Benzoin condensation of aromatic aldehydes catalysed by N,N -dimethylbenzimidazolium iodide and NaOH was performed either in ionic liquid or water or in the absence of solvent. Reusability of the catalyst mixture in all cases was demonstrated.

The increased interest in N,N-dialkyl tryptamines is a reflection of their diverse range of biologically active properties. Deuterated derivatives are of interest for use as internal standards in bioanalytical or pharmacological assays. The present study reports on the synthesis of twelve novel 5-ethoxy-N,N-dialkyl-[α,α,β,β-H(4) ]-tryptamines and their [α,α,β,β-D(4) ]-counterparts following the Speeter and Anthony procedure. The normally time-consuming reduction step was carried out in 5 min under microwave-accelerated conditions. Good yields were obtained using tetrahydrofuran as the solvent at 150 °C. The resulting 24 tryptamines have been characterized by 1D/2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gas chromatography ion trap mass spectrometry. Differential fragmentation of side-chain-related iminium ions has been observed as a key principle. Because many N,N-dialkyltryptamines are available outside of traditional pharmaceutical supply chains as so-called 'research chemicals', the availability, as standards, of these new N,N-dialkyltryptamines will aid in identifiying novel tryptamines arising from these other souces. They should therefore be of immediate value within forensic, research, and public health contexts.

Arylamine N-acetyltransferases (NAT) are important enzymes involved in the metabolic activation of aromatic and heterocyclic amines and inhibitors of NAT enzymes may be valuable as chemopreventive agents. Phytochemicals including cinnamic acid derivatives, various classes of flavonoids and coumarins were tested for the inhibitory activity on NAT1 and NAT2 from human liver and the human cholangiocarcinoma cell line: KMBC cells. Assays were performed using p-aminobenzoic acid and sulfamethazine as selective substrates for NAT1 and NAT2, respectively. NAT1 and NAT2 activities were present in liver cytosol. However, the KMBC cells showed only NAT1 activity. There was a marked difference in the ability of the test chemicals to inhibit NAT1 and NAT2. Caffeic acid, ferulic acid, gallic acid and EGCG inhibited NAT1 but not NAT2, whereas scopuletin and curcumin inhibited NAT2 but not NAT1. Quercetin, kaemferol and other flavonoids, except epicatechin and silymarin, inhibited both enzymes. The kinetics of inhibition of NAT1 by caffeic acid, EGCG and quercetin were of the non-competitive type, whereas that of NAT2 by quercetin, curcumin and kaemferol was also of the non-competitive type. The most potent inhibitor was quercetin, which has the inhibitory constants for NAT1 and NAT2 of 48.6 +/- 17.3 and 10.0 +/- 1.8 microM, respectively.

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Two multiple-layer heterometallic Mn II -Ag I coordination polymers, {Mn II (ampyz)(H 2 O)[Ag 2 I (CN) 3 ]-[Ag I (CN) 2 ]Áampyz} n (1) and {[Mn II (benzim) 2 [Ag I (CN) 2 ] 2 ]-[(benzim)Ag I (CN)]ÁH 2 O} n (2) where ampyz = 2-aminopyrazine and benzim = benzimidazole, have been prepared and structurally characterized. Compound 1 reveals a multiple-layer two-dimensional network with strong hexanuclear argentophilic interactions leading to an infinite threedimensional framework. Compound 2 has an unprecedented double-layer two-dimensional squared grid-type network with (4,4) topology through Ag I ÁÁÁAg I and p-p interactions between two adjacent squared layers. These double-layer networks of 2 are linked to others by p-p interactions, leading to a three-dimensional framework.