Strategies for the synthesis of fluorescently labelled PNA

A simple and effective strategy for preparing fluorophore-labelled PNA is described. A C-terminal S-t-butylmercaptocysteine-derivatized PNA was prepared on solid-phase using Fmoc chemistry. Selective deprotection of the S-t-butylmercapto group on-bead, allowed the free thiol to be reacted with a fluorophore derivatized via an iodoacetamido or maleimido linker. Subsequent cleavage and sidechain deprotection yielded C-terminal labelled PNA in good yield and purity. Dual labelled PNA was also prepared by using both C-terminal (-SH) and N-terminal (-NH(2)) labelling chemistries.     

An efficient method for the solid-phase synthesis of fluorescently labelled peptides

Fluorescent labelling of peptides is necessary in a wide range of cell biological applications. In the last decade, the application of cell-penetrating molecules has been advanced by the use of peptides, which have proven efficient in aiding nonpermeant molecules to cross the cell membrane. Currently, the development of new cell-penetrating peptides based on the design and synthesis of labelled peptide libraries is becoming critically important. Here we report an improved method for the solid-phase labelling of peptides, mediated by the activation of 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein with PyAOP/ HOAt.     

Design, synthesis and characterisation of guanosine-based amphiphiles

A small library of sugar-modified guanosine derivatives has been prepared, starting from a common intermediate, fully protected on the nucleobase. Insertion of myristoyl chains and of diverse hydrophilic groups, such as an oligoethylene glycol, an amino acid or a disaccharide chain, connected through in vivo reversible ester linkages, or of a charged functional group provided different examples of amphiphilic guanosine analogues, named G1-G7 herein. All of the sugar-modified derivatives were positive in the potassium picrate test, showing an ability to form G-tetrads. CD spectra demonstrated that, as dilute solutions in CHCl(3), distinctive G-quadruplex systems may be formed, with spatial organisations dependent upon the structural modifications. Two compounds, G1 and G2, proved to be good low-molecular-weight organogelators in polar organic solvents, such as methanol, ethanol and acetonitrile. Ion transportation experiments through phospholipid bilayers were carried out to evaluate their ability to mediate H(+) transportation, with G5 showing the highest activity within the investigated series. Moreover, G3 and G5 exhibited a significant cytotoxic profile against human MCF-7 cancer cells in in vitro bioassays.     

Microwave-assisted coupling with DIC/HOBt for the synthesis of difficult peptoids and fluorescently labelled peptides—a gentle heat goes a long way

Mild thermal effects (Arrhenius based) achieved with microwave heating proved to be highly successful in enabling rapid and efficient secondary amine couplings and the labelling of peptides with a variety of fluorophores and quenchers in high yields and purities with just traditional, yet robust, HOBt/DIC chemistry.     

Synthesis and characterization of fluorescently labelled poly(vinyl acetate) particles

Nonaqueous dispersions of poly(vinyl acetate) particles stabilized with poly(2-ethylhexyl methacrylate) and labelled with fluorescent dyes in the core and stabilizer polymer phases were prepared. The materials were characterized using a broad range of techniques (NMR, UV, and fluorescence spectroscopy. GPC, particle sizing, and DSC). The data show that dispersion polymerization of vinyl acetate in the presence of stabilizers containing certain fluorescent dye derivatives, instead of unlabelled stabilizer, results in changes in the mean particle size, size distribution, composition, and molecular weights of the colloidal polymer particles. It was found that increasing the amounts of fluorescent groups in the stabilizer resulted in smaller mean particle sizes and larger amounts of irreversibly attached stabilizer. When the average number of labels in stabilizer exceeded one per chain, a new ultra-high molecular weight polymer fraction appeared. The fluorescence spectra for several of these materials are reported. We describe how fluorescence decay curves can be used to assess block formation and local phase separation in particles labelled with phenanthrene groups. These materials are intended to be used for more detailed studies by fluorescence spectroscopy. Those results will be published in due course.     

