Density functional theory investigation of Eu(III) complexes with beta-diketonates and phosphine oxides: model complexes of fluorescence compounds for ultraviolet LED devices

The density functional theory was employed to investigate Eu(III) complexes with three beta-diketonates and two phosphine oxides (complex M1: Eu(bdk)3(TPPO)2, complex M2: Eu(bdk)3(TMPO)2, and complex M3: Eu(bdk)3(TPPO)(TMPO)) deemed to be the model complexes of the fluorescence compounds for the ultraviolet LED devices we have recently developed. For each complex, two minimum energy points corresponding to two different optimized geometries (structures A and B) have been found, and the difference of the energy between two minimum energy points is found to be quite small (less than 1 kcal/mol). Vertical excitation energies and oscillator strengths for each complex at two optimized geometries have been obtained by the time-dependent density functional theory, and the character of the excited states has been investigated. For complex M3, the absorption edge is red-shifted, and the oscillator strengths are relatively large. The efficiency of intersystem crossing and energy transfer from the triplet excited state to the Eu(III) ion is considered by calculating DeltaE(ISC) (the energy difference between the first singlet excited state and the first triplet excited state) and DeltaE(ET) (the difference between the excitation energy of the complex for the first triplet excited state and the emission energy of the Eu(III) ion for 5D to 7F).     

Synthesis of alanine and leucine by reductive amination of 2-oxoic acid with combination of hydrogenase and dehydrogenase

Alanine synthesis by reductive amination of pyruvate was performed by the combination of NADH regeneration system and alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH). The conversion of pyruvate to alanine was 99% after 1 h. Leucine synthesis was also carried out by the combination of NADH regeneration system and leucine dehydrogenase (LeuDH). The conversion of 4-methyl-2-oxovalerate to leucine was 60% after 1.5 h.     

Backbone rearrangements of methyl (-)-kaur-9(11)-en-19-oate and its epoxide: structures of two diterpenes of a new skeletal type

cleavage of the epoxide ($\text{2}$) of methyl (-)-kaur-9(11)-en-19-oate ($\text{1b}$) with boron trifluoride-ether in benzene and in acetic anhydride yielded ($\text{3a}$) and ($\text{3b}$), respectively. On epoxidation with $\text{m}$-chloroperbenzoic acid in the presence of $\text{N}$-nitrosomethyl urea, ($\text{1b}$) suffered a backbone rearrangement to form ($\text{6}$).     

Site-selective RNA cleavage by DNA bearing a base pair-mimic nucleoside

We have synthesized the deoxyadenosine derivative tethering a phenyl group (X), which mimics the Watson-Crick A/T base pair. The RNA/DNA hybrid duplexes containing X in the middle of the DNA sequence showed a similar thermal stability regardless of the ribonucleotide species (A, G, C, or U) opposite to X, probably because of the phenyl group stacking inside of the duplex accompanied by the opposite ribonucleotide base flipped in an extrahelical position. The RNA strand hybridized with the DNA strand bearing X was cleaved on the 3'-side of the ribonucleotide opposite to X in the presence of MgCl2, and the RNA sequence to be cleaved was not restricted. The site-specific RNA hydrolysis suggests that the DNA strand bearing X has the advantage of the site-selective base flipping in the target sequence and the development of a "universal deoxyribozyme" to exclusively cleave a target RNA sequence.     

Release characteristics of a free polyunsaturated fatty acid from an oily lymphographic agent

The release profiles of a free polyunsaturated fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid, from solutions in an oily lymphographic agent Lipiodol-Ultra-Fluid (Lipiodol), to rabbit and human plasma, phosphate buffer solution (PBS), and PBS containing bovine serum albumin (BSA) were examined in vitro. The times required for 50% release of alpha-linolenic acid from Lipiodol were about 1 and 1.5 h in the rabbit and human plasma, respectively. Although only a slight amount of alpha-linolenic acid was released from Lipiodol to PBS after 24 h incubation at 37 degrees C, release was markedly enhanced by the addition of BSA to PBS. The amount of alpha-linolenic acid released from Lipiodol into PBS containing 5% BSA increased as the alpha-linolenic acid content in Lipiodol was increased. In all experiments, the release had stopped before all alpha-linolenic acid had been released. The prolongation of alpha-linolenic acid release from Lipiodol is considered a requisite for a selective anticancer effect of Lipiodol containing a free fatty acid on liver cancer.     

