Distribution and Dynamic Pathway of Selenium Species in Selenium-deficient Mice Injected with (82)Se-enriched Selenite

In order to elucidate Se metabolism in a living body, (82)Se-enriched selenite was injected intravenously into mice fed Se-adequate and -deficient diets. We studied the time-dependent changes in the distribution of the labeled Se in organs, red blood cells, and plasma. The total Se was determined by flow-injection ICPMS, and Se speciation analysis was conducted by micro-affinity chromatography coupled with low-flow ICPMS. Total Se in almost all organs, including liver, showed the maximum at 1 h after injection. From speciation analysis, exogenous (82)Se as Se-containing proteins other than selenoprotein P (Sel-P) (selenium containing albumin (SeAlb) and extra cellular glutathione peroxidase (eGPx)), peaked at 1 h and quickly decreased from 1 to 6 h after injection, whereas that as Sel-P, peaked at 6 h, and gradually decreased from 6 to 72 h after injection. We found that there were two pathways for the transfer of Se in mice; one was as SeAlb until 1 h after injection, and the other was as Sel-P from 6 to 72 h after injection.     

Photoelectrochemistry of p-type Cu2O semiconductor electrode in ionic liquid

We investigated the photoelectrochemical characteristics and photo-stability of Cu₂O layered on a copper plate using a hydrophobic ionic liquid. Our findings revealed that Cu₂O is stable under white light irradiation, provided water is removed from the electrolyte. Methyl viologen derivative, a well-established electron acceptor, was introduced to the ionic liquid electrolyte, allowing the photo-induced electron transfer reaction at the Cu₂O/electrolyte interface to be characterized. The methyl viologen derivative exhibited two distinct redox reactions at −0.56 V and −0.98 V vs. Ag/AgCl, clearly indicating that no dimer formation or co-proportionation reaction occurred. The excessive photocurrents being continuously generated resulted from a viable photo-induced electron transfer reaction from the Cu₂O to the acceptor. However, in contrast, the reduction of the Cu₂O by water in the aqueous solution causes this electron transfer to be inhibited. We further demonstrate that these findings are vital to understanding the role of the Cu₂O and its photoelectrochemical applications.     

UV absorption and fluorescence properties of fused aromatic hydrocarbons having trimethylsilyl, trimethylgermyl, and trimethylstannyl groups

Effects of trimethylsilyl, trimethylgermyl, and trimethylstannyl substituents attached to fused aromatic hydrocarbons such as pyrene, anthracene, phenanthrene, and naphthalene were studied in terms of UV absorption and fluorescence properties in aerated cyclohexane solutions. Absorption maxima of trimethylsilyl-, trimethylgermyl-, and trimethylstannyl-substituted aromatic hydrocarbons shifted to longer wavelengths than those of unsubstituted ones. Absorption maxima of mono-, bis-, tris-, and tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)pyrenes shifted to longer wavelength consecutively at intervals of 10 nm. Fluorescence intensities and fluorescence lifetimes of trimethylsilyl-substituted aromatic hydrocarbons were larger and longer than those of unsubstituted ones, and they decreased in the order of Me₃SiAr > Me₃GeAr > Me₃SnAr. Fluorescence intensity of 1,3,6,8-tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)pyrene was largest among those of a series of mono-, bis-, tris-, and tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)pyrenes under aerated conditions.     

Biodegradation of copolymers composed of optically active L‐lactide and (R)‐ or (S)‐1‐methyltrimethylene carbonate

Random copolymerizations of L ‐lactide with (R)‐, (S)‐, or rac‐1‐methyltrimethylene carbonate with bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) samarium‐methyl tetrahydrofuranate [(C₅Me₅)₂SmMe(THF)] as a novel initiator provided high molecular weight polymers with low polydispersities. Biodegradation of the resulting polymers with tricine and {N‐[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]‐2‐aminoethane sulfonic acid (TES) buffers as well as activated sludge showed only a small weight loss, whereas the polymer with proteinase K revealed high biodegradability independent of the optical activity of 1‐methyltrimethylene carbonate. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3916–3927, 2001     

