Synthesis of 4H-benzo[a]phenoselenazin-4-ones as near-ir dyes

The condensation of 2-bromo- or 2, 6-dibromo-4, 8-bis(alkylamino)-1, 5-naphthoquinones with zinc 2-amino-benzeneselenolates gave 1, 5-bis(alkylamino)-4H-benzo[a]phenoselenazin-4-one and the 3- and/or 10-substituted compounds. These phenoselenazone derivatives absorb nearly infrared light and can be used as optical recording media for a laser beam.     

Photochemical reactions of high polymers. XIV. Syntheses and photochemical reactions of copolymers bearing O-acyloxime groups

Copolymers bearing pendant O-acyloxime groups were synthesized by two methods: copolymerizations of oxime acrylate (methyl β-naphthyl ketone oxime acrylate or benzophenone oxime acrylate) and styrene, condensation of acrylic acid—styrene copolymer with oximes (benzophenone oxime, p-nitrobenzophenone oxime, methyl β-naphthyl ketone oxime, benzalacetone oxime or 9-fluorenone oxime). The photochemical behavior of the O-acyloxime copolymers changed markedly with the irradiation conditions: irradiation of benzene solutions led to degradation in air and crosslinking under nitrogen, while irradiation of solid films in air resulted in simultaneous degradation and crosslinking. Photolysis of methyl β-naphthyl ketone oxime acetate, a model for the O-acyloxime copolymer, in benzene solution under nitrogen resulted in scission of the N? O bond. The same reaction was observed in the irradiation of the O-acyloxime copolymers. It is suggested that formation of free radicals on the polymer chains via scission of the N? O bond is followed by decarboxylation. In the absence of oxygen, crosslinking of the polymer by recombination of the free radicals competes with degradation via β-scission. In the presence of oxygen, autoxidative degradation predominates.     

Meso- to Macro-Porous Oxides as Semiconductor Gas Sensors

The present article reviews our latest studies directed to improving gas sensing properties of semiconductor metal oxides, SnO₂ and TiO₂, by controlling their porous structure in the range of nano- to micro-meter size. Thermally stable mesoporous oxide powders and submicron-size porous thick films were fabricated by a templating method employing supramolecular surfactants or polymethylmethacrylate microspheres and also by a sol–gel process in a polyethylene glycol matrix. Advantages of these methods in improving the sensing properties are overviewed and then remaining problems are discussed.     

Substoichiometric liquid-liquid extraction and determination of vanadium based on the synergic effect of thenolytrifluoroacetone and trioctylphosphine oxide

Vanadium(IV) is extracted synergically with thenoyltrifluoroacetone (HTTA) and trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) in cyclohexane as the mixed ligand complex, VO(TTA)₂TOPO. The synergic extraction constant is 10^5.06. The system can be used for the substoichiometric extraction of vanadium(IV); vanadium(IV) is extracted at pH 4.0–5.0 with a substoichiometric amount of HTTA in the presence of an excess of TOPO. The substoichiometric process combined with isotope dilution was successfully applied to the determination of vanadium(IV) in NBS-1633 coal fly ash; the value found was 222.5 ± 3.5 μg g^?1. The method is shown to be accurate and precise.     

Possible Mechanisms of Vascular Relaxation Induced by Pulsed-UV Laser

This study was designed to examine the mechanism of vasorelaxation induced by pulsed-UV laser. Luminal diameters of rat femoral arteries were measured prior to and following krypton-fluoride excimer laser irradiation of 248 nm in wavelength. The diameter was enlarged to 1.3 times the preirradiated size at 1 or 10 Hz irradiation when the fluence was over 2.0 mj/pulse/mm², while the diameter reached 1.8 times at 100 Hz with a fluence of 0.8 mj/pulse/mm². Vasorelaxation by the 100 Hz irradiation was inhibited when the artery was pretreated with methylene blue but was enhanced with superoxide dis-mutase. Pathological analysis revealed an ablation crater and vacuole formation in the vessel at 1 or 10 Hz irradiation, but these changes were not remarkable in the 100 Hz-exposed sample. These findings suggest that vasorelaxation induced by the pulsed UV irradiation at 1 or 10 Hz results from structural alteration of vascular smooth muscle by the ablation crater or vacuolization. On the other hand, a possible mechanism of vasorelaxation at the 100 Hz irradiation is partially related to nitric oxide.     

