Synthesis of Asparagine Derivatives Harboring a Lewis X Type DC-SIGN Ligand and Evaluation of their Impact on Immunomodulation in Multiple Sclerosis

The protein myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is a key component of myelin and an autoantigen in the disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Post-translational N-glycosylation of Asn₃₁ of MOG seems to play a key role in modulating the immune response towards myelin. This is mediated by the interaction of Lewis-type glycan structures in the N-glycan of MOG with the DC-SIGN receptor on dendritic cells (DCs). Here, we report the synthesis of an unnatural Lewis X (Le^X)-containing Fmoc-SPPS-compatible asparagine building block (SPPS=solid-phase peptide synthesis), as well as asparagine building blocks containing two Le^X-derived oligosaccharides: LacNAc and Fucα1-3GlcNAc. These building blocks were used for the glycosylation of the immunodominant portion of MOG (MOG_31-55) and analyzed with respect to their ability to bind to DC-SIGN in different biological setups, as well as their ability to inhibit the citrullination-induced aggregation of MOG_31-55. Finally, a cytokine secretion assay was carried out on human monocyte-derived DCs, which showed the ability of the neoglycopeptide decorated with a single Le^X to alter the balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, inducing a tolerogenic response.     

The Influence of Two‐Dimensional Organization on Peptide Conformation

Molecular crowding plays a significant role in regulating molecular conformation in cellular environments. It is also likely to be important wherever high molecular densities are required, for example in surface‐phase studies, in which molecular densities generally far exceed those observed in solution. Using on‐surface circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, we have investigated the structure of a synthetic peptide assembled into a highly packed monolayer. The immobilized peptide undergoes a structural transition between α‐helical and random coil conformation upon changes in pH and ionic concentration, but critically the threshold for conformational change is altered dramatically by molecular crowding within the peptide monolayer. This study highlights the often overlooked role molecular crowding plays in regulating molecular structure and function in surface‐phase studies of biological molecules.     

The Influence of Surface Composition of Nanoparticles on their Interactions with Serum Albumin

Interactions between differently functionalised silver and gold nanoparticles (NPs) as well as polystyrene nanoparticles with bovine serum albumin (BSA) are studied using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. It is found that the addition of NPs to the protein solution destroys part of the helical secondary structure of the protein as a result of surface adsorption. From the loss of free protein and hence the extent of their structural change adsorption equilibrium constants are derived. The results reveal that citrate‐coated gold and silver NPs exhibit much stronger interactions with BSA than polymeric or polymer‐coated metallic NPs. It is therefore concluded that for the particles considered, the influence of surface composition on the interaction behaviour dominates that of the core.     

Reversible Mechanical Induction of Optical Activity in Solutions of Soft‐Matter Nanophases

Nanophases of J‐aggregates of several achiral amphiphilic porphyrins, which have thin long acicular shapes (nanoribbons), show the immediate and reversible formation of a stationary mechano‐chiral state in the solution by vortex stirring, as detected by their circular dichroic signals measured by 2‐modulator generallized ellipsometry. The results suggest that when a macroscopic chiral force creates supramolecular chirality, it also creates an enantiomeric excess of screw distortions, which may be detected by their excitonic absorption. An explanation on the effect of the shear flow gradients is proposed on the basis of the orientation of the rotating particles in the vortex and the size, shape, and mechanical properties of the nanoparticles.     

Two Spectroscopies in One: Interference of Circular Dichroism and Raman Optical Activity

Previously, we and other laboratories have reported an unusual and strong Raman optical activity (ROA) induced in solvents by chiral dyes. Various theories of the phenomenon appeared, but they were not capable of explaining fully the observed ROA band signs and intensities. In this work, an analysis based both on the light scattering theory and dedicated experiments provides a more complete understanding. For example, double-cell magnetic circular dichroism and magnetic ROA experiments with copper-porphyrin complex show that the induced chirality is observed without any contact of the solvents with the complex. The results thus indicate that a combination of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) with the polarized Raman scattering is responsible for the effect. The degree of circularity of solvent vibrational bands is a principal molecular property participating in the event. The insight and the possibility to predict the chirality transfer promise future applications in spectroscopy, chemical analysis and polarized imaging.     

