Studies on the stereochemical course of intramolecular cycloaddition reactions of olefinic o-quinodimethanes-stereoselective synthesis of 8α, 9α, 14β-estranes

The stereoselective synthesis of 3-O-methyl-7α-$\text{p}$-toluenesulphonyl-8α, 9α, 14β-estradiol ($\text{25}$) and its 11-oxo derivative ($\text{26}$) $\text{via}$ thermolysis of 1β-$\text{tert}$-butoxy-2α-[2-(4-methoxybenzocyclobutenyl)ethyl]-2β-methy1-3α-[2-($\text{p}$-toluenesulphonyl)ethenyl] cyclopentane ($\text{22}$) and its oxo derivative ($\text{24}$), which were derived from condensation product ($\text{9}$) of optically active aldehyde ($\text{8}$) and 1-cyano-4-methoxybenzocyclobutene through $\text{10}$ and $\text{11}$ to selenides $\text{16}$ and $\text{21}$, is described.     

Application of Hamiltonian of ray motion to room acoustics

Based on a standard Hamiltonian of acoustic ray, it is shown that a ray motion in a finite region can be treated as a particle motion inside a potential well. The boundary reflections of ray can be described by introducing a so-called confining potential to confine a ray motion in a closed domain. It is shown that the square well potential model for the ray motion can reproduce the reverberation time in a two-dimensional room with irregular walls which is consistent with the Norris-Eyring law. It is also shown that the sound reverberation relates the ray chaos of the billiards in polygons with smooth convex walls.     

Synthesis and properties of multiblock copolymers consisting of poly(L‐lactic acid) and poly(oxypropylene‐ co‐oxyethylene) prepared by direct polycondensation

A multiblock copoly(ester–ether) consisting of poly(l ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(oxypropylene‐co‐oxyethylene) (PN) was prepared and characterized. Preparation was done via the solution polycondensation of a thermal oligocondensate of l ‐lactic acid, a commercially available telechelic polyether (PN: Pluronic‐F68), and dodecanedioic acid as a carboxyl/hydroxyl adjusting agent. When stannous oxide was used as the catalyst, the molecular weight of the resultant PLLA/PN block copolymers became very high (even with a high PN content) under optimized reaction conditions. The refluxing of diphenyl ether (solvent) at reduced pressure allowed the efficient removal of the condensed water from the reaction system and the feed‐back of the intermediately formed l ‐lactide at the same time in order to successfully bring about a high degree of condensation. The copolymer films obtained by solution casting became more flexible with the increasing PN content as soft segments. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1513–1521, 1999     

Temperature- and pH-responsive aminopropyl-silica ion-exchange columns grafted with copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide

We have designed copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide, environmentally-responsive polymers, which respond to temperature and other external stimuli. In this study, we designed and synthesized copolymers that introduced ion-exchange groups. These copolymers responded to the temperature and the pH, and the copolymer-grafted aminopropyl silica beads were used as HPLC packing materials. This stationary phase altered the properties from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and from charge to non-charge by temperature and pH changes. We studied the separations of organic acids and phenylthiohydantoin-amino acids using environmentally-responsive chromatography, and confirmed the effects of the ion-exchange groups. The elution behaviors of these samples were controlled by the temperature changes without organic solvents in the mobile phase. It was confirmed that the interactions between the solute and stationary phase could be freely controlled by the temperature and the pH. Environmentally-responsive chromatography is expected to be applicable to the separation of pharmaceuticals and biomolecules, such as peptides, proteins and nucleic acids.     

A Spin-Frustrated System Composed of Organic Radicals and Magnetic Metal Ions

Despite antiferromagnetic coupling between any two neighboring spins, parallel alignment of the 3d spins of the Mn^II ions and the 2p spins of the organic ligand is observed for the (degenerate) ground state of [{Mn(hfac)₂}₂(bnn)] (shown on the right). The “butterfly”-shaped arrangement of the spins contributes to this noteworthy spin configuration. hfac=hexafluoroacetylacetonate, bnn=2,2′-bis(1-oxyl-3-oxide-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazolinyl).     

Implications of glutathione-S transferase P1 in MAPK signaling as a CRAF chaperone: In memory of Dr. Irving Listowsky

Glutathione-S transferase P1 (GSTP1) is one of the glutathione-S transferase isozymes that belong to a family of phase II metabolic isozymes. The unique feature of GSTP1 compared with other GST isozymes is its relatively high expression in malignant tissues. Thus, clinically, GSTP1 serves as a tumor marker and as a refractory factor against certain types of anticancer drugs through its primary function as a detoxifying enzyme. Additionally, recent studies have identified a chaperone activity of GSTP1 involved in the regulation the function of various intracellular proteins, including factors of the growth signaling pathway. In this review, we will first describe the function of GSTP1 and then extend the details onto its role in the mitogen-activated protein kinase signal pathway, referring to the results of our recent study that proposed a novel autocrine signal loop formed by the CRAF/GSTP1 complex in mutated KRAS and BRAF cancers. Finally, the possibilities of new therapeutic approaches for these cancers by targeting this complex will be discussed.     

Carboboration-Driven Generation of a Silylium Ion for Vinylic C−F Bond Functionalization by B(C6F5)3 Catalysis

Strong main-group Lewis acids such as silylium ions are known to effectively promote heterolytic C(sp³)−F bond cleavage. However, carrying out the C(sp²)−F bond transformation of vinylic C−F bonds has remained an unmet challenge. Herein, we describe our development of a new and simple strategy for vinylic C−F bond transformation of α-fluorostyrenes with silyl ketene acetals catalyzed by B(C₆F₅)₃ under mild conditions. Our theoretical calculations revealed that a stabilized silylium ion, which is generated from silyl ketene acetals by carboboration, cleaves the C−F bond of α-fluorostyrenes. A comparative study of α-chloro or bromostyrenes demonstrated that our reaction can be applied only to α-fluorostyrenes because the strong silicon-fluorine affinity facilitates an intramolecular interaction of silylium ions with fluorine atom to cleave the C−F bond. A broad range of α-fluorostyrenes as well as a range of silyl ketene acetals underwent this C−F bond transformation.