Synthesis of functional polymers bearing pendant mono-and oligo-saccharide residues

The present paper focuses on (i) a new synthetic methodology to prepare vinyl ether-based synthetic glycoconjugates (glycopolymers) with well-controlled structure, and on (ii) the application of glycopolymers bearing modified disaccharide residue as thermotropic liquid crystalline (LC) materials. Two vinyl ethers (VEs) having pendant glucose residues with their hydroxyl functions protected by acetyl and isopropylidene groups, respectively, were found to undergo living cationic polymerization initiated by a HI/ZnI2-initiating system. Deprotection of the resultant monodisperse polymers led to water-soluble polymers bearing a pendant glucose residue. Sequential living block copolymerization of glucose-containing VE and alkyl VE, and subsequent deprotection afforded an amphiphilic block copolymer of well-controlled structure. Transmission electron microscopic observation of its cast thin film revealed microphase-separated surface morphologies that varied with varying segment composition ratio. A VE substituted with a heptadecanoated cellobiose pendant was independently prepared, and was cationically polymerized to give a thermotropic LC polymer. From X-ray analysis, the mesophase was assigned to a discotic columnar in type, in which each main chain, extended due to the steric repulsion between the neighboring bulky pendants, was surrounded by three discotic columns.     

Biosynthesis of Indole Diterpene Lolitrems: Radical-Induced Cyclization of an Epoxyalcohol Affording a Characteristic Lolitremane Skeleton

Lolitrems are tremorgenic indole diterpenes that exhibit a unique 5/6 bicyclic system of the indole moiety. Although genetic analysis has indicated that the prenyltransferase LtmE and the cytochrome P450 LtmJ are involved in the construction of this unique structure, the detailed mechanism remains to be elucidated. Herein, we report the reconstitution of the biosynthetic pathway for lolitrems employing a recently established genome-editing technique for the expression host Aspergillus oryzae. Heterologous expression and bioconversion of the various intermediates revealed that LtmJ catalyzes multistep oxidation to furnish the lolitrem core. We also isolated the key reaction intermediate with an epoxyalcohol moiety. This observation allowed us to establish the mechanism of radical-induced cyclization, which was firmly supported by density functional theory calculations and a model experiment with a synthetic analogue.     

Lamellar thickening in nascent poly(acrylonitrile) upon annealing

No systematic study has been reported on the lamellar thickening in atactic poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) upon annealing because PAN, in the form of solution‐cast films or their drawn products, generally shows no small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) maximum corresponding to the lamellar thickness. In this work, PAN crystals were precipitated during the thermal polymerization of acrylonitrile in solution. The nascent PAN film, obtained by the filtration of the crystal suspension, exhibited a clear SAXS maximum revealing the lamellar structure. The lamellar thickening upon annealing of the nascent PAN films was studied in the temperature range 100–180 °C, where the degradation was minimal, as confirmed by the absence of an IR absorption band at 1605 cm⁻¹ ascribed to the cyclized nitrile groups. Above 190 °C, the degradation of the samples was significant, and the SAXS became too broad to determine the scattering maximum. The long period was significantly affected by the annealing time (t_a) and the temperature (T_a). Depending on t_a, three stages were observed for the lamellar thickening behavior. The lamellar thickness stayed constant in stage I (t_a = 0.5–3 min, depending on T_a), rapidly increased in stage II (t_a = 0.5–8 min), and stayed at a constant value characteristic for each T_a at yet longer t_a's in stage III. The lamellar thickness characteristic for T_a increased rapidly with increasing T_a at 165 °C (or higher), which was 152 °C lower than the estimated melting temperature of PAN (T_m = 317 °C). A possible mechanism for such lamellar thickening in PAN far below the T_m is discussed on the basis of the enhanced chain mobility in the crystalline phase above the crystal/crystal reversible transition at 165–170 °C detected by differential scanning calorimetry and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. The structural changes associated with annealing are also discussed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 2571–2579, 2000     

Geographical distribution of plutonium derived from the atomic bomb in the eastern area of Nagasaki

In order to know the distribution of plutonium derived from the Nagasaki atomic bomb, soil samples were measured to determine the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu isotope ratio of and concentrations of ^239+240Pu and ¹³⁷Cs. The ^239+240Pu concentrations in soils, except for Nishiyama area, were close to the average concentration of soil collected in Japan. In soils collected at the Nishiyama area and at the eastern area of Nagasaki Prefecture and at part of northern area in Kumamoto Prefecture, the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratios were lower than the global fallout values. This suggests that plutonium from the atomic bomb was deposited in the eastern area from the hypocenter reaching up to 100 km eastwards.     

