Hydration of short-chain poly(oxyethylene) in carbon tetrachloride: an infrared spectroscopic study

Hydration of short-chain poly(oxyethylene)s, CH(3)(OCH(2)CH(2))(m)OCH(3) (abbreviated as C(1)E(m)()C(1)) (m = 1-3), in carbon tetrachloride has been studied by infrared spectroscopy. The O-H stretching vibrations of water in ternary solutions with H(2)O:C(1)E(m)C(1):CCl(4) mole ratios of 0.000418:0.005:0.995 to 0.000403:0.04:0.96 were analyzed. Two types of hydrogen bonds are formed in the interaction between water and C(1)E(m)C(1) in carbon tetrachloride; one is a monodentate hydrogen bond, in which only one of the O-H bonds of a water molecule participates in hydrogen bonding, and the other is a bidentate hydrogen bond, in which both of the O-H bonds of a water molecule participate in hydrogen bonding by bridging oxygen atoms separated by two or more monomer units on the polymer chain. An important finding is that the bidentate hydrogen-bond bridge is not formed between the nearest-neighbor oxygen atoms. This experimental observation supports the results of previous molecular dynamics simulations. The shortest oligomer of poly(oxyethylene), i.e., CH(3)OCH(2)CH(2)OCH(3) (1,2-dimethoxyethane) with a single monomer unit, is suggested not to be an adequate model for this polymer with respect to hydrogen bonding to water. The hydrogen bonding in a 1:1 C(1)E(m)C(1)-water adduct in carbon tetrachloride represents primitive incipient hydration of poly(oxyethylene). The present results indicate that both monodentate and bidentate hydrogen bonds are important and the latter is destabilized more rapidly than the former with increasing temperature. This dehydration process can be a potential mechanism of the poly(oxyethylene)-water phase separation.     

Convergent synthesis of polycyclic ethers via the intramolecular allylation of alpha-acetoxy ethers and subsequent ring-closing metathesis

The Lewis acid mediated reaction of alpha-acetoxy ethers 15-22 gave the corresponding cyclized products 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 32, 34, and 36 in good yields with high stereoselectivities. Those cyclized products were subjected to ring-closing metathesis to afford the polycyclic ethers 38-42, 44, and 45 in good yields. The usefulness of the present methodology was demonstrated by the convergent synthesis of the CDEF ring system of brevetoxin B (1) and the CDEFG ring system of gambierol (2).     

Creation of novel chiral synthons with enzymes and applications to natural product synthesis. 15. Efficient introduction of chiral centers into cyclohexane ring

The chiral half-ester 2 obtained by asymmetric hydrolysis of the symmetric diester 1 with pig liver esterase has been shown to be a versatile synthon for various chiral cyclohexane derivatives.     

Diarylurea-linked zinc porphyrin dimer as a dual-mode artificial receptor: supramolecular control of complexation-facilitated photoinduced electron transfer

A novel porphyrinic receptor 1 in which two zinc porphyrins are bridged by two diarylurea linkers was developed for recognition of a viologen derivative (hexyl viologen, HV). The electronic absorption spectra as well as the 1H NMR experiments revealed that the HV molecule was bound to the cleft in 1 mainly through carbonyl dipole-charge interactions to afford a 1:1 complex. From the steady-state fluorescence spectroscopic study, the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from 1 to HV was extremely facilitated by the receptor-substrate complexation. The receptor 1 also formed a 1:1 complex with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) through two Zn-N coordination interactions, and, using DABCO as an inhibitor, we suppressed the PET reaction via the substrate exchange.     

One-dimensional ion transport in self-organized columnar ionic liquids

New fan-shaped ionic liquids forming columnar liquid crystalline phases have been prepared to obtain one-dimensional ion-transporting materials. The ionic liquids consist of two incompatible parts: an imidazolium-based ionic part as an ion-conducting part and tris(alkyloxy)phenyl parts as insulating parts. Two compounds having octyl and dodecyl chains have been synthesized. Self-assembly of these materials leads to the formation of thermotropic hexagonal columnar liquid crystalline states at room temperature. Anisotropic one-dimensional ionic conductivities have been successfully measured by the cells having comb-shaped gold electrodes. The self-organized columns have been aligned macroscopically in two directions by shearing perpendicular and parallel to the electrodes. The ionic conductivities parallel to the column axis are higher than those perpendicular to the axis. The incorporation of lithium salts in these columnar materials leads to the enhancement of the ionic conductivities and their anisotropy. These materials would be useful for anisotropic transportation of ions at the nanometer level.     

