Glycosyl-Templated Chiral Helix Stapling of Ethynylpyridine Oligomers by Alkene Metathesis between Inter-Pitch Side Chains.

Ethynylpyridine polymers and oligomers consisting of 4-substituted pyridine rings linked by acetylene bonds at the 2- and 6-positions have been investigated. Ethynylpyridine oligomers covalently linked with a glycosyl chiral template form chiral helical complexes by intramolecular hydrogen bonding, in which the chirality of the template is translated to the helix. With a view to fixation of the chiral architecture, D/L-galactosyl- and D/L-mannosyl-linked ethynylpyridine oligomers have been developed with 4-(3-butenyloxy)pyridine units having alkene side chains. The helical structures are successfully stapled by alkene metathesis of the side chains. Subsequent removal of the chiral templates by acidolysis produces template-free stapled oligomers. The chiral, template-free, stapled oligomers show chiral helicity, which is resistant to polar solvents and heating.

Effect of linearly polarized microwaves on nanomorphology of calcium carbonate mineralization using peptides.

Microwaves are used for diverse applications such as mobile phones, ovens, and therapy devices. However, there are few reports on the effects of microwaves on diseases other than cancer, and on physiological processes. Here, we focused on CaCO3 mineralization as a model of biomineralization and attempted to elucidate the effect of microwaves on CaCO3 mineralization using peptides. We conducted AFM, ζ potential, HPLC, ICP-AES, and relative permittivity measurements. Our findings show that microwaves alter the nanomorphology of the CaCO3 precipitate, from sphere-like particles to string-like structures. Furthermore, microwaves have little effect on the mineralization when the mineralization ability of a peptide is high, but a large effect when the precipitation ability is low. Our findings may be applicable to not only the treatment of teeth and bones but also the development of organic-inorganic nanobiomaterials. This methodology can be expanded to other molecular/atomic reactions under various microwave conditions to alter reaction activity parameters.