Self‐assembly of Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles with Rigid and Flexible Multifunctional Linkers

The interparticle spacing of carboxyl functionalized gold nanoparticles (Au‐COOH) were mediated by rigid crosslinkers, octa(3‐aminopropyl)octasilsesquioxane (POSS‐NH₃ ⁺) and poly(amidoamine) dendrimer terminated with hydroxyl groups (PAMAM‐OH), and a flexible polymeric linker, poly(hexanul viologen) (6‐VP). Regular interparticle spacing was achieved by utilizing POSS‐NH₃ ⁺ and PAMAM‐OH dendrimer as cross linkers, whereas size growth of Au‐COOH was observed featuring no interparticle spacing by utilizing 6‐VP as the crosslinker.     

Polycyclic N‐Heterocyclic Compounds. Part 82: Synthesis and Evaluation of Anti‐Platelet Aggregation Activity of 2,4‐Disubstituted 5,6‐Dihydro[1]benzothiepino[5,4‐d]pyrimidine and Related Compounds

We have synthesized a large number of tricyclic 2‐substituted 4‐alkylamino‐5,6‐dihydro[1]benzothiepino[5,4‐d]pyrimidines as part of our research to develop new effective anti‐platelet drugs. A variety of alkyl and aryl groups were used as substituents at the 2‐position. Evaluation of the effects of the newly synthesized compounds on collagen‐induced platelet aggregation revealed several promising anti‐platelet candidates with potencies superior to aspirin.     

Polycyclic N‐Heterocyclic Compounds. Part 81: Synthesis and Evaluation of Pentacyclic 1,2,4,5‐Tetrahydro[1]benzothieno[2′,3′:6,7]thiepino[4,5‐e]imidazo[1,2‐c]pyrimidine and Related Compounds as Potential Antiplatelet Aggregators

Dehydrative ring closure reactions were carried out on fused 4‐(2‐hydroxyethylamino) (or 2‐hydroxyethoxy or 2‐hydroxyethylthio)pyrimidines ( 2a , 2b , 2c ) to give fused 2,3‐dihydroimidazo[1,2‐c] (or 2,3‐dihydrooxazolo[3,2‐c] or 2,3‐dihydrothiazolo[3,2‐c])pyrimidines. This reaction produced the pentacyclic 1,2,4,5‐tetrahydro[1]benzothieno[2′,3′:6,7]thiepino[4,5‐e]imidazo[1,2‐c]pyrimidine ( 3a ) and 1,2,4,5‐tetrahydro[1]benzothieno[2′,3′:6,7]thiepino[4,5‐e]thiazolo[3,2‐c]pyrimidinium chloride ( 3c ) from the 2‐hydroxyethylamino‐derivative and 2‐hydroxyethylthio‐derivative, respectively. In contrast, 2‐hydroxyethoxy‐derivative ( 2b ) gave the rearrangement product, 3‐(2‐chloroethyl)‐5,6‐dihydro[1]benzothieno[3′,2′:2,3]thiepino[4,5‐d]pyrimidin‐4(3H)‐one ( 4 ). Effects of the synthesized compounds on collagen‐induced platelet aggregation were also evaluated.     

Polycyclic N‐Heterocyclic Compounds. Part 80: Synthesis and Evaluation of Effects on In Vitro Pentosidine Formation of 5,6‐Dihydro[1]benzothieno[3′,2′:2,3]thiepino[4,5‐d]pyrimidine and Related Compounds

Reaction of 3‐(3‐cyanopropylthio)[1]benzothiophene‐2‐carbonitrile with tert‐BuONa gave 5‐amino‐1,2‐dihydro[1]benzothieno[3,2‐d]thieno[2,3‐b]pyridine and 5‐amino‐2,3‐dihydro[1]benzothieno[3,2‐b]thiepin‐4‐carbonitrile. The latter compound served as a convenient scaffold for the synthesis of the new heterocycles, [1]benzothieno[3′,2′:2,3]thiepino[4,5‐d]pyrimidines. All of our new tetracyclic products were evaluated for in vitro inhibitory activity on the formation of pentosidine, which is one of representative advanced glycation end products.     

