Structure of the electrical double layer on the aqueous solution side of the polarized interface between water and a room-temperature ionic liquid, tetrahexylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide

The structure of the electrical double layer on the aqueous solution side has been studied by measuring electrocapillary curves at the polarized interface between a room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL), tetrahexylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, and water (W) at different concentrations of LiCl. Thermodynamic analysis of the electrocapillary curves indicates that Li+ ions negatively adsorb at the point of zero charge. The adsorption of Li+ and Cl- ions in the polarized potential window of about 200 mV can be explained by the Gouy's double layer model, and the specific adsorption of Li+ and Cl- ions at the RTIL|W interface is negligible within the polarized potential window.     

Syntheses and biological activities of renin inhibitors containing statine analogues

Syntheses and biological activities of dipeptide renin inhibitors that contain statine analogues are described. The key steps of the synthetic approach to dipeptide renin inhibitors are the asymmetric synthesis of 2(R)-substituted-3-aminocarbonylpropionic acids and the diastereoselective syntheses of (3S,4S)-statine analogues. These inhibitors (2,14-40) inhibited human renin in the 3-140 nM range. Inhibitor ES 6864 (2) was found to be a highly potent inhibitor of human renin (IC50: 4.6 x 10(-9) M) and showed high enzyme specificity. Oral administration of ES 6864 at 3 mg/kg to conscious, sodium-depleted marmosets inhibited plasma renin activity (PRA) more than 80% after 1 h.     

Chiral separation of trimetoquinol hydrochloride and related compounds by micellar electrokinetic chromatography using sodium taurodeoxycholate solutions and application to optical purity determination

The chiral separation of trimetoquinol hydrochloride, which is a bronchodilator (Inolin), and three related compounds by micellar electrokinetic chromatography was investigated using a bile salt as a chiral surfactant. Enantiomers of these compounds, except laudanosoline, were successfully separated within 12 min using a separation tube of effective length 500 mm × 0.05 rum i.d. and a 0.05 M sodium taurodeoxycholate solution of pH 7.0. The observed theoretical plate numbers of the peaks were ca. 150000. Chiral recognition was affected by the structure of bile salts, the pH of the buffer solutions used and the structure of the solutes. Of four kinds of bile salts, successful chiral separation was achieved only using sodium taurodeoxycholate solution under neutral conditions. The method was applied to the optical purity determination of trimetoquinol hydrochloride. The effects of surfactant concentrations and some additives to the micellar solution are briefly described.     

NANOMECHANICAL MAPPING OF CARBON BLACK REINFORCED NATURAL RUBBER BY ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY

Atomic force microscopy （AFM） has the advantage of obtaining mechanical properties as well as topographic information at the same time. By analyzing force-distance curves measured over two-dimensional area using Hertzian contact mechanics, Young＇s modulus mapping was obtained with nanometer-scale resolution. Furthermore, the sample deformation by the force exerted was also estimated from the force-distance curve analyses. We could thus reconstruct a real topographic image by incorporating apparent topographic image with deformation image. We applied this method to carbon black reinforced natural rubber to obtain Young＇s modulus distribution image together with reconstructed real topographic image. Then we were able to recognize three regions; rubber matrix, carbon black （or bound rubber） and intermediate regions. Though the existence of these regions had been investigated by pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance, this paper would be the first to report on the quantitative evaluation of the interfacial region in real space.     

Dissolution of ionisable groups and lignocellulosic components during low-temperature kraft pulping of pinus radiata

A wide range of kraft pulps from radiata pine produced by low-temperature kraft pulping in flow-through reactors was assessed for carboxyl and hexenuronic acid (HexA) contents using the conductometric titrations and UV spectrophotometer, respectively. The Kappa number of pulps varied from 20.8 to 84.7 when using a cooking liquor of 1 M effective alkali as Na₂O, 25% sulfidity, and cooking time of 100–250 min. The experimental results showed that the carboxyl groups (including HexA) and HexA groups dissolved and their residual values in the pulp samples correlate linearly with Kappa number and pulp yield. The dissolving rate of all carboxyl groups is much faster than the loss of HexA. The HexA/lignin ratio decreased non-linearly with Kappa number.     

A peptide motif recognizing a polymer stereoregularity

A combinatorial phage display method was applied to films composed of a stereoregular polymer of methacrylates. The phage clones with selective affinity for isotactic (it) poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were isolated. Greater amounts of the phage clones bound to it-PMMA, compared to other stereoregular PMMAs. The phage expressing ELWRPTR most strongly bound to the polymer, and the selectivity was also the best. The peptide motif essential for the specific interaction with the stereoregular polymer was revealed.     

A noncontact atomic force microscope in air using a quartz resonator and the FM detection method

Noncontact imaging was successfully performed with the quartz resonator in air by using the FM detection method. A constant frequency shift mode was used. The frequency shift was about -30 mHz, which was induced by the attractive force gradient. A noncontact image of the Si(111) atomic step was obtained with vertical and lateral resolutions of 0.8 Å and 60 Å.     

Highly emissive pi-conjugated alkynylpyrene oligomers: their synthesis and photophysical properties

We newly prepared para- and meta-linked alkynylpyrene oligomers and examined their photophysical properties. Oligomerization of monomeric building blocks was performed by CuI-promoted oxidative coupling reaction. The resulting oligomers mainly consist of 2-mer to 6-mer that were assigned on the basis of MALDI-TOF mass spectra, and the 2-mer, 3-mer, and 4-mer were isolated and fully characterized. From their absorption and fluorescence spectra, the para-linked oligomers were found to be somewhat pi-conjugated compared with meta-linked ones, and the fluorescence quantum yields decreased with increasing oligomer length (Phif = 0.79-0.55).