Role of Water Activity on the Synthesis of Vinyl Thymidine Catalyzed by Protease from Bacillus Subtilis

The transesterification activity of Bioprase, a protease from Bacillus subtilis, in dimethylformamide (DMF) is found to depend strongly on water addition. For the transesterification between thymidine and divinyl adipate by Bioprase in DMF with water (5–40%), the conversion rate of thymidine to the ester is much higher than the rate in DMF without the addition of water. For example, the transesterification reaction of 0.25 M thymidine with 1 M divinyl adipate in DMF in the presence of 10% water was catalyzed by Bioprase (50 mg · ml^?1) at 30 °C for only 10–20 minutes to give 5′‐O‐vinyladipoyl thymidine (conversion ca. 90%), but the reaction did not proceed without the addition of water. Furthermore, the water effect is useful for the transesterification of thymidine with divinyl sebacate, which has a longer alkyl chain than divinyl adipate. This investigation showed that DMF adsorbs on the enzyme surface instead of essential water in the reaction of DMF without addition of water. On the other hand, in the reaction of DMF/water cosolvents, essential water bound to enzyme was not removed by DMF, and a higher transesterification activity occurs thereafter.

Effect of water on the transesterification of thymidine catalyzed by Bioprase in DMF.     

Neolignans from Piper futokadsura and their inhibition of nitric oxide production

From a MeOH extract of the aerial part of Piper futokadsura, the tetrahydrofuran lignans, futokadsurin A [(7S,8S,7'S,8'R)-3,4,3'-trimethoxy-4'-hydroxy-7,7'-epoxylignan], futokadsurin B [(7R,8R,7'R,8'S)-3,4-dimethoxy-3',4'-methylenedioxy-7,7'-epoxylignan], and futokadsurin C [(7R,8R,7'S,8'S)-3,4-methylenedioxy-3',4'-dimethoxy-7,7'-epoxylignan] were isolated, together with nine known neolignans. In addition, L-tryptophan, pellitorine, phytol, elemicin, and 1,2,4-trimethoxyphenyl-5-aldehyde were isolated. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic methods. These lignans inhibited nitric oxide production by a murine macrophage-like cell line (RAW 264.7), which was activated by lipopolysaccharide and interferon-gamma.     

Practical synthesis of optically active styrene oxides via reductive transformation of 2-chloroacetophenones with chiral rhodium catalysts

[reaction: see text] A practical method for the synthesis of optically active styrene oxides has been developed via formation of optically active 2-chloro-1-phenylethanols generated by reductive transformation of ring-substituted 2-chloroacetophenones. The optically active alcohols with up to 98% ee are obtainable from the asymmetric reduction of acetophenones with an S/C = 1000-5000 with a formic acid triethylamine mixture containing a well-defined chiral Rh complex, CpRhCl[(R,R)-Tsdpen].     

CpRu(PN) complex-catalyzed isomerization of allylic alcohols and its application to the asymmetric synthesis of muscone

Highly efficient isomerization of allylic alcohols into saturated carbonyls is accomplished using the catalyst system of Cp*RuCl[Ph2P(CH2)2NH2-kappa2-P,N]-KOt-Bu (Cp* = eta5-C5(CH3)5) under mild conditions. Mechanistic consideration based on isotope-labeling experiments indicated the present reaction is applicable to the asymmetric isomerization of racemic sec-allylic alcohols with a prochiral olefin via dynamic kinetic resolution. A concise asymmetric synthesis of muscone has been achieved, where the asymmetric isomerization using an optically active ligand is a key reaction.     

Solid-state metal hydride batteries using ZrO2·nH2O as an electrolyte

ZrO₂·1.5H₂O or ZrO₂·1.5H₂O-KOH composite was used as an electrolyte in order to develop a solid-state nickel-metal hydride battery. The battery using the ZrO₂·1.5H₂O-KOH composite had rechargeability, but had a very low discharge efficiency, even at low current density. However, the performance of the battery was prominently improved by enlarging the electrode-electrolyte interface area. The resultant battery exhibited the remarkably longer cycle life, the higher discharge efficiency, and the lower polarization: it was able to operate over 150 cycles at 10 mA/g alloy.     

