polymers. Two types of organic polymers were prepared, viz. polyesters (with pendant vinyl moieties) and polyimines (with &alpha / -diimine units along the polymer backbone). Functionalisation of these preformed organic polymers with various metal sources was attempted. Hydrozirconation reactions of the vinyl polyesters with Schwartz&rsquo / s reagent, Cp2Zr(H)Cl, were attempted and were largely unsuccessful. Competing reactions with the ester functionality prevailed, preventing the desired reaction. Reaction of the polyimines with PdCl2(COD) yielded insoluble, intractable metal-containing oligomers. Partial characterisation of the complexes is described.</p> <p>The synthesis of new poly(propylene imine) iminopyridyl metallodendrimers is described in Chapter 4. Schiff-base condensation reaction of the commercially available DAB dendrimers with 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde, gave the dendrimers 51, 52, and 53, with four, eight and sixteen pyridylimine functionalities respectively on the periphery. Successful complexation reactions with PdCl2(COD), PtCl2(COD) and CuCl2 produced the corresponding metal-containing dendrimers, with either PdCl2 (54, 55, 56), PtCl2 (57) or CuCl2 (58) moieties bound on the periphery. The metallodendrimers were insoluble in the more common organic solvents, and were characterised by IR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy and microanalysis where possible. Dendrimers with salicylaldiminato ligands on the periphery were prepared by reacting the DAB dendrimers with salicylaldehyde. These ligands were reacted with various metal acetates in an attempt to prepare new metalcontaining salicylaldimine dendrimers. This work yielded either paramagnetic metal complexes or insoluble, intractable compounds.</p> <p>Chapter 5 describes the applications of the catalyst precursors (54, 55, 56, 57, 58), discussed in Chapter 4, in the polymerisation of ethylene and the use of complexes 54 and 55 as Heck cross-coupling catalyst precursors. The complexes all showed catalytic activity toward ethylene polymerisation. A discussion of their activity, the polyethylene molecular weight and microstructure is presented in this chapter. The precursors 54 and 55 are also effective catalysts in the Heck reactions, coupling iodobenzene with methyl acrylate, styrene and 1-octene in high conversions.</p> <p>General conclusions are given in Chapter 6.</p>

The Wedderburn-Artin Theorem (1927) characterised semisimple Artinian rings as finite direct products of matrix rings over division rings. In attempting to generalise Wedderburn's theorem, the natural starting point will be to assume R/RadR is semisimple Artinian. Such rings are called semilocal. They have not been completely characterised to date. If additional conditions are imposed on the radical then more is known about the structure of R. Semiprimary and perfect rings are those rings in which the radical is nilpotent and T-nilpotent respectively. In both these cases the radical is nil, and in rings in which the radical is nil, idempotents lift modulo the radical. Rings which have the latter property are called semiperfect. The characterisation problem of such rings has received much attention in the last few decades. We study semiperfect rings with a somewhat strong condition arising out of the status of generators in the module categories. More specifically, a ring R is CFPF iff every homomorphic image of R has the property that every finitely generated faithful module over it generates the corresponding module category. The objective of this thesis is to develop the theory that leads to the complete characterisation of semiperfect right CFPF rings. It will be shown (Theorem 6.3.17) that these rings are precisely finite products of full matrix rings over right duo right VR right a-cyclic right CFPF rings. As far as possible theorems proved in Lambek [16] or Fuller and Anderson [12] have not been reproved in this thesis and these texts will serve as basic reference texts. The basis for this thesis was inspired by results contained in the first two chapters of the excellent LMS publication "FPF Ring Theory" by Carl Faith and Stanley Page [11]. Its results can be traced to the works of G. Azumaya [23], K. Morita [18], Nakayama [20;21], H. Bass [4;5], Carl Faith [8;9;10], S. Page [24;25] and B. Osofsky [22]. Our task is to bring the researcher to the frontiers of FPF ring theory, not so much to present anything new. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1987.

