Synthesis and characterization of model 3‐miktoarm star copolymers of poly(dimethylsiloxane) and poly(2‐vinylpyridine)

3‐Miktoarm star copolymers, 3μ‐D₂V, with two poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and one poly(2‐vinylpyridine) (P2VP) arm, were synthesized by using anionic polymerization–high vacuum techniques and (chloromethylphenylethyl)methyl dichlorosilane, heterofunctional linking agent, with two SiCl groups and one CH₂Cl group. The synthetic strategy involves the selective reaction of the two ? SiCl groups with PDMSOLi living chains, followed by reaction of the remaining chloromethyl group with P2VPLi. Combined molecular characterization results (size exclusion chromatography, membrane osmometry, and ¹H NMR spectroscopy) revealed a high degree of structural and compositional homogeneity. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 614–619, 2006     

Glycopolymeric inhibitors of β‐glucuronidase. III. Configurational effects of hydroxy groups in pendant glyco‐units in polymers upon inhibition of β‐glucuronidase

Two kinds of new glycopolymers, (P(VB‐1‐GlcaH‐co‐AAm), 9 ) and (P(VB‐1‐Glco‐co‐AAm), 10 ), were synthesized through the radical copolymerization of styrene derivatives bearing pendant D ‐glucaric and D ‐gluconic moieties, N‐(p‐vinylbenzyl)‐1‐D ‐glucaramide (VB‐1‐GlcaH, 7 ), and N‐(p‐vinylbenzyl)‐D ‐gluconamide (VB‐1‐Glco, 8 ), with acrylamide (AAm). Glycopolymer 9 bearing the pendant glucaric moiety at the first position inhibited the hydrolysis of a model compound for xenobiotics‐β‐glucuronide conjugates, p‐nitrophenyl β‐D ‐glucuronide, uncompetitively, in contrast to the competitive inhibition in the presence of the corresponding isomeric glycopolymer bearing the pendant D ‐glucaric unit at the sixth position (P(VB‐6‐GlcaH‐co‐AAm), 3 ) reported in our previous article. On the other hand, another copolymer 10 bearing the gluconic moiety was found not to inhibit the hydrolysis as well as the corresponding copolymer bearing pendant gulonic unit (P(VB‐6‐Glco‐co‐AAm), 4 ). These results indicate that the hydrolysis is influenced not only by existence of pendant carboxyl units but also by the direction on the linkage of the glyco‐units to the polymer frame. Therefore the configurational position of hydroxy groups in pendant glyco‐units in macromolecular inhibitors may be essential for the interaction with β‐glucuronidase. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4895–4903, 2006     

Lithographic design of photosensitive polyarylates based on reaction development patterning

The factors affecting pattern‐forming properties in reaction development patterning were examined with polyarylates with various bisphenol moieties. The developability of the photosensitive polyarylates was dependent on the properties of the subtituent (R) in the bisphenol moieties. The development time decreased in the following order: R?C(CH₃)₂ > fluorenyl unit ? phenolphthalein unit > C(CF₃)₂ > SO₂. This order agreed with that of the reactivity between the polyarylates and ethanolamine, and these orders can be explained by pK_a of the bisphenol used to prepare the polyarylates. The development with NH₂? R′? OH resulted in successful positive‐tone pattern formation. However, pattern formation with the developers containing NH₂? R′? OCH₃ was unsuccessful. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2694–2706, 2006     

Preparation and certification of the new reference materials; plastics (disk form, JSAC 0621-0625) for determination of mercury using x-ray fluorescent analysis.

The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry has developed some new plastic certified reference materials (CRMs) for the analysis of mercury in polyester disks using XRF analysis. These CRMs (named as JSAC 0621-0625) were prepared by casting polyesters including a toluene solution of organometallic compounds as a standard. Concentrations of the five levels of mercury ranged from 0 to 250 mg/kg. Homogeneity tests of prepared disks had shown excellent results. Interlaboratory comparison study for the certification was performed by 15 laboratory participants. The z-scores in robust statistical method was applied for the evaluation of outliers. The certified values were assigned after discarding outliers. The uncertainties of certified values were determined as the confidence levels of 95%.     

Purines. LII. Synthesis and biological evaluation of 8-methylguanine 7-oxide and its 9-arylmethyl derivatives.

