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Shinichi Sakurai

Publications and source records attributed to Shinichi Sakurai.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Green polymers from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans DSM465--candidates for molecularly imprinted materials.

Novel molecular recognition materials were prepared from water soluble proteins from thermophile G. thermodenitrificans DSM465 by an alternative molecular imprinting method. Water soluble proteins from G. thermodenitrificans DSM465 were converted into the molecularly imprinted materials by adopting 9-EA as a print molecule. The molecularly imprinted protein membranes recognized As in preference to Gs. The adsorption isotherms led to the conclusion that molecular recognition sites toward As were constructed by the presence of 9-EA during the membrane preparation process. The affinity constant between As and the molecular recognition site thus constructed was determined to be 1.75 x 10(5) mol(-1) dm(3). The results obtained in the present study suggest that water soluble proteins from G. thermodenitrificans DSM465 is one of environmentally-friendly 'green' polymers to be converted into molecular recognition materials by applying an alternative molecular imprinting method.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2005

Small-angle X-ray scattering from a dual-component organogel to exhibit a charge transfer interaction.

The structure of a dual-component organogel consisting of methyl 4,6-O-(p-aminobenzylidene)-alpha-D-glucopyranoside and methyl 4,6-O-(p-nitrobenzylidene)-alpha-D-glucopyranoside in diphenyl ether was investigated with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The individual components gelatinized the solvent to yield a colorless gel and the gel fiber consisted of the crystal, providing the crystalline peaks at the same diffraction angles as those of the solid samples. When the components were mixed in equimolar ratio and dissolved in diphenyl ether, a yellow gel was formed and the crystalline peaks disappeared. For all compositions, the SAXS profiles were well fitted by a cylinder model. The cross-sectional radius of gyration, r(c), was determined from the cross-sectional Guinier plot (qI vs q(2), where I and q are the scattering intensity and the magnitude of the scattering vector). The value of r(c) reached a minimum of 3.0 nm at the equimolar composition. By correcting the data for the thermal scattering background, we obtained the entire SAXS profile for the equimolar dual-component gel. From this profile, the radial electron density distribution was determined and the radius of the cylinder was estimated to be 2.6 nm. The electron density distribution thus obtained revealed that four gelator molecules are packed in the sectional direction. This model was consistent with the size of the gelator molecules.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Solvent/gelator interactions and supramolecular structure of gel fibers in cyclic bis-urea/primary alcohol organogels.

An organogel system consisting of trans-(1S,2S)-bis(ureidododecyl)cyclohexane (SS-BUC) and a series of primary alcohols was explored with optical polarizing microscopy (OPM), electron microscopy, circular dichroism (CD), wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). OPM, SAXS, and especially WAXS showed that the gel fiber of SS-BUC/methanol gels essentially consists of SS-BUC crystal itself. SAXS showed that the SS-BUC crystal in the gel takes a lamella with a domain spacing of 5.2 nm. When we left the gel at room temperature, the spacing decreased to 3.1 nm after several months. This distance change may correspond to the structural transition from a double-layer structure to an intercalated-layer structure, which was proposed by Feringa et al. (Chem.-Eur. J. 1999, 5, 937-950) as a possible arrangement of the molecular packing. When the gels in ethanol, propanol, butanol, or octanol were examined, they never showed crystalline peaks in WAXS and SAXS, indicating the amorphous nature of the gels. With increasing the alkyl chain length from ethanol to octanol, dramatic changes were observed in the CD spectrum in the 200-500-nm range. Because these CD changes are correlated to the absorbance of urea, those can be considered as the evidence that the solvents strongly relate to the spatial arrangement between the adjacent urea groups. For the amorphous gels, the cross-sectional correlation function [gammaCu] was directly obtained by the inverse Hankel transform of the SAXS data. The value of gammaCu for the gels is decreased with increasing u (distance between the two scattering bodies, see eq 5). Furthermore, it more rapidly decreases than that of the rigid cylinder model. This feature can be explained by the speculation that many solvent molecules permeate into the SS-BUC fiber. There was a clear difference between ethanol and the other gels, indicating that the solvents with a longer alkyl chain give the more permeated and diffused fiber. This permeated fiber (i.e., wet fiber) can rationalize the dramatic CD change, by presuming that the permeated solvent molecules alter the molecular stacking form.

Alcohols↗
PubMed2005

Micro-convection, dissipative structure and pattern formation in polymer blend solutions under temperature gradients.

