An Improved Method for Purification of β-Copperphthalocyanine

A sublimation apparatus in which a high temperature slightly lower than the sublimation point of copperphthalocyanine remains constant over a long condensation region has been developed. A sufficiently pure material for electrophotographic measurements can be obtained only when this high temperature is maintained nearly constant over the long condensation region along the sublimation tube. After the thired sublimation, the value of copper contents in the sample is 11.03 · 0.02%, according to the chelatometric titrations, while the theoreitcal value of stoichimetric composition is 11.03%. Emission spectrochemical analysis shows that only traces of Si and Mg are found in the sample after the sixth sublimation. Single crystal srown in the sublimation tube are characterized and the growth mechanism is discussed.     

In Vitro Analyses of Spinach-Derived Opioid Peptides,Rubiscolins: Receptor Selectivity and Intracellular Activities through G Protein- and β-Arrestin-Mediated Pathways

Activated opioid receptors transmit internal signals through two major pathways: the G-protein-mediated pathway, which exerts analgesia, and the β-arrestin-mediated pathway, which leads to unfavorable side effects. Hence, G-protein-biased opioid agonists are preferable as opioid analgesics. Rubiscolins, the spinach-derived naturally occurring opioid peptides, are selective δ opioid receptor agonists, and their p.o. administration exhibits antinociceptive effects. Although the potency and effect of rubiscolins as G-protein-biased molecules are partially confirmed, their in vitro profiles remain unclear. We, therefore, evaluated the properties of rubiscolins, in detail, through several analyses, including the CellKey^TM assay, cADDis^® cAMP assay, and PathHunter^® β-arrestin recruitment assay, using cells stably expressing µ, δ, κ, or µ/δ heteromer opioid receptors. In the CellKey^TM assay, rubiscolins showed selective agonistic effects for δ opioid receptor and little agonistic or antagonistic effects for µ and κ opioid receptors. Furthermore, rubiscolins were found to be G-protein-biased δ opioid receptor agonists based on the results obtained in cADDis^® cAMP and PathHunter^® β-arrestin recruitment assays. Finally, we found, for the first time, that they are also partially agonistic for the µ/δ dimers. In conclusion, rubiscolins could serve as attractive seeds, as δ opioid receptor-specific agonists, for the development of novel opioid analgesics with reduced side effects.     

Photochemical processes induced by 157-nm light in H(2)-impregnated glassy SiO(2):OH

F(2) excimer-laser irradiation induces two major changes in SiO(2): OH glass impregnated with H(2) molecules. First, the vacuum-UV optical absorption edge is bleached, and the absorption at 157 nm decreases from 0.95 to 0.68 cm(-1) . Second, preexisting free SiOH groups and interstitial H(2) are photochemically converted to hydrogen-bonded hydroxyl groups. It is suggested that the bleaching of the UV-absorption edge is caused by a change of OH groups from a free to a hydrogen-bonded state and by photolysis of distorted Si-O bonds that are absorbing in the edge region.     

Thiourea-catalyzed nucleophilic addition of TMSCN and ketene silyl acetals to nitrones and aldehydes

The effect of hydrogen bonding between nitrones and urea derivatives in the nucleophilic addition reaction was examined. Thioureas bearing an electron-withdrawing group on an aromatic ring, behave like Lewis acid to promote the addition of TMSCN and ketene silyl acatals to various nitrones and aldehydes. Presumed interaction between nitrones and thioureas was supported by NMR experiments.     

Ring-Opened Hemiporphyrazines: Helical Molecules Exhibiting Circularly Polarized Luminescence

We designed and synthesized a new type of small helical molecule exhibiting intense circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) ( 1_2H ) by modifying a 20π-electron hemiporphyrazine with a large transition magnetic dipole moment. The hemiporphyrazine ring was opened and one additional pyridine unit was introduced, resulting in an overlap of two pyridine rings. X-ray structure analysis confirmed that 1_2H and its zinc complex ( 1_Zn ) adopt a helical geometry. A racemic mixture of 1_Zn was resolved into two enantiomers ((P)- and (M)- 1_Zn ), which exhibited CPL with a high luminescence dissymmetry factor (g_lum) value of ±2.1×10⁻². The origin of the large g_lum value was rationalized by means of DFT calculations. Helical structures could be formed in a diastereoselective manner by covalently attaching chiral units to the skeleton ( 1’_2H and 1’_Zn ). 1_Zn was found to possess chiral recognition ability for amines.     

Application of plug–plug technique to ACE experiments for discovery of peptides binding to a larger target protein: A model study of calmodulin‐binding fragments selected from a digested mixture of reduced BSA

To discover peptide ligands that bind to a target protein with a higher molecular mass, a concise screening methodology has been established, by applying a “plug–plug” technique to ACE experiments. Exploratory experiments using three mixed peptides, mastoparan‐X, β‐endorphin, and oxytocin, as candidates for calmodulin‐binding ligands, revealed that the technique not only reduces the consumption of the protein sample, but also increases the flexibility of the experimental conditions, by allowing the use of MS detection in the ACE experiments. With the plug–plug technique, the ACE–MS screening methodology successfully selected calmodulin‐binding peptides from a random library with diverse constituents, such as protease digests of BSA. Three peptides with K_d values between 8–147 μM for calmodulin were obtained from a Glu‐C endoprotease digest of reduced BSA, although the digest showed more than 70 peaks in its ACE–MS electropherogram. The method established here will be quite useful for the screening of peptide ligands, which have only low affinities due to their flexible chain structures but could potentially provide primary information for designing inhibitors against the target protein.