Possible Mechanisms of Vascular Relaxation Induced by Pulsed-UV Laser

This study was designed to examine the mechanism of vasorelaxation induced by pulsed-UV laser. Luminal diameters of rat femoral arteries were measured prior to and following krypton-fluoride excimer laser irradiation of 248 nm in wavelength. The diameter was enlarged to 1.3 times the preirradiated size at 1 or 10 Hz irradiation when the fluence was over 2.0 mj/pulse/mm², while the diameter reached 1.8 times at 100 Hz with a fluence of 0.8 mj/pulse/mm². Vasorelaxation by the 100 Hz irradiation was inhibited when the artery was pretreated with methylene blue but was enhanced with superoxide dis-mutase. Pathological analysis revealed an ablation crater and vacuole formation in the vessel at 1 or 10 Hz irradiation, but these changes were not remarkable in the 100 Hz-exposed sample. These findings suggest that vasorelaxation induced by the pulsed UV irradiation at 1 or 10 Hz results from structural alteration of vascular smooth muscle by the ablation crater or vacuolization. On the other hand, a possible mechanism of vasorelaxation at the 100 Hz irradiation is partially related to nitric oxide.     

Quantitative analysis of protein adsorption on a planar surface by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy: lysozyme adsorbed on hydrophobic silicon-containing polymer

The adsorption of hen egg white lysozyme onto a solid polytris(trimethylsiloxy)silylstyrene (pTSS) surface from a D(2)O solution at pD 7 containing 100 mM NaCl and 10 mM sodium deuterated phosphate was monitored at 25 degrees C by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy using the attenuated total reflection (ATR) method. The infrared spectrum attributed to only the adsorbed lysozyme was derived from the observed spectrum, and the amount of adsorbed lysozyme was determined as a function of time and lysozyme concentration. The kinetics of adsorption could be decomposed into two components, one of which was a process with a time constant of larger than 4 h(-1) and the other was a process with one of about 0.1 h(-1). These spectra showed that the lysozyme adsorbed in the faster process had a higher beta-structure content than the dissolved lysozyme. It was also found that the slower adsorption induced some conformational change in the lysozyme adsorbed in the faster process and/or that adsorbed in the slower process. After adsorption for 24 h, the pTSS surface was rinsed out with lysozyme-free solution. The resultant spectra of the surface indicated that the lysozyme adsorbed in the faster process was bound irreversibly on the surface and was changed to a conformer with a higher beta-structure content during the slower process. The experimental procedures and the theoretical applications for such a quantitative analysis in the ATR spectroscopic method are presented in detail.     

Simultaneous determination of anthraquinones, their 8-beta-D-glucosides, and sennosides of Rhei Rhizoma by capillary electrophoresis

The simultaneous separation and determination of major anthraquinones (emodin, chrysophanol, rhein and their glucosides, aloe-emodin, sennoside A, and sennoside B) of Rhei Rhizoma were achieved by cyclodextrin modified capillary zone electrophoresis. The running electrolyte used in this method was 0.005 M alpha-cyclodextrin in 0.03 M borate buffer (pH 10.0) containing 20% acetonitrile, with an applied voltage of 20 kV.     

The synthesis of pyrimido[4,5-c]pyridazines and pyrimido[5,4-c]pyridazines

The Hofmann reaction on 6-methylpyridazine-3,4-dicarboxamide (1) gave a mixture of 3-methylpyrimido[4,5-c]pyridazine-5,7-dione (2), 3-methylpyrimido[5,4-c]pyridazine-6,8-dione (3) and an acid (4) of unknown structure. The Hofmann reaction on pyridazine-3,4-dicarboxamide (9) gave a mixture of pyrimido[4,5-c]pyridazine-5,7-dione ( 10 ) and an acid ( 11 ) of unknown structure. The reaction of 3-amino-6-methylpyridazine-4-carboxamide ( 18 ) with ethyl orthoformate gave 3-methylpyrimido[4,5-c]pyridazin-5-one ( 21 ). 4-Aminopyridazine-3-carboxamide ( 36 ) upon fusion with urea gave pyrimido[5,4-c]pyridazine-6,8-dione ( 37 ) while with ethyl orthoformate 36 gave pyrimido[5,4-c]pyridazin-8-one ( 38 ). Pyrimido[5,4-c]-pyridazine-8-thione ( 39 ) was obtained by the action of phosphorus pentasulfide on 38. 4-Amino-3-cyanopyridazine ( 16 ) when treated with formamide produced 8-aminopyrimido[5,4-c]-pyridazine ( 41 ). The synthesis of 4-aminopyridazine-3-carboxamide ( 36 ) and 4-amino-3-cyanopyridazine ( 16 ), both key intermediates in the synthesis of the novel pyrimido[5,4-c]pyridazine ring system was accomplished by the Reissert reaction of 4-aminopyridazine-2-oxides and subsequent conversion of the nitrile to the amide.     

