Mercury-free preparation and selective reactions of propargyl (and propargylic) Grignard reagents

ZnBr2 was found to catalyze formation of propargyl and propargylic Grignard reagents, and thus put an end to the standard method using a mercury catalyst. The Grignard reagents were submitted to addition reaction with carbonyl compounds and allylation with the cyclic monoacetate to afford the propargyl-type products selectively. Furthermore, the product from the monoacetate was transformed to an acetylene analogue of 2-(5,6-epoxyisoprostane A2)phosphorylcholines.     

Limiting size index distributions for ball-bin models with Zipf-type frequencies

We consider a random ball-bin model where balls are thrown randomly and sequentially into a set of bins. The frequency of choices of bins follows the Zipf-type (power-law) distribution; that is, the probability with which a ball enters the ith most popular bin is asymptotically proportional to 1/i ^α , α > 0. In this model, we derive the limiting size index distributions to which the empirical distributions of size indices converge almost surely, where the size index of degree k at time t represents the number of bins containing exactly k balls at t. While earlier studies have only treated the case where the power α of the Zipf-type distribution is greater than unity, we here consider the case of α ≤ 1 as well as α > 1. We first investigate the limiting size index distributions for the independent throw models and then extend the derived results to a case where bins are chosen dependently. Simulation experiments demonstrate not only that our analysis is valid but also that the derived limiting distributions well approximate the empirical size index distributions in a relatively short period.     

A manual sequence method of peptides and phosphopeptides using 4-(1'-cyanoisoindolyl)phenylisothiocyanate

A method for sequence analysis and identification of phosphoamino acids in peptides based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. The peptides were derivatized with an Edman type reagent, 4-(1'-cyanoisoindolyl)phenylisothiocyanate (CIPIC) and subsequently cleaved to generate stable and fluorescent 4-(1'-cyanoisoindolyl)phenylthiazolinone (CIP-TZ)-amino acids. Several experimental factors that affected derivatization on membranes were examined. Under the optimized conditions, the CIP-TZ derivatives of Try(p), Thr(p) and Ser(p) were obtained and separated from their parent amino acids with baseline resolution using an isocratic elution system. Up to the 4th residue of phosphorylated pentapeptides was successfully identified, whereas phosphoamino acid residues could not be detected by the conventional procedure using phenylisothiocyanate (PITC). The results demonstrated the potential of CIPIC as a derivatization reagent for peptide sequencing and the applicability of the method for the study and identification of phosphoamino acids in peptides.     

Migration Reaction of a Silyl Group from a Phosphorus to a Carbonyl Oxygen in a Molybdenum Coordination Sphere

The reaction of Cp anion, [C 5 H 4 CH 2 CH 2 P(TMS)Mes] m with (CH 3 CN) 3 Mo(CO) 3 leads to the formation of [( m 5 --C 5 H 4 CH 2 CH 2 --P(TMS)Mes)Mo(CO) 3 ] m , which then reacts with MeI to give a metallaphosphacyclopropane complex with silyl migration.     

Separation of U and Pu in spent nuclear fuel sample using anion-exchange-group-introduced porous polymer sheet for ICP-MS determination

Anion-exchange porous sheets were prepared by radiation-induced graft polymerization and subsequent chemical modifications. A diethylamino (DEA) group as an anion-exchange group was introduced into the polymer chain grafted onto a porous sheet. The DEA group-introduced porous sheet was cut into disks 13 mm in diameter and 3 mm in thickness to fit an empty cylindrical cartridge (DEA cartridge). The DEA sheet had a DEA group of 3.4 mol/kg of the DEA-group-containing porous sheet and a linear velocity of 46 m/h at a permeation pressure of 0.1 MPa at 298 K. The adsorption capacity of the DEA cartridge for FeCl₄⁻ as a model ion in equilibrium with 1 g-Fe(III)/L in 10 M HCl was 0.17 mmol-Fe(III)/DEA cartridge. No Pu leakage during the permeation of 5 mL of 10 M HCl-0.1 M HNO₃ containing Pu ionic species through the DEA cartridge was observed irrespective of the permeation rate ranging from 0.3 to 80 mL/min. A solution containing known amounts of ²³³U, ²⁴⁰Pu, and ²⁴¹Am in 10 M HCl-0.1 M HNO₃ was loaded onto the DEA cartridge. U and Pu were retained on the DEA cartridge, while Am was allowed to pass through the DEA cartridge. Subsequently, 7 M HNO₃ and 1 M HCl as eluents were permeated to elute U and Pu from the DEA cartridge, respectively. The decontamination factor of U in a Pu fraction, defined by dividing the activity of U in the feed solution by that of U in the Pu fraction, was 2.7 × 10⁵, which is desirable for the highly accurate ICP-MS determination of Pu for samples containing both U and Pu. The method using the DEA cartridge was validated by measuring isotopic compositions and quantities of U and Pu in a spent nuclear fuel sample by double-focusing magnetic sector ICP-MS.     