Amplification of Chirality in Helical Supramolecular Columns

Strong amplification of chirality occurs in dynamic, but highly ordered, helical columns in n-butanol, for which one chiral seed molecule suffices to render a column of 400 molecules to become homochiral. The chiral columns are formed in a thermally dependent stepwise process. The transition from achiral stacks to helical columns is highly cooperative owing to well-defined intermolecular interactions. `Sergeant and Soldiers' measurements allow for the calculation of the association constant and cooperativity length of the homochiral segments. The `Sergeant and Soldiers' data on the number of molecules within a column show a strikingly good match with data obtained from a theoretical model describing the self-assembly of the discotic molecules as a function of temperature and concentration.     

Influence of N-Methylation and Conformation on Almiramide Anti-Leishmanial Activity

The almiramide N-methylated lipopeptides exhibit promising activity against trypanosomatid parasites. A structure–activity relationship study has been performed to examine the influences of N-methylation and conformation on activity against various strains of leishmaniasis protozoan and on cytotoxicity. The synthesis and biological analysis of twenty-five analogs demonstrated that derivatives with a single methyl group on either the first or fifth residue amide nitrogen exhibited greater activity than the permethylated peptides and relatively high potency against resistant strains. Replacement of amino amide residues in the peptide, by turn inducing α amino γ lactam (Agl) and N-aminoimidazalone (Nai) counterparts, reduced typically anti-parasitic activity; however, peptide amides possessing Agl residues at the second residue retained significant potency in the unmethylated and permethylated series. Systematic study of the effects of methylation and turn geometry on anti-parasitic activity indicated the relevance of an extended conformer about the central residues, and conformational mobility by tertiary amide isomerization and turn geometry at the extremities of the active peptides.     

Synthetic Processes toward Nitriles without the Use of Cyanide: A Biocatalytic Concept Based on Dehydration of Aldoximes in Water

While belonging to the most fundamental functional groups, nitriles represent a class of compound that still raises challenges in terms of an efficient, cost-effective, general and, at the same time, sustainable way for their synthesis. Complementing existing chemical routes, recently a cyanide-free enzymatic process technology based on the use of an aldoxime dehydratase (Oxd) as a biocatalyst component has been developed and successfully applied for the synthesis of a range of nitrile products. In these biotransformations, the Oxd enzymes catalyze the dehydration of aldoximes as readily available substrates to the nitrile products. Herein, these developments with such enzymes are summarized, with a strong focus on synthetic applications. It is demonstrated that this biocatalytic technology has the potential to “cross the bridge” between the production of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals, on one hand, and bulk and commodity chemicals, on the other.     

Flupirtine Analogues: Explorative Synthesis and Influence of Chemical Structure on KV7.2/KV7.3 Channel Opening Activity

Neuronal voltage-gated potassium channels K_V7.2/K_V7.3 are sensitive to small-molecule drugs such as flupirtine, even though physiological response occurs in the absence of ligands. Clinically, prolonged use of flupirtine as a pain medication is associated with rare cases of drug-induced liver injury. Thus, safety concerns prevent a broader use of this non-opioid and non-steroidal analgesic in therapeutic areas with unmet medical needs such as hyperactive bladder or neonatal seizures. With the goal of studying influences of chemical structure on activity and toxicity of flupirtine, we explored modifications of the benzylamino bridge and the substitution pattern in both rings of flupirtine. Among twelve derivatives, four novel thioether derivatives showed the desired activity in cellular assays and may serve as leads for safer K_V channel openers.     

