Supramolecular complex of cytochrome c with lariat ether: solubilization, redox behavior and catalytic activity of cytochrome c in methanol

A variety of lariat ethers were employed to solubilize water-soluble cytochrome c in methanol, in which alcohol, ether, ester, amine, and amide functionalities were attached as cation-ligating side arms to 18-crown-6, 15-crown-5, and 12-crown-4 rings. Among these lariat ethers, the alcohol-armed 18-crown-6 derivative offered the highest solubilization efficiency for cytochrome c via supramolecular complexation. The resulting cytochrome c-lariat ether complexes were electrochemically and spectroscopically characterized and confirmed to have redox-active heme structures of 6-coordinate low-spin population in methanol. Some of them catalyzed the oxidation of pinacyanol chloride with hydrogen peroxide in methanol and exhibited higher activities than unmodified cytochrome c and its poly(ethylene glycolated) derivative. Since the supramolecular complexation between lariat ether and cytochrome c includes extremely simple procedures, it provides a facile preparation method of effective biocatalysts working in organic solvents from metalloproteins.     

Production and excited state dynamics of the photorearranged isomer of benzyl chloride and its methyl derivatives studied by stepwise two-color laser excitation transient absorption and time-resolved thermal lensing techniques

Production and photoexcited dynamics of reaction intermediates with photolyses of benzyl chloride (BzCl) and methyl-substituted benzyl chlorides (MeBzCls) were studied by using stepwise two-color laser excitation transient absorption (TC-TA) and two-color laser excitation time-resolved thermal lensing (TC-TRTL) measurements. With photoexcitation of BzCl the formation of transient photorearranged isomer was suggested in the previous paper [Res. Chem. Intermed. 2001, 27, 137]. Such an isomer formation for MeBzCls was also observed in a 248 nm excitation. It was found that further photoexcitation of the isomers with the 308 nm light caused photodissociation to yield the corresponding benzyl radicals. The reaction quantum yield and the molar absorptivity of the photorearranged isomer of BzCl were estimated. The heat of reaction for the photodissociation of the isomer was successfully determined with the TC-TRTL measurement. These experimental results were consistent with MO calculations.     

Radiation-induced polymerization of isoprene in aqueous solution of silver nitrate

The rate of radiation-induced polymerization of isoprene in aqueous solution of silver nitrate is 20–50 times as fast as the rate of radiation-induced polymerization of pure isoprene. The formation of a 1:2 complex of isoprene and silver nitrate was confirmed spectrometrically, and this complex seems to polymerize by attack of an active species. The equilibrium constant K_f and the extinction coefficient E of the complex were estimated to be 0.18 and 1.4, respectively. The polymerization mechanism was concluded to be a radical one, based on the effects of inhibitors. The polyisoprene obtained had a crosslinked structure, was insoluble, and did not give a distinct melting point. The 1,2 structure was the predominant polyisoprene configuration. This was interpreted on the basis of the frontier electron density of isoprene.     

Immobilization of enzymes with use of photosensitive polymers having the stilbazolium group

Reaction of the homopolymer of 2-chloroethyl vinyl ether and the copolymer of N-vinylpyrrolidone with stilbazole produced photosensitive polymers. The photocrosslinking mechanism is discussed. Irradiation of a film of the water-soluble photosensitive polymer yielded insolubilized material in which the enzymes were entrapped. The activity of entrapped invertase, glucoamylase, and catalase was 30, 60, and 35%, respectively.     

Photophysics and photochemical dynamics of chlorotoluene molecule

Laser-induced fluorescence spectra of jet-cooled chlorotoluene molecules are reported for the S₁ state. The fluorescence excitation spectrum of m-chlorotoluene shows some low-frequency bands up to 200 cm⁻¹ above the S₁ origin, which are assigned to internal rotational modes of the methyl group. Beyond 300 cm⁻¹ and up to approximately 1500 cm⁻¹ sharp vibrational bands are observed, which are assigned by measurement of the dispersed fluorescence spectrum on excitation of each vibrational band. The vibrational energies of the C---Cl stretching modes for the o-, m- and p-chlorotoluene molecules are 341, 378 and 360 cm⁻¹ respectively in the S₁ state.     

Synthesis and characterization of alkanethiolate-coordinated iron porphyrins and their dioxygen adducts as models for the active center of cytochrome p450: direct evidence for hydrogen bonding to bound dioxygen.

