Nucleophilic aromatic substitution using Et3SiH/cat. t-Bu-P4 as a system for nucleophile activation

A novel type of deprotonative arylation of nucleophiles was conducted using Et(3)SiH/cat. t-Bu-P4 and the powerful S(N)Ar reactions of aryl fluorides were accomplished using alcohols and malonates as nucleophiles.     

Aggregation-Enhanced Room-Temperature Phosphorescence from Au(I) Complexes Bearing Mesogenic Biphenylethynyl Ligands

Gold(I) complexes, enabling to form linear coordination geometry, are promising materials for manifesting both aggregation-induced emission (AIE) behavior due to strong intermolecular Au–Au (aurophilic) interactions and liquid crystalline (LC) nature depending on molecular geometry. In this study, we synthesized several gold(I) complexes with rod-like molecular skeletons where we employed a mesogenic biphenylethynyl ligand and an isocyanide ligand with flexible alkoxyl or alkyl chains. The AIE behavior and LC nature were investigated experimentally and computationally. All synthesized gold(I) complexes exhibited AIE properties and, in crystal, room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) with a relatively high quantum yields of greater than 23% even in air. We have demonstrated that such strong RTP are drastically changed depending on the crystal-size and/or crystal growth process that changes quality of crystals as well as the aggregate structure, of e.g., Au–Au distance. Moreover, the complex with longer flexible chains showed LC nature where RTP can be observed. We expect these rod-like gold(I) complexes to have great potential in AIE-active LC phosphorescent applications such as linearly/circularly polarizing phosphorescence materials.     

New Strategy for Controlling Biodegradability of Biodegradable Polyesters by Enzyme‐Catalyzed Surface Grafting

A novel preparation method for the core‐shell type biodegradable polyesters or biodegradable materials grafted with biodegradable polyesters was developed by alkaline surface treatment of biodegradable polyester films and subsequent enzymatic polymerization of aliphatic lactones, one example of which is shown in this study, i.e., the preparation of poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA) film grafted with poly(ε‐caprolactone). It is revealed that only alkaline surface treatment or the combination of alkaline surface treatment and enzyme‐catalyzed grafting, the former and the latter, respectively accelerating and delaying the enzymatic degradation of PLLA, will give PLLA materials having a wide variety of biodegradability. Also, the specificity of the enzyme used for hydrolysis could be used to confirm the grafted chain species.

     

Development and validation of stable‐isotope dilution liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric method for determination of salivary progesterone

A method for the quantification of progesterone (PROG) in human saliva using liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐ESI‐MS/MS) has been developed and validated. The saliva was deproteinized with acetonitrile, purified using a Strata™‐X cartridge, and subjected to LC‐ESI‐MS/MS. Quantification was based on selected reaction monitoring, and deuterated PROG was used as the internal standard. This method allowed the reproducible (intra‐ and inter‐assay relative standard deviations, <2.2%) and accurate (analytical recovery, 96.6–99.7%) quantification of the salivary PROG using a 400 μL sample, and the limit of quantification was 12.5 pg/mL. The developed method enabled detection of the variation in the salivary PROG concentrations of healthy volunteers during the menstrual cycle and measurement of the salivary concentrations of pregnant women. The method is expected to be an alternative to the blood PROG monitoring in clinical examinations, because saliva collection is easy, non‐invasive and repeatable. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple-scattering calculations for 1s photoelectron angular distributions from single oriented molecules in the energy region above 50 eV

1s photoelectron angular distributions from fixed-in-space CO₂, NO₂, BF₃ and CH₃F molecules have been calculated by X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) theory with muffin-tin-type molecular potential. For all the molecules, the calculated results show good agreements with those by density functional theory in the energy region ?100 eV. Furthermore, for all the molecules experimental data on the angular distributions in such energy region are well reproduced by the XPD theory. These intensive studies lead to a rather general rule that the XPD theory is an adequate tool to describe high-energy photoelectron angular distributions for any single oriented molecules.     

