Formation of Schiff bases of O-phosphorylethanolamine and O-phospho-D,L-serine with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. experimental and theoretical studies

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) is a B(6) vitamer acting as an enzyme cofactor in various reactions of aminoacid metabolism and inhibiting glycation of biomolecules. Nonenzymatic glycation of aminophospholipids alters the stability of lipid bilayers and cell function as a result. Similarly to protein glycation, aminophospholipid glycation initially involves the formation of a Schiff base. In this work, we studied the formation of Schiff bases between PLP and two compounds mimicking the polar head of natural aminophospholipids, namely: O-phosphorylethanolamine and O-phospho-D,L-serine. Based on the results, the pH-dependence of the microscopic constants of the two PLP-aminophosphate systems studied is identical with that for PLP-aminoacid systems. However, the rate and equilibrium formation constants for the Schiff bases of the aminophosphates are low relative to those for the aminoacids. A theoretical study by density functional theory of the formation mechanism for the Schiff bases of PLP with the two aminophospholipid analogues confirmed that the activation energy of formation of the Schiff bases is greater with aminophosphates; on the other hand, that of hydrolysis is essentially similar with aminoacids and aminophosphates.     

Curcumin Loaded Dendrimers Specifically Reduce Viability of Glioblastoma Cell Lines

Glioblastoma (GB) is a deadly and aggressive cancer of the CNS. Even with extensive resection and chemoradiotherapy, patient survival is still only 15 months. To maintain growth and proliferation, cancer cells require a high oxidative state. Curcumin, a well-known anti-inflammatory antioxidant, is a potential candidate for treatment of GB. To facilitate efficient delivery of therapeutic doses of curcumin into cells, we encapsulated the drug in surface-modified polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers. We studied the in vitro effectiveness of a traditional PAMAM dendrimer (100% amine surface, G4 NH₂), surface-modified dendrimer (10% amine and 90% hydroxyl-G4 90/10-Cys), and curcumin (Cur)-encapsulated dendrimer (G4 90/10-Cys-Cur) on three species of glioblastoma cell lines: mouse-GL261, rat-F98, and human-U87. Using an MTT assay for cell viability, we found that G4 90/10-Cys-Cur reduced viability of all three glioblastoma cell lines compared to non-cancerous control cells. Under similar conditions, unencapsulated curcumin was not effective, while the non-modified dendrimer (G4 NH₂) caused significant death of both cancerous and normal cells. By harnessing and optimizing the components of PAMAM dendrimers, we are providing a promising new route for delivering cancer therapeutics. Our results with curcumin suggest that antioxidants are good candidates for treating glioblastoma.     

Graphite Based Microsensors Developed for the Electrochemical Determination of L‐Tyrosine from Pharmaceutical Samples

Two electrochemical sensors were proposed for the determination of L‐tyrosine from pharmaceutical capsules. The electrochemical sensors were based on plain graphite paste and chitosan modified graphite paste. Working conditions, e. g. pH, supporting electrolytes have been optimized. The results revealed for both electrodes very low limits of quantification (LOQ) (0.18 mg L^?1 and 0.0018 mg L^?1) for plain graphite paste based sensors and for chitosan modified paste sensors respectively. A higher sensitivity of 7.95×10^?10 A mg L^?1 was obtained for the sensor based on plain graphite paste (G). The uniformity content test showed that L‐Tyrosine can be recovered in pharmaceutical capsules with an average value higher than 98.00 % and a relative standard deviation (RSD%) value less than 1.00 % (N=5).     

Access to the Enantiopure Axially Chiral Cyclophane Isoplagiochin D through Atropo‐diastereoselective Heck Coupling

Macrocyclization is typically the key step in the syntheses of cyclophane‐type natural products. Considering cyclophanes with axially chiral biaryl moieties, the control of atroposelectivity is essential with biological activity and is synthetically challenging. We report an atroposelective approach involving Heck cyclization, which for the first time enables the total synthesis of an enantiopure macrocyclic bis(bibenzyl), namely isoplagiochin D. An enantiopure sulfinyl auxiliary in the ortho position of a biaryl axis (still flexible) was used to induce an atropo‐diastereoselective Heck coupling (up to 98 % de). The traceless character of the sulfinyl auxiliary enables the introduction of a hydroxy group to give the target molecule with 98 % ee as well.     

