黄酮化合物的合成新方法

黄酮类化合物具有广泛而重要的生物活性和药理作用,其化学合成研究受到普遍重视.经典的合成方法主要是查耳酮路线和β-丙二酮路线.近年来有很多新技术、新方法在黄酮化合物合成中得到了巧妙的应用.对近年来出现的新的改进的Baker-Venkataraman法、催化羰基化闭环法以及其他合成黄酮化合物的新方法作了介绍.     

Calculating similarities between biological activities in the MDL Drug Data Report database

There are a number of licensed databases that assign biological activities to druglike compounds. The MDL Drug Data Report (MDDR), compiled from the patent literature, is a popular example. It contains several hundred distinct activities, some of which are therapeutic areas (e.g., Antihypertensive) and some of which are related to specific enzymes or receptors (e.g., ACE inhibitor). There are several data mining applications where it would be useful to calculate a similarity between any two activities. Two distinct activity labels can have a significant similarity for a number of reasons: two activities can be nearly synonymous (e.g., CCK B antagonist vs Gastrin antagonist), one activity may be a subset of another (e.g., Dopamine (D2) agonist vs Dopamine agonist), or an activity can be the mechanism by which another activity works (e.g., ACE inhibitor vs Antihypertensive), etc. In an ideal world, similarities for two activities could be calculated simply by comparing the compounds they have in common, but in hand-curated databases such as the MDDR the assignment of activities to compounds are inevitably inconsistent and incomplete. We propose a number of methods of calculating activity-activity similarities that hopefully compensate for errors in hand-curation. Two of these, TIMI and trend vector, show promise. Soft clustering of the activities using a union of similarity methods shows a reasonable association of therapeutic areas with their mechanisms.     

The development of a knowledge base for basic active structures: an example case of dopamine agonists

Background  

Chemical compounds affecting a bioactivity can usually be classified into several groups, each of which shares a characteristic substructure. We call these substructures "basic active structures" or BASs. The extraction of BASs is challenging when the database of compounds contains a variety of skeletons. Data mining technology, associated with the work of chemists, has enabled the systematic elaboration of BASs.     

Pharmacophore-based database mining for probing fragmental drug-likeness of diketo acid analogues

A number of the structurally diverse chemical compounds with functional diketo acid (DKA) subunit(s) have been revealed by combined online and MoStBiodat 3D pharmacophore-guided ZINC and PubChem database screening. We used the structural data available from such screening to analyse the similarities of the compounds containing the DKA fragment. Generally, the analysis by principal component analysis and self-organizing neural network approaches reveals four families of compounds complying with the chemical constitution (aromatic, aliphatic) of the compounds. From a practical point of view, similar studies may reveal potential bioisosteres of known drugs, e.g. raltegravir/elvitegravir. In this context, it seems that mono-halogenated aryl substructures with para group show the closest similarity to these compounds, in contrast to structures where the aromatic ring is halogenated in both ortho- and para-locations.     

Rule extraction from a mutagenicity data set using adaptively grown phylogenetic-like trees

A public bacterial mutagenicity database was classified into 2-D structural families using a set of specific algorithms and clustering techniques that find overlapping classes of compounds based upon chemical substructures. Structure-activity relationships were learned from the biological activity of the compounds within each class and used to identify rules that define substructures potentially responsible for mutagenic activity. In addition, this method of analysis was used to compare the pharmacologically relevant substructure of test compounds with their potential toxic substructures making this a potentially valuable in silico profiling tool for lead selection and optimization.     

黄烷酮化合物的合成研究进展

黄烷酮化合物是自然界中广泛存在的一类具诸多生理活性的重要化合物，本文对近20年来黄烷酮化合物的合成研究进展进行了综述。     

黄酮化合物的合成研究进展

黄酮化合物是一类具有多种生物活性的天然产物,其经典的合成方法主要为查耳酮路线和β-丙二酮路线.近年来出现了许多新技术、新方法.本文介绍了2'-羟基查尔酮的氧化关环法、黄烷酮氧化法、改进的Baker-Venkataraman法及其他合成黄酮化合物的方法.     

