SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLY{4-[2-(tert-BUTYLDIMETHYLSILOXY)ETHYL]STYRENE} AND ITS HYDROLYSIS DERIVATIVE

The living cationic polymerization of 4-[2-(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)ethyl]styrene(TBDMES)was studied in methylcyclohexane(MeChx)/methylchloride(MeC1)(50/50 V/V)solvent mixture at-80℃.The initiator 1,1- diphenylethylene(DPE)capped 2-chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane(TMPCl)was formed in situ in conjunction with titanium tetrachloride(TiCl_4).The Lewis acidity of TiCl_4 was decreased by the addition of titanium(IV)isopropoxide(Ti(OiPr)_4)to accomplish living polymerization of TBDMES.Hydrolysis of poly(TBDMES)i...     

Analysis of Low-polar Ginsenosides in Steamed Panax Ginseng at High-temperature by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS

A high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry( HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the analysis and identification of ginsenosides in the extracts of raw Panax ginseng(RPG) and steamed Panax ginseng at high temperatures(SPGHT). A total of 25 ginsenosides were extracted include of which 10 low-polar ginsenosides, such as ginsenosides F4, Rk3, Rh4, 20S-Rg3, 20R-Rg3 and so on, were identified according to their HPLC retention time and MS/MS data. The results indicated that the low polar ginsenosides were seldom found in RPG. For the exploration of the transformation pattern of the ginsenosides in steam processing, the standards of ginsenosides Re, Rg1, Rb1, Rc, Rb2, Rb3 and Rd were selected and hydrolyzed at a temperature of 120 ℃. The results show that these polar ginsenosides can be converted to low-polar ginsenosides such as Rg2, Rg6, F4, Rk3 and Rg5 by hydrolyzing the sugar chains.     

酸性条件下硅醇盐Si(OCH_3)_4水解与聚合机理的密度泛函研究

用密度泛函方法在B3LYP/6-31G(d,p)基组水平上对反应系统中的所有物种进行全优化,用CPCM溶剂模型在同一基组水平上进行了单点计算,系统研究了硅醇盐前驱体Si(OCH3)4在酸性条件下的水解、聚合机理,阐明了二者的相互竞争关系.研究发现,H2O以氢键或配位键与前驱体结合,然后通过氢转移完成水解;水分子从质子化烷氧基的对面键合并发生水解;第4级水解是H2O从对位驱逐质子化烷氧基,但不能水解完全;水解产物通过"环状模式",由氢键结合成多元环,然后发生氢转移并完成聚合;水解过程的能垒明显低于聚合过程;H+阻止水解产物聚合成环;硅正离子可引发无垒聚合反应,但在能量上并不可行.     

Products of hydrolysis of C,N-chelated triorganotin(IV) chlorides and use of products as catalysts in transesterification reactions

Triorganotin(IV) chlorides containing one L^CN chelating ligand were hydrolyzed with an excess of sodium hydroxide. The composition of the products is strongly dependent on the nature of the organic groups bound to the tin atom. Di(n-butyl)tin, dimethyltin as well as the diphenyl derivative exhibits an equilibrium between hydroxide and stannoxane forms (oxide), whereas alkyltin species react spontaneously and reversibly with carbon dioxide present in the air to form carbonate species. On the other hand, diphenyl derivatives display virtually no reaction with CO₂ towards carbonates, while the di-t-butyl-substituted tin derivative is stable under the same experimental condition and remains as a tin hydroxide. In the case of the dimethyltin derivative, a methyl group migration was observed with displacement of one L^CN chelating ligand during the reaction on the air. The coordination geometry of the tin central atom(s) of all studied compounds can be described as trigonal bipyramidal with a dative bonded dimethylamino group occupying one coordination site. The catalytic activity of these compounds in transesterification reactions is generally lower compared to the systems reported in the literature, with the exception of the transesterification of ethyl acetate by cyclohexanol which displays a remarkable activity.     

Optimized polymer-enzyme electrostatic interactions significantly improve penicillin G amidase efficiency in charged PEGA polymers

Hydrolytic yields as high as 80% were obtained by using penicillin G amidase (PGA) on substrates anchored on optimized positively charged PEGA polymers. By increasing the amount of permanent charges inside the polymer, electrostatic interactions between the positively charged PEGA⁺ and the negatively charged PGA (pI=5.2-5.4) were strengthened, thus favouring the accessibility of the bulky enzyme (MW=88 kDa) inside the pores. The effect of different amounts of charges on polymer swelling and protein retention inside the polymer was investigated and correlated to the enzyme efficiency demonstrating that electrostatic interactions predominate over swelling properties in determining enzyme accessibility.     

