Biological UV dosimeters in the assessment of the biological hazard from environmental radiation

To determine the impact of environmental UV radiation, biological dosimeters that weight directly the incident UV components of sunlight have been developed, improved and evaluated in the frame of the BIODOS project. Four DNA-based biological dosimeters ((i) phage T7, (ii) uracil thin layer, (iii) spore dosimeter and (iv) DLR-biofilm) have been assessed from the viewpoint of their biological relevance, spectral response and quantification of their biological effectiveness. The biological dosimeters have been validated by comparing their readings with weighted spectroradiometer data, by comparison with other biological doses, as well as with the determined amounts of DNA UV photoproducts. The data presented here demonstrate that the biological dosimeters are potentially reliable field dosimeters for measuring the integrated biologically effective irradiance for DNA damage.     

Electrophilic natural products and their biological targets

The study of biologically active natural products has resulted in seminal contributions to our understanding of living systems. In the case of electrophilic natural products, the covalent nature of their interaction has largely facilitated the identification of their biological binding partners. In this review, we provide a comprehensive compilation of electrophilic natural products from all major chemical classes together with their biological targets. Covering Michael acceptor systems, ring-strained compounds and other electrophiles, such as esters or carbamates, we highlight representative and instructive examples for over 20 electrophilic moieties. The fruitful cooperation of natural product chemistry, medicinal chemistry and chemical biology has produced a collection of well-studied examples for how electrophilic natural products exert their biological functions that range from antibiotic to antitumor effects. Special emphasis is put on the elucidation of their respective biological targets via activity-based protein profiling, which together with the recent advancements in mass spectrometry has been crucial to the success of the field. The wealth of naturally occurring electrophilic moieties and their chemical complexity enables binding of a large variety of biological targets, such as enzymes of all classes, nonenzymatic proteins, DNA and other cellular compounds. With approximately 30,000 genes in the human genome but only 266 confirmed protein drug targets, the study of biologically active, electrophilic natural products has the potential to provide insights into fundamental biological processes and to greatly aid the discovery of new drug targets.     

Advances in Targeting Drug Biological Carriers for Enhancing Tumor Therapy Efficacy

Chemotherapy drugs continue to be the main component of oncology treatment research and have been proven to be the main treatment modality in tumor therapy. However, the poor delivery efficiency of cancer therapeutic drugs and their potential off-target toxicity significantly limit their effectiveness and extensive application. The recent integration of biological carriers and functional agents is expected to camouflage synthetic biomimetic nanoparticles for targeted delivery. The promising candidates, including but not limited to red blood cells and their membranes, platelets, tumor cell membrane, bacteria, immune cell membrane, and hybrid membrane are typical representatives of biological carriers because of their excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Biological carriers are widely used to deliver chemotherapy drugs to improve the effectiveness of drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy in vivo, and tremendous progress is made in this field. This review summarizes recent developments in biological vectors as targeted drug delivery systems based on microenvironmental stimuli-responsive release, thus highlighting the potential applications of target drug biological carriers. The review also discusses the possibility of clinical translation, as well as the exploitation trend of these target drug biological carriers.     

苯并咪唑及其衍生物合成与应用研究进展

苯并咪唑及其衍生物具有良好的生物活性, 而且是一种重要的药物中间体. 由于它们具有良好的生物活性和反应活性, 一直都是研究的热点. 从该类化合物的合成与应用两个方面综述了近年来该领域的重要研究成果.     

Synthetic approaches for BF2-containing adducts of outstanding biological potential. A review

Organic compounds containing the F or B elements in their structures have recently attracted the interest of the chemists and medicinal chemists because their improved biological properties displayed in comparison to their non-fluorinated or non-borinated parent structures. It is widely been documented that curcumine (CUR) have a high biological potential as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer agent, among others, but some drawbacks related to its unfavorable bio-physicochemical properties have prevented its applicability as chemotherapeutic drug. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that the introduction of the BF₂ functionality in its structure (i.e. CUR-BF₂ adducts) and analogues have significantly improved their biological properties, mainly, their anticancer and antibiotic activities.On the other hand, the BF₂-adduct BODIPY (i.e. 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a-azonia-4a-aza-s-indacene) and derivatives are widely known by their outstanding photophysical properties displayed. However, recently it have increased the interest in such structures, but this time, for the biological properties that these fluorescent compounds are also shown, as convenient probes for diverse biological targets.Focusing on the above findings, we were interested into compile, in this review article, the literature documented since 2000–2020 exclusively engaged with the synthetic strategies established for the synthesis of curcumine-BF₂ adducts, BODIPY and their related derivatives, in which the biological properties displayed by such structures have been highlighted. Remarkably, the biological activities displayed by the aforementioned BF₂-based compounds are mainly related with cell imaging studies, biomolecules recognition and labels, antibiotic properties and antiproliferative agents, which were conveniently used to organize them in concise Tables and Schemes to facilitate their comparisons, and to underscore the key points of the present review.     

