Copper-catalyzed coupling reaction of unactivated secondary alkyl iodides with alkyl Grignard reagents in the presence of 1,3-butadiene as an effective additive

Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling of unactivated secondary alkyl iodides with alkyl Grignard reagents in the presence of 1,3-butadiene as a ligand precursor was developed. The use of 1,3-butadiene resulted in improved yields of alkyl-alkyl products with improved selectivities.     

A versatile scaffold for facile synthesis of fluorescent cyano-substituted stilbenes

Here we report the facile derivatization of a cyano-substituted stilbene into higher π-extended analogues. The cyano-substituted stilbene, which serves as a synthetic scaffold, has a bromo group and a formyl group on its 4- and 4′-position of the phenylene rings and thus readily undergoes selective transformation into other functional groups using various simple organic reactions. The resultant π-conjugated molecules that contain a cyano-substituted stilbene skeleton exhibit fluorescence in solution and in the solid state.     

Dynamic recording of a digital hologram with single exposure by a wave-splitting phase-shifting method

The wave-splitting phase-shifting digital holography using a pixelated microretarder array is proposed. By using four intensity images recorded by the pixelated microretarder array, Stokes parameters of the incident wave can be calculated. The fully complex amplitude distribution of the object wave can be obtained by using Stokes parameters, if the polarization states of the object and reference waves are linear and orthogonal. Two sets of experimental results are provided to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. One is the result for a movie recording using a CW laser and the other is the result for instant recording using a single pulsed laser.     

Filter made of cuprammonium regenerated cellulose for virus removal: a mini-review

In 1989, Asahi Kasei commercialized a porous hollow fiber membrane filter (Planova?) made of cuprammonium regenerated cellulose, making it possible for the first time in the world to “remove viruses from protein solutions by membrane filtration”. Planova has demonstrated its usefulness in separating proteins and viruses. Filters that remove viruses from protein solutions, i.e., virus removal filters (VFs), have become one of the critical modern technologies to assure viral safety of biological products. It has also become an indispensable technology for the future. The performance characteristics of VFs can be summarized in two points: 1) the virus removal performance increases as the virus diameter increases, and 2) the recovery rate of proteins with molecular weights greater than 10,000 exceeds the practical level. This paper outlines the emergence of VF and its essential roles in the purification process of biological products, requirements for VF, phase separation studies for cuprammonium cellulose solution, comparison between Planova and other regenerated cellulose flat membranes made from other cellulose solutions, and the development of Planova. The superior properties of Planova can be attributed to its highly interconnected three-dimensional network structure. Furthermore, future trends in the VF field, the subject of this review, are discussed.

     

Presence of β-Turn Structure in Recombinant Spider Silk Dissolved in Formic Acid Revealed with NMR

Spider dragline silk is a biopolymer with excellent mechanical properties. The development of recombinant spider silk protein (RSP)-based materials with these properties is desirable. Formic acid (FA) is a spinning solvent for regenerated Bombyx mori silk fiber with excellent mechanical properties. To use FA as a spinning solvent for RSP with the sequence of major ampullate spider silk protein from Araneus diadematus, we determined the conformation of RSP in FA using solution NMR to determine the role of FA as a spinning solvent. We assigned ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N chemical shifts to 32-residue repetitive sequences, including polyAla and Gly-rich regions of RSP. Chemical shift evaluation revealed that RSP is in mainly random coil conformation with partially type II β-turn structure in the Gly-Pro-Gly-X motifs of the Gly-rich region in FA, which was confirmed by the ¹⁵N NOE data. In addition, formylation at the Ser OH groups occurred in FA. Furthermore, we evaluated the conformation of the as-cast film of RSP dissolved in FA using solid-state NMR and found that β-sheet structure was predominantly formed.     

2′,4′-BNA/LNA with 9-(2-Aminoethoxy)-1,3-diaza-2-oxophenoxazine Efficiently Forms Duplexes and Has Enhanced Enzymatic Resistance**

Artificial nucleic acids are widely used in various technologies, such as nucleic acid therapeutics and DNA nanotechnologies requiring excellent duplex-forming abilities and enhanced nuclease resistance. 2′-O,4′-C-Methylene-bridged nucleic acid/locked nucleic acid (2′,4′-BNA/LNA) with 1,3-diaza-2-oxophenoxazine (BNAP ( B^H )) was previously reported. Herein, a novel B^H analogue, 2′,4′-BNA/LNA with 9-(2-aminoethoxy)-1,3-diaza-2-oxophenoxazine (G-clamp), named BNAP-AEO ( B^AEO ), was designed. The B^AEO nucleoside was successfully synthesized and incorporated into oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs). ODNs containing B^AEO possessed up to 10⁴-, 152-, and 11-fold higher binding affinities for complementary (c) RNA than those of ODNs containing 2′-deoxycytidine ( C ), 2′,4′-BNA/LNA with 5-methylcytosine ( L ), or 2′-deoxyribonucleoside with G-clamp ( P^AEO ), respectively. Moreover, duplexes formed by ODN bearing B^AEO with cDNA and cRNA were thermally stable, even under molecular crowding conditions induced by the addition of polyethylene glycol. Furthermore, ODN bearing B^AEO was more resistant to 3′-exonuclease than ODNs with phosphorothioate linkages.     

ESR study on chemical crosslinking reaction mechanisms of polyethylene using a chemical agent

The reaction mechanisms of thermal crosslinking of polyethylene with dicumyl peroxide (DCP) at high temperatures were investigated by electron spin resonance (ESR). The crosslinking reactions were induced by the alkyl radicals formed by the thermal decomposition of DCP above 120°C. The kinetics of the free radical reaction were followed during crosslinking reactions at temperatures between 145 and 180°C. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Catalytic Pauson-Khand-type reaction using aldehydes as a CO source

[reaction: see text]. Rhodium complex-catalyzed carbonylative alkene-alkyne coupling proceeds using aldehydes as a CO source. Cinnamaldehyde is the best CO donor, and various cyclopentenones were provided in high isolated yields by a solvent-free system.