Enantioselective alkylation of lactams and lactones via lithium enolate formation using a chiral tetradentate lithium amide in the presence of lithium bromide

Enantioselective alkylation of lactams and lactones can be realized up to 98% ee by deprotonation with a chiral tetradentate lithium amide (4b) in the presence of lithium bromide, and subsequent alkylation with active alkylating agents in non-chelating solvents.     

Simultaneous assay of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, catecholamines and O-methylated metabolites in human plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography

We devised a procedure for the simultaneous determination of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, catecholamines and O-methylated metabolites using a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic system. Detection is achieved by an electrochemical detector and a fluorescence detector connected in series. Sample preparation is kept to a minimum, and involves precipitation of proteins with trichloroacetic acid and perchloric acid, and subsequent neutralization, thus omitting the commonly adopted adsorption step. Chromatographic peaks were identified on the basis of retention behaviour and the ratio of responses at several oxidation potentials. The method was applied to the quantitative determination of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, catecholamines and O-methylated metabolites in human plasma.     

Surface hydrophobicity of fluorinated block copolymers enhanced by supercritical carbon dioxide annealing

Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) annealing enhances the hydrophobicity of the surfaces of asymmetric perfluorinated block copolymers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurement reveal that the surface domains of the fluorinated block (PF) of poly[styrene-block-4-(perfluorooctylpropyloxy)styrene] (PS-PF) become thicker than those annealed in a vacuum. Consequently, the contact angles of water on the surfaces of PS-PF block copolymers significantly increase after the scCO2 annealing compared to those annealed in a vacuum. The surface hydrophobicity enhanced by the scCO2 annealing is related to the thickness of the surface PF domain and the conformation of the PF block.     

Polycyclic N-hetero compounds. XXXVII. A convenient synthesis and evaluation of anti-platelet aggregation activity of 1,2,4,5-tetrahydro[1]- benzothiepino[4,5-e]imidazo[1,2-c]pyrimidine and its related compounds

A simple and highly efficient methodology for the synthesis of 1,2,4,5-tetrahydro[1]benzothiepino[4,5-e]-imidazo[1,2-c]pyrimidine ( XI ) having a novel ring system via 4-substituted 5,6-dihydro[1]benzothiepino-[5,4-d]pyrimidines VII-X is described. The anti-platelet aggregation activity for it and its related compounds against collagen-induced aggregation of rabbit blood platelets in vitro was found.     

Determination of arsenite, arsenate, and monomethylarsonic acid in seawater by ion-exclusion chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using reaction cell and hydride generation techniques

This paper describes a robust and sensitive method for the determination of arsenic species in seawater by ion-exclusion liquid chromatography (LC) combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) using reaction cell and hydride generation (HG) techniques. A good separation of arsenite, arsenate, and monomethylarsonic acid was achieved using an ion-exclusion column packed with a sulfonated polystyrene resin and a dilute nitric acid at pH 2.0 as the eluent, even when a large volume, i.e. 200 mul, of seawater samples containing a large amount of matrix was repeatedly injected. Separations of the chloride ion due to the matrix and arsenic species were partially performed; however, the extensive peak of ArCl due to high content of Cl(-) in a sample overlapped peaks of the three arsenic species on (75)As measurement by ICP-MS. This ArCl polyatomic interference was efficiently eliminated by collision of ArCl molecules with helium in an octopole reaction cell which was introduced prior to a mass spectrometer. Detection limits of the three arsenic species in a sample containing 2% Cl(-), the concentration of which is comparable to that in a seawater sample, by LC-ICP-MS with the octopole reaction system (ORS), ranged from 21 to 25 pg As ml(-1); these values were three-six times lower than those by LC-ICP-MS without ORS. As another technique for ArCl interference elimination, HG prior to ICP-MS was also successfully used not only to reduce the interference but also to improve the detection limits to 3.4-4.5 pg As ml(-1). The developed LC-ICP-ORS-MS and LC-HG-ICP-MS were validated by analyzing a certified reference material (CRM) of seawater. In addition, no serious decrease in analytical performance of present methods was observed in the experimental periods of half a year for LC-ICP-ORS-MS and 1 year for LC-HG-ICP-MS, respectively. The latter method was successfully applied to characterize seasonal variations of three arsenic species in deep seawater and surface seawater.     

Selective synthesis of fused cyclooctatetraenes by [4 + 4] coupling between two different diene units

In the presence of CuCl and 1,3-dimethyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2(1H)-pyrimidinone, the [4 + 4] coupling between zirconacyclopentadienes and 1,3-diiodobutadienes fused through an oxygen or nitrogen five-membered ring proceeded at ambient temperature to afford fully substituted polycyclic cyclo-octatetraenes in good yields. The fused ring moiety of the diiodides plays a critical role. The corresponding acyclic diiodide and a cyclohexane-fused analogue gave no coupling product, and a cyclopentane derivative showed only moderate reactivity. Correlation of the structures of the diiodides and their reactivity was established by an X-ray and density functional study.     

Gelation of colloidal crystals without degradation in their transmission quality and chemical tuning

A single-domain colloidal crystal with high transmission quality, prepared by a shear-induced process, was fixed as a hydrogel film by photopolymerization. Upon gelation, the original optical quality was almost perfectly preserved. By replacing the solvent, the gelled crystal could be converted to smaller lattice constant crystals without significant degradation in its transmission characteristics. The conversion results in a stop-band wavelength coverage across the entire visible light range.     