Exploring the limits of graph invariant- and spectrum-based discrimination of (sub)structures

The limits of a recently proposed computer method for finding all distinct substructures of a chemical structure are systematically explored within comprehensive graph samples which serve as supersets of the graphs corresponding to saturated hydrocarbons, both acyclic (up to n = 20) and (poly)cyclic (up to n = 10). Several pairs of smallest graphs and compounds are identified that cannot be distinguished using selected combinations of invariants such as combinations of Balaban's index J and graph matrix eigenvalues. As the most important result, it can now be stated that the computer program NIMSG, using J and distance eigenvalues, is safe within the domain of mono- through tetracyclic saturated hydrocarbon substructures up to n = 10 (oligocyclic decanes) and of all acyclic alkane substructures up to n = 19 (nonadecanes), i.e., it will not miss any of these substructures. For the regions surrounding this safe domain, upper limits are found for the numbers of substructures that may be lost in the worst case, and these are low. This taken together means that the computer program can be reasonably employed in chemistry whenever one is interested in finding the saturated hydrocarbon substructures. As to unsaturated and heteroatom containing substructures, there are reasons to conjecture that the method's resolving power for them is similar.     

Conserved core substructures in the overlay of protein-ligand complexes

The method of conserved core substructure matching (CSM) for the overlay of protein-ligand complexes is described. The method relies upon distance geometry to align structurally similar substructures without regard to sequence similarity onto substructures from a reference protein empirically selected to include key determinants of binding site location and geometry. The error in ligand position is reduced in reoriented ensembles generated with CSM when compared to other overlay methods. Since CSM can only succeed when the selected core substructure is geometrically conserved, misalignments only rarely occur. The method may be applied to reliably overlay large numbers of protein-ligand complexes in a way that optimizes ligand position at a specific binding site or subsite or to align structures from large and diverse protein families where the conserved binding site is localized to only a small portion of either protein. Core substructures may be complex and must be chosen with care. We have created a database of empirically selected core substructures to demonstrate the utility of CSM alignment of ligand binding sites in important drug targets. A Web-based interface can be used to apply CSM to align large collections of protein-ligand complexes for use in drug design using these substructures or to evaluate the use of alternative core substructures that may then be shared with the larger user community. Examples show the benefit of CSM in the practice of structure-based drug design.     

Regulatory use of (Q)SARs in toxicological hazard assessment strategies

In 2001, the European Commission published a policy statement ("White Paper") on future chemicals regulation and risk reduction that proposed the use of non-animal test systems and tailor-made testing approaches, including (Q)SARs, to reduce financial costs and the number of test animals employed. The authors have compiled a database containing data submitted within the EU chemicals notification procedure. From these data, (Q)SARs for the prediction of local irritation/corrosion and/or sensitisation potential were developed and published. These (Q)SARs, together with an expert system supporting their use, will be submitted for official validation and application within regulatory hazard assessment strategies. The main features are: two sets of structural alerts for the prediction of skin sensitisation hazard classification as defined by the European risk phrase R43, comprising 15 rules for chemical substructures deemed to be sensitising by direct action with cells or proteins, and three rules for substructures acting indirectly, i.e., requiring biochemical transformation; a decision support system (DSS) for the prediction of skin and/or eye lesion potential built from information extracted from our database. This DSS combines SARs defining reactive chemical substructures relevant for local lesions to be classified, and QSARs for the prediction of the absence of such a potential. The role of the BfR database, and (Q)SARs derived from it, in the use of current and future (EU) testing strategies for irritation and sensitisation is discussed.     