Formation and stabilization model of the 42-mer Abeta radical: implications for the long-lasting oxidative stress in Alzheimer's disease

Amyloid fibrils mainly consist of 40-mer and 42-mer peptides (Abeta40, Abeta42). Abeta42 is believed to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease because its aggregative ability and neurotoxicity are considerably greater than those of Abeta40. The neurotoxicity of Abeta peptides involving the generation of free radicals is closely related to the S-oxidized radical cation of Met-35. However, the cation's origin and mechanism of stabilization remain unclear. Recently, structural models of fibrillar Abeta42 and Abeta40 based on systematic proline replacement have been proposed by our group [Morimoto, A.; et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2004, 279, 52781] and Wetzel's group [Williams, A. D.; et al. J. Mol. Biol. 2004, 335, 833], respectively. A major difference between these models is that our model of Abeta42 has a C-terminal beta-sheet region. Our biophysical study on Abeta42 using electron spin resonance (ESR) suggests that the S-oxidized radical cation of Met-35 could be generated by the reduction of the tyrosyl radical at Tyr-10 through a turn structure at positions 22 and 23, and stabilized by a C-terminal carboxylate anion through an intramolecular beta-sheet at positions 35-37 and 40-42 to form a C-terminal core that would lead to aggregation. A time-course analysis of the generation of radicals using ESR suggests that stabilization of the radicals by aggregation might be a main reason for the long-lasting oxidative stress of Abeta42. In contrast, the S-oxidized radical cation of Abeta40 is too short-lived to induce potent neurotoxicity because no such stabilization of radicals occurs in Abeta40.     

Concentration-dependent frequency shifts and Raman spectroscopic noncoincidence effect of the C=O stretching mode in dipolar mixtures of acetone/dimethyl sulfoxide. Experimental, theoretical, and simulation results

The nu(C=O) Raman band frequencies of acetone have been analyzed to separate the contributions of the environmental effect and the vibrational coupling to the gas-to-liquid frequency shifts of this band and to elucidate the changes in these two contributions upon dilution in DMSO. We have measured the frequencies of the nu((12)C=O) band in acetone/DMSO binary mixtures, the nu((13)C=O) band of the acetone-(13)C=O present as a natural abundance isotopic impurity in these mixtures, and both the nu((12)C=O) and nu((13)C=O) bands in the acetone-(12)C=O/acetone-(13)C=O isotopic mixtures at infinite dilution. These frequencies are compared with those of the nu((12)C=O) band in the acetone/CCl(4) binary mixtures measured previously. We have found the following three points: (i) The negative environmental contribution for the nu((12)C=O) oscillator of acetone completely surrounded by DMSO is reduced in magnitude by +5.5 cm(-1) and +7.8 cm(-1) upon the complete substitution of DMSO with acetone and CCl(4) molecules, respectively, indicating the progressive reduction of the attractive forces exerted by the environment on the nu((12)C=O) mode of acetone. (ii) In DMSO and other solvents, the contribution of the vibrational coupling to the frequency of the isotropic Raman nu((12)C=O) band of acetone becomes progressively more negative with increasing acetone concentration up to a value of -5.5 cm(-1), while the contribution to the frequency of the anisotropic Raman band remains approximately unchanged. The only difference resides in the curvatures of the concentration dependencies of these contributions which depend on the relative solute/solvent polarity. (iii) The noncoincidence effect (separation between the anisotropic and isotropic Raman band frequencies) of the nu(C=O) mode in the acetone/DMSO mixtures exhibits a downward (concave) curvature, in contrast to that in the acetone/CCl(4) mixtures, which shows an upward (convex) curvature. This result is supported by MD simulations and by theoretical predictions and is interpreted as arising from the reduction and enhancement of the short-range orientational order of acetone in the acetone/DMSO and acetone/CCl(4) mixtures, respectively.     

