Orchil and Tyrian Purple: Two Centuries of Bedfords from Leeds

A two-century-old archive relating to a Leeds dye manufacturer emerged a number of years ago from a Devon attic. Most items in the archive date from the mid-nineteenth century to the first quarter of the twentieth, a period of dye history when natural dyes overlapped with and were gradually replaced by synthetics. The archive contains material relevant to three generations of the Bedford family's manufacturing and research successes, as well as its close connections to the family of William Henry Perkin. A major portion of the archive's contents is connected to the trade in orchil, a purple-producing dye from a lichen on which the early fortunes of the company were based. A small envelope signed by Charles Samuel Bedford states that it contains “Tyrian Purple.” After a historical and chemical investigation, we found that this dyestuff was indeed from mollusca, confirming that this vat-dyed textile sample is the most modern historic sample of Tyrian Purple yet found.     

A unique class of duocarmycin and CC-1065 analogues subject to reductive activation

N-Acyl O-amino phenol derivatives of CBI-TMI and CBI-indole2 are reported as prototypical members of a new class of reductively activated prodrugs of the duocarmycin and CC-1065 class of antitumor agents. The expectation being that hypoxic tumor environments, with their higher reducing capacity, carry an intrinsic higher concentration of "reducing" nucleophiles (e.g., thiols) capable of activating such derivatives (tunable N-O bond cleavage) and increasing their sensitivity to the prodrug treatment. Preliminary studies indicate the prodrugs effectively release the free drug in functional cellular assays for cytotoxic activity approaching or matching the activity of the free drug, yet remain essentially stable and unreactive to in vitro DNA alkylation conditions (<0.1-0.01% free drug release) and pH 7.0 phosphate buffer, and exhibit a robust half-life in human plasma (t1/2 = 3 h). Characterization of a representative O-(acylamino) prodrug in vivo indicates that they approach the potency and exceed the efficacy of the free drug itself (CBI-indole2), indicating that not only is the free drug effectively released from the inactive prodrug but also that they offer additional advantages related to a controlled or targeted release in vivo.     

Tailoring the trajectory of cell rolling with cytotactic surfaces

Cell separation technology is a key tool for biological studies and medical diagnostics that relies primarily on chemical labeling to identify particular phenotypes. An emergent method of sorting cells based on differential rolling on chemically patterned substrates holds potential benefits over existing technologies, but the underlying mechanisms being exploited are not well characterized. In order to better understand cell rolling on complex surfaces, a microfluidic device with chemically patterned stripes of the cell adhesion molecule P-selectin was designed. The behavior of HL-60 cells rolling under flow was analyzed using a high-resolution visual tracking system. This behavior was then correlated to a number of established predictive models. The combination of computational modeling and widely available fabrication techniques described herein represents a crucial step toward the successful development of continuous, label-free methods of cell separation based on rolling adhesion.     

Dialkoxyphosphinyl-substituted enols of carboxamides

Reactions of isocyanates XNCO (e.g., X = p-An, Ph, i-Pr) with (MeO)2P(=O)CH2CO2R [R = Me, CF3CH2, (CF3)2CH] gave 15 formal "amides" (MeO)2P(=O)CH(CO2R)CONHX (6/7), and with (CF3CH2O)2P(=O)CH2CO2R [R = Me, CF3CH2] they gave eight analogous amide/enols 17/18. X-ray crystallography of two 6/7, R = (CF3)2CH systems revealed Z-enols of amides structures (MeO)2P(=O)C(CO2CH(CF3)2)=C(OH)NHX 7 where the OH is cis and hydrogen bonded to the O=P(OMe)2 group. The solid phosphonates with R = Me, CF3CH2 have the amide 6 structure. The structures in solution were investigated by 1H, 13C, 19F, and 31P NMR spectra. They depend strongly on the substituent R and the solvent and slightly on the N-substituent X. All systems displayed signals for the amide and the E- and Z-isomers. The low-field two delta(OH) and two delta(NH) values served as a probe for the stereochemistry of the enols. The lower field delta(OH) is not always that for the more abundant enol. The % enol, presented as K(enol), was determined by 1H, 19F, and 31P NMR spectra, increases according to the order for R, Me < CF3CH2 < (CF3)2CH, and decreases according to the order of solvents, CCl4 > CDCl3 approximately THF-d8 > CD3CN >DMSO-d6. In DMSO-d6, the product is mostly only the amide, but a few enols with fluorinated ester groups were observed. The Z-isomers are more stable for all the enols 7 with E/Z ratios of 0.31-0.75, 0.15-0.33, and 0.047-0.16 when R = Me, CF3CH2, and (CF3)2CH, respectively, and for compounds 18, R = Me, whereas the E-isomers are more stable than the Z-isomers. Comparison with systems where the O=P(OMe)2 is replaced by a CO2R shows mostly higher K(enol) values for the O=P(OMe)2-substituted systems. A linear correlation exists between delta(OH)[Z-enols] activated by two ester groups and delta(OH)[E-enols] activated by phosphonate and ester groups. Compounds (MeO)2P(=O)CH(CN)CONHX show 相似文献   

