Electron spin resonance studies on radiation graft copolymerization. I. Grafting initiated by alkyl radicals trapped in irradiated polyethylene

The behavior of trapped radicals in polyethylene which is irradiated in air at room temperature, under grafting of methylmechacrylate or butadiene has been studied by electron spin resonance. Part of the alkyl radicals are converted to allyl radicals by reaction with double bonds and the others disappear by recombination under vacuum. The active species of grafting are alkyl radicals when the vapor pressure of monomers is relatively high, while at low pressure allyl radicals also play a role as well as alkyl radicals. In the grafting at 20°C, the grafting yields depend mainly on the decay rate of alkyl radicals which come out of the crystalline regions of polyethylene. The decay rate of alkyl radicals and the rate of grafting at the initial stage increase with decreasing crystallite size of polyethylene.     

Synthesis of CD-ring structure of cortistatin A, an anti-angiogenic steroidal alkaloid from marine sponge

Stereoselective synthesis of the CD-ring structure of cortistatin A (1), a novel anti-angiogenic steroidal alkaloid from Indonesian marine sponge, was achieved. The stereogenic tertiary carbon center bearing the isoquinoline moiety was constructed by 1,3-chiral transfer method using Johnson-Claisen rearrangement of the chiral allylic alcohol 5. Subsequent intramolecular Michael-aldol reaction afforded the targeted trans-hydrindane skeleton with moderate stereoselectivity.     

A nanocarbon film electrode as a platform for exploring DNA methylation

We describe the quantitative nonlabel electrochemical detection of both cytosine (C) and methylcytosine (mC) in oligonucleotides using newly developed nanocarbon film electrodes. The film consists of nanocrystalline sp2 and sp3 mixed bonds formed by employing the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) sputtering method. We successfully used this film to develop a simple electrochemical DNA methylation analysis technique based on the measurement of the differences between the oxidation currents of C and mC since our ECR nanocarbon film electrode can directly measure all DNA bases more quantitatively than conventional glassy carbon or boron-doped diamond electrodes. The excellent properties of ECR nanocarbon film electrodes result from the fact that they have a wide potential window while maintaining the high electrode activity needed to oxidize oligonucleotides electrochemically. Proof-of-concept experiments were performed with synthetic oligonucleotides including different numbers of C and mC. This film allowed us to perform both C- and mC-positive assays solely by using the electrochemical oxidation of oligonucleotides without bisulfite or labeling processes.     

Qualitative properties of generalized principal eigenvalues for superquadratic viscous Hamilton–Jacobi equations

This paper is concerned with the ergodic problem for superquadratic viscous Hamilton–Jacobi equations with exponent \(m>2\). We prove that the generalized principal eigenvalue of the equation converges to a constant as \(m\rightarrow \infty \), and that the limit coincides with the generalized principal eigenvalue of an ergodic problem with gradient constraint. We also investigate some qualitative properties of the generalized principal eigenvalue with respect to a perturbation of the potential function. It turns out that different situations take place according to \(m=2\), \(2<m<\infty \), and the limiting case \(m=\infty \).     

Concise asymmetric total synthesis of scyphostatin, a potent inhibitor of neutral sphingomyelinase

The concise asymmetric total synthesis of scyphostatin has been achieved by condensation of the optically active cyclohexane unit, prepared from the commercially available 1,4-cyclohexadiene by our own method, and the side chain, prepared by the method developed by Hoye and Tennakoon (T. R. Hoye, M. A. Tennakoon, Org. Lett. 2000, 2, 1481-1483). The modification of the epoxy cyclohexenone unit was achieved in a late stage of the total synthesis, and deprotection of the primary alcohol was conducted in the final step. During the synthesis several key reactions were attained: 1) intramolecular bromoetherification of the cyclohexadiene acetal; 2) stereoselective introduction of the tertiary alcohol, 3) deprotection of the acetal function to the aldehyde by combination with silyl triflate/2,4,6-collidine and the one-pot synthesis of the disilyl aldehyde compounds, with different types of silyl groups, from the dihydroxy acetal compounds; and 4) facile deprotection of the 2,4-dimethoxyphenylmethyl ((2,4)DMPM) protecting group of the primary alcohol.     

