Concise, asymmetric total synthesis of spirotryprostatin A

The structurally intriguing cell-cycle inhibitor spirotryprostatin A has been synthesized utilizing an azomethine ylide dipolar cycloaddition reaction as the key step. This pentacyclic alkaloid contains a prenylated tryptophan-derived oxindole moiety that has been created in a regiocontrolled and stereocontrolled manner in a single step.     

A new isoelectric focusing system for fast two-dimensional gel electrophoresis using a low-concentration polyacrylamide gel supported by a loose multifilament string.

A new isoelectric focusing (IEF) system for two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) has been proposed. In this system, a super-soft and tough IEF gel was achieved by casting polyacrylamide gel down to 2.0% T using a loose multifilament string (LMS) of nylon as a gel support. The IEF apparatus for the LMS-gel, fabricated from acrylic boards, had a cooling water chamber, and eliminated the need of electrode solutions by directly connecting the two ends of individual gels to platinum electrodes. The carrier ampholyte-generated pH gradients using the new IEF system was stable over a long duration of time and a wide range of voltages, and the IEF time became shorter using a 2.0% T gel than using a 4.0% T gel. Also, the LMS-gels prepared in different runs exhibited excellent reproducibility. The new IEF system was applied to 2-D PAGE of a chicken skeletal muscle extract, and it was found that the protein loading capacity, protein entry into the LMS-gels, and protein transfer efficiency from the first-dimensional to the second-dimensional gels were significantly improved by using a low-concentration (2.5% T) gel. Also, proteins of high molecular weight of more than 200 kDa were observed in the 2-D maps, and therefore the new IEF system has a very good potential to be applied for fast 2-D PAGE of high molecular-weight proteins.     

Photoluminescence and FT-IR studies of the dissociative adsorption of H2 on the active ZrO2 catalyst and its role in the hydrogenation of CO

Photoluminescence and FT-IR studies of the adsorption of H₂ on ZrO₂ catalysts have been performdd to clarify the true natuee of active surface sites for the activaiion of H₂ in connection with the CO — H₂ reaction on the catalyst. The results indicate that the coordinatively unsaturated surface sites with different coordination numbers are generated on the surfaces by evacuation at temperatures higher than 600 K. These surface sites of lower coordination play a significant role in the reversible and irreversible dissociative adsorption of H₂ on the active ZrO₂ catalyst. The former seems to act as active hydrogen species for the CO — H₂ reaction to form branched hydrocarbons on the ZrO₂ catalyst.     

A highly active Fe(I) catalyst for radical polymerisation and taming the polymerisation with iodine

A fast and controlled radical polymerisation of acrylates and acrylamides can be achieved with a combination of a highly active metal catalyst, Fe2Cp2(CO)4, and a mild radical scavenger, iodine, in the presence of an iodide initiator.     

Superflexible Multifunctional Polyvinylpolydimethylsiloxane‐Based Aerogels as Efficient Absorbents,Thermal Superinsulators,and Strain Sensors

Aerogels are porous materials but show poor mechanical properties and limited functionality, which significantly restrict their practical applications. Preparation of highly bendable and processable aerogels with multifunctionality remains a challenge. Herein we report unprecedented superflexible aerogels based on polyvinylpolydimethylsiloxane (PVPDMS) networks, PVPDMS/polyvinylpolymethylsiloxane (PVPMS) copolymer networks, and PVPDMS/PVPMS/graphene nanocomposites by a facile radical polymerization/hydrolytic polycondensation strategy and ambient pressure drying or freeze drying. The aerogels have a doubly cross‐linked organic–inorganic network structure consisting of flexible polydimethylsiloxanes and hydrocarbon chains with tunable cross‐linking density, tunable pore size and bulk density. They have a high hydrophobicity and superflexibility and combine selective absorption, efficient separation of oil and water, thermal superinsulation, and strain sensing.     

Selective formation of [Au23(SPhtBu)17]0, [Au26Pd(SPhtBu)20]0 and [Au24Pt(SC2H4Ph)7(SPhtBu)11]0 by controlling ligand-exchange reaction

To use atomically precise metal nanoclusters (NCs) in various application fields, it is essential to establish size-selective synthesis methods for the metal NCs. Studies on thiolate (SR)-protected gold NCs (Au_n(SR)_m NCs) revealed that the atomically precise Au_n(SR)_m NC, which has a different chemical composition from the precursor, can be synthesized size-selectively by inducing transformation in the framework structure of the metal NCs by a ligand-exchange reaction. In this study, we selected the reaction of [Au₂₅(SC₂H₄Ph)₁₈]⁻ (SC₂H₄Ph = 2-phenylethanethiolate) with 4-tert-butylbenzenethiol (^tBuPhSH) as a model ligand-exchange reaction and attempted to obtain new metal NCs by changing the amount of thiol, the central atom of the precursor NCs, or the reaction time from previous studies. The results demonstrated that [Au₂₃(SPh^tBu)₁₇]⁰, [Au₂₆Pd(SPh^tBu)₂₀]⁰ (Pd = palladium) and [Au₂₄Pt(SC₂H₄Ph)₇(SPh^tBu)₁₁]⁰ (Pt = platinum) were successfully synthesized in a high proportion. To best of our knowledge, no report exists on the selective synthesis of these three metal NCs. The results of this study show that a larger variety of metal NCs could be synthesized size-selectively than at present if the ligand-exchange reaction is conducted while changing the reaction conditions and/or the central atoms of the precursor metal NCs from previous studies.

This study succeeded in obtaining three new thiolate protected metal nanoclusters by changing the ligand-exchange condition from previous studies.