A wheel surprise: Reaction of resorcinol and 1,5‐pentanedial in ethanol at 80 °C for 48 h in the presence of HCl surprisingly afforded a soluble cyclic oligomer in high yield (83 %) under thermodynamic control. Single‐crystal X‐ray analysis revealed a waterwheel‐like structure with a large hydrophobic hole through the center (see picture). A carboxylic ester derivative of the compound was shown to be highly selective for Rb+ ions.

Eine überraschende Ringbildung ist das Resultat der Reaktion von Resorcin mit 1,5‐Pentandial in Ethanol bei 80 °C in Gegenwart von konz. HCl. Das lösliche cyclische Oligomer, das binnen 48 h in hoher Ausbeute (83 %) unter thermodynamischer Kontrolle entsteht, hat laut Röntgenstrukturanalyse eine wasserradähnliche Struktur mit einem großen hydrophoben Hohlraum in der Mitte (siehe Bild). Ein Carbonsäureester‐Derivat erwies sich als hoch selektiv für Rb+‐Ionen.

Aqueous extracts from 33 species of marine algae were assessed for their methyl mercaptan-trapping activity by gas chromatography to search for novel natural oral deodorants. Brown algae belonging to the Laminariales such as Eisenia bicyclis, Ecklonia cava and Ecklonia kurome were found to show remarkable deodorizing action against methyl mercaptan. The effective components in Eisenia bicyclis were identified as a phlorotannin, a group of molecules which are characteristic components of Laminariales. In addition phlorotannins extracted from E. bicyclis were more effective at reducing methyl mercaptan than conventional natural deodorants such as chlorophyll and sodium copper chlorophyllin.

Viperidae snakes containing various venomous proteins also have several anti-toxic proteins in their sera. However, the physiological function of serum protein has been elucidated incompletely. Small serum protein (SSP)-1 is a major component of the SSPs isolated from the serum of a Japanese viper, the habu snake (Trimeresurus flavoviridis). It exists in the blood as a binary complex with habu serum factor (HSF), a snake venom metalloproteinase inhibitor. Affinity chromatography of the venom on an SSP-1-immobilized column identified HV1, an apoptosis-inducing metalloproteinase, as the target protein of SSP-1. Biacore measurements revealed that SSP-1 was bound to HV1 with a dissociation constant of 8.2 × 10⁻⁸ M. However, SSP-1 did not inhibit the peptidase activity of HV1. Although HSF alone showed no inhibitory activity or binding affinity to HV1, the SSP-1-HSF binary complex bound to HV1 formed a ternary complex that non-competitively inhibited the peptidase activity of HV1 with a inhibition constant of 5.1 ± 1.3 × 10⁻⁹ M. The SSP-1-HSF complex also effectively suppressed the apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells and caspase 3 activation induced by HV1. Thus, SSP-1 is a unique protein that non-covalently attaches to HV1 and changes its susceptibility to HSF.

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