Catalytic activity of silica gels bound manganese(III)-porphyrin on oxidative reaction of adrenaline

To develop a solid catalysis on oxidative reaction of adrenaline (Ad), supports bound metal-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine (M-TCPP) were investigated. Silica gels bound Mn-TCPP were proved to has a superior activity in the oxidation of Ad and be able to serve as a useful oxidase model for Ad.     

One-pot synthesis of 1,3,5-tribenzoylbenzenes by three consecutive Michael addition reactions of 1-phenyl-2-propyn-1-ones in pressurized hot water in the absence of added catalysts

Cyclotrimerization of 1‐phenyl‐2‐propyn‐1‐one in pressurized hot water gave 1,3,5‐tribenzoylbenzene in one pot in 65 % yield after 7 min at 200 °C, or in 74 % yield after 60 min at 150 °C. The reaction did not take place in the absence of water, and added base promoted the reaction at 250 °C, suggesting a mechanism of three‐consecutive Michael addition reactions. The reaction rates increased with temperature, but the yield of 1,3,5‐tribenzoylbenzene decreased at the expense of formation of acetophenone as a side product at higher temperatures. p‐Methyl and p‐chloro‐substituents on the phenyl ring retarded and enhanced the reaction, respectively. A mechanism involving the enol of benzoylacetaldehyde at a branching point of the pathway leading to 1,3,5‐tribenzoylbenzene and acetophenone was suggested.     

Discovery and assembly-line biosynthesis of the lymphostin pyrroloquinoline alkaloid family of mTOR inhibitors in Salinispora bacteria

The pyrroloquinoline alkaloid family of natural products, which includes the immunosuppressant lymphostin, has long been postulated to arise from tryptophan. We now report the molecular basis of lymphostin biosynthesis in three marine Salinispora species that maintain conserved biosynthetic gene clusters harboring a hybrid nonribosomal peptide synthetase-polyketide synthase that is central to lymphostin assembly. Through a series of experiments involving gene mutations, stable isotope profiling, and natural product discovery, we report the assembly-line biosynthesis of lymphostin and nine new analogues that exhibit potent mTOR inhibitory activity.     

Capillary electrophoretic study on pH dependence of enantioselective disopyramide binding to genetic variants of human alpha1-acid glycoprotein

A high-performance frontal analysis-capillary electrophoresis (HPFA-CE) method was applied to investigate the effect of pH on the drug binding properties of genetic variants of human alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), A variant and a mixture of F1S variants. The unbound concentrations of a model basic drug, disopyramide (DP), in A variant solutions and in F1S variant solutions were measured by HPFA-CE to evaluate binding constants at pH 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.4. The binding between DP and A variant was gradually weakened by acidification of background buffer (from pH 7.4 to 4.0), while the binding between DP and FIS variants decreased at first (from pH 7.4 to 6.0), and then gained (from pH 6.0 to 4.0). Consequently, DP was more strongly bound to A variant than to FIS variants at pH 7.4, while at pH 4.0 DP was more strongly bound to F1S variants. At any pH (S)-DP was bound more strongly than (R)-DP, and the enantioselectivity of A variant was significantly higher than that of F1S variants. Electrophoretic mobilities of the AGP genetic variants decreased along with a decrease in pH. Fluorescent emission of these genetic variants indicated a distinct conformational change between pH 5.0 and 4.0. However, there was no significant difference in the electrophoretic mobility and the fluorescent emission spectrum between these variants at any pH. On the other hand, circular dichroism analyses revealed that beta-sheet content in FIS variants diminished as pH decreased, while that in A variant increased. These results suggest that the conformational change induced by acidification of background buffer differs between these genetic variants, and this causes the difference in DP bindability.     

