Catalytic Reduction of Graphene Oxide Nanosheets by Glutathione Peroxidase Mimetics Reveals a New Structural Motif in Graphene Oxide

A catalytic reduction of graphene oxide (GO) by glutathione peroxidase (GPx) mimics is reported. This study reveals that GO contains peroxide functionalities, in addition to the epoxy, hydroxyl and carboxylic acid groups that have been identified earlier. It also is shown that GO acts as a peroxide substrate in the GPx‐like catalytic activity of organoselenium/tellurium compounds. The reaction of tellurol, generated from the corresponding ditelluride, reduces GO through the glutathione (GSH)‐mediated cleavage of the peroxide linkage. The mechanism of GO reduction by the tellurol in the presence of GSH involves the formation of a tellurenic acid and tellurenyl sulfide intermediates. Interestingly, the GPx mimics also catalyze the decarboxylation of the carboxylic acid functionality in GO at ambient conditions. Whereas the selenium/tellurium‐mediated catalytic reduction/decarboxylation of GO may find applications in bioremediation processes, this study suggests that the modification of GO by biologically relevant compounds such as redox proteins must be taken into account when using GO for biomedical applications because such modifications can alter the fundamental properties of GO.     

Analytical selenoamino acid studies by chromatography with interfaced atomic mass spectrometry and atomic emission spectral detection

Consumption of selenium enriched plants or yeast-based nutritional supplements has been reported to provide anticarcinogenic benefits which are selenium compound dependent. Separation and identification of these selenium compounds is critical to understand the activity. Plants and yeast convert inorganic selenium in the soil or growth media into organoselenium compounds, probably following a route similar to the sulfur assimilatory pathway. Non-volatile selenium compounds produced include selenoamino acids, some of which have shown anticarcinogenic activity. Volatile compounds produced by chemical reaction of involatile precursors have also been found. An ion pair chromatographic method with ICP-MS detection for the separation of selenoamino acid standards potentially present in real samples is given. The method allows separation of selenoamino acids including such analytes as the cis-trans isomers of Se-1-propenyl-dl-selenocysteine. The method also provides the capability of determining the presence of selenoxides and possibly selenones, and tracking of other functionalities and reactions by selective derivatization. Alternatively, selenoamino acids are treated with ethylchloroformate to produce stable volatile derivatives which are amenable to GC separation with element specific atomic emission detection (GC-AED). Results of total selenium determination and speciation of selenium enriched yeast-based nutritional supplements, selenium enriched allium vegetables and bioremediation samples are presented.     

Modelling the Inhibition of Selenoproteins by Small Molecules Using Cysteine and Selenocysteine Derivatives

Small molecule-based electrophilic compounds such as 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) and 1-chloro-4-nitrobenzene (CNB) are currently being used as inhibitors of cysteine- and selenocysteine-containing proteins. CDNB has been used extensively to determine the activity of glutathione S-transferase and to deplete glutathione (GSH) in mammalian cells. Also, CDNB has been shown to irreversibly inhibit thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), a selenoenzyme that catalyses the reduction of thioredoxin (Trx). Mammalian TrxR has a C-terminal active site motif, Gly-Cys-Sec-Gly, and both the cysteine and selenocysteine residues could be the targets of the electrophilic reagents. In this paper we report on the stability of a series of cysteine and selenocysteine derivatives that can be considered as models for the selenoenzyme–inhibitor complexes. We show that these derivatives react with H₂O₂ to generate the corresponding selenoxides, which undergo spontaneous elimination to produce dehydroalanine. In contrast, the cysteine derivatives are stable towards such elimination reactions. We also demonstrate, for the first time, that the arylselenium species eliminated from the selenocysteine derivatives exhibit significant redox activity by catalysing the reduction of H₂O₂ in the presence of GSH (GPx (glutathione peroxidase)-like activity), which suggests that such redox modulatory activity of selenium compounds may have a significant effect on the cellular redox state during the inhibition of selenoproteins.     

