CpRuIIPF6/quinaldic acid-catalyzed chemoselective allyl ether cleavage. A simple and practical method for hydroxyl deprotection

A cationic CpRu(II) complex in combination with quinaldic acid shows high reactivity and chemoselectivity for the catalytic deprotection of hydroxyl groups protected as allyl ethers. The catalyst operates in alcoholic solvents without the need for any additional nucleophiles, satisfying the practical requirements of operational simplicity, safety, and environmental friendliness. The wide applicability of this deprotection strategy to a variety of multifunctional molecules, including peptides and nucleosides, may provide new opportunities in protective group chemistry. [structure: see text]     

Adsorption properties of activated carbon from waste newspaper prepared by chemical and physical activation

Adsorption properties of activated carbons prepared from waste newspaper by chemical and physical activation were investigated using water vapor, ammonia, methane, and methylene blue (MB) as adsorbents. The water vapor adsorption isotherms show type V behavior and the maximum vapor adsorption of the chemically and physically activated products is about 1050 and 450 ml/g, respectively. The higher water vapor adsorption of the chemically activated products is attributed to the higher specific surface area (S(BET)) and greater hydrophilic activity (arising from the surface oxygen-containing functional groups) than in the physically activated products. The adsorption of ammonia and methane was measured by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). NH(3) adsorption is found to be higher in the chemically activated product than in the physically activated product while methane adsorption is slightly higher in the physically activated products even though these have lower S(BET) values. In the MB adsorption, the chemically activated products show higher adsorption (390 mg/g) than the physically activated product. These results are suggested to be related to the surface characteristics.     

Radiation-induced emission from golden hamster embryo cells

Emission from high-energy-electron-irradiated golden hamster embryo (GHE) cells has been studied over the temperature range 12–300 K both by a one-shot-single-photon-counting method and by photocurrent measurements with an oscilloscope. Emission from the irradiated phosphate buffered saline (PBS) also has been studied. The emission spectra from PBS at 12 and 77 K show a maximum around 330 and 380 nm, respectively, which are the same spectra as those from irradiated pure H₂O. The emission from irradiated GHE consists of the new band at 480 nm in addition to the emission from H₂O. The 480 nm emission is observed at the temperature range of 12–300 K, though the emission at 300 K is much lower than that at low temperature. The 480 nm emission is ascribed to the transition from excited organic substances in GHE cells. The intensity of 480 nm emission at 300 K increases linearly with increasing irradiation-dose in the range of 11–600 Gy.     

Photoreaction of anthracenyl phosphine oxides: Usual reversible photo- and heat-induced emission switching,and unusual oxidative PC bond cleavage

Anthracenyl(diphenyl)phosphine oxide and dianthracenylphenylphosphine oxide as photoactive compounds have been synthesized. Anthracenyl group of these compounds indicate the multi-functional roles such as an emission component, a photodimerization component, and a leaving group. When the light irradiation was performed under an oxygen atmosphere, photo-oxidative PC bond cleavage to leave the antharacenyl group was observed. Moreover, phosphonyl radical was produced and then PP bond formation to form diphosphane was observed.     

Cation-pi interactions of a thiocarbonyl group and a carbonyl group with a pyridinium nucleus

Attractive interactions between a thiocarbonyl group and a pyridinium nucleus, and between a carbonyl group and a pyridinium nucleus have been proven by (1)H and (13)C NMR studies, UV-vis spectral analyses, and X-ray crystallographic analyses of nicotinic amides 1 and 3, and pyridinium salts 2 and 4. Comparison of the Deltadelta values, which are the differences in the chemical shifts with reference compounds 5 or 6, showed that the absolute Deltadelta values of 2 and 4 are much larger than those of 1 and 3. In the UV-vis spectra, the n-->pi absorption of the C=S group of 2a exhibited a significant blue shift in CHCl(3). X-ray crystallographic analysis of 1-4 clearly showed that the C=S group of 2a and the C=O group of 4 are very close to the pyridinium moiety compared to the case of 1 and 3. In addition, the X-ray crystal packing structure of 2a showed the C=S group is sandwiched between two pyridinium rings. These experimental results strongly suggested the existence of attractive (C=S)...Py(+) and (C=O)...Py(+) interactions in solution and in crystal. The optimized geometries of 1 and 2 calculated at the HF/6-311G level are in good agreement with their X-ray geometries. MP2/6-311G calculations for the model systems of pyridinium salts 2 and 4 predicted that the electrostatic and induction energies are the major source of the attractive interactions. Since the larger contribution of electrostatic and induction interactions are characteristic features of cation-pi interactions, the (C=S)...Py(+) and (C=O)...Py(+) interactions would be classified as a cation-pi interaction.     

