Stepwise photocleavage of two C-O bonds of 1,8-bis[(4-benzoylphenoxy)-methyl]naphthalene with three-step excitation using three-color, three-laser flash photolysis

Stepwise photocleavage of two naphthylmethyl-oxygen bonds of 1,8-bis[(4-benzoylphenoxy)methyl]naphthalene (1,8-(BPO-CH2)2Np, 1) was observed during three-color, three-laser flash photolysis at room temperature. The mechanism from 1 to the final product, acenaphthene (2), was clearly elucidated. The first (308 nm, 5 mJ pulse-1) XeCl laser excited 1 to the lowest triplet excited state 1(T1), in which the excited energy was localized in the naphthalene moiety, but the C-O bond cleavage did not occur. The second (430 nm, 7 mJ pulse-1) OPO laser excited 1(T1) to the higher triplet excited states 1(Tn) in which the excited energy is delocalized in the naphthalene moiety and C-O bonds, and one C-O bond cleavage occurred. The third (355 nm, 10 mJ pulse-1) YAG laser excited the carbon-centered radical in the ground state 1-(BPO-CH2)NpCH2*(D0) to its excited states 1-(BPO-CH2)NpCH2*(Dn), from which the second C-O bond cleavage occurred to give 2 as the final product. This is a successful example of stepwise cleavage of two equivalent C-O bonds in a molecule using three-color three-laser photolysis method.     

Evidence for the role of organic layers in photoconductivity of organic/inorganic hybrid nanosheets as prepared by Langmuir-Blodgett methods

By measuring the photoconductivity of hybrid LB films of exfoliative layered niobate and octadecylamine, it was evidenced that the film underwent a transition from an insulator to a photosemiconductor during photo-modification treatment by UV light, which was rationalized in terms of the direct contact of inorganic nanosheets achieved by the elimination of organic layers.     

Structural effects on valence tautomerism : VII. An NMR and molecular mechanics study of the steric effects of t-butyl substituents on the cycloheptatriene-norcaradiene equilibrium of 7-cyano-7-m

7-Cyano-7-methylcycloheptatrienes containing one t-butyl group on the 1-position ($\text{2}$) or two t-butyl groups on the 1- and 3-, 1- and 4-, or 1- and 5-positions ($\text{3}$, $\text{4}$, or $\text{5}$, respectively) were synthesized and their cyclo- heptatriene (CHT)-norcaradiene (NCD) equilibria measured by variable-temperature ¹H NMR for CS₂-CD₂Cl₂ solutions. The ¹H NMR chemical shifts of the 7-methyl group indicate that these compounds are composed of essentially one CHT and one NCD tautomer with an endo geometry of the methyl group. The introduction of a t-butyl group at the 1-position of 7-cyano-7-methylcycloheptatriene ($\text{1}$) markedly shifts the equilibrium to the NCD side and the addition of the second t-butyl group further favors the NCD form, with the NCD populations for $\text{2}$, $\text{3}$, $\text{4}$, and $\text{5}$ at 25 °C 70.9, 96.5, 92.3, and 99.3%, respectively. An application of molecular mechanics (MMPI) calculations to various t-butylated CHT-NCD systems suggests that the t-butyl groups sterically destabilize the CHT form more than the NCD form, bringing about increased NCD populations.     

Lipase-catalyzed transesterification of 2-hydroxy-2-(pentafluorophenyl)acetonitrile leading to (1R,2R)- and (1S,2S)-bis(pentafluorophenyl)ethane-1,2-diol

Optically pure (1R,2R)- and (1S,2S)-1,2-bis(pentafluorophenyl)ethane-1,2-diol (1) were synthesized from key intermediates (R)- and (S)-2-hydroxy-2-(pentafluorophenyl)acetonitrile (2), both of which were prepared by the lipase LIP-catalyzed transesterification (E = 465). The absolute configuration of (S)-2 was determined by X-ray structural analysis after transformation into (S)-alpha-cyano-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl (S)-6-methoxy-alpha-methyl-2-naphthaleneacetate (S,S)-9. In addition, the crystal structure of (S,S)-9 has an interesting well-ordered packing pattern which shows face-to-face stacking interactions and end-to-end parallel contacts between the pentafluorophenyl and 6-methoxynaphthyl groups of the adjacent molecules.     

