Synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles. 8. Preparation and ring-opening of spiro[cycloalkane-[1′,2′,4′]triazolo[1′,5′-c]pyrimidine] derivatives

Diaminomethylene- and aminomethylthiomethylenehydrazones [2] of cyclic ketones 1–8 readily reacted with ethoxymethylenemalononitrile to give spiro[cycloalkane-1,2′-[1,2′,4′]triazolo[1,5′-c]pyrimidine-8′-carbonitrile] derivatives 12–19 through the electrocyclic reaction of the initially formed condensation products 26 in moderate to high yields. The spiro[cyclopentanetriazolopyrimidine] derivatives underwent ring-opening at the cycloalkane moiety upon heating in solution to give 2-alkyl-5-substituted-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine-8′-carbonitriles 20–23 . When an alkyl substituent was introduced into the cyclopentane ring, cleavage of the spiro compounds occurred preferentially at the cyclopentane moiety between the spiro carbon and the more branched one. In contrast, the cyclohexane ring, especially of spiro-5-amino-triazolopyrimidines 17 and 18 strongly resisted to ring-opening under similar conditions, but those of 5-methylthiotriazolopyrimidines 14 gave up to 17 percent of cleavage after prolonged heating in hot ethanol. 2-t-Butyl-5-methylthio-2,3-dihydro[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine-8-carbonitrile 25 [R³ = C(CH₃)₃] was highly susceptible to the cleavage even at room temperature and produced the corresponding 2-unsubstituted triazolopyrimidine 24 with loss of the t-butyl group.     

Measurement of density distributions for colloidal beta-FeOOH rods in suspensions exhibiting phase separation: the role of long-range forces in smectic ordering

We prepared monodisperse colloidal beta-FeOOH rods with length-to-width ratios L/W of 3.6-7.0 (L=210-330 nm and W=40-58 nm). Density gradients of the rods occurred in the suspensions by gravity, inducing a phase separation. The denser phase showed smectic (Sm) liquid crystalline structures exhibiting iridescent colors in a wide range of pH from 1.2 (at which the rods interact attractively) to 4.7 (repulsively). The lower density phase was disordered, but frequently emitted diffuse colors locally (at pH>2.6), implying the occurrence of short-range order. The nematic phase was not observed in the beta-FeOOH systems, being consistent with theoretical predictions. The particle density distributions were measured over the whole region of the suspensions (separated into two phases) at various pH values using a rapid freezing method. A phase diagram was determined thereby, where the critical (minimal) packing fraction of the particles for the Sm phase showed a nonlinear decrease from 0.43 to 0.12 with increasing pH. Rod-rod spacings in the Sm phase estimated experimentally at various pH were well explained using Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) type pair potentials. It is suggested that Sm ordering can be induced by attractive minima at pH<2.2, while driven by soft repulsions at pH>2.6. The former Sm ordering is expected to be the condensation-type phase transition and the latter the disorder-order transition.     

Structural effects on surface and micellar properties of alkanediyl-alpha, omega-bis(sodium N-acyl-beta-alaninate) gemini surfactants

A study of the equilibrium surface properties (in water and in the presence of 0.01 M NaCl) of a novel series of anionic gemini surfactants, alkanediyl-alpha,omega-bis(sodium N-acyl-beta-alaninates), is described. Parameters studied include cmc (critical micelle concentration), C20 (required to reduce the surface tension of the solvent by 20 mN/m), gamma(cmc) (the surface tension at the cmc), Gamma(max) (the maximum surface excess concentration at the air/aqueous solution interface), Amin (the minimum area per surfactant molecule at the air/water interface), and the cmc/C20 ratio (a measure of the tendency to form micelles relative to adsorb at the air/water interface). The geminis with a spacer consisting of two methylene groups show premicellar self-aggregation, both in water and in 0.01 M NaCl, when the N-acyl group contains more than 12 carbon atoms; geminis with a spacer consisting of four methylene groups show no premicellar aggregation even when the N-acyl group contains 16 carbon atoms. For the acyl chain lengths where premicellar aggregation does not occur, the values of the cmc of the geminis with a two-methylene spacer are lower than those for the corresponding analogous geminis with a four-methylene spacer. The premicellar formation for the geminis with a two-methylene spacer is due to the short-chain linkage. The geminis show little or no break in their specific conductance-surfactant molar concentration plots and an increase in the pH at the cmc. This is attributed to protonation of the carboxylate group and strong Na+ release during micellization.     

Synthesis of novel 1,4-, 3,4-, and 4,5-dihydropyrimidines: First successful POCl3 chlorination and regioselective alkoxycarbonylation

Chlorination of 5,6-dihydropyrimidine-4-(3H)-one derivatives (1) with POCl₃ gave 1,4(3,4)-dihydropyrimidines (3), whose alkoxycarbonylation (ClCOOREt₃N or NaH) afforded regioselectively novel compounds (4). A new Pummerer rearrangement of compound (1, X= ---S(O)CH₃) with ₃, gave compound (5h).     