Pharmacophore-based database mining for probing fragmental drug-likeness of diketo acid analogues

A number of the structurally diverse chemical compounds with functional diketo acid (DKA) subunit(s) have been revealed by combined online and MoStBiodat 3D pharmacophore-guided ZINC and PubChem database screening. We used the structural data available from such screening to analyse the similarities of the compounds containing the DKA fragment. Generally, the analysis by principal component analysis and self-organizing neural network approaches reveals four families of compounds complying with the chemical constitution (aromatic, aliphatic) of the compounds. From a practical point of view, similar studies may reveal potential bioisosteres of known drugs, e.g. raltegravir/elvitegravir. In this context, it seems that mono-halogenated aryl substructures with para group show the closest similarity to these compounds, in contrast to structures where the aromatic ring is halogenated in both ortho- and para-locations.     

Highly efficient biomimetic total synthesis and structural verification of bistratamides E and J from Lissoclinum bistratum

The interesting biological activities of heterocycle-containing cyclic peptide-derived natural products, isolated from marine organisms over the past twenty years, have attracted the interest of many synthetic and natural products chemists. Bistratamides E-J, members of this class of natural products that were isolated very recently from Lissoclinum bistratum, exhibited cytotoxic activity against a human colon tumor (HCT-116) cell line. Here we report the first total syntheses of bistratamides E (1) and J (2) in overall yields of 19 and 34 %, respectively. The thiazole substructures have been synthesized by oxidation of their corresponding thiazoline substructures, which were obtained from cysteine containing peptides using a novel biomimetic approach wherein Val-Cys dipeptide units were converted to thiazolines by a bisphosphonium salt. The final macrocyclization was promoted efficiently using the combination of PyBOP and DMAP. This approach allows the use of readily available Fmoc-protected amino acids to make complex thiazole and oxazoline-containing natural products.     

Novel tetrahydrofuran structures derived from beta-beta-coupling reactions involving sinapyl acetate in Kenaf lignins

Free radical coupling of sinapyl gamma-acetate or cross-coupling between sinapyl acetate and sinapyl alcohol yields novel tetrahydrofuran beta-beta-(cross-)coupled dehydrodimers. Such substructures are therefore anticipated in naturally acetylated lignins, e.g. in Kenaf, if sinapyl acetate is a component of the lignin monomer pool. The DFRC (derivatization followed by reductive cleavage) method, modified by replacing all acetyl reagents and solvents with their propionyl analogs (DFRC'), allows the analysis of naturally acetylated lignins. DFRC' treatment of the sinapyl acetate-derived dimers or crossed dimers gave diagnostic products that retain at least one acetate group on a sidechain gamma-position; the products have been authenticated by comparison of their mass spectra and GC retention times with those of synthesized compounds. DFRC' of Kenaf lignins produces the same diagnostic products as from the dimers, implicating the presence of the various tetrahydrofuran units in Kenaf lignins. With data from the model compounds in hand, NMR analysis of Kenaf lignins elegantly confirms the presence of such substructures in the polymer, establishing that acetates on Kenaf lignins arise through incorporation of sinapyl acetate, as a lignin precursor, via enzyme-mediated radical coupling mechanisms.     

Regulatory use of (Q)SARs in toxicological hazard assessment strategies

In 2001, the European Commission published a policy statement ("White Paper") on future chemicals regulation and risk reduction that proposed the use of non-animal test systems and tailor-made testing approaches, including (Q)SARs, to reduce financial costs and the number of test animals employed. The authors have compiled a database containing data submitted within the EU chemicals notification procedure. From these data, (Q)SARs for the prediction of local irritation/corrosion and/or sensitisation potential were developed and published. These (Q)SARs, together with an expert system supporting their use, will be submitted for official validation and application within regulatory hazard assessment strategies. The main features are: ? two sets of structural alerts for the prediction of skin sensitisation hazard classification as defined by the European risk phrase R43, comprising 15 rules for chemical substructures deemed to be sensitising by direct action with cells or proteins, and three rules for substructures acting indirectly, i.e., requiring biochemical transformation; ? a decision support system (DSS) for the prediction of skin and/or eye lesion potential built from information extracted from our database. This DSS combines SARs defining reactive chemical substructures relevant for local lesions to be classified, and QSARs for the prediction of the absence of such a potential. The role of the BfR database, and (Q)SARs derived from it, in the use of current and future (EU) testing strategies for irritation and sensitisation is discussed.     

