Isolation of keto-s-phenylthioxime of [23]cyclophane-1,2-dione. Re-visited contraction of 1,2,5-thiadiazole ring incorporated in a [23]cyclophane bridge by phenylmagnesium bromide

[2³]Paracyclophane derivative 3 of keto-S-phenylthioxime which is the hydrolyzed product of the hypothetical intermediate in the reaction of 1,2,5-thiadiazole with organometallic reagents, was obtained, together with diketone 1 , in the reaction of 1,2,5-thiadiazolo[2³]paracyclophane 2 with two equivalents of phenylmagnesium bromide. Contrary, [2³]metacyclophane 7 gave only diketone 12 in the reaction with phenylmagnesium bromide under the same conditions.     

Carbon Nanosheets by Morphology‐Retained Carbonization of Two‐Dimensional Assembled Anisotropic Carbon Nanorings

Two‐dimensional (2D) carbon nanomaterials possessing promising physical and chemical properties find applications in high‐performance energy storage devices and catalysts. However, large‐scale fabrication of 2D carbon nanostructures is based on a few specific carbon templates or precursors and poses a formidable challenge. Now a new bottom‐up method for carbon nanosheet fabrication using a newly designed anisotropic carbon nanoring molecule, CPPhen, is presented. CPPhen was self‐assembled at a dynamic air–water interface with a vortex motion to afford molecular nanosheets, which were then carbonized under inert gas flow. Their nanosheet morphologies were retained after carbonization, which has never been seen for low‐molecular weight compounds. Furthermore, adding pyridine as a nitrogen dopant in the self‐assembly step successfully afforded nitrogen‐doped carbon nanosheets containing mainly pyridinic nitrogen species.     

Mass spectra of acyl and α-hydroxyalkyl derivatives of biferrocene

The mass spectral fragmentation pathways of acyl and α-hydroxyalkyl derivatives of biferrocene and related compounds are presented. A substituent effect for the cleavage of the cyclopentadienyl ring-metal bonds has been found in the spectra of acyl derivatives. It has been shown that the fragmentation of α-hydroxyalkyl derivatives proceeded via the ions corresponding to the [M]⁺? ions of oxidation or hydrogenolysis products of the hydroxyl derivatives.     

Kinetic study of trifluoromethylation with s-(trifluoromethyl) dibenzothiophenium salts

The kinetic parameters were determined for C-trifluoromethylation of aniline with S-(trifluoromethyl)dibenzothiophenium triflate (1), its 3,7-dinitro derivative (2) and S-(trifluoromethyl)diphenylsulfonium triflate (3) in DMF-d₇. The higher reactivity of heterocyclic 1 compared with non-heterocyclic 3 could be explained on the basis of its greatly enhanced activation entropy (ΔS^≠: −11.2 cal mol ⁻¹ K⁻¹ for 1; −47.1 for 3), but not its enhanced activation enthalpy (ΔH^≠: 21.2 kcal mol⁻¹ for 1; 12.1 for 3). The aromatic delocalization of the heterocyclic ring may thus be only slightly disturbed by the S-trifluoromethyl substituent. The high reactivity of 2 was attributed to the great electron deficiency caused by two nitro groups in addition to the heterocyclic salt system (ΔH^≠ 17.0 kcal mol⁻¹, ΔS^≠ −9.1 cal mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ for 2). The reaction mechanism is discussed; the conventional S_N2 attack mechanism was ruled out and a mechanism for a side-on attack to the CF₃-S bond may possibly be applicable.     

Biomimetic Reductive Amination of Fluoro Aldehydes and Ketones via [1,3]-Proton Shift Reaction.(1) Scope and Limitations

A systematic study of azomethine-azomethine isomerizations of the N-benzylimines 2, derived from fluorinated aldehydes or ketones and benzylamine, has been made. The results reveal that, in sharp contrast to hydrocarbon analogs, fluorinated imines of 2 in triethylamine solution undergo isomerizations to give the corresponding N-benzylidene derivatives 5 (for 5/2 K > 32) in good isolated yields. The rates of the isomerizations depend on the starting imine structures and increase in the following order: aryl perfluoroalkyl ketimine 2m, per(poly)fluoroalkyl aldimine 2a,d-g, perfluoroaryl aldimine 2h, alkyl perfluoroalkyl ketimine 2i,j. The presence of chlorine or bromine atoms in the alpha-position to the C=N double bond of the starting imine favors a dehydrohalogenation reaction, giving rise to unsaturated products 6-9. The azomethine-azomethine isomerization was studied and proven to proceed essentially (>98%) intramolecularly with isotope exchange experiments. High chemical yields, the simplicity of the experimental procedure, and the low cost of all reagents employed make this biomimetic transamination of fluorocarbonyl compounds a practical method for preparing fluorine-containing amines of biological interest.     