Hybrid materials containing organometallic cations and 3-D anionic metal dicyanamide networks of type [Cp*2M][M'(dca)3

A new series of hybrid materials of type [Cp*2M][M'(dca)3] has been prepared by cation templation and structurally characterised (M = Fe(III), Co(III); M'= Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cd(II); dca-= N(CN)2-). The crystallographic analysis of [Cp*2Fe][Cd(dca)(3)] showed that the [Cd(dca)3]- anionic framework is of a symmetrical 3-D alpha-polonium type, containing octahedral Cd nodes and micro (1,5)-dca bridging ligands. The [Cp*2Fe]+ cations occupy the cube-like cavities within the framework. The cationic and anionic-framework sublattices remain magnetically independent and display susceptibilities, over the range 300 to 2 K, of a Curie-Weiss nature obtained by adding a S= 1/2 (Cp*2Fe+) or a S= 0 (Cp*2Co+) contribution to those of the weakly antiferromagnetically coupled frameworks of M'. These hybrid species do not show any intrinsic long-range magnetic order. The present [Cp*2Fe]M'(dca)3] series display the characteristic, unusually shaped [Cp*2Fe]+ Mossbauer line, in the range 295-5 K, assigned (below 101 K) as the sum of a narrow and a broad line. Relaxation effects were evident. The [Fe(dca)3]- compound showed superimposed low-spin Fe(III) and high-spin Fe(II) lines, the latter giving relaxation broadening effects.     

Nuclearity controlled cyanide-bridged bimetallic CrIII-MnII compounds: synthesis, crystal structures, magnetic properties and theoretical calculations

The preparation, X-ray crystallography and magnetic investigation of the compounds PPh4[Cr(bipy)(CN)4].2 CH3CN.H2O (1) (mononuclear), [[Cr(bipy)(CN)4]2Mn-(H2O)4].4H2O (2) (trinuclear), [[Cr(bipy)(CN)4]2Mn(H2O)2] (3) (chain) and [[Cr(bipy)(CN)4]2Mn(H2O)].H2O.CH3CN (4) (double chain) [bipy=2,2'-bipyridine; PPh4 (+)=tetraphenylphosphonium] are described herein. The [Cr(bipy)(CN)4]- unit act either as a monodentate (2) or bis-monodentate (3) ligand toward the manganese atom through one (2) or two (3) of its four cyanide groups. The manganese atom is six-coordinate with two (2) or four (3) cyanide nitrogens and four (2) or two (3) water molecules building a distorted octahedral environment. In 4, two chains of 3 are pillared through interchain Mn-N-C-Cr links which replace one of the two trans-coordinated water molecules at the manganese atom to afford a double chain structure where bis- and tris-monodenate coordination modes of [Cr(bipy)(CN)4]- coexist. The magnetic properties of 1-4 were investigated in the temperature range 1.9-300 K. A Curie law behaviour for a magnetically isolated spin quartet is observed for 1. A significant antiferromagnetic interaction between CrIII and MnII through the single cyanide bridge [J=-6.2 cm(-1), the Hamiltonian being defined as H=-J(SCr1.SMn+SCr2.SMn] occurs in 2 leading to a low-lying spin doublet which is fully populated at T <5 K. A metamagnetic behaviour is observed for 3 and 4 [the values of the critical field Hc being ca. 3000 (3) and 1500 Oe (4)] which is associated to the occurrence of weak interchain antiferromagnetic interactions between ferrimagnetic Cr2III MnII chains. The analysis of the exchange pathways in 2-4 through DFT type calculations together with the magnetic bevaviour simulation using the quantum Monte Carlo methodology provided a good understanding of their magnetic properties.     

Pattern Recognition of Amino Acids in Wines

New synthesized fatty acid amides (N‐(2‐(piperidin‐1‐yl)ethyl)oleamide, and N‐(2‐(pyrrolidin‐1‐yl)ethyl)oleamide) were used for the design of stochastic sensors based on nanographene paste. The stochastic sensors were used for pattern recognition of four amino acids: L‐histidine, L‐tyrosine, L‐ornithine, and L‐lysine in wines. The pattern recognition was performed based on the signatures recorded for each of the amino acids. The limits of determination allow the assay of amino acids in wine at very low concentrations faster, reliable, and more cost effective than other methods proposed to date.