Utilization of microgravity to improve the crystal quality of biologically important proteins: chaperonin-60, GrpE, B-subunit of V-type ATPase, and MIF

Protein crystallization experiments under microgravity were performed by using commercial vapor diffusion apparatus (CVDA) hardware on the STS-84 shuttle mission. Chaperonin-60, GrpE, the B subunit of V-type ATPase, and the selenomethionine substituted proteins of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) were selected as target proteins. The results indicate that microgravity positively affected their crystal growth, supporting the practical utilization of microgravity for the protein structure determination.     

Preparation of GaN crystals by heating a Li3N‐added Ga melt in Na vapor and their photoluminescence

GaN crystals were prepared by heating a Ga melt with 1 at% Li₃N against Ga at 750 °C in Na vapor under N₂ pressures of 0.4–1.0 MPa. The GaN crystals grown at 1.0 MPa of N₂ were colorless and transparent prismatic, having a size of approximately 0.7 mm in length. A secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) showed the contaminant of lithium in the obtained crystals. A large broad yellow band emission peak of 2.28 eV was observed at room temperature in the photoluminescence spectrum in addition to the near band emission peak of GaN at 3.39 eV and a small broad satellite emission at 3.24 eV. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Visible-Light-Induced Synthesis of 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroquinolines through Formal [4+2] Cycloaddition of Acyclic α,β-Unsaturated Amides and Imides with N,N-Dialkylanilines

1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroquinolines should be applicable to the development of new pharmaceutical agents. A facile synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines that is achieved by a photoinduced formal [4+2] cycloaddition reaction of acyclic α,β-unsaturated amides and imides with N,N-dialkylanilines under visible-light irradiation, in which a new Ir^III complex photosensitizer, a thiourea, and an oxidant act cooperatively in promoting the reaction, is reported. The photoreaction enables the synthesis of a wide variety of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines, while controlling the trans/cis diastereoselectivity (>99:1) and constructing contiguous stereogenic centers. A chemoselective cleavage of an acyclic imide auxiliary is demonstrated.     

Effect of thiourea on the radical polymerization of vinyl monomers. Part III. Effect of diphenyl thiourea on the polymerization of methyl methacrylate with various organic peroxides as initiator

The effect of diphenyl thiourea (DPTU) on the radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) has been studied in benzene solution at 50°C. with the use of cumene hydroperoxide (CHP), p-menthane hydroperoxide (PMHP), tert-butyl perbenzoate (tBPBz), di-tert-butyl peroxide (DBP), and dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as initiators. In the CHP-initiated polymerization, the rate of polymerization increased appreciably on addition of DPTU with a linear dependence on the square root of DPTU concentration up to a maximum which was observed when the ratio of the concentration of CHP to DPTU was 2.5. Then the rate decreased gradually with increasing DPTU concentration in the range greater than the above ratio. It was found from kinetic studied that the overall polymerization rate R_p was expressed by the equation: R_p = K[peroxide]^1/2 [DPTU]^1/2[MMA], where K is the rate constant, α = 1.2 for CHP and α = 1.0 for tBPBz. It was thought that the acceleration effect observed was due to a redox reaction caused by the interaction of a peroxide–monomer and/or a peroxide–solvent complex with DPTU, and the decrease in the polymerization rate which was observed over a certain concentration of DPTU was due to the action of the oxidized product of DPTU as a transfer agent. The effect of substituents was studied by using para and meta-substituted DPTU. It was found that the polymerization rate increased as electron-donating substituents are added to the benzene ring of DPTU with considerable dependence on Hammett's equation (p = ?0.36). The acceleration effect is also observed for PMPH-and tBPBz-initiated polymerizations, whereas the DCP- and DBP-initiated systems show no effects on the polymerization rate.     

Perfluorophenyl-Directed Giant Porphyrin J-Aggregates

Quadrupolar interactions of porphyrin bearing two pentafluorophenylethynyl terminals ( 1 ) drove the formation of a successive one-dimensional staircase structure, i.e., J-aggregates, to yield millimeter-length needles with a single-crystalline character in methylcyclohexane solution. In contrast, π-stacked interactions of porphyrin bearing two nonfluorinated phenyl terminals ( 2 ) formed no aggregates in solution. A spin-cast film of 1 also showed bathochromic shift of the Soret and Q bands, indicating the formation of J-aggregates. The molecular arrangement of the J-aggregates was revealed by microbeam glazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray diffraction (GIWAXD), and was in good agreement with the optimized structure generated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.     

Competing Roles of Two Kinds of Ligand during Nonclassical Crystallization of Pillared-Layer Metal-Organic Frameworks Elucidated Using Microfluidic Systems

To diversify metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), multi-component MOFs constructed from more than two kinds of bridging ligand have been actively investigated due to the high degree of design freedom afforded by the combination of multiple ligands. Predicting the synthesis conditions for such MOFs requires an understanding of the crystallization mechanism, which has so far remained elusive. In this context, microflow systems are efficient tools for capturing non-equilibrium states as they facilitate precise and efficient mixing with reaction times that correspond to the distance from the mixing point, thus enabling reliable control of non-equilibrium crystallization processes. Herein, we prepared coordination polymers with pillared-layer structures and observed the intermediates in the syntheses with an in-situ measurement system that combines microflow reaction with UV/Vis and X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopies, thereby enabling their rapid nucleation to be monitored. Based on the results, a three-step nonclassical nucleation mechanism involving two kinds of intermediate is proposed.