Electrodeposition of mercury on gold from very dilute mercury(II) solution

Flameless atomic absorption spectrometry (flameless a.a.s.) was applied to study the state of mercury deposited on a gold plate electrode from very dilute mercury(II) solution by controlled-potential electrolysis. A stable monolayer is formed on the gold electrode by the electrolysis at a potential about 200 mV more positive than the reversible Nernst potential for the reduction of mercury(II) to mercury(0). After the monolayer formation, bulk mercury is deposited on the monolayer at the reversible potential and an adatom layer is also found. The difference of activation free energies between the evaporation of mercury from the monolayer and that from bulk mercury corresponds to the underpotential shift for the electrodeposition of mercury on the gold electrode.     

Determination of sulfates of androsterone and epiandrosterone in human serum using isotope diluted liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

A promising liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) for analysis of the sulfates of 5alpha-androgen, androsterone and epiandrosterone (A-S and EpiA-S) in human serum was developed. The method was used to assess one of the markers of 5alpha-reductase activity of males including patients with prostate cancer (PC). After deproteinization with acetonitrile, the androgen sulfates and the internal standard, [7,7,16,16-2H4]dehydroepiandrosterone-S, were extracted from human serum using a solid-phase extraction cartridge and washed with hexane. The extract was reconstituted and applied to the LC/ESI-MS system operated in the selected ion monitoring mode. The method was validated over the range 0.02-5 microg/mL (A-S) and 0.005-1.5 microg/mL (EpiA-S) using 10 microL of human serum. The method was a concise procedure without chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis of the conjugates, purification by high-performance liquid chromatography and/or derivatization, and proved to be satisfactory in its reproducibility and accuracy. The levels of these androgen sulfates tended to decrease during aging, and the A-S levels in the sera obtained from both healthy males and patients with PC were correlated with their EpiA-S levels.     

Solution-phase synthesis of alpha-human atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-hANP)

Alpha-human atrial natriuretic peptide (alpha-hANP) was synthesized by assembling six peptide fragments in solution followed by deprotection with HF and subsequent air-oxidation. The trimethylbenzyl group was employed as an S-protecting group of cysteine. The HF-dimethylselenide-m-cresol system was employed as a final deprotecting reagent and, at the same time, as a reducing reagent of Met(O). Synthetic alpha-hANP elicited potent diuretic and natriuretic activity in rats.     

Diversity-oriented synthesis of tamoxifen-type tetrasubstituted olefins

A general synthetic scheme for tamoxifen-type tetrasubstituted olefins based on the novel Cu-catalyzed carbomagnesation across alkynyl(2-pyridyl)silane has been developed. A wide array of electronically and structurally diverse tetrasubstituted olefins can be prepared in a regiocontrolled, stereocontrolled, and diversity-oriented manner. Noteworthy features are that (i) the three aryl groups, which are believed to be important (essential) for anti-estrogenic activity, can be varied at will because they all stem from readily available aryl iodides, and (ii) any stereo- and regioisomers can, in principle, be prepared by simply changing the applying order of aryl iodides into the sequence.     

Characterization of low molecular weight organic acids from beech wood treated in supercritical water

Japanese beech (Fagus crenata Blume), its cell wall components, and model compounds were treated by supercritical water (380°C, 100 MPa) for 5 s using a batch-type reactor to investigate the production behavior of low molecular weight organic acids. It was found that cellulose and hemicellulose were decomposed to formic acid, pyruvic acid, glycolic acid, acetic acid, and lactic acid, whereas lignin was barely decomposed to such organic acids under the given conditions. However, after prolonged treatment (380°C, 100 MPa, 4 min) of lignin, some organic acids were recovered owing perhaps to the decomposition of the propyl side chain of lignin. It was additionally revealed that the predominant organic acid recovered was acetic acid, which might be derived from the acetyl group of hemicellulose in Japanese beech.     

