Complete replacement of H2 by D2 via Pd/C-catalyzed H/D exchange reaction

[reaction: see text] A general and in situ D2 gas generation method using 10% Pd/C-catalyzed H2-D2 exchange reaction in a H2-D2O system has been developed. H2 gas sealed in a reaction flask was efficiently converted into nearly pure D2 gas, which can be used for the reductive deuteration of substrates possessing reducible functionalities within the molecule.     

Absolute stereochemistry of amphidinolide C

[structure in text] The absolute configurations at 12 chiral centers in amphidinolide C (1), a potent cytotoxic 25-membered macrolide isolated from a marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium sp., were determined to be 3S, 4R, 6R, 7R, 8R, 12R, 13S, 16S, 20R, 23R, 24R, and 29S by combination of NMR analyses, degradation experiments, and synthesis of the C-1-C-7 segment.     

Absolute stereochemistry of amphidinolides G and H

[structure: see text] Absolute stereochemistry of amphidinolides G (1) and H (2), potent cytotoxic 27- and 26-membered macrolides, respectively, isolated from a marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium sp., was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis, synthesis of a degradation product (3) of 2, and interconversion between 1 and 2.     

Relative Lewis basicities of six AI(ORF)4- superweak anions and the structures of LiA

The relative Lewis basicities of six Al(ORF)4- ions, Al[OC(CH3)(CF3)2]4-, Al(OC(CF3)3]4-, Al(OCPh(CF3)2]4-, Al[OC[4-C6H4(tBu)](CF3)2]4-, Al(OC(Cy)(CF3)2]4-, and Al(OCPh2(CF3)]4-, have been determined by measuring their relative coordinating abilities towards Li+ in dichloromethane. The relative Li- Lewis basicities of the Al(ORF)4- ions are linearly related to the aqueous pKa values of the corresponding parent HORF fluoroalcohols. The Lewis basicity of Al[OCH(CF3)2]4- could not be measured because two of these anions can coordinate to one Li+ cation. The structures of LiAl[OCH(CF3)2]4 and [1-Et-3-Me-1,3-C3H3N2][Li[Al[OCH(CF3)2)4]2] were determined.     

Two-carbon ring expansion of cyclobutanone skeletons by nickel-catalyzed intermolecular alkyne insertion

The reaction of cyclobutanone with an alkyne in the presence of a nickel(0) catalyst formally achieves intermolecular alkyne insertion between the carbonyl carbon and the α-carbon of a cyclobutanone, providing a six-membered carbocyclic skeleton.     

Guest shape-responsive fitting of porous coordination polymer with shrinkable framework

In situ synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction patterns of porous coordination polymers [[Cu(2)(pzdc)(2)(bpy)].G] have been measured (pzdc = pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylate, bpy = 4,4'-bipyridine) (where G = H(2)O for CPL-2 superset H(2)()O, G = benzene for CPL-2 superset benzene, and G = void for the apohost). The structures of apohost and CPL-2 superset benzene were determined from Rietveld analysis. Adsorption of benzene in the channels induced a remarkable contraction in the crystal (b axis; 6.8%, volume; 4.9%), although the channels were occupied by the benzene molecules. This crystal transformation provides a new pore structure that is well suited for benzene molecules, and we denote it as a "shape-responsive fitting" transformation. This type of pore gives rise to a new guideline: frameworks can be composed of flexible motifs that are linked via strong bond and/or stiff motifs that are connected via weaker bonds.     

The characteristic fragment ions and visualization of cationic starches on pulp fiber using ToF‐SIMS

Time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) was used to investigate the distribution of cationic starch on pulp fiber. To identify the characteristic fragment ions of the cationic starches, deuterium‐labeled cationic starches were prepared and analyzed using ToF‐SIMS. The starch 2‐hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride derivative generated characteristic fragments at m/z 58 and 59, which were identified as [H₂C?N(CH₃)₂]⁺ and [N(CH₃)₃]^+·, respectively. The fragmentation patterns were also suggested. From the imaging analysis, the adsorption of the cationic starch on fibers was uneven on individual fibers, as well as between fibers. This may have been on account of fiber morphology and structure. On examining scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, the quaternary ammonium starch derivative (QS) did not penetrate the fiber. No migration of cationic starch was observed under various drying conditions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct observation of the multistep helix formation of poly-L-glutamic acids

The helix formation dynamics of poly-L-glutamic acids (PGAs) were observed by the microsecond-resolved Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies. The helix formation of 34-residue PGA from random coil at pH (or pD for FTIR) 8.0 was initiated by a pH jump to 4.9 using the rapid solution mixer whose mixing dead time is 50 micros. The amide I' line in the time-resolved FTIR spectra exhibited the fast (<100 micros) increase of the total helical content. The time-resolved CD spectra of the same process also showed the fast (<150 micros) formation of short helical segments (5 +/- 1 residues), which was followed by the slower (<1 ms) elongation of the short helices to longer helices (>10 residues). Similar dynamics were observed for the same pH jump of approximately 190-residue PGA, although there were additional steps that made the helix formation of approximately 190-residue PGA more complex. The observed multistep helix formation is likely caused by the strong hydrogen-bonding interactions between the protonated side chains of PGAs.     

Measurement of hyperfine structure constants,g values and tensor polarizability of excited states of Sm I

Atomic-beam laser spectroscopy with fluorescence detection is applied to investigate the hyperfine structure (hfs), Stark and Zeeman effects of the electric dipole transitions of Sm i. The measurements are performed for the four transitions of 0 → 15650.55, 292.58 → 15650.55, 292.58 → 15567.32, and 1489.55 → 16890.59 cm^-1. The hfs constants of the upper and lower levels and the isotope shifts of the transitions are determined. The tensor polarizability of the 15650.55 cm^-1 level is found to be α₂ = -556.2 ± 11.8 kHz/(kV/cm)². Thanks to the accurate g values of the lower levels [Childs, W.J., Goodman, L.S.: Phys. Rev. A 6, 2011 (1972)], the g values of the upper levels are obtained from the observed Zeeman splittings. The values are found to be -0.115907(79), 2.22259(20) and 1.599968(51) for the 15650.55 cm^-1 .1, 15567.32 cm^-1 and 16890.59.cm^-1 levels, respectively.     

Distributed computing and NMR constraint-based high-resolution structure determination: applied for bioactive Peptide endothelin-1 to determine C-terminal folding

Distributed computing has been implemented to the solution structure determination of endothelin-1 to evaluate efficiency of the method for NMR constraint-based structure calculations. A key target of the investigation was determination of the C-terminal folding of the peptide, which had been dispersed in previous studies of NMR, despite its pharmacological significances. With use of tens of thousands of random initial structures to explore the conformational space comprehensively, we determined high-resolution structures with good convergences of C-terminal as well as previously defined N-terminal structures. The previous studies had missed the C-terminal convergence because of initial structure dependencies trapped in localized folding of the N-terminal region, which are strongly constricted by two disulfide bonds.