Conformation of poly(S-(2-N-carbazolylethyl)-L-cysteine) in the solid state

The β-forming characteristics of poly(S-(2-N-carbazolylethyl)-L -cysteine), (CELC)_n, were examined by infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The film of (CELC)₃₉ cast from tetrahydrofuran (THF) showed the typical spectrum of the antiparallel β-form with the amide I band at 1630 cm^?1, whereas that of (CELC)₂₀₀ from dimethylformamide (DMF) or pyridine exhibited the amide I band at 1640 cm^?1 which shifted to 1630 cm^?1 on heating at 100°C for 5 min. As a result of the examination of the spectral variation due to the degree of polymerization, casting solvents, casting temperatures, and heat treatment, together with the evaluation of interaction constants for intermolecular hydrogen bonds, the band at 1640 cm^?1 was attributed to the antiparallel-chain pleated sheet (designated as β′-form) with weaker hydrogen bond strength than that of the usual antiparallel β-form. The β′-β-transformation is discussed in terms of the rigidity of the side-chain region.     

A new type of palladium(0) complex having both electron-withdrawing and -donating sites in a ligand: 5,8-dihydro- and 5,8,9,10-tetrahydro-1,4-naphthoquinone complexes

A new type of palladium(0) complex, (5,8-dihydro-1,4-naphthoquinone)Pd(PPh₃)₂ and (5,8,9,10-tetrahydro-1,4-naphthoquinone)Pd(PPh₃)₂, having both olefin and quinone or dihydro-quinone sites in a ligand molecule was prepared. IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopic studies of these complexes suggested that it is the quinone or dihydro-quinone CC bond which is complexed to Pd. Ligand exchange reactions showed that the stability order of the olefinic quinone complexes was as follows: (1,4-naphthoquinone)Pd(PPh₃)₂ > (5,8-dihydro-1,4-naphthoquinone) Pd(PPh₃)₂>(5,8,9,10-tetrahydro-1,4-naphthoquinone)Pd(PPh₃)₂.     

Total synthesis of (+)-macquarimicin A

The first total synthesis of (+)-macquarimicin A (1), a novel inhibitor of neutral sphingomyelinase (N-SMase) with antiinflammatory activity, has been accomplished. The present work determined the absolute configuration of (+)-1 and revised the C(2)-C(3) geometry to be Z. The synthesis features a transannular Diels-Alder reaction, which constructed the tetracyclic framework stereoselectively, and a convergent and efficient synthetic pathway, which afforded (+)-macquarimicin A (1) in 27 steps (longest linear sequence) with 9.9% overall yield.     

1,2-silyl-migrative cyclization of vinylsilanes bearing a hydroxy group: stereoselective synthesis of multisubstituted tetrahydropyrans and tetrahydrofurans(1)

Acid-catalyzed intramolecular addition of a hydroxy group to alpha-alkylated vinylsilanes has been studied. Treatment of (Z)-5-alkyl-5-silyl-4-penten-1-ols 1 (R = alkyl) with 5 mol % TiCl(4) in CHCl(3) gave trans-2-alkyl-3-silyltetrahydropyrans 2 exclusively (trans/cis = >99/1 to 97/3). The cyclization efficiency and rate strongly depended on the geometry of the C-C double bond and the silyl group. The use of (E)-vinylsilanes resulted in lower yields with poor cis-selectivity. In the cyclization of (Z)-1 (R = Bu), the silyl group used, the reaction time, and the yield of 2 were as follows: SiMe(2)Ph, 9.5 h, 75%; SiMe(3), 7.5 h, 66%; SiMePh(2), 24 h, 58%; SiMe(2)-t-Bu, 0.75 h, 85%; SiMe(2)Bn, 1.5 h, 78%. This 1,2-silyl-migrative cyclization could be applied to stereoselective synthesis of trisubstituted tetrahydropyrans. The acid-catalyzed reaction of 1-, 2-, or 3-substituted (Z)-5-silyl-4-nonen-1-ols 8 gave r-2,t-3,c-6-, r-2,t-3,t-5-, or r-2,t-3,c-4-trisubstituted tetrahydropyrans with high diastereoselectivity, respectively. (Z)-4-Alkyl-4-silyl-3-buten-1-ols 5 as well as 1 underwent the 1,2-silyl-migrative cyclization to give 2-alkyl-3-silyltetrahydrofurans 6 with high trans-selectivity. This silicon-directed cyclization was also available for the stereoselective synthesis of tri- and tetrasubstituted tetrahydrofurans.     

