Pulse radiolysis studies of ortho-quinone chemistry relevant to melanogenesis.

The contributions of pulse radiolysis towards characterisation of unstable ortho-quinones relevant to melanogenesis are reviewed. The quinones discussed include dopaquinone, the precursor of both eumelanogenesis and phaeomelanogenesis, and 5-S-cysteinyldopaquinone, an early component of the phaeomelanogenic pathway. Redox exchange between dopaquinone and 5-S-cysteinyldopa is shown to be a determinant of the balance between eumelanogenesis and phaeomelanogenesis. Ortho-quinones resulting from the oxidation of tertiary N,N-dialkylcatecholamines cyclise to redox-inactive betaines which fail to autoactivate tyrosinase. This is consistent with the dopa detected during melanogenesis catalysed by tyrosinase being formed indirectly by a combination of dopaquinone intramolecular reductive addition to form leucodopachrome (cyclodopa), followed by redox exchange between remaining dopaquinone and leucodopachrome. Rapid tautomerism of the ortho-quinone of 4-cyanomethylcatechol to a redox-inactive quinomethane likewise inhibits tyrosinase autoactivation. The incorporation of trihydric phenol moieties in melanin is modelled by the reactions of several ortho-quinones with phloroglucinol, which itself is not directly oxidised by tyrosinase due to the meta-positioning of the hydroxyl groups. The importance of a susceptibility towards nucleophilic attack as well as a propensity to undergo redox-exchange, in the chemistry of melanogenic ortho-quinones, is emphasised.     

General Formulations of Finite-field Method Classified by Symmetry for Molecular Linear and Nonlinear Polarizabilities

1 INTRODUCTIONWith the invention of lasers[1] and the observation of second-harmonic generation in quartz[2], nonlinear optics(NLO), as a cornerstone of photonics, has been booming since 1960's. And intense interest has been aroused to search materials exhibiting appropriate nonlinear optical properties suitable for the construction of practical optical devices for the important techniques such as frequency converting, signal processing and optical computing[3～6]. In order to determine …     

Net Charge Fluctuation and String Fragmentation

We present the simulation results of the net charge fluctuation in Au Au collisions at √Snn=130 GeV from a dynamic model, JPCIAE, and its revisions. The simulations are done for the quark-gluon matter, the directly produced pions, the pion matter, and the hadron matter. The simulated net charge fluctuation of the quark-gluon matter is close to the thermal model prediction for the quark-gluon gas. However, the discrepancy exists comparing the simulated net charge fluctuation for directly produced pions and the pion matter with the thermal model prediction for pion gas and the resonance pion gas, respectively. The net charge fluctuation of hadron matter from default JPCIAE simulations is nearly 3.5 times larger than quark-gluon matter. A discussion is given for the net charge fluctuation as an evidence of QGP phase transition.     

Theoretical Investigations of Nonlinear Optical Properties of Transition Metal Cluster Anions

In the framework of density functional theory （DFT）, the electronic excitations and nonlinear optical （NLO） properties of six binuclear transition metal cluster anions with the formula of [Ch2M-（μ-Ch）2-M＇CN]^2- （M = Mo, W; Ch = S, Se; M＇ = Cu, Ag） have been systemically investigated at both cases of gas phase and DMF solution. The obtained electronic absorption spectra reveal that the element replacements of metals M and ligands Ch have significant influence on the absorptions, especially on the low-lying ones. In addition, the transitions of μ-Ch→M are dominant for the low-lying excitations, whereas the transitions of M＇→M as well as Ch→M are mainly responsible for the higher excitations. The calculated molecular first and second hyperpolarizabilities present the remarkable element substitution and solvent effects. The analyses show that the transitions involving μ-Ch→M charge transfer make the critical contributions to the first hyperpolarizability t, and that the charge transfers from the moieties of MCh4 to M＇CN as well as those of μ-Ch→M and M＇→M are responsible for the second hyperpolarizability y. Moreover, the introduction of solvent leads to the results that the transitions within the moieties of MCh4 and M＇CN make larger contributions to the hyperpolarizability, especially to γ.     

