10 GHz regeneratively mode-locked semiconductor optical amplifier fiber ring laser and its linewidth characteristics

A 10 GHz regeneratively mode-locked semiconductor optical amplifier fiber ring laser with a picosecond pulse duration was newly constructed, and the linewidth change of a longitudinal mode was measured for various laser cavity lengths using a delayed self-heterodyne detection method. The detected line shape was approximately Gaussian for cavity lengths of 3.4-171 m. This result indicates that the laser linewidth depends strongly on thermal or acoustic cavity length fluctuations. The linewidth was proportional to the inverse square root of the cavity length, and a linewidth of 1.7 kHz was obtained for a cavity length of 171 m.     

Conformational analysis of methyl 2-methyl-2-(1-naphthyl)propionate

(S)-2-Methoxy-2-(1-naphthyl)propionic acid (MαNP acid 1) is used for enantioseparation of many secondary alcohols and for determining the stereogenic centers. In the liquid state, based on the ¹H NMR anisotropy effect and reported results, it was shown that the MαNP ester preferred a coplanar relation between the methyl and naphthyl groups and a synperiplanar relation between the Cα-OMe and CO groups. In the case of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-4-phenanthrenol, which is a secondary alcohol, the stereogenic center was determined by X-ray analysis. It was shown that MαNP ester adopted similar arrangements in the solid state. However, it was presumed that the strong repulsion between oxygen atoms may be disadvantageous in the solid state. Therefore, we carried out conformational analysis using the simplest MαNP methyl ester to clarify this unique relationship. From detailed results based on the energy surface determined using the RHF/STO-3G basis set, the synperiplanar positional relation was the most stable, and the calculated results agreed with many reported experimental results. At the same time, all conformational isomers of the MαNP methyl ester were used to clarify the internal conversion pathways.     

Iron-chelating agents never suppress Fenton reaction but participate in quenching spin-trapped radicals

Hydroxyl radical formation by Fenton reaction in the presence of an iron-chelating agent such as EDTA was traced by two different assay methods; an electron spin resonance (ESR) spin-trapping method with 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO), and high Performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-fluorescence detection with terephthalic acid (TPA), a fluorescent probe for hydroxyl radicals. From the ESR spin-trapping measurement, it was observed that EDTA seemed to suppress hydroxyl radical formation with the increase of its concentration. On the other hand, hydroxyl radical formation by Fenton reaction was not affected by EDTA monitored by HPLC assay. Similar inconsistent effects of other iron-chelating agents such as nitrylotriacetic acid (NTA), diethylenetriamine penta acetic acid (DTPA), oxalate and citrate were also observed. On the addition of EDTA solution to the reaction mixture 10 min after the Fenton reaction started, when hydroxyl radical formation should have almost ceased but the ESR signal of DMPO-OH radicals could be detected, it was observed that the DMPO-OH signal disappeared rapidly. With the simultaneous addition of Fe(II) solution and EDTA after the Fenton reaction ceased, the DMPO-OH signal disappeared more rapidly. The results indicated that these chelating agents should enhance the quenching of [DMPO-OH] radicals by Fe(II), but they did not suppress Fenton reaction by forming chelates with iron ions.     

Successful preparation of metabolite of troglitazone by in-flow electrochemical reaction on coulometric electrode

A simple, rapid and efficient system utilizing a coulometric electrode was developed for the preparation of drug metabolites. Trace amounts of reactants are usually generated in electrochemical reactions, which are not suitable for the sufficient preparation of products to obtain NMR and other spectral data for chemical structure confirmation or to obtain data from pharmacological activity screening tests of products. In the developed system, called the "in-flow electrochemical reaction system," a drug, troglitazone, was dissolved in a volatile flow solvent, and pumped into a coulometric electrode under optimized conditions, and the effluent was evaporated. Without any further purification, milligram amounts of a pure oxidation product of troglitazone could be obtained within several hours. The amount obtained was enough for (1)H- and (13)C-NMR analysis by which the structure could be confirmed and was found to be identical to one of the metabolites of troglitazone detected in human plasma. This system will be useful to prepare standard compounds of the required amount for pharmacokinetic study and for toxicokinetic study.     

Novel quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical method combined with the theory of energy representation: free energy calculation for the Beckmann rearrangement promoted by proton transfers in the supercritical water

The Beckmann rearrangement of acetone oxime promoted by proton transfers in the supercritical water has been investigated by means of the hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach combined with the theory of energy representation (QM/MM-ER) recently developed. The transition state (TS) structures have been explored by ab initio calculations for the reaction of hydrated acetone oxime on the assumption that the reaction is catalyzed by proton transfers along the hydrogen bonds connecting the solute and the solvent water molecules. Up to two water molecules have been considered as reactants that take part in the proton transfers. As a result of the density functional theory calculations with B3LYP functional and aug-cc-pVDZ basis set, it has been found that participation of two water molecules in the reaction reduces the activation free energy by -12.3 kcal/mol. Furthermore, the QM/MM-ER simulations have revealed that the TS is more stabilized than the reactant state in the supercritical water by 2.7 kcal/mol when two water molecules are involved in the reaction. Solvation free energies of the reactant and the TS have been decomposed into terms due to the electronic polarization of the solute, electron density fluctuation, and others to elucidate the origin of the stabilization of the TS as compared with the reactant. It has been revealed that the promotion of the chemical reaction due to the hydration mainly originates from the interaction between the nonpolarized solute and the solvent water molecules at the supercritical state.     

