Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. J Appl Microbiol. 2024 Nov 5:lxae279. doi: 10.1093/jambio/lxae279. Online
ahead  of print.

Towards the bioleaching of bauxite residue by gluconobacter oxydans.

van Wyk N(1), Fischer D(1), Wilbers D(2), Harrison STL(2), Kotsiopoulos A(2), 
Dopson M(1).

Author information:
(1)Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS), Linnaeus 
University, Kalmar, Sweden.
(2)Centre for Bioprocess Engineering Research (CeBER), University of Cape Town, 
Cape Town, South Africa.

AIM: This project evaluated a biologically-mediated strategy to solubilize 
several rare earth elements and critical raw materials, including scandium, from 
bauxite residue. This work seeks to expand on previous research on contact 
leaching with bauxite.
METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, Gluconobacter oxydans was shown to secrete 
mixed organic acids, including gluconic acid, which was superior to pure 
gluconic acid in the dissolution of bauxite residue, even at low molarities. In 
situ contact leaching with G. oxydans significantly promoted the dissolution 
yield (recovery of metal present in the ore) of yttrium, aluminum, calcium, and 
titanium (41.18, 67.79, 80.16 and 59.41%, respectively) but allowed for only 
marginal dissolution yield of scandium, lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium (13.40, 
14.74, 24.41 and 10.67%, respectively) at relatively low pulp densities. In 
addition, the dissolution yields of rare earth elements were reduced further 
with time, presumably as the oxides of these elements fell out of solution.
CONCLUSION: This work builds on previous research that seeks to extract rare 
earth elements and critical raw materials from bauxite residue through contact 
leaching with organic acids. Some elements such as yttrium, aluminum, calcium, 
and titanium could be effectively solubilized, however some elements showed 
reduced solubility, possibly due to tight association with the iron phase of the 
residue. However, the relative ease and speed of leaching, and suggestions for 
improved solubilization suggest this could be a viable method for securing 
critical raw material supplies.

© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Applied 
Microbiology International.

DOI: 10.1093/jambio/lxae279
PMID: 39501498


2. Org Biomol Chem. 2024 Nov 5. doi: 10.1039/d4ob01362j. Online ahead of print.

Recent advances in photocatalytic and transition metal-catalyzed synthesis of 
disulfide compounds.

Tu JL(1).

Author information:
(1)School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 
518055, China. 1650100254@qq.com.

Disulfide bonds are essential in protein folding, cellular redox balance, 
materials science, and drug development. Despite existing synthetic methods, the 
efficient and selective synthesis of unsymmetrical disulfides remains 
challenging. This review highlights innovative approaches in visible light 
photocatalysis, including decarboxylation, deoxydisulfidation of alcohols, and 
direct C-H disulfidation, showcasing broad substrate applicability and 
functional group tolerance under mild conditions. Additionally, it explores 
transition metal-catalyzed systems with copper, nickel, palladium, chromium, 
Iridium, Rhodium molybdenum, and scandium, offering effective strategies for 
unsymmetrical disulfide bond formation and late-stage functionalization of 
complex molecules through reductive coupling, selective oxidation, and novel 
insertion reactions.

DOI: 10.1039/d4ob01362j
PMID: 39498810


3. Appl Radiat Isot. 2024 Oct 28;215:111560. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111560.
 Online ahead of print.

Cross-sections for (43)Sc, (44m)Sc, and (44g)Sc from two heavy ion reactions.

Miller AM(1), Wilkinson JT(2), Brown GM(3), Gan J(1), Manukyan K(3), Jin Y(1), 
Peaslee GF(4).

Author information:
(1)Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 
46556, IN, USA.
(2)Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National 
Laboratory, Livermore, 95550, IN, USA.
(3)Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 
46556, IN, USA.
(4)Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 
46556, IN, USA. Electronic address: gpeaslee@nd.edu.

Two different heavy ion reactions were used to produce 43Sc (t12 = 3.891 h), 
44gSc (t12 = 4.042 h), and 44mSc (t12 = 58.61 h) among other stable or 
long-lived chemically separable products. Production cross sections for 19F + 
27Al and the reverse kinematic reaction 35Cl + natB were measured using an 
MC-SNICS ion source and the Notre Dame FN Tandem Accelerator. 19F beams from 35 
to 60 MeV were produced with beam currents between 40-80 pnA and 35Cl beams were 
produced at six entrance energies with comparable beam currents. This work 
reports nuclear reaction cross sections 27Al (19F, x) 43Sc, 27Al (19F, pn) 
44gSc, and 27Al (19F, pn) 44mSc at six energies between 35 and 60 MeV lab 
energy. Cross sections within the same energy range were measured for 27Al (19F, 
3pn) 42K and 27Al (19F, 3p) 43K. Comparative measurements were performed for the 
same compound nucleus produced from natB(35Cl, x) 43Sc, natB(35Cl, pn) 44gSc, 
and natB(35Cl, pn) 44mSc. The measured thin target cross sections show an 
overestimation by several statistical models for the scandium radioisotopes. 
This is corroborated by the measured thick target production rates for both 
entrance channels. This may be due to angular momentum effects of a heavy ion 
entrance channel compared to light-ion production, but additional work is 
required to understand this discrepancy. These measurements demonstrate that the 
medically useful 43Sc, 44gSc, and 44mSc radioisotopes can be free of the 
long-lived contaminant 46Sc without the use of enriched targets, using heavy ion 
beams and robust target materials.

Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111560
PMID: 39488938

Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors 
declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal 
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this 
paper.


4. RSC Adv. 2024 Oct 30;14(47):34718-34732. doi: 10.1039/d4ra06541g. eCollection 
2024 Oct 29.

Boron-doped scandium clusters B@Sc (n-1) (-/0/+) with n = 2-13: uncovering the 
smallest endohedrally doped cages.

Nguyen-Ha BN(1)(2), Tam NM(3), Pham-Ho MP(1)(2), Nguyen MT(4)(5).

Author information:
(1)Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology 
(HCMUT) 268 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, District 10 Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam 
nhbngan.sdh232@hcmut.edu.vn phmphuong@hcmut.edu.vn.
(2)Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City Linh Trung Ward, Thu Duc City Ho 
Chi Minh City Vietnam.
(3)Faculty of Basic Sciences, University of Phan Thiet 225 Nguyen Thong Phan 
Thiet City Binh Thuan Vietnam.
(4)Laboratory for Chemical Computation and Modeling, Institute for Computational 
Science and Artificial Intelligence, Van Lang University Ho Chi Minh City 
Vietnam.
(5)Faculty of Applied Technology, School of Technology, Van Lang University Ho 
Chi Minh City Vietnam.

A comprehensive study using density functional theory with the PBE functional 
and the Def2-TZVP basis set investigates the pure Sc n +/0/- and doped Sc 
n-1B+/0/- clusters with n = 1-13 in three charged states. B@Sc6 +/0/- clusters 
emerge as the smallest doped cages identified so far, distinguished by their 
near-perfect octahedral geometry, with a B atom centrally enclosed in the Sc6 
+/0/- cages. Structural analysis reveals size-dependent trends, with a critical 
size at n = 6, marking a transition from exohedral to endohedral configuration, 
and a shift in the substitution-addition pattern of the B atom within the pure 
Sc host. Incorporation of a B atom induces electron redistribution, stabilizes 
high spin states and reduces energetic degeneracy. B-doping enhances the 
stability of the initial Sc n +/0/- clusters, showing a consistent preference 
for cationic isomers. A molecular orbital (MO) analysis provides a detailed 
explanation for the observed energy degeneracy among various stable spin states 
by delving into their electronic configurations.

This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.

DOI: 10.1039/d4ra06541g
PMCID: PMC11522958
PMID: 39479487

Conflict of interest statement: There are no conflicts to declare.


5. Small. 2024 Oct 24:e2407277. doi: 10.1002/smll.202407277. Online ahead of
print.

Electrical Doping in Sc-III-Nitrides: Toward Multifunctional Devices at the 
Signal Device Level.

Fathabadi M(1), Vafadar MF(1), Lamanque JC(1), Zhao S(1).

Author information:
(1)Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, 3480 
University Street, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0E9, Canada.

A homogeneous integration of various types of devices using a single material 
platform is an ideal route toward multifunctional devices at the single-device 
level for miniaturized, fast, and energy-efficient systems. However, such a 
single material platform is still missing. Scandium-containing III-nitrides 
(Sc-III-nitrides) are promising, but their electrical doping properties remain 
unknown. In this work, the electrical doping in Sc-III-nitrides is investigated 
and optoelectronic devices using Sc-III-nitrides on silicon (Si) are further 
demonstrated. The material format of the nanowire is used, with magnesium (Mg) 
serving as the impurity dopant to control the electrical doping. It is 
discovered that, by adjusting the Mg doping concentrations, the Sc-III-nitrides 
can be tuned from n-type to p-type. Device application in light-emitting is 
further demonstrated using the p-type Sc-III-nitrides as the hole injection 
layer. The performance comparison between devices using the regrown 
Sc-containing p-type contact layers and non-Sc-containing p-type contact layers 
indicates the advantage of Sc incorporation in improving the quality of the 
regrown p-type layer in a device structure. The electrical doping in 
Sc-III-nitrides demonstrated in this study represents an important step toward a 
homogeneous integration of different types of devices using a single material 
platform.

© 2024 The Author(s). Small published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.

DOI: 10.1002/smll.202407277
PMID: 39449236