Mimicry of tandem repeat peptides against cell surface carbohydrates

Our approach to multivalent peptide construction relies on tentacle peptides, also known as a multiple antigenic peptides, which contain two and four repeats of a selected peptide. In this communication, we report the results of preliminary studies aimed at (1) the selection of short peptides against the carbohydrate, sLeX, (2) the synthesis of tentacle dimers and tetramers of the selected peptides, and (3) the determination of affinities and specificities of the peptides to several related carbohydrates by using the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and the equilibrium dialysis techniques. Binding affinity studies, as well as assays of in vitro binding of the peptides to a sLeX-specific cell line, have shown that the tetrameric peptides bind to the cell surface sugars.     

Tuning chirality of single-wall carbon nanotubes by selective etching with carbon dioxide

CO2 molecule chemisorbs selectively on the zigzag tube edge without an activation barrier, whereas it physisorbs on the armchair edge of nanotubes. In addition, carbon nanotubes can be etched by an adsorbed oxygen atom of CO2 molecule. From our results, we suggest a selective etching mechanism for tuning the chirality of the mass-produced carbon nanotubes.     

Notable coordination effects of 2-pyridinesulfonamides leading to efficient aziridination and selective aziridine ring opening

[reaction: see text] We have developed, on the basis of a chelation-strategy, an efficient copper-catalyzed aziridination protocol with the use of 5-methyl-2-pyridinesulfonamide and PhI(OAc)(2). The reaction proceeds smoothly under mild conditions to give aziridines in moderate to good yields in the absence of external ligands or bases. The coordination-assisted approach offers the additional benefits that efficient deprotection of the N-substituent and selective aziridine ring-opening are effectively achieved.     

Surface behavior of amphiphilic heteroarm star-block copolymers with asymmetric architecture

We study the surface behavior of the asymmetric amphiphilic heteroarm poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/polystyrene (PS) star polymer on solid substrate. These star polymers differ in both architecture (four- and three-arm molecules, PEO-b-PS(3) and PEO-b-PS(2)) and in the length of PS chains (molecular weight from about 10 000 up to 24 000). We observed that, for a given chemical composition with a predominant content of hydrophobic blocks, the compression behavior of the PS domain structure controls the surface behavior and the final morphology of the monolayers. New features of the surface behavior of star-block copolymers are high stretching of the PS arms from the interface and enhanced stability of the circular PS domain structure, even at high compression. We suggest that for asymmetric star-block copolymers both architecture and chemical composition heavily favor the formation of highly curved interfaces and, thus, more stable circular domain structure with stretched PS arms.     

Photophysical properties of porphyrin tapes

The novel fused Zn(II)porphyrin arrays (Tn, porphyrin tapes) in which the porphyrin macrocycles are triply linked at meso-meso, beta-beta, beta-beta positions have been investigated by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic measurements along with theoretical MO calculations. The absorption spectra of the porphyrin tapes show a systematic downshift to the IR region as the number of porphyrin pigments increases in the arrays. The fused porphyrin arrays exhibit a rapid formation of the lowest excited states (for T2, approximately 500 fs) via fast internal conversion processes upon photoexcitation at 400 nm (Soret bands), which is much faster than the internal conversion process of approximately 1.2 ps observed for a monomeric Zn(II)porphyrin. The relaxation dynamics of the lowest excited states of the porphyrin tapes were accelerated from approximately 4.5 ps for the T2 dimer to approximately 0.3 ps for the T6 hexamer as the number of porphyrin units increases, being explained well by the energy gap law. The overall photophysical properties of the porphyrin tapes were observed to be in a sharp contrast to those of the orthogonal porphyrin arrays. The PPP-SCI calculated charge-transfer probability indicates that the lowest excited state of the porphyrin tapes (Tn) resembles a Wannier-type exciton closely, whereas the lowest excited state of the directly linked porphyrin arrays can be considered as a Frenkel-type exciton. Conclusively, these unique photophysical properties of the porphyrin tapes have aroused much interest in the fundamental photophysics of large flat organic molecules as well as in the possible applications as electric wires, IR sensors, and nonlinear optical materials.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel aromatic polyamides from 3,4-bis(4-aminophenyl)-2,5-diphenylfuran and aromatic diacid chlorides

A new highly phenylated heterocyclic diamine, 3,4-bis(4-aminophenyl)-2,5-diphenylfuran, was synthesized in three steps from 4–-nitrodeoxybenzoin. The low temperature solution polycondensation of the diamine with various aromatic diacid chlorides afforded tetraphenylfuran-containing aromatic polyamides with inherent viscosities of 0.2–0.8 dL/g. Copolyterephthalamides were obtained from the diamine and 4,4′-oxydianiline. The polyamides were generally soluble in a wide range of solvents that included N,N-dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, pyridine, and m-cresol. Glass transition temperatures of the polyamides and copolyamides ranged from 302–342°C, and 10% weight loss was observed above 480°C in nitrogen.     

Alkyl Ammonium Ion Selectivity of Hexahomotrioxacalix[3]arene Triamide Derivative having the Intramolecular Hydrogen-Bonding Group

The lower rim functionalized hexahomotrioxacalix[3]arene triamide 4 with cone-conformation was synthesized from triol 1 by a stepwise reaction. The different extractability for alkali metal ions, transition metal ions, and alkyl ammonium ions from water into dichloromethane is discussed. Due to the strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the neighboring NH and CO groups in triamide 4, its affinity to metal cations was weakened. Triamide 4 shows a single selectivity to n-BuNH₃⁺. The anion complexation of triamide 4 was also studied by ¹H NMR titration experiments. Triamide 4 binds halides through the intermolecular hydrogen bonding among the NH hydrogens of amide in a 1:1 fashion in CDCl₃. The association constants calculated from these changes in chemical shifts of the amide protons are K_a = 223 M⁻¹ for Cl⁻ and K_a = 71.7 M⁻¹ for Br⁻. Triamide 4 shows a preference for Cl⁻ complexation than Br⁻ complexation.     

Interleukin-1beta stimulates matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression via a prostaglandin E2-dependent mechanism in human chondrocytes

IL-1beta is known promote cyclooxygenase-2 (COX- 2) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expression. This study focuses on the characterization of the signaling cascade associated with IL-1beta-induced matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) regulation in human chondrocytes. The decrease in collagen levels in the conditioned media was prevented by a broad spectrum MMP inhibitor, suggesting that IL-1beta promotes the proteolytic process leading to MMP-2 activation. IL-1beta-related MMP-2 expression was found to be dependent on prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production. In addition, the induction of COX-2 and MMP-2 was inhibited by the pretreatment of chondrocytes with a SB203580 or Ro 31-8220, indicating the involvement of protein kinase C (PKC) or p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). However, there is no cross-talk between PKC and p38 MAPK in the IL-1beta-induced MMP-2 activation. Taken together, these results demonstrated that IL-1beta induces MMP-2 expression through the PGE2-dependent mechanism in human chondrocytes.     

Highly enantioselective synthesis of alpha-alkyl-alanines via the catalytic phase-transfer alkylation of 2-naphthyl aldimine tert-butyl ester by using O(9)-allyl-N(1)-2',3',4'-trifluorobenzylhydrocinchonidinium bromide

Systematic investigations to develop an efficient enantioselective synthetic method for alpha-alkyl-alanine by catalytic phase-transfer alkylation were performed. The alkylation of 2-naphthyl aldimine tert-butyl ester, 1E, with RbOH and O(9)-allyl-N-2',3',4'-trifluorobenzylhydrocinchonidinium bromide, 6, at -35 degrees C showed the highest enantioselectivities, up to 96% ee.