Synthesis of the proposed structure of plakevulin A: revised structure of plakevulin A

A total synthesis of the proposed structure of plakevulin A was accomplished. However, the NMR spectral data of the synthetic plakevulin A were not identical of those of the reported compound. We next converted the synthetic plakevulin A into 1-dihydrountenone A. The ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectral data of 1-dihydrountenone A were identical with those of reported plakevulin A except for the peaks derived from levulinic acid. Thus, we repurified sample of the natural product and confirmed that the natural sample contained 1-dihydrountenone A and levulinic acid in the ratio of one to one. We also found that not plakevulin A but 1-dihydountenone A possessed the inhibitory activity against mammalian DNA polymerases α and β.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of the 19-epi-C18-C25 segment of (−)-lasonolide A and an unusual inversion at C19

Diastereoselective construction of the 19-epi-C₁₈-C₂₅ segment of (−)-lasonolide A was achieved using a 5-exo-trigonal mode of radical cyclization for the creation of the contiguous quaternary and tertiary stereogenic centers at C₂₂ and C₂₃ as the key reaction step. During the dehydration stage, it was found that an unusual inversion of configuration took place.     

A large thermal hysteresis loop produced by a charge-transfer phase transition in a rubidium manganese hexacyanoferrate

In a rubidium manganese hexacyanoferrate, RbMn[Fe(CN)(6)], the magnetic susceptibility (chi(M)) decreased at 225 K (=T(1/2)decreasing) and abruptly increased at 300 K (=T(1/2)increasing) in the cooling and warming processes, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy indicated that the high-temperature (HT) and low-temperature (LT) phases were composed of Mn(II)-NC-Fe(III) and Mn(III)-NC-Fe(II), respectively. A structural change from cubic (F43m, a = 10.533 A) to tetragonal (I4m2, a = b = 7.090 A, c = 10.520 A) accompanied the phase transition, and, on the basis of these results, the HT and LT phases were assigned to Mn(II)(t(2g)(3)e(g)(2), (6)A(1g); S = (5)/(2))-NC-Fe(III) (t(2g)(5), (2)T(2g); S = (1)/(2)) and Mn(III)(e(g)(2)b(2g)(1)a(1g)(1), (5)B(1g); S = 2)-NC-Fe(II) (b(2g)(2)e(g)(4), (1)A(1g); S = 0), respectively. This phenomenon is caused by a metal-to-metal charge transfer from Mn(II) to Fe(III) and a Jahn-Teller distortion of the produced Mn(III) ion. The reaction mechanism is discussed, considering the entropy difference between the HT and LT phases.     

Solvothermal synthesis of large surface area zirconia

The reaction of zirconium n-propoxide in glycol at 300°C yielded microcrystalline tetragonal zirconia (ZrO₂). The crystallite size of the product depended on the carbon number of the glycol and increased in the following order (carbon number of glycol): 2<6<4, which suggested that the heterolytic cleavage of O-C bond of gylcoxide formed by transesterification is the prime factor for the formation of the product. In toluene, zirconium isopropoxide also gave tetragonal zirconia at 300°C, and zirconium tert-butoxide decomposed at 200°C yielding amorphous zirconia, while zirconium n-propoxide was stable at 300°C. These results suggest that the reaction in toluene depends on the structure of the alkyl group of the alkoxides. Thus-obtained tetragonal zirconias maintained large surface areas (90–160 m²/g) even after calcination at 500°C.     

Two-dimensional network formation of cardiac myocytes in agar microculture chip with 1480 nm infrared laser photo-thermal etching

We have developed a new method that enables agar microstructures to be used to cultivate cells and that allows cell network patterns to be controlled. The method makes use of non-contact three-dimensional photo-thermal etching with a 1480 nm infrared focused laser beam, which is strongly absorbed by water and agar gel, to form the shapes of agar microstructures. It allows microstructures to be easily formed in an agar layer within a few minutes, with cell-culture holes formed by the spot heating of a 100 mW laser and tunnels by the tracing of a 100 microm s(-1), 40 mW laser. We cultivated rat cardiac myocytes in adjacent microstructures and observed synchronized beating in them 90 min after they had made physical contact. Our results indicate that the system can make and use microstructures for cell-network cultivation in a minimal amount of time without any expensive microfabrication facilities or complicated procedures.     

Polymerization of acrylamide initiated with pinacol–ceric ion redox system

Polymerization of acrylamide initiated with a pinacol–ceric ion redox system was investigated. The polymer obtained was found to contain one cerium atom in a polymer molecule. It was considered that the cerium atom was introduced into the polymer molecule by the termination reaction as there is no cerium atom in the initiating radical in the present system. A similar termination reaction was attained by ferric ion but not by cerous ion. The metal ion was considered to terminate the polymerization to form a stable polymer. Some considerations on the structure of the reaction product relating to the polymerization mechanism were discussed.     

Second-order nonlinear optical properties from poled silicate channel-waveguide

Thin film waveguides of germanosilicate glass are fabricated byrf-sputtering. Second-order nonlinearity ofd ₃₃=3.2 pm/V is obtained from electrically poled film, and the lifetime of the nonlinearity is found to be310 years. The poled channel-waveguide is prepared and the Cerenkov-type phase-matched frequency doubling is successfully observed.     

Michael addition reactions of acetoacetates and malonates with acrylates in water under strongly alkaline conditions

Michael addition reactions of acetoacetates and malonates with acrylates in a 5 M KOH aqueous solution without using any other catalysts are described. When they are either tert-butyl or benzyl esters, the reaction proceeded very rapidly to afford moderate to high yields of the corresponding bis-Michael adducts that are unexpectedly stable under these conditions.     

pH-regulated formation of amyloid-like beta-sheet assemblies from polyglutamate grafted polyallylamine

A novel artificial protein with simple primary structure, poly(gamma-methyl-L-glutamate)-grafted polyallylamine, has been prepared and the resultant peptide has shown a unique property of pH-regulated conformation and morphology.     

Efficient synthesis of isoplagiochin D, a macrocyclic bis(bibenzyls), by utilizing an intramolecular Suzuki-Miyaura reaction

Isoplagiochin D, a highly strained macrocyclic bis(bibenzyls) with two biaryl units isolated from the liverwort Pladiochila fruticosa, was prepared in 10.6% overall yield for the 11 steps by an efficient synthetic approach involving the construction of two bibenzyl and one biaryl units using Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons and Suzuki-Miyaura protocols.