Preparation and characterization of carbonated barium-calcium hydroxyapatite solid solutions

Particles of carbonated barium-calcium hydroxyapatite solid solutions (BaCaHap) with different Ba/(Ba+Ca) (X(Ba)) atomic ratios were prepared by a wet method at 100 degrees C and characterized by various means. The crystal phases and structures of the products strongly depended on the composition of the starting solution, that is, the Ba/(Ba+Ca) atomic ratio ([X(Ba)]) and H3PO4 concentration ([H3PO4]) in the solution. BaCaHap with X(Ba)0.43 could be prepared at [X(Ba)]0.7 by changing [H3PO4], but could never be obtained at [X(Ba)]=0.8-0.95 regardless of [H3PO4]. The carbonated calcium hydroxyapatite particles prepared at [X(Ba)]=0 were fine and short rod-shaped particles (ca. 14x84 nm). With increasing [X(Ba)] from 0 to 0.8, the particles obtained became large spherical agglomerates. The carbonated barium hydroxyapatite particles formed at [X(Ba)]=1 were long rod-shaped agglomerates (ca. 0.2x2 microm) of fine primary particles. The amount of CO2 adsorbed irreversibly on a series of BaCaHaps showed a minimum at (Ba+Ca)/(P+C) atomic ratio of around 1.56, which agreed well with the minimum cation/P ratio obtained for the other hydroxyapatites, as already reported.     

Formation process of silver-polypyrrole coaxial nanocables synthesized by redox reaction between AgNO3 and pyrrole in the presence of poly(vinylpyrrolidone)

We have recently demonstrated a one-step process to fabricate silver-polypyrrole (PPy) coaxial nanocables (Chen, A.; Wang, H.; Li, X. Chem. Commun. 2005, 14, 1863). The formation process of silver-PPy coaxial nanocables is discussed in this article. It was found from the results of TEM and SEM images that large numbers of silver atoms were formed when AgNO3 was added to a pyrrole solution. Then silver atoms transform to silver-PPy nanosheets with regular morphology, which will connect together to be more stable. Silver-PPy nanocables will be able to grow at the expense of the silver-PPy nanosheets. Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) plays crucial roles in this process: as a capping agent to form silver nanowires, and as a dispersant of pyrrole monomers, which can influence the site at which pyrrole monomer exists. On the basis of experimental analysis, the possible mechanism was proposed. Because of the effect of PVP, silver ions and pyrrole monomers are apt to be adsorbed at the [111] and [100] facets of silver nanosheets, respectively. Obvious polymerization will take place on the boundary of the [111] and [100] facets. The PPy layer stays stable on the [100] facets. Meanwhile, newly formed silver atoms and silver nanosheets will further ripen and grow on the [111] facets. In a word, the morphology of final products and the formation process are determined by the reaction site between AgNO3 and the pyrrole monomer, which is influenced by PVP.     

