First example of the Mislow-Braverman-Evans rearrangement retaining the sulfur atom on the original carbon

Treatment of 1-chloro-2-methylalkenyl p-tolyl sulfoxides with N-lithio 2-piperidone in THF at room temperature resulted in the formation of 1-chloro-2-(hydroxymethyl)alkenyl p-tolyl sulfides in good yields. This reaction is the first example of the Mislow-Braverman-Evans rearrangement retaining the sulfur atom on the original carbon.     

Dimeric copper(II) trimethylsilyl­acetate adducts with pyridine, 2‐­methylpyridine, 3‐methylpyridine and quinoline,and a polymeric copper(II) trimethylsilylacetate

In the crystals of bis(pyridine‐N)tetrakis(μ‐trimethylsilylacetato‐O:O′)dicopper(II), [Cu₂(C₅H₁₁O₂Si)₄(C₅H₅N)₂], (I), the dinuclear Cu^II complexes have cage structures with Cu?Cu distances of 2.632 (1) and 2.635 (1) Å. In the crystals of bis(2‐­methylpyridine‐N)tetrakis(μ‐trimethylsilylacetato‐O:O′)dicopper(II), [Cu₂(C₅H₁₁O₂Si)₄(C₆H₇N)₂], (II), bis­(3‐methylpyridine‐N)tetrakis(μ‐trimethylsilylacetato‐O:O′)dicopper(II), [Cu₂(C₅H₁₁O₂Si)₄(C₆H₇N)₂], (III), and bis(quinoline‐N)­tetrakis(μ‐­trimethylsilylacetato‐O:O′)dicopper(II), [Cu₂(C₅H₁₁O₂Si)₄(C₉H₇N)₂], (IV), the centrosymmetric dinuclear Cu^II complexes have a cage structure with Cu?Cu distances of 2.664 (1), 2.638 (3) and 2.665 (1) Å, respectively. In the crystals of catena‐poly­[tetrakis(μ‐trimethylsilylacetato‐O:O′)dicopper(II)], [Cu₂(C₅H₁₁O₂Si)₄]_n, (V), the dinuclear Cu^II units of a cage structure are linked by the cyclic Cu—O bonds at the apical positions to form a linear chain by use of a glide translation.     

Plant pathogen recognition as a natural, original and simple model for chemogenomics: a brief overview of cell-based assays to screen for peptides acting as plant defense activators

As plants lack a circulatory system and adaptive immune system, they have evolved their own defense systems distinct from animals, in which each plant cell is capable of defending itself from pathogens. Plants induce a number of defense responses, which are triggered by a variety of molecules derived from pathogenic microorganisms, referred to as microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), including peptides, proteins, lipopolysaccharide, beta-glucan, chitin, and ergosterol. The interaction between plants and chemicals in the context of plant defense represents a "natural" and simple model for chemogenomics, at the intersection between chemical and biological diversities. For protection of crop plants from diseases, it has been shown to be effective to stimulate the plant immunity by chemical compounds, the so-called "plant defense activators". Combinatorial chemistry techniques can be applied to the search for novel plant defense activators, but it is essential to establish an efficient and reliable screening system suitable for library screening. For studies of the plant immune system, it is difficult to use isolated proteins as biological targets because the receptors for MAMP recognition are largely unknown and even the receptors identified so far are transmembrane proteins. Therefore, screening for novel peptides acting on MAMP receptors from combinatorial libraries must rely on a solution-phase assay using cells as the biological targets. In this review, we introduce the cell-based lawn format assay for identification of peptides acting as plant defense activators from combinatorial peptide libraries. The requirements and limitations in constructing the screening system using combinatorial libraries in the studies of plant sciences are also discussed.     

Purification by centrifugal partition chromatography of amphiphilic compounds, glycolipids and pseudo-glycolipids synthesized by using cells

Centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) was applied to separate amphiphilic glycolipids and pseudo-glycolipids synthesized by using cells. Neutral and acidic lipid fractions were isolated by CPC under suitable conditions respectively. Separation of neutral lipid, Gb3-type and Gb4-type oligosaccharide synthesized by using cells, was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of chloroform-methanol-water at a volume ratio of 5:6:4. On the other hand, separation of acidic lipid, GM3-type oligosaccharide synthesized by using cells, and ganglioside extracted from rat brain were performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of butanol-ethanol-1% acetic acid at a volume ratio of 4:1:5. 8.3mg of Gb3 analogue, 5.1mg of Gb4 analogue, and 19.5mg of GM3 analogue were purified from 3.2l of culture medium obtained by incubation of African green-monkey kidney (Vero) cells with 50 microM n-dodecyl beta-lactoside using CPC.     

Multifunctional photo acid generator for fluorescence imaging based on self-contained photoreaction

We present N-(p-anilinesulfonyloxy)-1,8-naphthalimide (ASNI) as fluorescence imaging material based on a novel fluorescence imaging mechanism. ASNI is composed of two functional moieties in one molecule: an acid-reactive fluorescence probe and a photoacid generator (PAG). When ASNI is photoirradiated, a bond in the PAG moiety breaks and an acid is generated. The fluorescence probe moiety then detects the acid and fluoresces. We call this novel mechanism a self-contained photoreaction (SCP). The photophysical properties and photoreactivity of ASNI were measured and compared with those of a prototype PAG, N-(phenylsulfonyloxy)-1,8-naphthalimide. These were well represented by density functional theory calculations. SCP permits one-step fluorescence imaging without any wet or dry developing process.     

