Chemistry of Synthetic Bilayer Membranes

The preparation of bilayer membranes from synthetic dialkyl amphiphiles is described. According to the electron microscopic observation, the bilayer structure similar to that of biomembranes is formed spontaneously when dialkyldimethyl-ammonium bromides with C₁₀-C₂₀ alkyl groups are dispersed in water by sonication. The line broadening in the NMR spectrum strongly suggests that these synthetic bilayers constitute liquid crystalline or solid phases. The hydrophilic head group may be sulfonium and modified ammonium moieties. The bilayer assembly is also formed from dialkyl amphiphiles with anionic head groups: (phosphate, sulfonate, and carboxylate), from nonionic dialkyl amphiphiles (oligomeric ethylene oxide) moiety) and from zwitterionic dialkyl amphiphiles. These bilayers incorporate equimolar cholesterol fairly readily. The redistribution of catalyst (a cholesterol derivative) and substrate (p-nitrophenyl palmitate) molecules is very slow when they are tightly bound to the aggregate. The intravesicle reaction is much faster than the intervesicle counterpart in the case of the di-dodecyldimethylammonium bromide vesicle.     

Causal nature of the motion of wavelets

The significance of the wavelets reported on previously is seen to lie in the causal nature of their motion. Some remarks are presented in order to bring out this significance.Formerly: Polytechnic Institute of New York.     

A rational interpretation of the dirac equation for the electron

Rationalization of the interpretation of the Dirac equation for the electron lies beyond the conventional scope of quantum mechanics. This difficulty motivates a revision of the system of quantum mechanics through which the indeterministic trait is eliminated from the system.     

A relativistic field theory of the electron

A set of nonlinear partial differential equations covariant in a non-Euclidean space is reduced to the Dirac equation for the electron and the Maxwell-Lorentz equations of electromagnetic fields under certain assumptions. In the course of reduction, we have opportunities for understanding the relationship between the Dirac equation and the Maxwell-Lorentz equations, and also for visualizing conditions which limit feasible applications of those known equations in physics.     

Supramolecular Assembly of Metal Chelates Based on Synthetic Bilayer Membranes

Synthetic bilayer membranes are two-dimensional arrays of am-phiphilic molecules. A large number of bilayer-forming am-phiphiles are designed by combinations of the structural elements (hydrophilic head, hydrophobic tail, connector, rigid segment, etc.). Metal chelate units have been incorporated into bilayer membranes as part of the bilayer component or as guest molecules. In the former example, a positively charged Cu(II)/polyamine complex and a Cu(II)/diketone unit are used as the hydrophilic head and rigid segment, respectively. The anisotropic orientation of these Cu(II) chelates is confirmed on the basis of the anisotropic ESR patterns observed for cast films of aqueous bilayer dispersions. Anionic planar Cu(II) complexes are incorporated noncovalently into cast films of ammonium bilayer membranes. These Cu(II) complexes are placed either horizontally or vertically, depending on the distribution of negative charges within each molecule. Strong antiferromagnetic interaction is observed when Cu(II) chelates are arranged two-dimensionally on bilayer membranes.     

Indoline derivatives I: synthesis and factor Xa (FXa) inhibitory activities

A series of bisamidine derivatives each having a ring structure in the center of the molecule was synthesized and their Factor Xa (FXa) inhibitory activities were evaluated. Among them, some indoline derivatives showed potent inhibitory activities in vitro. In particular, (R)-18a having an (R)-configuration at the 2-position of the indoline ring exhibited the most potent FXa inhibitory activity in vitro, more potent than DX-9065a. Furthermore, (R)-18a exhibited more potent anticoagulant activity than DX-9065a. We also succeeded in obtaining an X-ray crystal structure of FXa bound with (R)-18a.     

Formation of silver nanoparticles and nanocraters on silicon wafers

Silver nanocraters and monodisperse nanoparticles were formed on silicon wafers by spin-coating of an aqueous AgNO3/PVA solution and calcination of the resulting Ag+/PVA composite film. The monodisperse Ag nanoparicles were formed from small Ag+/PVA aggregates and were uniformly and stably distributed on the substrate surface. They were located as close as 2.8 nm apart (edge to edge) without coalescence. This nanoparticle stability was apparently derived from their interaction with the oxidized wafer surface. On the other hand, Ag metallic nanocraters with and without nanodots at their centers were produced from large Ag+/PVA aggregates. The explosive decomposition of AgNO3 and PVA by calcination could explain their formation. When Ag+ ions were reduced to Ag nanoparticles prior to calcination, larger Ag nanoparticles were produced probably due to aggregation of closely situated nanoparticles. Those nanoparticles that were located far enough stayed intact. Perspectives are discussed in terms of potential applications.     

Nanocopying of individual DNA strands and formation of the corresponding surface pattern of titania nanotube

Titania nanotube was prepared by nanocopying of the individual DNA double strand as template. DNA was first spread on a solid substrate, and its molecular surface was coated with an ultrathin titania layer by 3 cycles of the surface sol-gel process. Fluorescence microscopic images before and after titania coating of the DNA/YOYO-1 complex were essentially identical, showing that the titania coating did not change the chemical properties of the complex. Titania coating effectively prohibited chemical degradation of titania-coated DNA with DNase I and physically separated the DNA strand from the surrounding environment with an ultrathin titania barrier. The morphology of the DNA strand was preserved, as confirmed by microscopic and spectroscopic observations. The presence of the hollow (tubular) structure was confirmed by a silver staining experiment coupled with scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX) analysis. The present finding shows the effectiveness of nanocopying of the individual DNA strand.