Me‐bipam for Enantioselective Ruthenium(II)‐Catalyzed Arylation of Aldehydes with Arylboronic Acids

Ligand design by‐pam : A ruthenium‐catalyzed asymmetric arylation of aldehydes with arylboronic acids has been developed, giving chiral diarylmethanols in good yields. The use of a chiral bidentate phosphoramidite ligand ((R,R)‐Me‐bipam) led to excellent enantioselectivities.

     

Direct observation of substrate-enzyme complexation by surface forces measurement

The substrate-enzyme complexation of heptaprenyl diphosphate synthase was directly investigated using colloidal probe atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) in order to obtain new insights into the molecular mechanism of the enzyme reaction. This enzyme is composed of two dissociable subunits that exhibit a catalytic activity only when they are associated together in the presence of a cofactor, Mg2+, and a substrate, farnesyl diphosphate (FPP). The QCM measurement revealed that FPP was preferentially bound to subunit II in the presence of Mg2+, while the AFM measurement showed that the adhesive force between the subunits was observed only in the presence of both Mg2+ and FPP. This is the first direct demonstration of the specific interaction involved in the enzyme reaction. The dependence of the Mg2+ concentration on the specific interaction between subunits I and II well agreed with that on the enzyme activity of heptaprenyl diphosphate synthase. This indicated that the observed adhesive forces were indeed involved in the catalytic reaction of this enzyme. On the basis of these results, we discussed the processes involved in the substrate-enzyme complexation. The first, the substrate FPP bound to subunit II using Mg2+, followed by the formation of the subunit I-FPP-Mg2+-subunit II complex. Our study showed a very useful methodology for examining the elemental processes of biological reactions such as an enzyme reaction.     

Semisynthesis of isetexane diterpenoid analogues and their cytotoxic activity

Isetexane diterpene analogues were semisynthesized from demethylsalvicanol isolated from Perovskia abrotanoides (Labiatae). The structure and cytotoxic activity relationships (SAR) of the natural parent diterpene, demethylsalvicanol, and its semisynthetic analogues were studied by using P388 murine leukemia cells.     

Discrete Approximations of Determinantal Point Processes on Continuous Spaces: Tree Representations and Tail Triviality

We prove tail triviality of determinantal point processes \( \mu \) on continuous spaces. Tail triviality has been proved for such processes only on discrete spaces, and hence we have generalized the result to continuous spaces. To do this, we construct tree representations, that is, discrete approximations of determinantal point processes enjoying a determinantal structure. There are many interesting examples of determinantal point processes on continuous spaces such as zero points of the hyperbolic Gaussian analytic function with Bergman kernel, and the thermodynamic limit of eigenvalues of Gaussian random matrices for \(\hbox {Sine}_2 , \hbox {Airy}_2 , \hbox {Bessel}_2 \), and Ginibre point processes. Our main theorem proves all these point processes are tail trivial.     

Modified Vonk's Method to Determine Crystallinity and Crystal Distortion in Polymers

Using a modified method developed from Vonk's method, detailed values of crystallinity and crystal disorder were obtained by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). In Vonk's method, the crystallinity (w) is determined by extrapolation of the WAXD experimental curve back to zero scattering angle, while the distortion factor (k) is determined by the inclination of the experimental curve at zero scattering angle. In our new method, both w and k are determined at the same time by using the least squares method. In order to show the efficiency of our method, the new fitting procedure was applied to the experimental values of polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate as measured by Vonk, and the values of w and k determined by our new method were compared with those found by Vonk's method. The new fitting method has the advantage that it uses the whole experimental curve. Moreover, our modified Vonk's method enables us to discuss crystal distortions as arising from first-kind (thermal) disorder and second-kind (paracrystalline) disorder.     

Interrelation between inhomogeneity and cyclability in O3‐NaFe1/2Co1/2O2

O3‐NaFe_1/2Co_1/2O₂ shows initial capacity of 160 mAh/g and an average operating voltage of 3.1 V (vs. Na) with good cyclability, and is a promising candidate of the cathode materials for sodium‐ion secondary batteries (SIBs). Here, we found that the cyclability of the slowly‐cooled sample is much worse than that of quenched one, even though the former sample keeps the O3‐type structure. The energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX) images suggest that the slow‐cooled sample (Na_x Fe_1–yCo_y O₂) is inhomogeneous in the Fe concentration (1 – y), perhaps triggered by the Na deficiency (1 – x). We ascribed the poor cyclability in the slowly‐cooled sample to the concentration inhomogeneity (Δy). The Δy is further responsible for the fluctuation of the lattice constants (a and c), as revealed by the Williamson–Hall plot. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Substrate specificity of fluoroacetate dehalogenase: an insight from crystallographic analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy, and theoretical computations

