Constituents of the green tea seeds of Camellia sinensis

Green tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves are known to contain active ingredients such as catechins and caffeine, and are widely useful materials. Recently, green tea flowers also have been in the spotlight. However, little attention has been paid to the tea seeds. In this work, the constituents of green tea seeds and green tea leaves were compared. Caffeine was found in the seeds, whereas catechins (usually obtained from green tea leaves) were not observed. Next, we investigated the constituents of hexane extracts and methanol extracts of green tea seeds. We found that the hexane extracts contained high amounts of oleic glyceride (79.9%) in addition to linoleic glyceride (20%). We confirmed the structures of these glycerides by NMR spectroscopy and by synthesis from a fatty acid and glycerol. The methanol extract was found to contain naringenin glucosides by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopic analysis.     

Quantitative analysis of trivalent uranium and lanthanides in a molten chloride by absorption spectrophotometry

As an analytical application for pyrochemical reprocessing using molten salts, quantitative analysis of uranium and lanthanides by UV/Vis/NIR absorption spectrophotometry was performed. Electronic absorption spectra of LiCl–KCl eutectic at 773 K including trivalent uranium and eight rare earth elements (Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, and Gd as fission product elements) were measured in the wavenumber region of 4,500–33,000 cm^?1. The composition of the solutes was simulated for a reductive extraction condition in a pyroreprocessing process for spent nuclear fuels, that is, about 2 wt% U and 0.1–2 wt% rare earth elements. Since U(III) possesses strong absorption bands due to f–d transitions, an optical quartz cell with short light path length of 1 mm was adopted in the analysis. The quantitative analysis of trivalent U, Nd, Pr, and Sm was possible with their f–f transition intensities in the NIR region. The analytical results agree with the prepared concentrations within 2σ experimental uncertainties.     

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 66: Synthesis of N‐[2‐([1,2,4]oxadiazol‐5‐yl)cyclopenten‐1‐yl]formamide oximes and their evaluation as inhibitors of platelet aggregation

N‐[2‐([1,2,4]Oxadiazol‐5‐yl)cyclopenten‐1‐yl]formamide oximes were synthesized by fusion of (6,7‐dihydro‐5H‐cyclopenta[1,2‐d]pyrimidin‐4‐yl)amidines and/or their amide oximes with hydroxylamine hydrochloride through a subsequent rearrangement reaction. Assay of the products for anti‐platelet aggregation activity revealed that certain of them showed promising inhibitory effect on arachidonic acid‐induced platelet aggregation. J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2011).     

Chemical synthesis of Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide partial structures and their selective proinflammatory responses

Helicobacter pylori is a common cause of gastroduodenal inflammatory diseases such as chronic gastritis and peptic ulcers and also an important factor in gastric carcinogenesis. Recent reports have demonstrated that bacterial inflammatory processes, such as stimulation with H. pylori lipopolysaccharide (LPS), initiate atherosclerosis. To establish the structures responsible for the inflammatory response of H. pylori LPS, we synthesized various kinds of lipid A structures (i.e., triacylated lipid A and Kdo‐lipid A compounds), with or without the ethanolamine group at the 1‐phosphate moiety, by a new divergent synthetic route. Stereoselective α‐glycosylation of Kdo N‐phenyltrifluoroacetimidate was achieved by use of microfluidic methods. None of the lipid A and Kdo‐lipid A compounds were a strong inducer of IL‐1β, IL‐6, or IL‐8, suggesting that H. pylori LPS is unable to induce acute inflammation. In fact, the lipid A and Kdo‐lipid A compounds showed antagonistic activity against cytokine induction by E. coli LPS, except for the lipid A compound with the ethanolamine group, which showed very weak agonistic activity. On the other hand, these H. pylori LPS partial structures showed potent IL‐18‐ and IL‐12‐inducing activities. IL‐18 has been shown to correlate with chronic inflammation, so H. pylori LPS might be implicated in the chronic inflammatory responses induced by H. pylori. These results also indicated that H. pylori LPS can modulate the immune response: NF‐κB activation through hTLR4/MD‐2 was suppressed, whereas production of IL‐18 and IL‐12 was promoted.     

Software for the data analysis of the arrival‐timing monitor at SACLA

X‐ray free‐electron laser (XFEL) pulses from SPring‐8 Ångstrom Compact free‐electron LAser (SACLA) with a temporal duration of <10 fs have provided a variety of benefits in scientific research. In a previous study, an arrival‐timing monitor was developed to improve the temporal resolution in pump–probe experiments at beamline 3 by rearranging data in the order of the arrival‐timing jitter between the XFEL and the synchronized optical laser pulses. This paper presents Timing Monitor Analyzer (TMA), a software package by which users can conveniently obtain arrival‐timing data in the analysis environment at SACLA. The package is composed of offline tools that pull stored data from cache storage, and online tools that pull data from a data‐handling server in semi‐real time during beam time. Users can select the most suitable tool for their purpose, and share the results through a network connection between the offline and online analysis environments.     

Pnictogen-Bridged Diphenyl Sulfones as Photoinduced Pnictogen Bond Forming Emission Motifs

In this study, pnictogen (Pn)-bridged diphenyl sulfones were synthesized as motifs for photoinduced dynamic rearrangement. The newly synthesized sulfones exhibited dual fluorescence at 298 K. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the longer-wavelength fluorescence was derived from the geometries after structural relaxation through photo-driven pnictogen bond formation between the O atom lone pair of the sulfonyl moiety and the antibonding orbital of the Pn−C bond. This is the first report on emission dynamics driven by pnictogen bond formation upon photoexcitation.     

Aggregate of a peptide-containing block copolymer with a lipase

The peptide-containing block copolymer poly(N-acetyliminoethylene)-block-poly(L -phenylalanine) (1) formed large water-soluble aggregates in water due to the hydrophobic and hydrogen-bonding character of the poly(L -phenylalanine) block. The solution properties of 1 were compared with those of the block copolymer poly(N-acetyliminoethylene)-block-poly(N-benzoyliminoethylene) (2) with an analogous structure. 1 formed aggregates even though the poly(phenylalanine) segment was short as compared with 2 in which hydrophobic interaction may be the only driving force to form aggregates. The aggregates have strong capability of incorporating Lipase P and largely increase the hydrolysis activity against p-nitrophenyl propionate as compared with that of free Lipase P.     

Enzymatic synthesis and characterization of amphiphilic block copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) and amylose

Amphiphilic A‐B block copolymers, ω‐methoxypoly(ethylene oxide)‐amylose copolymers (MPEO‐amylose), were synthesized by an enzymatic reaction using potato phosphorylase from an MPEO (M_w = 5.0×10³)‐maltopentaosylamine derivative as a primer and α‐D ‐glucose‐1‐phosphate as a substrate. MPEO‐amyloses with various molecular weights of amylose (DP = 26, 36, 73 and 112) were obtained. None of the MPEO‐amyloses (5 mg/ml) precipitate in water containing 10 vol.‐% DMSO even after 24 h. The MPEO‐amyloses effectively form complexes with iodine in water.