One-dimensional ion transport in self-organized columnar ionic liquids

New fan-shaped ionic liquids forming columnar liquid crystalline phases have been prepared to obtain one-dimensional ion-transporting materials. The ionic liquids consist of two incompatible parts: an imidazolium-based ionic part as an ion-conducting part and tris(alkyloxy)phenyl parts as insulating parts. Two compounds having octyl and dodecyl chains have been synthesized. Self-assembly of these materials leads to the formation of thermotropic hexagonal columnar liquid crystalline states at room temperature. Anisotropic one-dimensional ionic conductivities have been successfully measured by the cells having comb-shaped gold electrodes. The self-organized columns have been aligned macroscopically in two directions by shearing perpendicular and parallel to the electrodes. The ionic conductivities parallel to the column axis are higher than those perpendicular to the axis. The incorporation of lithium salts in these columnar materials leads to the enhancement of the ionic conductivities and their anisotropy. These materials would be useful for anisotropic transportation of ions at the nanometer level.     

A new approach to the synthesis of pyridazino[4,5-c]pyridazinones

The reaction of 5-hydrazinopyridazin-3(2H)-ones 1 with α-keto diester 2 in acetic acid afforded the corresponding 4,6-dihydropyridazino[4,5-c]pyridazin-5(1H)-ones 3 and pyrrolo[2,3-d)pyridazin-4(5H)-ones 4 . Compounds 3 were also obtained from 4-bromo-5-hydrazinopyridazin-3(2H)-ones 8 and 2 under milder conditions. 5-Bromo-4-hydrazinopyridazin-3(2H)-one 9 , the regioisomer of 8b , also reacted readily with 2a to give 4,7-dihydropyridazino[4,5-c]pyridazin-8(1H)-one 10b , the regioisomer of 3b .     

Application of proton induced X-ray emission to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of iodine in biological samples

Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) was applied to evaluate the loss of volatile elements such as iodine in biological samples. The analytical quality of the method is comparable or better than spectrophotometry, which is currently believed to be the most reliable for iodine determination. The temperature dependence of volatility loss of trace iodine was characteristic, and the feature was divided into three temperature regions. The first one, ranging from room temperature to 200 °C, showed only a slight loss below 20% on drying; the second stage, between 200 °C and 350 °C, where carbonizing processes became prominent, showed a remarkable loss up to 50%; the last one, beyond 350 °C, was accompanied by a considerable loss of iodine (more than 80%) with ashing. Even in the analysis using low temperature ashing with oxygen plasma, the loss of iodine observed was considerable (nearly 80%). The significance of these findings by PIXE in trace analysis is noted to improve analytical quality of volatile elements, such as iodine in biological, medical and also environmental fields.     

Concise synthesis of anti-HIV-1 active (+)-inophyllum B and (+)-calanolide A by application of (-)-quinine-catalyzed intramolecular oxo-Michael addition

(-)-Quinine-catalyzed intramolecular oxo-Michael addition (IMA) of 7-hydroxy-5-methoxy-8-tigloylcoumarins was developed for the enantioselective construction of 2,3-dimethyl-4-chromanone systems in the context of the asymmetric synthesis of anti-HIV-1 active Calophyllum coumarins. Combination of the IMA and MgI(2)-assisted demethylation of the 5-methoxy group along with isomerization of the formed chromanone systems as key steps successfully led to the concise synthesis of (+)-inophyllum B and (+)-calanolide A, possible candidates for AIDS drugs. Further examination of the asymmetric IMA with cinchona alkaloids lacking a methoxy group on the quinoline skeleton suggested the influence of the methoxy substituent on stereoselectivity at the stereogenic centers of the chromanone systems.     

Linear NiII-MnIII2-NiII tetramers: an oligomeric component of the MnIII2NiII single-chain magnets

Heterometallic linear tetramers [Mn(5-R-saltmen)Ni(pao)(bpy)(2)](2)(ClO(4))(4) (5-R-saltmen(2-) = N,N'-1,1,2,2-tetramethylethylene bis(5-R-salicylideneiminate); pao(-) = pyridine-2-aldoximate; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, R = H, 1; Cl, 2; Br, 3; MeO, 4) have been synthesized and structurally characterized. These compounds exhibit a [Ni(II)-NO-Mn(III)-(O)(2)-Mn(III)-ON-Ni(II)] skeleton where -ON- is an oximate bridge between Mn(III) and Ni(II) ions and -(O)(2)- is a bi-phenolate bridge between Mn(III) ions. These tetramers can be seen as oligomeric units of the heterometallic Mn(III)(2)-Ni(II) chain observed in a family of single-chain magnets (Clérac, R.; Miyasaka, H.; Yamashita, M.; Coulon, C. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 12837. Miyasaka, H.; Clérac, R.; Mizushima, K.; Sugiura, K.; Yamashita, M.; Wernsdorfer, W.; Coulon, C. Inorg. Chem. 2003, 42, 8203.). Magnetic measurements on these tetramers confirm the nature of the magnetic interactions reported for the Mn(III)(2)-Ni(II) chains: a strong antiferromagnetic Mn(III)/Ni(II) coupling via the oximate bridge (J(Ni-Mn) ranges from -23.7 to -26.1 K) and a weak ferromagnetic Mn(III)/Mn(III) coupling through the bi-phenolate bridge (J(Mn-Mn) ranges from +0.4 to +0.9 K). These magnetic interactions lead to tetramers with an S = 2 ground state.     