Synthetic and Organocatalytic Studies of Quinidine Analogues with Ring‐Size Modifications in the Quinuclidine Moiety

Six highly enantiopure analogues of [2.2.2] were synthesized with five‐ or seven‐membered rings in the (original) quinuclidine skeleton. Five of these compounds were prepared through epoxide opening by a secondary cyclic amine, providing the nor‐ and homoquinuclidine moieties through five‐ and six‐membered ring formation. This method failed in the case of seven‐membered ring formation, so for that particular ring size a different synthetic route starting from 3‐quinuclidone was applied. The six novel analogues were examined as organocatalysts in four asymmetric conjugate addition reactions and the results compared with those of known cinchona alkaloid catalysts. This study shows that modification of the quinuclidine ring can have a substantial influence on catalyst activity and enantioselectivity. To acquire more insight into the characteristics of the new catalysts, the pK_aH values were determined by means of fluorescence spectroscopy. Furthermore, relative reaction rates of conjugate thiol additions reactions catalyzed by these quinidine analogues were measured through polarimetry.     

How Post‐Translational Modifications Influence Amyloid Formation: A Systematic Study of Phosphorylation and Glycosylation in Model Peptides

A reciprocal relationship between phosphorylation and O‐glycosylation has been reported for many cellular processes and human diseases. The accumulated evidence points to the significant role these post‐translational modifications play in aggregation and fibril formation. Simplified peptide model systems provide a means for investigating the molecular changes associated with protein aggregation. In this study, by using an amyloid‐forming model peptide, we show that phosphorylation and glycosylation can affect folding and aggregation kinetics differently. Incorporation of phosphoserines, regardless of their quantity and position, turned out to be most efficient in preventing amyloid formation, whereas O‐glycosylation has a more subtle effect. The introduction of a single β‐galactose does not change the folding behavior of the model peptide, but does alter the aggregation kinetics in a site‐specific manner. The presence of multiple galactose residues has an effect similar to that of phosphorylation.     

氨基酸修饰的手性多酸的电子结构和光学活性的理论研究

采用密度泛函理论(DFT)方法研究了L-O₂CCHCH₃NH₃(L-Alanine)修饰的手性多酸[Se^ⅣMo₆O₂₁(L-alanine)₃]^2-, [Sb^ⅢMo₆O₂₁(L-alanine)₃]^3-及[Bi^ⅢMo₆O₂₁(L-alanine)₃]^3-的几何结构、电子结构以及紫外-可见(UV-Vis)谱和电子圆二色(ECD)谱.通过对电荷转移跃迁性质的分析, 探讨了多酸中杂原子对手性光学性质的影响.结果表明, 杂原子(Se, Sb, Bi)对多酸的几何结构影响较大, 且对该类体系的UV-Vis谱的吸收峰的强度和峰形都有显著的影响.其ECD谱的转动吸收方向和强度以及吸收峰位和峰形也因杂原子的不同而发生明显变化.低能区UV-Vis谱和ECD谱的产生主要源自多酸中氧原子的p轨道到Mo原子d轨道的电荷转移跃迁, 而对于高能区的UV-Vis谱和ECD谱的产生, 则主要为多酸中杂原子以及与杂原子直接相连的氧原子p轨道到Mo原子d轨道的电荷转移跃迁.     

Helicity Control in the Aggregation of Achiral Squaraine Dyes in Solution and Thin Films

Squaraine dyes are well known for their strong absorption in the visible regime. Reports on chiral squaraine dyes are, however, scarce. To address this gap, we here report two novel chiral squaraine dyes and their achiral counterparts. The presented dyes are aggregated in solution and in thin films. A detailed chiroptical study shows that thin films formed by co-assembling the chiral dye with its achiral counterpart exhibit exceptional photophysical properties. The circular dichroism (CD) of the co-assembled structures reaches a maximum when just 25 % of the chiral dye are present in the mixture. The solid structures with the highest relative CD effect are achieved when the chiral dye is used solely as a director, rather than the structural component. The chiroptical data are further supported by selected spin-filtering measurements using mc-AFM. These findings provide a promising platform for investigating the relationship between the dissymmetry of a supramolecular structure and emerging material properties rather than a comparison between a chiral molecular structure and an achiral counterpart.     

