Synthesis of substituted polymethylenes by radical polymerization of N,N,N′,N′-tetraalkylfumaramides and their characterization

Radical polymerization of N,N,N′,N′-tetraalkylfumaramides (TRFAm) bearing methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, and isobutyl groups as N-substituents (TMFAm, TEFAm, TnPFAm, TIPFAm, and TIBFAm, respectively) was investigated. In the polymerization of TEFAm initiated with 1,1′-azobiscyclohexane-1-carbonitrile (ACN) in benzene, the polymerization rate (R_p) was expressed as follows: R_p = k [ACN]^0.28 [TEFAm]^1.26, and the overall activation energy was 102.1 kJ/mol. The introduction of a bulky alkyl group into N-substituent of TRFAm decreased the R_p in the following order: TMFAm > TEFAm > TnPFAm > TIBFAm > TIPFAm ～ 0. The relative reactivities of these monomers were also investigated in radical copolymerization with styrene (St) and methyl methacrylate (MMA). In copolymerization of TRFAm (M₂) with St (M₁), monomer reactivity ratios were determined to be r₁ = 1.07 and r₂ = 0.20 for St–TMFAm, and r₁ = 1.88 and r₂ = 0.11 for St–TEFAm, from which Q₂ and e₂ values were estimated to be 0.35 and 0.44 for TMFAm, and 0.19 and 0.47 for TEFAm, respectively. The other TRFAm were also copolymerized with St, but copolymerization with MMA gave polymers containing a small amount of TRFAm units. The polymer from TRFAm consists of a less-flexible poly(N,N-dialkylaminocarbonylmethylene) structure. The solubility and thermal property of the polymers were also investigated.     

Synthetic studies on (+)-aplasmomycin. 1. Stereoselective synthesis of the C-12˜C-17 segment

The C-12˜C-17 segment of (+)-aplasmomycin ( ) was synthesized stereoselectively starting from (−)-malic acid based on the stereoselective ketone reduction.     

Hydrogen evolution from water by use of viologen polymers as electron transfer catalyst

The behavior of viologen polymer (P-V²⁺) as an electron transfer catalyst in the reaction of hydrogen generation was studied. In the photoirradiation system, which contains triethanolamine (TEA), Ru(bpy)³⁺₃, and P-V²⁺, the amount of hydrogen evolution was less than methyl viologen (MV²⁺); P-V²⁺, however, was more effective in sodium dithionite as the electron donor and showed higher initial rates than MV²⁺.     

Proposed mechanism for the reaction catalyzed by a diterpene cyclase,aphidicolan-16beta-ol synthase: experimental results on biomimetic cyclization and examination of the cyclization pathway by ab initio calculations

To examine the mechanism of the cyclization reaction catalyzed by aphidicolan-16beta-ol synthase (ACS), which is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of diterpene aphidicolin, a specific inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha, skeletal rearrangement of 2a and biomimetic cyclization of 4b were employed. The structures of the reaction products, which reflect penultimate cation intermediates, allowed us to propose a detailed reaction pathway for the Lewis acid-catalyzed cyclizations and rearrangements. Isolation of these products in an aphidicolin-producing fungus led us to speculate that the mechanism of the ACS-catalyzed cyclization reaction is the same as that of a nonenzymatic reaction. Ab initio calculations of the acid-catalyzed reaction intermediates and the transition states indicate that the overall reaction catalyzed by ACS is an exothermic process though the reaction proceeds via an energetically disfavored secondary cation-like transition state. In conjunction with the solvent effect in the acid-catalyzed reactions, this indicates that the actual role of ACS is to provide a template which enforces conformations of the intermediate cations leading to the productive cyclization although it has been believed that the cation-pi interaction between cation intermediates and aromatic amino acid residues in the active site is important for the enzymatic catalysis. This study provided important information on the role of various cationic species, especially secondary cation-like structures, in both nonenzymatic and enzymatic reactions.     

Release characteristics of a free polyunsaturated fatty acid from an oily lymphographic agent

The release profiles of a free polyunsaturated fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid, from solutions in an oily lymphographic agent Lipiodol-Ultra-Fluid (Lipiodol), to rabbit and human plasma, phosphate buffer solution (PBS), and PBS containing bovine serum albumin (BSA) were examined in vitro. The times required for 50% release of alpha-linolenic acid from Lipiodol were about 1 and 1.5 h in the rabbit and human plasma, respectively. Although only a slight amount of alpha-linolenic acid was released from Lipiodol to PBS after 24 h incubation at 37 degrees C, release was markedly enhanced by the addition of BSA to PBS. The amount of alpha-linolenic acid released from Lipiodol into PBS containing 5% BSA increased as the alpha-linolenic acid content in Lipiodol was increased. In all experiments, the release had stopped before all alpha-linolenic acid had been released. The prolongation of alpha-linolenic acid release from Lipiodol is considered a requisite for a selective anticancer effect of Lipiodol containing a free fatty acid on liver cancer.     

