Electroreductive synthesis of 1-(bromobenzyl)-isoquinoline derivatives and its application to cularine synthesis

Electrochemical reduction of immonium salts in the presence of bromobenzylbromide derivatives gave 1-(bromobenzyl)-isoquinoline derivatives in moderate yields. This reaction is useful in the synthesis of several natural alkaloids as exemplified in the synthesis of Cularine.     

The exponent for the mean square displacement of self-avoiding random walk on the Sierpinski gasket

The authors rigorously prove that the exponent for the mean square displacement of self-avoiding random walk on the Sierpinski gasket is

Derivatives Of ditraizinylamine and tritriazinylamine

2-Arylamino-4,6-dichloro-s-triazine reacts with cyanuric chloride in the presence of alkali to yield N,N-bis(4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-yl)-arylamine. In like manner, 2-substituted o-chloro-, p-chloro-, o-nitro- and p-carbomethoxyphenylamino-4,6-dimethoxy-s-triazines react with cyanuric chloride to yield the corresponding 4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-yl-4′,6′-dimethoxy-s-triazin-2′-ylaryl-amine, while anilino-, p-toluidino, o- and p-methoxyphenylamino and o-carbomethoxyphenylamino derivatives did not. The reaction of cyanuric chloride with 2,4-dichloro-6-ethylamino-s-triazine in the presence of alkali yields the condensation product of the ditriazinylamine type and the reaction of cyanuric chloride with ammonia yields N,N-bis(4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-yl)- or tris(4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-yl)amine.     

ESR Study of a Nitroxide Radical in Sol-Gel Glasses

A spin probe TEMPOL (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxy) was dissolved in a tetraethyl orthosilicate sol-gel reaction system and measured by electron spin resonance spectroscopy at 295 K. The nitrogen hyperfine coupling constant was from 1.64–1.66 mT in the sol-gel solutions. The values were sensitive to the ethanol-to-water ratio of the solutions. The hyperfine coupling constant in the xerogels was 1.70 mT, which was almost the same as that in water, indicating that the probe molecules were trapped in silica pores with water adsorbed on the silica surfaces. The motion of TEMPOL in the xerogels was considerably slower than in the sol-gel solutions. The local viscosity estimated was from 70–90 cP. The ESR spectra of TEMPOL were altered during the sol-gel process, indicating that adsorbed water on the silicas surfaces has an important role for trapping organic molecules in sol-gel glasses.     

Determination of saccharides in sake by high-performance liquid chromatography with polarized photometric detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of saccharides in sake, an alcoholic beverage brewed from rice. Saccharides in sake were separated on a normal phase (carbamoyl bonded silica) column using a linear gradient elution of water in acetonitrile. Seven saccharides, glucose, maltose, isomaltose, maltotriose, panose, isomaltotriose and ethyl alpha-D-glucoside, were determined by a polarized photometric detector. Unidentified peaks suggesting saccharides with polymerization degrees over 4 were also observed. The proposed method did not require any sample clean-up treatment. As an application, saccharide compositions in various kinds of sake were compared.     

Pomegranate fruit extract modulates UV-B-mediated phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and activation of nuclear factor kappa B in normal human epidermal keratinocytes paragraph sign

Excessive exposure of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, particularly its UV-B component, to humans causes many adverse effects that include erythema, hyperplasia, hyperpigmentation, immunosuppression, photoaging and skin cancer. In recent years, there is increasing use of botanical agents in skin care products. Pomegranate derived from the tree Punica granatum contains anthocyanins (such as delphinidin, cyanidin and pelargonidin) and hydrolyzable tannins (such as punicalin, pedunculagin, punicalagin, gallagic and ellagic acid esters of glucose) and possesses strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, we have shown that pomegranate fruit extract (PFE) possesses antitumor promoting effects in a mouse model of chemical carcinogenesis. To begin to establish the effect of PFE for humans in this study, we determined its effect on UV-B-induced adverse effects in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK). We first assessed the effect of PFE on UV-B-mediated phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway in NHEK. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that the treatment of NHEK with PFE (10-40 microg/mL) for 24 h before UV-B (40 mJ/cm(2)) exposure dose dependently inhibited UV-B-mediated phosphorylation of ERKl/2, JNK1/2 and p38 protein. We also observed that PFE (20 microg/mL) inhibited UV-B-mediated phosphorylation of MAPK in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, in dose- and time-dependent studies, we evaluated the effect of PFE on UV-B-mediated activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) pathway. Using Western blot analysis, we found that PFE treatment of NHEK resulted in a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of UV-B-mediated degradation and phosphorylation of IkappaBalpha and activation of IKKalpha. Using immunoblot analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay, we found that PFE treatment to NHEK resulted in a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of UV-B-mediated nuclear translocation and phosphorylation of NF-kappaB/p65 at Ser(536). Taken together, our data shows that PFE protects against the adverse effects of UV-B radiation by inhibiting UV-B-induced modulations of NF-kappaB and MAPK pathways and provides a molecular basis for the photochemopreventive effects of PFE.     

Study on permeation behavior and chemical degradation of PA66 in acid solution

In many polymers under corrosive liquids, degradation followed after permeation of environmental solution for a long period. The permeation rate of environmental solution, in many cases, is very low in corrosion-resistant polymeric materials. Therefore, the observation of the permeation of environmental solution and degradation of polymeric materials are very difficult in practical application. A simulation of permeation of solution is required in order to understand the permeation behavior of environmental solution and polymer degradation. A detailed analysis of the permeation behavior of solution accompanied by chemical reaction is important to study for improving the lifetime of polymers. Polyamide 66 (PA66) and sulfuric acid solution were used to investigate the quantitative study of permeation of environmental solution and its relation to degradation of polymeric materials. Correlation between diffusion process and degradation of PA66 related to the decrease of weight average molecular weight was defined. The diffusion rate of sulfuric acid solution was found to increase by decreasing weight average molecular weight of PA66 due to the established chain scission by hydrolysis reaction. The permeation of sulfuric acid solution that affected the decomposition reaction was modeled and quantitative evaluation of permeation of sulfuric acid was established.     

Energy transfer reaction of cationic porphyrin complexes on the clay surface: effect of sample preparation method

Photochemical energy transfer of non-aggregated cationic porphyrins on an anionic-type clay (Smecton SA) surface was investigated. The efficiency of energy transfer and excited-state quenching in the absence of energy transfer were evaluated at various loading levels of porphyrin on the clay surface and were found to be significantly affected by the loading level. As the latter increased, both energy transfer efficiency and excited-state quenching increased. Judging from the dependency of energy-transfer efficiency on the porphyrin loading level, a partially clustered structure, but without aggregation, of porphyrins on the clay surface is proposed.