Structural Characteristics of Xyloglucan – Congo Red Aggregates as Observed by Small Angle X-ray Scattering

Xyloglucan is a type of hemicellulose with a cellulose backbone containing (1→6)-α-xylose or (1→2)-β-galactoxylose as a side chain. It is soluble in water. Its aqueous solution forms a gel or gel-like precipitate by addition of Congo red. Xyloglucan gel structures with various concentrations of Congo red were observed by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at the nano-level. SAXS results indicated that the xyloglucan chains interacted with Congo red, and that an increase of concentration of Congo red induced a characteristic cross-linking domain, which consisted of a flat structure containing stacked xyloglucan chain assemblies. The Congo red molecules are inserted between the xyloglucan chains.     

Novel fluoride transfer in the reaction of tricyclic epoxides with boron trifluoride

Reaction of the tricyclic epoxides ($\text{1a}$) and ($\text{1b}$) with boron trifluoride etherate leads to fluorohydrins ($\text{2a}$) and ($\text{2b}$) derived in the novel fluoride transfer, whereas ($\text{1c}$) undergoes isomerization to spiro ketone ($\text{3}$).     

Role of the special pair in the charge-separating event in photosynthesis

We synthesized special-pair/electron-acceptor systems consisting of a complementary slipped cofacial dimer of imidazolyl-substituted zinc porphyrin, bearing pyromellitdiimide as the electron acceptor. In the case of the dimer, the first and second oxidation potentials were split into a total of four peaks in the differential pulse voltammetry measurement. Furthermore, the shift values of the first oxidation potentials obtained by changing the solvent polarity for the dimer were almost half of those observed for the monomer. These results indicate that the radical cation is delocalized over the whole pi system of the dimer. Time-resolved transient absorption measurements revealed that, relative to the corresponding monomer, the dimer accelerated the charge separation rate, but decelerated the charge recombination rate. The smaller reorganization energy of the slipped cofacial dimer relative to that of the monomeric system demonstrates the significance of the special-pair arrangement for efficient charge separation in photosynthesis.     

Carbon dioxide fixation by microalgae photosynthesis using actual flue gas discharged from a boiler

To mitigate CO₂ discharged from thermal power plants, studies on CO₂ fixation by the photosynthesis of microalgae using actual exhaust gas have been carried out. The results are as follows.

Donor–acceptor–acceptor-type near-infrared fluorophores that contain dithienophosphole oxide and boryl groups: effect of the boryl group on the nonradiative decay

The use of donor–π–acceptor (D–π–A) skeletons is an effective strategy for the design of fluorophores with red-shifted emission. In particular, the use of amino and boryl moieties as the electron-donating and -accepting groups, respectively, can produce dyes that exhibit high fluorescence and solvatochromism. Herein, we introduce a dithienophosphole P-oxide scaffold as an acceptor–spacer to produce a boryl- and amino-substituted donor–acceptor–acceptor (D–A–A) π-system. The thus obtained fluorophores exhibit emission in the near-infrared (NIR) region, while maintaining high fluorescence quantum yields even in polar solvents (e.g. λ_em = 704 nm and Φ_F = 0.69 in CH₃CN). A comparison of these compounds with their formyl- or cyano-substituted counterparts demonstrated the importance of the boryl group for generating intense emission. The differences among these electron-accepting substituents were examined in detail using theoretical calculations, which revealed the crucial role of the boryl group in lowering the nonradiative decay rate constant by decreasing the non-adiabatic coupling in the internal conversion process. The D–A–A framework was further fine-tuned to improve the photostability. One of these D–A–A dyes was successfully used in bioimaging to visualize the blood vessels of Japanese medaka larvae and mouse brain.

Combination of electron-accepting diarylboryl terminal groups and dithienophosphole oxide spacers with electron-donating triarylamine moieties produces donor–acceptor–acceptor type π-systems, which exhibit emissions in the near-infrared region.     

Polymerization of cyclic derivatives of uracil and thymine

Cyclic derivatives of uracil and thymine were synthesized from their corresponding 1-(2′-chloroethyl) derivatives by dehydrochlorination. These compounds were found to undergo a variety of reactions, giving many valuable derivatives of uracil and thymine. The cyclic derivatives, as monomers, were polymerized with a cationic initiator by a unique ring-opening process. The polymerization proceeded by ring opening with isomerization of the pyrimidine ring to give a polymer in which pyrimidine rings were connected with ethylene between N-1 and N-3 or O-4 in the pyrimidine ring. The structure of these polymers was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), and mass spectra. The structure was affected by polymerization temperature.     

Imaging of enzyme activity by scanning electrochemical microscope equipped with a feedback control for substrate-probe distance

The enzymatic activity of diaphorase (Dp) immobilized on a solid substrate was characterized using a scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM) with shear force feedback to control the substrate-probe distance. The shear force between the substrate and the probe was monitored with a tuning fork-type quartz crystal and used as the feedback control to set the microelectrode probe close to the substrate surface. The sensitivity and the contrast of the SECM image were improved in the constant distance mode (distance, 50 nm) with the shear force feedback compared to the image in the constant height mode without the feedback. By using this system, the SECM and topographic images of the immobilized diaphorase were simultaneously measured. The microelectrode tip used in this study was ground aslant like a syringe needle in order to obtain the shaper topographic images. This shape was also effective for avoiding the interference during the diffusion of the enzyme substrates.     

Facile syntheses of 3-spiro- and 3,6-bridged 2,5-piperazinediones

The intramolecular addition of hydroxyl group of 3-(3-hydroxyl)propylidene-2,5-piperazinedione to 3-position and the same substitution of 3-(3-hydroxy)propyl derivative to 6-position gave the corresponding 3-spiro- and 3,6-bridged 2,5-piperazinediones, respectively.     

Carbon-Fluorine Bondings of Fluorinated Fullerene and Graphite

Carbon-fluorine bondings of fluorinated fullerenes and fluorine-graphite intercalation compound C_xF were investigated in detail on the basis of XPS data and the potential model using the charge distribution calculated by semiempirical method. It has been confirmed by the present study that two peaks in the C_1s spectra observed for fluorinated fullerenes are assigned to carbon atoms bonded to fluorine atoms and those unbound to fluorine atoms, and the small difference in charges and Madelung potentials of fluorine atoms in different circumstances well explains the single peak in F_1s spectra of fluorinated fullerenes. In the calculated structures of 1,3-C₆₀F₂ and 1,2-C₆₀F_x (x = 2?6) used as the models of C_xF, three kinds of carbon-fluorine bondings were observed corresponding to nearly ionic, semicovalent and covalent C? F bondings. The calculated result supports that the bi-intercalation structure of stage 1 C_xF consists of nearly ionic and semi-covalent fluorines.