Temperature Dependence of Raman Spectrum in Solid Carbon Tetrabromide

Laser Raman spectra of carbon tetrabromide have been observed for the lattice and intramolecular vibrational regions over a temperature range of 80–370 K. Many bands were observed in the lattice region and the spectrum at the lower temperature in the monoclinic phase is similar to that of γ-Si(CH₃)₄. The temperature dependence of each band has been studied. The v₃ fundamental indicates a distinct variation corresponding to the phase transition.     

Isolation, characterization and molecular evolution of a novel pearl shell lectin from a marine bivalve, Pteria penguin

Summary A novel lectin, PPL, was isolated from the mantle of penguin wing oyster (Pteria penguin) by affinity chromatography on mucin-Sepharose 4B and cation exchange chromatography on HiTrap SP. This lectin was estimated to be a 21-kDa monomer by gel filtration, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and matrix-assisted time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. However, dynamic light scattering experiments revealed that a non-covalently linked dimer formed under high salt conditions (500 mM NaCl). Interestingly, PPL showed an increasing hemagglutinating activity with increasing salt concentration. The amino acid sequence of PPL was determined by direct protein sequence analysis and cDNA cloning. The 167-amino acid sequence included 24 lysine residues and had two tandemly repeated homologous domains (residues 20–78 and 107–165) with 44% internal homology. PPL showed sequence homology to L-rhamnose-binding lectins from fish eggs and a D-galactose-binding lectin from sea urchin eggs, with sequence identities in the range 37–48%. PPL agglutinated various animal erythrocytes independently of calcium ions. The minimum concentration of PPL needed to agglutinate rabbit erythrocytes was 0.5 μg/ml, and the most effective saccharides to inhibit the hemagglutination were D-galactose, methyl-D-galactopyranoside and N-acetyl-D-lactosamine. Lactose also inhibited hemagglutination, but L-rhamnose did so only weakly despite the sequence homology with trout egg L-rhamnose-binding lectins. The carbohydrate-binding specificity of PPL was further examined by frontal affinity chromatography using 37 different pyridylaminated oligosaccharides. PPL was found to have strong binding affinity for various oligosaccharides that have Galβ1-4Glu/GlcNAc, Galβ1-3GalNAc/GlcNAc and Galα 1-4Gal moieties in their structure. PPL had a high thermal stability and retained 50% of its hemagglutinating activity after incubation at 70°C for 100 min. It agglutinated some Gram-negative bacteria by recognizing lipopolysaccharides. Together, these results suggest that PPL is a new member of the trout egg lectin family which participates in the self-defense mechanism against bacteria and pathogens with a distinct carbohydrate-binding specificity. We conclude that the trout egg lectin family proteins, in particular their carbohydrate recognition domains, have acquired diverse carbohydrate-binding specificities during molecular evolution.     

Fusaspirols A-D,novel oxaspirol derivatives isolated from Fusarium solani B-18

Four novel compounds with γ-methylidene-spirobutanolide core, fusaspirols A-D, were isolated from the brown rice culture of Fusarium solani B-18. Their structures were established by extensive spectroscopic analyses of 1D/2D-NMR, HRESITOFMS, and chemical derivatization. The absolute configurations of secondary alcohols in fusaspirols A and D were determined using modified Mosher's ester method. Fusaspirol A and 4,9-di-O-acetylfusaspirol A activated a signaling pathway in osteoclastic differentiation of murine macrophage derived RAW264.7?cells.     

Macrocyclic hexaketone as a specific host of uranyl ion

A novel synthetic method was described for a new macrocyclic hexaketone, 1,3,9,11,17,19-hexaoxocyclotetracosane, which extracted 98 % of uranyl ion into benzene phase from a dilute (10 ppm) aqueous solution of pH 8.     

Rearranged vibsane-type diterpenes from Viburnum awabuki and photochemical reaction of vibsanin B

Nine new diterpenes, neovibsanin D (1), 7-epi-neovibsanin D (2), 15-O-methylneovibsanin F (3), 14-epi-15-O-methylneovibsanin F (4), 15-O-methyl-18-oxoneovibsanin F (5), 2-O-methylneovibsanin H (6), 2-O-methylneovibsanin I (7), neovibsanin G (8), and 14-epi-neovibsanin G (9), were isolated from a methanol extract of the leaves of Viburnum awabuki. Their structures were elucidated to be uniquely rearranged vibsane-type diterpenes by spectroscopic analyses and comparison of NMR data with those of previously reported vibsane-type diterpenes. In addition, irradiation of vibsanin B (12) in methanol with a high-pressure Hg lump led to the direct formation of neovibsanins A (14) and B (15). These results gave a clue to understanding of the biogenetic interconversion of 11-membered vibsanins into neovibsanins.     

A convenient synthesis of 2-amino-4H-1,3,4-oxadiazino[5,6-b]-quinoxaline derivatives

The reaction of 6-chloro-2-(1-methylhydrazino)quinoxaline 4-oxide 5 with a 2-fold molar amount of ethyl chloroglyoxalate gave ethyl 8-chloro-4-methyl-4H-1,3,4-oxadiazino[5,6-b]quinoxaline-2-carboxylate 6 , whose reaction with hydrazine hydrate afforded the C₂-hydrazinocarbonyl derivative 7 . The reaction of compound 7 with nitrous acid provided the C₂-acylazide derivative 8 , which was converted into the C₂-amino 9 , C₂-carbamate 11a-c, 12a,b , and C₂-ureido 13a-c, 14 derivatives. The mass spectral fragmentation patterns were examined for compounds 10–14 , wherein the molecular ion peak did not appear in the mass spectra of compounds 10c, 11a-c, 12a,b, 13c , and 14.