Participation of the alpha,alpha'-diiminopyridine ligand system in reduction of the metal center during alkylation

The reaction of [[2,6-(i-Pr)(2)PhN=C(Me)](2)(C(5)H(3)N)]MnCl(2) with alkylating agents formed a dinuclear Mn(I) derivative via ligand reductive coupling. In the case of the trivalent Cr analogue, a similar reaction afforded reduction toward Cr(II) but also alkylation at the pyridine ring para position followed by an unprecedented cycloaddition that generated a tricyclic system.     

Synthesis of amphiphilic particles in the presence of inert solvents and their application to lipase immobilization

To develop monodisperse amphiphilic polymer particles on which a large amount of lipase could be immobilized, we performed seed polymerizations of glycidyl methacrylate and allyl methacrylate in the presence of nonpolar inert and polar inert solvents. The amphiphilic porous polymer particles, which had both hydrophilic guanidino groups and hydrophobic stearoyl groups, were synthesized in the presence of n‐decane and had a large amount of macropores with diameters of 50–1000 nm. The amount of lipase immobilized on the amphiphilic particles synthesized in the presence of n‐decane was 3.85 times that of the lipase immobilized on the amphiphilic particles synthesized in the absence of a solvent. The immobilized lipase prepared with the amphiphilic particles synthesized in the presence of n‐decane exhibited a high transesterification activity in n‐hexane and could be used repeatedly without a considerable activity loss. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 874–884, 2002; DOI 10.1002/pola.10178     

Asymmetric synthesis of optically pure α-methyl-β,γ-unsaturated ketones via triethylaluminum-mediated stereospecific pinacol rearrangement of alkenyl groups

Optically pure α-methyl-β,γ-unsaturated ketones are synthesized by the Et₃Al-mediated pinacol-type rearrangement where alkenyl groups migrate stereospecifically with complete retention of the olefin-geometry.     

Peroxidase activity of cationic metalloporphyrin-antibody complexes

Peroxidase activity of a complex of water-soluble cationic metalloporphyrin with anti-cationic porphyrin antibody is reported. Antibody 12E11G, which was prepared by immunization with a conjugate of 5-(4-carboxyphenyl)-10,15,20-tris(4-methylpyridyl)porphine iodide (3MPy1C), bound to tetramethylpyridylporphyrin iron complex (FeIII-TMPyP) with the dissociation constant of 2.6 x 10(-7) M. The complex of antibody 12E11G with FeIII-TMPyP catalyzed oxidation of pyrogallol, catechol, and guaiacol. A Lineweaver-Burk plot for the oxidation of pyrogallol catalyzed by the FeIII-TMPyP-antibody complex showed Km=8.6 mM and kcat=680 min(-1). Under the same conditions, Km and kcat for horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were 0.8 mM and 1750 min(-1), respectively. Although the binding interaction of the antibody to the substrates was one order lower than that of native HRP, the peroxidase activity of this system was in the same order of magnitude as that of HRP.     

Water-soluble porphyrins appending platinum(II) complexes as binders for synthetic nucleic acid polymers

Water-soluble porphyrins containing four platinum(II) complexes per molecule, [5alpha,10beta,15alpha,20beta-tetrakis(2-trans-(alpha,beta,alpha,beta-trans-Pt) and cis-(alpha,beta,alpha,beta-cis-Pt) [PtCl(NH(3))(2)]N-2-aminophenylporphyrin)], were synthesized and characterized. The binding of synthetic nucleotide polymers (poly(dG)-poly(dC), poly(dA)-poly(dT)) to the porphyrins was examined spectrophotometrically in aqueous solution. UV-vis spectral data suggested that these porphyrins bind to the nucleic acids by coordinative and Coulomb interactions.     

Redox-responsive supramolecular polymeric networks having double-threaded inclusion complexes

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels have attracted attention as soft actuators that act similarly to muscles. In this work, hydrogel actuators controlled by host–guest interactions have been developed. The introduction of a 1:1 inclusion complex into a hydrogel is a popular design for achieving a change in cross-linking density. To realize faster and larger deformation properties, the introduction of a 1:2 inclusion complex is effective because the alteration in cross-linking density in a hydrogel with 1:2 complexes is larger than that in a hydrogel with 1:1 complexes. A redox-responsive hydrogel actuator cross-linked with 1:2 inclusion complexes is designed, where γ-cyclodextrin (γCD) and viologens modified with an alkyl chain derivative (VC11) were employed as the host and guest units, respectively. γCD includes two VC11 molecules in its cavity. The obtained γCD–VC11 hydrogel cross-linked with the 1:2 complex showed faster and larger deformation behaviour than the αCD–VC11 and the βCD–VC11 hydrogels cross-linked with a 1:1 complex. The deformation ratio and response speed of the γCD–VC11 hydrogel, which forms a supramolecular cross-linking structure by stimuli, are 3 and 11 times larger, respectively, than those of our previous hydrogel consisting of a βCD/ferrocene 1:1 inclusion complex.

A hydrogel actuator with a 1:2 host–guest complex controlled by redox stimuli has been developed to realize faster and larger deformation.     

Computability of Self-Similar Sets

We investigate computability of a self-similar set on a Euclidean space. A nonempty compact subset of a Euclidean space is called a self-similar set if it equals to the union of the images of itself by some set of contractions. The main result in this paper is that if all of the contractions are computable, then the self-similar set is a recursive compact set. A further result on the case that the self-similar set forms a curve is also discussed.     

Effects of Contrast and Character Size upon Legibility of Japanese Text Stimuli Presented on Visual Display Terminal

We examined effects of contrast and character size upon legibility of Japanese text stimuli presented on visual display terminal (VDT). In the experiment, three different character sizes were employed and the text stimulus was presented under a variety of conditions where contrast between the text and the background changed. Reading speed and the rate of readable characters were measured. Subjective rating for legibility was also evaluated. Results showed that legibility increases with luminance contrast for all character sizes examined here. A strong correlation was found between the subjective rating index and reading speed.     

A two-dimensional CA model for traffic flow with car origin and destination

Dynamic phase transitions in a two-dimensional traffic flow model defined on a decorated square-lattice are studied numerically. The square-lattice point and the decorated site denote intersections and roads, respectively. In the present model, a car has a finite deterministic path between the origin and the destination, which is assigned to the car from the beginning. In this new model, we found a new phase between the free-flow phase and the frozen-jam phase that is absent from previous models. The new model is characterized by the persistence of a macroscopic cluster. Furthermore, the behavior in this macroscopic cluster phase is classified into three regions characterized by the shape of the cluster. The boundary of the three regions is phenomenologically estimated. When the trip length is short and the car density is high, both ends of the belt-like cluster connect to each other through the periodic boundary with some probability. This type of cluster is classified topologically as a string on a two-dimensional torus.