Microscopic understanding of preferential exclusion of compatible solute ectoine: direct interaction and hydration alteration

Ectoine, a zwitterionic compatible solute (CS), acts as an effective stabilizer of protein function. Using molecular dynamics simulation, solvent spatial distributions around both met-enkephalin (M-Enk) and chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 (CI2) were investigated at the molecular level in ectoine aqueous solution. An unexpected finding was that ectoine exhibits preferential binding, as an overall tendency, around both peptides. However, with the aid of the surficial Kirkwood-Buff parameter, it was clearly shown that the preferential exclusion of ectoine from the peptide surface was weaker in the smaller M-Enk than in the larger CI2. It is concluded that a denser and more structured hydration layer, such as that developed on the surface of CI2, is an important factor in the exclusion of ectoine.     

Accurate LC-MS analyses for microcystins using per-15N-labeled microcystins

Per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystins were prepared for use as surrogates for accurate liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis. Two strains of Microcystis aeruginosa were cultured in ¹⁵NO₃-containing TS-15 medium. To change from the incorporation of ¹⁴N to ¹⁵N into all cell components, cells of Microcystis aeruginosa were precultured in Na¹⁵NO₃-containing medium for more than 6 months. After mass cultivation of the strains, cells of each strain were harvested and lyophilized. Microcystin variants were extracted from the lyophilized cells and per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystin variants were purified using high-performance liquid chromatography and high-performance thin-layer chromatography. The structures of per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystin variants were confirmed by their mass spectrometry spectra and NMR spectra. When per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystins were used as surrogates for quantitative analysis of these toxins in cyanobacterial cells, excellent accuracy (98–106%) was obtained, with the m/z of M⁺, [M+1]⁺, and [M+2]⁺ of both microcystins and the per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystins as surrogates being completely separated. In conclusion, per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystins are excellent surrogates for microcystin analysis using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry.     

Ab initio electron correlated studies on the intracluster reaction of NO+ (H2O)(n) → H3O+ (H2O)(n-2) (HONO) (n = 4 and 5)

Hydrated nitrosonium ion clusters NO(+)(H(2)O)(n) (n = 4 and 5) were investigated by using MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory to clarify isomeric reaction pathways for formation of HONO and fully hydrated hydride ions. We found some new isomers and transition state structures in each hydration number, whose lowest activation energies of the intracluster reactions were found to be 4.1 and 3.4 kcal mol(-1) for n = 4 and n = 5, respectively. These thermodynamic properties and full quantum mechanical molecular dynamics simulation suggest that product isomers with HONO and fully hydrated hydride ions can be obtained at n = 4 and n = 5 in terms of excess hydration binding energies which can overcome these activation barriers.     

A minimal implementation of the AMBER-GAUSSIAN interface for ab initio QM/MM-MD simulation

For applying to a number of theoretical methodologies based on an ab initio quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) molecular dynamics method connecting AMBER9 with GAUSSIAN03, we have developed an AMBER-GAUSSIAN interface (AG-IF), which can be one of the simplest architectures. In the AG-IF, only a few subroutines addition is necessary to retrieve the QM/MM energy and forces, obtained by GAUSSIAN, for solving a set of Newtonian equations of motion in AMBER. It is, therefore, easy to be modified for individual applications since AG-IF utilizes most of those functions originally equipped not only in AMBER but also in GAUSSIAN. In the present minimal implementation, only AMBER is modified, whereas GAUSSIAN is left unchanged. Moreover, a different method of calculating electrostatic forces of MM atoms interacting with QM region is proposed. Using the AG-IF, we also demonstrate three examples of application: (i) the QM versus MM comparison in the radial distribution function, (ii) the free energy gradient method, and (iii) the charge from interaction energy and forces.     

Colorimetric response of spiropyran derivative for anions in aqueous or organic media

We previously found that a simple spiropyran derivative (1:1′,3′,3′-trimethyl-6-nitro-spiro-[2H-1-benzopyran-2,2′-indoline]) behaves as a selective and sensitive cyanide anion (CN⁻) receptor in aqueous media under UV irradiation¹³. The receptor, when irradiated by UV light in a water/MeCN mixture, creates a CN⁻-selective absorption band via a nucleophilic addition of CN⁻ to 1 (formation of the 1-CN⁻ species) and allows quantitative determination of very low levels of CN⁻. In the present work, effects of pH and water content on the response of 1 to anions were studied to clarify the detailed properties of 1. In aqueous media, 1 reacts selectively with CN⁻regardless of pH and water content, but the reaction is suppressed by a decrease in pH and an increase in water content due to the protonation of CN⁻. In contrast, in pure MeCN, addition of F⁻ also creates a new absorption band, as does CN⁻. This is promoted via a nucleophilic interaction between 1 and F⁻ in a 1:2 stoichiometry (formation of the 1-2F⁻ species). The 1-CN⁻ and 1-2F⁻ species have different photochemical properties; the 1-CN⁻ species is stable upon UV irradiation, while the UV irradiation of the 1-2F⁻ species leads to a decomposition of the spiropyran platform.