Total synthesis of naturally occurring chiral cyclopropane fatty acids and related compounds

Cyclopropane fatty acids (CFAs) and related compounds containing CFAs commonly occur in various natural sources, including plants or microorganisms. Some CFAs exhibit intriguing biological activities such as antifungal or immunosuppressive activities. Due to their biological importance and structural features, a number of synthetic studies have been conducted to date. These total syntheses have helped to elucidate their structural determinants or biological activities. Herein the total syntheses of naturally occurring CFAs and related compounds are summarized.     

Determination of metal species in biological samples: From speciation analysis to metallomics

The paper makes an attempt to give a definition to metallomics, a branch of science, which actively evolves in the recent years abroad, taking into account such common and well accepted terms as proteomics, genomics, and metabolomics. The author critically revises the analytical methodology that makes possible the detection and identification of individual metal species, the determination of their concentrations and, therefore, distribution in specific biological samples, and also investigates important biological processes involving metals and predicts their biological functions.     

The therapeutic application of lanthanides

The biological properties of the lanthanides, based on their similarity to calcium, have stimulated research into their therapeutic application. Historical medical uses of the lanthanides and recent advances and successes will be described in the context of the biological chemistry of lanthanides, including a new metal-based drug, lanthanum carbonate, which has recently been approved as a phosphate binder for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia. This tutorial review will be of interest to those working on metal-based drugs, including inorganic chemists, and biological scientists.     

Synthesis of Ras proteins and their application in biofunctional studies

We summarized the developed strategies including chemical total synthesis, biosynthesis and semi-synthesis for producing Ras proteins with modification and their application in biological studies.     

Molecular determinants of protein-based coacervates

Protein–polyelectrolyte coacervates have gained interest for their potential to stabilize proteins or function as adhesives and their biological implications in the formation of membraneless organelles. To effectively design these materials or predict their biological formation, knowledge of the macromolecular properties that dictate phase separation is required. This review highlights recent advances in the understanding of molecular determinants of protein–polyelectrolyte phase behavior. Properties that promote the phase separation of protein–polyelectrolyte pairs are covered from the perspective of synthetic systems and simplified biological condensates. Prominent factors that determine coacervate formation and material properties include nonspecific intermolecular interactions, as well as specific biological interactions and structures. Here, we summarize the essential roles of electrostatics, including charge magnitude and distribution, (bio)polymer chemistry and structure, and post-translational modifications to protein phase separation in both a synthetic and cellular context.     

量子点的荧光共振能量转移在生物分析中的应用

量子点良好的光谱特性和自身优点,使其可以作为生物荧光探针,而替代传统荧光染料。近年来这方面的研究已经取得了一定的进展。目前,量子点在共振能量转移方面的研究,进一步扩展了它在生物分析中的应用。介绍了量子点基于共振能量转移原理在生物分析中的应用,即利用量子点设计的两种类的蛋白-蛋白特异性结合分析和3种生物传感器的模型设计。     

氨基二硫代甲酸酯类化合物生物活性研究进展

氨基二硫代甲酸酯类化合物由于其独特的分子结构,使其具有明显的抗肿瘤、抗菌、抗氧化以及杀虫等多种生物活性,已经成为近年来药物化学领域研究的重点。 本文评述了近年来文献报道的氨基二硫代甲酸酯类化合物以及它们的主要生物活性,并对其今后的发展方向、应用前景做出展望。     

CO and NO in medicine

The occurrence, role and consequences of CO and NO in biological systems are reviewed. This includes their syntheses by heme oxygenases and NO synthases, their biological targets and the physiological effects of their signals. The use of CO and NO gases in medicine are discussed and methods of delivery are illustrated with particular emphasis on the therapeutic properties of compounds that generate controlled amounts of NO and CO in vivo.     

