(-)-Axinyssene: a novel cytotoxic diterpene from a Japanese marine sponge Axinyssa sp

[structure: see text] A novel diterpene, (-)-axinyssene, was isolated from the Japanese marine sponge Axinyssa sp. The structure of (-)-axinyssene was determined on the basis of spectroscopic and synthetic evidence to be 1-methyl-4-[(4E)-5',9'-dimethyl-1'-methylene-4',8'-decadienyl]-(4S)-cyclohexene. (-)- and (+)-axinyssene showed mild cytotoxicity against acute promyelocytic leukemia, HL-60 cells.     

SUNBURN CELL: FACTORS INVOLVED IN ITS FORMATION.

Abstract— The sunburn cell (SC) is a type of individual cell death appearing in epidermis principally after exposure to middle-wavelength UV radiation (UVR). Because SC_s can easily be recognized by histologic characteristics, they may provide a countable index of assessment of the degree of UVR injuries. However, despite extensive investigations, the mode of formation of this UVR-induced apoptosis has not fully been understood. In this review article, we are summarizing the results of recent studies with special reference to both the formation mechanisms and their implications in the field of photobiology.     

Synthesis of benzofurazan derivatization reagents for carboxylic acids and its application to analysis of fatty acids in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The derivatization regents for carboxylic acids, DAABD-AE (4-[2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethylaminosulfonyl]7-(2-aminoethylamino)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole), MePZBD-AE ([4-(4-N-methyl)piperazinosulfonyl]-7-(2-aminoethylamino)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole) and APZBD-NHMe ([4-(4-N-aminoethyl)piperazinosulfonyl]-7-methylamino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole) were developed for electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The derivatization reaction with fatty acids was completed at 60 degrees C within 30 min. The derivatives of fatty acids were separated on a reversed-phase column and detected with ESI-MS. The detection limits attained for fatty acids were femtomol range and the calibration curves were linear over the range from 0.1 to 100 pmol (r2 > 0.992) for DAABD-AE and MePZBD-AE. DAABD-NHMe was applied to the analysis of fatty acids in rat plasma samples.     

New Acylated Saponins from Polygala myrtifolia

The ten new acylated presenegenin (=(2β,3β,4α)‐2,3,27‐trihydroxyolean‐12‐ene‐23,28‐dioic acid) glycosides 1 – 10 have been isolated by successive MPLC from the roots of Polygala myrtifolia L. as five inseparable mixtures of the trans‐ and cis‐4‐methoxycinnamoyl derivatives, i.e., myrtifoliosides A₁/A₂ ( 1 / 2 ), B₁/B₂ ( 3 / 4 ), C₁/C₂ ( 5 / 6 ), D₁/D₂ ( 7 / 8 ), and E₁/E₂ ( 9 / 10 ). Their structures were elucidated mainly by extensive spectroscopic experiments, including 2D NMR techniques, as 3‐O‐(β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl)presenegenin 28‐{O‐β‐D ‐galactopyranosyl‐(1→3)‐O‐β‐D ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐O‐[D ‐apio‐β‐D ‐furanosyl‐(1→3)]‐O‐α‐L ‐rhamnopyranosyl‐(1→2)‐O‐[α‐L ‐arabinopyranosyl‐(1→3)]‐4‐O‐(trans‐4‐methoxycinnamoyl)‐β‐D ‐fucopyranosyl} ester ( 1 ) and its cis‐isomer 2 , 3‐O‐(β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl)presenegenin 28‐{O‐β‐D ‐galactopyranosyl‐(1→3)‐O‐β‐D ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐O‐[D ‐apio‐β‐D ‐furanosyl‐(1→3)]‐α‐L ‐rhamnopyranosyl‐(1→2)‐4‐O‐(trans‐4‐methoxycinnamoyl)‐β‐D ‐fucopyranosyl} ester ( 3 ) and its cis‐isomer 4 , 3‐O‐(β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl)presenegenin 28‐{O‐β‐D ‐galactopyranosyl‐(1→3)‐O‐β‐D ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐O‐α‐L ‐rhamnopyranosyl‐(1→2)‐4‐O‐(trans‐4‐methoxycinnamoyl)‐β‐D ‐fucopyranosyl} ester ( 5 ) and its cis‐isomer 6 , 3‐O‐(β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl)presenegenin 28‐{O‐D ‐apio‐β‐D ‐furanosyl‐(1→3)‐O‐[β‐D ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→4)]‐O‐α‐L ‐rhamnopyranosyl‐(1→2)‐4‐O‐(trans‐4‐methoxycinnamoyl)‐β‐D ‐fucopyranosyl} ester ( 7 ) and its cis‐isomer 8 , and 3‐O‐(β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl)presenegenin 28‐{O‐α‐L ‐arabinopyranosyl‐(1→3)‐O‐[β‐D ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→4)]‐O‐α‐L ‐rhamnopyranosyl‐(1→2)‐4‐O‐(trans‐4‐ methoxycinnamoyl)‐β‐D ‐fucopyranosyl} ester ( 9 ) and its cis‐isomer 10 .     

