A construction of spherical 2-design

It is determined for which values ofn andd spherical 2-designs ofn points exist in ^d . And an explicit construction is given when they exist.     

Polymerization of α-amino acid N-carboxy anhydride. IX. Copolymerization of α-amino acid N-carboxy anhydride in heterogeneous system

Copolymerization of NCA's was undertaken in a heterogeneous system in acetonitrile, which is not a solvent of the polypeptides. The reactivity ratio was calculated by using the Lewis-Mayo equation. Further, the conversion rate in the copolymerization and the configuration of the copolymer produced were compared with those of the copolymerization in the homogeneous system in nitrobenzene, in which the copolypeptides are swollen. The rate of copolymerization in acetonitrile was between the rates of polymerization of the individual monomers. It has been reported that the configuration of the copolymer obtained in dimethylformamide, in which the copolypeptides are swollen, is of the block type. On the other hand, many polypeptides obtained in acetonitrile, which is not a solvent of the copolypeptides, had a random configuration near to an alternating configuration.     

Polymerization of methacrylates. I. Polymerization reactivity of picryl methacrylate

The polymerization of picryl (PMA), 2,4-dinitrophenyl (2,4-DNMA),2,6-dinitrophenyl (2,6-DNMA), 2-methyl-4,6-dinitrophenyl (MDNMA), and 2,6-dimethylphenyl methacrylates (DMMA) was carried out in benzene at 60°C. PMA, 2,6-DNMA, and MDNMA did not undergo radical homopolymerization, while 2,4-DNMA and DMMA did. The results suggest that the growing radical readily attacks the oxygen atom of the nitro group at the 2 position of the terminal phenyl group due to the steric effect of the substituent at the 6 position, resulting in chain termination. PMA formed a charge-transfer complex with 2-naphthyl methacrylate (NMA). The stoichiometric composition of this complex was shown to be 1:1 molar complex. PMA was readily copolymerized with NMA. The amount of solvent affected the composition of the copolymer obtained at a given same mole fraction in feed. The results suggest that charge-transfer interaction between the ester groups affects the copolymerization mechanism.     

Preparation and properties of polyamides and polymides containing bibenzyl,stilbene, and tolan structures

Polyisophthalamides and polyterephthalamides were prepared by the solution polycondensation of the corresponding diacyl chlorides with 4,4′-diaminobibenzyl, trans-4,4′-diaminostilbene, and 4,4′-diaminotolan in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Polypyromellitimides were synthesized in two steps by the ring-opening polyaddition of pyromellitic dianhydride with the aromatic diamines in DMAc, followed by thermal cyclodehydration. The amorphous polyisophthalamides were soluble in some amide solvents containing lithium chloride, while the polyterephthalamides having fair degree of crystallinity were insoluble in these solvents. The thermal stability of these aromatic polymers decreased in the order of the tolan-containing polymers > the stilbene-containing polymers > the bibenzyl-containing polymers, both in air and under nitrogen.     

Synthesis of polyarylamines by vinylogous nucleophilic substitution polymerization of bis(4-chloro-3-nitrophenyl) sulfone with diamines

A series of new polyarylamines was prepared by the vinylogous nuclephilic substitution polymerization of bis(4-chloro-3-nitrophenyl) sulfone with both aromatic and aliphatic diamines. The synthesis involves the solution polycondensation in a polar aprotic solvent at elevated temperatures, a tertiary amine being used as an acid acceptor. Of these solvents, dimethyl sulfoxide and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone were the most effective for the preparation of high molecular weight polymers. The polyarylamines having inherent viscosities in the range of 0.1–0.5 were all amorphous and highly soluble in polar aprotic solvents. Thermogravimetric analysis under both air and nitrogen atmospheres indicated that rapid decomposition began above 300°C for the polyarylamines from aromatic diamines.     

Preparation and properties of poly(imide-oxoisoindolobenzothiadiazine dioxides)

New thermally stable poly(imide-oxoisoindolobenzothiadiazine dioxides) (PIOD) have been prepared by the three-step cyclopolycondensation reaction of diaminobenzenesulfonamides with aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydrides. The polymerization proceeded through the formation of poly(amic acid-sulfonamides) (PAAS), followed by cyclodehydration to yield polyimide-sulfonamides (PIS), which were subsequently converted to PIOD at 300°C. PAAS having inherent viscosities in the range of 0.1–0.5 in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) were obtained in approximately quantitative yield. PIOD were insoluble in most organic solvents, whereas PAAS and PIS were soluble in NMP and dimethyl sulfoxide. Differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis indicated that PIOD began to decompose at 460°C in air. The cyclodehydration of the model compounds was also investigated.     

Blue myoglobin reconstituted with an iron porphycene shows extremely high oxygen affinity

Myoglobin will be a good scaffold for engineering a function into proteins. To modulate the physiological function of myoglobin, almost all approaches have been demonstrated by site-directed mutagenesis, however, there are few studies which show a significant improvement in the function. In contrast, we focused on the replacement of heme in the protein with an artificial prosthetic group. Recently, we prepared a novel myoglobin reconstituted with an iron porphycene as a structural isomer of mesoheme. The bluish colored reconstituted myoglobin is relatively stable and the deoxymyoglobin reversibly binds ligands. Interestingly, the O2 affinity of the reconstituted myoglobin, 1.1 x 109 M-1, is a significant 1,400-fold higher than that of the native myoglobin. Furthermore, the unfavorable autoxidation kinetics show 7-fold decrease in rate for the reconstituted myoglobin relative to the native myoglobin, indicating the stable oxy-form against autoxidation. The net results come from the slow dissociation of the O2 ligand in the reconstituted myoglobin, koff = 0.11 s-1, because of the formation of strong hydrogen bond between His64 and negatively charged dioxygen. The present study indicates that the replacement of native heme with an artificially created prosthetic group will give us a unique function into a hemoprotein.