Energy transfer reaction of cationic porphyrin complexes on the clay surface: effect of sample preparation method

Photochemical energy transfer of non-aggregated cationic porphyrins on an anionic-type clay (Smecton SA) surface was investigated. The efficiency of energy transfer and excited-state quenching in the absence of energy transfer were evaluated at various loading levels of porphyrin on the clay surface and were found to be significantly affected by the loading level. As the latter increased, both energy transfer efficiency and excited-state quenching increased. Judging from the dependency of energy-transfer efficiency on the porphyrin loading level, a partially clustered structure, but without aggregation, of porphyrins on the clay surface is proposed.     

Aqueous phase behavior of a 1-O-phytanyl-beta-D-xyloside/water system. Glycolipid-based bicontinuous cubic phases of crystallographic space groups Pn3m and Ia3d

Temperature- and concentration-dependent aqueous phase diagram of a novel alkylglycoside, 1-O-phytanyl-beta-D-xyloside (beta-Xyl(Phyt)), was studied using small-angle X-ray scattering, polarizing optical microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The phases found in this system include an Lc phase, an Lalpha phase, an HII phase, two inverted cubic phases of crystallographic space groups Pn3m and Ia3d, and a fluid isotropic phase, FI. The phase diagram of the beta-Xyl(Phyt)/water system is similar to that for the 1-monooleylglycerol (MO)/water system, suggesting that the phase behavior is largely determined by the overall molecular shape rather than the details of surfactant molecular structure. Moreover, the structural parameters of the beta-Xyl(Phyt) liquid crystals are also similar to those of the MO/water, due primarily to the similar molecular dimensions of two molecules. As compared to the MO/water system, however, the beta-Xyl(Phyt)/water system displays a lower value of TK ( approximately 8.(5) degrees C) and a wider temperature window for the mesophases (8.(5)-120 degrees C). Moreover, beta-Xyl(Phyt) is chemically more robust than MO, as the ether linkage is more stable against hydrolysis than the ester linkage and the phytanyl chain is fully saturated.     

Crystalline orientation of the InN films prepared by atmospheric pressure halide chemical vapor deposition

The structural analysis of the hexagonal InN film prepared on a Si(100) substrate by the AP-HCVD technique using InCl₃ and NH₃ as starting materials were carried out by the X-ray pole figure analysis. The deposited films consist of the hexagonal InN pillar crystals. It was found that the pillar crystals, which have random rotation around the 100 axis, were grown at an angle of 70–90° to the substrate.     

Biodegradable Phosphorylcholine Polymer Hydrogels Cross‐Linked with Vinyl‐Functionalized Polyphosphate

A vinyl‐functionalized polyphosphate (PIOP) was synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization of 2‐isopropyl‐2‐oxo‐1,3,2‐dioxaphospholane and 2‐(2‐oxo‐1,3,2‐dioxaphosphoroyloxyethyl methacrylate) with triisobutylaluminum as an initiator. The number‐averaged molecular weight of the PIOP was 1.2 × 10⁴. The average number of vinyl groups in the PIOP is 2.20. Transparent hydrogels were prepared by the radical polymerization of 2‐methacryroyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine with PIOP as a cross‐linking reagent. These hydrogels may have many applications in the biomedical field because of their biodegradability and biocompatibility.

Synthetic route of PIOP.     

Synthesis of α-(aminomethylene)-9H-purine-6-acetic acid derivatives

α-(Aminornethylene)-9H-purine-6-acetamide ( 3a ) and the corresponding ethyl acetate 9 have been synthesized by catalytic hydrogenation of 6-cyanomethylenepurine derivatives 2 and 7 which were obtained by the substitution of 6-chloropurine derivatives with α-cyanoacetamide and ethyl cyanoacetate, respectively. Substitution of α-(aminomethylene)-9-(tetrahydrofuran)-9H-purine-6-acetamide ( 3b ) with amines gave the corresponding N-alkyl- and N-arylamines 5 , which were treated with acid to give N-substituted α-(aminomethylene)-9H-purine-6-acetamides 6 . Substitution of 9 with amines gave the corresponding N-alkyl- and N-aryl substituted amines 10 .     

Enantiodifferentiating photoaddition of alcohols to 1,1-diphenylpropene in supercritical carbon dioxide: sudden jump of optical yield at the critical density

In the enantiodifferentiating photoaddition of ROH (R = Me, Et, i-Pr) to 1,1-diphenylpropene sensitized by fructosyl 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylate in supercritical carbon dioxide, the enantiomeric excess of photoadduct increased with increasing bulkiness of the alcohol at all pressures used, with an accompanying sudden jump at the critical density, for which the enhanced clustering of alcohol, particularly in the subcritical pressure region, was revealed to be responsible from the fluorescence spectral examinations.     

