Preparation of a novel molecularly imprinted polymer using a water-soluble crosslinking agent

A molecularly imprinted polymer was prepared using a water-soluble crosslinking agent. An ionic complex was utilized as the assembly for the template molecule and the functional monomer, and water as porogenic solvent during preparation of the imprinted polymer. The results of chromatographic evaluations for the prepared polymer suggested that the polymer had much lower hydrophobicity compared with usual octadecyl group bonded silica or the usual molecular imprinted polymer prepared from ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, and the selective recognition ability for template molecule in the completely aqueous condition.     

Effect of cationic surfactant on the formation of ferron complexes

In the spectrophotometric determination of aluminium and iron with ferron (7-iodo-8-quinolinol-5-sulphonic acid, H(2)L), the addition of cationic surfactants greatly improves the linearity of the calibration curve and widens the useful pH range. The effect of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMAC) on the stepwise stability constants (K(1),K(2) and K(3)) of the ferron complexes of aluminium and iron (ML(+), ML(-)(2) and ML(3-)(3)) and on the acid-dissociation constants (K(a1) and K(a2)) of ferron has been studied in connection with the role of the surfactant. CTMAC greatly increases the value of K(3) while exerting little effect on K(1) and K(2), thus rendering ML(3-)(3) the predominant species even at very low concentration of free L(2-). It also has some effect on the acid-dissociation constants of ferron, but sometimes it acts to decrease the free L(2-) concentration. At is therefore concluded that the improvements due to addition of surfactant should be attributed to the increased K(3) value. The presence of surfactant micelles is not essential, because the surfactant has a favourable effect when present at well below its critical micelle concentration, and because the continuous variations plots show a peak at a point corresponding to the composition M: L: Q (Q = cationic surfactant) = 1:3:3.     

Fused silica capillary tube isotachophoresis using a multichannel photodiode array detector

Isotachophoresis carried out in a 0.25 mm i.d. fused-silica capillary tube yielded high resolution, compared with that in a fluorinated ethylene-propylene polymer tube. The use of an ultraviolet-visible multichannel spectrophotometer with photodiode array as detector together with a cross flow cell (volume 0.01 μl) was investigated. The system was successfully applied to the analysis of cationic dyes such as neutral red, bismarck brown, and basic fuchsine.     

Structural variety of membrane permeable peptides

Peptide-mediated protein delivery into living cells has been attracting our attention. Among the peptides that have been reported to have carrier activity, the one from the human immunodeficient virus (HIV)-1 Tat has been most often used for the introduction of exogenous macromolecules into cells. We have shown that not only the Tat peptide, but also various arginine-rich peptides showed very similar characteristics in translocation, and the possible presence of ubiquitous internalization mechanisms among the arginine-rich peptides has also been suggested. These arginine-rich peptides includes ones derived from HIV-1 Rev and flock house virus coat proteins. The linear- and branched-chain peptides containing approximately 8 residues of arginine also show a similar ability. In this review, we present the structural variety of membrane permeable peptides and provide a survey of the findings on the translocation of these peptides through the cell membranes.     

The surface of ordered mesoporous benzene-silica hybrid material: an infrared and ab initio molecular modeling study

Joint IR and computational results allow a detailed characterization of the surface properties of a mesoporous benzene-silica hybrid material with crystal-like wall structure. After outgassing at 450 degrees C, hydroxyl species mainly consist of noninteracting silanols, with both O-H and Si-O stretching modes at lower frequencies than those of SiOH in silica. Interaction with several probe molecules, followed both by experiment and calculus, shows that the aryl group in the coordination sphere of Si imparts a lesser acidity with respect to the isolated silanol in silica. In contrast, adsorption isotherms indicate that the interaction with acetone is stronger with benzene-silica than with silica: this is interpreted in terms of secondary interactions taking place between the slightly acidic CH in acetone and the electronic cloud in benzene-like rings. This suggests that both the inorganic component and the organic one play a role in dictating the surface behavior.     

