General synthesis of sugar-pendant 1,3-propanediamines containing a C-glycoside linkage

A straightforward route to C-glycoside linked sugar-pendant 1,3-propanediamines is described. The three-step preparation procedure involves (1) C-glycosylation of an OH-protected α-glycosyl halide with malononitrile, (2) catalytic hydrogenation of the nitriles to amines, and (3) deprotection of acetyl groups via acid-catalyzed hydrolysis. In the case of the galactose derivative, excess sodiomalononitrile promotes the second addition of a carbanion in the first step. The β-anomeric configuration was confirmed by X-ray crystallography of the glycosylated intermediates. This method demonstrates a general method to access a new class of carbohydrate-pendant C-glycoside chelators.     

Solvent extraction and spectrophotometric determination of iron(II) with 2,2′-dipyridyl-2-furancarbothiohydrazone

2,2′-Dipyridyl-2-furancarbothiohydrazone (DPFTH) was used for the spectrophotometric determination of trace amount of iron(II) after the extraction process. Iron(II) can be quantitatively extracted with DPFTH in benzene from aqueous solution buffered to 3.0–8.0. The extracted species has absorption maxima at 440, 477, and 738 nm and obeyed Beer's law over the range 0–40 μg of iron in 10 ml at 738 nm. The molar absorptivity at this wave length is 1.17 × 10⁴ liters mole^?1 cm^?1. The proposed method is relatively selective for iron(II) and is satisfactorily applied to the determination of the total iron in natural waters. The proton dissociation constants of the ligand determined spectrophotometrically were pK_a1 = 2.88 and pK_a1 = 6.70 at 25 °C and μ = 0.1.     

Electrochemical synthesis of a polypyrrole thin film with supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent

A conductive polypyrrole (PPy) film was successfully synthesized in a homogeneous supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2)/acetonitrile (AN) system. The occurrence of a homogeneous supercritical state was confirmed by observations of the phase behavior of the system through a high-pressure cell with a viewing window. The concentration of a supporting electrolyte, tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBAPF6), significantly changed the phase behavior of the scCO2/AN system. The polymerization rate of the film in that system decreased with further addition of CO2. This result suggested that the low viscosity of scCO2 did not play an important role in improving the growth rate of the PPy film. The low polymerization rate might have been due to the electron-transfer resistance arising from the low dielectric constant of scCO2/AN mixture. The roughness of the film prepared in the homogeneous scCO2/AN system was 1/10 that synthesized in AN itself as a solvent. The slow growth of film and the high diffusion rate of the monomer seemed to account for the smooth flat film formation.     

Hydrogen evolution from water by use of viologen polymers as electron transfer catalyst

The behavior of viologen polymer (P-V²⁺) as an electron transfer catalyst in the reaction of hydrogen generation was studied. In the photoirradiation system, which contains triethanolamine (TEA), Ru(bpy)³⁺₃, and P-V²⁺, the amount of hydrogen evolution was less than methyl viologen (MV²⁺); P-V²⁺, however, was more effective in sodium dithionite as the electron donor and showed higher initial rates than MV²⁺.     

X-ray scattering by water molecules studied by using synchrotron radiation

The energy spectra of free water molecules were measured at scattering angles 2θ ranging from 10.5° to 75.7°, using an angle-dispersive-type diffractometer and synchrotron radiation as an X-ray source. A silicon (111) monochrometer was used to obtain incident X-rays with the wavelengths of (1.543/n) Å (n = 1,3,4,5). Observed inelastic scattering peaks are clearly separated from eleastic ones at s values [s = (4π/λ) sin Å] larger than 8 Å^?1. The increase of the separation with an increasing s value was consistent with the classical theory of the Compton shift. The total (elastic plus inelastic) intensities were obtained over a range of s = 0.74–5.0 Å^?1. Experimental difference intensities Δσ_ee and Δσ_ne were obtained separately by combining the X-ray and high-energy electron scattering data. The experimental results are in reasonable agreement with the theoretical intensities calculated from SCF and CI molecular wave functions with a basis set of double-zeta plus polarization functions. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Improvement of culture conditions forl-proline production by a recombinant strain ofSerratia marcescens

Serratia marcescens SP511 was previously reported to be anl-proline-producing strain that harbors a recombinant plasmid carrying the mutant type of the proline operon. This strain produced 65 g/L ofl-proline in a medium containing 22% sucrose and urea after 5 d of incubation under the conventional culture conditions. We searched for more suitable culture conditions for more abundantl-proline production by SP511. To improve the supply of a nitrogen source to cells, ammonium was used instead of urea and fed to a culture under control of the pH of the medium. The concentrations of MgSO₄ and K₂HPO₄ were increased, and in addition, sucrose was continuously added to the culture at a final concentration of 32%. Under these conditions, the cell amount was increased twofold over that under the previous conditions andl-proline production reached a maximum of more than 100 g/L after 4 d of incubation.     

