π-Face-selective hetero Diels-Alder reactions of 3,4-di-tert-butylthiophene 1-oxide. An excellent trapping reagent for thioaldehydes and thioketones

Hetero Diels-Alder reactions of 3,4-di-tert-butylthiophene 1-oxide (1) with thioaldehydes and thioketones take place exclusively, except the reaction with thiobenzophenone, at the syn-π-face of 1 with respect to the SO bond. The π-face selectivity was explained in terms of the extent of conformational changes of 1 that are brought about in the process to the transition states.     

Visualizing Microglia with a Fluorescence Turn‐On Ugt1a7c Substrate

Microglia, the brain‐resident macrophage, are involved in brain development and contribute to the progression of neural disorders. Despite the importance of microglia, imaging of live microglia at a cellular resolution has been limited to transgenic mice. Efforts have therefore been dedicated to developing new methods for microglia detection and imaging. Using a thorough structure–activity relationships study, we developed CDr20, a high‐performance fluorogenic chemical probe that enables the visualization of microglia both in vitro and in vivo. Using a genome‐scale CRISPR‐Cas9 knockout screen, the UDP‐glucuronosyltransferase Ugt1a7c was identified as the target of CDr20. The glucuronidation of CDr20 by Ugt1a7c in microglia produces fluorescence.     

Mono-aromatic ring-fused versus adjacently di-aromatic ring-fused tetraazaporphyrins: regioselective synthesis and their spectroscopic and electrochemical properties

A method which preferentially produces adjacently di-aromatic ring-substituted tetraazaporphyrins (TAPs) has been developed, and their electrochemical and spectroscopic properties have been studied and compared with those of the corresponding series of mono-aromatic ring-fused TAPs. Mono-aromatic ring-fused TAPs show a split Q-band, and the splitting energy increases with increasing size of the aromatic ring. In addition, for the split Q-bands, the relative intensity of the band at longer wavelength decreases with increasing molecular size of the fused aromatics, compared with the shorter wavelength band. In the di-aromatic ring-fused TAPs, this kind of splitting is not seen, and only a shift of the band is observed. The intensity and band position of the split or unsplit Q-bands are quantitatively evaluated by simultaneous band deconvolution analysis, using both electronic absorption and magnetic circular dichroism spectra. The preparation of these TAP compounds has made it possible to adjust the Q-band position in a stepwise manner between ca. 600 and 750 nm. The first reduction and oxidation potentials of the TAP ring shift negatively with increasing number and size of the fused aromatics. The extent of the shift is found to be very small for the LUMOs but significant for the HOMOs. These spectroscopic and electrochemical properties are almost perfectly reproduced by molecular orbital calculations within the framework of the Pariser-Parr-Pople approximation. In particular, a small variation of the LUMO level and large destabilization of the HOMO level on ring expansion are rationalized from the extent of stretch of molecular orbitals: i.e., since the LUMOs are localized in the central TAP moiety irrespective of the molecular size, while the HOMOs have appreciable coefficients even over the fused aromatics, the HOMO level destabilizes while the LUMO level remains constant with increasing molecular size. In one CoTAP derivative, Co(III/II) and the first ligand oxidation couples occur experimentally at the same potential.     

Carbon dioxide fixation by microalgae photosynthesis using actual flue gas discharged from a boiler

To mitigate CO₂ discharged from thermal power plants, studies on CO₂ fixation by the photosynthesis of microalgae using actual exhaust gas have been carried out. The results are as follows.

Aerobic oxidation of methanol to formic acid on Au20-: a theoretical study on the reaction mechanism

