Strangeness Nuclear Physics at J-PARC

After the big earthquake in the east part of Japan on March 11, 2011, the beams in the hadron experimental hall at J-PARC have been successfully recovered in February, 2012. The experimental program using pion beams is now on-going with the primary proton beam power of ~5 kW. Before a long summer shutdown scheduled in 2013, several experiments in strangeness nuclear physics are going to take data. In this period, we anticipate the beam power would exceed 10 kW and the experiments to use K ^? beams will start. The experimental program is explained briefly.     

Fluorescence determination of N-acetylaspartic acid in the rat cerebrum homogenate using high-performance liquid chromatography with pre-column fluorescence derivatization

N-acetyl-L-aspartic acid (NAA) is an endogenous compound, and its brain concentration is suggested to be altered in neurological disorders. In the present study, a fluorescence determination method for NAA was developed by employing reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with pre-column fluorescence derivatization using 4-N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl-7-N-(2-aminoethyl)amino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-ED). Using methylsuccinic acid as the internal standard, a linear calibration curve for NAA was constructed in the range 125-1000 microM (n=3). The detection limit on the column was approximately 5.0 fmol (signal-to-noise ratio 3). The proposed HPLC method was applied to determine NAA in the rat cerebrum homogenate. Cerebrum NAA was successfully determined using 10 microL of the homogenate, and the validation data for the proposed HPLC method demonstrated satisfactory results. Intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy were within 1.1-7.0 and -8.1-6.3%, respectively. The concentration of NAA in the male rat cerebrum (13 weeks old) was 84+/-4.6 micromol/mg protein (n=3).     

Orbital views of the electron transport in molecular devices

Extended pi-conjugated molecules are interesting materials that have been studied theoretically and experimentally with applications to conducting nanowire, memory, and diode in mind. Chemical understanding of electron transport properties in molecular junctions, in which two electrodes have weak contact with a pi-conjugated molecule, is presented in terms of the orbital concept. The phase and amplitude of the HOMO and LUMO of pi-conjugated molecules determine essential properties of the electron transport in them. The derived rule allows us to predict single molecules' essential transport properties, which significantly depend on the type of connection between a molecule and electrodes. Qualitative predictions based on frontier orbital analysis about the site-dependent electron transport in naphthalene, phenanthrene, and anthracene are compared with density functional theory calculations for the molecular junctions of their dithiolate derivatives, in which two gold electrodes have strong contact with a molecule through two Au-S bonds.     

Determination of kynurenine levels in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with pre-column fluorescence derivatization

Kynurenine (KYN), a tryptophan metabolite, is a crucial compound for modulating neurotransmission because it can be metabolized in vivo into both quinolinic acid and kynurenic acid, which are the agonist and antagonist, respectively, of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor. For the highly sensitive detection of KYN by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a fluorescence derivatization of KYN with a benzofurazan-type fluorogenic reagent, 4-N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl-7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-F) was investigated in the present study. KYN was derivatized with DBD-F (DBD-KYN) at 60 °C for 30 min, and separated on an octadecylsilica column with a gradient elution of the mobile phase, which consists of 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile/methanol/water. DBD-KYN was detected fluorimetrically at 553 nm with an excitation wavelength of 431 nm. The limits of detection and quantification were approximately 0.30 pmol [signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) 3] and 1.0 pmol (S/N, 10) on column, respectively. Plasma KYN levels were successfully determined using 10 μL of rat plasma with satisfactory precision and accuracy. Intra- and inter-day precisions and accuracies were 1.7-6.8%, and −10 to 9.6%, respectively. KYN levels in plasma of male Sprague-Dawley rats (7 weeks old) were approximately 2.4 ± 0.32 μmol L⁻¹ (n = 4). The proposed HPLC method was applied to determine KYN levels in the plasma of ketamine-treated rats—the animal model of schizophrenia.     

Suppression of thiol exchange reaction in the determination of reduced-form thiols by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after derivatization with fluorogenic benzofurazan reagent, 7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole-4-sulfonate and 4-aminosulfonyl-7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole

The derivatization of the reduced-form thiols with SBD-F (7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole-4-sulfonate) and ABD-F (4-aminosulfonyl-7-fluoro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole) was studied. The yields of the derivatives of the reduced-form thiols (cysteine, homocysteine, reduced-form glutathione) with SBD-F at 60 degrees C for 45 min in the borate buffer (pH 9.3) were significantly decreased in the presence of the oxidized-form thiols (cystine, homocystine, oxidized-form glutathione) because of the thiol exchange reaction between the reduced-form and the oxidized-form thiols. The use of ABD-F at low temperature enabled the suppression of these thiol exchange reactions, and the recommended conditions were below 5 degrees C for 90 min in borate buffer (pH 9.3). These results suggest that ABD-F is a preferred derivatization reagent for the accurate determination of the reduced-form thiols in samples containing the oxidized-form thiols. In addition, it was also suggested that the derivatization of the reduced-form thiols should also be performed at low temperature when derivatization reagents such as o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) and monobromobimane (BrB) are used.     