Rapid and selective identification of molecular species in phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin by conditional neutral loss scanning and MS3

Analyses of molecular species of phospholipids containing choline (Ch), such as phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM), are reported. Neutral loss scanning was applied for the selective detection of these lipids using a quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometer. By using ammonium formate as an elution buffer, both PC and SM were detected as [M+HCOO]- ions in the negative ion mode. Upon collisional activation, the [M+HCOO]- adduct ions underwent facile elimination of HCO2, to yield an ion which, in turn, readily underwent collisional-induced dissociation (CID) to eliminate CH3 to yield an [M-CH3]- ion. By selecting the proper conditions for scanning for neutral loss of 60 Da (HCO2+CH3), SM species were identified separately from PCs. Further, by selection of this [M-CH3]- ion as the precursor ion, the identities of the fatty acyl chains of PC species can be effectively obtained by MS3 experiments. Furthermore, by the MS3 analyses of [M-CH3]- specifically obtained from SM molecules, identification of sphingosine or sphinganine derivatives and their N-acyl species can also be effectively obtained. This systematic analysis of PCs and SMs by conditional neutral loss scanning, with subsequent analyses by MS3, using a linear ion trap mass spectrometer in the negative ion mode, appears to be a very effective and sensitive method. Further, MS/MS in the positive ion mode at relatively low collision energy was also effective for the identification of positional specificities in individual molecular PC species from their lysoPC-related fragments. The present paper deals only with qualitative identification of individual molecular species, and the related quantitative studies are now underway.     

Vacuum cosmological solution in a 6D universe

A simple vacuum cosmological solution that is a function ofct, Gm/c ² andeG ^1/2/C² is obtained in the 6D space-time-mass-charge universe which is proposed by Wesson [1] with the introduction of the sixth coordinate of charge in order to obtain a unified theory of gravity and electromagnetism along the line of his original 5D space-time-mass universe [2]. It reduces to a similar solution to that of the radiation era in the 4D FRW universe through the compactifications of the extra dimensions. The trajectory of a test particle in the 6D universe is also studied by using the solution.     

Diaporthols A and B: Bioactive diphenyl ether derivatives from an endophytic fungus Diaporthe sp.

Diaporthols A (1) and B (2), two diphenyl ether derivatives, were isolated from cultures of an endophytic fungus Diaporthe sp. ECN-137 obtained from the leaves of Phellodendron amurense. The structures of 1 and 2 were determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses, and the structure of 2 was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 showed anti-migration activities in TGF-β1-elicited MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells at a concentration of 20?μM.     

Enantioselective catalysis of carbonyl-ene and Friedel–Crafts reactions with trifluoropyruvate by ‘naked’ palladium(II) complexes with SEGPHOS ligands

Chiral dicationic SEGPHOS–Pd(II) complex gives high chemical yield, (E)-olefin selectivity, anti-diastereoselectivity, along with high enantioselectivity even with less reactive mono- and 1,2-disubstituted olefins in this much less reactive ketone-ene reactions. The high levels of enantioselectivity not only in carbonyl-ene but also in Friedel–Crafts reactions stem from the effective shielding with diphenyl groups on phosphines caused by the narrow dihedral angle of metal complexes with SEGPHOS.     

Practical synthesis of optically active amino alcohols via asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of functionalized aromatic ketones

2-Substituted acetophenones such as 2-cyano-, 2-azido-, or 2-nitroacetophenones were effectively reduced with a mixture of HCOOH/N(C(2)H(5))(3) containing a chiral Ru(II) catalyst, RuCl[(S,S)-N-(p-toluenesulfonyl)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine](p-cymene), giving the corresponding optically active alcohols, which can be converted to optically active amino alcohols with excellent ee's. Similarly, the reaction of 2-benzoylacetophenone with the same Ru catalyst gave a quantitative yield of the corresponding optically active 1,3-diol with 99% ee.