Ligand binding properties of myoglobin reconstituted with iron porphycene: unusual O2 binding selectivity against CO binding

Sperm whale myoglobin, an oxygen storage hemoprotein, was successfully reconstituted with the iron porphycene having two propionates, 2,7-diethyl-3,6,12,17-tetramethyl-13,16-bis(carboxyethyl)porphycenatoiron. The physicochemical properties and ligand bindings of the reconstituted myoglobin were investigated. The ferric reconstituted myoglobin shows the remarkable stability against acid denaturation and only a low-spin characteristic in its EPR spectrum. The Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox potential (-190 mV vs NHE) determined by the spectroelectrochemical measurements was much lower than that of the wild-type. These results can be attributed to the strong coordination of His93 to the porphycene iron, which is induced by the nature of the porphycene ring symmetry. The O2 affinity of the ferrous reconstituted myoglobin is 2600-fold higher than that of the wild-type, mainly due to the decrease in the O2 dissociation rate, whereas the CO affinity is not so significantly enhanced. As a result, the O2 affinity of the reconstituted myoglobin exceeds its CO affinity (M' = K(CO)/K(O2) < 1). The ligand binding studies on H64A mutants support the fact that the slow O2 dissociation of the reconstituted myoglobin is primarily caused by the stabilization of the Fe-O2 sigma-bonding. The IR spectra for the carbon monoxide (CO) complex of the reconstituted myoglobin suggest several structural and/or electrostatic conformations of the Fe-C-O bond, but this is not directly correlated with the CO dissociation rate. The high O2 affinity and the unique characteristics of the myoglobin with the iron porphycene indicate that reconstitution with a synthesized heme is a useful method not only to understand the physiological function of myoglobin but also to create a tailor-made function on the protein.     

On-line column preconcentration for the determination of cobalt in sea water by flow-injection chemiluminescence detection

A flow-injection method for the determination of dissolved cobalt(II) in sea water has been studied based on a combination of column preconcentration using 8-quinolinol immobilized on silica gel, fluoride containing metal alkoxide glass (8HQ-MAF) and chemiluminescence detection with a gallic acid-hydrogen peroxide system. Co(II) is selectively recovered from an acidified sample with 8-quinolinol immobilized on silica gel. After elution with dilute hydrochloric acid the resultant eluent is mixed with the reagent solutions, heated to 60^°C and then introduced into the CL cell. The analysis time including the 2-min sample load was 8 min per sea water sample with a corresponding detection limit of 0.62 ngl^-1 (3). The average standard deviation calculated for 10 replicate measurements of artificial sea water samples with a concentration of 10 ngl^-1 cobalt was ±2.1%. The method has been tested with the standard reference sea waters NASS and CASS.     

Reorganization energy of supramolecular donor–acceptor dyad of octaethylporphyrin isomers and axial-coordinated acceptor: Experimental and computational study

The internal reorganization energy (λ_V) of photoinduced electron transfer (ET) in the supramolecular donor–acceptor dyads of 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphinatozinc(II) (ZnOEP) and electron acceptor ligands was compared with those of structural isomers, 2,3,7,8,11,12,17,18-octaethylhemiporphycenatozinc(II) (ZnHPc) and 2,3,6,7,12,13,16,17-octaethylporphycenatozinc(II) (ZnPcn). First, ET process of the supramolecular donor–acceptor dyads of ZnOEP was investigated by means of the transient absorption spectroscopy mainly. The formation of supramolecular dyads was confirmed by absorption spectral change, from which the association constant was estimated. The ET process was confirmed by the observation of radical cation of ZnOEP during the laser flash photolysis. The ET rates of these dyads are in the order of ZnOEP > ZnHPc > ZnPcn, when the driving forces for ET are similar to each other. From the free energy dependence of ET rates, the λ_V values of OEP and its isomers were estimated. The estimated λ_V value was in the order of ZnOEP < ZnHPc < ZnPcn. This tendency was reproduced by calculation at B3LYP/6-31G(d) and BHandHLYP/6-31G(d) levels. The origin of this tendency was discussed on the basis of the structural change during the ET process.     