The synthesis of 8-methylguanine 7-oxide (3) was accomplished via a "phenacylamine route", which started from condensation of alpha-(4-methoxybenzylamino)propiophenone (6), prepared by coupling of alpha-bromopropiophenone (4) and 4-methoxybenzylamine (5), with 2-amino-6-chloro-5-nitro-4(3H)-pyrimidinone (7) and proceeded through cyclization of the resulting phenacylaminopyrimidinone (8) and removal of the 4-methoxybenzyl group. The N-oxide 3 and its 9-arylmethyl derivatives 9 and 11 showed only very weak antileukemic activity and no antimicrobial activity.     

Metal components analysis of metallothionein-III in the brain sections of metallothionein-I and metallothionein-II null mice exposed to mercury vapor with HPLC/ICP-MS

Mercury vapor is effectively absorbed via inhalation and easily passes through the blood–brain barrier; therefore, mercury poisoning with primarily central nervous system symptoms occurs. Metallothionein (MT) is a cysteine-rich metal-binding protein and plays a protective role in heavy-metal poisoning and it is associated with the metabolism of trace elements. Two MT isoforms, MT-I and MT-II, are expressed coordinately in all mammalian tissues, whereas MT-III is a brain-specific member of the MT family. MT-III binds zinc and copper physiologically and is seemed to have important neurophysiological and neuromodulatory functions. The MT functions and metal components of MTs in the brain after mercury vapor exposure are of much interest; however, until now they have not been fully examined. In this study, the influences of the lack of MT-I and MT-II on mercury accumulation in the brain and the changes of zinc and copper concentrations and metal components of MTs were examined after mercury vapor exposure by using MT-I, II null mice and 129/Sv (wild-type) mice as experimental animals. MT-I, II null mice and wild-type mice were exposed to mercury vapor or an air stream for 2 h and were killed 24 h later. The brain was dissected into the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum, and the hippocampus. The concentrations of mercury in each brain section were determined by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentrations of mercury, copper, and zinc in each brain section were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The mercury accumulated in brains after mercury vapor exposure for MT-I, II null mice and wild-type mice. The mercury levels of MT-I, II null mice in each brain section were significantly higher than those of wild-type mice after mercury vapor exposure. A significant change of zinc concentrations with the following mercury vapor exposure for MT-I, II null mice was observed only in the cerebellum analyzed by two-way analysis of variance. As for zinc, the copper concentrations only changed significantly in the cerebellum. Metal components of metal-binding proteins of soluble fractions in the brain sections were analyzed by size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) connected with ICP-MS. From the results of HPLC/ICP-MS analyses, it was concluded that the mercury components of MT-III and high molecular weight metal-binding proteins in the cerebellum of MT-I, II null mice were much higher than those of wild-type mice. It was suggested that MT-III is associated with the storage of mercury in conditions lacking MT-I, and MT-II. It was also suggested that the physiological role of MT-III and some kind of high molecular weight proteins might be impaired by exposure to mercury vapor and lack of MT-I and MT-II.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of new psi[(E)-CH=CMe]- and psi[(Z)-CH=CMe]-type alkene dipeptide isosteres by organocopper reagents and application to conformationally restricted cyclic RGD peptidomimetics

Diastereoselective synthesis of new psi[(E)-CH=CMe]- and psi[(Z)-CH=CMe]-type alkene dipeptide isosteres corresponding to dipeptides having one N-methylamino acid, and application to bioactive peptides, are described. In a key reaction introducing the chiral alpha-alkyl group of the isosteres, organocopper-mediated alkylation of syn-beta-methylated gamma-mesyloxy-alpha,beta-enoate 26a afforded E- and Z-isomers of anti-S(N)2' products in a solvent-dependent manner. The resulting two isosteres, D-Phe-psi[(E)-CH=CMe]-L-Val 27a and D-Phe-psi[(Z)-CH=CMe]-L-Val 28b, which corresponded to trans- and cis-conformers of D-Phe-L-MeVal, respectively, were utilized in a structure-activity relationship study on cyclic RGD peptides 1 and 2, in company with a psi[(E)-CH=CH]-type alkene dipeptide isostere, D-Phe-psi[(E)-CH=CH]-L-Val. The cyclic isostere-containing pseudopeptides 3, 4, and 40 were synthesized and biological activity against integrin alpha(V)beta(3) and alpha(IIb)beta(3) receptors were also evaluated.