More kapakahines from the marine sponge Cribrochalina olemda

Three new kapakahines E-G (1-3) have been isolated from the marine sponge Cribrochalina olemda. Limited quantities of these compounds required not only NMR analysis but also FAB-MS/MS analysis for the structure elucidation. Kapakahine E showed cytotoxicity against P388 murine leukemia cells. [structure: see text]     

Characteristic Interactions between Poly(hydroxybutyrate) Depolymerase and Poly[(R)‐3‐hydroxybutyrate] Film Studied by a Quartz Crystal Microbalance

Enzymatic degradation of poly[(R)‐3‐hydroxybutyrate] (P(3HB)) film by the poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) depolymerase from Ralstonia picketti T1 was studied in 0.01 M phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4) at 37 °C by using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique. Enzymatic degradation of P(3HB) film was quantitatively followed by QCM as a positive frequency shift. While, the amount of depolymerases adsorbed on the film could be evaluated as a negative frequency shift by using a mutant enzyme which had no hydrolytic activity in a catalytic site. The degradation rate increased with enzyme concentration to reach a maximum value at 1.0 μg · mL^?1, and then the rate decreased at higher enzyme concentration. This enzyme concentration dependence could be quantitatively explained in terms of a change of coverage of the film surface by the adsorbed enzyme. When the wild‐type enzyme solution in a QCM cell was replaced with the mutant enzyme solution in the middle of the reaction, the degradation rate was reduced markedly, indicating that the wild‐type enzyme adsorbed on the P(3HB) surface is easily substituted by the mutant enzyme in the solution. On the other hand, replacement of the wild‐type enzyme solution with other proteins or buffer solutions did not affect the degradation rate at all, suggesting that the adsorbed enzyme was not desorbed from the film surface. Thus, the adsorbed PHB depolymerase is released from the P(3HB) surface only by interaction with the same depolymerase in solution.

Time courses of frequency changes (ΔF) or weight changes (Δw) observed during enzymatic degradation of P(3HB) film by PHB depolymerase from R. picketti T1 at 37 °C.     

Biodegradable thermoresponsive poly(amino acid)s

Reaction of poly(succinimide) with a mixture of 5-aminopentanol and 6-aminohexanol produced new thermoresponsive polymers based on biodegradable poly(amino acids)s, poly(N-substituted alpha/beta-asparagine)s, showing a clear LCST in water.     

Fast oxygen diffusion in A-site ordered perovskites

Materials demonstrating high ion diffusivity are currently attracting a great deal of attention owing to their huge technological potential. We have found that the oxygen diffusivity in doped perovskites, which are among the best oxygen conductors, can be further enhanced by orders of magnitude by inducing crystallographic ordering among lanthanide and alkali-earth ions in the A-site sublattice. Transformation of a simple cubic perovskite, with randomly occupied A-sites, into a layered crystal with alternating lanthanide and alkali-earth planes reduces the oxygen bonding strength and provides disorder-free channels for ion motion, pointing to an efficient way to design new ionic conductors.     

High enrichment method for the determination of ultra-trace levels of cobalt by liquid—liquid extraction using water/oil/water emulsions as liquid surfactant membranes

A high preconcentration method for the determination of cobalt by graphie furnace atomic absorption spectrometry using liquid surfactant membranes was developed. Droplets of dilute hydrochloric acid in kerosene containing 2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester emulsion coated with sorbitan monooleate are dispersed in an aqueous sample solution. Cobalt(II) diffuses through the liquid membrane to form the complex with the ester and the analyte ion is extracted successively into the inner acidic aqueous phase. A 550-fold enrichment of cobalt(II) and a detection limit of 10 pg ml^?1 are achieved.     

A remark on almost complete intersections

Let k be a perfect field and S the quotient ring of a polynomial ring k[X₁,...,X_t] with respect to a prime ideal. Let I be a prime ideal of S such that R=S/I is an almost complete intersection. Then, in his paper [2], Matsuoka proves that the homological dimension of the differential module _R/Kis infinite under the assumption that R is Cohen-Macaulay and I² is a primary idea]. In this paper we prove that the result is valid without the above assumption.     

A facile one-pot preparation of 2-methyl-and 2-phenyl-4- fluoro-5-trifluoromethyl-6-methoxypyrimidine from methyl 2-hydryl-2-(F-methyl)-F-propyl ether

The title compounds were readily prepared in one-pot by phase-transfer reaction of a methanol adduct of 2-($\text{F}$-methyl)-$\text{F}$- propene with acetamidine or benzamidine in the presence of aqueous sodium hydroxide in CH₂Cl₂. Various 5-trifluoromethyl- pyrimidines were also synthesized $\text{via}$ nucleophilic substitution of the 4-fluorine of the title compounds.     

Odd-even behavior of ferroelectricity and antiferroelectricity in two homologous series of bent-core mesogens

Two chiral bent-core mesogens Pn-O-PIMB(n - 2)* (n = 9 and 10) and their oxygen analogues Pn-O-PIMB(n - 2)*-(n - 4)O (n = 8, 9, and 10) with omega-[(S)-amyloxy]alkoxy terminal groups were prepared, and their phase structures were investigated by means of electro-optic, polarization reversal current and second harmonic generation measurements in order to clarify the effect of the interlayer steric interaction on the emergence of polar orderings. The odd-even behavior for the alternative appearance of ferroelectricity and antiferroelectricity was observed in two homologous series; the bent-core mesogens P10-O-PIMB8*, P8-O-PIMB6*-4O, and P10-O-PIMB8*-6O in addition to the previously reported P6-O-PIMB4* and P8-O-PIMB6*, where the length of chains n is even, exhibited ferroelectric phases. On the contrary, the mesogens P7-O-PIMB5*, P9-O-PIMB7*, and P9-O-PIMB7*-5O, where n is odd, showed antiferroelectric phases. It is obvious that the interlayer steric interaction plays a major role for the emergence of a variety of phase structures.     

Luminescence ranging from red to blue: a series of copper(I)-halide complexes having rhombic {Cu2(mu-X)2} (X = Br and I) units with N-heteroaromatic ligands

A series of Cu(I) complexes formulated as [Cu(2)(mu-X)(2)(PPh(3))(L)(n)] were prepared with various mono- and bidentate N-heteroaromatic ligands (X = Br, I; L = 4,4'-bipyridine, pyrazine, pyrimidine, 1,5-naphthyridine, 1,6-naphthyridine, quinazoline, N,N-dimethyl-4-aminopyridine, 3-benzoylpyridine, 4-benzoylpyridine; n = 1, 2). Single-crystal structure analyses revealed that all the complexes have planar {Cu(2)X(2)} units. Whereas those with monodentate N-heteroaromatic ligands afforded discrete dinuclear complexes, bidentate ligands formed infinite chain complexes with the ligands bridging the dimeric units. The long Cu...Cu distances (2.872-3.303 A) observed in these complexes indicated no substantial interaction between the two Cu(I) ions. The complexes showed strong emission at room temperature as well as at 80 K in the solid state. The emission spectra and lifetimes in the microsecond range were measured at room temperature and at 80 K. The emissions of the complexes varied from red to blue by the systematic selection of the N-heteroaromatic ligands (lambda(em)(max): 450 nm (L = N,N-dimethyl-4-aminopyridine) to 707 nm (L = pyrazine)), and were assigned to metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) excited states with some mixing of the halide-to-ligand (XL) CT characters. The emission energies were successfully correlated with the reduction potentials of the coordinated N-heteroaromatic ligands, which were estimated by applying a simple modification based on the calculated stabilization energies of the ligands by protonation.