Donor–acceptor–acceptor-type near-infrared fluorophores that contain dithienophosphole oxide and boryl groups: effect of the boryl group on the nonradiative decay

The use of donor–π–acceptor (D–π–A) skeletons is an effective strategy for the design of fluorophores with red-shifted emission. In particular, the use of amino and boryl moieties as the electron-donating and -accepting groups, respectively, can produce dyes that exhibit high fluorescence and solvatochromism. Herein, we introduce a dithienophosphole P-oxide scaffold as an acceptor–spacer to produce a boryl- and amino-substituted donor–acceptor–acceptor (D–A–A) π-system. The thus obtained fluorophores exhibit emission in the near-infrared (NIR) region, while maintaining high fluorescence quantum yields even in polar solvents (e.g. λ_em = 704 nm and Φ_F = 0.69 in CH₃CN). A comparison of these compounds with their formyl- or cyano-substituted counterparts demonstrated the importance of the boryl group for generating intense emission. The differences among these electron-accepting substituents were examined in detail using theoretical calculations, which revealed the crucial role of the boryl group in lowering the nonradiative decay rate constant by decreasing the non-adiabatic coupling in the internal conversion process. The D–A–A framework was further fine-tuned to improve the photostability. One of these D–A–A dyes was successfully used in bioimaging to visualize the blood vessels of Japanese medaka larvae and mouse brain.

Combination of electron-accepting diarylboryl terminal groups and dithienophosphole oxide spacers with electron-donating triarylamine moieties produces donor–acceptor–acceptor type π-systems, which exhibit emissions in the near-infrared region.     

Fabrication of polymer Langmuir-Blodgett films containing regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) for application to field-effect transistor

Semiconducting thin films consisting of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (RR-PHT) and poly(N-dodecylacrylamide) (pDDA) were constructed by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. A mixture of RR-PHT and pDDA spread from a chloroform solution on a water surface forms a stable monolayer, which can be transferred onto solid substrates by the LB method, yielding a well-defined polymer LB film. Surface morphology studies of the LB film indicate that the RR-PHT is dispersed uniformly throughout the surface. The polymer thin film was chemically doped by contacting with FeCl3 acetonitrile solution, and a conductivity of 5.6 S/cm was achieved. Further, the LB film was utilized as the semiconducting film in the field-effect transistor (FET), and mobilities of 2.2 x 10(-4) and 4.4 x 10(-4) cm2 V(-1) s(-1) were obtained by analyzing the saturated and linear regions of the current-voltage characteristic, respectively.     

Emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene by radiation. I. Effects of reaction conditions on the polymerization rate and polymer molecular weight

The radiation-induced emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene was carried out at an initial pressure of 2–25 kg/cm², temperature of 30–110°C, and under a dose rate of 0.57 × 10⁴?3.0 × 10⁴ rad/hr. The rate of polymerization was shown to be proportional to 1.0 and 1.3 powers of the dose rate and initial pressure, respectively, and is maximal at about 70°C. The molecular weight of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) lies in the range of 10⁵?10⁶, increases with reaction time in the early stage of polymerization, and is maximal at 70°C but is almost independent of the dose rate. An interesting discovery is that PTFE, a hydrophobic polymer, forms as a stable latex in the absence of emulsifier. When PTFE latex coagulates during polymerization under certain conditions, the polymerization rate decreases, probably because polymerization proceeds mainly on the polymer particle surface. The observed rate acceleration and successive increase in polymer molecular weight may be due to slow termination of propagating radicals in the rigid PTFE particles.     

Cationic ring‐opening polymerization of monothiocarbonate with a norbornene group

This work deals with the cationic ring‐opening polymerization of cyclic thiocarbonates with a norbornene or norbornane moiety, that is, 5,5‐(bicyclo[2.2.1]hept‐2‐ene‐5,5‐ylidene)‐1,3‐dioxane‐2‐thione ( TC1 ) or 5,5‐(bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane‐5,5‐ylidene)‐1,3‐dioxane‐2‐thione ( TC2 ), respectively. The reaction of TC1 initiated by trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH), methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (TfOMe), boron trifluoride etherate (BF₃OEt₂), or triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate (Et₃OBF₄) afforded unidentified products; however, TC1 underwent cationic ring‐opening polymerization with methyl iodide as an initiator to afford polythiocarbonate because the propagating end was stabilized by the covalent‐bonding property. The polymerization of TC2 initiated by TfOH, TfOMe, BF₃OEt₂, or Et₃OBF₄ afforded polythiocarbonate with good solubility in common organic solvents and a narrow molecular weight distribution because of the absence of a double‐bond moiety. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1698–1705, 2002     

Synthesis of [5'-13C]ribonucleosides and 2'-deoxy[5'-13C]ribonucleosides

The present efficient synthesis of [5'-13C]ribonucleosides and 2'-deoxy[5'-13C]ribonucleosides is characterized by the synthesis of the D-[5-13C]ribose derivative as an intermediate via the Wittig reaction of 4-aldehydo-D-erythrose dialkyl acetals with Ph3P13CH3I-BuLi to introduce the 13C label at the 5-position of a pentose. This was followed by the highly diastereoselective osmium dihydroxylation for the preparation of 2,3-di-O-benzyl-D-[5-13C]ribose dialkyl acetal and the cyclization from D-[5-13C]ribose dialkyl acetal derivatives to the alkyl D-[5-13C]ribofuranoside derivative by the use of LiBF(4). The obtained D-[5-13C]ribose derivative was converted into [5'-13C]ribonucleosides and subsequently into the corresponding 2'-deoxynucleosides.