Secondary metabolites from polar fractions of Piper umbellatum

Seven known secondary metabolites were isolated from the methanol extract of the branches of Piper umbellatum. The identification of these compounds was mainly achieved by 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques and FAB-MS. Among them, the known cepharadiones A and B can be considered aschemotaxonomic markers of the genus Piper.     

Synthesis of benzofurazan derivatization reagents for carboxylic acids and its application to analysis of fatty acids in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The derivatization regents for carboxylic acids, DAABD-AE (4-[2-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethylaminosulfonyl]7-(2-aminoethylamino)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole), MePZBD-AE ([4-(4-N-methyl)piperazinosulfonyl]-7-(2-aminoethylamino)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole) and APZBD-NHMe ([4-(4-N-aminoethyl)piperazinosulfonyl]-7-methylamino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole) were developed for electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The derivatization reaction with fatty acids was completed at 60 degrees C within 30 min. The derivatives of fatty acids were separated on a reversed-phase column and detected with ESI-MS. The detection limits attained for fatty acids were femtomol range and the calibration curves were linear over the range from 0.1 to 100 pmol (r2 > 0.992) for DAABD-AE and MePZBD-AE. DAABD-NHMe was applied to the analysis of fatty acids in rat plasma samples.     

Acylated Triterpene Saponins from Atroxima liberica Stapf

The four new acylated triterpene saponins 1 – 4 , isolated as two pairs of isomers and named libericosides A₁/A₂ and B₁/B₂, one pair of isomers 5 / 6 , the (Z)‐isomer libericoside C₂ ( 5 ) being new, one new sucrose ester, atroximoside ( 7 ), and eight known compounds were isolated from the roots of Atroxima liberica by repeated MPLC and VLC on normal and reversed‐phase silica gel. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR studies (¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR, DEPT, COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, HSQC, and HMBC) and mass spectrometry as 3‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosylpresenegenin 28‐{O‐α‐L ‐arabinopyranosyl‐(1→3)‐O‐β‐D ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐O‐α‐L ‐rhamnopyranosyl‐(1→2)‐4‐O‐[(E)‐3,4‐dimethoxycinnamoyl]‐β‐D ‐fucopyranosyl} ester ( 1 ) and its (Z)‐isomer 2 , 3‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosylpresenegenin 28‐{O‐α‐L ‐arabinopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐O‐β‐D ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐O‐α‐L ‐rhamnopyranosyl‐(1→2)‐O‐[O‐β‐D ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→3)‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→3)]‐4‐O‐[(E)‐3,4‐dimethoxycinnamoyl]‐β‐D ‐fucopyranosyl} ester ( 3 ) and its (Z)‐isomer 4 , 3‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosylpresenegenin 28‐{O‐β‐D ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐O‐α‐L ‐rhamnopyranosyl‐(1→2)‐O‐[6‐O‐acetyl‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→3)]‐4‐O‐[(Z)‐3,4‐dimethoxycinnamoyl]‐β‐D ‐fucopyranosyl} ester ( 5 ), and 3‐O‐[(Z)‐feruloyl]‐β‐D ‐fructofuranosyl α‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( 7 ). Compounds 1 – 6 and the known saponins 8 / 9 were evaluated against the human colon cancer cells HCT 116 and HT‐29 and showed moderate to weak cytotoxicity.     

Alterations of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid glutamate levels in rats treated with the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, ketamine

It has been reported that the repeated administration of a sub-anesthetic dose of an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, ketamine, can produce an animal model of schizophrenia. Since no information is available on the alterations of the amino acid levels in ketamine-treated rats, we investigated the amino acid composition in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of rats that were repeatedly administered with ketamine for 5 consecutive days (30 mg/kg/day). The plasma and cerebrospinal fluid amino acid compositions in the fifth week after cessation of repeated ketamine administration were determined by highperformance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection using a pre-column fluorescence reagent, i.e. 4-fluoro-7nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole. Among the amino acids investigated in the present study, the level of plasma glutamic acid increased significantly (p < 0.05), while that of the cerebrospinal fluid glutamic acid decreased significantly in the ketamine-treated rats as compared with these levels in control rats injected with saline (p < 0.05, n = 7). These alterations in the glutamic acid level in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid resemble those in schizophrenic patients, suggesting that ketamine-treated rats may be a useful model for performing research on the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.     

Biologically active glycosides from asteroidea, 42. Isolation and structure of a new biologically active ganglioside molecular species from the starfish Asterina pectinifera

A ganglioside molecular species GP-3 (1) has been obtained from the water-soluble lipid fraction of the chloroform/methanol extract of the starfish Asterina pectinifera. The structure of the ganglioside has been determined on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence. Compound 1 represents new ganglioside molecular species possessing two moles of sialic acids at the inner part of the sugar moiety. Partial hydrolysis by hot water and an enzymatic hydrolysis by means of endoglycoceramidase (EGCase) have proved useful for structure elucidation of the complex oligosaccharide moiety. Moreover, 1 exhibits neuritogenic activity toward the rat pheochromocytoma cell line, PC-12 cells, in the presence of nerve growth factor (NGF).