Synthesis,structure, and magnetic properties of dinuclear cobalt(II) complexes with a new phenol-based dinucleating ligand with four hydroxyethyl chelating arms

A new end-off type acyclic ligand with four hydroxyethyl arms, 2,6-bis[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)aminomethyl]-4-methylphenol [H(bhmp)], formed dinuclear cobalt(II) complexes [Co(2)(bhmp)(OAc)(2)]BPh(4) (1) and [Co(2)(bhmp)(OBz)(2)]BPh(4) (2). The complex 1.2.5CH(3)CN (C(50)H(62.5)BCo(2)N(4.5)O(9)) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with dimensions a = 25.424(5) A, b = 13.376(2) A, c = 29.913(6) A, beta = 105.930(3) degrees, and V = 9781(3) A(3) and with Z = 8. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed a mu-phenoxo-bis(mu-acetato)dicobalt(II) core structure containing two octahedral cobalt(II) ions. Electronic spectra were investigated for 1 and 2 in the range 400-1800 nm, and the data were typical for the octahedral high-spin cobalt(II) complexes. Magnetic susceptibility was measured for 1 and 2 over the temperature range 4.5-300 K, and the data were analyzed well using our theoretical method. The best fitting parameters were kappa = 0.77, lambda = -116 cm(-1), Delta = 572 cm(-1), and J = -0.44 cm(-1) for complex 1 and kappa = 0.96, lambda = -93 cm(-1), Delta = 616 cm(-1), and J = -0.33 cm(-1) for complex 2.     

Anodic cyanation of 1-methylpyrazole

The electrooxidation of 1-methylpyrazole in methanol containing sodium cyanide produced 1-methyl-pyrazole-4-carbonitrile 2 and ?5-carbonitrile 3 in yields of 23 and 8%, respectively (2e-oxidation products), together with 4-methoxy-1-methylpyrazole-5-carbonitrile 4 (4e-oxidation product, 4%).     

Total synthesis of (+)-tubelactomicin A. 2. Synthesis of the upper-half segment and completion of the total synthesis

[reaction: see text]. We have completed the total synthesis of natural (+)-tubelactomicin A (1), a 16-membered macrolide antibiotic. This Letter presents a highly efficient synthesis of the upper-half segment (C14-C24) and the completion of the total synthesis featuring a high-yielding Stille coupling for the connection of the upper-half and lower-half segments and Mukaiyama macrolactonization for the construction of the entire structure of 1.     

Structure-activity relationships of a new antifungal imidazole, AFK-108, and related compounds

Fungicidal activity of widely used imidazole antifungal drugs in topical applications is not so strong in spite of their fungistatic activities against dermatophytes and pathogenic yeasts. In order to improve fungicidal activity of imidazole antifungal agents, a series of novel imidazole derivatives having a hydrophobic substituent derived from isoprenoid were synthesized. The efficacy of these compounds was evaluated with respect to direct cell-membrane damaging activity, ergosterol biosynthesis inhibition, minimum growth-inhibitory concentration (MIC) and therapeutic effect for experimental dermatophytosis of guinea pigs. Among the newly synthesized compounds, the geranyl derivative named AFK-108 (2a) showed the highest in vivo fungicidal activity with both cell membrane damaging activity and ergosterol biosynthesis inhibition in vitro.     

Non-glutamate type pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine antifolates. III. Synthesis and biological properties of N(omega)-masked ornithine analogs

The glutamic acid moiety of N-[4-[3-(2,4-diamino-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-5-yl)propyl]benzoyl]-L-g lutamic acid (1b, TNP-351) and the related compound (1a), was replaced with various N(omega)-acyl-, sulfonyl-, carbamoyl- and aryl-2,omega-diaminoalkanoic acids, and the inhibitory effects of the resulting products (9, 11, 14, 18, 21, 23, 25, 30, 36) on dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), the growth of murine fibrosarcoma Meth A cells, and methotrexate-resistant human CCRF-CEM cells, were examined. Compounds (9a-f) acylated with a hemiphthaloyl group were efficiently synthesized by coupling pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine carboxylic acids (7a,b) and N(omega)-phthaloyl 2,omega-diaminoalkanoic acid methyl esters (6a-c) and subsequent hydrolysis. The other N(omega)-acyl- and sulfonyl-ornithine analogs (21, 23, 25) were synthesized by acylation of free amino intermediates (19a,b) derived from tert-butoxycarbonyl-ornithine analogs (17a,b). A free ornithine analog (18) did not strongly inhibit Meth A cell growth, whereas all N(omega)-acyl-, sulfonyl-, carbamoyl- and aryl-ornithine analogs (9, 11, 21, 23, 25, 30, 36) exhibited much more potent inhibitory activities against both DHFR and Meth A cell growth. In particular, compounds 9c, 21k and 36a also showed remarkable growth-inhibitory activities against methotrexate-resistant CCRF-CEM cells. These results demonstrate that the potent inhibitory activities of N(omega)-masked ornithine analogs against the growth of Meth A cells and methotrexate-resistant CCRF-CEM cells, results from effective uptake via reduced folate carrier and their potent DHFR inhibition.