Pd0‐Mediated Rapid Coupling between Methyl Iodide and Heteroarylstannanes: An Efficient and General Method for the Incorporation of a Positron‐Emitting 11C Radionuclide into Heteroaromatic Frameworks

The Pd⁰‐mediated rapid trapping of methyl iodide with an excess amount of a heteroaryl‐substituted tributylstannane has been investigated with the aim of incorporating a short‐lived ¹¹C‐labelled methyl group into the heteroaromatic carbon frameworks of important organic compounds, such as drugs with various heteroaromatic structures, in order to execute a positron emission tomography (PET) study of vital systems. The reaction was first performed by using our previously developed CH₃I/stannane/[Pd₂(dba)₃]/P(o‐CH₃C₆H₄)₃/CuCl/K₂CO₃ (1:40:0.5:2:2:2) system in DMF at 60 °C for 5 min (conditions A), however, the reaction gave low yields for various heteroaromatic compounds. Increasing the amount of phosphine ligand (conditions B) led to a significant improvement in the yield, but the conditions were still not suitable for a range of basic heteroaromatic structures. Use of the CuBr/CsF system (conditions C) also provided a result similar to that obtained under conditions B with an increased amount of the phosphine. Thus, pyridine and related heteroaromatic compounds remained less reactive substrates. The problem was overcome by replacing the DMF solvent with N‐methyl‐2‐pyrolidinone (NMP). The reaction in NMP at 60–100 °C for 5 min using a CH₃I/stannane/[Pd₂(dba)₃]/P(o‐CH₃C₆H₄)₃/CuBr/CsF (1:40:0.5:16:2:5) combination (conditions D) gave the methylated products in yields of more than 80 % (based on the reaction of CH₃I) for all of the heteroaromatic compounds listed in this study. Thus, the combined use of NMP and an increased amount of phosphine is important for promoting the reaction efficiently. The use of this general approach to rapid methylation has been well demonstrated by the synthesis of the PET tracers 2‐ and 3‐[¹¹C]methylpyridines by using [Pd₂(dba)₃]/P(o‐CH₃C₆H₄)₃/CuBr/CsF (1:16:2:5) in NMP at 60 °C for 5 min, which gives the desired products in HPLC analytical yields of 88 and 91 %, respectively.     

DNA Origami Nanoplate‐Based Emulsion with Nanopore Function

Bio‐inspired functional microcapsules have attracted increasing attention in many fields from physical/chemical science to artificial‐cell engineering. Although particle‐stabilised microcapsules are advantageous for their stability and functionalisation potential, versatile methods for their functionalisation are desired to expand their possibilities. This study reports a water‐in‐oil microdroplet stabilised with amphiphilic DNA origami nanoplates. By utilising DNA nanotechnology, DNA nanoplates were designed as a nanopore device for ion transportation and to stabilise the oil–water interface. Microscopic examination revealed the microcapsule formed by the accumulation of amphiphilic DNA nanoplates at the oil–water interface. Ion current measurements revealed the nanoplate pores functioned as channel to transport ions. These findings provide a general strategy for the programmable design of microcapsules to engineer artificial cells and molecular robots.     

Aluminum complex initiated copolymerization of lactones and DL‐lactide to form crystalline gradient block copolymers containing stereoblock lactyl chains

The homopolymerization reactions of several lactones, as well as the copolymerization reactions of DL‐lactide with these lactones were investigated using tridentate Schiff base aluminum complexes as the initiators. ε‐Caprolactone and δ‐valerolactone polymerized efficiently at room temperature to afford polyesters, whereas β‐butyrolactone only gave the corresponding oligomer. The copolymerization reactions of DL‐lactide with caprolactone and valerolactone yielded gradient block copolymers where the lactyl blocks formed crystalline stereoblocks as a consequence of the stereoselective polymerization of DL‐lactide in the presence of the aluminum complexes. These polymerization processes were highly controlled in nature, and block copolymerization where caprolactone copolymerized using poly(DL‐lactide)‐Al complex proceeded. The obtained gradient copolymer containing stereoblock lactyl blocks and caproyl blocks were analyzed using WAXD analysis to uncover existence of the crystalline stereoblock lactyl blocks in the copolymer. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 2536–2544     

Mechanism of the oscillating chemiluminescence reaction in the luminol-H2O2-KSCN-CuSO4-NaOH system

We conducted a simultaneous measurement of the potential of Cu²⁺, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), and the chemiluminescence intensity in the luminol-H₂O₂-KSCN-CuSO₄-NaOH system. Two types of chemiluminescence were identified: a very faint continuous chemiluminescence and a strong oscillating chemiluminescence. The correlation between the potential of Cu²⁺ and ORP was measured experimentally for the first time. The effect of the initial concentrations of Cu²⁺ and H₂O₂ on the overall chemiluminescence intensity and the oscillation frequency was investigated in detail. Time-dependent concentration variation of the chemical species existing in the reaction system was calculated using a Runge-Kutta method. Two elementary chemical reactions not considered previously were taken into consideration. The overall experimental behavior was well explainable with our simulation. Based upon the comparison of our simulation with the experiment, we proposed that the strong oscillating chemiluminescence was induced by the reaction of luminol with ·OS(O)CN.