Accurate LC-MS analyses for microcystins using per-15N-labeled microcystins

Per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystins were prepared for use as surrogates for accurate liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis. Two strains of Microcystis aeruginosa were cultured in ¹⁵NO₃-containing TS-15 medium. To change from the incorporation of ¹⁴N to ¹⁵N into all cell components, cells of Microcystis aeruginosa were precultured in Na¹⁵NO₃-containing medium for more than 6 months. After mass cultivation of the strains, cells of each strain were harvested and lyophilized. Microcystin variants were extracted from the lyophilized cells and per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystin variants were purified using high-performance liquid chromatography and high-performance thin-layer chromatography. The structures of per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystin variants were confirmed by their mass spectrometry spectra and NMR spectra. When per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystins were used as surrogates for quantitative analysis of these toxins in cyanobacterial cells, excellent accuracy (98–106%) was obtained, with the m/z of M⁺, [M+1]⁺, and [M+2]⁺ of both microcystins and the per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystins as surrogates being completely separated. In conclusion, per-¹⁵N-labeled microcystins are excellent surrogates for microcystin analysis using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry.     

Solid‐phase Total Synthesis of (−)‐Apratoxin A and Its Analogues and Their Biological Evaluation

Two approaches for the solid‐phase total synthesis of apratoxin A and its derivatives were accomplished. In synthetic route A, the peptide was prepared by the sequential coupling of the corresponding amino acids on trityl chloride SynPhase Lanterns. After cleavage from the polymer‐support, macrolactamization of 10 , followed by thiazoline formation, provided apratoxin A. This approach, however, resulted in low yield because the chemoselectivity was not sufficient for the formation of the thiazoline ring though its analogue 33 was obtained. However, in synthetic route B, a cyclization precursor was prepared by solid‐phase peptide synthesis by using amino acids 13 – 15 and 18 . The final macrolactamization was performed in solution to provide apratoxin A in high overall yield. This method was then successfully applied to the synthesis of apratoxin analogues. The cytotoxic activity of the synthetic derivatives was then evaluated. The epimer 34 was as potent as apratoxin A, and O‐methyl tyrosine can be replaced by 7‐azidoheptyl tyrosine without loss of activity. The 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of 38 with phenylacetylene was performed in the presence of a copper catalyst without affecting the thiazoline ring.     

Extraction of some univalent salts into 1,2-dichloroethane and nitrobenzene: analysis of overall extraction equilibrium based on elucidating ion-pair formation and evaluation of standard potentials for ion transfers at the interfaces between their diluents and water

Sodium permanganate, sodium picrate (NaPic), Bu(4)NPic, Me(4)NPic, and Et(4)NPic were extracted at an ionic strength of 2 × 10(-5) to 0.08 mol dm(-3) and 25°C from water (w)-phases into the organic (o)-ones, 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) and nitrobenzene (NB). Thereby, apparent distribution constants (K(D,±)) of the anions (A(-)) or the cations (M(+)) and ion-pair formation ones (K(MA)(org)) of the univalent salts (MA) in the o-phases were determined at 25 °C, where K(D,±) = ([A(-)](o)[M(+)](o)/[A(-)][M(+)])(1/2) = (K(D,A)K(D,M))(1/2) and K(MA)(org) = [MA](o)/[M(+)](o)[A(-)](o). Also, the K(ex) and K(D,MA) values with A(-) = Pic(-), MnO(4)(-) were estimated from the relations K(ex) (= [MA](o)/[M(+)][A(-)]) = K(MA)(org)(K(D,±))(2) and = K(MA)K(D,MA), respectively. Standard potentials (Δψ(tr)(0)) for ion transfers at the w/DCE and w/NB interfaces were evaluated from the log K(D,A) or log K(D,M) values by assuming the relations K(D,Pic) = K(D,Et4N) and = K(D,Me4N), respectively. The thus-obtained Δψ(tr)(0) values, especially for the w/DCE system, were in good agreement with the values based on the extra-thermodynamic assumption for Ph(4)As(+) and BPh(4)(-) transfers at the interfaces. In the present extraction systems, the ion-pair formation of MA in the w- and o-phases was less effective in the determination of their distribution constants into the two o-phases.     

Orange and yellow crystals of copper(I) complexes bearing 8-(diphenylphosphino)quinoline: a pair of distortion isomers of an intrinsic tetrahedral complex

The tetrafluoroborate salt of bis{8-(diphenylphosphino)quinoline}copper(I), [Cu(Ph(2)Pqn)(2)]BF(4), afforded orange prismatic (2O) or yellow columnar (2Y) crystals, dependent on the solvent and concentration of the recrystallization solution used. X-ray analysis revealed that crystals of 2O and 2Y had the same composition and exhibited different crystal systems: 2O was triclinic, with space group P ?1 and Z = 2, and 2Y was monoclinic with space group P2(1)/c and Z = 4. In these crystals, the tetrahedral copper(I) complex exhibited a strong "rocking distortion" toward a trigonal pyramidal coordination geometry (by a slide translation of one of the unsymmetrical bidentate chelating ligands along the tetrahedral edge). In addition, both the 2O and 2Y complexes showed a "flattening distortion", meaning that the dihedral angle between the two chelate planes were off-perpendicular and oriented toward opposite directions, which resulted in a pair of distortion isomers: syn clinal (sc: 2O) and anti clinal (ac: 2Y). (31)P CP-MAS NMR spectroscopy indicated that 2O and 2Y could be distinguished. Both isomers exhibited inequivalent P atoms, but a larger difference in chemical shift was observed in 2Y. TD-DFT calculations reproduced the difference in spectra between the orange- and yellow-colored complexes, which originated from metal-to-ligand charge-transfer transitions.     

