Porous properties of silylated mesoporous silica and its hydrogen adsorption

Porous properties of mesoporous silica silylated with various organic silanes were examined and their hydrogen adsorption properties were measured at 77 K. By silylation of the mesoporous silica, the specific surface area, pore radius and pore volume steeply decreased depending on both the size of the silane and the amount actually incorporated into the mesoporous framework. The pores reduced in size depending on the amount of modifying silane and vanished completely in the samples silylated with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and phenyltrichlorosilane. Hydrogen adsorption isotherms of the silylated samples were measured at 77 K. With the exception of the sample with phenyltrichlorosilane, hydrogen adsorption volumes were proportional to the surface area with a slope of around 1.1 molecules/nm². On the other hand, for the sample treated with phenyltrichlorosilane, a large hydrogen adsorption volume of around 38.1 molecules/nm² was obtained. On heating the silylated compounds at 500 °C, micropores formed and the hydrogen adsorption volume increased by 1.5 times or more due to the development of micropores.     

Conformation of 2-aminomethylpyrrolidine and 2-aminomethylpiperidine in ternary platinum(II) complexes: regulation of conformation of the diamine by the coexisting ligand

Square-planar complexes with the formula [Pt(L(2))(L(1))](X)(2) x nH(2)O, where L(1) is S-2-aminomethylpyrrolidine (S-pyrda) or 2-aminomethylpiperidine (pipda) and L(2) is diammine (X=Cl), cyclobutane-1,1-dicarboxylato (cbdca) (X=none), 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) (X=NO(3)), or 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) (X=Cl), were prepared and the nature of the coordination of L(1) was examined by (1)H-NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. These 2-aminomethylazacycloalkane derivatives form five-membered chelate rings condensed with an azacycloalkane ring in cis- or trans-configurations. The (1)H-NMR spectrum of complexes with S-pyrda as L(1) were consistent with cis-condensed rings in an S(N) conformation with any of L(2) group. However, (1)H-NMR spectra of the complexes with pipda as L(1) indicated trans-fused successive rings for the diammine and cbdca as L(2), but spectra for bpy and phen as L(2) were consistent with a conformation having cis-fused successive rings. X-Ray crystallography data for the two complexes with pipda as L(1) and cbdca (1) and bpy (2) as L(2) confirms the different coordination behavior in the solid state.     

Electrophoresis-assisted open-tubular liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for the analysis of lipooligosaccharide expressed by Campylobacter jejuni

Lipooligosaccharide (LOS) is the major component of the external membrane of Campylobacter jejuni. LOS contains a hydrophobic moiety, lipid A, and a hydrophilic moiety, oligosaccharide. Due to the unique mimicry of human ganglioside structures and potential involvement in the induction of the autoimmune polyneuropathies, Guillain-Barré and Miller Fisher syndromes, the structural characterization of C. jejuni LOS has received much attention. We have been using capillary zone electrophoresis-mass spectrometry to analyze O-deacylated LOS from C. jejuni. In an attempt to optimize the separation conditions, the effect of methanol on the separation of LOS was investigated. It was found that methanol resulted in stronger adsorption of LOS onto the wall of fused-silica capillary. In this paper, we applied this adsorption to perform electrophoresis-assisted open-tubular liquid chromatography electrospray mass spectrometry for the analysis of O-deacylated LOS mixtures from C. jejuni. The analytical potential of the proposed strategy for the analysis of O-deacylated LOS glycoforms from five bacterial colonies is demonstrated. Online tandem mass spectrometry is shown to provide a powerful tool for characterization of variations in the hexosamine backbone, phosphorylation of the lipid A, and sialic acid sequence information.     

Shinsonefuran, a cytotoxic furanosesterterpene with a novel carbon skeleton, from the deep-sea sponge Stoeba extensa

Shinsonefuran, a cytotoxic sesterterpene with a novel carbon skeleton, was isolated from the deep-sea sponge Stoeba extensa. The gross structure and relative stereochemistry of shinsonefuran were determined by spectral and chemical methods. In addition, relative stereochemistry of halisulfate 7, previously reported from a marine sponge Coscinoderma sp., was revised. Shinsonefuran exhibited cytotoxicity against HeLa cells with an IC₅₀ value of 16 μg/mL.     

Biofouling and antifouling

Most benthic organisms produce planktonic larvae in their life cycles; larval settlement and metamorphosis are influenced by many environmental factors, especially chemical cues originating from conspecific adults, prey organisms, and substrates. On the other hand, larval settlement of other species endangers the survival of benthic organisms which therefore have antifouling defense. Marine natural products involved in biofouling and antifouling are described.     

Dehydrogenation reaction for Na-O-H system: a first-principles study.

The crystal structures, electronic, dielectric, and vibrational properties of NaH, Na(2)O and NaOH are systematically investigated by first-principles calculations and the quasiharmonic approximation. The phonon dispersion relations and the phonon density of states of the phases and their thermodynamic functions including the heat capacity, the vibrational enthalpy, and the vibrational entropy are calculated using a direct force-constant method. Based on these results, the dehydrogenation reaction, NaH+NaOH-->H(2)+Na(2)O, is predicted to take place at 528 K, which is in agreement with the experimental observed value.     

The Solid and Solution Conformations of (±)-Corycavine

The crystal structure of corycavine, a protopine-type alkaloid, has been determined by X-ray analysis. A conformational feature observed is the existence of a strong electrostade interaction between the N- and C-atom at a distance of 2.618 Å. Such an interaction stabilizes the 10-membered ring conformation of the structure. Analyses of NMR spectra indicate that corycavine has the same conformation in solution as in the crystal state.     

Conformational transition of the core chain in radiation-modified polysilane micelles formed in selective solvents

Poly(methyl acrylate)-grafted poly(methyl-n-propylsilane) (PMPrS-g-PMA) and poly(acrylic acid)-grafted PMPrS (PMPrS-g-PAA) were synthesized by gamma-ray-induced graft polymerization, and the association behavior of these graft copolymers was investigated in selective solvents composed of good and poor solvents for the PMPrS main chain. Fluorescence spectroscopy with perylene as a fluorescent probe revealed that PMPrS-g-PAA in a water/THF mixed solvent self-assembles into micelles with a swollen core of PMPrS chains in the water content range of 50-95%. UV spectroscopy demonstrated that a further increase of the water content gives rise to the conformational transition of the PMPrS chains in the micelle core from the random conformation to the conformation that corresponds to that in the solid state at a water content of ca. 95%, independent of the grafting yield. Similar behavior was also observed in DMSO/THF solutions of PMPrS-g-PMA, for which the conformational transition occurred at the constant DMSO content of ca. 95%. These results indicate that solvatochromic behavior of polysilane, which is a characteristic feature of polysilane, proved to provide information on the inner structure of those micelles: PMPrS chains in the core undergo conformational transition as the content of the poor solvents for PMPrS increases, while maintaining the micelle structure.