The high substrate specificity of fluoroacetate dehalogenase was explored by using crystallographic analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy, and theoretical computations. A crystal structure for the Asp104Ala mutant of the enzyme from Burkholderia sp. FA1 complexed with fluoroacetate was determined at 1.2 ? resolution. The orientation and conformation of bound fluoroacetate is different from those in the crystal structure of the corresponding Asp110Asn mutant of the enzyme from Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009 reported recently (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 7461). The fluorescence of the tryptophan residues of the wild-type and Trp150Phe mutant enzymes from Burkholderia sp. FA1 incubated with fluoroacetate and chloroacetate was measured to gain information on the environment of the tryptophan residues. The environments of the tryptophan residues were found to be different between the fluoroacetate- and chloroacetate-bound enzymes; this would come from different binding modes of these two substrates in the active site. Docking simulations and QM/MM optimizations were performed to predict favorable conformations and orientations of the substrates. The F atom of the substrate is oriented toward Arg108 in the most stable enzyme-fluoroacetate complex. This is a stable but unreactive conformation, in which the small O-C-F angle is not suitable for the S(N)2 displacement of the F(-) ion. The cleavage of the C-F bond is initiated by the conformational change of the substrate to a near attack conformation (NAC) in the active site. The second lowest energy conformation is appropriate for NAC; the C-O distance and the O-C-F angle are reasonable for the S(N) 2 reaction. The activation energy is greatly reduced in this conformation because of three hydrogen bonds between the leaving F atom and surrounding amino acid residues. Chloroacetate cannot reach the reactive conformation, due to the longer C-Cl bond; this results in an increase of the activation energy despite the weaker C-Cl bond.     

Facile formation of five-membered N-heterocyclic zirconacycloallenoids

The reaction of η(2)-iminozirconocene chloride complexes with trimethylsilylethynyl lithium leads to rapid C-C coupling at room temperature to yield the corresponding five-membered aza-zirconacycloallenoids. Such compounds were also obtained by trapping of in situ generated zirconocene with alkynyl imines.     

Chemical understanding of carbide cluster metallofullerenes: a case study on Sc2C2@C2v(5)-C80 with complete X-ray crystallographic characterizations

Little is known about the chemical properties of carbide cluster metallofullerenes (CCMFs). Here we report the photochemical reaction of a newly assigned CCMF Sc(2)C(2)@C(2v)(5)-C(80) with 2-adamantane-2,3-[3H]-diazirine (AdN(2), 1), which provides a carbene reagent under irradiation. Five monoadduct isomers (2a-2e), with respective abundances of 20%, 40%, 25%, 5%, and 10%, were isolated and characterized with a combination of experimental techniques including unambiguous single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Results show that the two Sc atoms of the bent Sc(2)C(2) cluster tend to move in most cases, whereas the C(2)-unit is almost fixed. Accordingly, it is difficult to explain the addition patterns by considering the strain and charge density on the cage with a fixed cluster, and thus a moving cluster may account for the addition patterns. These results show that the situation of CCMFs is more complicated than those in other metallofullerenes. Furthermore, a thermal isomerization process from 2b to 2c was observed, confirming that the most abundant isomer 2b is a kinetically favored adduct. Finally, it is revealed that the electronic and electrochemical properties of pristine Sc(2)C(2)@C(2v)(5)-C(80) have been markedly altered by exohedral modification.     

One‐Handed Helical Screw Direction of Homopeptide Foldamer Exclusively Induced by Cyclic α‐Amino Acid Side‐Chain Chiral Centers

Chiral cyclic α,α‐disubstituted amino acids, (3S,4S)‐ and (3R,4R)‐1‐amino‐3,4‐(dialkoxy)cyclopentanecarboxylic acids ((S,S)‐ and (R,R)‐Ac₅c^dOR; R: methyl, methoxymethyl), were synthesized from dimethyl L ‐(+)‐ or D ‐(?)‐tartrate, and their homochiral homoligomers were prepared by solution‐phase methods. The preferred secondary structure of the (S,S)‐Ac₅c^dOMe hexapeptide was a left‐handed (M) 3₁₀ helix, whereas those of the (S,S)‐Ac₅c^dOMe octa‐ and decapeptides were left‐handed (M) α helices, both in solution and in the crystal state. The octa‐ and decapeptides can be well dissolved in pure water and are more α helical in water than in 2,2,2‐trifluoroethanol solution. The left‐handed (M) helices of the (S,S)‐Ac₅c^dOMe homochiral homopeptides were exclusively controlled by the side‐chain chiral centers, because the cyclic amino acid (S,S)‐Ac₅c^dOMe does not have an α‐carbon chiral center but has side‐chain γ‐carbon chiral centers.