Experimental and theoretical studies on oligomer formation of N-confused porphyrin-zinc(II) complexes

Dimer formation of the N-confused porphyrin zinc(II), cadmium(II), and mercury(II) complexes was investigated experimentally as well as theoretically. The stable dimers were formed through coordination of the peripheral nitrogen atoms owing to flexible rotation of the confused pyrrole rings. The Z dimers were significantly more stable than the E dimers likely due to pi-pi interaction between the two confused pyrrole rings. The possible formation of higher oligomers such as trimers was suggested in the case of meso-unsubstituted derivatives.     

Surface recognition and fluorescence sensing of histone by dansyl-appended cyclophane-based resorcinarene trimer

A cyclophane-based resorcinarene trimer (3) bearing a dansyl moiety as an environmentally sensitive fluorophore was prepared by stepwise condensation of a tetraaza[6.1.6.1]paracyclophane skeleton with a dansyl moiety and three resorcinarene derivatives having heptacarboxylic acid residues in this sequence. The dansyl-appended cyclophane exhibited the following fluorescence properties regarding solvent polarity dependency and histone surface recognition: With increasing dioxane contents in dioxane/water solvents, the fluorescence intensity originating from the dansyl moiety of 3 increased along with a concomitant blue shift of the fluorescence maximum (lambdaem). The microenvironmentally sensitive fluorescence properties of dansyl fluorophore were maintained, even when the dansyl moiety was covalently attached to a cyclophane. Most interestingly, the cyclophane-based resorcinarene trimer exhibited recognition and fluorescence sensing capabilities toward histone, a small basic protein of eukaryotic chromatins. The fluorescence intensity originating from 3 increased along with a concomitant blue shift of lambdaem upon the addition of histone, reflecting the formation of 3-histone complexes. A relatively large fluorescence polarization (P) value was obtained for the 3-histone complexes (0.15), reflecting highly restricted conformations of 3, and the obtained P value was much larger than that of 3 alone in aqueous medium (0.07). The binding constant (K) of 3 with histone (unit basis) was estimated to be 2.1 x 106 M-1. On the other hand, upon the addition of acetylated histone (Ac-histone) to an aqueous solution containing 3, the extent of change in fluorescence intensity originating from the dansyl group of 3 was almost negligible, indicating that the electrostatic interactions between 3 and Ac-histone were weak. In addition, the fluorescence spectral changes were also small or negligible upon the addition of other proteins such as albumin, ovalbumin, peanut agglutinin, myoglobin, concanavalin A, cytochrome c, and lysozyme, having isoelectric points of 4.7, 4.8, 5.7-6.7, 6.8, 7.1, 9, and 11.0, respectively, to an aqueous solution containing 3.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed reactions of 1-cyclopropyl-2-propyn-1-ols with anilines and water via allenylidene intermediates: selective preparation of tri- and tetrasubstituted conjugated enynes

Ruthenium-catalyzed efficient preparation of the conjugated enynes can be carried out in the reactions of 1-cyclopropyl-2-propyn-1-ols with nitrogen- and oxygen-centered nucleophiles such as anilines and water in the presence of a catalytic amount of sulfur-bridged diruthenium complexes. The use of such complexes as catalysts realizes the completely stereoselective preparation of tri- and tetrasubstituted conjugated enynes, where ruthenium-allenylidene complexes work as key intermediates. The direct attack of nucleophiles on a cyclopropane ring connected to an allenylidene ligand is a key step to obtain the enynes stereoselectively.     

Discovery of Key TIPS‐Naphthalene for Efficient Visible‐to‐UV Photon Upconversion under Sunlight and Room Light**

While many studies have been done on triplet–triplet annihilation‐based photon upconversion (TTA‐UC) to produce visible light with high efficiency, the efficient TTA‐UC from visible to UV light, despite its importance for a variety of solar and indoor applications, remains a challenging task. Here, we report the highest visible‐to‐UV TTA‐UC efficiency of 20.5 % based on the discovery of an excellent UV emitter, 1,4‐bis((triisopropylsilyl)ethynyl)naphthalene (TIPS‐Nph). TIPS‐Nph is an acceptor with desirable features of high fluorescence quantum yield and high singlet generation efficiency by TTA. TIPS‐Nph has a low enough triplet energy level to be sensitized by Ir(C6)₂(acac), a superior donor that does not quench UV emission. The combination of TIPS‐Nph and Ir(C6)₂(acac) realizes the efficient UV light production even with weak light sources such as an AM 1.5 solar simulator and room LEDs.