Catalytic asymmetric 1,4-addition reactions using alpha,beta-unsaturated N-acylpyrroles as highly reactive monodentate alpha,beta-unsaturated ester surrogates

Synthesis and application of alpha,beta-unsaturated N-acylpyrroles as highly reactive, monodentate ester surrogates in the catalytic asymmetric epoxidation and Michael reactions are described. alpha,beta-Unsaturated N-acylpyrroles with various functional groups were synthesized by the Wittig reaction using ylide 2. A Sm(O-i-Pr)(3)/H(8)-BINOL complex was the most effective catalyst for the epoxidation to afford pyrrolyl epoxides in up to 100% yield and >99% ee. Catalyst loading was successfully reduced to as little as 0.02 mol % (substrate/catalyst = 5000). The high turnover frequency and high volumetric productivity of the present reaction are also noteworthy. In addition, a sequential Wittig olefination-catalytic asymmetric epoxidation reaction was developed, providing efficient one-pot access to optically active epoxides from various aldehydes in high yield and ee (96-->99%). In a direct catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction of hydroxyketone promoted by the Et(2)Zn/linked-BINOL complex, Michael adducts were obtained in good yield (74-97%), dr (69/31-95/5), and ee (73-95%). This represents the first direct catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction of unmodified ketone to an alpha,beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid derivative. The properties of alpha,beta-unsaturated N-acylpyrrole are also discussed. Finally, the utility of the N-acylpyrrole unit for further transformations is demonstrated.     

Radiation-induced emulsion copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene with propylene. IV. Effects of emulsifier concentration and dose rate

Radiation-induced emulsion copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene with propylene was carried out by batch operation with an initial molar ratio of tetrafluoroethylene to propylene of 3.0 in the emulsifier concentration range of 0.1 to 3.0% and in the dose rate range of 2 × 10⁴ to 2 × 10⁵ R/hr. The effects of emulsifier concentration and dose rate on the polymerization rate and the number-average degree of polymerization are discussed in comparison with the Smith-Ewart theory. The polymerization rate is proportional to the 0.26 power of emulsifier concentration and to the 0.7 power of dose rate. The degree of polymerization is independent of the emulsifier concentration and the dose rate above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the emulsifier. These results are not in agreement with the Smith-Ewart theory. It is explained that the termination reaction is a degradative chain transfer of propagating radicals to propylene. On the other hand, the copolymerization in emulsion occurs either below the CMC or in the absence of emulsifier. Under these conditions, however, it is impossible to obtain a copolymer of high molecular weight at a high rate of polymerization because of the presence of a small number of polymer particles formed and the short interval of chain growth in the polymer particle.     

An automated analyzer for methylated arginines in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with post-column fluorescence reaction

A fully automated analyzer for methylated L-arginine metabolites [N,N-dimethyl-L-arginine (ADMA), N-methylarginine (NMMA) and N,N'-dimethyl-L-arginine (SDMA)] by high-performance liquid chromatography with post-column fluorescence derivatization was developed. This system consists of an on-line extraction, a separation on a reversed phase ion-pair chromatograph, a post-column derivatization by o-phthaladehyde (OPA) and thiol reaction, and fluorescence detection. NMMA, ADMA and SDMA were separated in 40 min with isocratic elution by a combination of octanoate and cyclohexane carboxylate as ion-pair reagents. The eluate was monitored at 450 nm with excitation at 337 nm. The calibration curves for NMMA, ADMA and SDMA showed linearity over the range from 0.05 micromol l(-1) (0.5 pmol on column) to 5.0 micromol l(-1) (50 pmol on column). This method does not require any time-consuming pre-treatment and requires only 10 microl of plasma sample for assay.     

Two new triterpene saponins from Eryngium campestre

Two new triterpene saponins, 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)]-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl-22-O-angeloyl-R1-barrigenol (1) and 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)]-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl-22-O-beta,beta-dimethylacryloyl-A1-barrigenol (2), were isolated from the roots of Eryngium campestre (Apiaceae). Their structures were established mainly by 2D NMR techniques and mass spectrometry.     

An analytical molecular orbital approach for modeling of low‐dimensional conductors in molecular crystals

In low‐dimensional molecular crystals that exhibit Peierls instability, the intercolumnar interaction plays an important role in the determination of the conducting property. To predict the crystal structure that exhibits an electronic conduction, we proposed a simple formula based on the molecular orbital theory. In this approach, analytical molecular orbitals of polyene were extended to be applicable for molecular crystals of charge–transfer complexes, and the Peierls distortion was represented by using the first‐ and second‐order perturbation theory. It was concluded that the energetic behaviors and structures calculated by the analytical method developed in the present work are identical to those obtained by the tight‐binding ab initio molecular orbital calculation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001     

An analytical molecular orbital approach in tetrathiafulvalene tetracyanoquinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ)

In low-dimensional molecular crystals exhibiting the Peierls instability, intercolumnar interactions play an important role in electrical conduction. In this work, we propose an efficient method based on molecular orbital theory for studying the Peierls instability in molecular crystals composed of mixed-valence complexes. A perturbational approach to general N-merized systems is incorporated and applied to tetrathiafulvalene tetracyanoquinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ) crystals. From the results of the calculations, a mixed state of several commensurate distortions is proposed as another aspect of the incommensurate distortion in TTF-TCNQ under atmospheric pressure, and TTF^+0.5–TCNQ^?0.5 crystal is found to be expected as an electronic conductor under high pressure.