Stereoselectivity control by oxaspiro rings during Diels-Alder cycloadditions to cross-conjugated cyclohexadienones: the syn oxygen phenomenon

The diastereofacial selectivity operating in Diels-Alder additions involving spirocyclic cross-conjugated cyclohexadienones with dienes of varying reactivity has been investigated. The study has included the ether series 1a-c as well as the lactone/ketone pair 2a/2b. In all cases, the preferred [4+2] cycloaddition pathway consisted of bonding from that pi-surface syn to the oxygen atom. 4-Substituted-4-methyl-2,5-cyclohexadienones (monocyclic systems) were also examined and found to undergo bond formation preferentially from the face bearing the more electron-withdrawing of the two groups at the 4 position. Kinetic parameters were determined for the cycloaddition of 1a and 2a to cyclopentadiene. The rate acceleration profile of solvents was in the order CF(3)CH(2)OH > CH(3)CN approximately CH(2)Cl(2) for the production of 9a from 1a and CF(3)CH(2)OH > CH(2)Cl(2) > CH(3)CN for the production of 21a from 2a, respectively. This spread in polarity had no major impact on product distribution, a phenomenon also reflected in the behavior of 4-substituted-4-methyl-2,5-cyclohexadienones under comparable conditions. Theoretical assessment of these experimental facts was undertaken at the HF/6-31G level. The facial selectivity is understandable in terms of the secondary interaction between the HOMO of the diene and LUMO of the dienophile as well as the effective hyperconjugation between the newly forming bond and the 4-anti-C-C sigma-orbital due to the more electron-donating bond, as defined by the Cieplak model.     

Analysis on a cooperative pathway involving multiple cations in hammerhead reactions

The hammerhead ribozyme reaction is more complex than might have been expected, perhaps because of the flexibility of RNA, which would have enhanced the potential of RNA during evolution of and in the RNA world. Divalent Mg(2+) ions can increase the rate of the ribozyme-catalyzed reaction by approximately 10(9)-fold as compared to the background rate under standard conditions. However, the role of Mg(2+) ions is controversial since the reaction can proceed in the presence of high concentrations of monovalent ions, such as Li(+), Na(+), and NH(4)(+) ions, in the absence of divalent ions. We thus carried out ribozyme reactions under various conditions, and we obtained parameters that explain the experimental data. On the basis of the analysis, we propose a new pathway in the hammerhead ribozyme reaction in which divalent metal ions and monovalent ions act cooperatively.     

In situ observation of CO oxidation on Ag110(2 x 1)-O by scanning tunneling microscopy: structural fluctuation and catalytic activity

On the added-row reconstructed Ag(110)(nx1)-O surfaces where one-dimensional -Ag-O-Ag-O- chains arrange periodically, the clean-off reaction of O adatoms by CO was investigated using variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (VT-STM). Based on the in situ STM observations of the surface structure variation in the course of the reaction at various temperatures, we found that the reaction kinetics are significantly affected by the structural transition of AgO chains from a solid straight line configuration to dynamically fluctuating configurations. Below 230 K where the chains are straight, the reaction takes place only at the end of the chains, so that the reaction progresses in the zero-order kinetics with the reaction front propagating along the chain. The temperature dependence of the reaction rates yields the activation barrier of 41 kJ/mol and the preexponential factor of 1.7 x 10(3) cm(-2) s(-1). At room temperature, the reaction rate is drastically accelerated when almost half of the O adatoms are eliminated and the chains start fluctuating. The dynamic formation of active sites equivalent to the end of chains upon the chain fluctuation results in the nonlinear increase of the reaction rate.     

Effect of matrix modifier and furnace material on the determination of traces of fluoride by electrothermal molecular absorption spectrometry of aluminum monofluoride

In the determination of fluoride by AlF absorbance measurements, the interference from strontium nitrate is avoided by using magnesium nitrate or barium nitrate added to aluminum solution as the matrix modifier. The effects of the graphite-furnace material on AlF absorbance are investigated. Glassy carbon and synthetic carbon gave longer furnace lifetimes and better sensitivity than the other materials tested. The maximum sensitivity (4.2 μg ml^?1 fluoride for 0.0044 absorbance with a 10-μl injection) was obtained with synthetic carbon. The r.s.d, was <5% for 0.1 μg ml^?1 fluoride (n=10). Na⁺, K⁺, Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Ag⁺ did not affect the measurements up to 500 μg ml^?1, but Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Sr²⁺ and especially Ca²⁺ depressed the absorbance.     