We report experimental results on time evolution of phase separation in a polymer blend solution under a temperature gradient. This study is aimed at making a self-organized structure by utilizing convection in a polymer blend solution comprising polystyrene (PS) and polybutadiene (PB) as solute with dioctylphthalate (DOP) as solvent. The polymer blend solution (PS/PB/DOP) with various compositions (PS/PB = 20/80, 50/50 or 80/20) was prepared with a total polymer concentration (PS + PB) at 3.0 wt.%. The solution was confined in a layer (0.1 mm thick), which was further subjected to a temperature gradient by controlling top and bottom temperatures (Ttop and Tbot) independently with a 10 or 20 degrees C temperature difference (Ttop < Tbot). For all compositions, micro-convection was generated due to the Soret effect, which is relevant to the fact that the temperature gradient induces a concentration gradient. An unusual phase separating process was observed as a result of dynamic coupling with convective flows. Especially, an interesting hierarchical structure was formed for a PS/PB = 50/50 solution. This structure is characterized by a doubly surrounding "sea-island". Namely, the "sea" contains large "islands" which involve tiny "islands". The large "islands" are spatially arranged and embedded in polygonal convection cells.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

NADPH-dependent reductases and polyol formation in human leukemia cell lines.

Because of the limited availability of human tissues, leukemia cell lines are often utilized as the models for human leukocytes. In this study, we investigated the NADPH-dependent reductases and polyol pathway in commonly utilized human leukemia cell lines. The relative amounts of aldose and aldehyde reductases were estimated by separating two enzymes with chromatofocusing. The flux of glucose through the polyol pathway was examined by 19F-NMR using 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-glucose (3FG) as substrate. Sugar alcohol analysis was conducted by gas chromatography. In myelocytic leukemia cells, the major reductase was aldehyde reductase, and levels of aldose reductase were extremely low. Although lymphocytic cells also contained both aldose and aldehyde reductases, the levels of aldose reductase appeared to be higher in lymphocytic cells than myeolcytic cells. In two lymphocytic cells MOLT-4 and SKW6.4, aldose reductase is clearly dominant. When incubated in medium containing D-galactose, all cell lines quickly accumulated galactitol. There was correlation between galactitol levels and aldose reductase levels. The aldose reductase inhibitor FK 366 significantly reduced the formation of galactitol. 19F-NMR of the cells cultured with 3FG as substrate demonstrated the formation of 3-fluoro-3-dexoy-sorbitol in all the cell lines examined in this study. The relative amounts of sorbitol and fructose varied significantly among the cells. The data confirm that the polyol pathway is present in both myelocytic and lymphocytic leukemia cell lines. However, there is a large variation among the cell lines in the levels of enzymes and flux of glucose through the polyol pathway.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed2002

Retinal capillary pericyte proliferation and c-Fos mRNA induction by prostaglandin D2 through the cAMP response element.

PURPOSE: Cycloxygenase inhibitors have been shown to prevent angiogenesis in some circumstances, suggesting that growth of capillary pericytes or endothelial cells may be regulated by prostaglandins (PGs). The present study tests the effects of PGs on the growth of human retinal capillary pericytes. METHODS: Cell growth was assayed by formazan formation and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation. The expression of mRNAs corresponding to c-fos, PG receptors, and VEGF was examined by RT-PCR. Signal transduction was evaluated by immunoblot analysis using phosphospecific antibodies against mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB). Synthesis of cAMP was inhibited with the adenyl cyclase inhibitor SQ22536. A reporter gene (luciferase) assay was conducted using the expression vector pSVOADelta5' containing the 379-bp c-fos promoter with and without a mutation in cAMP response element (CRE). RESULTS. PGD2 treatment induced c-fos mRNA, stimulated pericyte growth, and increased expression of VEGF mRNA. PGE2 and -F(2alpha) had similar effects on c-fos induction and pericyte growth, whereas PGI2 was ineffective. RT-PCR confirmed that mRNAs corresponding to the receptors for PGD2, -E2, -F(2alpha), and -I(2) were expressed in human retinal pericytes. Stimulation by PGD2 led to phosphorylation of CREB, but had negligible effect on phosphorylation of p44/42 MAPK. The adenylyl cyclase inhibitor inhibited CREB activation and c-fos induction by PGD2. In a reporter gene assay, c-fos induction occurred only with wild-type c-fos promoter. Mutation in CRE eliminated the response to PGD2. CONCLUSIONS: PGD2 promotes the growth of retinal capillary pericytes by signaling through cAMP and CREB. The findings underscore the importance of PGs in the growth of human retinal capillary pericytes and raise the possibility that PGs may play a role in proliferative retinopathies.

Adenine↗