Antioxidant activity and Neurite outgrowth-enhancing activity of scorbamic acid and a red pigment derived from ascorbic acid

Abstract

L-Ascorbic acid (AA), known as vitamin C, can form browning products by a non-enzymatic process during storage and the browning products cause deterioration of agricultural products. In the browning reaction, a red pigment, 2,2´-nitrilodi-2(2´)-deoxy-L-ascorbic acid ammonium salt (NDA), is generated from AA via L-scorbamic acid (SCA) as an intermediate. However, the biological activities of SCA and NDA have not yet been clarified. In this study, we assayed the antioxidant activities of SCA and NDA using ABTS radical cation and their neurite outgrowth-enhancing activities in PC12 cells. SCA showed stronger radical-scavenging activity than that of AA, while NDA hardly showed any activity. SCA and NDA enhanced the neurite outgrowth induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP after their incorporation into cells in the same manner as that of AA. The results indicated that SCA has antioxidant activity and that SCA and NDA have neurite outgrowth-enhancing activity.     

Isolation of heptadepsin, a novel bacterial cyclic depsipeptide that inhibits lipopolysaccharide activity

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is considered to cause various inflammatory reactions. We searched among microbial secondary metabolites for compounds that could inhibit LPS-stimulated adhesion between human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and human myelocytic cell line HL-60 cells. In the course of our screening, we isolated a novel cyclic depsipeptide, which we named heptadepsin, from the whole culture broth of Paenibacillus sp. The addition of heptadepsin prior to LPS stimulation decreased HL-60 cell-HUVEC adhesion without showing any cytotoxicity. It also inhibited the cellular adhesion induced by lipid A, the active component of LPS, but it did not inhibit TNF-alpha or IL-1beta-induced cell adhesion. The result of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis revealed that heptadepsin interacted with lipid A directly. Thus, heptadepsin, a novel naturally occurring cyclic heptadepsipeptide, was shown to inactivate LPS by direct interaction with LPS.     

Binding of methyl orange and its homologs by polyion complexes consisting of a piperidinium cationic polymer and various polyanions in aqueous solution

A study was made of the formation of polyion complexes between a piperidinium cationic polymer and polyanions and of the binding of azo-dye anions (methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl orange) by these complexes. Sodium poly(acrylate), poly(styrenesulfonate), dextran sulfate, and carboxy-methylcellulose were used as polyanions. The resultant polyion complexes (insoluble in aqueous solutions) were compared for their ability to bind the small organic molecules in aqueous solutions, for example, of urea and an inorganic electrolyte (KCI), and exhibited a strong binding affinity toward these small anions. Polyion complexes that consisted of sodium poly(acrylate), dextran sulfate, and carboxymethylcellulose as polyanions cooperated in the binding, whereas the polyion complex of sodium poly(styrenesulfonate) did not. It was suggested that small organic anions interact with the polyion complexes primarily through electrostatic and hydrophobic forces.     

Temperature dependence on the binding of butyl orange by bovine serum albumin

The binding of 4′-dibutylaminoazobenzene-4-sulfonate anion (butyl orange) by bovine serum albumin has been examined quantitatively by an equilibrium dialysis method at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 35°C. The first binding constants and the thermodynamic parameters for the formation of the first dye anion-protein complex have been calculated. The peculiar temperature dependence of the first binding constant could be observed. That is, the value of the first binding constant increases with increasing temperature until it reaches a maximum value at approximately 18°C and then decreases with raising temperature. Accordingly, this binding process is exothermic above 18°C and is endothermic below 18°C. Near 18°C the process exhibits athermal reaction. From the thermodynamic data obtained, it is evident that the favorable free energy of the binding is accompanied by an entropy gain and that the enthalpies of the binding vary from a positive (unfavorable) value below 18°C to a negative (favorable) one above 18°C. Furthermore an apparent temperature dependence of the thermodynamic functions was observed. That is, ΔF° becomes larger in absolute magnitude as the temperature increases. The positive quantity of ΔS° tends to decrease with increasing temperature. All these facts can be interpreted satisfactorily in terms of hydrophobic interactions between hydrophobic portions of the dye and nonpolar parts of the albumin.     

Reaction of carboxamide with Cu2Oisonitrile complex; formation of a new chelated copper(I) complex

Reaction of carboxamides with Cu₂O in the presence of t-butyl isocyanide gave new chelated copper(I) complexes, which probably are formed by the insertion of t-butyl isocyanide into the coppernitrogen bond of copper(I) amide isonitrile complexes, which were initially produced from the carboxamides and Cu₂Ot-butyl isocyanide complex. The same chelated copper(I) complexes were prepared more readily by the reaction of the corresponding N-trimethylsilyl-carboxamides with Cu₂Ot-butyl isocyanide complex. Reactions of the copper(I) complexes thus obtained with alkylating agents, such as alkyl halides, alkyl tosylates and triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate, also were described.