Hydrolysis of alpha-alkyl-alpha-(methylthio)methylene Meldrum's acids. A kinetic and computational investigation of steric effects

The rates of hydrolysis of alpha-R-alpha-(methylthio)methylene Meldrum's acids (8-R with R = H, Me, Et, s-Bu, and t-Bu) were determined in basic and acidic solution in 50% DMSO-50% water (v/v) at 20 degrees C. In basic solution (KOH), nucleophilic attack to form a tetrahedral intermediate (T(OH)-) is rate limiting for all substrates (k1(OH)). In acidic solution (HCl) and at intermediate pH values (acetate buffers), water attack (k1(H2O) is rate limiting for 8-Me, 8-Et, and 8-s-Bu; the same is presumably the case for 8-t-Bu, but rates were too slow for accurate measurements at low pH. For 8-H, water attack is rate limiting at intermediate pH but at pH < 4.5 MeS- departure from the tetrahedral intermediate becomes rate limiting. Our interpretation of these results is based on a reaction scheme that involves three pathways for the conversion of T(OH)- to products, two of which being unique to hydrolysis reactions and taking advantage of the acidic nature of the OH group in T(OH)-. This scheme provides an explanation why even at high [KOH] T(OH)- does not accumulate to detectable levels even though the equilibrium for OH- addition to 8-R is expected to favor T(OH)-, and why at low pH water attack is rate limiting for R = Me, Et, s-Bu, and t-Bu but leaving group departure becomes rate limiting with the sterically small R = H. The trend in the k1(OH) and k1(H2O) indicates increasing steric crowding at the transition state with increasing size of R, but this effect is partially offset by a sterically induced twisting of the C=C double bond in 8-R which leads to its elongation and makes the substrate less stable and hence more reactive. Our computational results suggest that this effect becomes particularly pronounced for R = t-Bu and explains why k1(OH) for 8-t-Bu is somewhat higher than for the less crowded 8-s-Bu.     

Total synthesis and evaluation of [Psi[CH2NH]Tpg4]vancomycin aglycon: reengineering vancomycin for dual D-Ala-D-Ala and D-Ala-D-Lac binding

An effective synthesis of [Psi[CH(2)NH]Tpg(4)]vancomycin aglycon (5) is detailed in which the residue 4 amide carbonyl of vancomycin aglycon has been replaced with a methylene. This removal of a single atom was conducted to enhance binding to D-Ala-D-Lac, countering resistance endowed to bacteria that remodel their D-Ala-D-Ala peptidoglycan cell wall precursor by a similar single atom change (ester O for amide NH). Key elements of the approach include a synthesis of the modified vancomycin ABCD ring system featuring a reductive amination coupling of residues 4 and 5 for installation of the deep-seated amide modification, the first of two diaryl ether closures for formation of the modified CD ring system (76%, 2.5-3:1 kinetic atropodiastereoselectivity), a Suzuki coupling for installation of the hindered AB biaryl bond (90%) on which the atropisomer stereochemistry could be thermally adjusted, and a macrolactamization closure of the AB ring system (70%). Subsequent DE ring system introduction enlisted a room-temperature aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction for formation of the remaining diaryl ether (86%, 6-7:1 kinetic atropodiastereoselectivity), completing the carbon skeleton of 5. Consistent with expectations and relative to the vancomycin aglycon, 5 exhibited a 40-fold increase in affinity for D-Ala-D-Lac (K(a) = 5.2 x 10(3) M(-1)) and a 35-fold reduction in affinity for D-Ala-D-Ala (K(a) = 4.8 x 10(3) M(-1)), providing a glycopeptide analogue with balanced, dual binding characteristics. Beautifully, 5 exhibited antimicrobial activity (MIC = 31 microg/mL) against a VanA-resistant organism that remodels its D-Ala-D-Ala cell wall precursor to d-Ala-d-Lac upon glycopeptide antibiotic challenge, displaying a potency that reflects these binding characteristics.     

Total synthesis of piericidin A1 and B1 and key analogues

Full details of the total synthesis of piericidin A1 and B1 and its extension to the preparation of a series of key analogues are described including ent-piericidin A1 (ent-1), 4'-deshydroxypiericidin A1 (58), 5'-desmethylpiericidin A1 (73), 4'-deshydroxy-5'-desmethylpiericidin A1 (75), and the corresponding analogues 51, 59, 76, and 77 bearing a simplified farnesyl side chain. The evaluation of these key analogues, along with those derived from their further functionalizations, permitted a scan of the key structural features providing new insights into the role of the substituents found in both the pyridyl core as well as the side chain. A strategic late stage heterobenzylic Stille cross-coupling reaction of the pyridyl core with the fully elaborated side chain permitted ready access to the analogues in which each half of the molecule could be systematically and divergently modified. The pyridyl cores were assembled enlisting inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reactions of N-sulfonyl-1-azabutadienes, while key elements of side chain syntheses include an anti selective asymmetric aldol to install the C9 and C10 relative and absolute stereochemistry (for natural and ent-1) and a modified Julia olefination for formation of the C5-C6 trans double bond with convergent assemblage of the side chains.