Comparison of PAMAM-Au and PPI-Au nanocomposites and their catalytic activity for reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Dendrimer-Au nanocomposites are prepared in aqueous solutions using poly(amidoammine)dendrimers (PAMAM) (generation 2, 3, and 5) and poly(propyleneimine)dendrimers (PPI)(generation 2, 3, and 4) by wet chemical NaBH(4) method. The Au nanoparticles thus obtained are 2-4 nm in diameter for both dendrimers and no generation dependence on the particle size is observed, whereas the generations of the dendrimers are increased as stabilization of Au-nanoparticles is achieved with lower dendrimer concentrations. Studies of the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol using these nanocomposites show that the rate constants for the PAMAM dendrimers (generations 2 and 3) are higher than those for the PPI dendrimers (generations 2 and 3), while a distinct difference in the rate constants is not seen for the PAMAM dendrimer (generation 5) or the PPI dendrimer (generation 4). In addition, the rate constants for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol involving all the dendrimers decrease with increases in dendrimer concentrations.     

The first total synthesis of concanamycin f (concanolide a)

A highly stereoselective total synthesis of the macrolide antibiotic concanamycin F (1), a specific and potent inhibitor of vacuolar H(+)-ATPase, has been achieved by a convergent route involving the synthesis and coupling of its 18-membered tetraenic lactone and beta-hydroxyl hemiacetal side chain subunits. The C1-C19 18-membered lactone aldehyde 4 was synthesized through the intermolecular Stille coupling of the C5-C13 vinyl iodide 24 and the C14-C19 vinyl stannane 25, followed by construction of the C1-C4 diene and macrolactonization. Synthesis of 4 via a second convergent route including the esterification of the C1-C13 vinyl iodide 45 and the C14-C19 vinyl stannane 47 followed by the intramolecular Stille coupling was also realized. The highly stereoselective aldol coupling of 4 and the C20-C28 ethyl ketone 5 followed by desilylation provided 1 which was identical with natural concanamycin F.     

pi-topology and spin alignment utilizing the excited molecular field: observation of the excited high-spin quartet (S = 3/2) and quintet (S = 2) states on purely organic pi-conjugated spin systems.

