Synthesis and properties of the first stable silylene-isocyanide complexes

The first stable silylene-isocyanide complexes, [Tbt(Mes)SiCNAr] (5 c: Ar=Tip, 5 d: Ar=Tbt, 5 e: Ar=Mes*; Tbt=2,4,6-tris[bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl]phenyl, Mes=mesityl, Tip=2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl, Mes*=2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl) were successfully synthesized by the reaction of a kinetically stabilized disilene, [Tbt(Mes)Si=Si(Mes)Tbt] (1), with bulky isocyanides, ArNC (3c-e). The spectroscopic data of 5 c-e and theoretical calculations for a model molecule indicated that 5 c-e are not classical cumulative compounds but the first stable silylene-Lewis base complexes. The reactions of 5 c-e with triethylsilane and 1,3-dienes gave the corresponding silylene adducts, and they underwent isocyanide-exchange reactions in the presence of another isocyanide at room temperature. These results indicate dissociation of complexes 5 c-e to the corresponding silylene 2 and isocyanides 3 c-e under very mild conditions. The reaction of 5 c with methanol gave the MeOH adduct 16, [Tbt(Mes)SiHC(OMe)NTip], which has a hydrogen atom on the silicon atom. This regioselectivity can be explained in terms of the contribution of zwitterionic resonance structures D and E, which have an anion on the silicon atom. This result indicates that 5 c is not a classical cumulene having Si=C double bonds that should react with methanol to give adducts bearing a methoxyl group on the silicon atom. Although the reactions of 5 c-e with electrophilic reagents such as methanol, hydrogen chloride, and methyl iodide gave the formal silylene adducts, the studies on the reaction mechanism by trapping experiments and the observation of the intermediate suggested that the reaction mainly or partially proceeds by initial nucleophilic attack of the silicon atom, as is the case in the formation of 16 in the reaction of 5 c with methanol. It was revealed that 5 c-e show the nucleophilicity of the silicon atom, most likely resulting from the contribution of the zwitterionic resonance structures D and E.     

Reductive activation of dioxygen by a myoglobin reconstituted with a flavohemin

We successfully converted myoglobin, an oxygen-storage hemoprotein, into an oxygen-activating hemoprotein like cytochrome P450s by replacing the native hemin with the artificially created flavohemin. The reconstituted myoglobin, rMb(1), was chacterized by ESI-TOF-mass, UV-vis, and fluorescence spectra. The 1H NMR spectrum of cyanomet rMb(1) indicates that two hemin conformers are present in a ratio of 1:1. Upon the addition of NADH to the buffer solution of rMb(1) in the presence of SOD and catalase, the oxymyoglobin was rapidly formed. As compared with the formation of the oxygenated native myoglobin in the presence of 10-N-(acetylaminoethyl)isoalloxazine, the rate constant of the oxyheme formation in rMb(1) is 6 times larger. This is because the flavin covalently linked to the terminal heme propionate functions as an effective mediator of an electron transfer from NADH to the hemin in rMb(1). Furthermore, rMb(1) shows the deformylation activity, when 2-phenylpropionaldehyde (2-PPA) was employed as a substrate. This result indicates that the oxyheme is reductively activated to Fe(III)-peroxoanion (Fe(III)-O22-). The result in this report is the first example of the activation of dioxygen by myoglobin. This study shows the utility of the replacement of the native hemin with a chemically modified one for the functionalization of myoglobin.     

Structural disorder in Ba0.6Sr0.4Al2O4

The structural disorder in Ba_0.6Sr_0.4Al₂O₄ (space group P6₃22) was investigated by X-ray powder diffraction and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). The initial structural model was determined using direct methods, and it was further modified by the combined use of Rietveld method and maximum-entropy method (MEM). MEM-based pattern fitting method was subsequently applied, resulting in the final reliability indices of R_wp=9.61%, R_p=6.96%, R_B=1.40% and S=1.25. The electron density distribution was satisfactorily expressed by the split-atom model in which the strontium/barium and oxygen atoms were split to occupy the lower symmetry sites. The diffuse scattering in SAED was mainly attributable to the positional disorder of oxygen atoms.     

Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley alkynylation of aldehydes: essential modification of aluminium alkoxides for rate acceleration and asymmetric synthesis

A novel carbonyl alkynylation has been accomplished based on utilization of the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reaction system. The success of the MPV alkynylation crucially depends on the discovery of the remarkable ligand acceleration effect of 2,2'-biphenol. For example, the alkynylation of chloral (2c) with the aluminium alkoxide 6(R = Ph), prepared in situ from Me(3)Al, 2,2'-biphenol and 2-methyl-4-phenyl-3-butyn-2-ol (1a) as an alkynyl source, proceeded smoothly in CH(2)Cl(2) at room temperature to give the desired propargyl alcohol 3ca in almost quantitative yield after 5 h stirring. The characteristic feature of this new transformation involving no metal alkynides can be visualized by the fact that the alkynyl group bearing keto carbonyl was transferred successfully to aldehyde carbonyl without any side reactions on keto carbonyl. Although the use of (S)-1,1[prime or minute]-bi-2-naphthol and its simple analogues was found to be unsuitable for inducing asymmetry in this reaction, design of new chiral biphenols bearing a certain flexibility of the biphenyl axis led to satisfactory results in terms of enantioselectivity as well as reactivity.     

Evolution of host-parasitoid network through homeochaotic dynamics

Host-parasitoid systems with evolving mutation rates are studied. By increasing the growth rate of hosts, the diversity of both species is maintained dynamically. For the lower growth rate, diversity is brought about by mere parasitism. The average mutation rate for parasites is elevated to a high value, while that for hosts is suppressed at a low level. For the higher growth rate, the mutation rates for both hosts and parasites are elevated to form a symbiotic cluster connected by on-going mutation. This symbiotic state is sustained through a chaotic oscillation keeping some coherency among species. For a flat landscape for hosts, dynamical clustering of oscillation is observed. Lyapunov spectra of such oscillations show that high dimensional chaos with small positive exponents underlies in the symbiotic state. This weak high dimensional chaos, termed "homeochaos," is essential to the maintenance of symbiosis in ecosystems.     

On the topology of compact smooth three-dimensional Levi-flat hypersurfaces

We study topological conditions that must be satisfied by a compactC ^∞ Levi-flat hypersurface in a two-dimensional complex manifold, as well as related questions about the holonomy of Levi-flat hypersurfaces. As a consequence of our work, we show that no two-dimensional complex manifold admits a subdomain Ω with compact nonemptyC ^∞ boundary such that Ω ? ?².     

Self-avoiding walk in five or more dimensions I. The critical behaviour

We use the lace expansion to study the standard self-avoiding walk in thed-dimensional hypercubic lattice, ford5. We prove that the numberc _n ofn-step self-avoiding walks satisfiesc _n ~A ⁿ , where is the connective constant (i.e. =1), and that the mean square displacement is asymptotically linear in the number of steps (i.e.v=1/2). A bound is obtained forc _n(x), the number ofn-step self-avoiding walks ending atx. The correlation length is shown to diverge asymptotically like (^––Z)^1/2. The critical two-point function is shown to decay at least as fast as x^–2, and its Fourier transform is shown to be asymptotic to a multiple ofk ^–2 ask0 (i.e. =0). We also prove that the scaling limit is Gaussian, in the sense of convergence in distribution to Brownian motion. The infinite self-avoiding walk is constructed. In this paper we prove these results assuming convergence of the lace expansion. The convergence of the lace expansion is proved in a companion paper.Supported by the Nishina Memorial Foundation and NSF grant PHY-8896163.Supported by NSERC grant A9351     

Cooperative motions of protein and hydration water molecules: molecular dynamics study of scytalone dehydratase

Two molecular dynamics (MD) simulations totaling 25 ns of simulation time of monomeric scytalone dehydratase (SD) were performed. The enzyme has a ligand-binding pocket containing a cone-shaped alpha+beta barrel, and the C-terminal region covers the binding pocket. Our simulations clarified the difference in protein dynamics and conformation between the liganded protein and the unliganded protein. The liganded protein held the ligand molecule tightly and the initial structure was maintained during the simulation. The unliganded protein, on the other hand, fluctuated dynamically and its structure changed largely from the initial structure. In the equilibrium state, the binding pocket was fully solvated by opening of the C-terminal region, and the protein dynamics was connected with hydration water molecules entry into and release from the binding pocket. In addition, the cooperative motions of the unliganded protein and the hydration water molecules produced the path through the protein interior for ligand binding.     