How and why 41S-2 antibody subunits acquire the ability to catalyze decomposition of the conserved sequence of gp41 of HIV-1

It has become well known that antibodies obtained by immunization with the ground state of peptides can display proteolytic activity. Our antibody light chain produced by immunization with the peptide RGPDRPEGIEEEGGERDRD, a highly conserved sequence in envelope gp41 of HIV-1 showed the ability to cleave this peptide. Moreover, its heavy chain also decomposed the peptide, although this occurred at lower activity levels compared with the light chain, while the whole antibody did not show any catalytic activity. From molecular modeling, the light and heavy chains of the antibody were deduced to possess catalytic triads (Asp, His, and Ser) in their steric conformations, which may be responsible for the observed proteolytic activity.     

Functional monomers and polymers. XCIV. Photochemical reactions on the synthetic polymers containing thymine bases in the presence of adenine derivatives

Photodimerization reactions of polyacrylate and polymethacrylate derivatives and the dimer model compound containing thymine bases were studied in the presence of adenine derivatives in dimethyl sulfoxide; N,N-dimethylformamide; and dimethyl sulfoxide–ethylene glycol solutions. The photodimerization of thymine bases both in the polymers and in the dimer model compound was found to be quenched by the addition of adenine derivatives. Base-base interaction in the ground state was also studied by ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy in the three solvents. The quenching of the photodimerizationof thymine bases in the presence of adenine derivatives was discussed in terms of the specific interaction between adenine and thymine bases both in ground and excited states.     

Transient vibronic structure in ultrafast fluorescence spectra of photoactive yellow protein

The ultrafast photo-induced dynamics of wild-type photoactive yellow protein and its site-directed mutant of E46Q in aqueous solution was studied at room temperature by femtosecond fluorescence spectroscopy using the optical Kerr-gate method. The vibronic structure appears, depending on the excitation photon energy, in the time-resolved fluorescence spectra just after photoexcitation, which winds with time and disappears on a time scale of sub-picoseconds. This result indicates that the wavepacket is localized in the electronic excited state followed by dumped oscillations and broadening, and also that the initial condition of the wavepacket prepared depending on the excitation photon energy affects much the following ultrafast dynamics in the electronic excited state.     

Dependence of electron spin g-factor on magnetic field in quantum wells

The dependence of electron spin g-factor on magnetic field has been investigated in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. We have estimated the electron g-factor from spin precession frequency in time-resolved photoluminescence measurements under a magnetic field in different configurations; the magnetic field perpendicular (g_⊥) and parallel (g_∥) to the quantum confinement direction. When the angle between the magnetic field and the confinement direction is 45°, we have found that g-factor varies depending on the direction of magnetic field and the circular polarization type of excitation light (σ⁺ or σ^?). These dependences of g-factor exhibit main features of Overhauser effect that nuclear spins react back on electron spin precession. The value of g_⊥ and g_∥ corrected for the nuclear effects agree well with the results of four-band k·p perturbation calculations.     

Numerical and experimental studies of gravity effect on the mechanism of lunar excavations

In this paper, the mechanism of soil excavation in partial gravity conditions is investigated by experimental model and numerical study. Experiments were conducted in a parabolic flight, which generated different gravity conditions, focusing on the bearing capacity problem using two soil samples: Toyoura sand and Japanese lunar soil simulant (FJS-1). Corresponding numerical studies were performed by the discrete element method (DEM) for reduced gravity conditions. Herein, the DEM method was modified to include the apparent cohesion that was found in the lunar soil simulant. Two case studies were investigated by the numerical simulations: bearing capacity and soil pushing (as by a bulldozer), and for the former case comparison was made with experiment. Results show that the gravity greatly affects the ultimate bearing capacity of the Toyoura sand; however, such effect becomes insignificant in the lunar soil when the gravity is small or the soil was densely packed. By using the numerical model, this paper suggests that the ultimate bearing capacity observed in the lunar soil simulant was dominated by the apparent cohesive component, rather than gravity or friction. However, gravity causes similar effects on both soil models in the soil pushing problem.