Polymerizable benzophenone derivatives for labeling vinyl acetate‐butylacrylate latex particles

We describe the synthesis and characterization of three new polymerizable benzophenone derivatives [2‐acryloxy‐5‐methyl benzophenone ( 8 ), 4′‐dimethylamino‐2‐acryloxy‐5‐methyl benzophenone ( 9 ), and 4′‐dimethylamino‐2‐(β‐acryloxyethyl)oxy‐5‐methyl benzophenone ( 10 )]. We show that these monomers can successfully be incorporated into vinyl acetate (VAc) copolymer latex particles. These particles were prepared by semicontinuous emulsion polymerization and mini‐emulsion polymerization of VAc with butylacrylate (BA) for VAc/BA = 4/1 by weight. The two monomers 9 and 10 bearing the 4′‐dimethylamino group satisfy the important spectroscopic criteria required of a dye to serve as an acceptor chromophore for nonradiative energy transfer from phenanthrene (Phe) as the donor. Their UV absorption spectra suggest significant overlap with the emission spectrum of Phe, which can be incorporated into P(VAc‐co‐BA) latex through copolymerization with 9‐acryloxymethyl Phe ( 2 ). In addition, these chromophores provide a window in their absorption spectra for excitation of the Phe chromophore at 300 nm. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3001–3011, 2002     

Binding and photoreactivity of psoralen linked to triple helix-forming oligonucleotides

Triple helix-forming oligonucleotides conjugated to a psoralen (psoTFO) have been designed to bind to three distinct purine-rich sequences within the human interstitial collagenase (MMP1) gene. Gel mobility shift assays indicate that these psoTFO bind to and photoreact with model target DNA sequences following ultraviolet A (UVA) irradiation. The dissociation constants for binding of the psoTFO to their targets range from 0.3 to 4 microM. Psoralen monoadducts with the purine-rich target strand and interstrand crosslinks are efficiently formed on targets containing either 5'-ApT-3' or 5'-TpA-3' sequences adjacent to the TFO binding sequence. The dependence of adduct formation on UVA dose has provided quantitative estimates of the overall rate constants for psoralen monoadduct and crosslink formation in the presence of a TFO. When psoralen is tethered to a TFO, the rate of monoadduct formation exceeds that of crosslinking for all sequences studied. This contrasts with the relatively low rate of monoadduct formation that has been reported for free psoralens, suggesting that the bound TFO facilitates the initial photochemistry that generates monoadducts, but does not significantly affect interstrand crosslink formation. psoTFO and UVA treatment inhibit DNA cleavage by a restriction endonuclease when the psoralen covalently reacts directly at the endonuclease site. The particular TFO studied do not completely inhibit endonuclease activity when they are noncovalently bound or when the covalent psoralen adduct does not coincide with the endonuclease site. Our findings confirm that TFO are capable of directing psoralen photoadducts to specific DNA targets and suggest that TFO can significantly modulate psoralen photoreactivity and DNA-protein interactions.     

Theoretical studies on the mechanism of acid-promoted hydrolysis of N-formylaziridine in comparison with formamide

[reaction: see text] We present an ab initio study of the acid-promoted hydrolysis reaction mechanism of N-formylaziridine in comparison with formamide. Since the rate of amide hydrolysis reactions depends on the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate, we focused our attention mainly on the reactant complex, the tetrahedral intermediate, and the transition state connecting these two stationary points. Geometries were optimized using the density functional theory, and the energetics were refined using ab initio theory including electron correlation. Solvent effects were investigated by using polarizable continuum method calculations. The proton-transfer reaction between the O-protonated and N-protonated amides was investigated. In acidic media, despite that the N-protonated species is more stable than the O-protonated one, it is predicted that both N-protonated and O-protonated pathways compete in the hydrolysis reaction of N-formylaziridine.     

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.     

Remarkable proteolytic activity of imidazoles attached to cross-linked polystyrene

The insoluble resins synthesized by attaching imidazoles to poly(chloromethylstyrene-co-divinylbenzene) effectively hydrolyzed albumin with half-life as short as 20 min at pH 7 and 25 degrees C. Thus, peptide hydrolysis was accomplished with imidazole in an artificial system for the first time. The imidazole-based artificial proteinases manifested optimum activity at pH 7-8. The proteolytic activity of the imidazole-based artificial proteinases exceeded that of previously reported organic artificial proteinases including catalytic antibodies. High proteolytic activity was observed when imidazole was attached to the resin through the C-2 atom instead of the N atom. The catalytic activity was greatly reduced when the content of imidazole was lowered. This indicates catalytic cooperation of at least two proximal imidazole moieties attached to the resin. Possible mechanisms for the effective protein hydrolysis by the proximal imidazoles are presented.     

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.     

p21Cip/WAF1 activation is an important factor for the ERK pathway dependent anti-proliferation of colorectal cancer cells

p21Cip/WAF1, an important regulator of cell proliferation, is induced by both p53- and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) pathways. The induction of p21Cip/WAF1 occurs by prolonged activation of the ERKs caused by extracellular stimuli, such as zinc. However, not all the cells appeared to respond to ERK pathway dependent p21Cip/WAF1 induction. Here we investigated the cause of such difference using colorectal cancer cells. p21Cip/WAF1 induction and concomitant reduction of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation were observed by zinc treatment within HT-29 and DLD-1. However, HCT-116 cells with high endogenous p21Cip/WAF1 levels did not show any additional increment of p21Cip/WAF1 levels by zinc treatment and did maintain high BrdU incorporation level. The p21Cip/WAF1 induction by zinc depended upon prolonged activation of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) was not observed in HCT-116 cells. The percentage of BrdU positive cells was 50% higher in p21Cip/WAF1 -/- HCT-116 cells compared to p21Cip/WAF1 +/+ HCT- 116 cells, and no cells induced p21Cip/WAF1 incorporated BrdU in its nucleus, yet confirming the importance of p21Cip/WAF1 induction in anti- proliferation. These results again support that p21Cip/WAF1 induction is a determinant in the regulation of colonic proliferation by the ERK pathway.     

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.