Thermodynamic Insight into the Origin of a Calix[n]arene-[60]fullerene Interaction and its Application to a Porphyrin-[60]fullerene Energy Transfer System

The calixarene-fullerene interaction,which causes only a slight change in the absorptionspectra, has been substantiated by calorimetricmeasurements: the H° values arecomparable with those obtained from the associationconstants estimated by a spectroscopic method. Furthermore, we determined the association constantbetween homooxacalix[3]arene and [60]fullerenederivatives with a porphyrin moiety by fluorescencespectra.     

Preparation of Polycrystalline Antimonic Acid Films by Electrophoretic Deposition

Cubic antimonic acid (Sb₂O₅·nH₂O) films were successfully prepared on stainless steel and Si(100) substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) using two types of sols. The sols were prepared by reacting an H₂O₂ aqueous solution with Sb(O-i-C₃H₇)₃ or metallic Sb powder. The resulting films were found to consist of fine particles of cubic Sb₂O₅·nH₂O single crystals with uniform particle sizes of 30 nm and 150 nm. The weight of the Sb₂O₅·nH₂O deposit on the anode Si(100) substrate by EPD increased linearly with the current density in the range of 0–0.67 mA cm^–2, when the sol pH was over 7. The proton conductivity of the polycrystalline Sb₂O₅·nH₂O discs, formed from the two types of sols, was evaluated by an ac impedance method at room temperature under controlled levels of relative humidity.     

Photocatalytic Reduction of NO with C2H6 on a Hollandite-Type Catalyst

The photocatalytic reduction of nitrogen monoxide (NO) with ethane on the hollandite type catalyst (K₂Ga₂Sn₆O₁₆KGSO) was investigated. Using a closed-gas circulating system equipped with a Q-MASS detector and in-situ diffuse reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy. The reactant gases of NO and ¹³C₂H₆ decreased with the increasing irradiation time. In contrast, the N₂ yield increased proportionally to the conversion of ¹³C₂H₆. Nitrogen oxides such as N₂O did not reach their detectable levels. The NO adsorbed on KGSO was found to change to its activated species by UV irradiation. The oxidized products of C₂H₆ such as CH₃CHO increased in proportion to the reaction time. The present results strongly suggest that KGSO has remarkable photocatalytic activity for the reduction of NO with C₂H₆.     

Synthesis of well‐defined and end‐polymerizable star‐shaped polysulfides and their application to negative photoresist

Various star‐shaped poly(phenoxy propylene sulfide)s (PPSs) bearing curable end groups were synthesized by the functionalization of the propagating ends of star‐shaped poly(PPS) with various electrophilies. The functionalization with chloromethyl styrene proceeded quantitatively, and afforded polymers with M_n almost agreed with theoretical value and narrow M_w/M_n. The photocuring conditions were optimized, and the addition of 10 wt % of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate was effective to attain sufficient crosslinking. The photocuring reaction of the end‐functionalized poly(PPS) films cast on silicon wafers was conducted by UV irradiation. The cured poly (PPS)s became insoluble in THF, supporting the sufficient crosslinking. Developing of a cured polymer yielded a negative photoresist pattern. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Synthesis and properties of high‐molecular‐weight stereo di‐block polylactides with nonequivalent D/L ratios

Di‐stereoblock polylactides (di‐sb‐PLA: PLLA‐b‐PDLA) having high molecular weight (M_n > 100 kDa) were successfully synthesized by two‐step ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of L ‐ and D ‐lactides using tin(2‐ethylhexanoate) as a catalyst. By optimizing the polymerization conditions, the block sequences were well regulated at non‐equivalent feed ratios of PLLA and PDLA. This synthetic method consisted of three stages: (1) polymerization of either L ‐ or D ‐lactide to obtain a PLLA or PDLA prepolymer with a molecular weight less than 50 kDa, (2) purification of the obtained prepolymer to remove residual lactide, and (3) polymerization of the enantiomeric lactide in the presence of the purified prepolymer. Their ¹³C and ³¹P NMR spectra of the resultant di‐sb‐PLAs strongly supported their di‐stereo block structure. These di‐sb‐PLAs, having weight‐average molecular weights higher than 150 kDa, were fabricated into polymer films by solution casting and showed exclusive stereocomplexation. The thermomechanical analysis of the films revealed that their heat deformation temperature was limited probably because of their low crystallinity owing to the non‐equivalent PLLA/PDLA ratio. The blend systems of the di‐sb‐PLAs having complementary stereo‐sequences (the one with a long PLLA block and the other with long PDLA block) were also prepared and characterized to enhance the sc crystallinity. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 794–801, 2010