Phase-transfer-catalyzed alkylation of guanidines by alkyl halides under biphasic conditions: a convenient protocol for the synthesis of highly functionalized guanidines

An operationally straightforward and efficient method for the alkylation of carbamate-protected guanidines with various alkyl halides and mesylates is described. This protocol proceeds via deprotonation of the acidic N-carbamate hydrogen of the guanidine under biphasic conditions using a catalytic amount of a tetrabutylammonium salt as a phase-transfer catalyst. In this manner, highly functionalized guanidines can be obtained. The reaction is tolerant of a wide range of functional groups on both the alkyl halide and guanidine component. In addition, the reaction is sufficiently mild such that simple aqueous workup and filtration through a short silica gel column yields the substituted guanidines in high purity. In conjunction with the EDCI-mediated guanylation of disubstituted thioureas with amines, phase-transfer catalyzed alkylation of guanidines via a one-pot, three-component synthesis of substituted guanidines was achieved.     

An enantioselective synthesis of (S)-(+)-3-aminomethyl-5-methylhexanoic acid via asymmetric hydrogenation

A concise enantioselective synthesis of (S)-(+)-3-aminomethyl-5-methylhexanoic acid (1, Pregabalin) has been developed. The key step is the asymmetric hydrogenation of a 3-cyano-5-methylhex-3-enoic acid salt 2 with a rhodium Me-DuPHOS catalyst, providing the desired (S)-3-cyano-5-methylhexanoate 3 in very high ee. Subsequent hydrogenation of the nitrile 3 with a heterogeneous nickel catalyst provides Pregabalin 1 in excellent overall yield and purity.     

PHOTOREACTIVITY OF 5-GERANOXYPSORALEN AND LACK OF PHOTOREACTION WITH DNA

5-Geranoxypsoralen, commonly called bergamottin, a major furocoumarin contained in bergamot oil, is reported in vitro as a highly photoreactive psoralen. In ethanol, it exhibits quite a high triplet state quantum yield (approximately 0.37). The triplet state is involved in subsequent photochemistry which depends on the initial concentration and on the presence of oxygen. In contrast to most psoralens, absorption and fluorescence data suggest that 5-geranoxypsoralen does not interact with DNA in the dark. No UVA-induced interstrand cross-links in DNA were shown.     

TDDFT studies of electronic structure and first hyperpolarizability of terta-nuclear cubane-like transition metal clusters

The TDDFT method is first applied in a series of tetra-nuclear transition metal clusters studies for nonlinear optical properties. The results indicate that the charge transfer inside the metal core [MCu3X4] (M=W, Mo; X=S, O, Cl, Se, Br) makes contribution to the optical nonlinearity. It is possible to enhance the hyperpolarizability by substituting the ligands of the clusters.     

4-Cyanomethyl-ortho-quinone tautomerism and the structure of the dienophile in Gates' morphine synthesis

Oxidation of (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)acetonitrile gives (3-hydroxy-4-oxo-cyclohexa-2,5-dienylidene)acetonitrile via the isomeric ortho-quinone ((3,4-dioxo-cyclohexa-2,5-dienylidene)acetonitrile). This para-quinomethane product is formed as a mixture of diastereoisomers and with an initial composition of Z/E 4:1. Over 24 h this mixture equilibrates to a composition of Z/E 5:4. The para-quinomethane reacts with morpholine to give (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-morpholin-4-yl-acetonitrile. Similar oxidation of (3,4-dihydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)acetonitrile also gives a para-quinomethane derivative and not the 1,2-naphthoquinone as previously described. The reactivity of this para-quinomethane derivative as a 1,3-dienophile in a key step of the Gates' morphine synthesis is attributed to formation of its conjugate acid.