Peroxidase-like catalytic activity of anion-exchange resins modified with metal-porphyrins in oxidative reaction of hetrocyclic amines with hydrogen peroxide

To elucidate the peroxidase (POD)-like catalytic activity of anion-exchange resins modified with metal-tetrakis(sulfophenyl)porphine (M-TSPP(r)s), an oxidative reaction of seven mutagenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) with hydrogen peroxide, which reaction is catalyzed by horse radish POD, was investigated in the presence of M-TSPP(r)s. Among six M-TSPP(r)s tested, Mn- and Fe-TSPP(r)s were found to have a relatively strong POD-like activity for HCAs, in particular for a typical HCA, 2-amino-3-methyl-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ). The optimal condition for the POD-like activity was selected using Fe- and Mn-TSPP(r)s. For evaluation of an oxidation product of IQ produced in the presence of Fe-TSPP(r), the absorption, NMR and FAB-mass spectra thereof were compared with those of an oxidation product of IQ produced by horse radish POD or a chemical oxidizing agent, sodium hypochlorite. When Fe-TSPP(r) was present as a catalysts, IQ was converted into the dimmer (hydorazone type) which has no mutagenic activity in umu-test. It was revealed that Fe- and Mn-TSPP(r)s exhibit a POD-like catalytic activity in oxidative reaction of HCAs with hydrogen peroxide.     

Distillation of multipartite entanglement by complementary stabilizer measurements

We propose a scheme of multipartite entanglement distillation driven by a complementary pair of stabilizer measurements to distill directly a wider range of states beyond the stabilizer code states (such as the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states). We make our idea explicit by constructing a recurrence protocol for the 3-qubit state [formula: see text]. Noisy states resulting from typical decoherence can be directly purified in a few steps, if their initial fidelity is larger than a threshold. For general input mixed states, we observe distillations to hierarchical fixed points, i.e., not only to the state but also to the 2-qubit Bell pair, depending on their initial entanglement.     

Catalytic activity of anion-exchange resins modified with metal-porphine in oxidative reactions of phenols

Anion-exchange resins modified with metal-porphine (M-Pr) have been investigated to develop a solid catalyst in the oxidative reaction of phenols by O2 in air. Co-Pr, which is easily prepared and separable from the reaction mixture, has been proved to accelerate the oxidative reaction of phenols such as 3,5-di-tertbutyl-4-hydroxyanisole. The resulting main oxidative products were identified to be quinones by using the GC-MS method.     

Glutathione oxidase-like activity of glass beads, silica gel and anion-exchange resin modified with cobalt(III)-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine

Silica gel and glass beads were modified by using acid chloride of metal–tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine (M–TCPP) through a peptide bond, and an anion-exchange resin with M–TCPP by ion-exchange reaction and physical adsorption. The carriers modified with Co³⁺–TCPP proved to accelerate the redox reaction which is catalyzed by glutathione oxidase (GSHOx), while those modified with Mn³⁺–TCPP exhibited no activity. Formation of GS-SG and hydrogen peroxide was confirmed by means of mass spectroscopy and colored reaction, respectively. The silica gel modified with Co³⁺–TCPP exhibited the strongest activity among the tested carriers, and was expected to be useful practically as a solid catalyst for the determination of glutathione.     

Photodissociation and spectroscopic study of cold protonated dipeptides

A photodissociation spectrometer, containing a spray ionization source and a temperature-variable multipole ion trap, has been constructed to examine the structure and reactivity of gas phase biological molecular ions at various temperatures. Ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) photodissociation spectra of protonated alanyltryptophan (Ala-TrpH+) and tryptophanylglycine (Trp-GlyH+) have been measured. In UV spectra, the S1-S0 band origin of Ala-TrpH+ exhibits a significant red shift with respect to those of protonated tryptophan (TrpH+) and Trp-GlyH+. This red shift is ascribed to the stabilization of the excited state due to the strong interaction between the NH3+ group and indole ring. We also discuss the temperature effect on the structure and reactivity for these peptides. In addition to the UV photodissociation spectra of the dipeptides, IR spectra of the complex of Ala-TrpH+ with methanol are measured. IR photodissociation spectra of solvated ions show that Ala-TrpH+-methanol has the closed structure, which is consistent with the large spectral shift in UV spectrum of bare dipeptide.