Determination of total phthalate esters in wastewaters by differential pulse polarography

A reliable procedure for the determination of total phthalate esters as phthalic acid in environmental samples is based on differential pulse polarography (d.p.p.). The phthalate esters are extracted from the sample water with hexane; concentrated sulphuric acid/hexane partitioning provides effective removal of organic interferences. The individual phthalate esters are hydrolyzed by refluxing with 10 M potassium hydroxide to phthalic acid, which is extracted with ethyl acetate followed by evaporation of the extract. This procedure gives recoveries of 83–90%. The residue is dissolved in 0.1 M acetic acid/0.1 M potassium chloride for d.p.p. The otpimal conditions for polarography are discussed. The calibration graphs are linear over the range 2 × 10^?6–1 × 10^?4 M and the detection limit for phthalic acid is 5 × 10^?7 M. The method was successfully applied to determine total phthalate esters over the range 0.3–30 μg l^?1 in crude and treated wastewaters.     

Characterization of hydrogen production by the co-culture of dark-fermentative and photosynthetic bacteria

Apprehension over exhaustion of fossil fuels and global warming, due to increasing amounts of CO₂, has generated a lot of attention for the subject of renewable energy. Renewable energy has an intermittency problem and its output fluctuates depending on natural conditions. Biohydrogen is one of the promising renewable energy sources. Hydrogen produced by photosynthetic bacteria depends on the intensity of light irradiation and also fluctuates with the daily variation of sunlight. The co-culture system of dark-fermentative and photosynthetic bacteria is one solution for reducing the dependency of hydrogen production on light intensity. Because these two strains of bacteria have different processes of hydrogen production, it is possible to combine different outputs so far as the co-culture system works well. This study performed hydrogen production by the co-culture system composed of agar gels embedded with both dark-fermentative bacteria, Clostridium butyricum MIYAIRI, and photosynthetic bacteria, Rhodobacter sphaeroides RV, under a fluctuating light-irradiation. The time-course of hydrogen production was determined for the different conditions of co-culture in the mixing ratios of the two bacterial strains and light-irradiation patterns. As a result, the co-culture system succeeded in producing hydrogen exceeding that in the case of a single culture system and improved its stability against light fluctuation. Hydrogen production by the co-culture system would be applicable to the reduction of intermittency in renewable energies.     

Construction of asymmetric cell-sized lipid vesicles from lipid-coated water-in-oil microdroplets

We present a simple, rapid, and robust method for preparing asymmetric cell-sized lipid bilayer vesicles using water-in-oil (W/O) microdroplets transferred through an oil-water interface. The efficiency for producing cell-sized model membranes is elucidated in relation to the vesicular size and the weight of contained water-soluble molecules. We demonstrate the biological asymmetric nature and the formation of lipid raft microdomain structures using fluorescence microscopy.     

Ordinal classification using Comparative Molecular Field Analysis

Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) is most widely used as one of the 3-dimensional QSAR (3D-QSAR) methods to identify the relationship between chemical structure and biological activity. Conventional CoMFA requires at least 3 orders of experimental data, such as IC50 and Ki, to obtain a good model, although practically there are many screening assays where biological activity is measured only by a rating scale. Hence, rating classification-oriented CoMFA coupled with ordinal logistic regression has been developed, and its predictive ability and 3D graphical analysis ability have been investigated. As a result, this novel CoMFA (Logistic CoMFA) has been found to be more robust than conventional CoMFAs in both predictive and 3D graphical analysis abilities. Furthermore, Logistic CoMFA is useful since it can provide the probability of each rank.     

NIES certified reference material for microcystins,hepatotoxic cyclic peptide toxins from cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic water bodies

A certified reference material (CRM) for microcystins has been prepared by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). Microcystins are hepatotoxic cyclic peptides produced by cyanobacteria in eutrophic water bodies. At least seven microcystin variants were found by HPLC analysis of the NIES CRM, of which [Dha⁷]microcystin-RR and -LR were the major microcystins present. Because of the lack of available standards we determined the total microcystin concentration in the CRM by the MMPB method, and elucidated the structures of the main individual microcystin variants following their isolation. Analyses of NMR and MS spectra indicated that the remaining minor variants in the CRM were [D-Asp³, Dha⁷]microcystin-RR and -LR, and [Dha⁷]microcystin-YR, -ThTyrR, and -HilR. The CRM is valuable not only as a standard material for the quantitation of total microcystins but also for the identification of individual [Dha⁷]microcystin variants.