Two kinds of novel cytochrome P450 models, which have alkanethiolate axial ligands and hydroxyl groups inside molecular cavities, were designed and synthesized as functional O(2) binding systems. A superstructured porphyrin, designated as "twin-coronet" porphyrin, was used as the common framework of the model complexes. This porphyrin bears four binaphthalene bridges on the both sides and forms two pockets surrounded by the bulky aromatic rings. Thiobenzyloxy and thioglycolate moieties, which contain an alkanethiolate group exhibiting various electron-donating abilities and degrees of bulkiness, were covalently linked to twin-coronet porphyrin to yield thiolate-coordinated hemes, TCP-TB and TCP-TG (twin-coronet porphyrin with thiobenzyloxy and thioglycolate groups), respectively. Both ferric complexes exhibited high stability during usual experimental manipulation under air and were characterized by MS, UV/vis, ESR spectroscopies, and CV. The ESR spectra exhibited low-spin signals (TCP-TB: g = 2.334, 2.210, 1.959; TCP-TG: g = 2.313, 2.209, 1.966). The cyclic voltammogram of TCP-TB in CH(3)CN gave a quasi-reversible wave which corresponds to the Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple: E(p)()(/2) = -1.35 V (vs Fc/Fc(+)). On the other hand, TCP-TG showed a fine reversible wave: E(1/2) (Fe(III)/Fe(II)) = -1.12 V. The stable dioxygen adducts were formed in the reaction of the ferric complexes with KO(2) under an oxygen atmosphere and characterized by UV/vis and resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopies. In the RR spectra, the nu(O--O) bands of the dioxygen adducts were observed at 1138 cm(-1) (TCP-TB) and 1137 cm(-1) (TCP-TG). The hypothesis that hydrogen bonding between the bound oxygen and the hydroxyl groups of the binaphthyl moieties could increase their stability was verified by RR spectroscopy. When all hydroxyl groups were deuterated, only the frequencies of the nu(O--O) bands were upshifted by 2 cm(-1) without any perturbation in the porphyrin skeleton. This work shows the first direct evidence for a hydrogen bond to dioxygen in an oxy form of a thiolate-coordinated heme model system. These results are discussed in context of the process of dioxygen binding and activation in cytochrome P450.     

Surface-mediated photoalignment of discotic liquid crystals on azobenzene polymer films

This paper describes a simple strategy for the formation of photoaligned and micropatterned discotic liquid crystal (DLC) film on the surface of photoirradiated azobenzene-containing polymer thin film. The key material for the surface-mediated photoalignment of the DLCs was poly[4-(4-cyanophenylazo)phenyl methacrylate] (pMAzCN). Optical anisotropy was generated in a pMAzCN film by oblique exposure to nonpolarized light which resulted in angle-selective photoisomerization and reorientation of the azobenzenes. Subsequent annealing of the film at 240 degrees C enhanced the photoaligned state of the p-cyanoazobenzenes due to strong intermolecular dipole-dipole interaction and semicrystalline nature of the pMAzCN. This combination of photoirradiation and subsequent annealing of the pMAzCN film made it possible to realize the surface-assisted orientation control of a DLC molecule, which displays both columnar (Col) and discotic nematic (N(D)) phases over 152 degrees C. When the pMAzCN film was exposed to linearly polarized light from the surface normal, the DLC molecules showed homeotropic orientation with the director perpendicular to the substrate surface. In the contrast, oblique irradiation of the pMAzCN film with nonpolarized light gave rise to tilted DLC orientation with well-ordered optical birefringence at the N(D) phase. Rapid cooling from the N(D) phase produced a well-aligned glassy N(D) state at room temperature, which was adequately stable for 10 months even though no covalent cross-linking among the DLCs was performed. The spatial orientation of photoaligned DLCs in both their bulk film and in their interface region was characterized by means of optical birefringence, X-ray diffraction, and fluorescence measurements. At the N(D) phase, the DLC molecules were aligned in a hybrid manner such that their tilt angles varied throughout the thickness of DLC film. The direction of tilted DLCs was opposite to the propagation of the actinic nonpolarized light. The photoaligned DLC films exhibited polarized fluorescence emission with an s-polarized/p-polarized intensity ratio of 4.1, despite the nonpolarized excitation of only DLC at outmost surface. These results indicate that the three-dimensionally aligned azobenzene moieties of the pMAzCN thin film were transferred to the tilted DLC molecules at air/DLC interface. Finally, we demonstrated micrometer-scale photopatterned orientation of DLC molecules on the pMAzCN surface by oblique nonpolarized irradiation of the film through a photomask.     

TWO-DIMENSIONAL IMAGING OF ULTRA-WEAK EMISSION FROM INTACT SOYBEAN ROOTS

Two-dimensional imaging of photons emitted from soybean roots was achieved with an ultra-high sensitivity photon-counting image acquisition system. The detected images reveal that a soybean root itself emits very weak light and photon flux from the growing point of the root is more intense than that from other parts of the roots.     

Preparation and characteristics of photocross-linkable poly(vinyl alcohol)

The reaction of poly(vinyl alcohol) with styrylpyridinium and quinolinium salts which contain formyl group produced water-soluble photosensitive polymers. The sensitivity was high, although the content of the styryl groups was extraordinarily low. Spectroscopical studies revealed that the high sensitivity is due to the aggregation of photofunctional group in the polymer matrix which leads to cyclodimerization on exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light.