Proton transfer in nafion membrane by quantum chemistry calculation

We estimated the energy barriers of proton transfers in the systems of (CF₃SO₃/H/SO₃CF₃)⁻ and (CF₃SO₃/H/H₂O/SO₃CF₃)⁻ as models of a water-swollen Nafion membrane by an ab initio density functional quantum calculation method with consideration of the hydration effect. As a result, the proton transfer between the SO sites, which is accompanied by one water molecule, was found to be one of the proton-transfer mechanisms in the water-swollen Nafion membrane; that is, the surface diffusion mechanism was found to be important for the proton transfer in that membrane. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1905–1914, 2004     

Radical Copolymerization of Vinylidene Chloride with 3(2-Methyl)-6-methylpyridazinone in Several Solvents

The radical copolymerization of vinylidene chloride (Vc, M₁) with 3(2-methyl)-6-methylpyridazinone (I, M₂) was carried out in benzene, ethanol, phenol, and acetic acid at 60 and 80°C. The monomer reactivity ratios were found to vary with the reaction conditions. The linear correlationships were obtained by plotting the values of log r₁ against those of ^V C[dbnd]O and ^V C[dbnd]C of monomers determined in the solvents.     

First Synthesis of DL-2-C-Hydroxymethyl-3-Pentulose in the Formose Reaction

Abstract

The formose reactions² in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) catalyzed by 2-(dimethylamino)ethanol and thiamine hydrochloride, have been found to give rise to dihydroxyacetone and DL-glycero-tetrulose selectively at 1.1 M and 3.0 M of formaldehyde concentration, respectively. In our consecutive study on the formose reaction in DMF, it has been fortunately found that the distribution of products is able to be controlled by the amount of water added to the reaction mixture. We describe herein the first example of the favored formation of DL-2-C-hydroxymethyl-3-pentu-lose (GP-19¹) in the formose reaction using DMF-H₂O solvent, and it's isolation and structure elucidation.     

Regulation of Multicolor Fluorescence Changes Found in Donor-acceptor-type Mechanochromic Fluorescent Dyes

The regulation of multicolor fluorescence changes in mechanochromic fluorescence (MCF) remains a challenging task. Herein, we report the regulation of MCF using a donor-acceptor structure. Two crystal polymorphs, BTD-pCHO(O) and BTD-pCHO(R) produced by the introduction of formyl groups to an MCF dye, respond to a mechanical stimulus, allowing a three-color fluorescence change. Specifically, the orange-colored fluorescence of the metastable BTD-pCHO(O) polymorph changed to a deep-red color in the amorphous-like state to finally give a red color in the stable BTD-pCHO(R) polymorph. This change occurred by mechanical grinding followed by vapor fuming. The two different crystal packing patterns were selectively regulated by the electronic effect of the introduced functional groups. The two types of selectively formed crystals in BTD(F)-pCHO bearing fluorine atoms, and BTD(OMe)-pCHO bearing methoxy groups, respond to mechanical grinding, allowing for the regulation of multicolor MCL from a three-color change to two different types of two-color changes.     

Induced long-range attractive potentials of human serum albumin by ligand binding

Small-angle x-ray scattering and dielectric spectroscopy investigation on the solutions of recombinant human serum albumin and its heme hybrid revealed that heme incorporation induces a specific long-range attractive potential between protein molecules. This is evidenced by the enhanced forward intensity upon heme binding, despite no hindrance to rotatory Brownian motion, unbiased colloid osmotic pressure, and discontiguous nearest-neighbor distance, confirming monodispersity of the proteins. The heme-induced potential may play a trigger role in recognition of the ligand-filled human serum albumins in the circulatory system.     

Total Synthesis of (±)‐Gephyrotoxin by Amide‐Selective Reductive Nucleophilic Addition

A chemoselective approach for the total synthesis of (±)‐gephyrotoxin has been developed. The key to success was the utilization of N‐methoxyamides, which enabled the direct coupling of the amide with an aldehyde and selective reductive nucleophilic addition to the amide in the presence of a variety of sensitive and electrophilic functional groups, such as a methyl ester. This chemoselective approach minimized the use of protecting‐group manipulations and redox reactions, which resulted in the most concise and efficient total synthesis of (±)‐gephyrotoxin described to date.     

Thiol Modified Chitosan Self-Assembled Monolayer Platform for Nucleic Acid Biosensor

A self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of thiol modified chitosan (SH-CHIT), with thioglycolic acid (TGA) as a modifier to bestow thiol groups, has been prepared onto gold (Au)-coated glass plates for fabrication of the nucleic acid biosensor. The chemical modification of CHIT via TGA has been evidenced by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) studies, and the biocompatibility studies reveal that CHIT retains its biocompatible nature after chemical modification. The electrochemical studies conducted onto SH-CHIT/Au electrode reveal that thiol modification in CHIT amino end enhances the electrochemical behavior indicating that it may be attributed to delocalization of electrons in CHIT skeleton that participates in the resonance process. The carboxyl group modified end of DNA probe has been immobilized onto SH-CHIT/Au electrode using N-ethyl-N′-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) chemistry for detection of complementary, one-base mismatch and non-complementary sequence using electrochemical and optical studies for Mycobacterium tuberculosis detection. It has been found that DNA-SH-CHIT/Au bioelectrode can specifically detect 0.01 μM of target DNA concentration with sensitivity of 1.69?×?10^?6 A μM^?1.