Study of structure and polymerization of epitaxially grown SiPc(OH)2 thin films by high-resolution electron microscopy

Thin films of SiPc(OH)₂ (Pc = phthalocyanine) were formed epitaxially on the (001) surface of mica by vacuum deposition and were then polymerized by heat treatment. The molecular packing of the SiPc(OH)₂ was determined by electron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy as triclinic${\rm P\bar 1} $ having dimensions a = 0.727, b = 1.307, c = 0.688 nm, α = 102.5, β = 104.2, and γ = 97.4°. This monomer crystal grows with its c-axis parallel to the a-axis of the substrate mica and its bc-plane parallel to the (001) surface of mica. By heat treatment at 320°C, the SiPc(OH)₂ polymerized with the c-axis of the polymer parallel to the c-axis of the monomer. At 420°C, the c-axis of the polymer became parallel to the a*-axis of the monomer (i.e., perpendicular to the film surface). From high-resolution electron microscopy of partially polymerized specimens, the polymerization was shown to start at the edges of small monomer crystals. This may be considered to be due to the volume expansion during the polymerization. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A new synthesis of p-nitrocalix[6]arene

p-Nitrocalix[6]arene which possibly serves as a potential intermediate to derive functionalized calixarenes was synthesized for the first time.     

Lewis acidity/basicity of pi-electron systems: theoretical study of a molecular interaction between a pi system and a Lewis acid/base

Molecular interactions between pi systems having different pi-electron character (benzene, hexafluorobenzene, and borazine), and a Lewis acid/base (borane and ammonia) were theoretically studied. An attractive interaction between benzene, the electron-rich pi system, and borane was observed. On the other hand, repulsive interactions between benzene and ammonia was observed when the lone pair of nitrogen points toward the benzene ring. In contrast, an attractive interaction between hexafluorobenzene, an electron-deficient pi system, and ammonia was observed. Unexpectedly, a weak attractive interaction between hexafluorobenzene and borane was also observed. Borazine shows an interaction both to borane and ammonia. The attraction between the nitrogen atom of borazine and borane was larger than that between the boron atom of borazine and ammonia.     

High-level ab initio computations of structures and interaction energies of naphthalene dimers: origin of attraction and its directionality

The intermolecular interaction energies of naphthalene dimers have been calculated by using an aromatic intermolecular interaction model (a model chemistry for the evaluation of intermolecular interactions between aromatic molecules). The CCSD(T) (coupled cluster calculations with single and double substitutions with noniterative triple excitations) interaction energy at the basis set limit has been estimated from the second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation interaction energy near saturation and the CCSD(T) correction term obtained using a medium-size basis set. The estimated interaction energies of the set of geometries explored in this work show that two structures emerge as being the lowest energy, and may effectively be considered as isoenergetic on the basis of the errors inherent in out extrapolation procedure. These structures are the slipped-parallel (Ci) structure (-5.73 kcal/mol) and the cross (D2d) structure (-5.28 kcal/mol). The T-shaped (C2v) and sandwich (D2h) dimers are substantially less stable (-4.34 and -3.78 kcal/mol, respectively). The dispersion interaction is found to be the major source of attraction in the naphthalene dimer. The electrostatic interaction is substantially smaller than the dispersion interaction. The large dispersion interaction is the cause of the large binding energies of the cross and slipped-parallel dimers.     

Inclusion of DNA into organic gelator fibers made of amphipathic molecules and its controlled release

When methyl 4,6-O-(p-nitrobenzylidene)-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (p-NO(2)Glu) was dissolved in water, p-NO(2)Glu molecules self-assembled to form a fiber (elemental fiber), and as a result, the solution became a partially transparent gel. When an equal (or more) amount of DNA was added to the gel, a white and crystalline gel was obtained. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy coupled with TEM and confocal microscopy suggested that DNA was included in the gel fibers made of p-NO(2)Glu molecules. The results imply that p-NO(2)Glu molecules are self-assembled to form an elemental fiber and these elemental fibers and DNA are twisted together to form higher hierarchic fibers. When the complexed gel made of plasmid DNA (pDNA) and p-NO(2)Glu was added to E. coli T7 S30 extract solution, the pDNA had less expression ability compared with naked one. When we added methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MbetaCyD), the expression rate was recovered with increasing added amount of MbetaCyD. The present paper shows inclusion and controlled release of DNA from a novel supporting material of DNA and that technology could play an important role in the development of localized approaches to gene therapy.     

Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complex–Cationic Peptide Hybrids Trigger Paraptosis in Cancer Cells via an Intracellular Ca2+ Overload from the Endoplasmic Reticulum and a Decrease in Mitochondrial Membrane Potential

In our previous paper, we reported that amphiphilic Ir complex–peptide hybrids (IPHs) containing basic peptides such as KK(K)GG (K: lysine, G: glycine) (e.g., ASb-2) exhibited potent anticancer activity against Jurkat cells, with the dead cells showing a strong green emission. Our initial mechanistic studies of this cell death suggest that IPHs would bind to the calcium (Ca²⁺)–calmodulin (CaM) complex and induce an overload of intracellular Ca²⁺, resulting in the induction of non-apoptotic programmed cell death. In this work, we conduct a detailed mechanistic study of cell death induced by ASb-2, a typical example of IPHs, and describe how ASb-2 induces paraptotic programmed cell death in a manner similar to that of celastrol, a naturally occurring triterpenoid that is known to function as a paraptosis inducer in cancer cells. It is suggested that ASb-2 (50 µM) induces ER stress and decreases the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ_m), thus triggering intracellular signaling pathways and resulting in cytoplasmic vacuolization in Jurkat cells (which is a typical phenomenon of paraptosis), while the change in ΔΨ_m values is negligibly induced by celastrol and curcumin. Other experimental data imply that both ASb-2 and celastrol induce paraptotic cell death in Jurkat cells, but this induction occurs via different signaling pathways.     