Contribution of the photo-Fenton reaction to hydroxyl radical formation rates in river and rain water samples.

The hydroxyl radical (OH radical) formation rates from the photo-Fenton reaction in river and rain water samples were determined by using deferoxamine mesylate (DFOM), which makes a stable and strong complex with Fe(III), resulting in a suppression of the photo-Fenton reaction. The difference between the OH radical formation rates with and without added DFOM denotes the rate from the photo-Fenton reaction. The photoformation rates from the photo-Fenton reaction were in the range of 0.7 - 45.8 x 10(-12) and 2.7 - 32.3 x 10(-12) M s(-1) in river and rain water samples, respectively. A strong positive correlation between the OH radical formation rate from the photo-Fenton reaction and the amount of fluorescent matter in river water suggests that fluorescent matter, such as humic substances, plays an important role in the photo-Fenton reaction. In rain water, direct photolysis of hydrogen peroxide was an important source of OH radicals as well as the photo-Fenton reaction. The contributions of the photo-Fenton reaction to the OH radical photoformation rates in river and rain water samples were in the ranges of 2 - 29 and 5 - 38%, respectively. Taking into account the photo-Fenton reaction, 33 - 110 (mean: 80) and 42 - 110 (mean: 84)% of OH radical sources in river and rain water samples, respectively, collected in Hiroshima prefecture were elucidated.     

Controllable shape selectivity based on highly ordered carbonyl and methyl groups in simple β-structural polypeptide on silica

Poly(l-alanine)-grafted porous silica (Sil-Ala₂₂) was prepared by polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride of l-alanine initiated by 3-aminopropylated silica. The retention behaviors of the column packed with Sil-Ala₂₂ were investigated by using alkylbenzenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as injection samples in liquid chromatography. The Ala₂₂ phase was in a rigid β-form structure and thus provided specific interaction sites, which were derived from the highly ordered carbonyl and methyl groups. These interaction sites bring unique molecular-shape discriminations: molecular-length and non-planarity selectivity, which are controllable by altering organic solvent used as a part of mobile phase.     

Hanasanagin: a new antioxidative pseudo-di-peptide, 3,4-diguanidinobutanoyl-DOPA, from the mushroom, Isaria japonica

The ‘Hanasanagitake’ mushroom, Isaria japonica, is a folk medicine and a traditional health food. Fractionation of the 60% ethanol extract of the mushroom, guided by the antioxidant activity test, led to the isolation of a new pseudo-di-peptide, and it was called ‘hanasanagin’. Spectral analysis and chemical transformation determined the structure of hanasanagin as 3,4-diguanidinobutanoyl-DOPA.     

Near Field Observation of a Refractive Index Grating and a Topographical Grating by an Optically-Trapped Gold Particle

We observed the near field for a refractive index grating fabricated on a planar light waveguide circuit (PLC) by scanning an optically-trapped 100 nm diameter gold particle. We demonstrate that stable trapping and scanning occur with a Gaussian laser beam at the scan velocity of 1.6 m/s and Nd:YAG laser power of 25mW. The scattered Ar laser light from the gold particle is strong at high refractive indexes of the grating with periods of 1.06 m and 0.53 m both by s and p polarized illumination. In addition, we observed the surface profile of the optical disk tracking groove with and without the gold particle. © 2004 The Optical Society of Japan     

Structural fluctuation and dynamics of ribose puckering in aqueous solution from first principles

Using the method of ab initio molecular dynamics, we examine the structural fluctuation and the low-frequency dynamics of beta-ribofuranose puckering in aqueous solution. Our analysis suggests that the distance between the anomeric and hydroxymethyl oxygens is a simple relevant geometrical parameter that dynamically correlates with the phase angle in the north region. The time-frequency analysis using the Hilbert-Huang transform also confirms the correlation, and most of the instantaneous frequencies for the phase angle and the above distance are found to be concentrated on the region below about 100 cm(-1). Our analysis of ab initio molecular dynamics trajectories suggests that the molecular origin of the hydration effects on the low-frequency dynamics of beta-ribofuranose puckering is closely related to this correlation and thus primarily attributed to the relatively local interactions among the anomeric and hydroxymethyl oxygens and the surrounding water molecules near them. Additionally, we discuss the difference in the low-frequency dynamics of beta-ribofuranose puckering between two hydroxymethyl rotamers.