Preparation of Secondary Carbinamines via Alkylation of N-Boryl Imines Generated from Partial Reduction of Nitriles with NABH4-Carboxylic Acid

Secondary carbinamines have been prepared from alkylation of N-boryl imines which were generated in situ from partial reduction of nitriles with sodium brohydride modified by carboxylic acid.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">C</Emphasis><Superscript>1</Superscript>-Classification of Gapped Parent Hamiltonians of Quantum Spin Chains

We consider the C ¹-classification of gapped Hamiltonians introduced in Fannes et al. (Commun Math Phys 144:443–490, 1992) and Nachtergaele (Commun Math Phys 175:565–606, 1996) as parent Hamiltonians of translation invariant finitely correlated states. Within this family, we show that the number of edge modes, which is equal at the left and right edge, is the complete invariant. The construction proves that translation invariance of the ‘bulk’ ground state does not need to be broken to establish C ¹-equivalence, namely that the spin chain does not need to be blocked.     

Syntheses and Properties of Graphyne Fragments: Trigonally Expanded Dehydrobenzo[12]annulenes

We present herein the synthesis and properties of the largest hitherto unknown graphyne fragment, namely trigonally expanded tetrakis(dehydrobenzo[12]annulene)s (tetrakis‐DBAs). Intramolecular three‐fold alkyne metathesis reactions of hexakis(arylethynyl)DBAs 9 a and 9 b using Fürstner’s Mo catalyst furnished tetrakis‐DBAs 8 a and 8 b substituted with tert‐butyl or branched alkyl ester groups in moderate and fair yields, respectively, demonstrating that the metathesis reaction of this protocol is a powerful tool for the construction of graphyne fragment backbones. For comparison, hexakis(arylethynyl)DBAs 9 c – g have also been prepared. The one‐photon absorption spectrum of tetrakis‐DBA 8 a bearing tert‐butyl groups revealed a remarkable bathochromic shift of the absorption cut‐off (λ_cutoff) compared with those of previously reported graphyne fragments due to extended π‐conjugation. Moreover, in the two‐photon absorption spectrum, 8 a showed a large cross‐section for a pure hydrocarbon because of the planar para‐phenylene‐ethynylene conjugation pathways. Hexakis(arylethynyl)‐DBAs 9 c – e and 9 g and tetrakis‐DBA 8 b bearing electron‐withdrawing groups aggregated in chloroform solutions. Comparison between the free energies of 9 e and 8 b bearing the same substituents revealed the more favorable association of the latter due to stronger π–π interactions between the extended π‐cores. Polarized optical microscopy observations, DSC, and XRD measurements showed that 8 b and 9 e with branched alkyl ester groups displayed columnar rectangular mesophases. By the time‐resolved microwave conductivity method, the columnar rectangular phase of 8 b was shown to exhibit a moderate charge‐carrier mobility of 0.12 cm² V^?1 s^?1. These results indicate that large graphyne fragments can serve as good organic semiconductors.     

Adaptive lambda square dynamics simulation: An efficient conformational sampling method for biomolecules

A novel, efficient sampling method for biomolecules is proposed. The partial multicanonical molecular dynamics (McMD) was recently developed as a method that improved generalized ensemble (GE) methods to focus sampling only on a part of a system (GEPS); however, it was not tested well. We found that partial McMD did not work well for polylysine decapeptide and gave significantly worse sampling efficiency than a conventional GE. Herein, we elucidate the fundamental reason for this and propose a novel GEPS, adaptive lambda square dynamics (ALSD), which can resolve the problem faced when using partial McMD. We demonstrate that ALSD greatly increases the sampling efficiency over a conventional GE. We believe that ALSD is an effective method and is applicable to the conformational sampling of larger and more complicated biomolecule systems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Imaging mass spectrometry distinguished the cancer and stromal regions of oral squamous cell carcinoma by visualizing phosphatidylcholine (16:0/16:1) and phosphatidylcholine (18:1/20:4)

Most oral cancers are oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The anatomical features of OSCC have been histochemically evaluated with hematoxylin and eosin. However, the border between the cancer and stromal regions is unclear and large portions of the cancer and stromal regions are resected in surgery. To reduce the resected area and maintain oral function, a new method of diagnosis is needed. In this study, we tried to clearly distinguish the border on the basis of biomolecule distributions visualized by imaging mass spectrometry (IMS). In the IMS dataset, eleven signals were significantly different in intensity (p?<?0.01) between the cancer and stromal regions. Two signals at m/z 770.5 and m/z 846.6 were distributed in each region, and a clear border was revealed. Tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) analysis identified these signals as phosphatidylcholine (PC) (16:0/16:1) at m/z 770.5 in the cancer region and PC (18:1/20:4) at m/z 846.6 in the stromal region. Moreover, the distribution of PC species containing arachidonic acid in the stromal region suggests that lymphocytes accumulated in response to the inflammation caused by cancer invasion. In conclusion, the cancer and stromal regions of OSCCs were clearly distinguished by use of these PC species and IMS analysis, and this molecular identification can provide important information to elucidate the mechanism of cancer invasion.