The aerobic oxidation of methanol to formic acid catalyzed by Au(20)(-) has been investigated quantum chemically using density functional theory with the M06 functional. Possible reaction pathways are examined taking account of full structure relaxation of the Au(20)(-) cluster. The proposed reaction mechanism consists of three elementary steps: (1) formation of formaldehyde from methoxy species activated by a superoxo-like anion on the gold cluster; (2) nucleophilic addition by the hydroxyl group of a hydroperoxyl-like complex to formaldehyde resulting in a hemiacetal intermediate; and (3) formation of formic acid by hydrogen transfer from the hemiacetal intermediate to atomic oxygen attached to the gold cluster. A comparison of the computed energetics of various elementary steps indicates that C-H bond dissociation of the methoxy species leading to formation of formaldehyde is the rate-determining step. A possible reaction pathway involving single-step hydrogen abstraction, a concerted mechanism, is also discussed. The stabilities of reactants, intermediates and transition state structures are governed by the coordination number of the gold atoms, charge distribution, cooperative effect and structural distortion, which are the key parameters for understanding the relationship between the structure of the gold cluster and catalytic activity in the aerobic oxidation of alcohols.     

Synthesis and lyotropic liquid crystal properties of chiral helical polycarbodiimides

Chiral helical polymers have been expected to exhibit optical activity with a significantly large optical rotation power. In this paper polymethylphenylethylcarbodiimides (Poly-PhEMCDI) with helical structure were synthesized by the insertion polymerization of a corresponding chiral monomeric carbodiimide initiated by a copper complex. The circular dichroism spectra and optical rotation power induced by the ordered rigid main chain helical structure of polycarbodiimides, in solution and as cast films, were studied. Polycarbodiimides have a rigid rod helical structure and form lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) in organic solvents such as dichloromethane (DCM), chloroform and THF. The LLC phase was studied using polarizing optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. A chiral nematic phase was formed in DCM and chloroform in the concentration range 20–36%. Spherulites were formed in more concentrated solution. The formation of a LLC phase in polycarbodiimides organic solutions makes it possible to align the polymer helical chain to form an ordered film for electro-optical applications.     

Destabilization of whole skin lipid bio-liposomes induced by skin penetration enhancers and FT-IR/ATR (Fourier transform infrared/attenuated total reflection) analysis of stratum corneum lipids.

Whole skin lipid bio-liposomes (skin bio-liposomes), in size ranging from 2 to 8 microns, were prepared by a reverse phase evaporation technique using rat full thickness skin. Leakage of an encapsulated fluorescence probe, ANTS (delta-amino-1,3,6-naphthalene-trisulfonate), was measured by adding transdermal penetration enhancers (penetrants) into the medium where the skin bio-liposomes were present. Oleylamine induced a fast release of ANTS from the liposomes compared to lauryl-amine which showed a weak action. With these penetrants, the degree of ANTS release from the prepared bio-liposomes was found to correlate well with the results of frequency changes in the CH-asymmetric stretching band near 2920 cm-1 in the rat stratum corneum. The penetrant which caused relatively strong leakage of ANTS induced the significantly large shift of the peak toward the higher wave-numbers due to the perturbation in the structure of lipids of the stratum corneum. The skin bio-liposomes prepared from the rat full thickness skin could be useful in evaluating the penetrants.     

Synthesis and pharmacology of 3,4-dihydro-3-oxo-1,4-benzoxazine-8-carboxamide derivatives, a new class of potent serotonin-3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonists.

A series of 3,4-dihydro-3-oxo-1,4-benzoxazine-8-carboxamide derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for serotonin-3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonistic activity assessed by their ability to antagonize the von Bezold-Jarish (BJ) effect in rats. Derivatives bearing 1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-3-yl moiety as a basic function attached to the carboxamide at position 8 showed more potent antagonistic activity than those bearing the other three basic moieties. Structure-activity relationships of this series showed that methyl and chloro groups were more effective as substituents at positions 4 and 6, respectively. The representative compound 15 (Y-25130) in this series showed potent antagonistic activity on the BJ effect (ED50 = 1.3 micrograms/kg i.v.), high affinity for 5-HT3 receptor (Ki = 2.9 nM) and complete protection against cisplatin-induced emesis in dogs at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg i.v.     

Total synthesis and absolute stereochemistry of pentenocin B, a novel interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme inhibitor

Four possible diastereomers of pentenocin B were synthesized in a stereocontrolled manner, and the first total synthesis of a natural enantiomer of (+)-pentenocin B unequivocally established the absolute stereochemistry to be 4S,5R,6R.