Regulation of lithospermic acid B and shikonin production in Lithospermum erythrorhizon cell suspension cultures

Cell suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon produced a large amount of lithospermic acid B, a caffeic acid tetramer, as well as shikonin derivatives (each ca. 10% of dry wt.) when cultured in shikonin production medium M-9. Various culture factors for increasing the production of lithospermic acid B were investigated. Lithospermic acid B production was inhibited by 2, 4-D or NH4+, whereas it was stimulated by Cu2+. These regulatory patterns were similar to those for the production of shikonin derivatives in these cell cultures, suggestive of close relations and similar metabolic regulation between the production of these compounds. Cultivation under light illumination, however, showed that these metabolisms were independently regulated. In particular, blue light showed a stimulatory effect on lithospermic acid B production, while shikonin production was strongly inhibited, indicative of an effective condition for lithospermic acid B production.     

Challenge to ultra-trace analytical techniques of nuclear materials in environmental samples for safeguards at JAERI: methodologies for physical and chemical form estimation

From a viewpoint of physical and chemical form estimation, ultra-trace analytical techniques of nuclear materials in environmental samples for safeguards have been investigated at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. This article deals with (1) an outline of the developed techniques for bulk and particle analyses of uranium and plutonium in the safeguards environmental samples; (2) current R&D on techniques relating to estimation of the physical and chemical form, such as SEM images and EDX spectra for fine particles of nuclear materials and fission track observation applicable to fissile materials; and (3) possible analytical methodologies, as future works, applicable to ultra-trace amounts of nuclear materials in environmental samples.     

Pd- and Cu-catalyzed C–H arylation of indazoles

The palladium- and copper-catalyzed C–H arylation reactions of 1H- and 2H-indazoles with haloarenes are described. A PdCl₂/phen/Ag₂CO₃/K₃PO₄ catalytic system is effective for the C–H arylation of 1H- and 2H-indazoles with haloarenes, whereas a less expensive CuI/phen/LiOt-Bu catalytic system is applicable to the C–H coupling of substituted 2H-indazoles and iodoarenes. The utility of newly developed catalyst was demonstrated in the rapid synthesis of YC-1 (an antitumor agent) and YD-3 (platelet anti-aggregating agent). These new reactions represent important direct functionalization tools of indazoles, well-known bioisosteres of pharmaceutically important indole core.     

A novel approach for LC-MS/MS-based chiral metabolomics fingerprinting and chiral metabolomics extraction using a pair of enantiomers of chiral derivatization reagents

Chiral metabolites are found in a wide variety of living organisms and some of them are understood to be physiologically active compounds and biomarkers. However, the overall analysis of chiral metabolomics is quite difficult due to the high number of metabolites, the significant diversity in their physicochemical properties, and concentration range from metabolite-to-metabolite. To solve this difficulty, we developed a novel approach for chiral metabolomics fingerprinting and chiral metabolomics extraction, which is based on the labeling of a pair of enantiomers of chiral derivatization reagents (i.e., DMT-(S,R)-Pro-OSu and DMT-3(S,R)-Apy) and precursor ion scan chromatography of the derivatives. The multivariate statistics is also required for this strategy. The proposed procedures were evaluated by the detection of a diagnostic marker (i.e., d-lactic acid) using the saliva of diabetic patients. This method was used for the determination of biomarker candidates of chiral amines and carboxyls in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain homogenates. As the results, l-phenylalanine (L-Phe) and l-lactic acid (L-LA) were identified as the decreased and increased biomarker candidates in the AD brain, respectively. Therefore, the proposed approach seems to be helpful for the determination of non-target chiral metabolomics possessing amines and carboxyls.     

Synthesis of Extended π‐Systems through C–H Activation

Activation of aromatic C? H bonds by a transition metal catalyst has received significant attention in the synthetic chemistry community. In recent years, rapid and site‐selective extension of π‐electron systems by C–H activation has emerged as an ideal methodology for preparing organic materials with extended π‐systems. This Review focuses on recently reported π‐extending C–H activation reactions directed toward new optoelectronic conjugated materials.     

Pharmacokinetic properties of N‐nitrosofenfluramine after its administration to rats

N‐Nitrosofenfluramine (N‐Fen), a synthetic adulterant in Chinese herbal diet products, is believed to cause hepatotoxicity in people who use these products. N‐Fen is a relatively new compound, and thus pharmacological and toxicological studies are insufficient. The aim of this work was to (1) define N‐Fen's plasma pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution after single intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of 25 mg/kg to rats; (2) define its bioavailability; and (3) identify fenfluramine (Fen) and norfenfluramine (Norf) as N‐Fen metabolites. N‐Fen rapidly appeared in the circulation and was distributed to all tissues. Norf was found to be the primary metabolite and not Fen. Plasma and tissue levels of N‐Fen and Norf were low with bioavailability of N‐Fen after i.p. administration was <3%. The AUC_0−t of N‐Fen in the liver and kidney were 6.6 and 12.1 times, respectively, greater than the brain, and 17.8 and 32.6 times, respectively, greater than the plasma. In conclusion, N‐Fen did not show local accumulation in the liver, the site of toxicity, with concentrations represented as percentage of the total dose ranginng from 0.008 to 0.122%; hence the cause of hepatotoxicity could be related to the mechanisms other than toxicity consequences accumulation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.