Peptide bond formation mediated by 4,5-dimethoxy-2-mercaptobenzylamine after periodate oxidation of the N-terminal serine residue

[reaction in text] A thiol linker-attached peptide was prepared from a nonprotected peptide via an N(alpha)()-alpha-oxoacyl peptide. Selective oxidation of the N-terminal serine with sodium periodate gave the N(alpha)-glyoxyloyl peptide, reductive amination of which with 4,5-dimethoxy-2-(triphenylmethylthio)benzylamine gave an N(alpha)-4,5-dimethoxy-2-mercaptobenzyl glycyl peptide after removal of the trityl group. The N(alpha)-4,5-dimethoxy-2-mercaptobenzyl peptide can be condensed with a peptide thioester, and the linker is removable. This strategy provides a useful method for the synthesis of peptides using recombinant proteins.     

Synthesis and complexing properties of double armed diaza‐15‐crown‐5 and diaza‐18‐crown‐6 ethers having 4′‐hydroxy‐3′,5′‐disubstituted benzyl groups

A series of double armed diaza‐15‐crown‐5 ethers (9a ‐ 16a) and diaza‐18‐crown‐6 ethers (9b ‐ 16b) have been prepared by the Mannich reaction of 2,6‐disubstituted phenols with the corresponding N,N'‐dimethoxymethyldiaza‐crown ethers in benzene. The crystal structures of the diaza‐18‐crown‐6 ethers having iso‐propyl (10b) , tert‐butyl (11b) , and mixed methyl and tert‐butyl groups (12b) at positions 3′ and 5′ of the phenolic side arms were determined using X‐ray diffraction methods. Competitive transport by these ligands for sodium, potassium and cesium cations were measured under basic‐source phase and acidic‐receiving phase conditions.     

Dispersion mechanisms of comb‐type superplasticizers containing grafted poly(ethylene oxide) chains

This paper discusses the influence of graft chain length and dosage of comb‐type superplasticizers on adsorption and dispersion mechanisms, and their subsequent effect on the fluidity of concentrated limestone suspensions. Contrary to the results obtained from interparticle potential calculations, the fluidity of concentrated suspension is improved by the use of comb‐type polymers having shorter grafted chain length. The dispersion mechanism of comb‐type polymers in a concentrated suspension is evaluated from the perspective of molecular structure, the amount of adsorbed polymer, and the amount of entrapped water in the clusters of CaCO₃ particles. Furthermore, the addition of certain soluble salts, which can effect the concentration of Ca²⁺ in liquid phase of CaCO₃ suspensions, has been observed to decrease the adsorption of comb‐type polymers on CaCO₃. Thus, the polymer adsorption process on solid surfaces can be selectively influenced by certain types of ions.     

Photochemical intramolecular nitrene insertion of 6-azidouridine derivatives

A highly efficient intramolecular nitrene insertion was observed upon irradiation of 6-azidouridine derivatives. The N⁶,2′-cyclo structure of the product was determined unequivocally by X-ray crystallography.     

Photoreaction Cycle of Phoborhodopsin (Sensory Rhodopsin II) from Halobacterium salinarum Expressed in Escherichia coli

Phoborhodopsin (pR; also called sensory rhodopsin II, SRII) is a photoreceptor of negative phototaxis of halobacteria. The studies of photochemical properties of this pigment are not many because the amount of the pigment is small and the stability is low. Recently an expression system of phoborhodopsin from Halobacterium salinarum (called salinarum phoborhodopsin, spR; also HsSRII) in Escherichia coli and purification method has been developed (Mironova et al. [2005] FEBS Lett., 579, 3147–3151), which enables detailed studies on the photochemical properties of spR. In the present work, the photoreaction cycle of E. coli-expressed spR was studied by low-temperature spectroscopy and flash photolysis. Formations of K-, M-, O-like intermediates and P480 were reconfirmed as reported previously. New findings are as follows. (1) The K-like intermediate (P500) was a mixture of two photoproducts. (2) Formation of L-like intermediate (P482) was observed by low-temperature spectroscopy and flash photolysis at room temperature. (3) On long irradiation of spR at 20°C, formation of a new photoproduct P370 was observed and it decayed to the original spR in the dark with a decay half time of 190 min. Based on these results the similarities and dissimilarities between spR and ppR are discussed.     

Enantioselective addition of ketene silyl acetals to nitrones catalyzed by chiral titanium complexes. Synthesis of optically active beta-amino acids

A chiral titanium complex, Ti(O-i-Pr)(4)/BINOL/tert-butylcatechol, catalyzes enantioselective addition reaction of ketene silyl acetals to nitrones to give optically active beta-amino acid derivatives which are biologically active compounds and useful synthetic intermediates of natural products and pharmaceuticals such as beta-lactam antibiotics. The combined process of catalytic oxidation of secondary amines and enantioselective carbon-carbon bond formation of nitrones thus obtained with ketene silyl acetals provides a useful two-step method for the synthesis of optically active beta-amino acid derivatives and related nitrogen compounds.     

Capillary electrophoretic determination of Ga(III) based on the formation of a heteropolyoxomolybdate complex

A novel capillary electrophoretic (CE) method was developed for the determination of Ga(III). The so-called Anderson-type [GaMo6O24H6]3- complex was readily formed by the reaction of Mo(VI) with Ga(III) in 0.050 M monochloroacetate buffer (pH 2.0) and the precolumn complex-formation reaction was applied to the CE determination of Ga(III) with direct UV detection at 240 nm. The peak area was linearly dependent on the concentration of Ga(III) in the range of 5.0 x 10(-7)-5.0 x 10(-5) M. Owing to the high molar absorptivity of the Anderson anion, a detection limit of 2.0 x 10(-7) M (signal-to-noise ratio=3) was achieved. The advantage of the present method is that the presence of large excesses of Al(III) and In(III) does not cause interference.     

Signal denoising and baseline correction by discrete wavelet transform for microchip capillary electrophoresis

Signal denoising and baseline correction using discrete wavelet transform (DWT) are described for microchip capillary electrophoresis (MCE). DWT was performed on an electropherogram describing a separation of nine tetramethylrohodamine-5-isothiocyanate labeled amino acids, following MCE with laser-induced fluorescence detection, using Daubechies 5 wavelet at a decomposition level of 6. The denoising efficiency was compared with, and proved to be superior to, other commonly used denoising techniques such as Fourier transform, Savitzky-Golay smoothing and moving average, in terms of noise removal and peak preservation by directly visual inspection. Novel strategies for baseline correction were proposed, with a special interest in baseline drift that frequently occurred in chromatographic and electrophoretic separations.     

Concise Construction of the ACDE Ring System of Calyciphylline A Type Alkaloids by a [5+2] Cycloaddition

A concise route for construction of the ACDE ring skeleton in calyciphylline A type alkaloids was developed using an intramolecular [5+2] cycloaddition reaction of an oxidopyrylium species bearing a tetrasubstituted olefin. Key to the success of this reaction was the combination of acid and base, which accelerated the construction of this skeleton containing a spiro ring and vicinal quaternary carbon centers. The resultant tricyclic ADE ring compound was converted to an ACDE ring model through C−H oxidation and an aza-Wittig reaction.