Evolution of Kondo resonance from a single impurity molecule to the two-dimensional lattice

The successive spectral evolution of the Kondo resonance state was investigated from a single iron(II) phthalocyanine molecule to the two-dimensional lattice on Au(111) by interrogating the individual molecules with a scanning tunneling microscope. A sharp Kondo peak appears in the single-impurity regime, which broadens and splits as the lattice builds up. The origin of spectral evolution together with the electronic ground state of the lattice are discussed based on the competition of the Kondo effect and Rudermann-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida coupling between the molecular spins.     

Design and synthesis of a novel fluorescent protein probe for easy and rapid electrophoretic gel staining by using a commonly available UV‐based fluorescent imaging system

A new fluorescent molecular probe, methyl 3‐(3,5‐bis((bis(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl)amino)‐methyl)‐4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐2‐(5‐(dimethylamino)naphthalene‐1‐sulfonamido) propanoate, dizinc(II) chloride salt (Dansyl‐ 1 ‐Zn(II)), which possesses Zn(II) complexes and a dansyl group, was designed and synthesized to enable the detection of proteins in solution and in high‐throughput electrophoresis by using a UV‐based detection system. Dansyl‐ 1 ‐Zn(II) exhibited weak fluorescence in the absence of proteins and strong green fluorescence at approximately 510 nm in the presence of BSA upon irradiation with light at a wavelength of 345 nm. Compared with conventional protocols for in‐gel SDS‐PAGE protein staining (e.g. silver staining, SYPRO Ruby, and Oriole), the operating times of which range from 90 min to overnight, Dansyl‐ 1 ‐Zn(II) allowed 1‐step protein staining (SDS‐PAGE →Staining →Detection) and shortened the operating time (35 min) with high sensitivity (LOD: 1 ng or less) under 312‐nm or 365‐nm light excitation with orange or red emission filters, respectively. Moreover, Dansyl‐ 1 ‐Zn(II) was successfully applied to protein identification by MS via in‐gel tryptic digestion, Western blotting, and Native‐PAGE. Accordingly, Dansyl‐ 1 ‐Zn(II) may facilitate highly sensitive and high‐throughput protein detection, and it may be widely applicable as a convenient tool in various scientific and medical fields.     

Investigation of adsorption behavior and energy transfer of cationic porphyrins on clay surface at low loading levels by picosecond time-resolved fluorescence measurement

Time-resolved fluorescence and steady-state spectroscopic measurements were performed with +4-charged cationic porphyrins adsorbed on an anionic-type clay (Sumecton SA; SSA) surface at a low molecular loading level (10 % vs. cation-exchange capacity of clay) corresponding to an occupied area of ca 50 nm² per molecule. Absorption spectra indicated no interaction between transition moments of the porphyrins on the clay surface. An efficient energy-transfer process from donor to acceptor porphyrin was observed on the clay surface even under low porphyrin loading conditions. The efficiency of energy transfer obtained from the steady-state measurement was 65 %. Real-time behavior of the porphyrins was successfully captured during energy transfer. The rate constant of the energy transfer obtained from time-resolved fluorescence measurements was found to be 5.3 × 10⁸ s^?1. According to the efficiency and the rate constant, it is proposed that the adsorbed porphyrins did not have a uniform and fixed distribution.     

Analysis of Photoexcitation Energy Dependence in the Photoluminescence of Firefly Luciferin

The whole pathways for photoluminescence, which include absorption, relaxation and emission, of firefly luciferin in aqueous solutions of different pH values with different photoexcitation energies were theoretically investigated by considering protonation/deprotonation. It is experimentally known that the color of fluorescence changes from green to red with a decrease in the photoexcitation energy. We confirmed with the theoretical analysis that the peak energy shift in the fluorescence spectra with varying photoenergies is due to a change in photoluminescence pathway. When the photoexcitation energy is decreased, the red emission from a monoanion form of firefly luciferin with carboxylate and phenolate groups and N‐protonated thiazoline ring occurs irrespective of the pH values. However, because the species abundant in the solution and those excited by the photon depend on the solution pH, the pathway leading to the monoanion form changes with the solution pH.     

Construction of the adamantane core of plukenetione-type polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols

The construction of a highly functionalized adamantane core of plukenetione-type polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs) is described. The method features the construction of the bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane core (3) by successive Michael reactions and the construction of the adamantane core of plukenetione-type PPAPs by acid-catalyzed cyclization of a bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane precursor (2).