Steady-State Kinetics of Aminopeptidase Catalysis: A Stopped-Flow Radiationless Energy Transfer Study

Stopped-flow radiationless energy transfer experiments have been carried out to investigate the hydrolysis of some dansyl peptide substrates (S) catalyzed by aminopeptidase (E). RET between enzyme tryptophanyl residues and the dansyl group in the substrate allowed direct observation and quantitation of the enzyme-substrate (ES) complexes. Analysis of the stopped-flow RET traces gives k_cat = 1.32 s^?1 and K_M = 47 μM for Leu-Ala-NH(CH₂)₂NH-Dns (Leu-Ala-DED) and k_cat = 4.80 s^?1 and K_M = 196 μM for Leu-Gly-NH(CH₂)₂NH-Dns (Leu-Gly-DED). The activation energies of the enzymatic reactions were determined from the Arrhenius plots to be 57 and 38 kJ mol^?1 for Leu-Ala-DED and Leu-Gly-DED, respectively. The kinetic results indicate that the enzyme binds Leu-Ala-DED more tightly than Leu-Gly-DED as revealed by a small value of K_M. That this enzyme catalyzes the turnover of Leu-Gly-DED more efficiently than Leu-Ala-DED is reflected in a large value of k_cat and a small activation energy. The RET signals during the hydrolysis of Leu-Val-NH(CH₂)₂NH-Dns were extremely weak probably because of the inefficient energy transfer in the ES complex or the retention of the product in the enzyme after completion of the reaction. Aminopeptidase was inactive towards the dansyl compounds of the single amino acid studied. This fact may be due to an unfavorable conformation of these compounds in the ES complexes (small k_cat) or a weak binding of the substrates to the enzyme (large K_M) or both.     

The evolution of catalytic function

It is very likely that the main driving force of enzyme evolution is the requirement to improve catalytic and regulatory efficiency which results from the intrinsic performance as well as from the spatial and functional organization of enzymes in living cells.Kinetic co-operativity may occur in simple monomeric proteins if they display “slow” conformational transitions, at the cost of catalytic efficiency. Oligomeric enzymes on the other hand can be both efficient and co-operative. We speculate that the main reason for the emergence of co-operative oligomeric enzymes is the need for catalysts that are both cooperative and efficient. As it is not useful for an enzyme to respond to a change of substrate concentration in a complex kinetic way, the emergence of symmetry has its probable origin in a requirement for “functional simplicity”.In a living cell, enzyme are associated with other macromolecules and membranes. The fine tuning of their activity may also be reached through mutations of the microenvironment. Our hypothesis is that these mutations are related to the vectorial transport of molecules, to achieve the hysteresis loops of enzyme reactions generated by the coupling of reaction and diffusion, through the co-operativity brought about by electric interactions between a charged substrate and a membrane, and last but not least, through oscillations. As the physical origins of these effects are very simple and do not require complex molecular devices, it is very likely that the functional advantage generated by the spatial and functional organization of enzyme molecules within the cell have appeared in prebiotic catalysis or very early during the primeval stages of biological evolution.We shall began this paper by presenting the nature of the probable earliest catalysts in the RNA world.     

Surface properties and aggregation of basic aluminium sulphate hydrolysis products: 1. Electrokinetic potential and hydration of BAS hydrolysis product particles

The action of pre-hydrolysed coagulants such as basic aluminium chloride (BAC) and sulphate (BAS) in water treatment is of considerable practical and fundamental interest. Variables such as working solution concentration, dosage, pH and ionic strength are known to be important. We have investigated the influence of these variables on the ζ-potential and degree of hydration of hydrolysis products of basic aluminium sulphate samples with different basicities. The products were characterised by a timed ferron complexation procedure, giving information on the degree of polymerisation of the BAS samples. Electrokinetic measurements showed that the ζ-potentials of hydrolysis product particles were consistently higher (more positive) for the higher basicity samples. The ζ-potential decreased with increasing concentration of the working solution and with increased dosage.

The degree of hydration of the hydrolysis products was investigated using the spin-lattice relaxation time of protons of water molecules bound to their surfaces. This was found to decrease with increasing basicity of BAS, indicating a greater degree of hydration. Since this effect is expected to decrease ζ potential by a displacement of the electrokinetic shear plane, the observed increase in ζ is probably due to the adsorption of highly charged positive hydrolysis products of BAS.     

聚苯乙烯—吡啶树脂的合成及催化水解反应

在氢氧化钠作用下，氯甲基化聚苯乙烯与吡啶反应制成聚苯乙烯－吡啶树脂，测定了其化学组成和红外光谱，并考察了在酯水解反应中的催化活性。     

Recent examples of the use of biocatalysts with high accessibility and availability in natural product synthesis

Utilization of biocatalysts with high accessibility and availability, which have recently been applied in the preparation of enantiomerically enriched starting materials and synthetic intermediates for natural product syntheses (mainly 2013–2017) are summarized in this review. The main contents are as follows: 1) recruitment of biocatalysts for the transformation of organic compounds; 2) special precautions for preparative-scale biocatalytic synthetic experiments; 3) asymmetric reduction of carbonyl substrates; 4) kinetic resolution of alcohol and carboxylate enantiomers; 5) desymmetrization of multifunctional alcohol and carboxylate substrates; and 6) recognition of remote and non-central chirality.