Synthesis of enzymatically crosslinkable peptide-poly(L-lysine) conjugate and creation of bio-inspired hybrid fibers

Poly(L-lysine)s having an Nepsilon-substituted tetrapeptide, Lys-Gly-Tyr-Gly, were synthesized by the coupling of the protected tetrapeptide active ester, Boc-Lys(Z)-Gly-Tyr(Bzl)-Gly (4-hydroxyphenyl)dimethylsulfonium methylsulfate and Nepsilon-group of the poly(L-lysine) side chain. The Nepsilon-substituted tetrapeptide functions as the substrate of tyrosinase and is responsible for the enzyme-mediated interpolymer cross-linking. The degree of Nepsilon-substitution (DS) was mostly controlled by changing the stoichiometry between the Nepsilon-amino groups of the parent poly(L-lysine) and the protected tetrapeptide active ester. Two kinds of samples having DS values of 8.6 and 18 mol-% were prepared. The resulting cationic Nepsilon-(Lys-Gly-Tyr-Gly)-poly(L-lysine) (abbreviated as PLL(GYGK)) was spun into hybrid fibers with the anionic polysaccharide gellan via a polyionic complexation reaction at the interface between aqueous solutions of the two polymers. The mechanical strengths of the PLL(GYGK)-gellan hybrid fibers were superior to those of the original poly(L-lysine)-gellan fibers. The mechanical strength of the hybrid fibers further increased upon the tyrosinase-mediated cross-linking reaction of the PLL(GYGK). This result indicates that the covalent cross-bridge formation between the Nepsilon-substituted peptides significantly contributed to reinforcement of the hybrid fibers. The present study affords a new methodology for reinforcement inspired by a biological process.     

The 4s electron densities of Fe impurity atoms in some transition and noble metals

From internal conversion experiments and the Mössbauer effect measurements, the 4s electron density and isomer shift for Fe impurity atoms in Cr, Ni, Cu, Pt and Au metals were studied. The M and N shell conversion electron spectra of the 14.4 keV transition of⁵⁷Fe were measured using a high resolution β-ray spectrometer and analyzed using a deconvolution methods. The Mössbauer effect measurements were performed by a standard spectrometer with a moving absorber. Most of the samples showed isomer shift values consistent with the published ones. It is concluded that the 4s electron density, \(\rho _{4_S} (0)\) , at the nucleus of⁵⁷Fe embedded is nearly equal in these host metals. The relation between \(\rho _{4_S} (0)\) and the isomer shift indicates that \(\rho _{3_S} (0)\) plays an important role in the variation of the isomer shift.     

On the outradius of the teichmüller space

Let Γ be a fuchsian group which preserves the unit disc Δ and hence also its complement Δ^* in the Riemann sphere . The Bers embedding represents the Teichm=:uller space T(Γ) of Γ in the space (B (Δ^*, Γ) of bounded quadratic differentials for Γ in Δ^*. Then, T(Γ) is included in the closed ball centred at the origin of radius 6 inB(Δ^*, Γ) with respect to the norm employed in a paper by Nehari [The Schwarzian derivative and Schlicht functions; Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 55 (1949), 545–551]. In other words the outradiuso(Γ) ofT(Γ) is not greater than 6. The purpose of this paper is to give a complete characterization of a fuchsian group Γ for which the outradiuso(Γ) ofT(Γ) attains this extremal value 6. The main theorem is: Let Γ be a fuchsian group preserving Δ^*. Then the outradiuso(Γ) of the Teichmüller spaceT(Γ) equals 6 if and only if for any positive numberd, either (i) there exists a hyperbolic disc of radiusd precisely invariant under the trivial subgroup, or (ii) there exists the collar of widthd about the axis of a hyperbolic element of Γ. Dedicated to Professor K?taro Oikawa on his 60th birthday     

Conformation of 2-aminomethylpyrrolidine and 2-aminomethylpiperidine in ternary platinum(II) complexes: regulation of conformation of the diamine by the coexisting ligand

