Syntheses of 6-O-ethyl/methyl-celluloses via ring-opening copolymerization of 3-O-benzyl-6-O-ethyl/methyl-α-d-glucopyranose 1,2,4-orthopivalates and their structure–property relationships

6-O-Alkyl-celluloses with well-defined ratio of ethyl and methyl groups at position 6 were prepared by ring-opening copolymerization of 6-O-ethyl and 6-O-methyl glucose 1,2,4-orthopivalate derivatives. An aqueous solution of 6-O-ethyl-cellulose having no methyl group was found to be thermo-responsive to be turbid at ~70 °C. An aqueous solution of 6-O-ethyl-cellulose with higher molecular weight showed endothermic and exothermic peaks in the heating and cooling curves of DSC measurements, respectively. However, 6-O-alkyl-cellulose having 10% methyl group lost its thermo-responsive character. 6-O-Alkyl-celluloses having more than ten percent of ethyl group at position 6 became water-soluble, though 6-O-methyl-cellulose is insoluble in water. Thus, 6-O-ethyl group was found to be of importance for the water solubility of regioselective 6-O-alkyl-celluloses. Furthermore, a small amount of methyl group introduced at C6 position was found to affect some of physical properties of 6-O-alkyl-celluloses such as thermo responsive property.     

Fabrication of anodic photocurrent generation systems by use of 6-O-dihydrophytylcellulose as a matrix or a scaffold of porphyrins

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films containing porphyrin molecules were fabricated by use of 6-O-dihydrophytylcellulose (DHPC) toward anodic photocurrent generation systems. To suppress the porphyrin aggregation, two different approaches were applied: (1) mixing a low-molecular-weight porphyrin having a diterpenoid carbon skeleton (DPor) with DHPC as a matrix (matrix fabrication) and (2) bonding porphyrin molecules to the hydroxyl groups of DHPC covalently, converting into 6-O-dihydrophytyl-2,3-di-O-[p-(10,15,20-triphenyl-5-porphyrinyl)-benzoyl]cellulose as a scaffold (scaffold fabrication). The structure and film properties of the monolayers and the LB films were investigated by the surface pressure (π)–area (A) isotherm measurements, atomic force microscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and absorption dichroism measurements. The porphyrin aggregation in the LB film could be well suppressed only by the scaffold fabrication, leading to the improvement of the photocurrent quantum yields. The efficient photocurrent performance can be demonstrated by the isolation and the parallel orientation of porphyrin moieties due to the cellulose rigid scaffold. This paper was the subject of the Best Poster Award of the 235th edition of the ACS National Meeting, Cellulose and Renewable Materials.     

Mobile customer model with retrials

A cellular system consisting of small zones is studied. Since their zones are small, the change of the number of mobile customers in a cell influences the performance. The hand-off failure probability and blocking probability may be important as the performance measures. In this paper, we consider the retrial behavior of customers who meet the hand-off failure and blocking. We classify customers into three types: the retrial resignation type, the ordinary retrial type and the persistent retrial type. We evaluate the effect of the existence of mobile customers with retrials.     

Weak and Strong Convergence Theorems for Maximal Monotone Operators in a Banach Space

In this paper, we introduce an iterative sequence for finding a solution of a maximal monotone operator in a uniformly convex Banach space. Then we first prove a strong convergence theorem, using the notion of generalized projection. Assuming that the duality mapping is weakly sequentially continuous, we next prove a weak convergence theorem, which extends the previous results of Rockafellar [SIAM J. Control Optim. 14 (1976), 877–898] and Kamimura and Takahashi [J. Approx. Theory 106 (2000), 226–240]. Finally, we apply our convergence theorem to the convex minimization problem and the variational inequality problem.     

Multiple scattering effect in the Young-like interference pattern of an optical wave scattered by a double cylinder

The plane-polarized laser wave with a wavelength of 441.6 nm collides with two close parallel cylinders, called a double cylinder, each of a diameter about 100 or 200 nm at normal incidence. The measured angular distribution of the scattered light intensity, called a Young-like interference pattern, is compared with the rigorous theoretical calculation over a wide range of scattering angles. We have experimentally confirmed the multiple scattering effect of the wave between cylinders in an exact way.     