CpRuIIPF6/quinaldic acid-catalyzed chemoselective allyl ether cleavage. A simple and practical method for hydroxyl deprotection

A cationic CpRu(II) complex in combination with quinaldic acid shows high reactivity and chemoselectivity for the catalytic deprotection of hydroxyl groups protected as allyl ethers. The catalyst operates in alcoholic solvents without the need for any additional nucleophiles, satisfying the practical requirements of operational simplicity, safety, and environmental friendliness. The wide applicability of this deprotection strategy to a variety of multifunctional molecules, including peptides and nucleosides, may provide new opportunities in protective group chemistry. [structure: see text]     

A novel approach for LC-MS/MS-based chiral metabolomics fingerprinting and chiral metabolomics extraction using a pair of enantiomers of chiral derivatization reagents

Chiral metabolites are found in a wide variety of living organisms and some of them are understood to be physiologically active compounds and biomarkers. However, the overall analysis of chiral metabolomics is quite difficult due to the high number of metabolites, the significant diversity in their physicochemical properties, and concentration range from metabolite-to-metabolite. To solve this difficulty, we developed a novel approach for chiral metabolomics fingerprinting and chiral metabolomics extraction, which is based on the labeling of a pair of enantiomers of chiral derivatization reagents (i.e., DMT-(S,R)-Pro-OSu and DMT-3(S,R)-Apy) and precursor ion scan chromatography of the derivatives. The multivariate statistics is also required for this strategy. The proposed procedures were evaluated by the detection of a diagnostic marker (i.e., d-lactic acid) using the saliva of diabetic patients. This method was used for the determination of biomarker candidates of chiral amines and carboxyls in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain homogenates. As the results, l-phenylalanine (L-Phe) and l-lactic acid (L-LA) were identified as the decreased and increased biomarker candidates in the AD brain, respectively. Therefore, the proposed approach seems to be helpful for the determination of non-target chiral metabolomics possessing amines and carboxyls.     

Activation of Strong Boron–Fluorine and Silicon–Fluorine σ‐Bonds: Theoretical Understanding and Prediction

The oxidative addition of BF₃ to a platinum(0) bis(phosphine) complex [Pt(PMe₃)₂] ( 1 ) was investigated by density functional calculations. Both the cis and trans pathways for the oxidative addition of BF₃ to 1 are endergonic (ΔG°=26.8 and 35.7 kcal mol^?1, respectively) and require large Gibbs activation energies (ΔG°^≠=56.3 and 38.9 kcal mol^?1, respectively). A second borane plays crucial roles in accelerating the activation; the trans oxidative addition of BF₃ to 1 in the presence of a second BF₃ molecule occurs with ΔG°^≠ and ΔG° values of 10.1 and ?4.7 kcal mol^?1, respectively. ΔG°^≠ becomes very small and ΔG° becomes negative. A charge transfer (CT), F→BF₃, occurs from the dissociating fluoride to the second non‐coordinated BF₃. This CT interaction stabilizes both the transition state and the product. The B?F σ‐bond cleavage of BF₂Ar^F (Ar^F=3,5‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl) and the B?Cl σ‐bond cleavage of BCl₃ by 1 are accelerated by the participation of the second borane. The calculations predict that trans oxidative addition of SiF₄ to 1 easily occurs in the presence of a second SiF₄ molecule via the formation of a hypervalent Si species.     

Native Mannose‐Dominant Extraction by Pyridine–Phenol Alternating Oligomers Having an Extremely Efficient Repeating Motif of Hydrogen‐Bonding Acceptors and Donors

Pyridine–phenol alternating oligomers in which pyridine and phenol moieties are alternatingly linked through acetylene bonds at the 2,6‐positions of the aromatic rings were designed and synthesized. The pyridine nitrogen atom and the neighboring phenolic hydroxyl group were oriented so that they do not form an intramolecular hydrogen bond but cooperatively act as hydrogen‐bonding acceptor and donor in a push–pull fashion for the hydroxyl group of saccharides. The longer oligomer strongly bound to lipophilic glycosides in 1,2‐dichloroethane, and association constants approached 10⁸ M ^?1. Moreover, the oligomer extracted native saccharides from a solid phase to apolar organic solvents up to the extent of an equal amount of the oligomer and showed mannose‐dominant extraction among naturally abundant hexoses. The oligomer bound to native saccharides even in 20 % DMSO‐containing 1,2‐dichloroethane and exhibited association constants of greater than 10 M ^?1 for D ‐mannose and D ‐glucose.