Nanoscopic fibrous assemblies made of metallophthalocyanine-terminated amphiphilic polymers

Atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of acrylates from the initiator-modified zinc phthalocyanine yielded amphiphilic, phthalocyanine-terminated polymers with a narrow molecular-weight distribution. The disklike phthalocyanine moiety was incorporated into one end of the polymer chain. We investigated the aggregation behavior of phthalocyanine-terminated polymers in solution and in the solid state by using UV-visible, FT-IR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and temperature-controlled powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Amphiphilic phthalocaynine-terminated polymers that possess a poly[tri(ethylene glycol)methyl ether acrylate] chain aggregate in methanol to form a physical gel. Images from atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicate that the physical gel contains a dense fibrous network structure, in which the zinc phthalocyanine groups were stacked into one-dimensional columnar aggregates through intermolecular pi-pi interactions between the pi-conjugated phthalocyanines and through van der Waals interaction of alkyl chains.     

Asymmetric Activation

While nonracemic catalysts can generate nonracemic products with or without the nonlinear relationship in enantiomeric excesses between catalysts and products, racemic catalysts inherently give only a racemic mixture of chiral products. Asymmetric catalysts, either in nonracemic or racemic form, can be further evolved into highly activated catalysts with association of chiral activators. This asymmetric activation process is particularly useful in racemic catalysis through selective activation of one enantiomer of the racemic catalyst. Recently, a strategy whereby a racemic catalyst is selectively deactivated by a chiral additive has been reported to yield nonracemic products. However, reported herein is an alternative and conceptually opposite strategy in which a chiral activator selectively activates, rather than deactivates, one enantiomer of a racemic chiral catalyst. The advantage of this activation strategy over the deactivation counterpart is that the activated catalyst can produce a greater enantiomeric excess in the products-even with the use of a catalytic amount of activator relative to chiral catalyst-than that attained by the enantiomerically pure catalyst on its own. Therefore, asymmetric activation could provide a general and powerful strategy for not only the use of atropisomeric, racemic ligands but also chirally flexible and proatropisomeric ligands without enantiomeric resolution!     

Effect of a modification site on the electron-transfer reaction of glucose oxidase hybrids modified with phenothiazine via a poly(ethylene oxide) spacer

Glucose oxidase [GOx-(PT-PEONH2)] hybrids are synthesized by attaching phenothiazine (PT) groups to aspartic and glutamic acid residues on the enzyme surface via poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) spacers of different molecular weights. A fast oxidation of FADH2/FADH by PT+ with the aid of the local motion of a hydrophilic, long, flexible PEO spacer is achieved for the GOx-(PT-PEONH2) hybrids and yields greater electron-transfer (ET) rates than that for GOx-(PTNH2) hybrids, in which the PT groups are directly bonded to the GOx surface. The ET rate of GOx-(PT-PEONH2) hybrids depends on the molecular weight of PT-PEONH2, and the maximum is obtained at a molecular weight of 3000. The ET rates of GOx hybrids are compared in terms of the location of the PT modification and the length and structure of the spacer chain connection of the PT mediator to a surface amino acid residue. Greater ET rates are obtained for the modification at aspartic and glutamic acid residues than for the lysine modification when the PT groups are bonded directly or via a short PEO spacer chain. In contrast, no advantage of aspartic and glutamic acid residues over lysine residues in generating a fast oxidation of FADH2/FADH by PT+ is observed for GOx hybrids in which the PT groups are attached via longer PEO spacers. The long PEO spacer is able to compensate the disadvantage of lysine residues locating far from the FAD center in GOx hybrids whose mediation reactions are based on the so-called wipe mechanism.     

Efficient synthesis of serically constrained smmetrically alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids under operationally convenient conditions

Homologation of the nucleophilic glycine equivalent Ni-Gly-PABP [Ni(II) complex of glycine Schiff base with 2-[N-(alpha-picolyl)amino]benzophenone (PABP)] 2 via alkyl halide alkylations and Michael addition reactions was systematically studied as a general method for preparing symmetrically alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids (sym-alpha,alpha-AA). The dialkylation reactions are conducted under operationally convenient conditions without recourse to inert atmosphere, dried solvents, and low temperatures, thus enjoying key advantages of the experimental simplicity and attractive cost structure. The method has been shown to be particularly successful for the dialkylation of complex 2 with activated and nonactivated alkyl halides, including propargyl derivatives, affording a generalized and practical access to the corresponding sym-alpha,alpha-AA. This study has also shown some limitation of the method, as it cannot be extended to alpha- or beta-branched alkyl halides or Michael acceptors to be used for the dialkylation of glycine equivalent 2. High chemical yields of the dialkylated products, combined with the simplicity of the experimental procedure, render this method worth immediate use for multigram scale preparation of the sym-alpha,alpha-AA.     

