Production and degradation mechanism of theacitrin C, a black tea pigment derived from epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate via a bicyclo[3.2.1]octane-type intermediate

Black tea is rich in polyphenols and has been shown to have various health benefits; however, its components have not yet been clarified in detail. Enzymatic oxidation of epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate, the most abundant polyphenol in tea, is thought to contribute significantly to the production of black tea polyphenols. We identified theacitrin C, an unstable black tea pigment, as an enzymatic oxidation product of epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate. Degradation of theacitrin C afforded theacitrinin A and 2,3,5,7-tetrahydroxychroman-3-O-gallate. Furthermore, theacitrinin B, which was isolated from black tea, is deduced to be a degradation product of theacitrin A, the desgalloyl analogue of theacitrin C. The structures of theacitrinins A and B were elucidated based on spectroscopic data. This is the first time that a degradation product of theacitrin has been isolated from black tea. We also examined the influence of esterification of the epigallocatechin C-3 hydroxyl group on the decomposition of bicyclo[3.2.1]octane-type intermediates.     

Radiation-Induced Cross-Linking of Polyethylene in the Presence of Various Acetylenic Compounds

A study was made on the radiation-induced cross-linking reaction of polyethylene by exposing film samples to [ddot]Co γ-rays in vacuum or in the presence of various acetylenic compounds such as acetylene, its C₃ to C₅ higher derivatives, and their mixture with tetrafluoroethylene (TFE). The samples (0.2 mm thick) were found to decrease in weight when irradiated in vacuum, but to increase in the presence of the additives. The IR spectrum measurements of the resultant showed that the trans-vinylene unsaturation increased by the irradiation, especially in the presence of the C₃ to C₅ derivatives, and terminal vinyl increased markedly in acetylene. However, the formation of these unsaturations were depressed when the film was irradiated in the mixed gas with TFE. The rate of the cross-linking reaction was accelerated by the addition of acetylene-TFE, acetylene, trifluoromethyl-acetylene, perfluorobutyne-2, perfluorobutyne-2-TFE, and methylacetylene-TFE [G(cross-linking) = 4.4-1.2]. It was reduced with methylacetylene, butyne-1, butyne-1-TFE, pentyne-1, pentyne-1-TFE, pentyne-2, pentyne-2-TFE, [G(cross-linking) = 0.6-0.1]. On the basis of these experimental results a chain reaction scheme of the cross-linking is proposed, and it is discussed on the basis of the activation energy of the elementary reactions.     

Reaction of an “Invisible” Frustrated N/B Lewis Pair with Dihydrogen

D ‐(+)‐Camphor forms the enamine 2 with piperidine. Compound 2 adds HB(C₆F₅)₂ at the enamine carbon atom C3 to form a Lewis acid/Lewis base adduct (exo‐/endo‐isomers of 3 ). Exposure of 3 to dihydrogen (2.5 bar, room temperature) leads to heterolytic splitting of H₂ to form the H⁺/H^? addition products ( 4 , two diastereoisomers) of the “invisible” frustrated Lewis pairs ( 5 , two diastereoisomers) that were apparently generated in situ by enamine hydroboration under equilibrium conditions.     

N-Phenylation of N-Arylaminophthalimides with Triphenylbismuth and Cupric Acetate: A Convenient Synthesis of 1-Aryl-1- Phenylhydrazines

Synthesis of 1-aryl-1-phenylhydrazines (2) from N-aryl-N-phenylaminophthalimides (1) which were synthesized by the phenylation of 1 with triphenylbismuth and cupric acetate is described.     

