Palladium-catalyzed tert-butoxycarbonylation of trifluoroacetimidoyl iodides

A modification and details of the palladium-catalyzed tert-butoxycarbonylation of 2,2,2-trifluoroacetimidoyl iodides 1, which gave the iminocarboxylates 2, one of the promising precursors to fluorinated alpha-amino acids, are described. The Pd-catalyzed carbonylation reaction was remarkably promoted by the use of DMF or DMI as an additive, enough to achieve the selective formation of tert-butyl iminoesters. Nucleophilic alkylation of the imine moiety of 2 and subsequent removal of N- and O-protecting groups gave a variety of 2-substituted 2-amino-3,3,3-trifluoropropanoic acid derivatives 3 in high yields.     

Aromatic foldamers with iminodicarbonyl linkers: their structures and optical properties

[structure: see text] Carboxamides possessing naphthalene rings connected by multiple iminodicarbonyl linkers were synthesized. These molecules forced the naphthalene rings to be placed in the positions facing each other, and they form helical foldamers both in solution and in the crystalline state. Their folding structures were investigated by single-crystal X-ray analysis and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Their absorption and fluorescence spectra showed a red shift as the number of naphthalene moieties increased. This remarkable change is based on the intramolecular interaction between naphthalene moieties. Helicity of the foldamer can be controlled by the introduction of chiral auxiliaries at imide nitrogen atoms, which results in an observation of induced circular dichroism.     

Isolation of a metastasizing cancer cell line from an aflatoxin B1-induced rat liver tumor.

An attempt was made to isolate cancer cell lines from liver tumors that had been induced by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in rats. A clonal cell line named AFB-1 was isolated from a liver tumor that was histologically diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma. When AFB-1 cells were inoculated into the subcutaneous tissue at the dorsal region of syngenic animals, they metastasized from the site of inoculation into the abdominal cavity to form many tumor nodules throughout the serous membrane and metastatic foci in the kidney and pancreas. They also metastasized into the thoracic cavity to form metastatic foci in the lung. This is the first instance where a metastasizing AFB1-induced cancer cell line has been isolated.     

Investigation of Novel Peptide Chiral Selectors Prepared by Solid-Phase Synthesis with a tert-Butoxycarbonyl Amino Acid

A new class of chiral stationary phases (CSP) with peptide chiral selectors was prepared by solid-phase synthesis with a tert-butoxycarbonyl-L-amino acid on silica. The type of amino acid that is favorable for this class of CSP is discussed. Using the CSP with the phenylalanine peptide selector, the effect of peptide length on the enantioselectivity was investigated in normal-phase mode. The applicability of the CSP with a phenylalanine peptide to chiral ligand-exchange chromatography was also examined.

     

Peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection for the highly sensitive determination of fluorescence-labeled chlorpheniramine with Suzuki coupling reaction

A sensitive and selective high performance liquid chromatography-peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (PO-CL) method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of chlorpheniramine (CPA) and monodesmethyl chlorpheniramine (MDCPA) in human serum. The method combines fluorescent labeling with 4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazole-2-yl)phenyl boronic acid using Suzuki coupling reaction with PO-CL detection. CPA and MDCPA were extracted from human serum by liquid–liquid extraction with n-hexane. Excess labeling reagent, which interfered with trace level determination of analytes, was removed by solid-phase extraction using a C18 cartridge. Separation of derivatives of both analytes was achieved isocratically on a silica column with a mixture of acetonitrile and 60 mM imidazole-HNO₃ buffer (pH 7.2; 85:15, v/v) containing 0.015% triethylamine. The proposed method exhibited a good linearity with a correlation coefficient of 0.999 for CPA and MDCPA within the concentration range of 0.5–100 ng/mL. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) were 0.14 and 0.16 ng/mL for CPA and MDCPA, respectively. Using the proposed method, CPA could be selectively determined in human serum after oral administration.     

Detection of nanoparticles and components in smoke by time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) with a newly laboratory-made sampling cone interface fitted to an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) positive ion source was successfully applied to easy, rapid on-line measurements of nanoparticles and components generated during combustion. The mass spectra for smoke from a mosquito coil ranged up to m/z 1202, corresponding to 1.2 nm with the carboneous material density as graphite 2.2 g cm⁻³. Typical m/z peaks were assigned to such synthetic pyrethroids, as d-allethrin and d-tetramethrin, at m/z 303 and 332, respectively. A specific pattern with a peak-to-peak interval of 74 was recognized in the higher mass range. The interval of 74 was confirmed by measuring with a standard silica solution in a positive ion mode using a conventional APCI interface under the same APCI conditions. The mass spectrum of the silica solution had a pattern with peak interval of 44 which was assigned to SiO. These results indicate that the pattern with an interval of 74 in the mass spectrum of the mosquito coil smoke is sample-derived peak. We assumed that the interval of m/z 74 is assigned to identified as triacetylene (1,3,5-hexatriyne) that is generated during the combustion.     

Hierarchical organization of photoresponsive hydrogen-bonded rosettes

Hydrogen-bonded disk-shaped aggregates (rosettes) composed of azobenzene-appended melamine and barbiturate or cyanurate are investigated in view of their hierarchical organization and photoresponsive behavior by (1)H NMR and UV/vis spectroscopies, dynamic light scattering, and gelation behavior in aliphatic solvents and liquid crystalline behavior in bulk state. In the bulk state the rosette possessing a sterically bulky tridodecyloxyphenyl substituent in the barbiturate component stacks in an offset arrangement to form a rectangular columnar mesophase, whereas in aliphatic solvents it does not hierarchically organize into higher-order columnar aggregates. This drawback is improved by exchanging the barbiturate component into a more sterically nondemanding N-dodecylcyanurate component. The resulting new rosette stacks in a face-to-face arrangement to form a hexagonal columnar mesophase in the bulk state and hierarchically organizes into elongated fibrous aggregates in cyclohexane, which eventually leads to the formation of organogel. Dynamic light scattering and UV-vis experiments upon UV-irradiation of the columnar aggregates in cyclohexane revealed that the dissociation and the reformation of columnar aggregates can be controlled by the trans-cis isomerization of the azobenzene moiety. Molecular modeling indicates that the rosette possessing cis-azobenzene side chains loses its planarity. Using this photoinduced morphological change of the rosette, photoresponsive organogel is created by the use of a disk-shaped supramolecule the first time.     

Identification of oxidation states of metal oxides by MALDI-TOF MS

For the detection of inorganic species, we have developed chemical reaction laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry, and applied it to the analysis of metal oxides in different oxidation states. Metal oxide species insoluble in common organic solvents were finely grounded in a mortar and suspended in a solvent. The turbid suspension was placed on a sample holder on which a suitable chelating reagent had been previously spotted in a similar manner for sample preparation employed in the matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). By using this method, the mass spectra of manganese (II and IV) oxides (MnO and MnO₂), cobalt (II and III) oxides (CoO and Co₂O₃), and chromium (III and VI) oxides (Cr₂O₃ and CrO₃) were successfully obtained. By adjusting the experimental conditions, such as ionization modes and chelating reagents, the non-identical mass spectra were obtained for the elements in the different oxidation state. Thus, the oxidation states could be identified clearly.     

Generation of a chiral mesophase by achiral molecules: absolute chiral induction in the smectic C phase of 4-octyloxyphenyl 4-octyloxybenzoate

Achiral rodlike molecules possessing an ester group generated a chiral smectic liquid crystal phase.