Diastereoselective Iodocarbocyclization Reaction of 2- or 3-Oxy-4-pentenylmalonate Derivatives

1,2- Or 1,3-asymmetric induction in the iodocarbocyclization reaction of 4-pentenylmalonate derivatives having a stereogenic center at an allylic or a homoallylic position has been investigated. The iodocarbocyclization reactions of 3-oxy-4-pentenylmalonate derivatives proceeded with high cis-selectivity through stereoelectronic control of the oxygenated substituent at an allylic position. In the reaction of (S)-2-siloxy-4-pentenylmalonate, an excellent diastereoselectivity was achieved through the utilization of double stereodifferentiation with a chiral titanium catalyst. Furthermore, as an application of the present reaction, the asymmetric syntheses of cyclosarkomycin and a synthetic intermediate of brefeldin A from optically pure 2- and 3-oxy-4-pentenylmalonate derivatives are also described.     

A sensitive and specific method for the determination of total ribavirin in human red blood cells by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and specific method using high-performance liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS) for the analysis of total ribavirin in human red blood cells (RBC) is developed and validated. The method involves the addition of an internal standard and perchloric acid, the conversion of ribavirin phosphorylated metabolites to ribavirin, purification with a solid-phase exchange cartridge, and LC-MS-MS analysis. The MS-MS is selected to monitor m/z 245-113 for ribavirin and m/z 250-113 for [13C]ribavirin using positive electrospray ionization. The calibration curve is linear over a concentration of 100-10,000 ng/mL with a limit of quantitation of 100 ng/mL. Mean interassay accuracy for quality control (QC) at 100, 1000, and 10,000 ng/mL are 101.8%, 99.4%, and 98.8%, respectively. Mean interassay precision (%CV) for QC at 100, 1000, and 10,000 ng/mL are 5.0%, 5.0%, and 2.5%, respectively. Extractibility of total ribavirin from RBC is confirmed with RBC obtained from a [(14)C]ribavirin-dosed monkey. The method is used to determine the free and total ribavirin concentration in human RBC obtained from hepatitis C patients treated with ribavirin.     

A modified method using static head-space gas chromatography for determining the stability constants of 1-alkanol/alpha-cyclodextrin complexation

A modification of the conventional static head-space gas chromatography method (SHSGC method) to determine stability constants for 1-alkanol/alpha-CD inclusion complexes was investigated. The 1 : 1 stability constants determined by this modified SHSGC method are in reasonable agreement with the corresponding values reported previously. The modified SHSGC method precludes the necessity of the calibration curve by the use of Henry's law constant of guest. Consequently, the modified SHSGC method is more advantageous than the conventional SHSGC method because the experimental time required for determination of the stability constant is markedly reduced.     

A Transparent Thin Film with Hexagonal Mesostructure Containing Rhodamine 6G

A transparent this film was prepared by depositing the sol-gel mixture for the synthesis of MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve doped with rhodamine 6G(R6G) dye on glass substrates. The film of silica-surfactant-R6G materials, which was identified to possess hexagonally ordered mesostructure,was composed of nanocrystallites about 35 nm in diameter and 1-10μm in thickness. Cleanness of the substrates, concentration of the sol-gel mixture and rate of evaporation of the solvent were the key factors affecting transparency and homogeneity of the film. Moreover,optical change and lack in dye aggregation were observed to the R6G-functionalized MCM-41 thin film in contrast with that in ethanol solution.     

Improved spectrophotometric determination of uranium(VI) with 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol in the presence of benzyldimethylstearyltrimethylammonium chloride

An improved spectrophotometric determination of uranium(VI) is proposed using 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol(PAR) in the presence of benzyldimethylstearyltrimethylammonium chloride(BSTAC) as a cationic surfactant. The calibration graph is linear in the range of 0.3-60 microg/10 ml uranium(VI), measuring the absorbance at 550 nm. The reproducibility for 19.0 microg/10 ml uranium(VI) is 0.57%. The third-derivative method using the third-derivative distance (d(3)A/dlambda(3)) among lambda(1) 530 nm, lambda(3) 594 nm and lambda(2) 565 nm was also investigated.     

Ring opening reaction of gem-difluorocyclopropyl ketones with nucleophiles

Syntheses of gem-difluorocyclopropyl ketones (3a–d) and their reactions with nucleophiles are described. Ring opening reactions of 3a,c and d with a methanolate and a thiolate anion took entirely different courses of bond scission of the cyclopropane ring.     

Structural regulation of a peptide-conjugated graft copolymer: a simple model for amyloid formation

The self-assembly of peptides and proteins into beta-sheet-rich high-order structures has attracted much attention as a result of the characteristic nanostructure of these assemblies and because of their association with neurodegenerative diseases. Here we report the structural and conformational properties of a peptide-conjugated graft copolymer, poly(gamma-methyl-L-glutamate) grafted polyallylamine (1) in a water-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol solution as a simple model for amyloid formation. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the globular peptide 1 self-assembles into nonbranching fibrils that are about 4 nm in height under certain conditions. These fibrils are rich in beta-sheets and, similar to authentic amyloid fibrils, bind the amyloidophilic dye Congo red. The secondary and quaternary structures of the peptide 1 can be controlled by manipulating the pH, solution composition, and salt concentration; this indicates that the three-dimensional packing arrangement of peptide chains is the key factor for such fibril formation. Furthermore, the addition of carboxylic acid-terminated poly(ethylene glycol), which interacts with both of amino groups of 1 and hydrophobic PMLG chains, was found to obviously inhibit the alpha-to-beta structural transition for non-assembled peptide 1 and to partially cause a beta-to-alpha structural transition against the 1-assembly in the beta-sheet form. These findings demonstrate that the amyloid fibril formation is not restricted to specific protein sequences but rather is a generic property of peptides. The ability to control the assembled structure of the peptide should provide useful information not only for understanding the amyloid fibril formation, but also for developing novel peptide-based material with well-defined nanostructures.     

Zirconium-mediated intramolecular ester transfer reaction: synthesis of alpha-substituted gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) derivatives

[reaction: see text]. The zirconium-mediated intramolecular ester transfer reaction of N-alkenyl carbamate derivatives proceeded to give alpha-substituted gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) derivatives in good to excellent yields. Quenching experiments of the reaction mixture with iodine or O2 indicated the presence of a cyclopropane intermediate. The resulting iodide was converted to 2-substituted pyrrolidine-3-carboxylate and/or alpha-alkylidene-gamma-aminobutyric acid derivatives in a stereospecific manner.