Analytical selenoamino acid studies by chromatography with interfaced atomic mass spectrometry and atomic emission spectral detection

Consumption of selenium enriched plants or yeast-based nutritional supplements has been reported to provide anticarcinogenic benefits which are selenium compound dependent. Separation and identification of these selenium compounds is critical to understand the activity. Plants and yeast convert inorganic selenium in the soil or growth media into organoselenium compounds, probably following a route similar to the sulfur assimilatory pathway. Non-volatile selenium compounds produced include selenoamino acids, some of which have shown anticarcinogenic activity. Volatile compounds produced by chemical reaction of involatile precursors have also been found. An ion pair chromatographic method with ICP-MS detection for the separation of selenoamino acid standards potentially present in real samples is given. The method allows separation of selenoamino acids including such analytes as the cis-trans isomers of Se-1-propenyl-dl-selenocysteine. The method also provides the capability of determining the presence of selenoxides and possibly selenones, and tracking of other functionalities and reactions by selective derivatization. Alternatively, selenoamino acids are treated with ethylchloroformate to produce stable volatile derivatives which are amenable to GC separation with element specific atomic emission detection (GC-AED). Results of total selenium determination and speciation of selenium enriched yeast-based nutritional supplements, selenium enriched allium vegetables and bioremediation samples are presented. Received: 16 February 1998 / Revised: 4 June 1998 / Accepted: 9 June 1998     

Effect of Molecular Interactions on Electron‐Transfer and Antioxidant Activity of Bis(alkanol)selenides: A Radiation Chemical Study

Understanding electron‐transfer processes is crucial for developing organoselenium compounds as antioxidants and anti‐inflammatory agents. To find new redox‐active selenium antioxidants, we have investigated one‐electron‐transfer reactions between hydroxyl (^.OH) radical and three bis(alkanol)selenides (SeROH) of varying alkyl chain length, using nanosecond pulse radiolysis. ^.OH radical reacts with SeROH to form radical adduct, which is converted primarily into a dimer radical cation (>Se∴Se<)⁺ and α‐{bis(hydroxyl alkyl)}‐selenomethine radical along with a minor quantity of an intramolecularly stabilized radical cation. Some of these radicals have been subsequently converted to their corresponding selenoxide, and formaldehyde. Estimated yield of these products showed alkyl chain length dependency and correlated well with their antioxidant ability. Quantum chemical calculations suggested that compounds that formed more stable (>Se∴Se<)⁺, produced higher selenoxide and lower formaldehyde. Comparing these results with those for sulfur analogues confirmed for the first time the distinctive role of selenium in making such compounds better antioxidants.     

Phenylselenenylmenthane derivatives and their enantiomeric discrimination by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy in the presence of a chiral dirhodium complex

The phenylselenenylmenthane and ‐menthene derivatives 1–4 were studied in terms of ¹H and ¹³C signal assignments, conformational analysis and also complexation shifts (Δδ) and dispersion effects (Δν) observed when non‐racemic (ca 2 : 1) mixtures of the chiral selenides were exposed to an equimolar amount of the chiral dirhodium complex Rh^*. The complexation site is the selenium atom exclusively. Whereas Δδ values are moderate or small, dispersed signals (split into two owing to the existence of diastereomeric adducts) can be observed, many of which are large enough for a facile determination of enantiomeric ratios of the selenides irregardless of the conformational behaviour of the selenides and the adduct composition. Thus, the ‘dirhodium method’ is simple and reliable for chiral recognition in the class of organoselenium compounds which is gaining increasing importance in developing new techniques of asymmetric synthesis. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Selenium promoted synthesis of enantiopure pyrrolidines starting from chiral aminoalcohols

Starting from commercially available enantiomerically pure aminoalcohols and using simple conversions promoted by organoselenium reagents, several enantiomerically pure substituted pyrrolidines were prepared. After double protections (R)- or (S)-2-phenylglycinols were converted into the β-amino selenides by displacing the tosyl group with phenyl selenolate anions. The phenylseleno group was then substituted by an allyl group by treatment with allyltributyltin and AIBN. The reaction of these allylic derivatives with electrophilic phenylselenium reagents afforded selenium containing pyrrolidines as the result of a 5-exo-trig cyclization. The pyrrolidine derivatives thus obtained were reductively deselenylated with triphenyltin hydride and AIBN. Moreover, the selenides were converted into the selenones, which easily gave substitution with different nucleophiles. Enantiopure 2,5-pyrrolidines containing azido, methylthio, cyano and iodo groups were thus obtained.     

