Novel acyl alpha-pyronoids, dictyopyrone A, B, and C, from Dictyostelium cellular slime molds

For the elucidation of the diversity of secondary metabolites of Dictyostelium cellular slime molds, we investigate the constituent of three species of slime molds. From the methanol extract of their fruit bodies, we obtained three novel compounds, dictyopyrone A (1) and B (2) from D. discoideum and D. rhizoposium and dictyopyrone C (3) from D. longosporum. They possess a unique alpha-pyrone moiety with a side chain at the C-3 position. Their relative structures were elucidated by spectral means, and the absolute configuration was confirmed by asymmetric synthesis of 1. Since these compounds were obtained from different species of Dictyostelium slime molds, they may be a type of compound common to this genus.     

Molecule-Responsive Fluorescent Sensors of α-Helix Peptides Bearing α-Cyclodextrin, Pyrene and Nitrobenzene Units in Their Side Chains

-Helix peptides bearing one unit of -cyclodextrin (-CD), one unit of pyrene and one unit of nitrobenzene (NB) in their side chains have been designed and synthesized as novel molecule-responsive devices.In both the CD-peptides, -PR17 and -PL17, the NB unit is separated from the CD unit by two turns of the helix. Two reference peptides (PL17, and -P17,) have also been synthesized. The circular dichroism studies in the peptide absorption region (200–250 nm)of -PR17 and -PL17 suggestthat the CD-peptides form stable-helixstructures (83–77%), which was destabilized by accommodating guest molecules (e.g., n-pentanol) into the CD cavity. It suggests that formation of intramolecular host–guest(CD–NB) complex stabilized thehelical structure and exogenous guest molecule excluded the appending NB moiety from inside to outside of the CD cavity, thereby causing destabilization of the helical structure and increasing the random coil content. The ICD spectra of the peptides in the pyrene and nitrobenzene absorption region (250–40 nm) suggest that NB forms inclusion complex with CD. The fluorescence studies revealed that the fluorescence of the pyrene unit is quenched by the NB unit in -PR17 and -PL17. The fluorescence intensity increases with increasing guest concentration for the CD-peptides.This guest-responsiveenhancement in the fluorescence intensity can be explained in terms of increased distance between the pyrene and NB moieties, which is caused by exclusion of the NB moiety from the CD cavity by guest accommodation. Using the guest-responsive fluorescence quenching properties of the CD-peptides, we have obtained binding constants for various short chain alkanols. -PL17 has higher binding affinity to the guest molecules than its isomer, -PR17, indicating that the location of functional groups on the peptide scaffold is important in molecule detection.     

Studies on the constituents of Lonicera species. XVII. New iridoid glycosides of the stems and leaves of Lonicera japonica THUNB

Four new iridoid glycosides, named L-phenylalaninosecologanin (1), 7-O-(4-beta-D-glucopyranosyloxy-3-methoxybenzoyl)secologanolic acid (2), 6'-O-(7alpha-hydroxyswerosyloxy)loganin (3) and (Z)-aldosecologanin (5), were isolated, together with a known one, newly named (E)-aldosecologanin (4), from the stems and leaves of Lonicera japonica. Their structures were established on the basis of chemical and spectral data.     

First total synthesis of artepillin C established by o,o'-diprenylation of p-halophenols in water

We have demonstrated that prenylation of p-halophenols was dependent on the solvent effect and succeeded in o,o'-diprenylation of p-halophenols in water. Following the Mizoroki-Heck coupling of the diprenyl-p-iodophenol 3c with methyl acrylate and then hydrolysis, we first synthesized artepillin C [3-(4-hydroxy-3,5-di(3-methyl-2-butenyl)phenyl)-2(E)-propenoic acid] (1), which is a biologically active constituent of propolis. These reactions may be applicable to the synthesis of various useful natural products such as 2,4,6-trisubstituted phenol derivatives.     