Synthesis of diblock copolymers with cellulose derivatives. 1. Model study with azidoalkyl carboxylic acid and cellobiosylamine derivative

The basic strategy to make a well-defined A-block-B type cellulose derivative consisting of cellulose and a hydrophobic part was established. The model experiments using cellobiose derivatives play an important role in an actual synthesis of A-block-B type copolymer consisting of cellulose and a hydrophobic part with well-controlled length. A new hydrophobic building block, 15-azidopentadecanoyl chloride, was converted from a commercially available15-hydroxypentadecanoic acid. The novel hydrophobic linker, 15-azidopentadecanoyl chloride, was twice introduced into the reducing end of the cellobiosylamine derivative. The structures of the model compounds for A-block-B type copolymer consisting of sugar and non-sugar blocks were characterized by use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).     

Synthesis of methylcellulose model copolymers with heterogeneous distribution and their solution properties

In order to elucidate the characteristic features of commercial methylcellulose precisely, O-methylcellulose model copolymers consisting of 2,3,6-tri-O-methylanhydroglucose unit (236MeAGU) and 2-O-methylanhydroglucose unit (2MeAGU) with various composition ratios were synthesized via cationic ring-opening copolymerization of the corresponding glucose orthoester derivatives, subsequent removal of pivaloyl and allyl groups, and methylation. The structure of the obtained copolymers was confirmed by ¹H-, ¹³C-NMR, and FT-IR. Temperature-dependent turbidity measurement verified their thermoresponsive behavior in aqueous solution. The lower critical solution temperature was tuned from 63 to 45 °C above 47 mol-% 236MeAGU content. The hydrophobicity along the cellulose chain was dominant to determine their physical properties. However, the aqueous properties of the MC model copolymers were strongly affected by the slight difference of the composition ratio. The present method would provide further details of the structure–property relationship of O-methylcellulose.     

Synthesis and preparation of nanoparticles composed of amphiphilic poly(γ-glutamic acid) with different hydrophobic side chains and their potential of membrane disruptive activity

In the development of nanoparticle-based vaccine adjuvants, the interaction between nanoparticles (NPs) and the cells is a key factor. To control them, we focused on the relationship between the hydrophobicity of the side chains and the cell membrane. In this study, amphiphilic poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA), using various types of hydrophobic side chains, was synthesized and used to prepare NPs for evaluating the membrane disruptive activity. When leucine ethyl ester (Leu), methionine ethyl ester (Met), or tryptophan ethyl ester (Trp) was grafted, each polymer formed monodispersed NPs at physiological conditions. Significantly, NPs composed of Leu and Trp showed a membrane disruptive activity at the endosomal environment (pH 5–6.5), while NPs composed of Met did not show. This might be due to the weak hydrophobicity of Met compared to that of Leu and Trp, which demonstrated that the interaction between NPs and cells could be controlled by designing the polymer compositions.     

Selective Ablation of β‐Galactosidase‐Expressing Cells with a Rationally Designed Activatable Photosensitizer

We have developed an activatable photosensitizer capable of specifically inducing the death of β‐galactosidase‐expressing cells in response to photoirradiation. By using a selenium‐substituted rhodol scaffold bearing β‐galactoside as a targeting substituent, we designed and synthesized HMDESeR‐βGal, which has a non‐phototoxic spirocyclic structure owing to the presence of the galactoside moiety. However, β‐galactosidase efficiently converted HMDESeR‐βGal into phototoxic HMDESeR, which exists predominantly in the open xanthene form. This structural change resulted in drastic recovery of visible‐wavelength absorption and the ability to generate singlet oxygen (¹O₂). When HMDESeR‐βGal was applied to larval Drosophila melanogaster wing disks, which express β‐galactosidase only in the posterior region, photoirradiation induced cell death in the β‐galactosidase‐expressing region with high specificity.