Capillary array scanner for time-resolved detection and identification of fluorescently labelled DNA fragments

The first capillary array scanner for time-resolved fluorescence detection in parallel capillary electrophoresis based on semiconductor technology is described. The system consists essentially of a confocal fluorescence microscope and a x,y-microscope scanning stage. Fluorescence of the labelled probe molecules was excited using a short-pulse diode laser emitting at 640 nm with a repetition rate of 50 MHz. Using a single filter system the fluorescence decays of different labels were detected by an avalanche photodiode in combination with a PC plug-in card for time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC). The time-resolved fluorescence signals were analyzed and identified by a maximum likelihood estimator (MLE). The x,y-microscope scanning stage allows for discontinuous, bidirectional scanning of up to 16 capillaries in an array, resulting in longer fluorescence collection times per capillary compared to scanners working in a continuous mode. Synchronization of the alignment and measurement process were developed to allow for data acquisition without overhead. Detection limits in the subzeptomol range for different dye molecules separated in parallel capillaries have been achieved. In addition, we report on parallel time-resolved detection and separation of more than 400 bases of single base extension DNA fragments in capillary array electrophoresis. Using only semiconductor technology the presented technique represents a low-cost alternative for high throughput DNA sequencing in parallel capillaries.     

Design,synthesis and spectroscopic characterisation of a focused library based on the polyandrocarpamine natural product scaffold

A focused library based on the marine natural products polyandrocarpamines A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ) has been designed and synthesised using parallel solution‐phase chemistry. In silico physicochemical property calculations were performed on synthetic candidates in order to optimise the library for drug discovery and chemical biology. A library of ten 2‐aminoimidazolone products ( 3–12 ) was prepared by coupling glycocyamidine and a variety of aldehydes using a one‐step stereoselective aldol condensation reaction under microwave conditions. All analogues were characterised by NMR, UV, IR and MS. The library was evaluated for cytotoxicity towards the prostate cancer cell lines, LNCaP, PC‐3 and 22Rv1. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design,synthesis, and characterisation of symmetrical bent-core liquid crystalline dimers with diacetylene spacer

Two new symmetrical bent-core liquid crystalline dimers (B-DA4 and B-DA12) bearing diacetylenes spacer and different terminal alkyl chains were successfully synthesised via Sonagashira coupling reaction. The molecular structures of these dimers were confirmed by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Their thermal stability and liquid crystalline properties were characterised by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarised light microscopy (PLM), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Results showed that the diacetylene group may be thermal polymerised at about 260°C far from thermal decomposition. The dimers exhibited monotropic phase behaviour and typical layered-structure phase with long-range order on a length scale of about 6.3 nm was observed. The results mentioned above offer a promising opportunity to design polydiacetylene nanowires by thermal, UV irradiation, or scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) tip-induced polymerisation.     

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of isotopically labelled L-Valine,L-Isoleucine and allo-isoleucine

Syntheses of (3R)-[4,4,4-D₃]-L-valine, [¹⁵N]-L-isoleucine and [¹⁵N]-allo-isoleucine from homochiral 2-alkylated carboxylic acids are described. The approach involves a one-carbon homologation of the carboxylic acid to give the corrresponding β-substituted α-keto ester which is converted directly to the α-amino acid in a one-pot procedure involving two enzyme catalysed reactions (Candida cylindracea lipase to hydroluse the ester and leucine dehydrogenase to catalyse the reductive amination of the ketone). This strategy may be simply adapted for the selective labelling of each site of the L-amino acid.     

The design,synthesis and characterisation of channel-forming peptides

Synthetic peptides designed using criteria derived from statistical analyses of beta-barrel membrane proteins form channels in synthetic membranes at very low peptide:lipid ratios.     

The characterisation of polyether ionophore veterinary drugs by HPLC-electrospray MS.

We undertake the determination of a wide range of veterinary drug residues in a range of animal products. Various screening analyses are employed, followed by HPLC-API (atmospheric pressure ionisation)-MS for the unequivocal confirmation of significant positives. EU legislation for the use of GC-MS as a confirmatory technique requires the successful monitoring of at least four diagnostic ions and although no such requirement exists for HPLC-MS confirmation, a similar requirement would seem appropriate. Until recently, reports describing the electrospray MS confirmation of residues of the polyether ionophores have been based on monitoring one or two ions. We have found that the addition of ammonium acetate to the HPLC mobile phase, in conjunction with 'cone voltage' or 'skimmer' assisted fragmentation, is a convenient way of producing additional diagnostic ions from polyether ionophore compounds, without compromising the overall sensitivity. Results for lasalocid, the most widely used compound, are presented. Electrospray MS data and acquisition parameters for lasalocid, monensin, narasin and salinomycin are described. The advantage of this analytical approach is that it may be used to generate confirmatory data using a single quadrupole MS system, without the need for advanced MS instrumentation, e.g., MS-MS.     

