Exploratory Investigations Probing a Preparatively Versatile, Pyridinium Salt Photoelectrocyclization-Solvolytic Aziridine Ring Opening Sequence

A novel pyridinium salt photoelectrocyclization-nucleophilic bicyclic aziridine ring opening reaction sequence has been investigated in order to determine its preparative potential. N-Alkylpyridinium perchlorates were found to undergo photoinduced electrocyclization upon irradiation in nucleophilic solvents, such as H(2)O and MeOH, to efficiently produce 6-alkyl-6-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-en-4-yl alcohols and ethers. The bicyclic aziridine photoproducts react with a number of different nucleophiles (e.g., H(2)O, MeOH, AcOH, AcSH) under acid-catalyzed conditions to produce 5-(nucleophile-substituted)-4-(alkylamino)cyclopenten-3-yl alcohols and ethers. The aziridine ring opening processes are both regioselective and stereoselective, yielding trans,trans-trisubstituted cyclopentenes exclusively, apparently as a consequence of the operation of an SN(2) mechanism. The effects of C-alkyl substitution on the regiochemistry of the pyridinium cation photocyclization reaction were briefly probed, and a method was developed to produce trans,cis-trisubstituted cyclopentenes by use of this tandem preparative sequence.     

Efficiency of radiation-induced main-chain scission of poly (methyl methacrylate) depends on the irradiation temperature because of coexisting monomer

Effect of irradiation temperature on the main-chain scission of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) caused by γ-irradiation was studied by means of gel permeation chromatography and ESR spectroscopy. Although no temperature dependency was observed on the scission efficiency for purified PMMA, the efficiency for crude or monomer-doped purified PMMA was decreased by decreasing the temperature below ca. 200 K. Above 200 K the efficiency was constant and did not depend on the purity of PMMA. ESR study of the irradiated PMMA revealed that the suppression of the scission below 200 K is induced by the addition of methyl methacrylate monomer to primary radical species, which otherwise cause the main-chain scission by warming the polymer above 200 K. The primary radical generated above 200 K immediately converts to the scission-type ? CH₂ ? ?(CH₃) COOCH₃ radical through the β-scission of the polymer main chain, so that the efficiency of the scission does not depend on both the impurity and the irradiation temperature. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effect of comonomer sorption on radiation-induced copolymer grafting onto polyethylene and EVA films in the vapor phase

Radiation-induced copolymer grafting of acenaphthylene and maleic anhydride onto polyethylene or EVA film in the vapor phase was carried out and the effect of comonomer sorption on the grafting was studied. When polyethylene film was used as a backbone polymer, the sorption of the binary monomers during the grafting increased linearly as the grafting reaction proceeded. The marked increase was probably caused by the formation of a grafted layer. Particularly, the sorption of maleic anhydride was brought about by the existence of a grafted layer. In grafting onto EVA film, the content of maleic anhddride in the grafted copolymer increased with the increasing content of vinyl acetate in EVA. Continuous measurements of sorption of the comonomers onto EVA and grafted EVA films were carried out by use of an electrobalance. The distinctive feature of the sorption was that the equilibrium sorption of acenaphthylene or maleic anhydride onto the grafted EVA film increased and the diffusion constants for both comonomers decreased markedly with increasing percentage of graft. The copolymer grafting was explained from these results by assuming that the monomer molecules are supplied to the propagating chain ends mostly through a sorbed state on the polymer film.     

A self-assembling protein template for constrained synthesis and patterning of nanoparticle arrays

Self-assembling biomolecules that form highly ordered structures have attracted interest as potential alternatives to conventional lithographic processes for patterning materials. Here, we introduce a general technique for patterning nanoparticle arrays using two-dimensional crystals of genetically modified hollow protein structures called chaperonins. Constrained chemical synthesis of transition metal nanoparticles is initiated using templates functionalized with polyhistidine sequences. These nanoparticles are ordered into arrays because the template-driven synthesis is constrained by the nanoscale structure of the crystallized protein. We anticipate that this system may be used to pattern different classes of nanoparticles based on the growing library of sequences shown to specifically bind or direct the growth of materials.     

The temperature dependence of the zero-field splitting of trimethylenemethane

Trimethylenemethane was generated by γ-irradiating polycrystalline methylenecyclopropane, and studied by EPR at various temperatures. The zero-field splitting constant, D, was observed to change from 0.0260 cm^?1 at 4 K to 0.0212 cm^?1 at 126 K, though the hyperfine coupling showed little temperature dependence.     

Phenolic constituents of licorice. VIII. Structures of glicophenone and glicoisoflavanone, and effects of licorice phenolics on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Two new phenolic compounds, glicophenone (1) and glicoisoflavanone (2), were isolated from commercial licorice, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Antibacterial assays of licorice phenolics for Staphylococcus aureus, including four strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and also for Escherichia coli K12 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, were then examined. Two compounds among them, 8-(gamma,gamma-dimethylallyl)-wighteone (21) and 3'-(gamma,gamma-dimethylallyl)-kievitone (28), showed remarkable antibacterial effects [minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), 8 microg/ml on the MRSA strains and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus. Licochalcone A (14), gancaonin G (20), isoangustone A (24), glyasperins C (30) and D (31), glabridin, (32), licoricidin (33), glycycoumarin (34) and licocoumarone (40) showed antibacterial effects on the MRSA strains with MIC values of 16 microg/ml. Effects on the beta-lactam resistance of the MRSA strains were also examined, and licoricidin (33) noticeably decreased the resistance of the MRSA strains against oxacillin, as shown by the reduction in the MICs of oxacillin (lower than 1/128-1/1000 in the presence of 8 microg/ml of 33, and 1/8-1/32 in the presence of 4 microg/ml of 33). Mechanistic study suggested that 33 does not inhibit the formation of penicillin-binding protein 2' (PBP2'), but affects the enzymatic function of PBP2'.     

New functional microspheres with active succinimide groups

Radiation-induced polymerization of monomers, for example N-methacryl-oxysuccinimide (MASu) and diethylene glycol dimethacrylate (2G), in ethyl propionate, was performed from +25°C to –78°C. The copoly (MASu/2G) microspheres were obtained in MASu monomer compositions of 30 wt % or below. The average particle diameter of copoly(MASu/2G, 20/80 wt %) microspheres obtained at irradiation temperatures of 25°, 0°, and –43 °C were 0.81±0.29, 0.63±0.26, and 0.90±0.43 m, respectively. No microspheres were formed when irradiated at –78 °C. The reactivity of the succinimide groups on the surface of copoly(MASu/2G, 20/80 wt%) microspheres was checked by reacting with ethylene diamine. The maximal amount of reacting succinimide groups was 9.4±0.5 nol/g, which corresponds to about 1 % of the total number of succinimide groups in the microsphere.     

Kunzeanones A, B, and C: novel alkylated phloroglucinol metabolites from Kunzea ambigua

Three new metabolites, kunzeanones A (1), B (2), and C (3), along with three known compounds, cryptostrobin (4), (+)-spathulenol (5), and (−)-globulol (6), were isolated from the non-polar fraction of the dried leaves of Kunzea ambigua (Myrtaceae), which shows ichthyotoxicity toward a small fish, medaka. The structures of these new compounds were elucidated as condensates of alkylated phloroglucinol with methylflavanone and germacrane-type sesquiterpene, respectively, on the basis of spectral analyses including 1-D and 2-D NMR spectra. The stereochemistries of kunzeanones A and B were determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. A sesquiterpene, (+)-spathulenol (5), among the isolates was characterized as the ichthyotoxic principle of the extract.