Selective Transport of Saccharides Through a Liquid Membrane Using Cyclodextrin Dimer

A new effective transport system for saccharides through a liquid membranewas constructed. The transport rate of d-ribose in the condition of theliquid membrane with cyclodextrin dimer (2) as a transporter is 2.5 timerlarger than that without the transporter, whereas the transport rate of d-ribosein the condition of the liquid membrane with cyclodextrin monomer (1) isalmost the same as that without the transporter. The transport rate of methyld-glucoside by 2 is over twice than that by 1. The transport rate of d-deoxyribose by 2 is larger than that by 1.     

Diffuse reflectance FT-IR spectroscopic study of interactions of alpha-Al2O3/molten alkali nitrate coexisting systems

The diffuse reflectance spectra of alpha-Al(2)O(3)/molten MNO(3) (M=K(+), Li(+)) coexisting systems have been measured for the investigation of the physicochemical properties of molten nitrate at the interface of aluminum oxide. In the region of overtone and combination modes from 3000 to 1700 cm(-1), the absorption band nu(3)+nu(4) decreases with increasing specific surface area of alpha-Al(2)O(3) powder for the potassium mixtures. Gaussian resolution of nu(3)+nu(4) also exhibits changes in band positions of components with the variation in the alumina specific surface area and the nitrate melt content. The second-order derivative of the spectra in the region from 1700 to 950 cm(-1) shows a set of peaks at 1645, 1554-1516, and 1452 cm(-1) characteristic of a coordinated nitrate ion. The peak at 1337 cm(-1) suggests a possible formation of nitrite species. The maxima of nu(3)+nu(4), nu(1)+nu(2), and nu(1)+nu(4) shift toward lower frequencies with increasing temperature above the nitrate melting point. This information shows that the intramolecular bonds of NO(3)(-) are affected. These perturbations are attributed to the effect of the solid phase interacting with the liquid phase. The interaction between solid and liquid phases affects the geometry of the ionic species and, therefore, influences the electrical properties of nitrate ions.     

Membrane potential across anion-exchange membranes in acidic solution system

The membrane potential across anion-exchange membranes in H2SO4 and Na2SO4 solutions was measured, and the experimental results were fitted to the theory in the 2-1 electrolyte system based on the Donnan equilibrium and the Nernst-Planck flux equations. For the Na2SO4 solution, the Donnan potential makes a significant contribution to the membrane potential, but for the H2SO4 solution, the diffusion potential significantly contributes to the membrane potential. The diffusion potential has a greater contribution to the membrane potential across AEM-2 with a high water content than that across AEM-1. These results suggest that a proton with a high mobility can move without substantial influence of electrostatic interaction in a positively charged membrane.     

Sequence-specific gene silencing in mammalian cells by alkylating pyrrole-imidazole polyamides

Gene silencing was examined by sequence-specific alkylation of DNA by N-methylpyrrole (Py)-N-methylimidazole (Im) hairpin polyamides. Polyamides ImImPyPygammaImImPyLDu86 (A) and ImImPyPygammaImPyPyLDu86 (B) selectively alkylated the coding regions of the renilla and firefly luciferases, respectively, according to the base pair recognition rule of Py-Im polyamides. Two different plasmids, encoding renilla luciferase and firefly luciferase, were used as vectors to examine the effect of alkylation on gene silencing. Transfection of the alkylated luciferase vectors-by polyamide A or B-into HeLa, 293, and NIH3T3 cells demonstrated that these sequence-specific DNA alkylations lead to selective silencing of gene expression. Next, the vectors were cotransfected into HeLa cells and the cells were treated with polyamide A or B. Selective reduction of luciferase activities was caused by both polyamides. On the basis of this sequence-specific alkylation and gene silencing activity, these alkylating Py-Im polyamides thus have potential as antitumor drugs to target specific gene expression in human cells.     

Rapid cleavage of the naphthylmethyl-oxygen bond in higher triplet excited states

Rapid cleavage of the naphthylmethyl-oxygen bond of 1- and 2-[(4-benzoylphenoxy)methyl]naphthalenes in higher triplet excited states occurred within a laser flash of 5 ns to give 1- and 2-naphthylmethyl radicals with formation quantum yields of 0.042 +/- 0.004 and 0.020 +/- 0.002, respectively, during two-colour two-laser flash photolysis.     

Highly stereocontrolled synthesis of (2e,4z)-dienic esters by alumina catalyst

Thermal treatment of β-allenic esters ($\text{2}$) with alumina catalyst in aprotic solvents yielded (2E,4Z)-dienoic esters ($\text{3}$) in 57-58% yield with 91-100% stereoselectivity.