Water vapor adsorption behavior of sodium deoxycholate anhydrous forms

Pseudopolymorphism of sodium deoxycholate (NaDC) was investigated. Intact NaDC (dihydrate) was dried at 60 degrees C under reduced pressure resulting an anhydrous amorphous phase. On the other hand, intact NaDC was altered to an anhydrous crystalline form by heating at 200 degrees C. The water vapor adsorption and desorption isotherms of dehydrated NaDCs were determined using an automatic gravimetric water vapor adsorption analyzer. In the case of NaDC dehydrated at 60 degrees C, the weight was increased in rising relative humidity and it was transformed into the NaDC tetrahydrate above 60% RH, which was identified by TG/DTA and powder X-ray diffraction. During the water vapor adsorption process of the sample dehydrated at 200 degrees C, the NaDC dihydrate was obtained in the range of 50 to 70% RH and then transformed into the NaDC octahydrate above 85% RH. The NaDC octahydrate was characterized by TG/DTA and powder X-ray diffraction for the first time. During the desorption process, the octahydrate was changed to the tetrahydrate between 80 and 40% RH.     

The stereoselective synthesis of α-substituted β-amino secondary alcohols based on the proline-mediated, asymmetric, three-component Mannich reaction and its application to the formal total synthesis of nikkomycins B and Bx

A general method for the asymmetric synthesis of α-substituted β-amino secondary alcohols is described, which comprises the four-reaction sequence (1) the proline-mediated, asymmetric, three-component Mannich reaction of two different aldehydes, (2) nucleophilic carbon addition to aldehyde, (3) oxidation of the resulting alcohol to the corresponding ketone, and (4) diastereoselective reduction with LiAlH(O-t-Bu)₃ or catecholborane. The former reductant afforded the 1,2-syn isomer, while the latter gave the 1,2-anti isomer stereoselectively. The present method was successfully applied to the efficient asymmetric synthesis of the N-terminal amino acid moiety of nikkomycin B and B_X.     

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system for quantitative determination of calphobindin I, a new placental anticoagulant protein, and its application to various specimens

We developed a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system for calphobindin I (CPB-I), a new placental coagulation inhibitor, using two monoclonal antibodies. This ELISA system can detect CPB-I at concentrations of between 0.4 and 25 ng/ml in buffer and allow almost quantitative determination of it in human plasma. Using this ELISA system, CPB-I levels in many kinds of specimens were measured. Levels in the plasma and urine of women were as low as 10 ng/ml, and no significant differences were observed throughout the trimesters of pregnancy and during different stages of the menstrual cycle. Toxemic patients were slightly higher in CPB-I levels than normal pregnant women, and levels in body fluids such as the amniotic fluid, saliva, milk, ascites, and semen were higher than those in the plasma. The high levels of CPB-I were found, being in the order of micrograms/ml, in the ascites of carcinomatous peritonitis as well as seminal plasma. Measurements of the levels in ovarian follicular fluid samples at different stages of the menstrual cycle showed that those in the immature and atretic stages were higher than those in mature stages. CPB-I levels in many types of cultured human cells ranged from 0.023 to 10.30 micrograms/mg protein, and levels in cultured human lymphocytes were less than those in other types of cells measured. Little of this inhibitor was secreted into media from cultured human lymphocytes, and it was found in all measured tissues of Macacus irus at levels ranging from 0.232 to 1.557 micrograms/mg protein. From these results, it was suggested that CPB-I might be a ubiquitous protein in the body that has an important physiological role.     

Helically annelated and cross-conjugated oligothiophenes: asymmetric synthesis, resolution, and characterization of a carbon-sulfur [7]helicene

The synthesis and characterization of a novel oligothiophene, in which the thiophene rings are annelated into a [7]helicene with cross-conjugated pi-system, are described. Such [7]helicenes may be viewed as fragments of the unprecedented carbon-sulfur (C(2)S)(n)() helix, possessing sulfur-rich molecular periphery. Racemic synthesis of [7]helicene is based upon iterative alternation of two steps: C-C bond homocouplings between the beta-positions of thiophenes and annelation between the alpha-positions of thiophenes. Asymmetric synthesis is carried out using (-)-sparteine-mediated annelation of the axially chiral bis(aryllithium) with electrophilic sulfur equivalent. Alternatively, enantiomers of the [7]helicene are obtained via resolution using menthol-based chiral siloxanes. Racemic [7]helicene and four other macrocyclic products of the annelation are characterized by X-ray crystallography. One of the solvent polymorphs of the [7]helicene possesses pi-stacked columns of opposite enantiomers and multiple short intermolecular contacts, including both homochiral and heterochiral short S...S contacts, suggesting an effective intermolecular electronic coupling in two-dimensions. The [7]helicene is configurationally stable at room temperature and racemizes at 199 degrees C with a half-time of about 11 h. Selected physicochemical studies (UV-vis absorption, CD, optical rotation, and cyclic voltammetry) of the [7]helicene are described.     

Sterically congested ‘roofed’ 2-thiazolines as new chiral ligands for copper(II)-catalyzed asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions

Newly introduced chiral ‘roofed’ 2-thiazolines, prepared from sterically congested, conformationally rigid chiral 2-aminothiols, function as efficient chiral ligands for the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene and 3-acryloyl-2-oxazolidinone.