Synthesis,Structures, and Thermal Properties of Symmetric and Janus “Lantern Cage” Siloxanes

Symmetric and asymmetric (Janus-type) new “lantern cage” siloxanes (PhSiO_1.5)₄(Me₂SiO)₄(RSiO_1.5)₄ (R=Ph or iBu) were synthesized through reaction of all-cis-[PhSi(OSiMe₂Br)O]₄ with all-cis-[RSi(OH)O]₄ (R=Ph or iBu). These precursors were obtained by facile two or three-step reactions from commercially available compounds. The spectroscopic properties of the resulting products were fully characterized and they showed high thermal stability and sublimation without decomposition. The crystal structures clearly indicated that the internal vacancy volumes of the lantern cages are considerably larger than that of octaphenylsilsesquioxane (PhSiO_1.5)₈. DFT calculations of the lantern cage showed a distinctly different electronic state from that of octasilsesquioxane. These results suggest that lantern cage siloxanes have a characteristic “field” in the molecule.     

What you can see by developing real-time radioisotope imaging system for plants: from water to element and CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> gas imaging

Since plants live on inorganic elements, absorbing ions from roots and transferring them to each tissue in a plant is an essential activity. However, little is known about the movement of the elements or water in plant tissue. Though fluorescent imaging is now overwhelmingly used at the microscopic level in biology, especially to visualize chemicals or organelles in a cell, radioisotope imaging has become one of the important methods for human imaging in the medical field. In the case of plant studies, however, real-time radioisotope imaging is little-known among plant researchers. The author has developed radioisotope imaging systems using various radioisotopes to study living plant activity, both for elements and for water. Here we review the real-time radioisotope imaging methods we developed, and show new aspects of plant physiology discovered by live imaging.     

Development of Catalytic Site-Selective C−H Oxidation

Direct C−H bond oxygenation is a strong and useful tool for the construction of oxygen functional groups. After Chen and White's pioneering works, various non-heme-type iron and manganese complexes were introduced, leading to strong development in this area. However, for this method to become a truly useful tool for synthetic organic chemistry, it is necessary to make further efforts to improve site-selectivity, and catalyst durability. Recently, we found that non-heme-type ruthenium complex cis- 1 presents efficient catalysis in C(sp³)−H oxygenation under acidic conditions. cis- 1 -catalysed C−H oxygenation can oxidize various substrates including highly complex natural compounds using hypervalent iodine reagents as a terminal oxidant. Moreover, the catalyst system can use almost stoichiometric water molecules as the oxygen source through reversible hydrolysis of PhI(OCOR)₂. It is a strong tool for producing isotopic-oxygen-labelled compounds. Moreover, the environmentally friendly hydrogen peroxide can be used as a terminal oxidant under acidic conditions.     

Universal Single-Mode Lasing in Fully Chaotic Billiard Lasers

By numerical simulations and experiments of fully chaotic billiard lasers, we show that single-mode lasing states are stable, whereas multi-mode lasing states are unstable when the size of the billiard is much larger than the wavelength and the external pumping power is sufficiently large. On the other hand, for integrable billiard lasers, it is shown that multi-mode lasing states are stable, whereas single-mode lasing states are unstable. These phenomena arise from the combination of two different nonlinear effects of mode-interaction due to the active lasing medium and deformation of the billiard shape. Investigations of billiard lasers with various shapes revealed that single-mode lasing is a universal phenomenon for fully chaotic billiard lasers.     

The Simplest Model for Doped Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT): Single-crystalline EDOT Dimer Radical Cation Salts

Although doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is extensively used in electronic devices, their molecular-weight distributions and inadequately defined structures have hindered the elucidation of their underlying conduction mechanism. In this study, we introduce the simplest discrete oligomer models: EDOT dimer radical cation salts. Single-crystal structural analyses revealed their one-dimensional (1D) columnar structures, in which the donors were uniformly stacked. Band calculations identified 1D metallic band structures with a strong intracolumnar orbital interaction (band width W≈1 eV), implying the origin of the high conductivity of doped PEDOT. Interestingly, the salts exhibited semiconducting behavior reminiscent of genuine Mott states as a result of electron–electron repulsion (U) dominant over W. This study realized basic models with tunable W and U to understand the conduction mechanism of doped PEDOT through structural modification in oligomers, including the conjugation length.     