Control of Microphase Separation of Polystyrene-Silica Nanocomposites by Using Perhydropolysilazane and Partially Epoxidized Poly(styrene-block-butadiene-block-styrene)

In order to control microphase separation of polystyrene-silica nanocomposites, perhydropolysilazane (PHPS), which is a preceramic of silica, and epoxidized poly(styrene-block-butadiene-block-styrene) triblock copolymer [E-SBS, M_w = 8.0 × 10⁴, styrene: 40 mol%, degree of epoxidization of butadiene: 20 mol%] or poly(styrene-block-butadiene-block-styrene) triblock copolymer [SBS, M_w = 1.40 × 10⁵, styrene: 30 mol%] as templates of microphase separation were blended, following the calcination of composites in steam at 60°C. Well-arranged microphase separation was formed with E-SBS, though the macrophase separation was formed with SBS. The morphology of the microphase separation of the composites with E-SBS and PHPS was widely controlled by varying the PHPS content based on Molau's law. Silica domains were formed in polybutadiene domains. NMR analysis indicated the interaction between silanyl group of PHPS and epoxy group in E-SBS. The composites on the substrate were highly transparent and the surface of the composite with 73.5 vol% of silica was harder than 4H.     

SIMPLE METHOD FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF STANNOLE DIANION

Reduction of 1-t-butyl-1,2,3,4,5-pentaphenylstannole by lithium gave the stannole dianion. Reduction of the bi(1,1-stannole) having a t-butyl group on the tin by lithium also gave the stannole dianion, the formation of which was evidenced by spectral analysis and chemical trapping reaction.     

Determination of Bisphenol A in Water Using a Packed Needle Extraction Device

A fiber-packed needle extraction device was used as a novel method for the extraction of bisphenol A from water samples. A bundle of filaments having a coating of polydimethylsiloxane was packed longitudinally into the needle. Good extraction efficiency was obtained even for an extraction time of 10 min, when the water sample was pumped through the needle with a syringe pump. The needle could be used repeatedly. The preparation procedure, included a derivatization process. Under optimum conditions, use of the fiber-packed needle showed a higher extraction efficiency than conventional sample preparation methods such as liquid–liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction.     

Glass transition of atactic polystyrene probed at the submolecular level by dynamic infrared linear dichroism (DIRLD) spectroscopy

Dynamic infrared linear dichroism (DIRLD) spectroscopy is a rheo-optical characterization technique developed specifically to probe the submolecular dynamics of polymer segments. The technique combines the measurement of submolecular orientation based on the directionally selective absorption of polarized IR light with a small-amplitude oscillatory tensile deformation used in dynamic mechanical analysis. A DIRLD spectroscopic study of atactic polystyrene reveals that a dramatic change in the reorientation behavior of aromatic side groups is observed around the glass transition temperature of 100 °C. The transition point for the main chain backbone, on the other hand, is observed at a much higher temperature around 125 °C. Thus, the macroscopically observable glass transition of polystyrene seems to be dominated by the dynamics of side groups rather than that of the coordinated motions of polymer segments along the backbone. This result suggests a fundamental similarity between the glass transition phenomena of polymers and those of small-molecule inorganic glasses.     

MassBank: a public repository for sharing mass spectral data for life sciences

MassBank is the first public repository of mass spectra of small chemical compounds for life sciences (<3000 Da). The database contains 605 electron‐ionization mass spectrometry(EI‐MS), 137 fast atom bombardment MS and 9276 electrospray ionization (ESI)‐MSⁿ data of 2337 authentic compounds of metabolites, 11 545 EI‐MS and 834 other‐MS data of 10 286 volatile natural and synthetic compounds, and 3045 ESI‐MS² data of 679 synthetic drugs contributed by 16 research groups (January 2010). ESI‐MS² data were analyzed under nonstandardized, independent experimental conditions. MassBank is a distributed database. Each research group provides data from its own MassBank data servers distributed on the Internet. MassBank users can access either all of the MassBank data or a subset of the data by specifying one or more experimental conditions. In a spectral search to retrieve mass spectra similar to a query mass spectrum, the similarity score is calculated by a weighted cosine correlation in which weighting exponents on peak intensity and the mass‐to‐charge ratio are optimized to the ESI‐MS² data. MassBank also provides a merged spectrum for each compound prepared by merging the analyzed ESI‐MS² data on an identical compound under different collision‐induced dissociation conditions. Data merging has significantly improved the precision of the identification of a chemical compound by 21–23% at a similarity score of 0.6. Thus, MassBank is useful for the identification of chemical compounds and the publication of experimental data. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.