The reaction of diphenyl carbonate with amines and its application to polymer synthesis

Selective formation of biscarbamates from diphenyl carbonate (DPC) and diamines and the preparation of polyurethanes from the carbamates and diols under mild conditions were studied. The reaction of DPC and diamines was significantly affected by catalysts, biscarbamates being exclusively prepared in high yields in the presence of 2-hydroxypyridine. The polycondensation reaction of the biscarbamates with diols was facilitated by catalysts such as metal salts; among the catalysts examined magnesium chloride in pyridine gave the best results. Metal chlorides in pyridine also promoted the reaction of DPC with aromatic amines to give the corresponding ureas, and the direct synthesis of polyureas was achieved by the polycondensation of DPC with diamines in the presence of the chloride.     

Identification of arginine analogues as antagonists and agonists for the melanocortin-4 receptor

In the present study, conducted to explore potent and small molecular melanocortin-4 (MC4) receptor ligands, we found that tripeptide 3a, containing a D-Phe-Arg-2-Nal (Nal; naphthylalanine) sequence, exhibited a moderate affinity for the MC4 receptor. Structural optimization led to the identification of a compound with a high affinity for the MC4 receptor, namely, tripeptide 3e, which showed a 70-fold higher affinity for the MC4 receptor than the lead compound 3a. Moreover, in an effort to further reduce the peptidic characters of tripeptide 3e, we found that dipeptide 3g exhibited a relatively high affinity for the MC4 receptor. Furthermore, in these analogues, the substituted position (1' vs. 2') of the naphthyl ring of Nal residue at position 7 was found to be important for the differentiation of agonist and antagonist activity. The synthesis and structure-activity relationships of the arginine analogues as MC4 receptor ligands were described in this paper.     

Direct addition of supercritical alcohols, acetone or acetonitrile to the alkenes without catalysts

The reactions of the alkenes with supercritical organic compounds under non-catalytic conditions were investigated. The H and CR₂OH, CH₂COCH₃ or CH₂CN of supercritical alcohols (CHR₂OH), acetone (CH₃COCH₃) or acetonitrile (CH₃CN) added to the CC bonds of alkenes form C-C bonds between the α-carbons of the supercritical organic compounds and the sp² carbons of the alkenes.     

Cooling dynamics of self‐assembled monolayer coating for integrated gold nanocrystals on a glass substrate

Picosecond time‐resolved X‐ray diffraction has been used to study the nanoscale thermal transportation dynamics of bare gold nanocrystals and thiol‐based self‐assembled monolayer (SAM)‐coated integrated gold nanocrystals on a SiO₂ glass substrate. A temporal lattice expansion of 0.30–0.33% was observed in the bare and SAM‐coated nanocrystals on the glass substrate; the thermal energy inside the gold nanocrystals was transported to the contacted substrate through the gold–SiO₂ interface. The interfacial thermal conductivity between the single‐layered gold nanocrystal film and the SiO₂ substrate is estimated to be 45 MW m^?2 K^?1 from the decay of the Au 111 peak shift, which was linearly dependent on the transient temperature. For the SAM‐coated gold nanocrystals, the thermal dissipation was faster than that of the bare gold nanocrystal film. The thermal flow from the nanocrystals to the SAM‐coated molecules promotes heat dissipation from the laser‐heated SAM‐coated gold nanocrystals. The thermal transportation of the laser‐heated SAM‐coated gold nanocrystal film was analyzed using the bidirectional thermal dissipation model.     

Vinyl Polymerization. 282. Vinyl Polymerization Initiated by Dimethylhydroxylamine-Titanous(lll) Chloride Redox System

Abstract

The polymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by dimethylhydroxylamine hydrochloride (DHA)-titanous(III) chloride redox system has been studied in water under a nitrogen atmosphere. In the polymerization of methyl methyacrylate (MMA) initiated by the above system, the rate of polymerization has been found to be proportional to [DHA]^0.5 for DHA concentrations of less than 2.06 × 10^?3 mole/liter, whereas at higher concentrations the rate tends to fall rapidly. The rate has also been found to be proportional to [Ti(m)] ^0.58 and to [MMA] ^1.0. The maximum rate of polymerization has been observed at a 1:1 molar ratio of DHA to Ti(III). The polymerization proceeded via a radical mechanism. The overall activation energy was estimated as 5.5 kcal/mole. It has been suggested that the reduction of dimethylhydroxylamine by titanous(III) chloride yields the dimethylamino radical, which initiates vinyl polymerization. An examination of the initiating capacity of the initiator system for the polymerization of some vinyl monomers has also been made.     

Liquid-Crystalline Polyurethanes. 5. Polyurethanes Containing the Cholesterol Moiety in the Side Chain

In the preceding papers of this series, we reported the synthesis of liquid-crystalline polyurethanes containing mesomorphic moieties in the main chain and in side chains [1–4]. Liquid crystalline polymers with side groups containing the cholesterol moiety have also been studied [5, 6]. The main focus of attention has centered around the study of phase transitions of acrylic and methacrylic derivatives of cholesterol. This paper describes the synthesis of a new type of liquid-crystalline polyurethane containing the cholesterol moiety in side chains.     

Control of effect on the nucleation rate for hen egg white lysozyme crystals under application of an external ac electric field

The effect of an external ac electric field on the nucleation rate of hen egg white lysozyme crystals increased with an increase in the concentration of the precipitant used, which enabled the design of an electric double layer (EDL) formed at the inner surface of the drop in the oil. This is attributed to the thickness of the EDL controlled by the ionic strength of the precipitant used. Control of the EDL formed at the interface between the two phases is important to establishing this novel technique for the crystallization of proteins under the application of an external ac electric field.     

Efficient Quantum Algorithm for the Parity Problem of a Certain Function

Based on a particular mathematical structure of a certain function f(x) under our attention, we present a novel quantum algorithm. The algorithm allows one to determine the property of a certain function. In our study, it is f(x) = f(?x). Therefore, there would be a question here, “How fast can we succeed in this?” All we need to do is only the evaluation of a single quantum state \(|\overbrace {0,0,\ldots ,0,1}^{N}\rangle \) (N ≥?2). Only using that with a little amount of information, we can derive the global property f(x) = f(?x). Our quantum algorithm overcomes a classical counterpart by a factor of the order of 2^N.