Shin Iguchi

High concentration of pancreatic metallothionein in normal mice

An elution profile of supernatant of normal mouse pancreas on a Sephadex G-75 column showed a high peak of zinc in the metallothionein fraction. Cd was added to the supernatant of the mouse pancreas, and 2 cadmium binding proteins were purified by gel filtration and DEAE chromatography. Absorption spectrum and amino acid compositions of the purified proteins agreed with those of MT-I and -II. The concentration of metallothionein in the mouse pancreas was high (227 +/- 11 micrograms/g on 36th day after the birth). The metallothionein concentration in the mouse pancreas was increased by injections of zinc, alloxan or streptozotocin. The results indicate that metallothionein is one of the main zinc-binding components in mouse pancreas.

Amino acids and peptides. Part 19. Synthesis of β-1- and β-2-adamantyl aspartates and their evaluation for peptide synthesis

β-1- and β-2-Adamantyl aspartates [H-Asp(O-1-Ada)-OH and H-Asp(O-2-Ada)-OH] have been synthesized and their properties examined. Although the 1-Ada group is labile to TFA, the 2-Ada group is unaffected during TFA treatment, but easily removable by methanesulphonic acid (MSA) at room temperature within 5 min. Both groups are unaffected by treatment with 55% piperidine under conditions which easily cleave the fluoren-9-ylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) group from an α-amino group. Both groups can suppress aspartimide formation as a side reaction under acidic and basic conditions during the synthesis of aspartyl peptides. β-1-or β-2-Adamantyl aspartates may be applicable to solidphase peptide synthesis in combination with Fmoc or Boc as an Nα-protecting group, respectively. Some properties of the aspartimide moiety are described.

Community pharmacy practice in Japan—results of a survey

Objective: To survey the present condition of community pharmacies as future sites for pharmacy students’ externship in Japan. Method: A questionnaire consisting of 55 questions was sent to 425 graduates from Kobe Gakuin University, School of Pharmacy, who owned or worked in community pharmacies. Results: Of the 85 responders, about half were owners and half employees of pharmacies. Ninety per cent of pharmacy owners operated three and fewer pharmacies. Fifty per cent of pharmacies only dispensed drugs, 32% handled both OTC drugs and dispensing, and 18% handled only OTC drugs. Among the 44 dispensing pharmacies, 16 were one‐to‐one type pharmacies, 13 were located in front of the big medical institutions, nine dispensed prescriptions from various medical institutions and five were hospital‐owned pharmacies. Forty‐five per cent of pharmacies employed 1–4 part‐time pharmacists and 52% employed 1–4 pharmacist assistants. Thirty‐one per cent of prescriptions came from internal medicine departments and the daily number of prescriptions dispensed by each pharmacy was in the range 10–99 for 41% of the pharmacies and 100–199 for 36% of the pharmacies. The average daily number of prescriptions dispersed by each pharmacist was in the range 30–39 for 29% of pharmacies and in the range 20–29 for 22% of pharmacies. Pharmaceutical information was provided at 73% of pharmacies and patients were counselled orally on their medication at 80% of pharmacies. Patients’ medication histories were recorded at 88% pharmacies. Only 15% of pharmacies conducted patients’ medication counselling at their home, but 34% of pharmacies were planning to start this service. Community pharmacists attended very few professional meetings or continuing education programmes and only 20% of them obtained information through computers. Forty‐seven pharmacists out of the 85 obtained their information from medical representatives of pharmaceutical companies and 32 pharmacists through marketing specialists of wholesalers. Ninety per cent of community pharmacists who responded thought that separation of prescribing and dispensing functions would progress further in the future and 50% of them thought positively about the future social status of pharmacists. Most of our graduates who responded were willing to accept pharmacy students from Kobe Gakuin University as externs at their pharmacies. Conclusion: Despite the low response rate, our survey suggests that community pharmacy in Japan requires substantial improvement. This is to ensure that pharmacists working in that sector can provide the quality information that is required for the optimum management of patients and that the environment is suitable for pharmacy externships.

Synthesis of β-1 and β-2-adamantylaspartates and their evaluation for peptide synthesis

β-1 and β-2-Adamantylaspartates, H-Asp(O-1-Ada)-OH and H-Asp(O-2-Ada)-OH respectively, were synthesized and their properties examined, showing their possible application in solid-phase peptide synthesis when used in combination with the fluoren-9-ylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) group, as an Nα-protecting group; both these new protecting groups can suppress aspartimide formation as a side reaction under acidic and basic conditions.

Synthesis of a tetratriacontapeptide corresponding to sequence 112–145 of the β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin

A tetratriacontapeptide corresponding to sequence 112–145 of the β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which was synthesized by assembling peptide fragments by the azide procedure, was then conjugated to bovine serum albumin; injection of the conjugated antigen into rabbits produced antisera which exhibited 30% specific binding with [125I]hCG at a 1 : 1000 dilution.