The synthesis, characterization, and ethylene polymerization behavior of a series of iron and cobalt halide complexes, LMX n (M ) Fe, X ) Cl, n ) 2, 3, X ) Br, n ) 2; M ) Co, X ) Cl, n ) 2), bearing chelating 2,6-bis(imino)pyridyl ligands L [L ) 2,6-(ArNCR 1 ) 2 C 5 H 3 N] is reported. X-ray diffraction studies show the geometry at the metal centers to be either distorted square pyramidal or distorted trigonal bipyramidal. Treatment of the complexes LMX n with methylaluminoxane (MAO) leads to highly active ethylene polymerization catalysts converting ethylene to highly linear polyethylene (PE). LFeX 2 precatalysts with ketimine ligands (R 1 ) Me) are approximately an order of magnitude more active than precatalysts with aldimine ligands (R 1 ) H). Catalyst productivities in the range 3750-20600 g/mmol‚h‚bar are observed for Fe-based ketimine catalysts, while Co ketimine systems display activities of 450-1740 g/mmol‚h‚bar. Molecular weights (M w ) of the polymers produced are in the range 14000-611000. Changing reaction conditions also affects productivity and molecular weight; in some systems, a bimodal molecular weight distribution is observed. On the basis of evidence gathered to date, the lower molecular weight fraction is a result of chain transfer to aluminum while the higher molecular weight fraction is produced by a combination of mainly -H transfer and some chain transfer to aluminum.

Several hundred clinical trials currently explore the role of circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis for therapy decisions, but assays are lacking for comprehensive molecular characterization of CTCs with diagnostic precision. We therefore combined a workflow for enrichment and isolation of pure CTCs with a non-random whole genome amplification method for single cells and applied it to 510 single CTCs and 189 leukocytes of 66 CTC-positive breast cancer patients. We defined a genome integrity index (GII) to identify single cells suited for molecular characterization by different molecular assays, such as diagnostic profiling of point mutations, gene amplifications and whole genomes of single cells. The reliability of > 90% for successful molecular analysis of high-quality clinical samples selected by the GII enabled assessing the molecular heterogeneity of single CTCs of metastatic breast cancer patients. We readily identified genomic disparity of potentially high relevance between primary tumors and CTCs. Microheterogeneity analysis among individual CTCs uncovered pre-existing cells resistant to ERBB2-targeted therapies suggesting ongoing microevolution at late-stage disease whose exploration may provide essential information for personalized treatment decisions and shed light into mechanisms of acquired drug resistance.

A series of bis(imino)pyridyliron and -cobalt complexes [[2,6-(CR=NAr)2C5H3N]MX2] (R=H, Me; M=Fe, Co; X=Cl, Br) 8-16 containing imino-aryl rings (Ar) with at least one small ortho substituent, as well as Ar=biphenyl and Ar=naphthyl, has been synthesised. Crystallographic analyses of complexes 9 (Ar = 2,3-dimethylphenyl), 13 and 14 (Ar= biphenyl; X= Cl or Br, respectively) reveal a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal geometry in the solid state. These complexes, in combination with methyl aluminoxane (MAO), are active catalysts for the oligomerisation of ethylene, yielding >99% linear alpha-olefin mixtures that follow a Schulz-Flory distribution. Iron ketimine (R = Me) precatalysts give the highest activities and a greater alpha-value than their aldimine (R = H) analogues. Cobalt precatalysts follow a similar trend, though their activities are almost two orders of magnitude lower than those of the corresponding iron catalysts. Ethylene pressure studies on cobalt precatalyst 15 reveal a first-order dependence on ethylene for both the rate of propagation and the rate of chain transfer, and a pressure independence of the alpha value.

No abstract

No abstract