Glutathione Isopropyl Ester Reduces UVB-lnduced Skin Damage in Hairless Mice

Abstract— The protective effect of administration of glutathione (GSH) isopropyl ester on photodamage, such as lipid peroxidation, inflammation and tumorigenesis induced by UV exposure (290–400 nm, max. 312 nm), was investigated using hairless mice. Pretreatment with 20 mg/kg GSH isopropyl ester prevented the increases of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) formation in skin and serum sialic acid, indices of lipid peroxidation and inflammatory reaction, respectively, which were caused by a single dose (15 kj/m²) of UV irradiation. The level of epidermal GSH in skins of the GSH ester-treated mice was maintained within normal limits. When mice were exposed to UV at a dose of 2 kj/m², three times weekly, skin tumors developed in all of them after 25 weeks. The formation of skin tumors was significantly inhibited by administration of 10 mg/kg GSH ester prior to each UV irradiation for 25 weeks. Moreover, the increases of cutaneous TBARS and serum sialic acid in the tumor-bearing mice were also prevented by continuous pretreatment with GSH ester. Even after 24 weeks, the epidermal GSH content of the pretreated mice was mostly retained compared to nonirradiated mice. However, administration of GSH prior to acute or chronic UV irradiation had no effect on the UV-induced damage. The present results suggest that the protection from photo-damage afforded by pretreatment with GSH ester is due to maintenance of a normal GSH level.     

Pre-fibrillation of pulps to manufacture cellulose nanofiber-reinforced high-density polyethylene using the dry pulp direct kneading method

The dry pulp direct kneading method is an industrially viable, low-energy process for manufacturing cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-reinforced polymer composites, where the chemically modified pulps are nanofibrillated and uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix during melt compounding. In the present study, cellulose fibers of various sizes ranging from surface-fibrillated pulps (20 μm in width) to fine CNFs (20 nm in width) were prepared from softwood bleached kraft pulps using a refiner and a high-pressure homogenizer. These cellulose fibers were modified with alkenyl succinic anhydride and dried. The dried fibers were used as a feed material for melt compounding in the dry pulp direct kneading method to fabricate CNF-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE). When surface-fibrillated pulps were employed as a feed material, the pulps were nanofibrillated and dispersed uniformly in the HDPE matrix during melt compounding. The resulting composites had much better properties—i.e., much higher tensile modulus and strength values, and much lower coefficient of thermal expansion values—than the composites produced using pulps without pre-fibrillation. However, when CNFs were used as a feed material, they were shortened and agglomerated during melt compounding, and the properties of the composites consequently deteriorated. The study concludes that surface-fibrillated pulp, which can be produced cost-effectively using a refiner on an industrial scale, is more suitable as a feed material than CNFs for melt compounding in the dry pulp direct kneading method. This finding enables the elimination of a preliminary step in the preparation of CNFs from pulps, which is a time-consuming and energy-intensive process.

Graphical abstract

     

NMR study on the photoresponsive DNA tethering an azobenzene. Assignment of the absolute configuration of two diastereomers and structure determination of their duplexes in the trans-form

Two diastereomers of a photoresponsive oligodeoxyribonucleotide tethering a trans-azobenzene, based on the chirality of the central carbon of a diol linker, were separated by reversed-phase HPLC. On the basis of 2D NMR analysis, absolute configurations of the diastereomers alpha and beta (tentatively designated from differences in their retention time) were determined as R- and S-forms, respectively. For both diastereomers, their NMR-determined duplex structure showed that trans-azobenzene intercalates between base pairs, because distinct NOEs were observed between the protons of azobenzene and those of the adjacent base pairs, such as with the imino protons and methyl protons of thymine. The melting temperatures of both duplexes were higher than that of the corresponding native duplex, which contained no azobenzene residue, due to the intercalated trans-azobenzene stabilizing the duplex by a stacking interaction. Between these two diastereomers, differences in T(m) were also found: the melting temperature of the R-form duplex (alpha-isomer) was higher than that of the S-form (beta-isomer). On the basis of the NMR-determined structure, this difference was attributed to the fact that the S-form (beta isomer) causes more stress forming the duplex than does the R-form (alpha isomer) due to disturbances of the right-hand helix.     

High-resolution Mn EXAFS of the oxygen-evolving complex in photosystem II: structural implications for the Mn4Ca cluster

The biological generation of oxygen by the oxygen-evolving complex in photosystem II (PS II) is one of nature's most important reactions. The recent X-ray crystal structures, while limited by resolutions of 3.2-3.5 A, have located the electron density associated with the Mn4Ca cluster within the multiprotein PS II complex. Detailed structures critically depend on input from spectroscopic techniques, such as EXAFS and EPR/ENDOR, as the XRD resolution does not allow for accurate determination of the position of Mn/Ca or the bridging and terminal ligand atoms. The number and distances of Mn-Mn/Ca/ligand interactions determined from EXAFS provide important constraints for the structure of the Mn4Ca cluster. Here, we present data from a high-resolution EXAFS method using a novel multicrystal monochromator that show three short Mn-Mn distances between 2.7 and 2.8 A and, hence, the presence of three di-mu-oxo-bridged units in the Mn4Ca cluster. This result imposes clear limitations on the proposed structures based on spectroscopic and diffraction data and provides input for refining such structures.