Studies on imidazole derivatives and related compounds. I. Synthesis of novel antineoplastic derivatives of 4-carbamoylimidazolium-5-olate

Acylation of 4-carbamoylimidazolium-5-olate ( 2 ) with a variety of acid chlorides produced 4(5)-carbamoyl-1H-imidazol-5-(4)yl acid carboxylates ( 3a-j ). Treatment of esters 3a,c with sodium hydroxide gave imides, 4a,c . Methylation of 3a and 2 with diazomethane gave the N-3 methyl derivative ( 6 ) and a mixture of the N-3, O-dimethyl derivative ( 9 ), the N-1, N-3-dimethyl derivative ( 10 ) and the O-methyl derivative ( 11 ), respectively. 5-Carbamoyl-1-methylimidazolium-4-olate ( 7 ) and its 4-carbamoyl isomer ( 16 ) were prepared from 2-aminopropanediamides 8 and 15 , respectively. Treatment of the imidazolium compound ( 10 ) with aqueous potassium hydroxide gave the recyclized product, 1-methyl-5-methylcarbamoylimidazolium 4-olate ( 18 ). Methyl derivatives 6, 7 , and 9 except 16 demonstrated the complete lack of antitumor activity against Lewis lung carcinoma or sarcoma 180 in mice.     

Two-Dimensional Sol-Gel Synthesis of Ultrathin Zirconia and Hetero-Layered Titania/Zirconia Films

Synthesis of ZrO₂ and hetero-layered TiO₂/ZrO₂ ultrathin films was investigated by two-dimensional sol-gel process assisted by n-octadecylacetoacetate (C₁₈AA). When a hexane solution of tetrabutoxyzirconium (TBZ) and C₁₈AA was spread on the water surface, Zr-based gel films stabilized with C₁₈AA were formed at the air/water interface. After deposition on substrates, the gel films were successfully transformed into ZrO₂ ultrathin films by heating at 773 K for 0.5 h, the thickness of which was controllable on the order of sub-nanometer level by the number of gel-layer deposition and the molar ratio of [TBZ]/[C₁₈AA]. Well-organized hetero-multilayers composed of ultrathin TiO₂ and ZrO₂ layers could be fabricated by the alternate deposition of C₁₈AA-stabilized Ti- and Zr-gel films.     

Analysis of single-cell differences by use of an on-chip microculture system and optical trapping

A method is described for continuous observation of isolated single cells that enables genetically identical cells to be compared; it uses an on-chip microculture system and optical tweezers. Photolithography is used to construct microchambers with 5-microm-high walls made of thick photoresist (SU-8) on the surface of a glass slide. These microchambers are connected by a channel through which cells are transported, by means of optical tweezers, from a cultivation microchamber to an analysis microchamber, or from the analysis microchamber to a waste microchamber. The microchambers are covered with a semi-permeable membrane to separate them from nutrient medium circulating through a "cover chamber" above. Differential analysis of isolated direct descendants of single cells showed that this system could be used to compare genetically identical cells under contamination-free conditions. It should thus help in the clarification of heterogeneous phenomena, for example unequal cell division and cell differentiation.     

Feasibility study to investigate diffusion of Fe in Si using a Mössbauer spectroscopic microscope

A prototype Mössbauer Spectroscopic Microscope is applied for the feasibility study of ⁵⁷Fe impurity diffusion in Si wafers. A 2nm- ⁵⁷Fe deposited Si wafer is annealed at 430 °C for 1 hour, and subsequently the 1/3 area of the wafer is further grinded with an angle of 6 degrees to the original surface to get a higher depth resolution for the mapping. Subsequently, the mapping images for Fe\(_{\text {sub}}^{\mathrm {0}}\), Fe\(_{\text {int}}^{\mathrm {0}}\), and Fe\(_{\text {int}}^{\mathrm {+}}\) states are measured separately for the two different areas: one area (A) along the grinded surface, and the other (B) along the original wafer surface crossing through the ⁵⁷Fe-deposition boundary. By integrating the mapping intensity the diffusivity of each Fe component along the two different directions can be evaluated and compared with an average Fe diffusivity in Si, which is measured by EDS mapping data obtained for the same area.     

3D-Mössbauer spectroscopic microscope for mc-Si solar cell evaluation

A 3D-Mössbauer Spectroscopic Microscope is developed to evaluate Fe impurities in multi-crystalline Si solar cells, which combines the Mössbauer spectroscopic microscope with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), an electron beam induced current (EBIC), an electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and an electron energy analyzer (HV-CSA). In addition, a new moving-coil-actuator with a liner encoder of 100 nm-resolution is incorporated for the operations with both a constant velocity and a constant acceleration mode successfully with the same precision as that obtained by the conventional transducers. Furthermore, a new multi-capillary X-ray lens is designed to achieve a γ-ray spot size less than 100 μm in diameter. The new microscope provides us to investigate the space correlation between Fe impurities and the lattice defects such as grain boundaries in multi-crystalline Si solar cells.