Chemical Constituents from the Stems of Mahonia Japonica

A new dihydroberberine alkaloid, 7,8‐dihydro‐8‐methoxyberberine ( 1 ), along with six known compounds including two dihydroberberine alkaloids, 7,8‐dihydro‐8‐hydroxyberberine ( 2 ) and oxyberberine ( 3 ) and four protoberberine alkaloids, berberine ( 4 ), palmatine ( 5 ), jatrorrhizine ( 6 ) and columbamine ( 7 ), were isolated from the stems of Mahonia japonica. These compounds were characterized and identified by physical and spectral evidence.     

Radiocatalytic H2 production with gamma-irradiation and TiO2 catalysts

The radioactive concentrations of radionuclides were measured in the soil and groundwater below the 12 GeV proton beam-line tunnel at KEK. Various long-lived radionuclides, (⁷Be, ²²Na, ⁴⁶Sc, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁶⁰Co, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹⁵²Eu and ¹⁵⁴Eu) were observed in the soil samples by -ray spectra measurements, and ³H was also detected by liquid scintillation counting. On the other hand, ³H, ²²Na and ⁵⁴Mn, which were leached from the soil were measured in the groundwater below the EP2 beam line. ³H and ²²Na were also found in slight amounts in groundwater collected in a well dug beside the East Counter Hall. From a comparison with the radioactive concentration in soil and groundwater, the order of the leaching percentages were ³H>²²Na>⁵⁴Mn. This tendency was in agreement with an experimental result of the RI laboratory.     

Detection of vibration-rotational band 5-0 of 12C16O X 1sigma+ with cavity ringdown absorption near 0.96 microm

We have recorded extremely weak absorption in the overtone band 5-0 of 12C16O X 1sigma+ near 0.96 microm with cavity ringdown spectroscopy; the light source was a Raman-shifted dye laser pumped with a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser. This band shows lines in branch P to be much more intense than corresponding lines in branch R, in contrast to all lower overtone bands v-0 (v = 1-4). This reversal in relative intensity is explained quantitatively in terms of a radial function for the electric dipolar moment of CO. We have estimated absorption line strengths for P3-P18 in band 5-0 of 12C16O; these strengths are consistent with a pure vibrational matrix element <5/p(x)/0> = (3.6 +/- 0.3) x 10(-36) C m of the electric dipolar moment p(x), a Herman-Wallis coefficient C0(5) of about -0.1, and a band strength of (5.1 +/- 1.3) x 10(-29) m at 293 K.     

Characterizing the transmission properties of an ion funnel

The characteristic features of ion transmission properties in a radio-frequency (RF) electric-field driven ion funnel using the SIMION ion trajectory simulation package is presented. A user program applying the Douglas ion-neutral collisional drag coefficient model is incorporated to properly account for the ion focusing and transport effect of the background gas under the effect of the driving RF and a superimposed DC field. The simulated m/z transmission window compares favorably with the experimental results reported by Smith et al. RF amplitude and pressure dependence of experimentally observed m/z transmission windows are also examined, and an approximated effective potential model based on Gerlich's equation is proposed to interpret the low-m/z cutoff behavior. A modified ion funnel configuration is described.     

Immobilized cobalt/rhodium heterobimetallic nanoparticle-catalyzed silylcarbocylization and carbonylative silylcarbocyclization of 1,6-enynes

Reaction of 1,6-enynes with a hydrosilane in the presence of immobilized cobalt/rhodium bimetallic nanoparticles gives 2-methyl-1-silylmethylidene-2-cyclopentanes in the absence of carbon monoxide and 2-formylmethyl-1-silylmethylidene-2-cyclopentanes under 1 atm of carbon monoxide, respectively. [reaction: see text]     

Preparation and characterization of self-assembled nanoparticles based on glycol chitosan bearing adriamycin

