Hydrogen‐bonded structures of the isomeric compounds of phthalazine with 3‐chloro‐2‐nitrobenzoic acid, 4‐chloro‐2‐nitrobenzoic acid and 4‐chloro‐3‐nitrobenzoic acid

The structures of three isomeric compounds, C₇H₄ClNO₄·C₈H₆N₂, of phthalazine with chloro‐ and nitro‐substituted benzoic acid, namely, 3‐chloro‐2‐nitrobenzoic acid–phthalazine (1/1), (I), 4‐chloro‐2‐nitrobenzoic acid–phthalazine (1/1), (II), and 4‐chloro‐3‐nitrobenzoic acid–phthalazine (1/1), (III), have been determined at 190 K. In the asymmetric unit of each compound, there are two crystallographically independent chloronitrobenzoic acid–phthalazine units, in each of which the two components are held together by a short hydrogen bond between an N atom of the base and a carboxyl O atom. In one hydrogen‐bonded unit of (I) and in two units of (II), a weak C—H...O interaction is also observed between the two components. The N...O distances are 2.5715 (15) and 2.5397 (17) Å for (I), 2.5655 (13) and 2.6081 (13) Å for (II), and 2.613 (2) and 2.589 (2) Å for (III). In both hydrogen‐bonded units of (I) and (II), the H atoms are each disordered over two positions with (N site):(O site) occupancies of 0.35 (3):0.65 (3) and 0.31 (3):0.69 (3) for (I), and 0.32 (3):0.68 (3) and 0.30 (3):0.70 (3) for (II). The H atoms in the hydrogen‐bonded units of (III) are located at the O‐atom sites.     

Rational design of ratiometric near-infrared fluorescent pH probes with various pKa values, based on aminocyanine

Novel ratiometric, near-infrared fluorescent pH probes with various pK(a) values have been designed and synthesized on the basis of aminocyanine bearing a diamine moiety, and their photochemical properties were evaluated. Under acidic conditions, these pH probes showed a 46- to 83-nm red shift of the absorption maximum. This change is sufficiently large to permit their use as ratiometric pH probes, and is reversible, whereas monoamine-substituted aminocyanines showed irreversible changes because of their instability under acidic conditions. Furthermore, the pK(a) values of these probes can be predicted from the calculated pK(a) values of the diamine moieties, obtained from the SciFinder database. This design strategy is very simple and flexible, and should be applicable to develop NIR pH probes for various applications.     

Formulation study for orally disintegrating tablet using partly pregelatinized starch binder

In this study, we aimed to design orally disintegrating tablets by employing a formulation design approach that enables the production of such tablets in the same facilities used for the production of solid dosage forms on an industrial scale. First, we examined the relationships between the types of binders used in the tablets and the properties of orally disintegrating tablets prepared by the wet granulation method. Results revealed that partly pregelatinized starch is a relatively suitable binder for orally disintegrating tablets as it also serves as a disintegrant. Next, we employed a central composite design for 2 factors, namely, corn starch and partly pregelatinized starch, in order to design granules suited for orally disintegrating tablets composed of D-mannitol, corn starch or partly pregelatinized starch. The effects of these 2 factors on 3 types of responses, namely, 50% granule size, compressing index and disintegrating index, were analyzed with a software package, and responses to changes in the factors were predicted. This study investigated the effects of binder type and binder content in orally disintegrating tablets, and provided evidence that the binder exerts a strong influence on tablet properties, and is therefore an important component of orally disintegrating tablets.     

Discovery of a potent and orally available acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase inhibitor as an anti-atherosclerotic agent: (4-phenylcoumarin)acetanilide derivatives

Acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) is an intracellular enzyme that catalyzes cholesterol esterification. ACAT inhibitors are expected to be potent therapeutic agents for the treatment of atherosclerosis. A series of potent ACAT inhibitors based on an (4-phenylcoumarin)acetanilide scaffold was identified. Evaluation of the structure-activity relationships of a substituent on this scaffold, with an emphasis on improving the pharmacokinetic profile led to the discovery of 2-[7-chloro-4-(3-chlorophenyl)-6-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl]-N-[4-chloro-2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]acetamide (23), which exhibited potent ACAT inhibitory activity (IC50=12 nM) and good pharmacokinetic profile in mice. Compound 23 also showed regressive effects on atherosclerotic plaques in apolipoprotein (apo)E knock out (KO) mice at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg per os (p.o.).     

