Spongistatin synthetic studies. An efficient, second-generation construction of an advanced ABCD intermediate

[reaction: see text] A short, efficient, and stereocontrolled synthesis of (-)-4, an advanced ABCD subunit of the spongistatins, has been achieved. Central to the synthetic strategy is the multicomponent linchpin union of silyl dithianes with epoxides to access both the AB and CD fragments. Fragment coupling was then achieved via an efficient stereoselective aldol reaction. The linear sequence required 22 steps and proceeded in 4.0% overall yield.     

Zooxanthellamide Cs: vasoconstrictive polyhydroxylated macrolides with the largest lactone ring size from a marine dinoflagellate of Symbiodinium sp

Zooxanthellamide Cs (ZAD-Cs), C(128)H(220)N(2)O(53)S(2) (ca. 2.7 kDa), was obtained from a cultured marine dinoflagellate of the genus Symbiodinium as an inseparable isomeric mixture of polyhydroxylated 61- to 66-membered macrolides. The chemical structures of the components were clarified by detailed 2D NMR analysis to be the macrolactonized analogues of zooxanthellamide A (ZAD-A), which had been previously isolated from the same microalgae. Chemical lability of ZAD-Cs suggests that ZAD-A is an artifact derived from ZAD-Cs during the isolation steps. Three of the components possess the largest (63-, 64-, and 66-membered) ring sizes found to date among the natural macrolides. ZAD-Cs exhibited higher vasoconstrictive activity than that of the zooxanthellatoxins, the first vasoconstrictive macrolides from Symbiodinium sp. The structure-activity relationship suggests that the huge macrolactone structure is important for biological activity. The relationship between the structures of the polyol metabolites and the phylogenetic systematics of Symbiodinium sp. is also discussed.     

Enzymatic bleaching of organosolv sugarcane bagasse pulps with recombinant xylanase of the fungus Humicola grisea and with commercial cartazyme HS xylanase

Organosolv (ethanol/water and acetosolv) pulps were treated with Humicola grisea var. thermoidea and compared with Cartazyme HS xylanase-treated pulp. The ethanol/water pulps treated with H. grisea had the same viscosity as unbleached pulps (8 cP). Ethanol/water pulps treated with Cartazyme had higher viscosity than H. grisea-treated pulps (12 cP). Acetosolv pulps treated with H. grisea and Cartazyme presented a reduction in viscosity; however, the pulps treated with H. grisea had a lower reduction in viscosity than Cartazyme-treated pulps. Ethanol/water pulps treated with H. grisea had a 23% reduction in kappa number in 4 and 8 h of treatment, compared with the unbleached pulps. Cartazyme-treated pulps had a kappa number similar to that of the control pulps for 4 h of treatment. Extending the treatment time to 12 h resulted in a reduction of 33%. The acetosolv pulp treated with H. grisea had a kappa number reduced to 23% in 4 h. Cartazyme treatment resulted in a reduction of 55 and 44% in kappa number for 4 and 8 h of treatment, respectively, when compared with control pulp. Extending the treatment time to 12 h decreased the kappa number 72%. Fourier transform infrared spectra and principal component analysis showed differences among unbleached, H. grisea-treated, and Cartazyme-treated pulps.     

Reaction pathway and stereoselectivity of asymmetric synthesis of chrysanthemate with the aratani C1-symmetric salicylaldimine-copper catalyst

The reaction pathway and the mechanism of asymmetric induction in the synthesis of (+)-trans-(1R,3R)-chrysanthemic acid methyl ester from methyl diazoacetate and 2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene in the presence of a C(1)-chiral salicylaldimine Cu(I) complex has been probed with the aid of hybrid density functional calculations. The key finding is that the alkoxycarbonyl carbene complex intermediate is intrinsically chiral and that the intramolecular hydrogen bonding in the carbene complex transmits the chirality information from the side chain to the carbene complex. Molecular orbital backgrounds of the structure of the carbene complex and the transition state of the cyclopropanation have been elucidated.     

