Formation of Supramolecular Nanostructures through in Situ Self-Assembly and Post-Assembly Modification of a Biocatalytically Constructed Dipeptide Hydrazide**

Aqueous self-assembly of short peptides has attracted growing attention for the construction of supramolecular materials for various bioapplications. Herein, we describe how the thermolysin-assisted biocatalytic construction of a dipeptide hydrazide from an N-protected amino acid and an amino acid hydrazide leads to the formation of thermally stable supramolecular hydrogels. In addition, we demonstrate the post-assembly modification of the supramolecular architectures constructed in situ tethering hydrazide groups as a chemical handle by means of fluorescence imaging.     

Comparison of stimulated-emission-pumping fluorescence dip spectrometry and conventional fluorescence spectrometry in application to supersonic jet spectrometry

Summary A supersonic jet spectrum of 9,10-dichloroanthracene is measured by stimulated-emission-pumping fluorescence dip spectrometry and conventional fluorescence spectrometry. The performance obtained is compared for these spectrometric methods, providing same information concerned with the energy level of the ground state. The former is more preferential for measurement of a high-resolution spectrum, since the spectral resolution is determined by the linewidth of the dumping laser. On the other hand, the latter is more preferential for measurement with better sensitivity at the expense of the spectral resolution, since the fluorescence throughput can be improved by increasing the slit width of the monochromator.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Wilhelm Fresenius on the occasion of his 80th birthday     

Synthesis of lanosterol derivatives with a functional group at C-32, including an antineoplastic sterol, 3 beta-hydroxylanost-7-en-32-oic acid

Lanosterol derivatives with a functional group at C-32 have been synthesized from 3 beta-acetoxylanostan-7 alpha-ol. The key reaction of the synthesis is the hypoiodite reaction of 3 beta-acetoxylanostan-7 alpha-ol. In vitro antitumor activity testing of the lanosterol derivatives revealed that 3 beta-hydroxylanost-7-en-32-oic acid has antineoplastic activity.     

Modelling of a single drop impact onto liquid film using particle method

The process of single liquid drop impact on thin liquid surface is numerically simulated with moving particle semi‐implicit method. The mathematical model involves gravity, viscosity and surface tension. The model is validated by the simulation of the experimental cases. It is found that the dynamic processes after impact are sensitive to the liquid pool depth and the initial drop velocity. In the cases that the initial drop velocity is low, the drop will be merged with the liquid pool and no big splash is seen. If the initial drop velocity is high enough, the dynamic process depends on the liquid depth. If the liquid film is very thin, a bowl‐shaped thin crown is formed immediately after the impact. The total crown subsequently expands outward and breaks into many tiny droplets. When the thickness of the liquid film increases, the direction of the liquid crown becomes normal to the surface and the crown propagates outward. It is also found that the radius of the crown is described by a square function of time: r_C = [c(t ? t₀)]^0.5. When the liquid film is thick enough, a crown and a deep cavity inside it are formed shortly after the impact. The bottom of the cavity is initially oblate and then the base grows downward to form a sharp corner and subsequently the corner moves downward. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation of benzoylchitosans and their chiroptical properties in dilute solutions

Two benzoyl substituted chitosan derivatives, 3,6‐O‐dibenzoylchitosan (DBC) and 2‐N‐3,6‐O‐tribenzoylchitosan (TBC), were prepared, and their optical activities in organic solvent were investigated by circular dichroism (CD). For TBC, two splitting bands (a negative one at 288 nm and a positive one at 274 nm) corresponding to the ¹L_b transition of the benzoyl group were observed in chloroform and dichloromethane, while only a negative CD band was recorded in N, N‐dimethylformamide (DMF). These results indicated that the transition moments of benzoyl groups were orderly arranged along the helical polymer chain when TBC was dissolved in a solvent with low polarity, but the same ordered structure did not appear in a polar solvent of DMF. For DBC, only negative CD signals corresponding to the ¹L_b transition of the benzoyl group were observed, regardless of the solvent property, which indicated that the chromophores were not arranged in an ordered fashion with appropriate geometry to interact with one another to induce bi‐signate CD signals. Adding methanol or DMF to the solution of TBC/chloroform resulted in a progressive decrease of the intensity of the positive split band at 274 nm. The intensity of the positive band was weakened upon heating a solution of TBC/chloroform from 20 to 60 °C. The results suggested that the ordered arrangement of the chromophores in the TBC system was dependent on solvent and sensitive to temperature. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 4107–4115, 2004     

