Optimum hole-opening condition for Cisplatin incorporation in single-wall carbon nanohorns and its release

We enclosed cisplatin (CDDP), an anticancer drug, inside single-wall carbon nanohorns (SWNH) with holes opened by being heated from room temperature to a target temperature (475-580 degrees C) in flowing dry air, with an increase rate of 1 degrees C/min. The optimum target temperature was found to be 500 degrees C, in terms of the least amount of CDDP deposited outside the SWNH, when the quantity of CDDP encapsulated inside the SWNH was 12 wt %. The incorporated CDDP was slowly released from the SWNH in phosphate buffer saline, and the released quantity was 80%, which was greatly improved from the previous value of 15%. This indicated that a CDDP-containing SWNH could become more potentially useful for biological applications.     

Electronic interplay on illuminated aqueous carbon nanohorn-porphyrin ensembles

Tetracationic water-soluble porphyrin (H(2)P(4+)) has been immobilized by pi-pi stacking interactions onto the skeleton of carbon nanohorns (CNH), without disrupting their pi-electronic network. The stable aqueous solution of the CNH-H(2)P(4+) nanoensemble was examined by both electron microscopy and spectroscopic techniques. The efficient fluorescence quenching of the H(2)P(4+) moiety in the CNH-H(2)P(4+) nanoensemble was probed by steady-state as well as time-resolved fluorescence emission spectroscopy, suggesting charge separation from the photoexcited H(2)P(4+) to CNH. In the presence of methyl viologen dication (MV(2+)) and a hole trap, accumulation of the reduced species of methyl viologen was observed by the photoillumination of CNH-H(2)P(4+), suggesting that the electron migration from the initially formed charge-separated state takes place. Transient absorption spectroscopy gave further insights on the transient species such as the charge-separated state (CNH(*-))-(H(2)P(4+))(*+), which was consumed in the presence of MV(2+) and hole shifter, leaving the reduced methyl viologen.     

Evaluation of a commercial immunoassay for the detection of chlorfenapyr in agricultural samples by comparison with gas chromatography and mass spectrometric detection

A commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit with a high affinity monoclonal antibody was applied to residual analysis of insecticide chlorfenapyr in agricultural samples, and drawn a parallel between the ELISA and gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometry (MS). For standards prepared in water containing 5% (v/v) methanol, the sensitivity (I50 value), the dynamic range, and the limit of detection of the ELISA kit were 2.3, 1 - 10, and 0.1 ng/g, respectively. The used monoclonal antibody in the ELISA kit had a high selectivity. The ELISA kit was applied to the determination of chlorfenapyr in two kinds of fruits (apple and peach). The examination of the influence of these matrices on the reliability of the assay performance indicated that the ELISA could determine it in these samples near the regulation values in Japan simply by diluting the methanolic extract or by concentrating it, without any clean-up procedures. Recovery and precision of the proposed ELISA method were assessed by fortifying fruit samples with chlorfenapyr ranging from 0.05 to 1.5 microg/g. Mean recoveries were 94.2 and 90.3% for apple and peach, and coefficients of variation were below 16% in most cases. The results obtained from the proposed ELISA method correlate well the reference GC/MS method for both fruit samples (r > 0.98). These considerations make the ELISA kit very useful analytical tool for monitoring and regulatory programs, without the need of complex and expensive instrumentation.     

High resolution adsorption isotherms of N2 and Ar for nonporous silicas and MFI zeolites

The high resolution adsorption isotherms of N₂ (77.4 K) and Ar (87.3 K) have been measured for two nonporous silicas with different silanol contents (3.3 and 0.35 OH/nm²) and for two MFI zeolite with different Al contents (Si/Al=12.5 and 500). Silanol groups and Al sites (acid sites) gives the significant effect on the N₂ isotherms at submonolayer, but the Ar isotherms are independent of silanols and Al sites. The Ar isotherms, therefore, are preferable in calculation of microporosity of zeolites. The N₂ and Ar isotherms for MFI zeolite (Si/Al=500) have been measured at temperatures of 77–94 K, from which the differential adsorption energies of N₂ and Ar are calculated. The interaction of N₂ with channel surface of MFI zeolite is greater than that of Ar in the range of α _s =0.1–0.7. The hystereses are detected for the N₂ isotherm in p/p ^o=0.1–0.3 at 77.4 K and for the Ar isotherm in p/p ^o=3×10⁻⁴–2×10⁻³ at 87.3 K. However, it is difficult to explain the hysteresis phenomenon using differential adsorption energy.     