Small molecules are powerful reagents for biological investigation. They provide an alternative to genetic perturbation and may offer more control over a target’s activity. C. elegans has recently gained prominence as a platform to discover new chemical tools. Through large-scale screens for compounds that induce phenotypes consistent with the disruption of conserved pathways, we identified two previously uncharacterized molecules of interest that we named nemadipine and migrazole. Here, I describe my efforts to understand their mechanism of action. Nemadipine is structurally analogous to 1,4-dihydropyridines (DHPs), which target the Cav1 calcium channel and are used clinically to lower blood pressure. Phenotypic and genetic evidence suggest that nemadipine targets the worm Cav1 channel, EGL-19. To identify the target of nemadipine in an unbiased manner, I performed a forward genetic screen for mutants resistant to its effects. The majority of the mutants from my screen had polymorphisms in EGL-19, providing additional evidence that it is the target of nemadipine. I also found that nemadipine is the only DHP that robustly elicits phenotypes in the worm. Therefore, I used this unique chemical to investigate the in vivo interactions between DHPs and the Cav1 channel. I identified residues in EGL-19 important for DHP-sensitivity in worms and showed that some of these residues are also important for mammalian DHP-interaction. Other labs have since exploited nemadipine’s in vivo properties to demonstrate new biological insights for EGL-19. Chemical genetic analyses indicated that migrazole disrupts multiple signal transduction pathways. This, together with experiments that I performed in yeast, suggests that migrazole may affect multiple pathways by perturbation of protein transport. To identify migrazole’s target, I performed a forward genetic screen for mutants resistant to migrazole’s effects. However, I was unable to identify the target of migrazole through analysis of the mutants I isolated. This result illustrates that while forward genetic screens can be very successful for target identification, their effectiveness is likely dependent on the nature of the compound-target interaction. My work shows that all aspects of developing a small molecule into a tool for biological analysis, from its discovery to its characterization, can be accomplished using C. elegans.

Small molecules are powerful reagents for biological investigation. They provide an alternative to genetic perturbation and may offer more control over a target’s activity. C. elegans has recently gained prominence as a platform to discover new chemical tools. Through large-scale screens for compounds that induce phenotypes consistent with the disruption of conserved pathways, we identified two previously uncharacterized molecules of interest that we named nemadipine and migrazole. Here, I describe my efforts to understand their mechanism of action. Nemadipine is structurally analogous to 1,4-dihydropyridines (DHPs), which target the Cav1 calcium channel and are used clinically to lower blood pressure. Phenotypic and genetic evidence suggest that nemadipine targets the worm Cav1 channel, EGL-19. To identify the target of nemadipine in an unbiased manner, I performed a forward genetic screen for mutants resistant to its effects. The majority of the mutants from my screen had polymorphisms in EGL-19, providing additional evidence that it is the target of nemadipine. I also found that nemadipine is the only DHP that robustly elicits phenotypes in the worm. Therefore, I used this unique chemical to investigate the in vivo interactions between DHPs and the Cav1 channel. I identified residues in EGL-19 important for DHP-sensitivity in worms and showed that some of these residues are also important for mammalian DHP-interaction. Other labs have since exploited nemadipine’s in vivo properties to demonstrate new biological insights for EGL-19. Chemical genetic analyses indicated that migrazole disrupts multiple signal transduction pathways. This, together with experiments that I performed in yeast, suggests that migrazole may affect multiple pathways by perturbation of protein transport. To identify migrazole’s target, I performed a forward genetic screen for mutants resistant to migrazole’s effects. However, I was unable to identify the target of migrazole through analysis of the mutants I isolated. This result illustrates that while forward genetic screens can be very successful for target identification, their effectiveness is likely dependent on the nature of the compound-target interaction. My work shows that all aspects of developing a small molecule into a tool for biological analysis, from its discovery to its characterization, can be accomplished using C. elegans.

No description available.

No description available.