Stabilized spherical aggregate of palladium nanoparticles prepared by reduction of palladium acetate in octa(3-aminopropyl)octasilsesquioxane as a rigid template

Spherical aggregates of palladium nanoparticles were produced by stirring palladium(II) acetate with dendritic molecules (i.e., octa(3-aminopropyl)silsesquioxane octahydrochloride (POSS-NH3+) or the amine-terminated G1.0 poly(amidoamine) dendrimer (G1-NH2)) in methanol at room temperature via self-organized spherical templates of Pd(OAc)2 and the dendritic molecule. The mixing ratio of the terminal amino groups of the dendritic molecule and palladium ions (Z=[Pd2+]/[-NH2]) affected the formation of the spherical aggregates of palladium nanoparticles. Maximum Z values with no reduction of palladium ions (the solution remained yellow) were 1.0 for POSS-NH3+ and 1.6 for G1-NH2, respectively. TEM observations suggested that the density of the palladium nanoparticles in the aggregates using POSS-NH3+ as a template was higher than that using G1-NH2. From tapping mode atomic force microscopy, shapes of the aggregates using POSS-NH3+ and G1-NH2 were a spherical form and an oval form on plates, respectively. Increasing the rigidity of the silsesquioxane core of the dendritic molecules increased the stability of the spherical form in the dry state.     

Extraction behavior of lanthanides using a diglycolamide derivative TODGA in ionic liquids

Liquid-liquid extraction of lanthanides from aqueous solutions into ionic liquids (ILs) has been investigated using N,N,N',N'-tetra(n-octyl)diglycolamide (TODGA) as an extractant, and compared with that in the isooctane system. Application of ILs as the extracting phase provided unprecedented enhancement of the extraction performance of TODGA for lanthanides compared with that of the isooctane system. Slope analysis confirmed that TODGA in ILs formed a 1 : 3 complex with La(3+), Eu(3+), or Lu(3+). On the other hand, the molar ratios of species extracted into isooctane were 1 : 3 for La(3+) or 1 : 4 for Eu(3+) and Lu(3+), depending on the atomic number of the lanthanide. The transfer of lanthanides with TODGA into ILs proceeded via a cation-exchange mechanism, in contrast to ion pair extraction in the isooctane system. Furthermore, we clarified that TODGA provided selectivity for the middle lanthanides in the ILs systems, but heavier lanthanides in the isooctane system.     

Structural diversity in the coordination of 1,4‐dihydro‐1,4‐diarsinine as a cyclic ditopic organoarsenic ligand to metal ions

A number of different complexation structures of cis‐1,4‐dihydro‐1,4‐dimethyl‐2,3,5,6‐tetrakis(t‐butoxycarbonyl)‐1,4‐diarsinine (cis‐DHDAtBu) with gold(I) and iridium(III) were synthesized and characterized by ¹H, ¹³C NMR spectra, X‐ray crystallography, and elemental analysis. Mono‐ and di‐nuclear gold(I) chloride complexes with cis‐DHDAtBu were obtained by simple addition of gold(I) chloride to cis‐DHDAtBu. A hetero‐trinuclear gold‐platinum‐gold complex (PtAu₂Cl₄(cis‐DHDAtBu)₂) was obtained by complexation of a mononuclear platinum(II) complex (trans‐PtCl₂(cis‐DHDAtBu)₂), which was obtained by complexation of cis‐DHDAtBu with a half‐equimolar amount of PtCl₂(PhCN)₂, with a twice‐equimolar amount of gold(I) chloride. An iridium(III) complex with cis‐DHDAtBu (IrCl₃(cis‐DHDAtBu)₂) was prepared from hydrated iridium(III) chloride and cis‐DHDAtBu. The complex comprises a five‐membered chelate cis‐DHDAtBu and an usual monodentate cis‐DHDAtBu. The interior angles at around the arsenic and the As–C—C bond angles were significantly varied from 113.4° to 129.4° in the present crystal. These observations suggest that the flexibility of the bond angles at around the arsenic center is inherent property in the present organoarsenic compounds. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 23:16–26, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.20747     

