Control of diastereoselectivity in the crotylation and cinnamylation of aldehydes by the selection of ligands on allylic indium reagents

Diastereoselective couplings of salicylaldehyde, anisaldehyde and 2-pyridylaldehyde with crotyl- and cinnamylindium reagents were studied. The syl/anti selectivity was found to depend largely on the ligands on the indium atom of the allylic indium reagents. A syn-selective cinnamylation of salicylaldehyde was realized by the combination of cinnamyl acetate and indium(I) iodide, whereas an anti-selective coupling with salicylaldehyde was achieved by the indium trichloride/aluminium-mediated cinnamylation.     

Molecular Weight Development in Free‐Radical Polymerization with Polyfunctional Chain‐Transfer Agents, 2. Substitution Effects

The analytic expression for the weight‐average molecular weight development proposed in the first part of this series^[1] is extended to account for the substitution effects of the functional groups in a polyfunctional chain‐transfer agent. The obtained functional form of the matrix formula, P_w = W { D _w + ( I + T ) SPE ( I – TSPE )^–1 D _f } is essentially the same as for equal reactivity model, but the NxN square matrixes, S and P in the equal reactivity model is now expanded to NxfN and fNxfN matrixes, respectively, to account for the different reactivities of f functional groups. The number of chain types, N is extrapolated to infinity to obtain the P_w‐value for free‐radical polymerization. Practically, such extrapolation can be conducted with calculated P_w‐values for only three different N‐values. Illustrative calculations show that the obtained results agree with those from the Monte Carlo method. The present approach provides newer insight into the branched structure formation during complex polymerization reactions.     

A q-analog of the sixth Painlevé equation

A q-difference analog of the sixth Painlevé equation is presented. It arises as the condition for preserving the connection matrix of linear q-difference equations, in close analogy with the monodromy-preserving deformation of linear differential equations. The continuous limit and special solutions in terms of q-hypergeometric functions are also discussed.     

Diastereomer-specific effects of double-stranded peptides conjugated with -L-Tyr-L-Phe- or -L-Tyr-D-Phe- residues on tyrosine phosphorylation and inhibition of src(ts)NRK, A431, MCF-7, and DU145 cell growth

The interaction between growth inhibition and chirality, especially of diastereomers, has an important modifying effect on cancer cell proliferation. Previously, we have reported on the design, synthesis, and chemical properties of a series of novel, double-stranded peptides, (y-AA-x-AA)(2)-(CH(2))(12), with -y-AA-x-AA- and -z-AA-y-AA-x-AA- sequences conjugated to the spacer. Here, we extend those results by showing that (D-, L-) and (L-, D-) diastereomers are more potent inhibitors of tyrosine phosphorylation than (L-, L-). Although the replacement of the L-Phe-L-Phe sequence with L-Tyr-L-Phe produces a less active inhibitor, the double-stranded peptide conjugated with L-Tyr-D-Phe is more active than that conjugated with L-Tyr-L-Phe. In addition, we show that SDS-PAGE gel profiles of tyrosine phosphorylation following treatment with bis(y-Tyr-x-Phe)-N,N-dodecane-1,12-diamine appear very similar to profiles of tyrosine phosphorylation following treatment with an analog of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, erbstatin. Moreover, the level of autophosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor kinase domain (EGFRKD) treated with bis(L-Tyr-D-Phe)-N,N-dodecane-1,12-diamine was lower than that seen following treatment with bis(L-Phe-D-Phe)-N,N-dodecane-1,12-diamine. These data provide new insights for the control of cancer cell proliferation through drug designs which replace the less active -L-Phe-L-Phe- (and -D-Phe-L-Phe-) with the more active -L-Tyr-L-Phe- (and -L-Tyr-D-Phe-) sequence.     

Conformational studies of poly(N5-Ω-hydroxyalkyl-L-glutamine)s in reversed micelles

The molecular conformations of poly(N⁵-dihydroxyethylaminopropyl-L-glutamine) and poly(N⁵-dihydroxyethyl-L-glutamine) were investigated in reversed micelles of AOT as well as in aqueous solutions. Both poly(-amino acid)s assume disordered structures in pure water. The conformation of poly(N⁵-dihydroxyethylaminopropyl-L-glutamine) transits into-helix in the reversed micelles as the molar ratio of water to AOT (w₀=[H₂O]/[AOT]) becomes smaller. A similar conformational transition was also observed in aqueous solutions when a certain amount of AOT was added. Under these conditions, however, poly(N⁵-dihydroxyethyl-L-glutamine) did not undergo a conformational transition into-helix.     

Peroxidase oxidations of hydroquinone and p-cresol in AOT reversed micelles

The enzymatic activities of horseradish peroxidase solubilized in reversed micelles of bis(2-ethylhexyl)sodium sulfosuccinate formed in octane at various _o values ( _o=[H₂O]/[AOT]) were investigated by studying the catalytic oxidation of hydroquinone and p-cresol. These enzymatic reactions obeyed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The turnover number of the enzymatic reaction of hydroquinone solubilized in the water pool increased with a decrease in _o value. On the other hand, the dependence of the turnover number of the enzymatic reaction of p-cresol solubilized in octane on the _o value was similar to that in the case of hydroquinone, although even at higher _o values the turnover number was smaller than that in water. Furthermore, it was suggested by spectrophotometric and circular dichroism measurements that the conformational change of enzyme induced the change in enzymatic activity.     

An organopalladium(II) compound including enolate oxy­gen‐ and sp3‐carbon‐bound 1,3‐di­methyl­barbiturate ligands: (1,2‐di­amino­ethane)­bis(1,3‐di­methyl­barbiturato)­palladium(II) 5.5‐hydrate

In the title compound, [Pd(C₆H₇N₂O₃)₂(C₂H₈N₂)]·5.5H₂O, the Pd atom is coordinated by two 1,3‐di­methyl­barbiturate anions through a deprotonated tetrahedral carbon and the enolate oxy­gen. The Pd—N bond length of 2.078 (2) Åtrans to the C atom is shorter than the Pt—N distance of 2.098 (3) Å in the Pt analog.     

Molecular weight distribution in random branching of polymer chains

Analytical expressions for the average molecular weights of randomly branched polymer molecules with any primary chain distribution are developed. A full molecular weight distribution (MWD) function is also derived for the case where primary chains conform to the most probable distribution. This MWD function can be separated into the fractional MWDs containing k branch points; therefore, very detailed information on the structure of randomly branched polymers can be obtained. The average molecular weights of the polymer fraction containing k branch points are linear functions of the number of branch points k, and the distribution becomes narrower as k increases. The heterogeneity in the distribution of branch points can make the weight-average degree of polymerization larger, although it is impossible to form a gel molecule only via branches (T-shaped junctions) without assistance of crosslinkages (H-shaped junctions).