Complexation Constants of Lanthanide Ions with Poly(Methacrylic Acid) and its Copolymers

Complexation of some lanthanide ions with poly(methacrylic acid) and its copolymers was studied by potentiometric titration. Poly [methacrylic acid-co-oligo(ethylene oxide)methacrylate] and poly(methacrylic acid-co-acrylamide) formed tris-carboxylate coordinate lanthanide complexes with large overall complexation constants, while poly-(methacrylic acid)s and copolymer with higher content of the methacrylic acid residue formed bis-coordinate ones. It was concluded that the comonomer residues in the copolymer chains decreased the steric hindrance for the complexation and/or acted as co-coordinating groups of the carboxylic group to lanthanide ions. Very large positive and favorable entropy changes were observed for the complexation with poly(methacrylic acid) and its copolymers. This contribution of thermodynamic parameters to the complexation was contrary to that for the analogous monomeric methacrylic acid complex and is assumed to be induced by dehydration of the polymers through the lanthanide ion complexation.     

The effect of phenoxy oxygen atoms on extremely high extraction ability and less separation efficiency of trivalent rare earth elements with tetraphosphonic acid derivative of calix[4]arene

A cone confomational p-t-octylcalix[4]arene with four methylenephosphonic acids at the lower rim as well as its monomeric analog have been synthesized as a new extraction reagent to investigate the extraction behavior of the nine trivalent rare earth elements: Y, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Ho and Er. The new calix[4]arene exhibited significantly higher extraction capacity than not only the monomeric derivative and the commercial extraction reagent, 2-ethylhexyl hydrogen 2-ethylhexylphosphonate, but also the cone conformational calix[4]arene extractants employed in our previous work, composed of a tetrapropylenephosphonic acid with a longer spacer, a tetraphosphonic acid at the upper rim, and tetraacetic acid at the lower rim. A dependence on the pH was observed for the new extractant in the highly acidic region, and the extraction took place via a simple ion-exchange mechanism. Using slope analysis, the stoichiometries of tetrameric and monomeric extractants to rare earth metal ions were determined to be 2:1 and 3:1, respectively. Using the proposed extraction equations, extraction equilibrium constants and separation factors were estimated. The extremely high extraction ability and moderate separation efficiency were attributed to the chelating effect of the phosphonic acid and the phenoxy oxygen atom. The effect of the phenoxy oxygen atom on extraction ability and separation efficiency of calix[4]arene derivatives was found to be significant.     

Excited state intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer of phenylethynyl-substituted 2′-hydroxychalcones

(E)-1-[2-Hydroxy-4-(phenylethynyl)phenyl]-3-[4-(phenylethynyl)phenyl]prop-2-en-1-one (1), (E)-1-[2-hydroxy-4-(phenylethynyl)phenyl]-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-one (2), and (E)-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-3-[4-(phenylethynyl)phenyl]prop-2-en-1-one (3), which belong to a new class of 2′-hydroxychalcones with phenylethynyl group(s) at the para position of the phenyl ring, were synthesized, and their photochemical properties were investigated. The lowest energy absorption band of 1 peaks at a longer wavelength (383 nm) with a much larger molar extinction coefficient (5.0 × 10⁴ M ^?1 cm^?1) than that of the parent 2′-hydroxychalcone (2′HC) (2.0 × 10⁴ M ^?1 cm^?1 at 318 nm). Upon photoexcitation, all three compounds underwent excited-state intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer (ESIHT) to produce an excited tautomer that emitted fluorescence with a large Stokes shift in the longer wavelength region at 600–700 nm. The quantum yield of the tautomer fluorescence of 1 was not high at 298 K (Φ _f = 9.1 × 10^?5), but was highest among 2′HC and its analogues. The Φ _f values of 1–3 increased 10–30 fold upon reducing the temperature from 298 to 77 K.     

Asymmetric α‐Hydroxylation of Tetralone‐Derived β‐Ketoesters by Using a Guanidine–Urea Bifunctional Organocatalyst in the Presence of Cumene Hydroperoxide

Highly enantioselective catalytic oxidation of 1‐tetralone‐derived β‐keto esters was achieved by using a guanidine–urea bifunctional organocatalyst in the presence of cumene hydroperoxide (CHP), a safe, commercially available oxidant. The α‐hydroxylation products were obtained in 99 % yield with up to 95 % enantiomeric excess (ee). The present oxidation was successfully applied to synthesize a key intermediate of the anti‐cancer agent daunorubicin ( 2 ).     

Elution behaviour and environmental impact of heavy metals and rare-earth elements from volcanic ashes of Mt. Oyama,Miyake Island

