Enantioselective total synthesis of octalactin a using asymmetric aldol reactions and a rapid lactonization to form a medium-sized ring

Octalactin A, an antitumor agent containing an eight-membered lactone moiety, has been stereoselectively prepared by means of enantioselective aldol reactions of selected silyl enolates with achiral aldehydes, promoted by a chiral Sn(II) complex. The medium-sized lactone part was effectively constructed by way of a new and rapid mixed-anhydride lactonization using 2-methyl-6-nitrobenzoic anhydride (MNBA) with a catalytic amount of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) or 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine 1-oxide (DMAPO). The use of only 5 mol % of DMAP or 2 mol % of DMAPO rapidly promoted formation of the medium-sized ring of the octalactin, demonstrating the remarkable efficiency of the new lactonization protocol.     

Structural interpretation on silicate network of various silicate minerals by LMMS analysis

Silicates have several kinds of silicate tetrahedral network. Thirteen kinds of silicate minerals with 5 kinds of network structures have been analyzed with laser microprobe mass spectrometry (LMMS) and their spectra showed characteristic patterns according to their network structures. The Si-O fragment ions can be expressed as SiO _n (n 4) for nesosilicates, Si _m O_3m±1 for inosilicates, Si _m O_{5/2m±(m/2+1)} for phyllosilicates and Si _m O_2m±(m+1) for tectosilicates. The Si-O system in the fragment ions in LMMS spectra suggests the pattern of network of tetrahedral SiO₄.     

Metal catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of carbanions α to silafunctional groups. New α-hydroxyalkyl anion equivalents

Carbanions α to (alkoxy)silyl or (amino)silyl groups act as nucleophilic α-hydroxy-alkylating agents for organic halides and epoxides via the metal catalyzed coupling reaction and the subsequent oxidative cleavage of the carbon-silicon bond.     

Formation of the intermediate-spin iron(III) porphyrin complexes with (dxz, dyz)3(dxy)1(dz2)1 electron configuration

On the basis of the difference in meso-13C chemical shifts, we have concluded that the intermediate-spin iron(III) complexes with highly ruffled and highly saddled porphyrins have different electron configurations. While the latter has a conventional (dxy)2(dxz, dyz)2(dz2)1, the former adopts a novel (dxz, dyz)3(dxy)1(dz2)1.     

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Excited-State Dynamics of Bacteriorhodopsin

Abstract— The excited-state dynamics of bacteriorhodopsin was studied by molecular dynamics simulation. For the purpose of suppressing large displacement of amino acid residues on the surface of bacteriorhodopsin, positional restraints were imposed on these residues. A new method was developed to investigate the movement of amino acid residues upon photoexcitation and their role on the ultrafast photoisomerization of the chromophore. The structural change of bacteriorhodopsin was then traced up to 200 fs, i.e. until the formation of the intermediate I. We found that when all the conjugated bonds of the chromophore were allowed to twist freely in the excited state, many bonds including the C13=C14 bond twist in large scale within 100 fs. When only the C13=C14 bond and the single bonds were allowed to twist freely, the twisting took place at most 20° within 200 fs. From these results, it is claimed that a special potential surface is provided for the C13=C14 bond twisting by the protein environment in the course of the isomerization reaction, giving rise to the specific, ultrafast photoisomerization of bacteriorhodopsin. As a trace of such a mechanism, we observed that several functionally important residues incuding Asp85, Asp212 and Tyr185 responded quickly to the photoexcitation of the chromophore.     

Synthesis of 3-[[(2-benzimidazolyl)thio]methyl]-1-methyl-1,8-dihydrocycloheptapyrazol-8-ones

3-(Bromoacetyl)tropolone was reacted with five 2-mercaptobenzimidazoles to give 3-[[(2-benzimidazolyl)thio]acetyl]tropolones. These products were heated with methylhydrazine to afford 3-[[(2-benzimidazolyl)thio]methyl]-1-methyl-1,8-dihydrocycloheptapyrazol-8-ones. In these reactions, 1-methyl-3-[(1-methylhydrazino)methyl]-1,8-dihydrocycloheptapyrazol-8-one was isolated as a minor product.     