Oscillatory reaction using immobilized catalase.

Oscillation is found in many biological systems, and among them the enzymatic oscillatory reaction has been well studied using an enzyme solution. We show in this study for the first time that oscillation occurs when catalase is immobilized to controlled pore glass (CPG). The oscillatory wave mode changes with the distance among the CPG, electrode, or dialysis membrane. The lower substrate concentration results in oscillation with a longer period. This tendency agrees with a previous study using an enzyme solution. Furthermore, we show that the oscillation occurs when no dialysis membrane is used. These results show the wider applicability of the system to analysis or novel device fabrication.     

Ion-pair formation of a copper(II)-ammine complex with an anionic surfactant and the recovery of copper(II) from ammonia medium by the surfactant-gel extraction method.

The extraction and separation of copper(II), zinc(II), cobalt(II), and cadmium(II) were investigated. Both copper(II) and zinc(II) formed ammine-complexes, while cadmium(II) and cobalt(II) formed hydroxide precipitates in an ammonia medium. By the addition of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), a copper(II) complex formed an ion-pair (copper-ammine-DS), which was extracted into the SDS phase. However, a zinc(II) complex did not form an ion-pair, and was soluble in water. Copper(II) ion was recovered by stripping (back-extraction) after the addition of hydrochloric acid. This method was applied to the separation of copper(II) in a brass alloy.     

Ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight‐polyethylene‐fiber surface treatment by electron‐beam‐irradiation‐induced graft polymerization and its effect on adhesion in a styrene–butadiene rubber matrix

Aiming to develop a high‐performance fiber‐reinforced rubber from styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR), we applied a special technique using electron‐beam (EB)‐irradiation‐induced graft polymerization to ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight‐polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers. The molecular interaction between the grafted UHMWPE fibers and an SBR matrix was studied through the evaluation of the adhesive behavior of the fibers in the SBR matrix. Although UHMWPE was chemically inert, two monomers, styrene and N‐vinyl formamide (NVF), were examined for graft polymerization onto the UHMWPE fiber surface. Styrene was not effective, but NVF was graft‐polymerized onto the UHMWPE fibers with this special method. A methanol/water mixture and dioxane were used as solvents for NVF, and the effects of the solvents on the grafting percentage of NVF were also examined. The methanol/water mixture was more effective. A grafting percentage of 16.4% was the highest obtained. This improved the adhesive force threefold with respect to that of untreated UHMWPE fibers. These results demonstrated that EB irradiation enabled graft polymerization to occur even on the inert surface of UHMWPE fibers. However, the mechanical properties of the fibers could be compromised according to the dose of EB irradiation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2595–2603, 2004     

An ASE Reduction Filter Using Cascaded Optical Fiber Grating Couplers in EDFA Repeater

A new configuration for an ASE reduction filter in EDFA repeaters for WDM optical transmission systems using optical fiber grating couplers (FGCs) was proposed and first demonstrated. The filtering characteristics of the proposed filter for amplified single wavelength signal and 2-channel WDM signals using EDFA were identified. It was found that the filter was effective to improve SNR in optical domain by reducing ASE noise. The required FGC characteristics for the filter were theoretically predicted under the condition that the total filter loss did not exceed 3 dB. More than 70% of drop efficiency was required in each FGC for the application of the proposed filter to an 8-channel WDM system using EDFA repeaters.