Chapter one is an overall introduction reviewing the applications of compounds possessing rotational symmetry, in particular their role as asymmetric reagents/catalysts in various reactions. The attempted syntheses of two different types of C₃-symmetric homochiral triols are described in chapter two. Unfunctionalised and functionalised triamides were synthesised from the corresponding amine and 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride. Unfunctionalised N-substituted 1,3,5-triazacychlohexanes (triazines) were synthesised from the corresponding amine and formaldehyde, however reactions between chiral amino alcohols and formaldehyde failed to give the desired trihydroxy triazines. Chapter three describes the syntheses of a range of unfunctionalised chiral C₃-symmetric compounds, as well as a review of C₃-symmetric systems as host molecules. The successful synthesis of a range of unfunctionalised triethrs was carried out by reacting 1,3,5-tris(bromomehyl)mesitylene with some selected terpenes and other alcohols. Their role as host molecules was investigated, however they failed to bind with any of the various metals that were used. Their asymmetric induction capabilities were also tested when one of the triethers was used as a catalyst in the Et₂Zn/aldehyde reaction. The desired alcohol was indeed isolated, however it was found by ¹H nmr of the Mosher's ester to be a reacemic mixture. In chapter four the synthesis of the unfunctionalised triethers that was described in chapter three was extended to the synthesis of C₃-symmetric triethers containing functional groups. A range of tridentate ligands were synthesised containing either amino, ester, keto or hydroxyl terminal groups. In addition to these, trihydroxy ligands containing amino linkages in place of ethereal linkages were also synthesised. From these compounds three of the trihydroxy ligands were used in complexation reactions with Sn, Ti, Si, Ni, and Cu. The reactions using Si, Ni and Cu failed to give the desired complexes. However, strong evidence was obtained for the existence of the desired Sn and Ti complexes. Once again using the Et₂Zn/aldehyde reaction preliminary asymmetric induction studies were carried out using one of the Ti complexes. The reaction showed some selectivity in favour of the R enantiomer. Chapter four also describes the syntheses of some hexadentate ligands, in particular the synthesis of a chiral C₃-symmetric hexol, a C₃-symmetric ligand containing three β keto-ester groups, and also a 1,3-diketo derivative.

This Thesis describes some theoretical studies on cluster compounds of the main group and transition metal elements. Chapter 1 presents a review of the theoretical aspects of cluster chemistry. Three major theoretical approaches are identified, namely the localised, delocalised and free electron models and their historical development is described. The research described in this Thesis is based on extensions of Stone's Tensor Surface Harmonic (TSH) methodology, supported by Extended Huckel molecular orbital calculations. In Chapter 2, the TSH approach is used to describe the skeletal bonding in 3- and 4-connected polyhedral clusters. Like the deltahedral clusters, 4-connected molecules are generally characterised by (n+1) Skeletal Electron Pairs (SEP's). 3- connected clusters, however, possess 3n/2 SEP's. This difference is attributed to the occurrence of additional non-bonding orbitals in the 3-connected case. In Chapter 3, the bonding in a novel class of deltahedral metallaborane clusters is discussed. These hyper-closo or iso-closo species are studied from a fragment orbital viewpoint, regarding the structures as metal-capped fragments of a borane icosahedron. In this way, the problem of whether these clusters possess n or (n+1) SEP's is studied for n=9, 10 and 11. Although most deltahedral clusters conform to the (n+1) SEP rule, there are a significant number which do not. In Chapter 4, these deviations are rationalised from a group theoretical/topological viewpoint. A group theoretical paradigm is developed which simplifies the derivation of the frontier orbitals for these molecules. Chapter 5 extends the TSH methodology to clusters with bispherical topologies. To discuss these clusters, the TSH wavefunctions are modified to include radial, as well as angular nodes. The methodology is also applied to clusters with toroidal topologies, where the capping atoms form a ring around the equator of the inner cluster sphere. The bonding in π-donor- and π-acceptor-bridged clusters of the transition metals are compared in Chapter 6. Although the symmetry aspects are identical and lead to similar bonding patterns, the ir-donor clusters are characterised by a number of unoccupied d^δ-based orbitals. The bonding in a series of closo, nido and arachno π-donor clusters, based on edge- and face-bridged octahedral molecules is considered and a relationship between the cluster electron count and the number of unavailable d^δ-based orbitals is identified.