Application of organic selenides and tellurides in organic synthesis

This paper describes the progress on the synthesis of organic selenides and tellurides and their application in organic synthesis.Low valent selenium and telluronium compounds having high reducing selectivity can be used to form carbon-hydrogen bonds as special reducing reagents.Telluronium ylides can react with aldehydes and ketones by Wittig-type condensation to produce (E)-configuration alkenes stereoselectively.α-Phenylselanyl arsonium ylides were prepared by transyl-idation reaction of arsonium ylides with phenylselanyl halides which can undergo Wittig-type reactions with carbonyl compounds to give (Z)-α-selanyl-α,β-unsaturated compounds with high stereoselectiv-ity.Zirconium,tin,boron,halogen,metal or hetero-atom were introduced in organoselenium and telluronium compounds as new difunctional group reagents.Under transition metal catalysis,the corresponding cross coupling reactions provide new methods of formation of carbon-carbon double bonds,which were used in the stereoselective synthesis of     

Anti-thyroid drugs and thyroid hormone synthesis: effect of methimazole derivatives on peroxidase-catalyzed reactions

Syntheses and characterization of the selenium analogue (MSeI) of anti-thyroid drug methimazole and a series of organoselenium compounds bearing N-methylimidazole pharmacophore are described. In contrast to the sulfur compound that exists predominantly in its thione form, the selenium analogue exists in a selenol form, which spontaneously oxidizes in air to produce the corresponding diselenide. The reduction of the diselenide by GSH or NaBH(4) affords the biologically active selenol, which effectively inhibits the lactoperoxidase (LPO) activity in vitro. The monoselenides having N-methylimidazole moiety are found to be much less active than the selenol, suggesting that the presence of a selenol moiety is important for the LPO inhibition. The kinetic and mechanistic studies reveal that MSeI inhibits the LPO activity by reducing the H(2)O(2), providing a novel method to reversibly inhibit the enzyme. Although MSeI strongly inhibits LPO, the enzyme's activity can be completely recovered by increasing the H(2)O(2) concentration. On the other hand, the inhibition by methimazole (MMI), the sulfur analogue, cannot be reversed by increasing the H(2)O(2) concentration, leading to a complete inactivation of the enzyme. The reversible inhibition of LPO by some of the selenium derivatives is correlated with their glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, and the high GPx activity of the selenium compounds as compared with their sulfur analogues suggests that the selenium derivatives may protect the thyroid gland from oxidative damage.     

PhI Catalyzed Acetoxyselenylation and Formyloxyselenylation of Alkenes

With PhI as catalyst and m CPBA as oxidant, a novel and efficient catalytic procedure has been developed for the acetoxyselenylation and formyloxyselenylation of alkenes. In this protocol, PhI is first oxidized into hypervalent iodine intermediate, which promotes the cleavage of Se–Se bond in diselenides. The in situ generated electrophilic selenium species then reacts with alkenes, affording 2‐acetoxy‐1‐selenides and 2‐formyloxy‐1‐selenides in high regioselectivity and good yields.     

Stereochemical behavior of geminal and vicinal 77Se–13C spin–spin coupling constants studied at the SOPPA(CC2) level taking into account relativistic corrections

A systematic theoretical study of geminal and vicinal ⁷⁷Se–¹³C spin–spin coupling constants in the series of the open‐chain selenides and selenium‐containing heterocycles revealed that relativistic effects play an essential role in the selenium–carbon coupling mechanism, especially when the coupling pathway includes a triple bond, contributing to about 10–15% of their total values and noticeably improving the agreement of the calculated couplings with experiment. Both geminal and vicinal ⁷⁷Se–¹³C spin–spin coupling constants show marked stereochemical behavior as documented by their calculated dihedral angle dependence that could be used as a practical guide in stereochemical studies of organoselenium compounds. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and reactions of the optically active selenols derived from monoterpenes

A convenient methodology for the synthesis of optically active selenols, derived from p-menthane, carane, and pinane, is described. The selenols were oxidized with air to give the optically active diselenides, and were also converted into the corresponding allylic selenides via reaction with Z- and E-cinnamyl, geranyl, and neryl chlorides. Oxidation of the allylic selenides with mCPBA gave the optically active alcohols via [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of the in situ generated allylic selenoxides.     