Kinetic-catalytic determination of traces of iron by the oxidative coupling reaction of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone with N,N-dimethylaniline

A new kinetic-catalytic method by the initial rate procedure for the determination of nanogram level of iron(III) is developed, which is based on its catalytic effect on the oxidative coupling of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH) with N,N-dimethylaniline (DMA) to form an indamine dye (λ_max=590 nm) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Iron(II) is also determined, being oxidized to iron(III) by hydrogen peroxide. Calibration graphs obtained by the initial rate method are linear in the range 1–1000 ng ml⁻¹ Fe and as low as 10⁻⁸ M Fe(II, III) can easily be determined. The relative standard deviations are 6.6, 2.5 and 1.5% for ten determinations of 1, 20 and 60 ng ml⁻¹ of Fe(III), respectively. The method is applicable to the determination of iron in natural waters without preconcentration and separation.     

Chiral phosphinooxathiane ligands for catalytic asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction

Chiral cationic palladium[bond]phosphinooxathiane complexes have been found to be effective catalysts for enantioselective Diels-Alder (DA) reaction of cyclopentadiene with acyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones to give the corresponding DA adducts in good yield and high enantioselectivity up to 93% ee.     

Duplex dissociation of telomere DNAs induced by molecular crowding

Because of the importance of telomere DNAs, the structures of these DNAs in vivo are currently of great research interest in the medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and industrial fields. To understand the structure of biomolecules in vivo, their properties studied in vitro are extrapolated to the in vivo condition, while the condition in a living cell is inherently molecularly crowded and a nonideal solution contains various biomolecules. We investigated the effect of molecular crowding, which is one of the most important cellular environmental conditions, on the structure and stability of the telomere and G-rich and C-rich DNAs using circular dichroism (CD) spectra, CD melting curves, and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The CD spectra and CD melting curves of G-rich DNA, C-rich DNA, and the 1:1 mixture of G-rich and C-rich DNAs showed that each G-rich DNA, C-rich DNA, and the 1:1 mixture form the antiparallel G-quadruplex, I-motif, and duplex, respectively, in the noncrowding condition as previously considered. On the contrary, the G-rich and C-rich DNAs individually form the parallel G-quadruplex and I-motif, respectively, in the molecular crowding condition, and the 1:1 mixture folds into the parallel G-quadruplex and I-motif but does not form a duplex. The ITC measurements indicated that the thermodynamic stability (DeltaG degrees (20)) of the duplex formation between the G-rich and C-rich DNAs in the noncrowding condition was -10.2 kcal mol(-)(1), while only a small heat change was observed in the ITC measurements in the molecular crowding condition. These ITC results also demonstrated that the molecular crowding condition prevents any duplex formation between G-rich and C-rich DNAs. These results indicate that a structural polymorphism of the telomere DNAs is induced by molecular crowding in vivo.     

Novel and efficient chiral sulfideoxathiane ligands for palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation

Easily prepared, chiral sulfideoxathiane ligands are described which give excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee) in the Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate with a range of alkyl malonate nucleophiles.     

Rate constant of the reaction of NO3 with CH2I2 measured with use of cavity ring-down spectroscopy

We have applied cavity ring-down spectroscopy to a kinetic study of the reaction of NO₃ with CH₂I₂ in 25–100 Torr of N₂ diluent at 298 K. The rate constant of reaction of NO₃ + CH₂I₂ is determined to be (4.0 ± 1.2) × 10⁻¹³ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ in 100 Torr of N₂ diluent at 298 K. The rate constant increases with increasing pressure of buffer gas below 100 Torr. The reaction of CH₂I₂ with NO₃ has the potential importance at nighttime in the atmosphere.