Microfluidic synthesis of multifunctional Janus particles for biomedical applications

Multifunctional Janus particles have a variety of applications in a wide range of fields. However, to achieve many of these applications, high-throughput, low-cost techniques are needed to synthesize these particles with precise control of the various structural/physical/chemical properties. Microfluidics provides a unique platform to fabricate Janus particles using carefully controlled liquid flow in microfluidic channels to form Janus droplets and various types of solidification methods to solidify them into Janus particles. In this Focus article, we summarize the most recent representative works on Janus particle fabrication in microfluidics. The applications of Janus particles in biomedical areas are emphasized. We believe that microfluidics-enabled multifunctional Janus particles could resolve multiple prevalent issues in biomedicine (e.g., disease monitoring at an early stage, high-throughput bioassays, therapeutic delivery) if persistent effort and collaboration are devoted to this direction.     

Piperazine: Its role in the discovery of pesticides

Derivatives of piperazine, which is one of the most important heterocycles, are often used as linkers to connect active substructures that show promising bioactivities, especially in the field of agrochemicals. From 2000 to 2022, many piperazine-containing compounds were found to exhibit excellent activities against fungi, bacteria, insects, plant viruses, and weeds and have also been used as plant growth regulators. Currently, the development of novel pesticides to prevent the invasion of crop pathogens and ensure the quality and yields of crops is still needed. We herein investigated and summarized the role that piperazine plays in the discovery of pesticides to provide a comprehensive summary of the broad activities of piperazine derivatives in agricultural applications and offer a potential reference for novel pesticide design using piperazine-containing compounds. Moreover, structure–activity relationships (SARs) analyses of bioactive piperazine-containing compounds are also discussed for a deeper understanding.     

Recent Developments in Chitosan-Based Micro/Nanofibers for Sustainable Food Packaging,Smart Textiles,Cosmeceuticals, and Biomedical Applications

Chitosan has many useful intrinsic properties (e.g., non-toxicity, antibacterial properties, and biodegradability) and can be processed into high-surface-area nanofiber constructs for a broad range of sustainable research and commercial applications. These nanofibers can be further functionalized with bioactive agents. In the food industry, for example, edible films can be formed from chitosan-based composite fibers filled with nanoparticles, exhibiting excellent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties for a variety of products. Processing ‘pure’ chitosan into nanofibers can be challenging due to its cationic nature and high crystallinity; therefore, chitosan is often modified or blended with other materials to improve its processability and tailor its performance to specific needs. Chitosan can be blended with a variety of natural and synthetic polymers and processed into fibers while maintaining many of its intrinsic properties that are important for textile, cosmeceutical, and biomedical applications. The abundance of amine groups in the chemical structure of chitosan allows for facile modification (e.g., into soluble derivatives) and the binding of negatively charged domains. In particular, high-surface-area chitosan nanofibers are effective in binding negatively charged biomolecules. Recent developments of chitosan-based nanofibers with biological activities for various applications in biomedical, food packaging, and textiles are discussed herein.     

Current use of pressurised liquid extraction and subcritical water extraction in environmental analysis

This review updates our knowledge about pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) and subcritical water extraction (SWE), two sample preparation techniques which are increasingly used for the extraction of moderately and non-volatile organic pollutants from a variety of solid and semi-solid environmental matrices. Parameters influencing the extraction yield and selectivity are discussed. The results deriving from the analysis of several different classes of compounds in a variety of matrices are compared with a reference method, e.g., Soxhlet extraction. PLE and SWE are both promising techniques due to the short extraction times and low solvent consumption. In addition, SWE offers a wide range of polarities by changing the temperature and can easily provide class-selective extraction by temperature programming and/or the addition of modifier(s). This indicates that, even though many applications have already been reported, more can be expected.