Theoretical study of ribonucleotide reductase mechanism-based inhibition by 2'-azido-2'-deoxyribonucleoside 5'-diphosphates

2'-azido-2'-deoxyribonucleoside 5'-diphosphates are mechanism-based inhibitors of Ribonucleotide Reductase. Considerable effort has been made to elucidate their mechanism of inhibition, which is still controversial and not fully understood. Previous studies have detected the formation of a radical intermediate when the inhibitors interact with the enzyme, and several authors have proposed possible structures for this radical. We have conducted a theoretical study of the possible reactions involved, which allowed us to identify the structure of the new radical among the several proposals. A new reactional path is also proposed that is the most kinetically favored to yield this radical and ultimately inactivate the enzyme. The energetic involved in this mechanism, both for radical formation and radical decay, as well as the calculated Hyperfine Coupling Constants for the radical intermediate, are in agreement with the correspondent experimental values. This mechanistic alternative is fully coherent with remaining experimental data.     

Synthesis of non-agglomerated Ba<Subscript>0.77</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.23</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanopowders by a modified polymeric precursor method

In this work, we have studied the influence of the pH on the synthesis and structural properties of the Ba_0.77Ca_0.23TiO₃ nanopowders synthesized by a modified polymeric precursor method, in order to achieve non-agglomerated powders. Synthesis, morphology, thermal reactions, crystallite and average particle size of the synthesized powders were investigated through thermal analysis (DTA/TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and Infrared spectroscopy. In summary, Ba_0.77Ca_0.23TiO₃ nanopowders were synthesized for the first time at a relative low temperature (500 °C). It was also found that the alkalinity and acidity of the solution presented a great influence on the powder properties. The best results were obtained from solutions with pH = 8.5 and 11 whose nanopowders presented weakly agglomerate, with homogeneous particle size and a narrow size distribution (30–40 nm). This behavior could be explained based on the FT-IR results in which it was possible to see the increased of the chelation in higher pHs.     

Surface modification of surface sol-gel derived titanium oxide films by self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and non-specific protein adsorption studies

Biological events occurring at the implant-host interface, including protein adsorption are mainly influenced by surface properties of the implant. Titanium alloys, one of the most widely used implants, has shown good biocompatibility primarily through its surface oxide. In this study, a surface sol-gel process based on the surface reaction of metal alkoxides with a hydroxylated surface was used to prepare ultrathin titanium oxide (TiOx) coatings on silicon wafers. The oxide deposited on the surface was then modified by self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of silanes with different functional groups. Interesting surface morphology trends and protein adhesion properties of the modified titanium oxide surfaces were observed as studied by non-specific protein binding of serum albumin. The surface properties were investigated systematically using water contact angle, ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. Results showed that the surface sol-gel process predominantly formed homogeneous, but rough and porous titanium oxide layers. The protein adsorption was dependent primarily on the silane chemistry, packing of the alkyl chains (extent of van der Waals interaction), morphology (porosity and roughness), and wettability of the sol-gel oxide. Comparison was made with a thermally evaporated TiOx-Ti/Si-wafer substrate (control). This method further extends the functionalization of surface sol-gel derived TiOx layers for possible titanium alloy bioimplant surface modification.     

Indene and pseudoazulene discotic liquid crystals: a synthetic and structural study

Several new liquid-crystalline indene and pseudoazulene systems are reported. These molecules give rise to either columnar hexagonal mesophases and/or columnar plastic phases. The unique nature of these compounds stems from their non-classical discotic structure. Although the molecules have rigid aromatic cores, they lack terminal tails and instead the polarizable atoms (S, halogens) or polar groups (CN, CO) act as unusual soft parts. On the basis of many structurally related materials, we conclude that for this type of compound molecular stacking in the solid state is a prerequisite for the appearance of a columnar mesophase, although other intermolecular interactions within the layers are also important in establishing liquid-crystalline order. The behavior reported for these mesomorphic molecules opens up new possibilities in the search for related molecular interactions that might be useful for the construction of supramolecular architectures with particular properties.     