Dynamic adsorption properties of n-alkyl glucopyranosides determine their ability to inhibit cytolysis mediated by acoustic cavitation

Suspensions of human leukemia (HL-60) cells readily undergo cytolysis when exposed to ultrasound above the acoustic cavitation threshold. However, n-alkyl glucopyranosides (hexyl, heptyl, and octyl) completely inhibit ultrasound-induced (1057 kHz) cytolysis (Sostaric, et al. Free Radical Biol. Med. 2005, 39, 1539-1548). The efficacy of protection from ultrasound-induced cytolysis was determined by the n-alkyl chain length of the glucopyranosides, indicating that protection efficacy depended on adsorption of n-alkyl glucopyranosides to the gas/solution interface of cavitation bubbles and/or the lipid membrane of cells. The current study tests the hypothesis that "sonoprotection" (i.e., protection of cells from ultrasound-induced cytolysis) in vitro depends on the adsorption of glucopyranosides at the gas/solution interface of cavitation bubbles. To test this hypothesis, the effect of ultrasound frequency (from 42 kHz to 1 MHz) on the ability of a homologous series of n-alkyl glucopyranosides to protect cells from ultrasound-induced cytolysis was investigated. It is expected that ultrasound frequency will affect sonoprotection ability since the nature of the cavitation bubble field will change. This will affect the relative importance of the possible mechanisms for ultrasound-induced cytolysis. Additionally, ultrasound frequency will affect the lifetime and rate of change of the surface area of cavitation bubbles, hence the dynamically controlled adsorption of glucopyranosides to their surface. The data support the hypothesis that sonoprotection efficiency depends on the ability of glucopyranosides to adsorb at the gas/solution interface of cavitation bubbles.     

Synthesis of pyranicin and its inhibitory action with bovine heart mitochondrial complex I

Total synthesis of pyranicin was achieved using Cl2Pd(CH3CN)2-catalyzed diastereoselective cyclization of the allylic ester as the key step. The inhibitory activity of this compound for mitochondrial NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) was slightly poorer than that of ordinary mono-THF acetogenins such as cis-solamin.     

Palladium-catalyzed aerobic intermolecular cyclization of acrylic acid with 1-octene to afford α-methylene-γ-butyrolactones: the remarkable effect of continuous water removal from the reaction mixture and analysis of the reaction by kinetic, ESI-MS, and XAFS measurements

Further study of our aerobic intermolecular cyclization of acrylic acid with 1-octene to afford α-methylene-γ-butyrolactones, catalyzed by the Pd(OCOCF(3))(2)/Cu(OAc)(2)?H(2)O system, has clarified that the accumulation of water generated from oxygen during the reaction causes deactivation of the Cu cocatalyst. This prevents regeneration of the active Pd catalyst and, thus, has a harmful influence on the progress of the cyclization. As a result, both the substrate conversion and product yield are efficiently improved by continuous removal of water from the reaction mixture. Detailed analysis of the kinetic and spectroscopic measurements performed under the condition of continuous water removal demonstrates that the cyclization proceeds in four steps: 1)?equilibrium coordination of 1-octene to the Pd acrylate species, 2)?Markovnikov-type acryloxy palladation of 1-octene (1,2-addition), 3)?intramolecular carbopalladation, and 4)?β-hydride elimination. Byproduct 2-acryloxy-1-octene is formed by β-hydride elimination after step 2). These cyclization steps fit the Michaelis-Menten equation well and β-hydride elimination is considered to be a rate-limiting step in the formation of the products. Spectroscopic data agree sufficiently with the existence of the intermediates bearing acrylate (Pd-O bond), η(3)-C(8)H(15) (Pd-C bond), or C(11)H(19)O(2) (Pd-C bond) moieties on the Pd center as the resting-state compounds. Furthermore, not only Cu(II), but also Cu(I), species are observed during the reaction time of 2-8?h when the reaction proceeds efficiently. This result suggests that the Cu(II) species is partially reduced to the Cu(I) species when the active Pd catalytic species are regenerated.     

Enantioselective synthesis of tripodal cyclophanes and pyridinophanes by intramolecular [2+2+2] cycloaddition

An enantioselective intramolecular [2+2+2] cycloaddition of 2-aminophenol-tethered triynes and diyne-nitriles proceeded using the chiral Rh catalysts, and tripodal cyclophanes and pyridinophanes with a long ansa chain (up to [16]pyridinophane) were obtained in acceptable yield with high to almost perfect ee. In the reaction of triynes, we elucidated that the oxygen atom at the alkyne terminus is essential for the excellent enantioselectivity. For the construction of cage-type molecule, the choice of rigid tether, which connects 1,6-diyne moiety with a side carbon chain having alkyne or cyano group on its terminus, was important, and 8-amino-2-naphthol moiety was also a preferable tether.