Development of a hypoxia-selective near-infrared fluorescent probe for non-invasive tumor imaging

A near-infrared fluorochrome, GPU-311, was designed, synthesized and evaluated for its application in non-invasive imaging of tumor hypoxia. Efficient synthesis was achieved by nucleophilic substitution and click chemistry ring using the bifunctional tetraethylene glycol linker 2 containing thiol and azide groups for the conjugation of the propargylated nitroimidazole 1 and the heptamethine cyanine dye 3 bearing a 2-chloro-1-cyclohexenyl ring. GPU-311 exhibited long excitation and emission wavelength (Ex/Em=785/802?nm) and a decent quantum yield (0.05). The water solubility and hydrophilicity of GPU-311 increased. After in vitro treatment of SUIT-2/HRE-Luc pancreatic cancer cells with GPU-311, a higher level of fluorescence was observed selectively in hypoxia than in normoxia. However, in vivo fluorescence imaging of a mouse xenograft model after GPU-311 administration revealed inadequate accumulation of GPU-311 in tumors due to its rapid elimination through the liver.     

Experimental evidence for the triplet-like spin state appearing in ground-state singlet biradicals as a key feature for generalized ferrimagnetic spin alignment

The authors have previously proposed a theoretical model for exotic spin alignment in organic molecular assemblages: The alternating chain of organic biradicals in a singlet (Sb=0) ground state and monoradicals with S=1/2 has a ferrimagnetic ground state for the whole chain, which has been termed generalized ferrimagnetism. An important feature of the generalized ferrimagnetic spin alignment has been found in the deviation of the expectation value Sb2 of the biradical spin from zero. Even a triplet-like spin state Sb2=2 (Sb=1) has been predicted in the theoretical calculations. In this study, we have found experimental evidence for the pseudo-triplet state appearing in the ground-state singlet biradical of a real open-shell compound. At first, we have demonstrated from theoretical calculations that the singlet biradical has Sb2=2 (Sb=1) in a molecular pair with an S=1 metal ion as well as with the S=1/2 monoradical. The pseudo-triplet state of the biradical affords a singlet state of the whole system of the biradical-metal ion pair, which is readily detectable in experiments for verifying the theoretical prediction. As a model compound for the biradical-metal ion pair, a transition metal complex, [(bnn)(Ni(hfac)2)1.5(H2O)] (1), has been synthesized from a nitronyl nitroxide-based ground-state singlet biradical bnn and Ni(hfac)2. From X-ray crystallographic analyses, the compound contains a molecular pair of bnn and Ni(hfac)2, which serves as a model system under the above theoretical studies. It has been found from the analysis of the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility that the bnn-Ni(hfac)2 pair has the singlet (S=0) ground state. The singlet ground state of the pair results from an antiparallel coupling of the pseudo-triplet of the biradical and the S=1 spin on the Ni ion. The pseudo-triplet state in the ground-state singlet biradical has thus been verified experimentally, which is crucially important to realize the generalized ferrimagnetic spin alignment.     

Size-dependent carrier dynamics in CdS nanoparticles by femtosecond visible-pump/IR-probe measurements

Ultrafast photoexcited carrier dynamics in CdS nanoparticles prepared by an AOT/n-heptane reversed micelle system were investigated by a femtosecond visible-pump/mid-IR probe technique. A mid-IR probe beam was found to mainly probe the ultrafast dynamics of photoexcited electrons in the conduction band. Dispersions of CdS nanoparticles with 8 different mean diameters from 2.9 to 4.1 nm were prepared by tuning the mole ratio between water and AOT (W = [H(2)O]/[AOT]) in the reversed micelle systems. The excited state lifetime strongly depended on the mean size of CdS nanoparticles with a maximum around a mean diameter of 3.5 nm. This result was explained by considering the balance between the carrier recombination rates via surface states and those via interior states. The relationship between the excited state lifetime and the size of CdS nanoparticles was drastically changed when the surface was terminated by thiol molecules.