Relationship between the mobility of phosphocholine headgroups of liposomes and the hydrophobicity at the membrane interface: a characterization with spectrophotometric measurements

In this study, we investigated the dynamics of a membrane interface of liposomes prepared by eight zwitterionic phosphatidylcholines in terms of their headgroup mobility, with spectroscopic methods such as dielectric dispersion analysis (DDA), fluorescence spectroscopy. The DDA measurement is based on the response of the permanent dipole moment to a driving electric field and could give the information on the axial rotational Brownian motion of a headgroup with the permanent dipole moment. This motion depended on kinds of phospholipids, the diameter of the liposomes, and the temperature. The activation energy required to overcome the intermolecular force between headgroups of phospholipids depended on the strength of the interaction between headgroups such as hydrogen bonds and/or dipole-dipole interaction. Hydration at the phosphorous group of phospholipid and the molecular order of lipid membrane impaired the interaction between headgroups. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of membrane surface increased parallel to the increase in headgroup mobility. It is, therefore, concluded that hydration of headgroup promoted its mobility to make the membrane surface hydrophobic. The lipid membrane in liquid crystalline phase or the lipid membrane with the larger curvature was more hydrophobic.     

Synthesis and optical resolution of a Cu(I) double-stranded helicate with ketimine-bridged tris(bipyridine) ligands

A tetranuclear Cu(I) double-stranded helicate was synthesized from ketimine-bridged tris(bipyridine) ligands and Cu(I) ions, and the racemate was successfully resolved by diastereomeric salt formation using an optically pure phosphate anion followed by anion exchange with NaPF(6) without racemization.     

Synthesis of 9,9‐Disubstituted 9H‐Pyrrolo[1,2‐a]indoles by Hydriodic Acid‐Catalyzed Cyclization of 1‐[2‐(1‐Aryl(or methyl)ethenyl)phenyl]‐1H‐pyrroles

A novel method is reported for the synthesis of 9,9‐disubstituted 9H‐pyrrolo[1,2‐a]indoles. Cyclization of 1‐[2‐(1‐aryl(or methyl)ethenyl)phenyl]‐1H‐pyrroles, which can be easily prepared from 2‐(1‐aryl(or methyl)ethenyl)anilines, proceeds smoothly, in general, at 0° in the presence of a catalytic (or an equimolar) amount of HI in MeCN to provide the desired products.     

Uracil as Nucleating Agent for Bacterial Poly[(3‐Hydroxybutyrate)‐co‐(3‐hydroxyhexanoate)] Copolymers

In this study, uracil has been introduced as the nucleating agent (NA) for bacterially synthesized poly[(3‐hydroxybutyrate)‐co‐(3‐hydroxyhexanoate)] (PHBHHx) copolymers with HHx content of 5, 10, 18 mol‐%, and poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) homopolymer for the first time. Its effect was compared with the conventional NA of PHB, that is, boron nitride (BN), and two other naturally occurring pyrimidine derivatives, i.e., thymine and cytosine. The effects of uracil on the crystallization kinetics, melting behavior, spherulite morphology, and crystalline structure of PHBHHx and PHB were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM), and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD). Uracil and BN exhibit the comparable nucleation efficiency on the crystallization of PHB, whereas uracil shows much more effective nucleation ability than BN for PHBHHx copolymers. With incorporation of 1 wt.‐% uracil, PHBHHx with 0–10 mol‐% HHx units can finish crystallization upon cooling at 10 °C · min^?1. The crystallization half‐times (t_1/2) of all the PHB and PHBHHx samples decrease significantly with presence of uracil. The crystallization rate of polymers further enhances with increase in uracil concentration. With addition of 1 wt.‐% uracil, the t_1/2 value of PHBHHx with 10 mol‐% HHx units melt‐crystallizing at 80 °C decreases to ≈4.0% of the neat polymer, and the nucleation density increases by 3–4 orders of magnitude. The incorporation of uracil has no discernable effect on the crystalline structure of PHBHHx, as evidenced by WAXD results. It was proposed that the nucleation mechanism of the uracil/PHBHHx (or PHB) system might be the epitaxial nucleation.

     

Photo-curable organically modified silicate-phosphate alternating copolymer for photonics applications

Photo-curable vinyl modified silicate-phosphate alternating copolymers were prepared by a direct condensation of organochlorosilane and organophosphoric acid in a solvent-free condition. The obtained copolymers have complete alternating copolymer structure of silicate and phosphate unit, where the main oxo chain consist of –(Si–O–P–O) _n -network. They exhibited an excellent solubility of ionic species such as ionic organic dyes. It was also demonstrated the photo-reduction of Au⁺ ions to form Au nano particles for plasmonics applications. Micro patterns were also fabricated by soft lithographic processes. These results indicate that the photo-curable alternating copolymers are one of promising materials for advanced optical information processing devices.