Two-carbon ring expansion of cyclobutanone skeletons by nickel-catalyzed intermolecular alkyne insertion

The reaction of cyclobutanone with an alkyne in the presence of a nickel(0) catalyst formally achieves intermolecular alkyne insertion between the carbonyl carbon and the α-carbon of a cyclobutanone, providing a six-membered carbocyclic skeleton.     

Phylogenetic analysis of picoplankton in Lake Biwa and application to legal medicine

Three strains of picoplankton designated as brown, green, and pink belonging to the Synechococcus genus in cyanobacteria (approximately 1 microm in size) are found ubiquitously in Lake Biwa, Japan. However, they could not be morphologically discriminated from other bacteria such as Proteobacteria and Bacillus by microscopy. In this study, we attempted to use the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) from picoplankton for the diagnosis of death by drowning. A segment of 16S rDNA was sequenced in order to investigate their phylogenetic relationships and to design the specific primers. The PCR products from three picoplanktons were compared with those from five other cyanobacteria, Melosira (diatom), Staurastrum (green alga), bacteria from Lake Baikal, and humans. The picogram order of template DNA from picoplankton was specifically amplified by the primers. When the template of picoplankton was mixed with human tissue, at least 10 ng of template DNA was needed to obtain a PCR product. The efficiency of PCR was increased more than hundredfold by isolating the picoplankton from human lung tissue. The specific PCR products of the picoplankton were obtained from a formalin-fixed drowning body (lung and liver) that was found in a downstream river and Lake Biwa. The PCR analysis of the picoplanktion 16S rDNA is considered useful for the diagnosis of death by drowning.     

PtBr2-catalyzed consecutive enyne metathesis-aromatization of 1-(1-methoxy-but-3-enyl)-2-(1-alkynyl)benzenes: dual role of the Pt catalyst

1,7-Enynes 1, connected through an aromatic ring and bearing a leaving methoxy group at the 4-position, underwent the PtBr(2)-catalyzed enyne metathesis followed by aromatization in one pot to afford vinyl naphthalenes 3 in good to acceptable yields. The cyclobutene intermediate 11a and another intermediate 2a were isolated, indicating that PtBr(2) acts as a dual role catalyst: (1) as a transition metal catalyst, it induces the enyne metathesis to produce 11a starting from 1a, and (2) as a Lewis acid catalyst, it facilitates elimination of MeOH from 2a to give the aromatized product 3a.     

New organosols of nickel sulfides,palladium sulfides,manganese sulfide,and mixed metal sulfides and their use in preparation of semiconducting polymer-metal sulfide composites

Organosols of NiS, PdS, and MnS in N,N-dimethylformamide were prepared by reaction of the metal acetate with H₂S. Organosols of mixed-metal sulfides (Zn _x Cd_1–x S, Hg _x Cd_1–x S, Hg _x Cu_1–x S, Cd _x Mn_1–x S, Hg _x Mn_1–x S, Hg _x Cd_1–x S, and Mn _x Zn_1–x S) were similarly obtained by reaction of mixtures of the metal salts with H₂S. The organosol of Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S contained particle with two particle size distributions centered at 6.5 nm and 29 nm, as revealed by Ar laser-scattering analysis. The metal sulfides are recovered by addition of Et₂O to the organosols. Zn _x Cd_1–x S thus obtained shows magnetic susceptibility in the range 0.5×10^–6–2.3×10^–6 emug^–1 depending on thex value. Addition of polymers to the organosols affords semiconducting films of metal sulfide-polymer composites.     

A simple and easy access to 3-N-alkyl-5-vinyloxazolidinones mediated by palladium-phosphine catalysts

A new entry for the synthesis of 3-alkyl substituted 5-vinyloxazolidin-2-one derivatives 2 from cis-2-butenylene-1,4-dicarbonate 1 and primary amines mediated by palladium-phosphine catalysts is described. The scope and limitation, a plausible mechanism, and an asymmetric version of the reaction are also discussed.