To obtain information on the environmental impact of materials eluted from volcanic ashes of Mt. Oyama, Miyake Island, which erupted in July 2000, the dissolution behaviours of heavy metals and rare-earth elements from the volcanic ashes were examined. The most important characteristic of the Mt. Oyama eruption is that sulphur dioxide (SO₂) gas has been continuously released, and all persons living on Miyake Island have been required to evacuate. To estimate in terms of the volcanic eruption using SO₂ gas, the ash nature in Mt. Usu, Hokkaido, was also examined and compared with that in Mt. Oyama. When rain water mixed the ashes, the water from the ashes of Mt. Oyama became acidic because of the sulphuric acid. Therefore, SO₂ gas in Mt. Oyama can accelerate the dissolution of protons and heavy metals in the ashes, whereas the rain water in Mt. Usu was not acidic and the dissolution of the heavy metals was not so evident compared with that in the case of Mt. Oyama. With this sulphuric acid, heavy metals such as As, Cd, Pb and Hg in the ashes in Mt. Oyama easily dissolved owing to the low pH. The ashes in Mt. Oyama had been released for eight years and the amount of fallen ashes was estimated to be 33 billion tons. The weights of the harmful heavy metals in the volcanic ashes, such as As, Cd, Pb and Hg, were estimated to be 3.8?×?10², 1.3?×?10³, 1.1?×?10³ and 29?kg, respectively, and these heavy metals were dissolved and diluted in seawater. Therefore, the concentration and species (chemical form) of these metals should be carefully monitored in the future. Moreover, SO₂ gas, which has a direct effect on human health and has been monitored continuously, causes other effects, such as facilitation of metal ion elution and rock aeration.     

Practical Synthesis of (20S)‐10‐(3‐Aminopropyloxy)‐7‐ethylcamptothecin,a Water‐Soluble Analogue of Camptothecin

A robust, practical synthesis of (20S)‐10‐(3‐aminopropyloxy)‐7‐ethylcamptothecin (T‐2513, 5 ), which is a water‐soluble analogue of camptothecin, has been developed. The key step in this synthesis is a highly diastereoselective ethylation at the C20 position by using N‐arylsulfonyl‐(R)‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroisoquinoline‐3‐carboxylic acid ester as a chiral auxiliary, which affords the key intermediate ethyl‐(S)‐2‐acyloxy‐2‐(6‐cyano‐5‐oxo‐1,2,3,5‐tetrahydroindolizin‐7‐yl)butanoate ( 8 k ) in 93 % yield and 87 % de. Optically pure compound 8 k was obtained by a single recrystallization from acetone and its further elaboration through Friedlander condensation afforded compound 5 . This synthesis does not require any chromatographic purification steps and can provide compound 5 on a multi‐gram scale in 6.3 % overall yield (16 steps).     

Direct observation of biological molecules in liquid by environmental phase-plate transmission electron microscopy

We have been developing a combination method for environmental TEM (E-TEM) and phase-plate TEM (P-TEM) that enables direct observations of the structure of biological molecules in aqueous solution. It is clearly demonstrated that the biological molecules in a water layer can be imaged by the combined method without any stain. The spatial resolution obtained in the present study was about 10nm. This should be improved by using energy filtering. The image contrast of the specimen in water was reduced in comparison with that in vacuum. A model calculation that includes the effects of beam broadening, intensity decrease, and background increase caused by scattering from the water layer around the specimen shows that an increase in the thickness of the water layer reduces the contrast, intensity, and resolution of the image.     

Reduction of thermal fluctuations in a cryogenic laser interferometric gravitational wave detector

The thermal fluctuation of mirror surfaces is the fundamental limitation for interferometric gravitational wave (GW) detectors. Here, we experimentally demonstrate for the first time a reduction in a mirror's thermal fluctuation in a GW detector with sapphire mirrors from the Cryogenic Laser Interferometer Observatory at 17 and 18 K. The detector sensitivity, which was limited by the mirror's thermal fluctuation at room temperature, was improved in the frequency range of 90 to 240 Hz by cooling the mirrors. The improved sensitivity reached a maximum of 2.2×10(-19) m/√Hz at 165 Hz.     

Conformity and precision of CO2 densimetry in CO2 inclusions: microthermometry versus Raman microspectroscopic densimetry

To assess the ability of densimetry for CO₂ fluid in CO₂ inclusions, we compare two methods, microthermometry and Raman microspectroscopic densimetry for CO₂. The comparative experiment was performed for nine CO₂ inclusions in three mantle xenoliths. The results are as follows: (1) microthermometry precisely determines CO₂ density with the range of 0.65 to 1.18 g/cm³ compared with Raman microspectroscopic densimetry; (2) CO₂ density obtained by Raman microspectroscopic densimetry is fairly consistent with that by microthermometry; (3) it is hard to determine CO₂ density in CO₂ inclusion with diameter of less than around 3 µm using microthermometry; and (4) microthermometry can be applied only to the CO₂ inclusion whose CO₂ density ranges from around 0.65 to 1.18 g/cm³, whereas the Raman microspectroscopic densimetry is applicable to CO₂ density ranging from 0.1 to 1.24 g/cm³. The above features carry the potential for estimation of depth origin of mantle‐derived rocks. The depth where the rocks were trapped by host magma can be estimated using both geothermometric data and CO₂ fluid density in CO₂ inclusions in the rocks. Typical precisions of density of CO₂ in CO₂ inclusions obtained by the Raman microspectroscopic densimetry (~0.01 g/cm³) and by the microthermometry (< 0.001 g/cm³) correspond to uncertainties in the depth origin of 2.4 km and < 1.7 km, respectively, at 1000 ± 50 °C. In case of the mantle under 750–1250 °C and 1 GPa, the CO₂ fluid has a density ranging from 1.06 g/cm³ to 1.21 g/cm³, which are well measured by the Raman microspectroscopic densimetry. Combination of both densimetries for CO₂ in mantle minerals elucidates the deep structure of the Earth. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.