Lipid-soluble and water-soluble arsenic compounds in blubber of ringed seal (Pusa hispida)

High concentrations of arsenic were observed in the blubber of ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in our previous study. To better understand the arsenic accumulation in blubber of marine mammals, arsenicals in the blubber of ringed seal were characterized using high performance liquid chromatography–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC–ICPMS). The most predominant water-soluble arsenical in the blubber was dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), in spite of the predominance of arsenobetaine in other tissues. Lipid-soluble fraction was hydrolyzed under mild (tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAH) hydrolysis) and strong (NaOH hydrolysis) conditions, and then an aliquot of hydrolysate was injected onto HPLC–ICPMS. Both TEAH-labile and TEAH-stable/NaOH-labile lipid-soluble fractions contained precursors of DMA. These results suggest that the blubber might be the pool of DMA and DMA-containing precursors in ringed seals.     

Preparation,structures, and redox and emission characteristics of the isothiocyanate complexes of hexarhenium(III) clusters [Re6(mu3-E)8(NCS)6]4- (E = S,Se)

Hexarhenium(III) complexes with terminal isothiocyanate ligands, [(n-C(4)H(9))(4)N](4)[Re(6)(mu(3)-S)(8)(NCS)(6)] (1) and (L)(4)[Re(6)(mu(3)-Se)(8)(NCS)(6)] (L(+) = PPN(+) (2a), (n-C(4)H(9))(4)N(+) (2b)), have been prepared by three different methods. Complex 1 was prepared by the reaction of [(n-C(4)H(9))(4)N](4)[Re(6)(mu(3)-S)(8)Cl(6)] with molten KSCN at 200 degrees C, while 2b was obtained by refluxing the chlorobenzene-DMF (2:1 v/v) solution of [Re(6)(mu(3)-Se)(8)(CH(3)CN)(6)](SbF(6))(2) and [(n-C(4)H(9))(4)N]SCN. The [Re(6)(mu(3)-Se)(8)(NCS)(6)](4)(-) anion was also obtained from a mixture of Cs(2)[Re(6)(mu(3)-Se)(8)Br(4)] and KSCN in C(2)H(5)OH by a mechanochemical activation at room temperature for 20 h and isolated as 2a. The X-ray structures of 1 and 2a.4DMF have been determined (1, C(70)H(144)N(10)S(14)Re(6), monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n (No. 14), a = 14.464(7) A, b = 22.059(6) A, c = 16.642(8) A, beta = 113.62(3) degrees, V = 4864(3) A(3), Z = 2; 2a.4DMF, C(162)H(144)N(14)O(4)P(8)S(6)Se(8)Re(6), triclinic, space group P1 (No. 2), a = 15.263(2) A, b = 16.429(2) A, c = 17.111(3) A, alpha = 84.07(1) degrees, beta = 84.95(1) degrees, gamma = 74.21(1) degrees, V = 4098.3(8) A(3), Z = 1). All the NCS(-) ligands in both complexes are coordinated to the metal center via nitrogen site with the Re-N distances in the range of 2.07-2.13 A. The redox potentials of the reversible Re(III)(6)/Re(III)(5)Re(IV) process in acetonitrile are +0.84 and +0.70 V vs. Ag/AgCl for [Re(6)(mu(3)-S)(8)(NCS)(6)](4)(-) and [Re(6)(mu(3)-Se)(8)(NCS)(6)](4)(-), respectively, which are the most positive among the known hexarhenium complexes with six terminal anionic ligands. The complexes show strong red luminescence with the emission maxima (lambda(max)/nm), lifetimes (tau(em)/micros), and quantum yields (phi(em)) being 745 and 715, 10.4 and 11.8, and 0.091 and 0.15 for 1 and 2b, respectively, in acetonitrile. The data reasonably well fit in the energy-gap plots of other hexarhenium(III) complexes. The temperature dependence of the emission spectra and tau(em) of 1 and [(n-C(4)H(9))(4)N](4)[Re(6)(mu(3)-S)(8)Cl(6)] are also reported.