Controlled Polymerization of Protic Ionic Liquid Monomer by ARGET‐ATRP and TERP

The direct synthesis of structurally well‐defined protic polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) with controlled molecular weight and molecular weight distribution is examined using N,N‐diethyl‐N‐(2‐methacryloylethyl) ammonium bis(tri‐fluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (DEMH‐TFSI) as a monomer. Three polymerization methods, namely, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), activators regenerated by electron transfer (ARGET)‐ATRP, and organotellurium‐mediated living radical polymerization (TERP) are employed in this study. While the polymerization by ATRP is slow and does not reach high monomer conversion that under ARGET‐ATRP and TERP proceeds smoothly and affords structurally well‐defined poly(DEMH‐TFSI)s. TERP is especially efficient for the control and poly(DEMH‐TFSI)s with low to high molecular weights ( = 49 100–392 500) and narrow molecular weight distributions (/ = 1.17–1.46) are obtained. These results represent the first example of synthesis of a structurally well‐defined protic, ammonium PIL by direct polymerization of the protic ionic liquid monomer. The polymerization of N,N‐diethyl‐N‐(2‐methacryloylethyl)‐N‐methylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (DEMM‐TFSI), which possesses a quaternary ammonium salt, also proceeds in a highly controlled manner under TERP conditions. A diblock copolymer, polystyrene‐block‐poly(DEMH‐TFSI), is also successfully synthesized by TERP.

     

Structural Analysis of Triacylglycerols by Using a MALDI-TOF/TOF System with Monoisotopic Precursor Selection

A new MALDI-TOF/TOF system with monoisotopic precursor selection was applied to the analysis of triacylglycerols in an olive oil sample. Monoisotopic precursor selection made it possible to obtain product-ion mass spectra without interference from species that differed by a single double bond. Complete structure determination of all triacylglycerols, including structural isomers, was made possible by interpreting the charge-remote fragmentation resulting from high-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the sodiated triacylglycerols.      

Chiral supramolecular thiophene fluorophore consisting of thiophenecarboxylic acid derivatives

Solid-state chiral supramolecular thiophene fluorophore has been successfully prepared by using chiral (R)-1-(2-naphthyl)ethylamine and 5-bromothiophene-2-carboxylic acid. This chiral supramolecular thiophene fluorophore is formed by assembling chiral 2₁-helical columnar network structures composed of (R)-1-(2-naphthyl)ethylamine and 5-bromothiophene-2-carboxylic acid. This supramolecular organic fluorophore exhibits circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) even in the solid state.     

Total synthesis and biological assessment of (-)-exiguolide and analogues

We describe herein an enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-exiguolide, the natural enantiomer. The methylene bis(tetrahydropyran) substructure was efficiently synthesized by exploiting olefin cross-metathesis for the assembly of readily available acyclic segments and intramolecular oxa-conjugate cyclization and reductive etherification for the formation of the tetrahydropyran rings. The 20-membered macrocyclic framework was constructed in an efficient manner by means of Julia-Kocienski coupling and Yamaguchi macrolactonization. Finally, the (E,Z,E)-triene side chain was introduced stereoselectively via Suzuki-Miyaura coupling to complete the total synthesis. Assessment of the growth inhibitory activity of synthetic (-)-exiguolide against a panel of human cancer cell lines elucidated for the first time that this natural product is an effective antiproliferative agent against the NCI-H460 human lung large cell carcinoma and the A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Moreover, we have investigated structure-activity relationships of (-)-exiguolide, which elucidated that the C5-methoxycarbonylmethylidene group and the length of the side chain are important for the potent activity.     

Room-Temperature Alkyl-Diphenylpyrene Liquefication by Molecular Desymmetrization

Achieving the lowest phase transition temperature with minimal chemical modification in highly crystalline π-conjugated molecules is a universal problem in related research fields. This paper reports room-temperature liquefication of diphenylpyrene isomers by introducing bulky yet flexible branched alkyl chains through molecular desymmetrization. Six isomers with different symmetries depending on the positions of the phenyl groups and alkyl groups were synthesized, and three of the isomers were found to be liquids at 25 °C, a state in which they have remained for more than five years. Although it is generally believed that the lower the symmetry of a molecule, the less likely it is to crystallize, one molecule with a relatively high molecular symmetry unexpectedly did not crystallize, which was evidenced by the kinetic inhomogeneity of this amorphous material (practically stable liquid) assessed by rheological analysis.