Nonlinear normal modes and primary resonance of horizontally supported Jeffcott rotor

The nonlinear normal modes of a horizontally supported Jeffcott rotor are investigated. In contrast with a vertically supported rotor, there are localized and nonlocalized nonlinear normal modes because the linear natural frequencies in the horizontal and vertical directions are slightly different due to both gravity and the nonlinearity of restoring force. Reflecting such nonlinear normal modes, the frequency response curves are characterized in the primary resonance. In the case where the eccentricity is small, i.e., the response amplitude is small, the whirling motion is localized in the horizontal or vertical direction in the resonance. On the other hand, when the eccentricity is large, two kinds of whirling motion, which are localized in the vertical direction and nonlocalized in any direction, coexist simultaneously in a region of rotational speed. Experiments are conducted, and the theoretically predicted nonlinear responses based on localized and nonlocalized nonlinear normal modes are observed.     

Chromic behaviors of hexagonal columnar liquid crystalline platinum complexes with catecholato, 2-thiophenolato, and benzenedithiolato

Liquid crystalline (LC) platinum(II) complexes with 1,2-thiophenolato and 1,2-benzendithiolato have been newly synthesized and investigated by spectroscopy together with the catecholato analogue. The variations in coordinating atoms (O or S or O/S mixed) lead to significant modulation in electrochemical properties in solution and absorption and emission properties of the complexes both in solution media and in the condensed phases. The asymmetric, polar mesogens/chromophores consisting of Pt(II), redox-active ligands, and alkyl-substituted bipyridine commonly play important roles not only in stabilizing the columnar LC phases, but also in fluctuations of the ground state energies. A key finding of the present work is the chromic properties of LC complexes induced by the interplay of self-association of the mesogens/chromophores and their fluctuating properties.     

Monolithic silica rod columns for high-efficiency reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Chromatographic properties of a new type of monolithic silica rod columns were examined. Silica rod columns employed for the study were prepared from tetramethoxysilane, modified with octadecylsilyl moieties, and encased in a stainless-steel protective column with two polymer layers between the silica and the stainless-steel tubing. A 25 cm column provided up to 45,000 theoretical plates for aromatic hydrocarbons, or a minimum plate height of about 5.5 μm, at optimum linear velocity of ca. 2.3 mm/s and back pressure of 7.5 MPa in an acetonitrile-water (80/20, v/v) mobile phase at 40°C. The permeability of the column was similar to that of a column packed with 5 μm particles, with K(F) about 2.4×10(-14) m(2) (based on the superficial linear velocity of the mobile phase), while the plate height value equivalent to that of a column packed with 2.5 μm particles. Generation of 80,000-120,000 theoretical plates was feasible with back pressure below 30 MPa by employing two or three 25 cm columns connected in series. The use of the long columns enabled facile generation of large numbers of theoretical plates in comparison with conventional monolithic silica columns or particulate columns. Kinetic plot analysis indicates that the monolithic columns operated at 30 MPa can provide faster separations than a column packed with totally porous 3-μm particles operated at 40 MPa in a range where the number of theoretical plates (N) is greater than 50,000.     

Superconducting gap in iron pnictides studied by optical spectroscopy

We investigated the in-plane optical spectrum of a Co-doped Ba(Fe_0.94Co_0.06)₂As₂ single crystal showing superconductivity below . In the normal state, the low-energy optical conductivity spectrum can be decomposed into a sharp Drude term and a broad “incoherent” term. Below T_c, an s-wave-like superconducting gap appears in both components. We also investigated a magnetic or spin-density-wave gap in the detwinned parent compound.     

Development of cholesterol biosensor with high sensitivity using dual-enzyme immobilization into the mesoporous silica materials

Mesoporous silica (MPS) materials with different pore diameters were synthesized by a sol–gel method where organic templates such as cationic surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) and triblock co-polymer of (poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(propylene glycol)–poly(ethylene glycol) (Pluronic P123, EO₂₀PO₇₀EO₂₀)), were used. MPS surface was organo-functionalized using a silane coupling reagent (ethyl-, phenyl-, or 3-mercaptpropyltriethoxysilane). Dual-enzyme, cholesterol esterase (10.0 nm × 5.4 nm × 11.0 nm) and cholesterol oxidase (6.8 nm × 8.5 nm × 8.8 nm), was immobilized on MPS materials by physical adsorption. Amount of dual-enzyme immobilized on all MPS materials, having a different pore size (2.7, 6.4, 12.4, 14.7, and 22.6 nm), and organo-functionalized MPS was similar (CE: 1.5 mg/mg silica and CO: 0.01 mg/mg silica). High activity of dual-enzyme was obtained by adjacently immobilizing on MPS materials. Its activity on MPS-2 (pore diameter: 6.4 nm) or MPS-5 (pore diameter: 22.6 nm) showed approximately 60% of native activity. Moreover, dual-enzyme immobilized on MPS with highly hydrophobic organo-functional groups (phenyl- or mercaptopropyl-group) exhibited higher activity than that on no-substituted MPS. Relative activity of dual-enzyme immobilized on organo-functionalized MPS-2 increased from 58% to 93%, under the optimum conditions.