Engineering of chiral nanomaterials for biomimetic catalysis

Chiral nanomaterial-based biomimetic catalysts can trigger a similar biological effect to natural catalysts and exhibit high performance in biological applications. Especially, their active center similarity and substrate selectivity promoted their superior biocatalytic activity. Here, modification of critical elements, such as size, morphology, nanocrystal facets, chiral surface and active sites, for controlling the catalytic efficiency of individual chiral nanoparticles (NPs) and chiral nanoassemblies has been demonstrated, which had a synergistic effect on overcoming the defects of pre-existing nanocatalysts. Noticeably, application of external forces (light or magnetism) has resulted in obvious enhancement in biocatalytic efficiency. Chiral nanomaterials served as preferable biomimetic nanocatalysts due to their special structural configuration and chemical constitution advantages. Furthermore, the current challenges and future research directions of the preparation of high-performance bioinspired chiral nanomaterials for biological applications are discussed.

Chiral nanomaterial-based biomimetic catalysts can trigger a similar biological effect to natural catalysts and exhibit high performance in biological applications.     

Review of synthesis and various biological activities of spiro heterocyclic compounds comprising oxindole and pyrrolidine moities

Spirocyclic compounds isolated from plant and animal origins have important applications in medicinal chemistry. Spiro compounds having cyclic structures fused at a central carbon are of recent interest because of their interesting conformational features and their structural implications for biological systems. Spiro heterocycles like spiropyrrolidines and oxindole moieties have been found to play fundamental roles in biological processes and have exhibited diversified biological activity and pharmacological and therapeutical properties. In view of these facts we decided to present a representative synthetic scheme and various biological activities of the heterocycles like spiropyrrolidines and oxindole moieties derivatives, especially in relation to microbial infections like cancer and tubercular, viral, HIV, bacterial, and fungal infections.     

Vesicles in Nature and the Laboratory: Elucidation of Their Biological Properties and Synthesis of Increasingly Complex Synthetic Vesicles

The important role of vesicles in many aspects of cell function is well‐recognized, but only recently have sophisticated imaging techniques begun to reveal their ubiquity in nature. While we further our understanding of the biological properties of vesicles and their physiological functions, increasingly elegant artificial vesicles are being developed for a wide range of technological applications and basic research. Herein, we examine the state of the art of biological and synthetic vesicles and place their biological features in the context of recent synthetic developments, thus providing a unique overview of these complex and rapidly developing fields. The challenges and opportunities associated with future biological and synthetic studies of vesicles are also presented.     

Synthesis,Structural and Biological Properties of the Ring-A Sulfonamido Substituted Chalcones: A Review

Sulfonamidochalcones continue to assert themselves as versatile synthetic intermedi-ates and several articles continue to appear in literature describing their synthesis, chemical transformation and biological properties. These compounds are not only of interest from the medicinal chemistry context, their conformations and crystalline structures also continue to attract attention to explore non-covalent (intramolecular and intermolecular) interactions, control molecular conformations, and improve their physicochemical and optical properties. Despite an exhaustive list of examples of the ring-A sulfonamide-appended chalcones described in the literature, there is no com-prehensive review dedicated to their synthesis, structural and biological properties. This review focuses attention on the synthesis, structure and biological properties of the ring-A sulfonamide-appended chalcones (o/m/p-sulfonamidochalcones) as well as their potential as non-linear optical materials.     

Biological chemistry of organotin compounds: Interactions and dealkylation by dithiols

In this paper, we review our past and current efforts toward the elucidation of the biological chemistry of organotin compounds. In particular, we cover two prominent aspects of organotin compounds: their reactivity toward biological dithiols, and their degradation (or metabolization) mechanism using a combination of experimental and computational techniques.     

溶胶-凝胶法固定生物活性物质的研究进展

综述了近年来溶胶一凝胶(Sol-gel)技术在生物活性物质固定化方面的应用和进展。蛋白质、酶、抗体(抗原)、细胞及微生物均可被包埋于Sol-gel玻璃中。包埋后,这些生物活性物质仍保持其生物活性和光谱性质,有望成为实用的生物催化剂和生物传感器。