Square-planar complexes with the formula [Pt(L(2))(L(1))](X)(2) x nH(2)O, where L(1) is S-2-aminomethylpyrrolidine (S-pyrda) or 2-aminomethylpiperidine (pipda) and L(2) is diammine (X=Cl), cyclobutane-1,1-dicarboxylato (cbdca) (X=none), 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) (X=NO(3)), or 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) (X=Cl), were prepared and the nature of the coordination of L(1) was examined by (1)H-NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. These 2-aminomethylazacycloalkane derivatives form five-membered chelate rings condensed with an azacycloalkane ring in cis- or trans-configurations. The (1)H-NMR spectrum of complexes with S-pyrda as L(1) were consistent with cis-condensed rings in an S(N) conformation with any of L(2) group. However, (1)H-NMR spectra of the complexes with pipda as L(1) indicated trans-fused successive rings for the diammine and cbdca as L(2), but spectra for bpy and phen as L(2) were consistent with a conformation having cis-fused successive rings. X-Ray crystallography data for the two complexes with pipda as L(1) and cbdca (1) and bpy (2) as L(2) confirms the different coordination behavior in the solid state.     

Enantioselective tandem O-nitroso Aldol/Michael reaction

This communication presents studies that illustrated nitroso Diels-Alder adduct has been obtained in uniformly high enantioselectivity via a tandem nitroso aldol/Michael reaction using an amine catalyst. The regiochemical outcome of this construction is documented to be the opposite to that of the normal nitroso aldol reaction, which has been determined by X-ray analysis. The reaction of the enone with silver-BINAP catalyst has also been investigated in conjunction with the control of regiochemistry in a stepwise process.     

Some studies on the solid solutions in the systems Sr2Nb2O7Eu2Nb2O7 and Sr2Ta2O7Eu2Ta2O7

Preparation of new solid solutions containing divalent europium have been tried in the systems Eu₂Nb₂O₇Sr₂Nb₂O₇ and Eu₂Ta₂O₇Sr₂Ta₂O₇. These solid solutions described as Eu_2xSr_2(1?x)M₂O₇ (M = Nb and Ta) exist in a pure orthorhombic phase in a limited region of x from 0 to about 0.5. The compounds with compositions close to Eu₂M₂O₇ exist but techniques have not been found to prepare them in pure form.     

Development of novel polymer-type dehydrocondensing reagents comprised of chlorotriazines

A novel immobilized dehydrocondensing reagent comprised of a triazine-type dehydrocondensing reagent itself in a polymerized form was synthesized by copolymerization between tetra(ethylene glycol) bis(dichlorotriazinyl) ether and tris(2-aminoethyl)amine.     

An efficient synthetic method for macrocyclic ketones by intramolecular alkylation of protected cyanohydrins,and its application to the syntheses of muscone and exaltone

A simple synthetic method for macrocyclic ketones based on intramolecular alkylation of carbanion, generated from protected cyanohydrin is reported. Subsequent mild treatment with acid and base of the cyclized products leads to macrocyclic ketones in high yields. The reaction is rapid and irreversible, and hence required short reaction time. The method was successfully applied to the syntheses of cyclohexadecanone and trans-2-cyclopentadecenone as a precursor of (±)-muscone and exaltone.     

Photoinduced intramolecular charge separation in a polymer solid below the glass transition temperature

Photoinduced intramolecular charge separation (CS) in a polar polymer glass, cyanoethylated pullulan (CN-PUL), was studied below the glass transition temperature (Tg=395 K). A series of three carbazole (Cz: donor)-cyclohexane (S: spacer)-acceptor (A: acceptor) molecules (Cz-S-A) was used as intramolecular donor-acceptor dyads. The photoinduced CS rate was evaluated by the fluorescence decay measurement at temperatures from 100 to 400 K. The CS rate (kCS) increased above 200 K even far below Tg where micro-Brownian motions of the whole polymer chain are frozen. Below 200 K, on the other hand, kCS showed weak dependence on temperature. The temperature dependence of kCS is discussed in terms of the dielectric relaxation time of the polymer matrix. Consequently, CS below Tg was well explained by a thermally nonequilibrium electron transfer (ET) formula above 200 K and by a two-mode quantum-mechanical ET formula below 200 K. The increase in kCS above 200 K is mainly caused by a thermally activated low-frequency matrix mode originating from the side-chain relaxation of polar cyano groups. The weak temperature dependence of kCS can be explained by a nuclear-tunneling effect caused by a high-frequency matrix mode (variant Planck's over 2piomegH=250 cm-1) and an intramolecular vibrational mode (variant Planck's over 2piomegaQ=1300 cm-1). The high-frequency mode of the polymer matrix was attributed to a vibrational or librational motion of polar groups in the CN-PUL glassy solid.