As a model system for the photoinduced/photoswitched spin alignment in a purely organic pi-conjugated spin system, 9-[4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1-yloxyimidazolin-2-yl)phenyl]anthracene (1a), 9-[3-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1-yloxyimidazolin-2-yl)phenyl]anthracene (1b), 9,10-bis[4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1-yloxyimidazolin-2-yl)phenyl]anthracene (2a), and 9,10-bis[3-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1-yloxyimidazolin-2-yl)phenyl]anthracene (2b) were designed and synthesized. In these spin systems, 9-phenylanthracene and 9,10-diphenylanthracene were chosen as photo spin couplers and iminonitroxide was chosen as a dangling stable radical. Time-resolved electron spin resonance (TRESR) spectra of the first excited states with resolved fine-structure splittings were observed for 1a and 2a in an EPA or a 2-MTHF rigid glass matrix. Using the spectral simulation based on the eigenfield method, the observed TRESR spectra for 1a and 2a were unambiguously assigned as an excited quartet (S = 3/2) spin state (Q) and an excited quintet (S = 2) spin state (Qu), respectively. The g value and fine-structure splitting for the quartet state of 1a were determined to be g(Q) = 2.0043, D(Q) = 0.0235 cm(-1), and E(Q) = 0.0 cm(-1). The relative populations (polarization) of each M(S)() sublevel in Q were determined to be P(+1/2') = P(-1/2') = 0.5 and P(+3/2') = P(-3/2') = 0.0 with an increasing order of energy in zero magnetic field. The spin Hamiltonian parameters for Qu are g = 2.0043, D = 0.0130 cm(-1), and E = 0.0 cm(-1), and the relative populations in Qu were determined to be P(0') = 0.30, P(-1') = P(+1') = 0.35 and P(-2') = P(+2') = 0.0. These are the first observations of a photoexcited quartet and a quintet high-spin state in pi-conjugated triplet-radical pair systems. In contrast high-spin excited states were not observed for 1b and 2b, the pi-topological isomers of 1a and 2a, showing the role of pi-topology in the spin alignment of the excited states. Since a weak antiferromagnetic exchange interaction was observed in the ground state of 2a, the clear detection of the excited quintet high-spin state shows that the effective exchange coupling between the two dangling radicals through the diphenylanthracene spin coupler has been changed from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic upon photoexcitation. Thus, a photoinduced spin alignment utilizing the excited triplet molecular field was realized for the first time in the purely organic pi-conjugated spin system. Furthermore, the mechanism for the generation of dynamic electron spin polarization was investigated for the observed quartet and quintet states, and a plausible mechanism of the enhanced selective intersystem crossing was proposed. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations based on density functional theory were carried out to determine the electronic structures of the excited high-spin states and to understand the mechanism of the spin alignment utilizing the excited molecular field. The role of the spin delocalization and the spin polarization mechanisms were revealed on the photoexcited state.     

Catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction of alkylidene- or arylideneacetoacetates and Danishefsky's dienes with lanthanide salts aimed at selective synthesis of cis-4,5-dimethyl-2-cyclohexenone derivatives.

The first successful example of the catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction of 1-methoxy-3-trimethylsiloxy-1,3-diene (Danishefsky's diene, 2a), giving the corresponding carbocyclic adducts, is described. The reaction of (Z)-ethylideneacetoacetate 1a with 2a is catalyzed with lanthanide salts such as Yb(OTf)(3) at 0 degrees C, affording the corresponding 2-cyclohexenone 3a in good yield with complete integrity of the starting geometry of 1a. The thermal version of the same cycloaddition results in a decrease in the cis arrangement of the 5-methyl and the 4-alkoxycarbonyl groups on 2-cyclohexenone. The catalyzed reaction of (E)-1a unexpectedly affords the cis-arranged 3a. The reaction path for the catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction is postulated on the basis of these results.     

Amphiphilic block and statistical copolymers with pendant glucose residues: Controlled synthesis by living cationic polymerization and the effect of copolymer architecture on their properties

Amphiphilic block and statistical copolymers of vinyl ethers (VEs) with pendant glucose residues were synthesized by the living cationic polymerization of isobutyl VE (IBVE) and a VE carrying 1,2:5,6‐di‐O‐isopropylidene‐D ‐glucose (IpGlcVE), followed by deprotection. The block copolymer was prepared by a two‐stage sequential block copolymerization, whereas the statistical copolymer was obtained by the copolymerization of a mixture of the two monomers. The monomer reactivity ratios estimated with the statistical copolymerization were r₁ (IBVE) = 1.65 and r₂ (IpGlcVE) = 1.15. The obtained statistical copolymers were nearly uniform with the comonomer composition along the main chain. Both the block and statistical copolymers had narrow molecular weight distributions (weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight ∼ 1.1). Gel permeation chromatography, static light scattering, and spin–lattice relaxation time measurements in a selective solvent revealed that the block copolymer formed multimolecular micelles, possibly with a hydrophobic poly(IBVE) core and a glucose‐carrying poly(VE) shell, whereas the statistical copolymer with nearly the same molecular weight and segment composition was molecularly dispersed in solution. The surface properties of the solvent‐cast films of the block and statistical copolymer were also investigated with the contact‐angle measurement. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 459–467, 2001