Reactivities of 3-(1-Azolyl)-2-alken-1-ones and the related compounds with pyrrolidine

From the rate constants of the reaction with pyrrolidine, the reactivities of 3-(1-azolyl)-2-alken-1-ones with nucleophiles were evaluated to be rather high. Especially the reactivities of the quaternary salts of 3-(1-imidazolyl)-2-alken-1-ones were nearly equal to those of 3-chloro-2-alken-1-ones. In conclusion, 3-(1-imidazolyl)-2-alken-1-ones satisfied the practical requirements for the starting materials of the synthesis of 3-hetero-substituted 2-alken-1-ones.     

Gas permeation through hydrogels : I. Gel cellophane membranes

Permeabilities and diffusion coefficients of various gases, Ar, N₂, O₂, CO₂, CH₄, C₂H₄, C₃H₈ and C₄H₁₀, were measured for Water-swollen gel cellophane membranes. No dependence of permeabilities on gas pressure below 1 atm was found. It was observed that the permeability coefficients were not related linearly to the coefficients in bulk water. For the two states of water in the membrane, an analytical method is presented to estimate the diffusion coefficients and the solubilities in free water and non-freezing water. It was found that the diffusion coefficients in non-freezing water were lower than those in free water, and the solubilities in non-freezing water were higher than in free water for all gases studied except CO₂ and C₂H₄, which gave reverse results.     

Electron spin resonance of phosphorescent triplet molecules observation of the proton hyperfine structure of Δm = ±2 transitions in stretched poly (vinyl alcohol) films

By applying a microwave magnetic field parallel to an external magnetic field, ESR of naphthalene, quinoxaline, quinoline and isoquinoline in their phosphorescent triplet states has been studied at 77 K. The proton hyperfine structures in the Δm = ± 2 transitions were distinctly resolved, especially when the stretched film was used as a host, compared with observations in ethanol glasses. The assignment of these ESR signals was carried out with the aid of the stretched-film method.     

Model selection for complex systems involving polynuclear species

1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-bisphosphonic acid (HEDP) is a phosphonate chelate with several diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Previous studies have indicated that calcium complex aggregation occurs in the basic range of pH; results from this study indicate that complex aggregation occurs throughout the physiological range of pH as well. Calcium complex formation data were used for PQ analyses and plots of the derivative of Z with respect to total diphosphonate at constant free calcium ion concentration were shown to provide valuable information with regard to model selection. A link-addition stepwise complex formation model was shown to be most appropriate; a robust feature of all aggregate formation models examined is a strong pH dependence of polynuclear complex formation in the pH range 5.5–7.0.     

Constituents of Holothuroidea, 15. Isolation of ante-iso type regio-isomer on long chain base moiety of glucocerebroside from the sea cucumber Holothuria leucospilota

An ante-iso type regio-isomer on the long chain base moiety of a glucocerebroside, HLC-2-A, has been isolated from its parent glucocerebroside molecular species HLC-2 composed of iso and ante-iso isomers, from the less polar lipid fraction of a chloroform/methanol extract of the sea cucumber Holothuria leucospilota. Reverse-phase HPLC that included a recycling system was effective in separating the regio-isomer from its counterpart, revealing a very close resemblance in structure. Other typical glucocerebroside molecular species HLC-1 and HLC-3 were obtained together with HLC-2. The structures of these glucocerebrosides were determined on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence.     

DNA damage by fasicularin

Fasicularin is a structurally novel thiocyanate-containing alkaloid isolated from the ascidian Nephteis fasicularis. Early biological experiments suggested that this compound's cytotoxic properties may stem from its ability to damage cellular DNA. Sequence gel analysis reveals that treatment of a 5'-32P-labeled DNA duplex with fasicularin in pH 7.0 buffer causes strand cleavage selectively at guanine residues. Further experiments indicate that production of these base-labile lesions in DNA involves alkylation of guanine residues by a fasicularin-derived aziridinium ion. This work reveals fasicularin as the first natural product found to generate a DNA-alkylating aziridinium ion via a mechanism analogous to the clinically used anticancer drugs mechlorethamine, melphalan, and chlorambucil.