Creation of highly functional thin films using electrochemical nanotechnology

This overview describes the results of our recent study of the application of electrochemical nanotechnology to the fabrication of magnetic recording materials, interconnects in ultra-large-scale integrated (ULSI) devices, energy storage materials, and on-chip biosensors. It is important to note that electrochemical processes play significant roles in developing and fabrication such sophisticated materials and devices. In the field of magnetic recording, electrodeposition methods for preparing CoNiFe and CoFe soft magnetic thin films with a high saturation magnetic flux density were newly developed, and the significant issues for obtaining those films are highlighted. In the area of ULSI interconnects, we developed a technique using a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) for direct bonding of the interconnect layer to SiO2, and proposed a novel electroless deposition method for fabricating a diffusion barrier layer. In the field of batteries, electrodeposited SnNi alloy was proposed as a future anode material for Li batteries, and electrochemical MEMS processes were shown to be useful for fabricating micro-sized direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) as portable batteries for electronics applications. In the area of chemical sensors, we developed a new process for fabricating field effect transistors (FETs) modified with SAMs for on-chip biosensing applications.     

Enzymes in Organic Synthesis: Application to the Problems of Carbohydrate Recognition (Part 1)

Carbohydrates on cell surfaces are information molecules. Although only seven or eight monosaccharides are commonly used as building blocks in mammalian systems, the multifunctionality of these monomers can lead to the assembly of an immense variety of complex structures. Millions of different tetrasaccharide structures, for example, can be constructed from this small number of building blocks, if branching, the stereochemistry of glycosidic linkages, and the modification of hydroxyl and amino groups are taken into consideration. Oligosaccharides therefore represent an effective class of biomolecules that code for a vast amount of information required in various biological recognition processes, such as intercellular communication, signal transduction, cell adhesion, infection, cell differentiation, development and metastasis. The pace of development of pharmaceuticals based on carbohydrates has, however, been slower than that based on other classes of biomolecules. Part of the reason is the lack of technologies for the study of complex carbohydrates. There is no method to amplify oligosaccharides for sequence analysis. There is no machine available for automated synthesis of oligosaccharides. In addition, the possibly poor bioavailability and difficulties in the large-scale synthesis of carbohydrates have undoubtedly contributed to this slow pace. The enzymatic and chemoenzymatic methods, especially those based on aldolases and glycosyltransferases, described here appear to be useful for the synthesis of mono- and oligosaccaharides and related molecules. Further advances in glycobiology will probably lead to the development of new technologies for the study of carbohydrate recognition and for the synthesis of bioactive carbohydrates and mimetics to control the recognition processes.     

Enantioselective acylation of 1,2- and 1,3-diols catalyzed by aminophosphinite derivatives of (1S,2R)-1-amino-2-indanol

A phosphinite derivative that can be easily prepared in two steps from commercially available aminoindanol was found to be an effective catalyst for enantioselective acylation of diols. For the asymmetric desymmetrization of meso-1,2-diols, the corresponding monoester was obtained in up to 95% ee from the reaction in the presence of 5 mol % catalyst.     

In situ time-resolved DXAFS study of Rh nanoparticle formation mechanism in ethylene glycol at elevated temperature

A combination of in situ time-resolved DXAFS and ICP-MS techniques reveals that the formation process of Rh nanoparticles (NPs) from rhodium trichloride trihydrate (RhCl(3)·3H(2)O) in ethylene glycol with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at elevated temperature is a first-order reaction, which indicates that uniform size Rh NPs appear consecutively and these Rh NPs do not aggregate with each other.     

Star-shaped trimeric quaternary ammonium bromide surfactants: adsorption and aggregation properties

Novel star-shaped trimeric surfactants consisting of three quaternary ammonium surfactants linked to a tris(2-aminoethyl)amine core were synthesized. Each ammonium had two methyls and a straight alkyl chain of 8, 10, 12, or 14 carbons. The adsorption and aggregation properties of these tris(N-alkyl-N,N-dimethyl-2-ammoniumethyl)amine bromides (3C(n)trisQ, in which n represents alkyl chain carbon number) were characterized by equilibrium and dynamic surface tension, rheology, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) techniques. 3C(n)trisQ showed critical micelle concentrations (CMC) 1 order of magnitude lower than that of the corresponding gemini surfactants with an ethylene spacer and the corresponding monomeric surfactants. The logarithm of the CMC decreased linearly with increasing hydrocarbon chain length for 3C(n)trisQ. The slope of the line, which is well-known as Klevens equation, was larger than those of the monomeric and gemini surfactants; however, considering the total carbon number in the chains, the slope was shallower than the monomeric and was close to the gemini. Through the results such as surface tensions at the CMC (32-34 mN m(-1)) and the parameters of standard free energy, CMC/C(20) and pC(20), it was found that 3C(n)trisQ could adsorb densely at the air/water interface despite the strong electrostatic repulsion between multiple quaternary ammonium headgroups. Moreover, dynamic surface tension measurements showed that the kinetics of adsorption for 3C(n)trisQ to the air/water interface was slow because of their bulky structures. Furthermore, the results of rheology, SANS, and cryo-TEM determined that 3C(n)trisQ with n = 10 and 12 formed ellipsoidal micelles at low concentrations in solution and the structures transformed to threadlike micelles with very few branches for n = 12 as the concentration increased, but for n = 14 threadlike micelles formed at relatively low concentrations.     

Novel lactonization of ethenetricarboxylate derivatives: intermolecular trapping of alkenes

A novel cyclization of 1,1-diethyl 2-tert-butyl ethenetricarboxylate (1a) in the presence of a Lewis acid afforded a 5,5-dimethyl-gamma-lactone derivative 2a. The reaction process has been shown to arise from formation by trapping of isobutylene generated in situ. Lewis acid-promoted intermolecular reactions of 1,1-diethyl 2-hydrogen ethenetricarboxylate (5) and various alkenes to afford highly functionalized gamma-lactones were also developed. [reaction: see text]     

3,4-Thienylene-ethynylene Oligomers

Several well-defined 3,4-thienylene-ethynylene oligomers with different chain lengths have been synthesized and characterized. X-Ray crystallographic analyses proved their unique, totally helical conformations.     

Officinatrione: an unusual (17S)-17,18-seco-lupane skeleton,and four novel lupane-type triterpenoids from the roots of Taraxacum officinale

Novel 5 lupane-type of triterpenois, i.e., 3β-acetoxy-18α,19α-epoxylupan-21β-ol (1), 18α,19α-epoxy-21β-hydroxylupan-3-one (2), lup-18-ene-3,21-dione (3), lupa-18,21-dien-3β-yl acetate (4), and (17S)-17,18-seco-lup-19(21)-ene-3,18,22-trione (5), named officinatrione, as well as 16 known compounds from the roots of Taraxacum officinale collected in Takatsuki city, Osaka, Japan. Of the above compounds, 5 was the first lupane-type triterpene, of which the D-ring was open to form a nine-membered ring. Compounds 2 and 5 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against L1210 cell line (IC₅₀ 10.5 and 10.1 μM).