Preparation of Oxysterols by C–H Oxidation of Dibromocholestane with Ru(Bpga) Catalyst

Seven mono- and dihydroxycholesterols were prepared by direct C–H oxidation of the cholestane skeleton with a recently developed Ru(Bpga) catalyst (Ru(Bpga) = [RuCl (bpga) (PPh₃)] Cl; bpga = 2-(bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)acetamide)). Due to the high selectivity of the Ru(Bpga) complex for tertiary C–H, the reaction afforded a mixture of 25-, 20-, 17-, and 14-oxygenated cholesterols that could be easily separated by high-performance liquid chromatography. These results suggest that late-stage C–H oxidation could be a viable strategy for preparing candidate metabolites of biologically important molecules.     

A novel class of platelet activating factor (PAF) antagonists. I. Synthesis and structure-activity studies on PAF-sulfonamide isosteres.

New platelet activating factor (PAF) antagonists, 3 were synthesized by replacing the charged phosphate and trimethylammonium moieties with sulfonamide and heterocyclic quaternary ammonium functionalities, respectively (PAF-sulfonamide isosteres). Darmstoff phosphatidic acid analogues of this class (Darmstoff-sulfonamide isosteres), 6 were also synthesized. The activity of these compounds as PAF antagonists was evaluated from their in vitro inhibitory effect on PAF-induced platelet aggregation in rabbit platelet-rich plasma. Among the compounds tested, some of the 2-methoxypropane derivatives with an octadecylcarbamoyloxy or octadecylcarbamoylthio side chain at the 1-position and a propylsulfonamide function bearing a terminal polar substituent such as a quaternary quinolinium or substituted quinolinium group at the 3-position were found to be the most potent (IC50 = 0.3-0.6 microM).     

Thunberginols C, D, and E, new antiallergic and antimicrobial dihydroisocoumarins, and thunberginol G 3'-O-glucoside and (-)-hydrangenol 4'-O-glucoside, new dihydroisocoumarin glycosides, from Hydrangeae Dulcis Folium.

New antiallergic and antimicrobial dihydroisocoumarins, thunberginols C, D, and E, were isolated from Hydrangeae Dulcis Folium, the fermented and dried leaves of Hydrangea macrophylla SERINGE var. thunbergii MAKINO, together with new dihydroisocoumarin glycosides, thunberginol G 3'-O-glucoside and (-)-hydrangenol 4'-O-glucoside. Their chemical structures have been determined on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. Thunberginols C, D, E, G, and (-)-hydrangenol 4'-O-glucoside showed antiallergic activity in the in vitro bioassay using the Schults-Dale reaction in sensitized guinea pig bronchial muscle, and they also exhibited antimicrobial activity against oral bacteria.     

A convenient synthesis of 1,2,4-triazolo[4,3,2-o,p]-[1,3]diazocino[4,5-b]quinoxalines via a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction and a ring transformation

The reaction of 6-chloro-2-hydrazinoquinoxaline 4-oxide 5 with triethyl orthoformate gave 7-chloro-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]quinoxaline 5-oxide 6. The reaction of compound 6 with phenyl isocyanate afforded 7-chloro-4-phenylamino-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]quinoxaline 7 , while the reaction of compound 6 with phenyl isothiocyanate resulted in deoxygenation to provide 7-chloro-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]quinoxaline 8. However, the reaction of compound 6 with allyl isothiocyanate effected the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction, but not deoxygenation, to furnish 9-chloro-4,5-dihydroisoxazolo[2,3-a][1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-c]quinoxalin-5-ylmethylisothiocyanate 9. Moreover, the reduction of compound 9 with iron/acetic acid resulted in ring transformation to give 11 -chloro-7-hydroxy-4-thioxo-4,5,6,7,8,9-hexahydro-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3,2- o,p][1,3]diazocino[4,5-b]quinoxaline 10 , whose acetylation afforded 5-acetyl-11-chloro-7-hydroxy-4-thioxo-4,5,6,7,8,9-hexahydro-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3,2-o,p][1,3]diazocino[4,5-b]quinoxaline 11.