Electron spin resonance shift in spin ladder compounds

We analyze the effects of different coupling anisotropies in a spin-1/2 ladder on the electron spin resonance (ESR) shift. Combining a perturbative expression in the anisotropies with density matrix renormalization group computation of the short range correlations at finite temperature, we provide the full temperature and magnetic field evolution of the ESR paramagnetic shift. We show that for well chosen parameters the ESR shift can be in principle used to extract quantitatively the anisotropies and, as an example, discuss the material BPCB.     

Facile synthesis of α-methylidene-γ-butyrolactones: intramolecular Rauhut–Currier reaction promoted by chiral acid–base organocatalysts

The acid–base organocatalyzed intramolecular Rauhut–Currier (RC) reaction of the dienone enolates has been developed. The enantioselective RC process produces the highly functionalized α-methylidene-γ-butyrolactones as a single diastereomer with up to 98% ee.     

The first total synthesis and reassignment of the relative stereochemistry of 16-hydroxy-16,22-dihydroapparicine

We report the first total synthesis and reassignment of the relative stereochemistry of naturally occurring 16-hydroxy-16,22-dihydroapparicine. Our novel route proceeds by a cascade reaction to efficiently construct a 1-azabicyclo[4.2.2]decane core, along with two stereocenters (C-15 and C-16). The C-16 quaternary carbon was constructed through stereospecific 1,2-addition using an indole nucleophile to an aldehyde or a methylketone. The stereospecific synthesis of two diastereomers of the target product has revealed the true relative stereochemistry of the natural compound.     

Tetracyanoethylene oxide not only oxidizes sulfides to sulfoxides but also reduces sulfoxides to sulfides

It was found that tetracyanoethylene oxide not only oxidizes sulfides to sulfoxides but also reduces sulfoxides to sulfides with generation of two molecules of carbonyl cyanide. The reaction thus also functions as a new method for generation of carbonyl cyanide.     

Efficient Generation of Microdroplets Using Tail Breakup Induced with Multi-Branch Channels

In recent years, research on the application of microdroplets in the fields of biotechnology and chemistry has made remarkable progress, but the technology for the stable generation of single-micrometer-scale microdroplets has not yet been established. In this paper, we developed an efficient and stable single-micrometer-scale droplet generation device based on the fragmentation of droplet tails, called “tail thread mode”, that appears under moderate flow conditions. This method can efficiently encapsulate microbeads that mimic cells and chemical products in passively generated single-micrometer-scale microdroplets. The device has a simple 2D structure; a T-junction is used for droplet generation; and in the downstream, multi-branch channels are designed for droplet deformation into the tail. Several 1–2 µm droplets were successfully produced by the tail’s fragmentation; this continuous splitting was induced by the branch channels. We examined a wide range of experimental conditions and found the optimal flow rate condition can be reduced to one-tenth compared to the conventional tip-streaming method. A mold was fabricated by simple soft lithography, and a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device was fabricated using the mold. Based on the 15 patterns of experimental conditions and the results, the key factors for the generation of microdroplets in this device were examined. In the most efficient condition, 61.1% of the total droplets generated were smaller than 2 μm.     

A kinetics of hydrolysis of ring phosphorus oxoanion in ion exchanger phase

Ring phosphorus oxoanion, hexapotassium dodecaoxohexaphosphate(III), (DOHP), was hydrolyzed in anion exchangers in order to elucidate the physicochemical state in the solid phase. The hydrolysis of DOHP obeys pseudo first order kinetics as is the case in aqueous solution. The hydrolysis rate constants k were determined as a function of the external solution pH or proton concentration in an anion exchanger. It was estimated from the Donnan equation and from the spectral change of an acid base indicator in the anion exchanger. The difference in k in aqueous and in the anion exchanger phase is discussed.     

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic study of water-in-supercritical CO2 microemulsion as a function of water content

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum of water-in-supercritical CO(2) microemulsion was measured at 60 degrees C and 30.0 MPa over a wide range of water/CO(2) ratio from 0.0 to 1.2 wt % to study the distribution of water into CO(2), interfacial area around surfactant headgroup, and core water pool. The microemulsion was stabilized by sodium bis(1H,1H,2H, 2H-heptadecafluorodecyl)-2-sulfosuccinate [8FS(EO)(2)] equimolarly mixed with sodium 1-oxo-1-[4-(tridecafluorohexyl)phenyl]-2-hexanesulfonate [FC6HC4] or with poly(ethylene glycol) 2,6,8-trimethyl-4-nonyl ether [TMN-6]. The signal area of the O-H stretching band of water suggested that the number of water molecules in the microemulsion increases linearly with the water/CO(2) ratio, except for a slow initial increase below 0.4 wt % due to a part of water dissolved in CO(2). The amount of water in CO(2) was evaluated by decomposing the bending band of water into two components, one at lower frequency ascribed to water in CO(2) and the other at higher frequency to water in the microemulsion. The decomposition confirmed that CO(2) is saturated with water at the water content of 0.4 wt %. It was also revealed, from the symmetric SO stretching frequency of the surfactant, that the sulfonate headgroup is completely hydrated at the water/CO(2) ratio of 0.4-0.5 wt %. The results demonstrated that water is introduced preferentially into CO(2) and the interfacial area at small water content, and then is loaded into the micelle core after the saturation of CO(2) with water and the full hydration of the surfactant headgroup.     

Synthesis and properties of novel extended BODIPYs with rigid skeletons

Novel extended BODIPYs fused with bicyclo rings were synthesized from bicyclopyrroles by combining Knoevenagel condensation, Suzuki coupling, and O-chelation. The absorption maxima of the BODIPYs ranged from the visible to near-infrared region and the compounds showed good solubility in organic solvents. The solubility of the bicycloBODIPY with 2-naphthyl groups at the α-position of the pyrrole units was particularly high. Heating converted distyrylBODIPY with bicyclo[2.2.2]octene to benzoBODIPY with absorption (748.5?nm) and fluorescence (775.0?nm) in the near-infrared region.     

PHYTOCHROME-MEDIATED PHOTOTROPISM AND DIFFERENT DICHROIC ORIENTATION OF Pr AND Pfr IN PROTONEMATA OF THE FERN ADIANTUM CAPILLUS-VENERIS L.

Abstract— Single-celled protonemata of Adiantum capillus-veneris were cultured under continuous red light for 6 days and then in the dark for 15 h. Brief local exposure of a flank (5 times 20 /mi) of the subapical region of a protonema to a microbeam of red light effectively induced a phototropic response toward the irradiated side. The degree of the response was dependent upon the fluence of the red light. Red/far-red reversibility was typically observed in this photoreaction, showing that phytochrome was the photo-receptive pigment. When the flank was irradiated with a microbeam of linearly polarized red and far-red light, red light with an electrical vector parallel to the cell surface was most effective. However, the far-red light effect was most prominent when its electrical vector was normal to the cell surface. These polarized light effects indicate the different dichroic orientation of P_r (red-light-absorbing form of phytochrome) and P_r (far-red-light-absorbing form of phytochrome) at the cell flank.