Blood cell separation using crosslinkable copolymers containing N,N‐dimethylacrylamide

Amphiphilic copolymers using hydrophilic N,N‐dimethylacrylamide (DMA), hydrophobic methyl methacrylate (MMA) and a crosslinkable monomer, 3‐methacryloyloxypropyl trimethoxysilane (MTSi), were synthesized and evaluated as coating materials for leukocyte removal filters for whole blood. When filters composed of non‐woven fabrics were coated with crosslinked synthesized copolymers, the elution ratios of the copolymers to water were adequately low because of the crosslinking with trimethoxysilane groups of MTSi units in the copolymers. Filters coated with crosslinked poly(DMA‐co‐MTSi) having a 0.96 mole fraction of DMA units showed a 0.35 ± 0.44% platelet permeation ratio and a logarithmic reduction of 4.0 ± 0.68 for leukocytes. On the other hand, an increase in the content of MMA units in the DMA‐containing copolymers improved the permeation ratio of the platelets dramatically. Filters coated with crosslinked poly(DMA‐co‐MMA‐co‐MTSi) containing a 0.39 mole fraction of MMA units and a 0.58 mole fraction of DMA units showed an 86 ± 3.0% platelet permeation ratio and a logarithmic reduction of 2.1 ± 1.2 for leukocytes. This indicates that an adequate content of hydrophobic monomer units, such as MMA units, is necessary for effective platelet permeation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of polymer as cosolvent on chemical reactions in solution—I. Effects of polystyrene and polyoxyethylene on the reaction of dansyl chloride with butylamine in organic solvents

The rates of reactions of 5-dimethylamino-1-naphthalenesulphonyl chloride (dansyl chloride) with butylamine in organic solvents have been measured in the presence of polymer such as polyoxyethylene (POE) or polystyrene (PS) as cosolvent and compared with those in the presence of cosolvents of low molecular weight analogues, viz. diethyloxyethane (DEE) and toluene (Tol.). Acceleration by cosolvent POE, compared with DEE, increases with increasing volume fraction of cosolvent and the effect depends on the degree of polymerization of the polymer cosolvent. Similarly, addition of cosolvent PS to ethyl acetate or chloroform results in increase in the reaction rate as compared with cosolvent Tol. The effect by PS also showed dependence on the degree of polymerization. The effect of polymer cosolvent on chemical reactions between two low molecular weight species is explained in terms of the thermodynamics of polymer solutions.     

Enantioselective copper-catalyzed 1,4-addition of dialkylzincs to enones using a novel N,N,P–Cu(II) complex

Enantioselective copper-catalyzed 1,4-additions of dialkylzincs to enones were carried out in the presence of 1 mol % of Cu(OTf)₂ and 2.5 mol % of an N,N,P-ligand possessing a tert-butyl group at the adjacent position of the nitrogen of pyridine to afford the corresponding 1,4-adducts in up to 98% ee.     

Direct Cyclopropanation of α-Cyano β-Aryl Alkanes by Light-Mediated Single Electron Transfer Between Donor–Acceptor Pairs

Cyclopropanes are traditionally prepared by the formal [2+1] addition of carbene or radical based C1 units to alkenes. In contrast, the one-pot intermolecular cyclopropanation of alkanes by redox active C1 units has remained unrealised. Herein, we achieved this process simply by exposing β-aryl propionitriles and C1 radical precursors (N-oxy esters) to base and blue light. The overall process is redox-neutral and a photocatalyst, whether metal- or organic-based, is not required. Our findings support that single electron transfer (SET) from the α-cyano carbanion of the propionitrile to the N-oxy ester is facilitated by blue-light via their electron donor–acceptor (EDA) complex. The α-cyano carbon radical thus formed can then lose a β-proton to form a π-resonance stabilised radical anion that preferentially couples at the benzylic β-position with a decarboxylated C1 radical unit. This new transition metal-free chemistry tolerates both electron rich and electron deficient (hetero)aryl systems, even sulfide or alkene functionality, to afford a range of cis-aryl/cyano cyclopropanes bearing congested tetrasubstituted quaternary carbons.     

Structure and microstructure of epitaxial Sr n Fe n O3 n −1 films

Thin films of SrFeO_{3??? x} (0?≤?x?≤?0.5) (SFO) grown on a (LaAlO₃)_0.3 (SrAl_0.5Ta_0.5O₃)_0.7 (LSAT) substrate by pulsed laser deposition have been structurally investigated by electron diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy for different post-deposition oxygen treatments. During the deposition and post-growth oxidation, the oxygen-reduced SFO films accept extra oxygen along the tetrahedral layers to minimize the elastic strain energy. The oxidation process stops at a concentration SFO_2.875 and/or SFO_2.75 because a zero misfit with the LSAT substrate is reached. A possible growth mechanism and phase transition mechanism are suggested. The non-oxidized films exhibit twin boundaries having a local perovskite-type structure with a nominal composition close to SFO₃.     

Combinatorial and approximative analyses in a spatially random division process

For a spatial characteristic, there exist commonly fat-tail frequency distributions of fragment-size and -mass of glass, areas enclosed by city roads, and pore size/volume in random packings. In order to give a new analytical approach for the distributions, we consider a simple model which constructs a fractal-like hierarchical network based on random divisions of rectangles. The stochastic process makes a Markov chain and corresponds to directional random walks with splitting into four particles. We derive a combinatorial analytical form and its continuous approximation for the distribution of rectangle areas, and numerically show a good fitting with the actual distribution in the averaging behavior of the divisions.