仿硒酶研究进展

硒是人体中必需的微量元素,它与各种疾病和人类健康息息相关。硒在生物体内以硒代半胱氨酸形式表现其生理活性和功能。为了探索硒在硒蛋白中结构和功能关系并可能发展成硒相关的适用药物,人们付出许多努力来发展硒蛋白模拟化学。由于硒酶—谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GPX）重要的抗氧化作用以及潜在的药用价值,国际上广泛开展了对它的人工模拟研究。本文对近年来硒酶模拟化学和生物学相关研究进展进行了综述。     

Synthesis of functionalized diaryl selenides by the first [3+3] cyclocondensations of 1,3-bis(silyloxy)-1,3-butadienes with organoselenium compounds

Functionalized diaryl selenides were prepared by the first [3+3] cyclizations of 1,3-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)-1,3-butadienes with organoselenium compounds (i.e., 2-(phenylselanyl)-3-silyloxy-3-en-1-ones).     

A novel role of zeolite NaY in the thermal reaction of alkyl aryl selenoxides in its supercages

Thermal reaction of alkyl aryl selenoxides in the presence of water or methanol in the supercage of zeolite NaY gave beta-hydroxy- or beta-methoxyalkyl aryl selenides, respectively, and NaY played a novel role to stabilize reactive ArSeOH and to separate an anion of -OH from a carbonium ion which was simultaneously present with the -OH in a supercage.     

The Si-Si effect on ionization of beta-disilanyl sulfides and selenides

The ionization energies of conformationally constrained, newly synthesized beta-disilanyl sulfides and selenides were determined by photoelectron spectroscopy. These ionization energies reflect substantial (0.53-0.75 eV) orbital destabilizations. The basis for these destabilizations was investigated by theoretical calculations, which reveal geometry-dependent interaction between sulfur or selenium lone pair orbitals and sigma-orbitals, especially Si-Si sigma-orbitals. These results presage facile redox chemistry for these compounds and significantly extend the concept of sigma-stabilization of electron-deficient centers.     

Spin trapping identification of radical intermediates during photolysis of organoselenium compounds

Radical intermediates formed during irradiation of selenides and diselenides have been trapped by using nitrosodurene. ESR spectra show that, depending upon the organoselenium compound used, the radical species results from the cleavage of either a CSe bond or a SeSe bond. The hyperfine coupling with ⁷⁷Se has been detected for RSeN(O)R', and indicates a low spin density on the selenium.     

The central role of metal coordination in selenium antioxidant activity

Oxidative DNA damage occurs in vivo by hydroxyl radical generated in metal-mediated Fenton-type reactions. Cell death and mutation caused by this DNA damage are implicated in neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and aging. Treating these conditions with antioxidants, including highly potent selenium antioxidants, is of growing interest. Gel electrophoresis was used to directly quantify DNA damage inhibition by selenium compounds with copper and H(2)O(2). Selenocystine inhibited all DNA damage at low micromolar concentrations, whereas selenomethionine showed similar inhibition at 40 times these concentrations, and 2-aminophenyl diselenide showed no effect. DNA damage inhibition by these selenium compounds does not correspond to their glutathione peroxidase activities, and UV-vis and gel electrophoresis results indicate that selenium-copper coordination is essential for DNA damage inhibition. Understanding this novel metal-coordination mechanism for selenium antioxidant activity will aid in the design of more potent antioxidants to treat and prevent diseases caused by oxidative stress.     

Extraction-spectrophotometric determination of selenium in organoselenium compounds using aromatic o-diamines

Procedures for the extraction-spectrophotometric determination of selenium in organoselenium compounds using a new reagent, 1,2-diamino-3,4,5,6-tetrafluorobenzene (DAFB), and a known reagent, 2,3-diaminonaphthalene (DAN), are developed. Complexes of DAFB or DAN with selenium(IV) are extracted with toluene, and the absorbance of the extracts is measured. The optimal conditions for the determination were found, and the spectrophotometric characteristics were determined. The calibration curves are linear in the range of selenium concentrations of 1–10.6 mg/L (DAFB) and 1–9.1 mg/L (DAN). Nitrogen, chlorine, bromine, fluorine, and sulfur present in organoselenium compounds do not interfere with the determination of selenium. The relative error of determination does not exceed ±2%.     

Synthesis of selenoxides by oxidation of selenides with superoxide radical anions and 2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride

Alkyl phenyl selenoxides were produced in excellent yields by oxidation of the corresponding selenides with 2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride and potassium superoxide in dry acetonitrile at −15 °C.