Interplay of Exciton Coupling and Large‐Amplitude Motions in the Vibrational Circular Dichroism Spectrum of Dehydroquinidine

A detailed analysis of the computed structure, energies, vibrational absorption (VA) and circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of 30 low‐energy conformers of dehydroquinidine reveals the existence of families of pseudo‐conformers, the structures of which differ mostly in the orientation of a single O?H bond. The pseudo‐conformers in a family are separated by very small energy barriers (i.e., 1.0 kcal mol^?1 or smaller) and have very different VCD spectra. First, we demonstrate the unreliable character of the Boltzmann factors predicted with DFT. Then, we show that the large differences observed between the VCD spectra of the pseudo‐conformers in a family are caused by large‐amplitude motions involving the O?H bond, which trigger the appearance/disappearance of strong VCD exciton‐coupling bands in the fingerprint region. This interplay between exciton coupling and large‐amplitude‐motion phenomena demonstrates that when dealing with flexible molecules with polar bonds, vibrational averaging of VCD spectra should not be neglected. In this regard, the dehydroquinidine molecule considered here is expected to be a typical example and not the exception to the rule.     

含偶氮苯主-客体复合物的光致异构化反应对结合能与几何构象的影响

在分子尺度上构建光驱动的人工分子机器是超分子化学研究的一个热点。偶氮苯是一类具有双稳态的光致开关分子,能够完成高效、可逆的反式(E)$\to $顺式(Z)的光致异构化过程,因而可以作为人工分子机器的功能单元。本文采用密度泛函理论(DFT)和反应分子动力学(RMD)模拟,研究了含偶氮苯封端基团的互锁型超分子体系中冠醚主体与二烷基铵客体间结合强度,模拟了偶氮苯Z$\to $E异构化反应的动态过程,讨论了异构化反应对主客体分子构象的影响。在偶氮苯封端基团通过发生Z$\to $E异构化实现体系单向可控运动时,较强的主-客体间结合能力是保证互锁型超分子体系稳定的必要前提。顺式客体与主体大环氢键相互作用比反式客体更强,因此顺式复合异构体具有比反式异构体更大的结合强度。偶氮苯基团发生E$\to $Z光致异构化引入位阻效应,使得顺式复合物只能从环戊基准封端处进行脱环。主客体复合过程对偶氮苯基团的几何结构没有明显影响。偶氮苯光致异构化发生的速度快于客体脱环的速度是实现单向运动的动力学上的必要条件。在异构化反应后的500 ps内,大环会经历一个明显的结构驰豫过程。冠醚大环主体的柔性构象有助于实现在偶氮苯光致异构化发生过程中主客体间持续稳定的结合。各种超分子体系中,尽管客体组成各不相同,但是包含相似的主客体识别位点的超分子体系具有相似的结合能,显示了机械互锁型复合体系中各种功能性构建单元间主客体相互作用具有正交性。引入双稳态的偶氮苯功能基团对客体其他部分的几何结构影响很小。理论计算结果有助于理性设计更复杂的刺激响应性人工分子机器。     

Chirogenesis in Zinc Porphyrins: Theoretical Evaluation of Electronic Transitions,Controlling Structural Factors and Axial Ligation

In the present work, sixteen different zinc porphyrins (possessing different meso substituents) with and without a chiral guest were modelled using DFT and TD-DFT approaches in order to understand the influence of various controlling factors on electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Two major aspects are influenced by these factors: excitation energy of the electronic transitions and their intensity. In the case of excitation energy, the influence increases in the following order: orientation of the peripheral substituents<substituent's nature<axial ligation. However, the deformation of the porphyrin plane does not affect the excitation energies. In the case of intensity, the influence increases as follows: substituent's nature<conrotatory orientation of the peripheral substituents<deformation of the porphyrin plane<disrotatory orientation of the peripheral substituents<axial ligation.