Facile deposition of [60]fullerene and carbon nanotubes on ITO electrode by electrochemical oxidative polymerization of ethylenedioxythiophene

It was found that [60]fullerene encapsulated in p-sulfonatocalix[8]arene and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) solubilized by sodium dodecylsulfate can be readily deposited on the ITO electrode by electrochemical oxidative polymerization of ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) without chemical modification of these carbon clusters. The driving force for the deposition is an electrostatic interaction between the anionic complexes and the cationic charges of poly(EDOT) formed in the oxidative polymerization process. The surface morphology was thoroughly characterized by scanning electron micrograph: the [60]fullerene/poly(EDOT) film is covered by nano-particles with 20-100 nm diameters whereas the SWNTs/poly(EDOT) film is covered by nanorods with several microm length and ca. 100 nm diameter. The results indicate that the anionic complexes act as nuclei for the polymer growth in the oxidation polymerization. Interestingly, when these modified ITO electrodes were photoirradiated, the appearance of a photocurrent wave was observed. The action spectra showed that the photoexcited energy of [60]fullerene or SWNTs is efficiently collected by the electroconductive poly(EDOT) film and transferred to the ITO electrode.     

Inter- and intramolecular activation of aromatic C-H bonds by diphosphine and hydrido-bridged dinuclear iridium complexes

Reactions of [(Cp*Ir)2(mu-dmpm)(mu-H)2]2+ (1) with NaOtBu in aromatic solvent at room temperature give [(Cp*Ir)(H)(mu-dmpm)(mu-H)(Cp*Ir)(Ar)]+ [Ar = Ph (3), p-Tol (4a), m-Tol (4b), 2-furanyl (5a), 3-furanyl (5b)] via intermolecular aromatic C-H activation. Treatment of [(Cp*Ir)2(mu-dppm)(mu-H)2]2+ (2) with base (Et2NH) results in intramolecular C-H activation of the phenyl group in the dppm ligand to give [(Cp*Ir)(H){mu-PPh(C6H4)CH2PPh2}(mu-H)(Cp*Ir)]+ (6). The structures of 3, 5a, and 6 have been determined by X-ray diffraction methods.     

Aggregation and decomposition of a pseudoisocyanine dye in dispersions of layered silicates

The optical properties of reaction systems composed from a pseudoisocyanine (PIC) solution and dispersed layered silicates were studied using visible spectroscopy. Two series of reduced-charge montmorillonites were used as the silicate materials. Each series consisted of eight samples with different layer charges, which were prepared from one parent material. Observed trends were verified with another series of dioctahedral and trioctahedral smectites of different layer charges, structure, and origin. The layer charge density of the silicates significantly affected the aggregation of PIC cations. In addition to the formation of J-aggregates, dye spectral bleaching was also observed. Silicates with very low charge densities induced neither significant aggregation nor spectral bleaching of the dye. The highest levels of PIC J-aggregate formation were found in dispersions of the layered silicates with a medium surface charge. However, reversible spectral bleaching was also observed in some cases. PIC dye cations probably change their conformations during the adsorption process, due to the tension resulting from the large size of the cations and the relatively high charge density at the silicate surface. The bleached dye recovers, at least partially, with the rearrangement and redistribution of the dye cations over the time. In contrast, the presence of silicates with very high charge densities (synthetic taeniolite and fluorohectorite) led to the very fast and irreversible decomposition of the PIC. Perhaps, the tension in adsorbed dye cations, induced by the high charge density at the silicate surface, resulted in significant destabilization and a decomposition reaction of the chromophore.     

Chiral lithium binaphtholate aqua complex as a highly effective asymmetric catalyst for cyanohydrin synthesis

A highly enantioselective cyanohydrin synthesis with aromatic aldehydes using chiral lithium binaphtholate aqua or alcohol complexes has been developed and is a simple and inexpensive catalyst suitable for process chemistry to give gram-scale cyanohydrins successfully. Dramatic improvements in enantiomeric excess have been realized along with an interesting changeover in absolute stereochemistry of cyanohydrin product against the thoroughly "dry" catalytic systems.     

One-step furan ring formation: Synthesis of furo[3,2-h]quinolones

The one-pot reaction of ethyl 1-cyclopropyl-6,7,8-trifluoro-1,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxylate ( 6 ) with tert-butyl acetoacetate gave 3-tert-butyl 7-ethyl 9-cyclopropyl-4-fluoro-6,9-dihydro-2-methyl-6-oxofuro[3,2-h]quinoline-3,7-dicarboxylate ( 5 ). This regioselective cyclization was rationalized by the Hard and Soft Acids and Bases principle. By use of a similar furan-forming reaction, we prepared 2-(amino-methyl)furo[3,2-h]quinoline-7-carboxylic acid 4 . Compound 4 showed weak antibacterial activity.     