An anthracycline drug, adriamycin, was chemically conjugated onto the backbone of glycol chitosan via an acid-labile cis-aconityl linkage. The physicochemical characteristics of the glycol chitosan–adriamycin (GC–ADR) conjugates were investigated by dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The GC–ADR conjugates were capable of forming nano-sized self-aggregates in an aqueous medium, when the adriamycin content in the conjugate was in the range of 2.0–5.0 wt.%. The self-aggregates were spherical in shape, and had mean diameters of 238–304 nm, depending on the adriamycin content. The critical aggregation concentrations of the conjugates, estimated by the fluorescence quenching method, were as low as 1.0–2.5×10⁻² mg/ml. The size of self-aggregates was not affected by the polymer concentration in the range from 50 to 2,000 μg/ml, and was maintained up to 8 days in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4), indicating high colloidal stability. The release of adriamycin from self-aggregates was significantly dependent on the pH of the medium due to the cis-aconityl linkage; e.g., the amount of adriamycin released for 4 days was 7.3±0.3% at pH 7, whereas it was 29.3±1.9% at pH 4. The cell viability results demonstrated that free adriamycin shows more potent cytotoxicity than the conjugates, primarily attributed to the sustained release of adriamycin from self-aggregates. In conclusion, the self-aggregates, formed by GC–ADR conjugates, might be useful for the site-specific delivery of adriamycin in a sustained manner.     

Facile generation of platinum(IV) compounds with mixed labile moieties. Hydrogen peroxide oxidation of platinum(II) to platinum(IV) compounds

Hydrogen peroxide oxidation of platinum(II) compounds containing labile groups such as Cl, OH, and alkene moieties has been carried out and the products characterized. The reactions of [Pt^II (X)₂ (N–N)] (X = Cl, OH, X₂ = isopropylidenemalorate (ipm); N–N 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine [(dmpda), N-isopropyl-1,3-propanediamine (ippda)] with hydrogen peroxide in an appropriate solvent at room temperature affords [Pt^IV (OH)(Y)(X)₂(N–N)] (Y = OH, OCH₃). The crystal structures of [Pt^IV(OH)(OCH₃)(Cl)₂(dmpda)]·2H₂O (P-1 bar, a = 6.339(2) Å , b = 9.861(1) Å, c = 11.561(1) Å, a = 92.078(9)°, β = 104.78(1)°, γ=100.54(1)°, V = 684.3(2) ų, Z = 2R = 0.0503) and [Pt^IV(OH)₂(ipm)(ippda)]·3H₂O (C 2/c, a = 27.275(6) Å, b=6.954(2) Å, c = 22.331(4) Å, β = 118.30(2)°, V = 3729(2) ų, Z = 8, R = 0.0345) have been solved and refined. The local geometry around the platinum(IV) atom approximates to a typical octahedral arrangement with two added groups (OH and OCH₃; OH and OH) in a transposition. The platinum(IV) compounds with potential labile moieties may be important intermediate species for further reactions.     

Selective oxidation of hydrogen sulfide to ammonium thiosulfate and sulfur over vanadium-bismuth oxide catalysts

The selective oxidation of hydrogen sulfide containing excess water and ammonia was studied over vanadium-bismuth mixed oxide catalysts. The investigation was focused on understanding the complex reaction steps and the roles of each metal oxide. Therefore, supported V₂O₅/TiO₂, V-Bi-O/TiO₂ catalysts and a mechanical mixture of V₂O₅ + Bi₂O₃ were tested in the reaction. Ammonia reacted either with H₂S or SO₂, produced from the oxidation of H₂S. Water vapor promoted the reaction of ammonia and SO₂. Strong synergistic phenomena in catalytic activity were observed for the mechanically mixed catalyst of V₂O₅ and Bi₂O₃. V-Bi-O/TiO₂ catalyst showed very high H₂S conversion without any considerable emission of SO₂. Temperature-programmed studies (TPR and TPO), XRD and Raman analyses revealed that the high catalytic performance of V-BiO/TiO₂ catalyst originated from the high redox capacity of the bismuth vanadate phase.     

Mild and practical method for the alpha-arylation of nitriles with heteroaryl halides

[reaction: see text] A mild and transition-metal-free method for the alpha-arylation of aliphatic nitriles with activated heteroaryl halides was developed using NaHMDS or KHMDS as base at ambient temperature. The key to the success of this method is generation of the nitrile anion in the presence of the heteroaryl halide. The method is applicable to both primary and secondary carbonitriles and a wide range of heteroaryl halides. Selective monoarylation was observed with primary carbonitriles. The operational simplicity and the mild reaction conditions add to the value of this method as a practical alternative to the preparation of alpha-heteroaryl carbonitriles.     

Sequential actions of cobalt nanoparticles and palladium(II) catalysts: three-step one-pot synthesis of fenestranes from an enyne and an alkyne diester

A three-step one-pot synthesis of fenestranes from a readily available enyne and an alkyne diester has been carried out with cobalt nanoparticles and palladium(II) as catalysts.