Polycondensations of hydroxycarboxylic acids derived from optically active aminoalcohols and acid anhydrides—syntheses of functional poly(ester-amide)s

Syntheses and polycondensations of optically active hydroxycarboxylic acids prepared from acid anhydrides and aminoalcohols were carried out. Novel polymers with M̄_n 9900–27,200 were obtained by the polycondensations of hydroxycaboxylic acids derived from maleic or succinic acid using 1.2 eq. of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC · HCl) in DMF (2M) at room temperature for 8 h in satisfactory yields. Meanwhile, a hydroxycarboxylic acid obtained from phthalic acid afforded no polymer but a phthalimide derivative. The radical additions of ethanethiol or mercaptoethanol with the polymers derived from maleic anhydride proceeded smoothly in satisfactory incorporation ratios (65–98%), respectively. The polymer obtained from succinic anhydride and 2-aminoethanol showed hydrolytic degradability. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Extraction of Unprotected Amino Acids by Mixed-Ligand Nickel(II) and Copper(II) Chelates

Summary.  Six mixed-ligand Nickel(II) and Copper(II) chelates with square-planar geometry of the formula [Ni/Cu(O-O)(S-tmpn)]B(C₆H₅)₄ were prepared, where O-O represents acetylacetonate, tropolonate, or hinokitiolate and S-tmpn is (S)-tetramethyl-1,2-propanediamine. The compounds were investigated with respect to their function as receptor for unprotected amino acids, taking advantage of their high solubilities in non-polar organic solvents. In liquid-liquid extraction experiments between a 1,2-dichloroethane phase containing the metal chelates and an aqueous phase containing amino acids (rac-phenylglycine, rac-phenylalanine, or rac-tryptophan), the nickel(II) chelates effectively extracted amino acids from the aqueous phases under neutral conditions, forming octahedral ternary chelates. Received February 19, 2001. Accepted April 2, 2001     

Characterizing the Gel to Liquid Crystal Transition in Lipid-Bilayer Model Systems

A laboratory exercise that introduces differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is presented. In order to connect this basic physical chemistry technique with an application in the biological sciences, students investigated the thermodynamic properties of lipid-bilayer model compounds. DSC was used to characterize the gel-to-liquid-crystal transition for three phosphatidylcholines of varying acyl chain length. The laboratory exercise is suitable only for students with some background in physical chemistry and biochemistry.     

Observation of tungsten particles in vacuum arcs by laser inducedfluorescence

We have clarified the relation between the decay of tungsten ion density in the vicinity of current zero and vacuum arc mode in high current period by using a laser induced fluorescence method in tungsten vacuum arcs of 60 Hz sinusoidal current with the peak value of 3.3, 6.7, and 9.8 kA. In the case of 6.7 kA, the arc mode was the anode spot mode. Because of the generation of the anode spot, the tungsten ion density near the anode was higher than near the cathode and the density near the anode was about ten times as high as the case of 3.3 kA which was the diffuse mode. In the case of 9.8 kA, which was the intense arc mode, the density near the anode was not significantly different from the case of 6.7 kA. The density near the cathode was higher than near the anode and tungsten ions were observed till about 30 μs after current zero while they disappeared at current zero in the other cases     

Direct determination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by column-switching LC-MS

A method for determination of 16 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in human plasma samples without time-consuming sample pre-treatments was developed. The system consisted of two pumps for mobile phase delivery, a six-port switching valve, a pre-column (Oasis HLB Cartridge Column), and a reversed phase analytical column (COSMOSIL 3C18-MS-II). The analytes were trapped on the precolumn and subsequently separated on the analytical column. The present method allowed on-line sample clean-up and enrichment, leading to improved sensitivity without any tedious sample preparation. The recoveries of NSAIDs from human plasma by column-switching were greater than 72.6%. The total analysis time for a single analytical run was approximately 11 min. The detection limits of NSAIDs were 0.0025 to 0.2 microg/mL using the selected ion monitoring mode.     

Synthesis and reactions of a poly(methacrylate) from an optically active amino alcohol

Synthesis and radical polymerization of a novel optically active methacrylate, (S)–2–tert–butoxycarbonylamino–3–phenylpropyl methacrylate (MA–F–BOC), were examined. MA–F–BOC was synthesized from methacrylic acid and N–protected (L)–phenylalaninol. Radical polymerization of MA–F–BOC quantitatively afforded the corresponding polymethacrylate with a relatively high molecular weight. Radical copolymerizations of MA–F–BOC were carried out with styrene and acrylamide to afford the copolymers. Radical polymerization of MA–F–BOC in the presence of n–butanethiol afforded the oligomers, whose degrees of polymerizations were 3.3–8.0. The BOC group was completely cloven with HBr to afford the corresponding optically active polymeric amine quantitatively. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. A Polym. Chem. 36: 1981–1986, 1998     

Melt rheology of polypropylene containing small amounts of high molecular weight chain. I. Shear flow

Large enhancements of the melt strength of polypropylene (PP) were achieved by the introduction of high molecular weight polyethylene (PE) into PP. The viscoelastic properties of the high‐melt‐strength PP melts under shear flow were investigated. It was found that the rheological properties of the high‐melt‐strength PP were distinctly different from those of conventional PP. The elastic response at low frequencies was significantly enhanced in comparison with the conventional PP, implying a presence of a long relaxation time mode that was not revealed in conventional PP. In step‐shear measurements, the fast and slow relaxation processes that characterized the linear viscoelastic properties were observed also for nonlinear relaxation moduli. The dependence of the damping for the slow process of the high‐melt‐strength PP on shear strain was much weaker than that of the fast process. These rheological behaviors characterizing the long relaxation time mode were further enhanced with the increasing concentration of high molecular mass PE. The unusual shear rheological behaviors were discussed in view of the role of high molecular weight PE as a long relaxation time mode within PP. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 2692–2704, 2001     

Flow-injection determination of L-histidine with an immobilized histidine oxidase from Brevibacillus borstelensis KAIT-B-022 and chemiluminescence detection.

A chemiluminometric flow injection analytical system for the quantitation of L-histidine is described. Histidine oxidase (EC 1.4.3.-) from Brevibacillus borstelensis KAIT-B-022 was immobilized on tresylated poly(vinyl alcohol) beads and packed into a stainless-steel column. The hydrogen peroxide produced was detected chemiluminometrically by a flowthrough sensor containing immobilized peroxidase (EC 1.1 1.1.7). The maximum sample throughput was 10 h(-1). The calibration graph was linear from 0.05 to 5 mM; the detection limit (signal to noise ratio = 3) was 0.01 mM. The activity of immobilized histidine oxidase reduced to 65% of the initial value after 350 injections. The system was applied to the determination of L-histidine in fish meat, such as salmon, tunny, bonito, and mackerel.     

Role of heme propionates of myoglobin in vibrational energy relaxation

The role of heme propionates of myoglobin in vibrational energy relaxation was studied by time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy. Time-resolved anti-Stokes spectra were measured to monitor the vibrational energy relaxation of the heme. The decay rates of the band intensities were compared between wild-type myoglobin and etioheme-substituted myoglobin where the heme lacks hydrogen-bonding side chains. The decay rates of the anti-Stokes intensities of the latter were less than those of the former, providing strong support for a theoretical proposal that the propionates and their coupling to solvent bath play an important role in the dissipation of excess energy of the excited heme in solvated wild-type myoglobin.