Langmuir-Blodgett films of a clay mineral and ruthenium(II) complexes with a noncentrosymmetric structure

Mono- and multilayers of amphiphilic [Ru(phen)(2)(dcC12bpy)](2+) (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, dcC12bpy = 4,4'-caboxyl-2,2'-bipyridyl didodecyl ester) hybridized with a clay mineral have been prepared by a modified Langmuir-Blodgett method, and their structures and properties have been investigated. Formation of a hybrid monolayer of the Ru(II) complex cations and the clay platelets at an air-clay suspension interface was confirmed by surface pressure-molecular area (pi-A) isotherm measurement and atomic force microscopic (AFM) observation. Multilayers were fabricated by depositing the hybrid monolayers onto glass substrates. The absorbance at 492 nm due to the Ru(II) complex cation in the multilayer increased linearly with the increase in the layer number, indicating layer-by-layer deposition of the hybrid monolayers. Because no increase in the second-harmonic generation (SHG) signal from the multilayers against the layer number was observed, the orientation of the Ru(II) complex cations in the layer would be disturbed. The hydrophilic surface of the transferred hybrid monolayer can be converted to a hydrophobic surface by dipping it in an aqueous solution of octadecylammonium chloride (ODAH(+)Cl(-)). The multilayers modified with ODAH(+) showed a quadratic relation between the SHG intensity and the layer number. This means that the Ru(II) complex cations in the multilayer are successfully oriented in a noncentrosymmetric way by the conversion of the surface property. Both a racemic mixture and an enantiomer of the Ru(II) complex cations were employed to examine the chiral effect on the film properties. The chiral contribution to the SHG signal was enhanced in the multilayer modified with ODAH(+).     

Porphyrin boxes constructed by homochiral self-sorting assembly: optical separation, exciton coupling, and efficient excitation energy migration

meso-Pyridine-appended zinc(II) porphyrins Mn and their meso-meso-linked dimers Dn assemble spontaneously, in noncoordinating solvents such as CHCl3, into tetrameric porphyrin squares Sn and porphyrin boxes Bn, respectively. Interestingly, formation of Bn from Dn proceeds via homochiral self-sorting assembly, which has been verified by optical separations of B1 and B2. Optically pure enantiomers of B1 and B2 display strong Cotton effects in the CD spectra, which reflect the length of the pyridyl arm, thus providing evidence for the exciton coupling between the noncovalent neighboring porphyrin rings. Excitation energy migration processes within Bn have been investigated by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic methods in conjunction with polarization anisotropy measurements. Both the pump-power dependence on the femtosecond transient absorption and the transient absorption anisotropy decay profiles are directly associated with the excitation energy migration process within the Bn boxes, where the exciton-exciton annihilation time and the polarization anisotropy rise time are well described in terms of the F?rster-type incoherent energy hopping model by assuming a number of hopping sites of N = 4 and an exciton coherence length of L = 2. Consequently, the excitation energy hopping rates between the zinc(II) diporphyrin units have been estimated for B1 (48 ps)(-1), B2 (98 +/- 3 ps)(-1), and B3 (361 +/- 6 ps)(-1). Overall, the self-assembled porphyrin boxes Bn serve as a well-defined three-dimensional model for the light-harvesting complex.     

Nonspecific medium effects versus specific group positioning in the antibody and albumin catalysis of the base-promoted ring-opening reactions of benzisoxazoles

The mechanisms by which solvents, antibodies, and albumins influence the rates of base-catalyzed reactions of benzisoxazoles have been explored theoretically. New experimental data on substituent effects and rates of reactions in several solvents, in an antibody, and in an albumin are reported. Quantum mechanical calculations were carried out for the reactions in water and acetonitrile, and docking of the transition state into a homology model of antibody 34E4 and an X-ray structure of human serum albumin was accomplished. A microenvironment made up of catalytic polar groups (glutamate in antibody 34E4 and lysine in human serum albumin) surrounded by relatively nonpolar groups is present in both catalytic proteins.     

Fluorescent Cyclodextrin/Peptide Hybrids with a Novel Guest‐Responsive Chemosensor in the Peptide Side Chain

Peptides bearing β‐cyclodextrin and 4‐(N,N‐dimethylamino)benzoyl (DMAB) units in the peptide side chains were prepared as chemosensors for molecule detection. The DMAB unit was expected to be included into the cyclodextrin cavity intramolecularly. However, these peptides exhibited no twisted intramolecular charge transfer fluorescence and the normal fluorescence intensity decreased upon the addition of 1‐adamantanol as an exogenous guest, indicating that the DMAB units are shallowly included in the cyclodextrin cavities.