Chemical shift of meso-carbon: a powerful probe to determine the coordination structure and electron configuration of ferric porphyrin complexes

The meso-13C chemical shifts have been revealed to serve a powerful probe to determine the coordination structure and electron configuration of ferric porphyrin complexes.     

Hydrolytic polycondensation of vinyltrimethoxysilane and formation of vinylpolysiloxane films

Hydrolytic polycondensation of vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTM) was investigated in detail to prepare vinylpolysiloxanes (VPS) having spinnability and tough gel films. VTM was hydrolyzed in various molar ratios r₁ (H₂O/VTM) = 0.5–1.6 (HCl/VTM = 0.105, EtOH/VTM = 1.44) at 70°C under a N₂ stream with stirring at 150 rpm to give vinylpolysiloxanes with =510–2100 ( =1.1–10.4). The controlled hydrolysis in r₁ = 1.40–1.64 formed VPSs having the various degrees of spinnability at N₂ flow rates of 100–500 ml/min. Transparent films of thickness 0.1–0.05 mm and tensile strength 5–16 MPa were prepared when a 20 wt% acetonemethanol (1:1, V/V) solution of VPS (r₁=1.64) was cast at 80°C for several ten days. The reaction was followed by ²⁹Si-NMR spectroscopy to investigate the distribution of unit structures T¹, T² and T³ in VPS depending on r₁.     

Electronic structures of five-coordinate iron(III) porphyrin complexes with highly ruffled porphyrin ring

The spin states of the iron(III) complexes with a highly ruffled porphyrin ring, [Fe(TEtPrP)X] where X = F-, Cl-, Br-, I-, and ClO4(-), have been examined by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, EPR, and M?ssbauer spectroscopy. While the F-, Cl-, and Br- complexes adopt a high-spin (S = 5/2) state, the I- complex exhibits an admixed intermediate-spin (S = 5/2, 3/2) state in CD2Cl2 solution. The I- complex shows, however, a quite pure high-spin state in toluene solution as well as in the solid. The results contrast those of highly saddled [Fe(OETPP)X] where the I- complex exhibits an essentially pure intermediate-spin state both in solution and in the solid. In contrast to the halide-ligated complexes, the ClO4(-) complex shows a quite pure intermediate-spin state. The 13C NMR spectra of [Fe(TEtPrP)ClO4] are characterized by the downfield and upfield shifts of the meso and pyrrole-alpha carbon signals, respectively: delta(meso) = +342 and delta(alpha-py) = -287 ppm at 298 K. The data indicate that the meso carbon atoms of [Fe(TEtPrP)ClO4] have considerable amounts of positive spin, which in turn indicate that the iron has an unpaired electron in the d(xy) orbital; the unpaired electron in the d(xy) orbital is delocalized to the meso positions due to the iron(d(xy))-porphyrin(a(2u)) interaction. Similar results have been obtained in analogous [Fe(TiPrP)X] though the intermediate-spin character of [Fe(TiPrP)X] is much larger than that of the corresponding [Fe(TEtPrP)X]. On the basis of these results, we have concluded that the highly ruffled intermediate-spin complexes such as [Fe(TEtPrP)ClO4] and [Fe(TiPrP)ClO4] adopt a novel (d(xz), d(yz))3(d(xy))1(d(z)(2)1 electron configuration; the electron configuration of the intermediate-spin complexes reported previously is believed to be (d(xy))2(d(xz)), d(yz))2(d(z)(2))1.     

First total synthesis of a new pyrrolizidine alkaloid, amphorogynine A

An efficient and stereodefined strategy is described for the first asymmetric synthesis of a new type of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, amphorogynine A and its 1-epi-isomer. The key 2,4-disubstituted pyrrolidine ring was constructed by elaboration of the chiral lactam derivative incorporating the d-malic acid-derived skeleton through asymmetric cis-allylation of the functionalized allysilane.