Solvation in nitration of benzene and the valence electronic structure of the Wheland intermediate.

Nitration of benzene is a representative aromatic substitution reaction related to the σ-complex (arenium ion or "Wheland" intermediate) concept. This reaction is typically carried out in a mixed acid solution to generate nitronium ions, and how solvent molecules play roles in the reaction has been of great interest. Here we will shed new light on the reaction, namely the electronic structure and the microscopic insights of the solvation, which have been rarely discussed so far.

A method for selective ablation of neurons in C. elegans using the phototoxic fluorescent protein, KillerRed.

Specific neuron ablation with laser microbeam has been used in behavioral analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans. However, this method is hard to acquire many ablated worms, and is unable to compare behavioral changes just before and after ablation. Here, we developed an ablation method by using genetically encoded photosensitizer protein, KillerRed, which produces reactive oxygen species by green light irradiation.