On the pauling electronegativity scales—II

From the analysis of the electrostatic potential near the core-valence boundary in an atom, it is shown that the Pauling electronegativity scale χ_p is approximately given by the formula,

where N_v is the valence electron number and f(n) is some function of the periodic number in the periodic table. It is also shown in detail that the Pauling electronegativity scale is closely related to the Wang-Parr electronegativity scale which is determined as the negative of the chemical potential in density functional theory. Correlation between the Pauling and Mulliken electronegativities is briefly discussed.     

Conductive characteristics of radical‐bearing polythiophenes using a microcomb‐shaped electrode

The electric conductivity of π‐conjugated and radical‐bearing polymers, i.e., polythiophenes bearing pendant galvinoxyl and phenoxyl radical groups, was measured using a microcomb‐shaped electrode. The electric conductivity was found to be enhanced by the radical content in the polymer. The infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopies suggested a structural change from an aromatic form to a quinoid one in the polythiophene backbone by the phenoxyl radical generation. The effect of the pendant galvinoxyl radical's unpaired electron on the electric conductivity of the polythiophene was discussed by comparing the conductivity of a radical‐bearing polystyrene and a polythiophene mixed with low‐molecular radical molecules. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular structures of endo[4+2]π and exo[6+4]π cycloadducts via cycloaddition reaction of n-ethoxycarbonylazepine with 2,5-dimethoxycarbonyl-3,4-diphenylcyclopentadienone

The cycloaddition reaction of N-ethoxycarbonyl-1H-azepine with 2,5-dimethoxycarbonyl-3,4-diphenylcyclopentadienone gave anti-endo [4+2]π and exo [6+4]π cycloadducts. These structures were fully identified by X-ray crystallographic techniques. Mechanism for their cycloaddition reactions are also discussed.     

Template-directed dynamic synthesis of mechanically interlocked dendrimers

The versatility and efficiency of dynamic covalent chemistry (DCC) has been exploited in the convergent synthesis of mechanically interlocked dendrimers that are based upon the mutual recognition expressed between secondary dialkylammonium ions and crown ether-like macrocycles. Reversible imine bond formation is employed to clip two acyclic fragments, one of them a diformylpyridine unit bearing a dendritic side chain, and the other a complementary dianiline in the shape of the di(o-aminophenyl)ether of tetraethylene glycol, around each arm of a tritopic trisammonium ion core, thereby affording a branched [4]rotaxane. This template-directed strategy has been demonstrated to work in very high yields (>90%) with successive generations (G0-G2) of a modified Fréchet-type dendritic wedge attached to the 4-position of the diformylpyridine unit. Reduction of these dynamic dendritic systems is achieved upon treatment with borane.THF and results in kinetically stable compounds. The inherent modularity of the overall process should allow for the rapid and straightforward access to many other analogous mechanically interlocked systems in which either the branched core or the dendritic periphery can be modified to suit the needs of any given application of these molecules. Indeed, the dynamic nature of the initial thermodynamically mediated assembly could be utilized in order to amplify particular products from a potential library as a result of a selective recognition process.     

Electrophoretic analysis of quinone anion radicals in acetonitrile solutions using an on-line radical generator

We have investigated analysis of anion radicals of phenanthrenequinone (PhQ) and anthraquinone (AQ) using acetonitrile-capillary electrophoresis (CE) under anaerobic conditions. PhQ and AQ have relatively high negative reduction potentials meaning that their anion radicals are re-oxidized quite readily by the surrounding O(2) to disappear during analysis and we failed to detect them with our previous system. In this work, we have developed an on-line system combining a unique electrolysis cell for generation of the radicals and a CE unit to keep the analysis system free from external O(2) molecules and to reduce analysis time remarkably. As a result, electrophoretic detection of the anion radicals of PhQ and AQ has been achieved. Furthermore, we have observed hydrogen-bonding interaction between the anion radicals and dimethylurea (DMU) using the present system and have indicated a characteristic interaction of the anion radical of PhQ as an ortho-quinone with DMU.