Sphericities of Double Cosets,Double Coset Representations,and Fujita’s Proligand Method for Combinatorial Enumeration of Stereoisomers

The concepts of double coset representations and sphericities of double cosets are proposed to characterize stereoisomerism, where double cosets are classified into three types, i.e., homospheric double cosets, enantiospheric double cosets, or hemispheric double cosets. They determine modes of substitutions (i.e., chirality fittingness), where homospheric double cosets permit achiral ligands only; enantiospheric ones permit achiral ligands or enantiomeric pairs; and hemispheric ones permit achiral and chiral ligands. The sphericities of double cosets are linked to the sphericities of cycles which are ascribed to right coset representations. Thus, each cycle is assigned to the corresponding sphericity index (a _d , c _d , or b _d ) so as to construct a cycle indices with chirality fittingness (CI-CFs). The resulting CI-CFs are proved to be identical with CI-CFs introduced in Fujita’s proligand method (S. Fujita, Theor. Chem. Acc. 113 (2005) 73–79 and 80–86). The versatility of the CI-CFs in combinatorial enumeration of stereoisomers is demonstrated by using methane derivatives as examples, where the numbers of achiral plus chiral stereoisomers, those of achiral stereoisomers, and those of chiral stereoisomers are calculated separately by means of respective generating functions.     

Profiling and comprehensive expression analysis of ABC transporter solute-binding proteins of Bacillus subtilis membrane based on a proteomic approach

We analyzed ABC transporter solute-binding proteins (SBPs) of the Bacillus subtilis membrane using a proteomic approach. We prepared a washed cell membrane fraction that was insoluble in 134 mM nondetergent sulfobetaine and then extracted proteins using mixtures of detergents in a stepwise manner. The membrane proteins were resolved by three two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) or two one-dimensional (1-D) PAGE procedures, electroblotted, and digested in the presence of 5% or 80% acetonitrile. Thereafter, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) identified 637 proteins corresponding to 15.9% of the total cellular proteins. We predicted that among these, 256 were membrane proteins, 101 were lipoproteins or secretory proteins and 280 were soluble proteins containing peripheral proteins that function in both the cytoplasm and the cell membrane such as SecA and FtsY. Among the 637 proteins, we identified 30 SBPs among 38 importers predicted by a bioinformatic search of the genome. We confirmed expression of the genes for the 30 SBPs using DNA microarray analysis. We compared the 2-D gel separation profiles of submembrane fractions solubilized by 1% n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside from cells cultured on Luria Bertani (LB), S7, and S7 medium without glutamate as well as DNA microarray data on LB and S7. The results suggested that YcdH, YtmK and YurO are binding proteins for Mn(++), glutamate and glucose, respectively, and that YqiX and YxeM are binding proteins for amino acids (tryptophan in S7 medium).     

A new veratramine alkaloid from the bulbs of Fritillaria hupehensis

A new highly conjugated alkaloid of veratramine type, 225,25S,5α-veratramine-7(8),12(14)-diene-3β,13β,23β-triol-6-one (1), was isolated from the bulbs of Fritillaria hupehensis Hsiao et K.C. Hsia. Its structure was determined on the basis of spectroscopic evidences.     

ESTIMATION OF AN INDEX OF HYDROPHOBICITY OF DNA INTERIOR USING 5-METHOXYPSORALEN AS A FLUORESCENT PROBE

The index of hydrophobicity of DNA interior was estimated by measuring fluorescence spectra of psoralen derivatives associated with DNA. The environment around 5-MOP associated with DNA was as hydrophobic (D_k = 34) as methanol, suggesting that the molecules reside at the space between the base-pairs in B-form DNA. This is also true for 8-MOP. Thus, planar and aromatic molecules of 5- and 8-MOP are more stable in the interior of DNA than in aqueous medium due to hydrophobic affinity.     

Position — Sensitive single-wire proportional counter for conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy

A position-sensitive single-wire proportional counter for the INS 2 air-core spectrometer has been improved to take conversion electron Mössbauer spectrum as a function of electron energy with a multichannel mode. The position resolution at 13.6 keV was found to become 1.6 mm with the counter gas pressure of 320 Torr. The position resolution was obtained as a function of energy between 7 and 60 keV for gas pressure of 40 Torr, 160 Torr and 320 Torr. The L, M and N conversion electron spectrum of the 14.4 keV transition in⁵⁷Fe was taken with the present system. Overall momentum resolution was found to be 0.23% for the L₁-line and 0.19% for the M₁ line.