Heterolytic cleavage of dihydrogen promoted by sulfido-bridged tungsten-ruthenium dinuclear complexes

A series of sulfido-bridged tungsten-ruthenium dinuclear complexes Cp*W(mu-S)(3)RuX(PPh(3))(2) (4a; X = Cl, 4b; X = H), Cp*W(O)(mu-S)(2)RuX(PPh(3))(2) (5a; X = Cl, 5b; X = H), and Cp*W(NPh)(mu-S)(2)RuX(PPh(3))(2) (6a; X = Cl, 6b; X = H) have been synthesized by the reactions of (PPh(4))[Cp*W(S)(3)] (1), (PPh(4))[Cp*W(O)(S)(2)] (2), and (PPh(4))[Cp*W(NPh)(S)(2)] (3), with RuClX(PPh(3))(3) (X = Cl, H). The heterolytic cleavage of H(2) was found to proceed at room temperature upon treating 5a and 6a with NaBAr(F)(4) (Ar(F) = 3, 5-C(6)H(3)(CF(3))(2)) under atmospheric pressure of H(2), which gave rise to [Cp*W(OH)(mu-S)(2)RuH(PPh(3))(2)](BAr(F)(4)) (7a) and [Cp*W(NHPh)(mu-S)(2)RuH(PPh(3))(2)](BAr(F)(4)) (8), respectively. When Cp*W(O)(mu-S)(2)Ru(PPh(3))(2)H (5b) was treated with a Br?nstead acid, [H(OEt(2))(2)](BAr(F)(4)) or HOTf, protonation occurred exclusively at the terminal oxide to give [Cp*W(OH)(mu-S)(2)RuH(PPh(3))(2)](X) (7a; X = BAr(F)(4), 7b; X = OTf), while the hydride remained intact. The analogous reaction of Cp+W(mu-S)(3)Ru(PPh(3))(2)H (4b) led to immediate evolution of H(2). Selective deprotonation of the hydroxyl group of 7a or 7b was induced by NEt(3) and 4b, generating Cp*W(O)(mu-S)(2)Ru(PPh(3))(2)H (5b). Evolution of H(2) was also observed for the reactions of 7a or 7b with CH(3)CN to give [Cp*W(O)(mu-S)(2)Ru(CH(3)CN)(PPh(3))(2)](X) (11a; X = BAr(F)(4), 11b; X = OTf). We examined the H/D exchange reactions of 4b, 5b, and 7a with D(2) and CH(3)OD, and found that facile H/D scrambling over the W-OH and Ru-H sites occurred for 7a. Based on these experimental results, the mechanism of the heterolytic H(2) activation and the reverse H(2) evolution reactions are discussed.     

Basic peptides as functional components of non-viral gene transfer vehicles

Improving the performance of non-viral gene-delivery vehicles that consist of synthetic compounds and nucleic acids is a key to successful gene therapy. Supplementing synthetic vehicles with various biological functions by using natural or artificial peptides is a promising approach with which to achieve this goal. One of the obstacles hindering this effort is that some of the potentially useful peptides, especially those with many basic amino acid residues, interfere with the formation of the complex owing to strong electrostatic interactions with the nucleic acid. In this review, we describe our recent work in examining the potential of these peptides in gene delivery, using a recombinant lambda phage particle as the model for the gene-delivery complex. Lambda phage encapsulates large duplex DNA in a rigid polyplex-like shell with a diameter of 55 nm, and can display various peptides on this capsid, independently of particle formation. By examining the expression of marker genes encapsulated in the phage capsid, we have demonstrated that the protein transduction domain of HIV Tat protein and the nuclear localization signal derived from SV40 T antigen can remarkably facilitate the delivery of these marker genes across the two major barriers, the cell membrane and the nuclear membrane, respectively. Our results indicate that these basic peptides can constitute effective components of synthetic gene-transfer complexes, as long as sufficient copies are displayed on the outer surface of the complex.     

Personal View: Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation: A Personal Experience

The scope of this two-day meeting (held June 25–26, 2007), organized by the French MELUSYN (Medicine and Synchrotron Light) work group at the new synchrotron radiation facility SOLEIL (Saint-Aubin, France), was to create a timely forum for multi-disciplinary discussions on modern radiation biology. The meeting brought together physicists of diluted and condensed matter, chemists, biochemists, biologists, as well as physicians having a common interest in using synchrotron radiation in the UV, VUV, soft and hard X-ray ranges and the related techniques in order to explore at molecular, cellular or tissular levels various aspects of radiation effects on living systems and the medical consequences for radiotherapy.     

Isolation of Biphenyl and Polychlorinated Biphenyl-Degrading Bacteria and Their Degradation Pathway

Four strains of biphenyl-degrading bacteria were isolated from a sewage and identified from the Rhodococcus genus (SK-1, SK-3, and SK-4) and Aquamicrobium genus (SK-2) by 16S rRNA sequence. Among these strains, strain SK-2 was most suitable for biphenyl degradation. When 0.65, 1.3, 2.6, or 3.9 mM of biphenyl was used, the biphenyl was completely degraded within 24 and 96 h of culture, respectively. However, in the case of 6.5 and 9.75 mM of biphenyl, the biphenyl degradation yields were about 80 % and 46.7 % after 120 h of culture, respectively. The isolated strains could degrade a broad spectrum of aromatic compounds including high-chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in the presence of biphenyl. In addition, strain SK-2 could utilize PCB congeners containing one to six chlorine substituents such as 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl. The PCB utilization rate by the strain SK-2 was increased compared to that of other PCB congener-utilizing bacteria. The four isolates metabolized 4-chlorobiphenyl to 4-chlorobenzoic acid and 2-hydroxy-6-oxo-6-(4′-chlorophenyl)-hexa-2,4-dienoic acid. These results suggest the isolated strains might be good candidates for the bioremediation of PCB-contaminated soil, especially high-saline soils.