D3h‐Symmetric Porphyrin‐Based Rigid Macrocyclic Ligands for Multicofacial Multinuclear Complexes in a One‐Nanometer‐Sized Cavity

The one‐step synthesis of D_3h‐symmetric cyclic porphyrin trimers 1 composed of three 2,2′‐[4,4′‐bis(methoxycarbonyl)]bipyridyl moieties and three porphyrinatozinc moieties was achieved from a nickel‐mediated reductive coupling of meso‐5,15‐bis(6‐chloro‐4‐methoxycarbonylpyrid‐2‐yl)porphyrinatozinc. Although cyclic trimers 1 were obtained as a mixture that included other cyclic and acyclic porphyrin oligomers, an extremely specific separation was observed only for cyclic trimers 1 when using columns of silica gel modified with pyrenylethyl, cyanopropyl, and other groups. Structural analysis of cyclic trimers 1 was carried out by means of NMR spectroscopy and X‐ray crystallography. Treatment of an η³‐allylpalladium complex with a cyclic trimer gave a tris(palladium) complex containing three η³‐allylpalladium groups inside the space, which indicated that the bipyridyl moieties inside the ring could work as bidentate metalloligands.     

Simple and rapid determination of hydrogen peroxide using phosphine-based fluorescent reagents with sodium tungstate dihydrate.

A simple batch method for the fluorometric determination of hydrogen peroxide using phosphine-based fluorescent reagents has been developed. A rapid, mild and selective derivatization reaction was achieved by adding sodium tungstate dihydrate to the reaction mixture of hydrogen peroxide and a phosphine-based fluorescent reagent. When 4-diphenylphosphino-7-methylthio-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole was used as a reagent, the derivatization reaction was completed after 2 min at room temperature. The calibration curve was linear between 12.5 and 500 ng hydrogen peroxide in a 10 microL sample solution. This method is accurate and has potential for on-line applications.     

Syntheses and properties of dithia‐tetrahomodiaza‐calix[4]arenes bridged by cystine unit

Dithia‐tetrahomodiaza‐calix[4]arenes were synthesized by the cyclization reactions of bis(3‐(chloro‐methyl)‐2‐hydroxyphenyl)sulfide with cystine peptides in moderate yields. Conformational analysis of the macrocycles by using nmr spectroscopy reveled that the cyclophanes adopt a cone‐like form as a preferable conformation and the cystine bridge moiety is incorporated in the cavity. The calixarene analogs can extract transion metals such as Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ ions from an aqueous phase into chloroform.     

Effect of included guest molecules on the normal state conductivity and superconductivity of beta''-(ET)(4)[(H(3)O)Ga(C(2)O(4))(3)].G (G = pyridine,nitrobenzene)

Normal state conductivity and superconductivity together with bulk magnetic susceptibility and magnetization measurements have been measured for two molecular charge-transfer salts: beta' '-(ET)4[(H3O)Ga(C2O4)3]G (ET = bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene, G = pyridine for compound I and nitrobenzene for compound II). With the exception of the included guest molecules (G) the crystal structures are almost identical. Both show minima in their electrical transport at 130 K for I and at 160 K for II, but at lower temperatures their behaviors differ markedly. The resistance of I reaches a maximum at 50 K with a further small peak at 2 K and possible superconductivity only below 2 K, whereas that of II increases continuously down to 7.5 K, where an abrupt transition to a superconducting state occurs.     

Fluorimetric determination of isatin in human urine and serum by liquid chromatography postcolumn photoirradiation

For the fluorimetric determination of isatin in human urine and serum, HPLC-postcolumn photoirradiation using a mobile phase has been developed. Isatin in the urine or serum sample was separated on a Capcell Pak C1 column (250 x 4.6 mm id). The mobile phase consisted of 70 mmol l-1 phosphate buffer (pH 7.2)-tetrahydrofuran (85 + 15% v/v) containing 5 mmol l-1 hydrogen peroxide, which was irradiated with germicidal light to induce fluorescence (lambda ex 302 nm, lambda em 418 nm). The addition of tetrahydrofuran to the mobile phase led to the peaks showing good separation as well as increased sensitivity. The calibration graph for isatin was linear over the range of 0.16-10.7 ng. The pretreatment of the acidified urine or serum samples consisted of diluting steps or deproteinizing steps using perchloric acid, respectively. The mean recovery of isatin from urine and serum was greater than 94%.     

Superstructures of donor packing arrangements in a series of molecular charge transfer salts

Three conducting BEDT-TTF charge-transfer salts with tris(oxalato)metallate anions have unit cells containing both[small alpha] and [small beta][double prime] donor packing motifs.     

Reversible electro-optical switching of a memory type PDLC using two-frequency-addressing liquid crystals

Abstract

A memory type PDLC has been prepared by sandwiching a mixture of two-frequency-addressing liquid crystals and acrylate monomers with a hydoroxy group between two glass substrates with ITO electrodes followed by UV irradiation. This PDLC can be electrically switched between a transparent state and a light scattering state, which are maintained over several months without electric fields.     

Cloning and Characterization of Fructosamine-6-Kinase from Arthrobacter aurescens

Fructosamine-6-kinases (FN6Ks) that catalyze phosphorylation of glycated amino acids, i.e., fructosyl amino acids (FAs), have been shown as a potential recognition element for glycated protein detection. However, there are only two available FN6Ks: those from Escherichia coli which is specific for ε-fructosyl lysine (ε-FK) and Bacillus subtilis which recognizes both ε-FK and α-FA as substrates. In this study, we characterized an FN6K homologue isolated from Arthrobacter, some of whose species are reported to assimilate FA. The BLAST searches of Arthrobacter genomic database, using the bacterial FN6K primary structure information, revealed the presence of an FN6K homologue in Arthrobacter aurescens TC1 strain. Indeed, enzymatic assays confirmed that the putative FN6K from A. aurescens is an FN6K that is specific for ε-FK, although the primary sequence alignments showed similarity of A. aurescens FN6Ks with FN6Ks from B. subtilis and E. coli at the same level. In this study, we describe for the first time the presence of FN6K in Arthrobacter spp. and ε-FK-specific degradation pathway from Gram-positive bacteria, providing important information for the development of FA-recognizing molecules as well as for the FA assimilation system in bacteria.     

A practical synthesis of archaeosine and its base

A practical synthetic route to 7-formamidino-7-deazaguanosine (archaeosine), a hypermodified nucleoside observed in archaeal tRNA, has been developed, which involves the addition of hydroxylamine to the cyano group of 7-cyano-7-deazaguanosine (preQ₀-nucleoside) and a subsequent Pd-catalyzed hydrogenation. PreQ₀-nucleoside was obtained from an optimized β-selective glycosylation developed by Hocek et al. The corresponding archaeosine base was subsequently synthesized in high yield from its precursor 7-cyano-7-deazaguanine (preQ₀).