Novel drug delivery device using silicone: controlled release of insoluble drugs or two kinds of water-soluble drugs

Drug release mechanism from silicone carrier differs depending on physicochemical properties of the drug. So far, there have been few reports on controlled release of insoluble drug and on simultaneous release of two kinds of water-soluble drugs. The purposes of this study are to establish methods for (1). continuous release of insoluble drug, and (2). release of two kinds of water-soluble drugs from silicone carrier. Polystyrene beads (PSTB) and proteins such as interferon (IFN) and human serum albumin (HSA) were used as model drugs. PSTB was released from silicone only when citric acid (CA) and sodium bicarbonate (SB) existed as additives. The release patterns of IFN and HSA were almost same in the case of matrix and covered-rod formulations, but double-layered formulation released them in different patterns. As far as we are aware, this is the first report on the release of insoluble drug from silicone and the controlled release of two kinds of water-soluble drugs.     

Catalytic (2 + 2)-cycloaddition reactions of silyl enol ethers. A convenient and stereoselective method for cyclobutane ring formation

An efficient catalytic (2 + 2)-cycloaddition reaction leading to the formation of cyclobutane rings has been devised. The process transforms silyl enol ethers and alpha,beta-unsaturated esters into polysubstituted cyclobutanes with a high degree of trans-stereoselectivity. Both the rate and stereoselectivity of the process can be controlled by the choice of the ester group and silyl substituents. The results of stereochemical studies show that the cycloaddition step in this reaction proceeds in a nonstereospecific manner and, thus, by a pathway involving sequential nucleophilic additions via a short-lived zwitterionic intermediate.     

Imino ene reaction catalyzed by ytterbium(III) triflate and TMSCl or TMSOTf

A novel combined system of Yb(OTf)(3) with TMSCl or TMSOTf catalyzed an imino ene reaction. The reaction of N-tosylbenzaldimine (1) with alpha-methylstyrene (2) proceeded smoothly to give homoallylic amine 3 in the presence of a catalytic amount of Yb(OTf)(3) and TMSCl. This catalytic system was successfully applied to the imino ene reactions of various aldimines with alkenes. This new imino ene reaction provides a unique method for the three-component coupling reaction of an aldehyde, tosylamide, and alpha-methylstyrene in the presence of Yb(OTf)(3) and TMSOTf, to give the corresponding homoallylic amine.     

Determination of absolute configuration of a metabolite (−)-hydroxyhexamide from acetohexamide, syntheses of (−)- and (+)-hydroxyhexamides and (−)- and (+)-acetoxyhexamides

Enantioselective acetylation of (±)-4-(1-hydroxyethyl)benzenesulfonamide 6 with ‘Acylase I’ (No. A 2156) from Aspergillus melleus in the presence of vinyl acetate gave (R)-4-(1-acetoxyethyl)benzenesulfonamide 7 (98% ee) and (S)-6 (98% ee). Both (S)-6 and (R)-7 were individually converted to the (S)-hydroxyhexamide 2 (>99% ee) and (R)-hydroxyhexamide 2 (>99% ee), respectively. The absolute configuration of a metabolite (−)-hydroxyhexamide 2 from acetohexamide 1 was found to be S based on unequivocal chemical methods including X-ray analysis.     

Enhanced mass detection of oligonucleotides using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry

A new method providing enhanced sensitivity for the analysis of oligonucleotides using an on-line coupled system of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has been developed. The presented method allows the use of the standard gradient elution of 0.1 M triethylammonium acetate (TEAA) buffer (adjusted to pH 7.0 with acetic acid) and acetonitrile that is typically used for the separation of oligonucleotides in RP-HPLC. An added feature of this method is the ability to combine and mix additional 0.1 M imidazole in acetonitrile after the separation column for improved ESI-MS performance. This is similar to the post-column reaction method in liquid chromatography (LC) and the liquid sheath flow method in LC/ESI-MS, both of which offer the advantage of not compromising the chromatographic separation conditions. The application of this new method is demonstrated to afford improved sensitivity for the analysis of oligonucleotides (20-50 mer) via on-line coupled HPLC/ESI-MS analysis and purification systems.     

Dichloro­(4,4′‐dialkyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine‐κ2N,N′)platinum(II), where alkyl is pentyl and heptyl

Dichloro­(4,4′‐dipentyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine‐κ²N,N′)platinum(II), [PtCl₂(C₂₀H₂₈N₂)], adopts a discrete π–π stacking structure, where the alkyl chains are located in a random manner. In contrast, dichloro­(4,4′‐diheptyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine‐κ²N,N′)platinum(II), [PtCl₂(C₂₄H₃₆N₂)], forms a layer structure comprised of alkyl chain layers and paired coordination sites, as observed for analogous complexes with longer alkyl chains.