<p>Development in the field of materials science is propagated by the synthesis of polynuclear metal-containing complexes, that exhibit enhanced chemical and physical properties. This thesis describes the synthesis of new metal-containing linear polymers and dendritic molecules.</p> <p>Chapter 1 presents an overview of the field of metal-containing polymers, with particular attention to the synthesis of polymers via condensation polymerisation. This review includes the various types of metal-containing condensation polymers and the applications of these materials, where available. This discussion is followed by a brief summary of metal-containing dendrimers, which includes a concise description of their structure and applications in general.</p> <p>There are two routes to preparing metal-containing polymers. Chapter 2 describes the synthesis of three bifunctional organometallic monomers, of the general type [M]-O-{2,6-(CH2OH)2-4-CH3-C6H2}, where [M] represents the various metal-containing moieties, (&eta / 5-C5H5)(CO)2 Fe(CH2)3 (25), (&eta / 5-C5H4-CH2CH2CH2-)Re(CO)3 (26) and Fpdendr (27). These monomers were prepared using 2,6-bis(hydroxymethyl)-p-cresol as the key reagent. The monomers were used in classical polycondensation reactions with terephthaloyl chloride using ambient temperature solution techniques. This yielded new low molecular weight oligomeric polyesters, that were characterised using FTIR and 1HNMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and sizeexclusion chromatography.</p> <p>In Chapter 3, an alternate route to metal-containing polymers is described. In this case, bifunctional organic monomers were polymerised to give preformed organic polymers. Two types of organic polymers were prepared, viz. polyesters (with pendant vinyl moieties) and polyimines (with &alpha / -diimine units along the polymer backbone). Functionalisation of these preformed organic polymers with various metal sources was attempted. Hydrozirconation reactions of the vinyl polyesters with Schwartz&rsquo / s reagent, Cp2Zr(H)Cl, were attempted and were largely unsuccessful. Competing reactions with the ester functionality prevailed, preventing the desired reaction. Reaction of the polyimines with PdCl2(COD) yielded insoluble, intractable metal-containing oligomers. Partial characterisation of the complexes is described.</p> <p>The synthesis of new poly(propylene imine) iminopyridyl metallodendrimers is described in Chapter 4. Schiff-base condensation reaction of the commercially available DAB dendrimers with 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde, gave the dendrimers 51, 52, and 53, with four, eight and sixteen pyridylimine functionalities respectively on the periphery. Successful complexation reactions with PdCl2(COD), PtCl2(COD) and CuCl2 produced the corresponding metal-containing dendrimers, with either PdCl2 (54, 55, 56), PtCl2 (57) or CuCl2 (58) moieties bound on the periphery. The metallodendrimers were insoluble in the more common organic solvents, and were characterised by IR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy and microanalysis where possible. Dendrimers with salicylaldiminato ligands on the periphery were prepared by reacting the DAB dendrimers with salicylaldehyde. These ligands were reacted with various metal acetates in an attempt to prepare new metalcontaining salicylaldimine dendrimers. This work yielded either paramagnetic metal complexes or insoluble, intractable compounds.</p> <p>Chapter 5 describes the applications of the catalyst precursors (54, 55, 56, 57, 58), discussed in Chapter 4, in the polymerisation of ethylene and the use of complexes 54 and 55 as Heck cross-coupling catalyst precursors. The complexes all showed catalytic activity toward ethylene polymerisation. A discussion of their activity, the polyethylene molecular weight and microstructure is presented in this chapter. The precursors 54 and 55 are also effective catalysts in the Heck reactions, coupling iodobenzene with methyl acrylate, styrene and 1-octene in high conversions.</p> <p>General conclusions are given in Chapter 6.</p>

This thesis describes the advances made towards a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) of Li and Rb for use in photoassociation spectroscopy, Feshbach resonance studies, and, as long-term aspirations, the formation of ultracold heteronuclear polar molecules. The initial discussion will focus on a brief theoretical overview of laser cooling and trapping and the production of ultracold molecules from a cold atom source. Subsequently, details of the experimental system, including those pertaining to the required laser light, the vacuum chamber, and the computer control system will be presented. Finally, preliminary optimization and characterization measurements showing the performance of a single species Li MOT are introduced. These measurements demonstrated the loading of over 8 x 107 Li atoms directly into a MOT without the need for a Zeeman slower.