A high-spin polyradical, poly{[4-(dianisylaminium)phenyl]acetylene} 1 + , was synthesized as a π-conjugated polymer with an excess of the one-handed helical structure bearing stable aminium cation radicals.[4-(Dianisylamino)phenyl]acetylene (3) was synthesized and polymerized using [Rh(norbornadiene)Cl] 2 in (R)-1-phenylethylamine, (S)-1-phenylethylamine, or triethylamine to produce the corresponding poly{[4-(dianisylamino)phenyl]acetylene} 1 (1 (R)-PEA , 1 (S)-PEA , and 1 TEA ). The positive and negative Cotton effects were observed at 270-450 nm for the polymers 1 (R)-PEA and 1 (S)-PEA , indicating that an excess of the one-handed helical polyacetylene backbone was induced by the polymerization using chiral solvents despite the achiral monomer. The oxidation of 1 with NOPF 6 gave the corresponding aminium polyradicals 1 + , and the circular dichroism (CD) spectrum was observed even after the oxidation of the helical polyradical 1 (R)-PEA + . The SQUID and NMR shift measurements indicated a high-spin state of the polyradical at room temperature and a contribution of the well-regulated helical structure to the through-space interaction between the aminium cation radicals.

The BMP-2 gene is expressed in the spinal ligaments of OSL patients, and exogenous BMP-2 stimulates osteogenic differentiation of spinal ligament cells. The expression of BMP-2 in the spinal ligaments could be a clue in elucidating how heterotrophic osteogenesis develops in ligament tissue.

A purely organic, high-spin, and durable polyradical molecule was synthesized: It is based on the non-Kekulé- and non-disjoint design of a pi-conjugated poly(1,2-phenylenevinylene) backbone pendantly 4-substituted with multiple robust arylaminium radicals. 4-N,N-Bis(4-methoxy- and -tert-butylphenyl)amino-2-bromostyrene 5 were synthesized and polymerized with a palladium-phosphine catalyst to afford the head-to-tail-linked polyradical precursors (1). Oxidation of 1 with the nitrosonium ion solubilized with a crown ether gave the aminium polyradicals (1(+)()) which were durable (half-life > 1 month) at room temperature in air. A high-spin ground state with an average S = (4.5)/2 for 1a(+) was proved even at room temperature by magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, ESR, and NMR measurements.

Articular cartilage possesses a limited capacity for self-renewal. The regenerated tissue often resembles fibrocartilage-like tissue rather than hyaline cartilage, and degeneration of the articular surface eventually occurs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the healing of full-thickness articular cartilage defects. bFGF (0, 10, 50, 100, 250, 500, or 1000 ng) was mixed with collagen gel and implanted into full-thickness articular cartilage defects drilled into rabbit knees. The repaired tissue was examined grossly and histologically, and was evaluated with the use of a grading scale at 4, 12, 24, and 50 weeks. At 4 weeks, treatment with 100 ng of bFGF had greatly stimulated cartilage repair both grossly and histologically in comparison with untreated defects (those filled with plain collagen gel). The average total scores on the histological grading scale were significantly better for the defects treated with bFGF than for the untreated defects. These improvements were evident as long as 50 weeks postoperatively, although slight deterioration was noted in the repaired cartilage. Immunohistochemical staining for type II collagen showed that this cartilage-specific collagen was diffusely distributed in the repaired tissue at 50 weeks. These findings suggest that bFGF may be a practical and important candidate for use in cartilage repair.

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