Synthesis and polymerization of various vinyl-type monomers containing the pyrrole ring

Vinyl-type monomers containing the pyrrole ring, such as 2-vinylpyrrole (2-VPyrr), N-(pyrrol-2-yl)methylacrylamide (PMA), N-methyl, N-(pyrrol-2-yl)methylacrylamide (MPMA), 2-allylpyrrole (2-AP), β-(pyrrol-1-yl)ethyl vinyl ether (PEVE), 2-diallyl-aminomethylpyrrole (DAMP), and 3-(2-pyrrolylmethyleneimino)propene-1 (PIP) were synthesized by various reactions involving characteristic properties of the pyrrole ring. Radical homopolymerizations and copolymerizations of these monomers were studied. In the homopolymerization of conjugated monomers such as 2-VPyrr and PMA, chain transfer to the pyrrole-containing monomer was remarkable but not degradative. The copolymerization parameters, that is, the values of r₁, r₂, Q₁, and e₁ of 2-VPyrr, were determined to be 0.066, 0.69, 5.53, and ?1.36, respectively in the copolymerization of 2-VPyrr (M₁) with MMA (M₂). The Q and e values of the monomers containing a heteroaromatic ring such as 2-vinylpyrrole, 2-vinylfuran, and 2-vinylthiophene were evaluated by the molecular orbital theory. The e value of PMA was found to be negative (?0.64) in the copolymerization with styrene, although e for acrylamide derivatives is generally positive. This may be explained by the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl group and NH group of PMA. That is, attraction or polarization of π-electrons in the vinyl group of PMA is weakened by such hydrogen bonding. From the results of copolymerization of 2-AP with various comonomers, the comonomers could be classified into three categories: class a monomers, in which both Q and e values are largely positive, can copolymerize with 2-AP; class b monomers, having small e values, homopolymerize and can not copolymerize with 2-AP; class c monomers, in which both Q and e values are small. The Q and e values of the comonomer must be largely positive in order to permit copolymerization with an allyl-type monomer.     

Synthesis, solution behavior, thermal stability, and biological activity of an Fe(III) complex of an artificial siderophore with intramolecular hydrogen bonding networks

Previously, an artificial siderophore complex, the iron(III) complex with tris[2-[(N-acetyl-N-hydroxy)glycylamino]ethyl]amine (TAGE), was constructed in order to understand the effect of intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction on the siderophore function, and its structural characterization in the solid state was reported (Inorg. Chem. 2001, 40, 190). In this paper, the solution behavior of the M(III)-TAGE (M = Fe, Ga) system has been investigated using (1)H NMR, UV-vis, and FAB mass spectroscopies in efforts to characterize the biological implication of hydrogen bonding networks between the amide hydrogens and coordinating aminohydroxy oxygens of the complex. The temperature dependence of (1)H NMR spectra for Ga(III) complex of TAGE indicates that hydrogen bonding networks are maintained in polar solvents such as DMSO-d(6) and D(2)O. The UV-vis spectra of the Fe(III)-TAGE system under various pH conditions have shown that TAGE forms a tris(hydroxamato)iron(III) complex in an aqueous solution in the pH range 4-8. By contrast, tris[2-[(N-acetyl-N-hydroxy)propylamido]ethyl]amine (TAPE; TAGE analogue that is difficult to form intramolecular hydrogen bonding networks), which has been synthesized as a comparison of TAGE, forms both of bis- and tris(hydroxamato)iron(III) complexes in the same pH range. Both the stability constants (log beta(FeTAGE) = 28.6; beta(FeTAGE) = [Fe(III)TAGE]/([Fe(3+)][TAGE(3)(-)])) and pM (-log[Fe(3+)]) value for Fe(III)TAGE (pM 25) are comparable to those of a natural siderophore ferrichrome (log beta = 29.1 and pM 25.2). The kinetic study of the TAGE-Fe(III) system has given the following rate constants: the rate of the ligand exchange reaction between Fe(III)TAGE and EDTA is 6.7 x 10(-4) s(-1), and the removal rates of iron from diferric bovine plasma transferrin by TAGE are 2.8 x 10(-2) and 6.0 x 10(-3) min(-1). These values are also comparable to those of a natural siderophore desferrioxamine B under the same conditions. In a biological activity experiment, TAGE has promoted the growth of the siderophore-auxotroph Gram-positive bacterium Microbacterium flavescens, suggesting that TAGE mimics the activity of ferrichrome. These results indicate that the artificial siderophore with intramolecular hydrogen bonding networks, TAGE, is a good structural and functional model for a natural ferrichrome.     

A highly efficient and direct approach for synthesis of enantiopure beta-amino alcohols by reductive cross-coupling of chiral N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines with aldehydes

A highly efficient and practical approach for the synthesis of optically pure beta-amino alcohols by the SmI2-induced reductive cross-coupling of chiral N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines with aldehydes was developed. This method allows the preparation of a broad range of chiral beta-amino alcohols, including functionalized ones under mild conditions. It provides a straightforward access to enantiopure beta-amino alcohols that are widely applicable in asymmetric synthesis.