Hydroxylammonium fluorometalate: synthesis and characterisation of a new fluorozincate

Abstract  

A new coordination compound of zinc fluoride and hydroxylammonium, (NH₃OH)₂ZnF₄, was obtained after dissolving zinc powder in hydrofluoric acid (40%) and adding solid hydroxylammonium fluoride. The colourless crystals were characterised chemically, magnetically, structurally by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and thermogravimetrically by TGA and DSC analysis. The structure consists of NH₃OH⁺ cations and ZnF₆ octahedra in which the metal ion lies on the inversion centre. Each of the ZnF₆ octahedra shares four of its vertices in a way that each vertex is shared between two octahedra. Oxygen and nitrogen atoms of hydroxylammonium cations are donors of hydrogen bonds. Hydroxylamonium fluorozincate crystallizes monoclinic, P21/c, with cell parameters a = 8.1604(4) ?, b = 5.8406(3) ?, c = 5.6586(2) ? and β = 94.745(3)°. The compound decomposes above 373 K in four steps, obtaining ZnO as the final residue. Magnetic properties of the compound were studied between 2 and 300 K, giving the prevailing diamagnetic behaviour with room temperature susceptibility of −9 × 10⁻⁵ emu mol⁻¹.     

Heterocyclic reactive mesogens: synthesis, characterisation and mesomorphic behaviour

Novel heterocyclic and photopolymerizable liquid crystalline materials (reactive mesogens) with smectic phases have been synthesized and characterized. A selection of heterocyclic rings, such as benzothiazole, benzothiadiazole and pyrimidine, has been incorporated into the aromatic core to control the electrochemical/luminescence properties and the structural geometry. Particular emphasis is focused on structure-property relationships, in which the variation of molecular structure and its subsequent effect on the liquid crystalline transition temperatures have been investigated.     

Heterocyclic reactive mesogens: synthesis,characterisation and mesomorphic behaviour

Novel heterocyclic and photopolymerizable liquid crystalline materials (reactive mesogens) with smectic phases have been synthesized and characterized. A selection of heterocyclic rings, such as benzothiazole, benzothiadiazole and pyrimidine, has been incorporated into the aromatic core to control the electrochemical/luminescence properties and the structural geometry. Particular emphasis is focused on structure–property relationships, in which the variation of molecular structure and its subsequent effect on the liquid crystalline transition temperatures have been investigated.     

Optically active,mesogenic lanthanide complexes: design,synthesis and characterisation

The synthesis, molecular structural characterisation and mesomorphic behaviour of lanthanidomesogens with the formula [LnL(LH)₂ ][X]₂ are reported. These mesogens were derived from ligands (LH- n ) formed by covalently linking the pro-mesogenic cholesterol segment with the N-(n-decyl)salicylaldimine core through either an even-parity (4-oxybutanoyloxy/6-oxyhexanoyloxy/8-oxyoctanoyloxy) or an odd-parity (5-oxypentano-yloxy) spacer. These ligands were designed based on the recently conceived concept of decoupling the anisometric segment from the metal-coordinating site by a flexible spacer to account for the stabilisation of nematic and/or smectic phases at lower temperatures. The even parity spacer ligands are polymesomorphic whereas the odd parity analogue exhibits only the chiral nematic phase. In contrast, the complexes display solely the smectic A phase indicating that the variation in the nature of lanthanide has no influence on the general phase behaviour of the complexes. The clearing temperatures of both the ligands and the complexes display an odd-even effect; the even members show relatively higher transition temperatures.     

导电聚哒嗪的电化学合成与表征

本工作用循环伏安法研究了哒嗪的电化学氧化聚合过程以及聚哒嗪的电化学行为。合成了电导率约为1S/cm的聚哒嗪, 并采用光谱、能谱方法对它进行了表征。FTIR谱表明聚哒嗪中3,6-二取代哒嗪结构引起的吸收带位于1330, 1120, 1100和840cm^-^1, 掺杂聚哒嗪的双极子能带的两个光吸收峰分别位于1.8, 0.9eV。