Electron g-factor in a gated InAs-inserted-channel In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As heterostructure

We report on electron g-factor in an InAs-inserted In_0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.52Al_0.48As heterostructure. The gate voltage dependence of g-factor is obtained from the coincidence method. The obtained g-factor values are surprisingly smaller than the g-factor value of bulk InAs, and it is close to the bare g-factor value of In_0.53Ga_0.47As. The large change in g-factor is observed by applying the gate voltage. The obtained gate voltage dependence is not simply explained by the energy dependence of g-factor.     

Analytical high-performance affinity chromatography of ovalbumin-derived glycopeptides on columns of concanavalin A-and wheat germ agglutinin-immobilized gels

Concanavalin A (Con A) or wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) was immobilized on a silica-based support, and the chromatographic behaviours of a series of dansylated ovalbumin-derived glycopeptides on small columns of the resultant gels were compared. These columns had high contents of lectins, and allowed differentiation of these glycopeptides. This method was rapid and reproducible, and enabled sensitive detection of these fluorescent glycopeptides. The structural requirement of these glycopeptides to manifest affinity to the immobilized lectins is also discussed, based on binding constants obtained from their retention times.     

In vivo transformations of artemisinic acid in Artemisia annua plants

Artemisinic acid labeled with both ¹³C and ²H at the 15-position has been fed to intact plants of Artemisia annua via the cut stem, and its in vivo transformations studied by 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy. Seven labeled metabolites have been isolated, all of which are known as natural products from this species. The transformations of artemisinic acid—as observed both for a group of plants, which was kept alive by hydroponic administration of water and for a group, which was allowed to die by desiccation—closely paralleled those, which have been recently described for its 11,13-dihydro analog, dihydroartemisinic acid. It seems likely therefore that similar mechanisms, involving spontaneous autoxidation of the Δ^4,5 double bond in both artemisinic acid and dihydroartemisinic acid and subsequent rearrangements of the resultant allylic hydroperoxides, may be involved in the biological transformations, which are undergone by both compounds. All of the sesquiterpene metabolites, which were obtained from in vivo transformations of artemisinic acid retained their unsaturation at the 11,13-position, and there was no evidence for conversion into any 11,13-dihydro metabolite, including artemisinin, the antimalarial drug, which is produced by A. annua. This observation led to the proposal of a unified biosynthetic scheme, which accounts for the biogenesis of many of the amorphane and cadinane sesquiterpenes that have been isolated as natural products from A. annua. In this scheme, there is a bifurcation in the biosynthetic pathway starting from amorpha-4,11-diene leading to either artemisinic acid or dihydroartemisinic acid; these two committed precursors are then, respectively, the parents for the two large families of highly oxygenated 11,13-dehydro and 11,13-dihydro sesquiterpene metabolites, which are known from this species.     

Woodfordin C, a macro-ring hydrolyzable tannin dimer with antitumor activity, and accompanying dimers from Woodfordia fruticosa flowers

Three new dimeric hydrolyzable tannins, woodfordins A, B and C, along with seven known hydrolyzable tannins, including oenothein B, a dimer exhibiting marked host-mediated antitumor activity, were isolated from an Indonesian crude drug, Sidowayah [dried flowers of Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz (Lythraceae)]. The structures of the new tannins were elucidated based on chemical and spectral evidence. Woodfordin C, having a macro-ring structure, was also found to exhibit a significant antitumor activity.