Synthesis of nitrogen-bridged terthiophenes by tandem Buchwald-Hartwig coupling and their properties

The first synthesis of nitrogen-bridged terthiophenes (NBTTs) has been achieved by a tandem Buchwald-Hartwig coupling of 3,3',3",4'-tetrabromo-2,2':5',2"-terthiophene. Several NBTT derivatives bearing aryl or alkyl moieties on the N-atoms could be synthesized. Their fundamental electrochemical characteristics and HOMO-LUMO levels were found to be influenced by the substituents on the N-atoms.     

Intrinsic catalytic structure of gold nanoparticles supported on TiO2

Despite the fragility of TiO(2) under electron irradiation, the intrinsic structure of Au/TiO(2) catalysts can be observed by environmental transmission electron microscopy. Under reaction conditions (CO/air 100?Pa), the major {111} and {100} facets of the gold nanoparticles are exposed and the particles display a polygonal interface with the TiO(2) support bounded by sharp edges parallel to the 〈110〉 directions.     

Syntheses and luminescent properties of 3,5-diphenylpyrazolato-bridged heteropolynuclear platinum complexes. The influence of chloride ligands on the emission energy revealed by the systematic replacement of chloride ligands by 3,5-dimethylpyrazolate

Heteropolynuclear Pt(II) complexes with 3,5-diphenylpyrazolate [Pt(2)Ag(4)(μ-Cl)(2)(μ-Ph(2)pz)(6)] (3), [Pt(2)Ag(2)Cl(2)(μ-Ph(2)pz)(4)(Ph(2)pzH)(2)] (4), [Pt(2)Cu(2)Cl(2)(μ-Ph(2)pz)(4)(Ph(2)pzH)(2)] (5), [Pt(2)Ag(4)(μ-Cl)(μ-Me(2)pz)(μ-Ph(2)pz)(6)] (7), and [Pt(2)Ag(4)(μ-Me(2)pz)(2)(μ-Ph(2)pz)(6)] (8) have been prepared and structurally characterized. These complexes are luminescent except for 5 in the solid state at an ambient temperature with emissions of red-orange (3), orange (4), yellow-orange (7), and green (8) light, respectively. Systematic red shift of the emission energies with the number of chloride ligands was observed for 3, 7, and 8. DFT calculations indicate that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) as well as HOMO-1 of the heterohexanuclear complexes, 3, 7, and 8, having Pt(2)Ag(4) core, mainly consist of dδ orbital of Pt(II) and π orbitals of Ph(2)pz ligands, while the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of these complexes mainly consists of in-phase combination of 6p of two Pt(II) centers and 5p of four Ag(I) centers. It is likely that the emissions of 3, 7, and 8 are attributed to emissive states derived from the Pt(2)(d)/π → Pt(2)Ag(4) transitions, the emission energy of which depends on the ratio of chloride ligands to pyrazolate ligands.     

Photochemistry of fac‐[Re(bpy)(CO)3Cl]

The photochemistry of fac‐[Re(bpy)(CO)₃Cl] ( 1 a ; bpy=2,2′‐bipyridine) initiated by irradiation using <330 nm light has been investigated. Isomerization proceeded in THF to give the corresponding mer‐isomer 1 b . However, in the presence of a small amount of MeCN, the main product was the CO‐ligand‐substituted complex (OC‐6‐24)‐[Re(bpy)(CO)₂Cl(MeCN)] ( 2 c ; bpy=2,2′‐bipyridine). In MeCN, two isomers, 2 c and its (OC‐6‐34) form ( 2 a ), were produced. Only 2 c thermally isomerized to produce the (OC‐6‐44) form 2 b . A detailed investigation led to the conclusion that both 1 b and 2 c are produced by a dissociative mechanism, whereas 2 a forms by an associative mechanism. A comparison of the ultrafast transient UV‐visible absorption, emission, and IR spectra of 1 a acquired by excitation using higher‐energy light (e.g., 270 nm) and lower‐energy light (e.g., 400 nm) gave detailed information about the excited states, intermediates, and kinetics of the photochemical reactions and photophysical processes of 1 a . Irradiation of 1 a using the higher‐energy light resulted in the generation of the higher singlet excited state with τ≤25 fs, from which intersystem crossing proceeded to give the higher triplet state (³HES( 1 )). In THF, ³HES( 1 ) was competitively converted to both the triplet ligand field (³LF) and metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer (³M LCT) with lifetimes of 200 fs, in which the former is a reactive state that converts to [Re(bpy)(CO)₂Cl(thf)]⁺ ( 1 c ) within 10 ps by means of a dissociative mechanism. Re‐coordination of CO to 1 c gives both 1 a and 1 b . In MeCN, irradiation of 1 a by using high‐energy light gives the coordinatively unsaturated complex, which rapidly converted to 2 c . A seven‐coordinate complex is also produced within several hundred femtoseconds, which is converted to 2 a within several hundred picoseconds.