Chemical behaviour of helium muonide just after muon catalyzed fusion

Chemical behaviour of a helium muonide atom /He^o/ can be understood on the analogy of its hydrogen homologues, muonium /Mu/, deuterium /D^o/ and tritium /T^o/. In muon catalyzed fusion /CF/, a small fraction of negative muon in the fusion cycle sticks to helium to give proton-like He⁺ which easily picks up one electron forming He^o. The energy of He⁺ at birth is about 3.5 MeV being in a similar situation to the case of a hot tritium atom produced by /n, p/ or /n, / reaction. The reaction cross section and rate of He^o reactions are estimated.     

Lannotinidines A-G, new alkaloids from two species of Lycopodium

Seven new Lycopodium alkaloids, lannotinidines A-G (1-7), have been isolated from the club moss Lycopodium annotinum and L. annotinum var. acrifolium. Stereochemistry of 1-7 was elucidated by combination of NOESY correlations and chemical transformation. Lannotinidines B-E (2-5) elevated NGF mRNA expression.     

MnIII2 (5-Rsaltmen)2NiII(pao)2(L)]2+: an S(T)=3 building block for a single-chain magnet that behaves as a single-molecule magnet

Mn(III)-Ni(II)-Mn(III) linear-type trinuclear complexes bridged by oximate groups were selectively synthesized by the assembly reaction of [Mn2(5-Rsaltmen)2(H2O)2](ClO4)2 (5-Rsaltmen2-=N,N'-(1,1,2,2-tetramethylethylene) bis(5-R-salicylideneiminate); R=Cl, Br) with [Ni(pao)2(phen)] (pao-=pyridine-2-aldoximate; phen=1,10-phenanthroline) in methanol/water: [Mn2(5-Rsaltmen)2Ni(pao)2(phen)](ClO4)2 (R=Cl, 1; R=Br, 2). Structural analysis revealed that the [Mn(III)-ON-Ni(II)-NO-Mn(III)] skeleton of these trimers is in every respect similar to the repeating unit found in the previously reported series of 1D materials [Mn2(saltmen)2Ni(pao)2(L1)2](A)(2) (L(1)=pyridine, 4-picoline, 4-tert-butylpyridine, N-methylimidazole; A=ClO4-, BF4-, PF6-, ReO4-). Recently, these 1D compounds have attracted a great deal of attention for their magnetic properties, since they exhibit slow relaxation of the magnetization (also called single-chain magnet (SCM) behavior). This unique magnetic behavior was explained in the framework of Glauber's theory, generalized for chains of ferromagnetically coupled anisotropic spins. Thus, in these 1D compounds, the [Mn(III)-ON-Ni(II)-NO-Mn(III)] unit was considered as an S(T)=3 anisotropic spin. Direct-current magnetic measurements on 1 and 2 confirm their S(T)=3 ground state and strong uniaxial anisotropy (D/k(B) approximately -2.4 K), in excellent agreement with the magnetic characteristic deduced in the study on the SCM series. The ac magnetic susceptibility of these trimers is strongly frequency-dependent and characteristic of single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior. The relaxation time tau shows a thermally activated (Arrhenius) behavior with tau0 approximately 1x10(-7) s and Delta(eff)/k(B) approximately 18 K. The effective energy barrier for reversal of the magnetization Delta(eff) is consistent with the theoretical value (21 K) estimated from |D| S2T. The present results reinforce consistently the interpretation of the SCM behavior observed in the [Mn2(saltmen)2Ni(pao)2(L1)2](A)2 series and opens new perspectives to design single-chain magnets.     

A highly stereoselective synthesis of the C10–C31 (BCDEF ring) portion of pinnatoxin A

An efficient, highly stereoselective synthesis of the C10–C31 (BCDEF ring) portion of pinnatoxin A has been achieved utilizing tandem double hemiketal formation/intramolecular hetero-Michael addition to construct the 6,5,6-dispiroketal (BCD ring) system and subsequent intramolecular ketalization to form the 5,6-bicycloketal (EF ring) system as key steps.