Self-organized lipid-porphyrin bilayer membranes in vesicular form: nanostructure,photophysical properties,and dioxygen coordination

An amphiphilic tetraphenylporphyrin and its iron complex bearing four phospholipid substituents, in which a trimethylolethane residue connects the two acyl chains (lipid-porphyrins), have been synthesized. The free-base lipid-porphyrin 6a self-organizes in aqueous media to form spherical unilamellar vesicles with a diameter of 100 nm and a uniform thickness of 10 nm, which corresponds to twice the length of the molecule. In the visible absorption spectrum, the porphyrin Soret band was significantly red-shifted (12 nm) relative to that of the monomer in benzene/MeOH solution due to the excitonic interaction of the porphyrin chromophores. The [symbol: see text]-A isotherm of 6a gave an area per molecule of 2.2 nm2, which allowed the estimation of the number of molecules in a single vesicle (2.3 x 10(4)). Double-layered Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of 6a on a glass surface exhibited an absorption spectrum identical to that of the 6a vesicles in bulk aqueous solution, and this suggests that they contain similar geometric arrangements of the porphyrin moieties. Exciton calculations on the basis of our structural model reproduced the bathochromic shift of the Soret band well. In the photophysical properties of the 6a vesicles, the characteristics of J-aggregated porphyrins substantially predominate: strong fluorescence and extremely short triplet lifetime. The iron complex 6b with a small molar excess of 1-dodecylimidazole (DIm) also formed spherical unilamellar vesicles (100 nm phi). Scanning force microscopy after evaporation on a graphite surface revealed 6b/DIm vesicles with a vertical height of 19.8 nm, which coincided with the thickness of the double bilayer membranes. The ferrous 6c formed a bis(DIm)-coordinated low-spin FeII complex under an N2 atmosphere. Upon addition of O2 to this solution, a kinetically stable O2 adduct was formed at 37 degrees C with a half-life of 17 h. Distinct gel-phase (liquid-crystal) transitions of the lipid-porphyrin membranes were clearly observed; the free base 6a displayed a higher transition temperature (56 degrees C) than the iron complex. Magnetic circular dichroism and infrared spectroscopic studies proved that molecular O2 coordinates to the self-organized lipid-porphyrinatoiron(II) vesicles in aqueous media.     

Solid-phase extraction system for Pb (II) ions enrichment based on multiwall carbon nanotubes coupled on-line to flame atomic absorption spectrometry

The present paper proposes the application of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a solid sorbent for lead preconcentration using a flow system coupled to flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The method comprises the preconcentration of Pb (II) ions at a buffered solution (pH 4.7) onto 30 mg of MWCNTs previously oxidized with concentrated HNO₃. The elution step is carried out with 1.0 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃. The effect of the experimental parameters, including sample pH, sampling flow rate, buffer and eluent concentrations were investigated by means of a 2⁴ full factorial design, while for the final optimization a Doehlert design was employed. Under the best experimental conditions the preconcentration system provided detection and quantification limits of 2.6 and 8.6 μg L⁻¹, respectively. A wide linear range varying from 8.6 up to 775 μg L⁻¹ (r > 0.999) and the respective precision (relative standard deviation) of 7.7 and 1.4% for the 15 and 200 μg L⁻¹ levels were obtained. The characteristics obtained for the performance of the flow preconcentration system were a preconcentration factor of 44.2, preconcentration efficiency of 11 min⁻¹, consumptive index of 0.45 mL and sampling frequency estimated as 14 h⁻¹. Preconcentration studies of Pb (II) ions in the presence of the majority foreign ions tested did not show interference, attesting the good performance of MWCNTs. The accuracy of the method was assessed from analysis of water samples (tap, mineral, physiological serum and synthetic seawater) and common medicinal herbs submitted to the acid decomposition (garlic and Ginkgo Biloba). The satisfactory recovery values obtained without using analyte addition method confirms the feasibility of this method for Pb (II) ions determination in different type of samples.     

Differential calculus on the quantum superspace and deformation of phase space

We investigate non-commutative differential calculus on the supersymmetric version of quantum space in which quantum supergroups are realized. Multiparametric quantum deformation of the general linear super-group,GL _q(m|n), is studied and the explicit form for the \(\hat R - matrix\) is presented. We apply these results to the quantum phase-space construction ofOSp _q(2n|2m) and calculate their \(\hat R - matrices\) .