Role of the special pair in the charge-separating event in photosynthesis

We synthesized special-pair/electron-acceptor systems consisting of a complementary slipped cofacial dimer of imidazolyl-substituted zinc porphyrin, bearing pyromellitdiimide as the electron acceptor. In the case of the dimer, the first and second oxidation potentials were split into a total of four peaks in the differential pulse voltammetry measurement. Furthermore, the shift values of the first oxidation potentials obtained by changing the solvent polarity for the dimer were almost half of those observed for the monomer. These results indicate that the radical cation is delocalized over the whole pi system of the dimer. Time-resolved transient absorption measurements revealed that, relative to the corresponding monomer, the dimer accelerated the charge separation rate, but decelerated the charge recombination rate. The smaller reorganization energy of the slipped cofacial dimer relative to that of the monomeric system demonstrates the significance of the special-pair arrangement for efficient charge separation in photosynthesis.     

Copper-catalyzed addition reaction of γ,γ-dialkoxyallylic zirconium species with imines

In the presence of CuCN, reaction of γ,γ-dialkoxyallylic zirconium species 1 with imines proceeded at the γ-position of 1 to give gem-dialkoxyhomoallylic amines 3 in high yield. In this reaction, γ,γ-dialkoxyallylic zirconium species 1 acts as an α,β-unsaturated acyl anion equivalent.     

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.

Donor–acceptor–acceptor-type near-infrared fluorophores that contain dithienophosphole oxide and boryl groups: effect of the boryl group on the nonradiative decay

The use of donor–π–acceptor (D–π–A) skeletons is an effective strategy for the design of fluorophores with red-shifted emission. In particular, the use of amino and boryl moieties as the electron-donating and -accepting groups, respectively, can produce dyes that exhibit high fluorescence and solvatochromism. Herein, we introduce a dithienophosphole P-oxide scaffold as an acceptor–spacer to produce a boryl- and amino-substituted donor–acceptor–acceptor (D–A–A) π-system. The thus obtained fluorophores exhibit emission in the near-infrared (NIR) region, while maintaining high fluorescence quantum yields even in polar solvents (e.g. λ_em = 704 nm and Φ_F = 0.69 in CH₃CN). A comparison of these compounds with their formyl- or cyano-substituted counterparts demonstrated the importance of the boryl group for generating intense emission. The differences among these electron-accepting substituents were examined in detail using theoretical calculations, which revealed the crucial role of the boryl group in lowering the nonradiative decay rate constant by decreasing the non-adiabatic coupling in the internal conversion process. The D–A–A framework was further fine-tuned to improve the photostability. One of these D–A–A dyes was successfully used in bioimaging to visualize the blood vessels of Japanese medaka larvae and mouse brain.

Combination of electron-accepting diarylboryl terminal groups and dithienophosphole oxide spacers with electron-donating triarylamine moieties produces donor–acceptor–acceptor type π-systems, which exhibit emissions in the near-infrared region.     

Self-crosslinkable polymers. I. Copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate with 2-vinylpyridine and 2-vinyl-5-ethylpyridine

A soluble and self-crosslinkable linear copolymer with pendant epoxy and pyridyl groups was obtained from glycidyl methacrylate (M₁) and 2-vinylpyridine (M₂) or 2-vinyl-5-ethylpyridine (M₂) by the action of azobisisobutyronitrile. The monomer reactivity ratios were determined in tetrahydrofuran at 60°C: r₁ = 0.510, r₂ = 0.620 with 2-vinylpyridine and r₁ = 0.57, r₂ = 0.62 with 2-vinyl-5-ethylpyridine. These were consistent with the calculated values with the reported Q and e values for these monomers. The intrinsic viscosities of the copolymers with 2-vinylpyridine and with 2-vinyl-5-ethylpyridine were found to be 0.17–0.19 and 0.26–0.38, respectively, in tetrahydrofuran at 30°C; they were independent of the copolymer composition. The copolymers were amorphous, had no clear melting points, and became insoluble crosslinked polymers under heating without further addition of any curing agents.     

High enantioselectivity in rhodium-catalyzed allylic alkylation of 1-substituted 2-propenyl acetates

[reaction: see text] Rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of 1-substituted 2-propenyl acetates with dimethyl malonate proceeded with high enantioselectivity in the presence of cesium carbonate as a base and a rhodium catalyst generated from Rh(dpm)(C(2)H(4))(2) (dpm = dipivaloylmethanato) and a chiral phosphino-oxazoline whose basic skeleton is axially chiral binaphthyl to give branch alkylation products in greater than 90% ee.     

Development of selective inhibitors against plasma kallikrein.

Specific plasma kallikrein inhibitors were designed and synthesized and their structure-activity relationship was studied. trans-4-Aminomethylcyclohexanecarbonyl (Tra)-lysyl-4-ethoxycarbonylanilide inhibited plasma kallikrein and plasmin with IC50 values of 23 and 210 microM, respectively, indicating that this compound is fairly specific to plasma kallikrein. Tra-arginyl-4-ethoxycarbonylanilide inhibited plasma kallikrein and plasmin with IC50 values of 16 and 480 microM, respectively. Tra-homoarginyl-4-carboxyanilide inhibited plasma kallikrein and plasmin with IC50 values of 14 microM and 1 mM, respectively. Finally, Tra-Arg(Mts)-4-acetylanilide (ACA) exhibited potent and selective inhibitory activity against plasma kallikrein (IC50 value for plasma kallikrein: 2 microM and for plasmin: 42 microM).     

Facile syntheses of 3-spiro- and 3,6-bridged 2,5-piperazinediones

The intramolecular addition of hydroxyl group of 3-(3-hydroxyl)propylidene-2,5-piperazinedione to 3-position and the same substitution of 3-(3-hydroxy)propyl derivative to 6-position gave the corresponding 3-spiro- and 3,6-bridged 2,5-piperazinediones, respectively.     

Carbon-Fluorine Bondings of Fluorinated Fullerene and Graphite

Carbon-fluorine bondings of fluorinated fullerenes and fluorine-graphite intercalation compound C_xF were investigated in detail on the basis of XPS data and the potential model using the charge distribution calculated by semiempirical method. It has been confirmed by the present study that two peaks in the C_1s spectra observed for fluorinated fullerenes are assigned to carbon atoms bonded to fluorine atoms and those unbound to fluorine atoms, and the small difference in charges and Madelung potentials of fluorine atoms in different circumstances well explains the single peak in F_1s spectra of fluorinated fullerenes. In the calculated structures of 1,3-C₆₀F₂ and 1,2-C₆₀F_x (x = 2?6) used as the models of C_xF, three kinds of carbon-fluorine bondings were observed corresponding to nearly ionic, semicovalent and covalent C? F bondings. The calculated result supports that the bi-intercalation structure of stage 1 C_xF consists of nearly ionic and semi-covalent fluorines.     

Conformations and steric and stacking interactions of trisubstituted ureas and thioureas with alkyl and phenyl groups

The monomeric ν(N—H) vibrations of various trisubstituted ureas of the R₂UPh type and -thioureas of the R₂TUPh type have been studied. The trans—out isomerism in the former and the trans—out—cis isomerism in the latter are discussed from the point of view of steric effect. The monomeric ν(N—H) vibrations of RPhUPh and RPhTUPh are also examined. The single band appearing in the spectrum of both ureas is characteristic of the cis form; this suggests the existence of phenyl—phenyl interaction (the stacking interaction proposed by Galabov et al. [10]). Behavior of ν(N—H) vibrations at several concentrations is shown to be clearly different in the three forms (trans, out and cis). The presence of the cis form is confirmed by solvent effect experiments.