Competitive potentiometric determination of binding constants between α-cyclodextrin and 1-alkanols

The binding constants of 1-alkanols with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) were determined by indirect competitive potentiometry, although potentiometry is usually inapplicable to nonionic compounds. This novel method utilizes competitive binding of 1-alkanol and octyltrimethylammonium bromide (OTAB) to α-CD in aqueous media, where the concentration of free OTAB depending on the competitive binding is monitored with an OTAB-selective electrode. Therefore, the concentration of 1-alkanol is indirectly estimated from the observed electromotive force. The binding constants of 1-propapnol, 1-butanol, 1-hexanol, and 1-octanol with α-CD, obtained by this method, are close to the literature values. The implications and limitations of this indirect competitive potentiometry were discussed.     

Large-scale separation of metallic and semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

In the applications of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), it is extremely important to separate semiconducting and metallic SWNTs. Although several methods have been reported for the separation, only low yields have been achieved at great expense. We show a separation method involving a dispersion-centrifugation process in a tetrahydrofuran solution of amine, which makes metallic SWNTs highly concentrated to 87% in a simple way.     

Side chain-directed assembly of triangular molecular panels into a tetrahedron vs. open cone

Despite their structural similarity, triangular tetradentate ligands 2b and 2c experience different assembly pathways on complexation with (en)Pd(NO3)2 to give M8L4 tetrahedral (3) and open cone (4) structures, respectively, due to steric restriction by side chains at the corner or on the edge of the ligands.     

Syntheses and reactions of functional polymers. XCIII. Syntheses of polymers containing the N-(4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)succinimide structure in the chain and the use of these activated polymer esters of N-blocked amino acids or peptides

Polymers containing the N-(4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)succinimide residue were designed in order to achieve acyl activation of a reacting carboxylic acid in the solid phase. These polymers were prepared through the following three routes: (a) styrene was allowed to copolymerize with N-(4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)- or N-(4-acetoxy-3-nitrophenyl)maleimide, (b) styrene was copolymerized with N-(4-acetoxyphenyl)maleimide in the presence of divinylbenzene (DVB), and the copolymer obtained was hydrolyzed and nitrated, (c) a copolymer of maleic anhydride and styrene was reacted with p-aminophenol, followed by nitration. The polymers prepared by routes b and c were converted to the activated polymer esters of N-blocked amino acids and peptides by using dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC). The acylated polymers thus obtained were treated with amino acid esters and found to give peptides quantitatively without racemization.     

Sugarcane bagasse pulps

Organosolv (ethanol/water and acetosolv) pulps were treated with Bacillus pumilus xylanase for 4, 8, and 12 h and compared with commercial Cartazyme HS xylanase-treated pulps. Treatment of ethanol/water pulps with B. pumilus xylanase increased viscosity by 40% in 8 h of treatment compared with pulps treated without enzyme. However, acetosolv pulps treated with B. pumilus xylanase lost viscosity. Ethanol/water pulps treated with Cartazyme had a viscosity of 18.5 cP in 4 h of treatment. In the acetosolv pulps treated with commercial enzyme, the loss of viscosity was 20% compared with pulps treated without enzyme. Ethanol/water pulps treated with B. pumilus and Cartazyme had similar effects: a 44% reduction in kappa number for pulps treated with enzyme followed by alkaline extraction compared with pulps treated with alkaline extraction. In acetosolv pulps treated with B. pumilus, the kappa number was from 12 to 18, compared with pulps treated without enzyme, which had a 40% reduction in 4 and 12 h and a 60% reduction in 8 h. Cartazyme-treated acetosolv pulps had a kappa number of 14 in 4 and 8 h of treatment. For 12 h of treatment, the kappa number was 8. Fourier transform infrared spectra of the pulps showed that enzyme-treated pulps had changes in the 1000 cm^?1 absorption owing to a C-O bond present in esters. Using principal component analysis, it is possible to differentiate the unbleached pulps and enzyme-treated pulps.