Reactivity difference between diphosgene and phosgene in reaction with (2,3-anti)-3-amino-1,2-diols

In reactions of (2,3-anti)-3-amino-1,2-diols with diphosgene and phosgene and their conversion into 1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones, some differences in the stereochemistry of the reactions have been found with these two reagents. The reactions with phosgene afforded the expected cis-oxazolidinones, and in the reaction with diphosgene under the same reaction conditions, the trans-oxazolidinones were also obtained.     

The first immobilization of pyridine-bis(oxazoline) chiral ligands

[formula: see text] A chiral pyridine-bis(oxazoline) ligand, functionalized with a vinyl group in the pyridine ring, can be polymerized with styrene and divinylbenzene to obtain supported chiral ligands. As proof of the usefulness of this supported ligands, the corresponding ruthenium complexes are catalysts for the cyclopropanation reaction of styrene with ethyl diazoacetate with up to 85% ee.     

Characterization and epitope mapping of two monoclonal antibodies against human CD99

CD99 plays a critical role in the diapedesis of monocytes, T cell differentiation, and the transport of MHC molecules. Engagement of CD99 by agonistic monoclonal antibodies has been reported to trigger multifactorial events including T cell activation as well as cell-cell adhesion during hematopoietic cell differentiation. In this study, to identify the functional domains participating in the cellular events, we mapped the epitopes of CD99, which are recognized by two agonistic CD99 monoclonal antibodies, DN16 and YG32. Using recombinant fusion proteins of GST with whole or parts of CD99, we found that both antibodies interact with CD99 molecules independently of sugar moieties. DN16 mAb detected a linear epitope located in the amino terminal region of CD99 while YG32 mAb bound another linear epitope in the center of the extracellular domain. To confirm that the identified epitopes of CD99 are actually recognized by the two mAbs, we showed the presence of physical interaction between the mAbs and the fusion proteins or synthetic peptides containing the corresponding epitopes using surface plasmon resonance analyses. The dissociation constants of DN16 and YG32 mAbs for the antigen were calculated as 1.27 x 10(-7) and 7.08 x 10(-9) M, respectively. These studies will help understand the functional domains and the subsequent signaling mechanism of CD99.     

Upper bounds for the diameter and height of graphs of convex polyhedra

Let Δ(d, n) be the maximum diameter of the graph of ad-dimensional polyhedronP withn-facets. It was conjectured by Hirsch in 1957 that Δ(d, n) depends linearly onn andd. However, all known upper bounds for Δ(d, n) were exponential ind. We prove a quasi-polynomial bound Δ(d, n)≤n ^{2 logd+3}. LetP be ad-dimensional polyhedron withn facets, let ϕ be a linear objective function which is bounded onP and letv be a vertex ofP. We prove that in the graph ofP there exists a monotone path leading fromv to a vertex with maximal ϕ-value whose length is at most . This research was supported in part by a BSF grant, by a GIF grant, and by ONR-N00014-91-C0026.     

Vicinal fluorine-fluorine coupling constants: Fourier analysis

Stereochemical dependences of vicinal fluorine-fluorine nuclear magnetic resonance coupling constants (3JFF) have been studied with the multiconfigurational self-consistent field in the restricted active space approach, with the second-order polarization propagator approximation (SOPPA), and with density functional theory. The SOPPA results show the best overall agreement with experimental couplings. The relationship with the dihedral angle between the coupled fluorines has been studied by Fourier analysis, the result is very different from that of proton-proton couplings. The Fourier coefficients do not resemble those of a typical Karplus equation. The four nonrelativistic contributions to the coupling constants of 1,2-difluoroethane configurations have been studied separately showing that up to six Fourier coefficients are required to reproduce the calculated values satisfactorily. Comparison with Fourier coefficients for matching hydrogen fluoride dimer configurations suggests that the higher order Fourier coefficients (Cn> or =3) originate mainly from through-space Fermi contact interaction. The through-space interaction is the main reason 3JFF do not follow the Karplus equation.