Rapid screening and identification of cytochalasins by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

The cytochalasin class of fungal metabolites was analyzed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) with the aim of developing a methodology for their rapid identification in microbial extracts. ESI-MS analyses of reference cytochalasins were performed and several product ions were produced in MS/MS experiments on parent ions that are structurally characteristic. A precursor ion search was performed to detect cytochalasins in an ethyl acetate extract of fungal strain RK97-F21. Three cytochalasins were detected and one of the components was identified as epoxycytochalasin H by comparing the tandem mass spectra of the product ions with those of reference compounds. This finding was further validated by LC/MS and LC/MS/MS experiments.     

Total synthesis of macquarimicins using an intramolecular Diels-Alder approach inspired by a biosynthetic pathway

A total synthesis of the macquarimicins A-C (1-3), novel natural products with intriguing tetra- or pentacyclic frameworks, has been achieved. The synthesis features an extensive investigation of the biosynthesis-based intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) reactions of (E,Z,E)-1,6,8-nonatrienes. Considering possible biosynthetic sequences, four types of substrates were synthesized, and their IMDA reactions were examined. From one of the four substrates, the total synthesis was achieved via a transannular Diels-Alder reaction, which led to the stereoselective construction of the unique molecular framework. The convergent and efficient synthetic pathway afforded (+)-1 in 27 linear steps with 4.3% and 9.9% overall yields from readily available ethyl (2E,4S)-4,5-(isopropylidene)dioxy-2-pentenoate (22) and (R)-epichlorohydrin (30), respectively. Furthermore, efficient syntheses of 2, 3, and the 9-epi-cochleamycins A (57) and B (58) were accomplished. Additionally, the present work established the absolute stereochemistry of macquarimicins and revised the C(2)--C(3) geometry of 1.     

Higher Order Derivative Characterization for Fock-Type Spaces

In this paper, we give a characterization for the Fock-type space \({\mathcal{F}_{\alpha}^{\infty}(\mathbb{C}^N)}\) in terms of higher order derivatives of f and behaviors of local integral means of those derivatives. The space \({\mathcal{F}_{\alpha}^{\infty}(\mathbb{C}^N)}\) has the closed subspace \({\mathcal{F}_{\alpha, 0}^{\infty}(\mathbb{C}^N)}\). We also characterize this subspace via higher order derivatives. As an application we study the boundedness and compactness of the extended Cesaro operator T _g on \({\mathcal{F}_{\alpha}^{\infty}(\mathbb{C}^N)}\) and \({\mathcal{F}_{\alpha, 0}^{\infty}(\mathbb{C}^N)}\).     

Reductive deprotection of propargyl ether by a SmI2-amine-water system and its application to polymer-supported oligosaccharide synthesis

A SmI₂-amine-water system instantaneously deprotected aryl and alkyl propargyl ethers in a reductive manner. The utility of the propargyl group as a protecting group in oligosaccharide synthesis, and its application to polymer-supported oligosaccharide synthesis is described.     

Determination of acrolein in serum by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after pre‐column fluorogenic derivatization using 1,2‐diamino‐4,5‐dimethoxybenzene

Acrolein is a major unsaturated aldehyde that is generated during the lipid peroxidation process. The measurement of acrolein in biological samples should be useful to estimate the degree of lipid peroxidation and to evaluate the effect of hazardous properties of acrolein on human health. In this study, a highly sensitive and selective high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection method was developed for the determination of acrolein in human serum. The proposed method involves the pre‐column fluorogenic derivatization of acrolein with 1,2‐diamino‐4,5‐dimethoxybenzene (DDB) as a reagent. The fluorescent derivative of acrolein could be detected clearly without any interfering reagent blank peaks because DDB does not have intrinsic fluorescence itself, and the detection limit was 10 nM (signal‐to‐noise ratio = 3). The proposed method could selectively detect acrolein in human serum with a simple protein precipitation treatment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controlled Dispersion and Purification of Protein–Carbon Nanotube Conjugates Using Guanidine Hydrochloride

For the development of biofunctional carbon nanotubes for biosensors, drug carriers, and nanobiocatalysts, their aggregation and biofouling in aqueous solutions are crucial problems because this behavior leads to a reduction of their excellent optical and electrical properties and nanoscale size effects. This paper presents a new method for enhancing the dispersibility of protein–carbon nanotube conjugates and for exfoliating the protein from the carbon nanotube sidewalls through controlling the concentration of guanidine hydrochloride (Gdn ? HCl) in the solution. In medium concentrations (2–3 M ) of Gdn ? HCl, the dispersibility of protein–carbon nanotube conjugates was found to be substantially increased without denaturation or aggregation of the proteins. At higher concentrations (>6 M ) of Gdn ? HCl, pristine carbon nanotubes were precipitated instantly as a result of dissociation of the protein. These phenomena indicate that Gdn ? HCl functions not only as a dispersion adjuvant for biofunctional protein–carbon nanotube conjugates, but also as a cleaning agent for the purification of biofouled carbon nanotubes. The dissociation concentrations of Gdn ? HCl were higher than the midpoint of protein denaturation, suggesting that protein adsorption on carbon nanotubes is more stable than protein folding toward Gdn ? HCl.