Synthesis of Adamantane Derivatives. Xxiii. Facile Photo-Ring-Cleavage of 4-Homoadamantanone to Bicyclo[3.3.1] -Nonan-3 -Endo-Acetate

Type I (α-) and II cleavages are two of the best known photochemical processes of alkanone.² Extensive and intensive investigations have been done on both types of reactions in order to clarify the influence of structural changes on the reactivity, specificity, and efficiency of photoreactions of alkanones.³ The type I cleavage of medium-ring alkanones is believed to produce a radical pair, the fate of which will be determined by the ready formation of transition states for transfer of Ha, Hb, and recyclization. We now wish to report     

A Convenient Synthesis of Sphingosine and Ceramide from D-Xylose or D-Galactose

Ceramide, i.e., N-fatty acylated sphingosine and its homolog, is a highly heterogeneous and hydrophobic component of the glycosphingolipids¹ such as gangliosides,² which may play important roles in the surface region of the biological membranes.     

Synthetic Approach Toward the Partial Sequences of Betaglycan in the Linkage Region on Solid Support and in Solution Phase

We have synthesized, for the first time, the partial sequence of the betaglycan composed of the tetraosyl hexapeptide, which was directly usable as a probe for enzymatic glycosyl transfer. Stepwise elongation afforded the corresponding tetraosyl trichloroacetimidate. The common glycosyl dipeptide:[β‐d‐GlcA‐(1→3)‐β‐d‐Gal‐(1→3)‐β‐d‐Gal‐(1→4)‐β‐d‐Xyl‐(1→O)‐Ser‐Gly] was synthesized by glycosylation of the corresponding tetraosyl trichloroacetimidate and Ser‐Gly moiety. The glycosyl dipeptide was coupled with other core peptide parts in solution phase and on a solid support. These glycosyl hexapeptides were then transformed into the desired target compounds.     

Controlling Energy Gaps of π-Conjugated Polymers by Multi-Fluorinated Boron-Fused Azobenzene Acceptors for Highly Efficient Near-Infrared Emission

We demonstrate that multi-fluorinated boron-fused azobenzene (BAz) complexes can work as a strong electron acceptor in electron donor-acceptor (D-A) type π-conjugated polymers. Position-dependent substitution effects were revealed, and the energy level of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) was critically decreased by fluorination. As a result, the obtained polymers showed near-infrared (NIR) emission (λ_PL=758–847 nm) with high absolute photoluminescence quantum yield (Φ_PL=7–23%) originating from low-lying LUMO energy levels of the BAz moieties (−3.94 to −4.25 eV). Owing to inherent solid-state emissive properties of the BAz units, deeper NIR emission (λ_PL=852980 nm) was detected in film state. Clear solvent effects prove that the NIR emission is from a charge transfer state originating from a strong D-A interaction. The effects of fluorination on the frontier orbitals are well understandable and predictable by theoretical calculation with density functional theory. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of fluorination to the BAz units for producing a strong electron-accepting unit through fine-tuning of energy gaps, which can be the promising strategy for designing NIR absorptive and emissive materials.     

Single-mode single-polarization holey fiber using anisotropic fundamental space-filling mode

We present the single-mode single-polarization regime of a circular-hole holey fiber consisting of a core with large elliptical holes. The elliptical holes in the core, which produce large anisotropies, split the fundamental mode into two orthogonally polarized fundamental modes, often referred to as slow and fast modes. This fiber can guide only one polarization state of the fundamental mode when a fundamental space-filling mode index of the cladding region is designed to lie between these indices of the slow and fast modes of the core region. We demonstrate one design example of this fiber and show that the single-polarization regime can be achieved over a wide wavelength range.     

Ultrafast Encapsulation of Metal Nanoclusters into MFI Zeolite in the Course of Its Crystallization: Catalytic Application for Propane Dehydrogenation

Encapsulating metal nanoclusters into zeolites combines the superior catalytic activity of the nanoclusters with high stability and unique shape selectivity of the crystalline microporous materials. The preparation of such bifunctional catalysts, however, is often restricted by the mismatching in time scale between the fast formation of nanoclusters and the slow crystallization of zeolites. We herein demonstrate a novel strategy to overcome the mismatching issue, in which the crystallization of zeolites is expedited so as to synchronize it with the rapid formation of nanoclusters. The concept was demonstrated by confining Pt and Sn nanoclusters into a ZSM-5 (MFI) zeolite in the course of its crystallization, leading to an ultrafast, in situ encapsulation within just 5 min. The Pt/Sn-ZSM-5 exhibited exceptional activity and selectivity with stability in the dehydrogenation of propane to propene. This method of ultrafast encapsulation opens up a new avenue for designing and synthesizing composite zeolitic materials with structural and compositional complexity.     

Characterization of Radical SAM Adenosylhopane Synthase,HpnH, which Catalyzes the 5′‐Deoxyadenosyl Radical Addition to Diploptene in the Biosynthesis of C35 Bacteriohopanepolyols

Adenosylhopane is a crucial intermediate in the biosynthesis of bacteriohopanepolyols, which are widespread prokaryotic membrane lipids. Herein, it is demonstrated that reconstituted HpnH, a putative radical S‐adenosyl‐l ‐methionine (SAM) enzyme, commonly encoded in the hopanoid biosynthetic gene cluster, converts diploptene into adenosylhopane in the presence of SAM, flavodoxin, flavodoxin reductase, and NADPH. NMR spectra of the enzymatic reaction product were identical to those of synthetic (22R)‐adenosylhopane, indicating that HpnH catalyzes stereoselective C?C formation between C29 of diploptene and C5′ of 5′‐deoxyadenosine. Further, the HpnH reaction in D₂O‐containing buffer revealed that a D atom was incorporated at the C22 position of adenosylhopane. Based on these results, we propose a radical addition reaction mechanism catalyzed by HpnH for the formation of the C₃₅ bacteriohopane skeleton.