In Situ Direct Mechanistic Transformation from FeCl3-Catalyzed Living Cationic to Radical Polymerizations

A trivalent iron chloride (FeCl₃) catalyst induced both living cationic and radical polymerizations of various monomers in the presence of an appropriate additive or ligand to yield polymers with controlled molecular weights and narrow molecular-weight distributions. The in-situ mechanistic transformation from a living cationic to a radical growing species during the styrene polymerization was achieved in a FeCl₃-based system with the simple addition of phosphine followed by an elevation of the reaction temperature. The growing cationic species was effectively converted into the radical species to produce a series of block copolymers that consist of styrene and various acrylic monomers.     

Development of UV-Excitable Red and Near-Infrared Fluorescent Labels and Their Application for Simultaneous Multicolor Bioimaging by Single-Wavelength Excitation

We report a new type of UV-excitable red/NIR-emissive fluorescent dyads (PKF series). Conjugation of a pyrene and a novel bright red/near-infrared (NIR) fluorophore resulted in large quasi-Stokes shift while retaining intense fluorescence emission and sharp spectral bands. Labeling of PKF dyads to biomolecules was performed by means of introduction of a succinimidyl ester. Simultaneous Ca²⁺/albumin dual-color intracellular imaging by PKF in combination with fura-2 (UV-excitable/VIS-emissive Ca²⁺ indicator) reveals its usefulness as a new bioimaging tool.     

Walking nanothermometers: spatiotemporal temperature measurement of transported acidic organelles in single living cells

We fabricated fluorescent nanoparticles which monitor temperature changes without sensitivity to pH (4-10) and ionic strength (0-500 mM). The nanothermometers spontaneously enter living HeLa cells via endocytosis, enclosed in acidic organelles, i.e., endosome/lysosome, and then transported along microtubules in a temperature-dependent manner, working as "walking nanothermometers".     

Nickel-catalyzed reductive cleavage of aryl-oxygen bonds in alkoxy- and pivaloxyarenes using hydrosilanes as a mild reducing agent

A nickel-catalyzed reductive deoxygenation of aryl alkyl ethers and aryl pivalates has been developed. Hydrosilanes serve as a mild reducing agent. The present protocol allows the use of a pivalate group as a robust and traceless steering group in arene functionalization reactions.     

Formation of uniformly sized metal droplets from a capillary jet by electromagnetic force

A new method for producing uniformly sized metal droplets is proposed. In this method, an intermittent electromagnetic pinch force is applied to a capillary jet of liquid metal to generate fluctuations of equal interval on the surface of the jet. As the fluctuations grow, the liquid metal jet breaks into small droplets whose size depends on the frequency of the intermittent electromagnetic pinch force. The breakup of the capillary jet is numerically simulated by performing multiphase fluid flow analysis with surface tracking (volume of fluid method) and electromagnetic force analysis. The simulation results agree well with the results of model experiments. The jet breaks up into uniformly sized droplets when the frequency of the intermittent force equals the frequency that corresponds to the natural disturbance wavelength of the capillary jet.