Unusual C25 steroids produced by a sponge-derived Penicillium citrinum

[structure: see text] Structurally unique steroids, isocyclocitrinol A (1) and 22-acetylisocyclocitrinol A (2), were isolated from the extract of a saltwater culture of sponge-derived Penicilliun citrinum. The structures were established by analysis of 1D and 2D NMR data. The absolute structures were determined on the basis of X-ray structure analysis and application of modified Mosher's method. Furthermore, the structure of cyclocitrinol (3a) previously isolated from a terrestrial P. citrinum was revised as 3b. Compounds 1 and 2 showed weak antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Enterococcus durans.     

Transition metal complexes coordinated by an NAD(P)H model compound and their enhanced hydride-donating abilities in the presence of a base

The ruthenium(II) and rhenium(I) complexes containing an NAD(P)H model compound, 1-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide (BNAH), as ligand, [Ru(tpy)(bpy)(BNAH)]2+ (1 a) and [Re(bpy)(CO)3(BNAH)]+ (1 b), were quantitatively produced by the reaction of the corresponding metal hydrido complexes with BNA(+) (1-benzylnicotinamidium cation). In the presence of base with pK(a) = 8.9, 1 a and 1 b have much greater reducing power than "free" BNAH. The oxidation potentials of 1 a in the absence and the presence of triethylamine were 0.55 V and -0.04 V, respectively, versus Ag/AgNO(3), whereas that of "free" BNAH was 0.30 V. Spectroscopic results clearly showed that the base extracts a proton from the carbamoyl group on 1 a and 1 b to give the deprotonated BNAH coordinating to the transition-metal complexes [Ru(tpy)(bpy)(BNAH-H+)]+ (3 a) and [Re(bpy)(CO)3(BNAH-H+)] (3 b); this deprotonation underlies the enhancement in reducing ability. The deprotonated forms 3 a and 3 b can efficiently reduce other NAD(P) models to give the corresponding 1,4-dihydro form, resulting in the deprotonated BNA+ being coordinated to the metal complexes [Ru(tpy)(bpy)(BNA(+)-H+)]2+ (2 a) and [Re(bpy)(CO)3(BNA+-H+)]+ (2 b); "free" BNAH and the protonated adducts 1 a and 1 b cannot act in this way. X-ray crystallography was performed on the PF6- salt of 2 a, and showed that the deprotonated nitrogen atom on the carbamoyl group coordinates to the ruthenium(II) metal center with a bond length of 2.086(3) Angstroms. Infrared spectral data suggested that the deprotonated carbamoyl group on the reduced forms 3 a and 3 b is converted to the imido group, and that the oxygen atom coordinates to the metal center.     

Evidence for a Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Mechanism in a Biomimetic System for Monoamine Oxidase B Catalysis

Mechanistic studies with 5-ethyl-3-methyllumiflavinium (Fl⁺) perchlorate, a biomimetic model for flavoenzyme monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) catalysis, and the tertiary, allyl amine 1-methyl-4-(1-methyl-1 H-pyrrol-2-yl)-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MMTP) reveal that proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) may be an important pathway for MAO catalysis. The first step involves a single-electron transfer (SET) leading to the free radicals Fl^. and MMTP^., the latter produced by deprotonation of the initially formed and highly acidic MMTP^.+. Molecular oxygen (O₂) is found to play a hitherto unrecognized role in the early steps of the oxidation. MMTP and several structurally similar tertiary amines are the only tertiary amines oxidized by MAO, and their structural/electronic properties provide the key to understanding this behavior. A general hypothesis about the role of SET in MAO catalysis, and the recognition that PCET occurs with appropriately substituted substrates is presented.     

4-Nitro-9,10-di­hydro­phenanthrene and a polymorphic form of 4-nitro­phenanthrene

The crystal structures of 4-nitro-9,10-di­hydro­phenanthrene, C₁₄H₁₁NO₂, (I), and 4-nitro­phenanthrene, C₁₄H₉NO₂, (II), the latter having two crystallographically independent mol­ecules, show that the mol­ecules are not planar. The dihedral angles between the phenyl rings of the bi­phenyl skeletons are 28.64 (8)° for (I), and 10.34 (15) and 11.75 (13)° for the two mol­ecules of (II). The differences in the dihedral angles have an effect on the photochemical reactivity of the mol­ecules.     

Synthesis and In Vitro Biological Evaluation of Psoralen‐Linked Fullerenes

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a widely used medicinal treatment for the cancer therapy that utilizes the combination of a photosensitizer (PS) and light irradiation. In this study, we synthesized two novel C₆₀ fullerene derivatives, compounds 1 and 2 , with a psoralen moiety that can covalently bind to DNA molecules via cross‐linking to pyrimidine under photoirradiation. Along with several fullerene derivatives, the biological properties of several novel compounds have been evaluated. Compounds 1 and 2 , which have been shown to induce the production of hydroxyl radicals using several ROS detecting reagents, induced DNA strand breaks with relatively weak activities in the in vitro detection system using a supercoiled plasmid. However, the psoralen‐bound fullerene with carboxyl groups ( 2 ) only showed genotoxicity in the genotoxicity assay system of the umu test. Compound 2 was also seen to have cytotoxic activities in several cancer cell lines at higher doses compared to water‐soluble fullerenes.