Reaction of 2H-azirine phosphine oxide and -phosphonates with nucleophiles. Stereoselective Synthesis of functionalized aziridines and alpha- and beta-aminophosphorus derivatives

[reaction: see text] A simple and efficient stereoselective synthesis of aziridine-2-phosphonate 3, and -phosphine oxide 5 by diastereoselective addition of Grignard reagents to 2H-azirine phosphonate 1 and -phosphine oxide 4 is reported. Similarly, the addition of heterocyclic amines and benzenethiol to aziridines 1 and 4 yielded functionalized aziridines 10, 11, and 18. These aziridines are used as intermediates for the regioselective synthesis of beta-aminophosphine oxides 6 and beta-aminophosphonates 7, as well as alpha- aminophosphonates 8. Phenylsulfenyl-substituted alpha-aminophosphorus derivatives 15 and 19 are obtained directly from benzenethiol and 2H-azirine phosphonates 1 and -phosphine oxides 4.     

Electrochemical Synthesis of MII Complexes with a Schiff Base containing an Amido Group. Crystal Structure of a Cobalt(II) Complex with a Reorganised Ligand

M(HL)(H₂O)_n complexes have been obtained by the electrochemical reaction of Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd anodes with the potentially pentadentate and trianionic asymmetrical Schiff base 3‐aza‐N‐{2‐[1‐aza‐2‐(5‐nitro‐2‐hydroxylphenyl)‐vinyl]phenyl}‐4‐(5‐nitro‐2‐hydroxyphenyl)but‐3‐enamide (H₃L), containing a hard amido donor atom. The complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopies, magnetic measurements and molar conductivities. Co(HL)(H₂O) ( 2 ) has been found to rearrange in DMF solution into a crystallographically solved octahedral complex, CoL¹(H₂O)₂ ( 7 ) [where H₂L¹ is the symmetrical Schiff base ligand N,N′‐(1,2‐phenylene)‐bis(5‐nitro‐3‐hydroxysalicylidenimine)]. A hydrolysis mechanism is discussed to explain this rearrangement.     

The aqueous cationic system sodium undecenoate-dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide at low concentration

The aqueous sodium undecenoate (SUD) –dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) catanionic system was studied at low concentration. The system did not precipitate, even at a 1:1 SUD:DTAB proportion, but showed the formation of a coacervate in a range of surfactant mixture compositions. Micelles have a preferential composition of 0.37 mole fraction of SUD. This behavior is attributed to the presence of the double bond at the distal extreme of the SUD molecule, which can form hydrogen bonds with water. Consequently, the –CH=CH₂ group is situated at the interface between the hydrocarbon micelle core and water, reducing the interfacial free energy. Structural computations demonstrate that the mentioned SUD proportion produces complete coverage of the micelle surface by the double bonds.     

Synthesis of 2-amino-3-hydroxy- and of 2,3-diamino-3H-1,4-benzodiazepines

A new synthesis of 7-chloro-2,3-diamino-5-phenyl-3H-1,4-benzodiazepines is described, which allows for the preparation of compounds bearing the same or different substituents at the 2 and 3 positions, starting from 2-amino-7-chloro-3-hydroxy-5-phenyl-3H-1,4-benzodiazepines.     

Application of the DFT Theory to Study Cobalamin Complexes

The aim of present study is to select the best methodology in the frame of the Density Functional Theory (DFT), which may be employed to study the cobalamin complexes. Our discussion is limited to two approaches, one in which hybrid B3LYP and UB3LYP functionals are used, and the second in which geometry parameters are calculated within LDA-VWN functional, and energies of the investigated systems are computed within RPBE functional. Results of performed calculations show that both methodologies can be successfully applied to study cobalamin derivatives. Probably because of the small ligand binding energies in the studied complexes, the B3LYP and UB3LYP functionals may be used only to predict the pattern of changes in the binding energies. The use of the RPBE functional, originally parameterized to reproduce in a proper way the chemisorption energies of the small molecules on the metallic surfaces, allows to improve their values so as they fit into experimental data. Geometry parameters of the investigated complexes computed within both approaches are in good agreement with the experimental values. Interatomic distances are a little overestimated while calculated within both hybrid functionals, what is in contrast to VWN functional results. The latter, in general, gives shorter distances as observed experimentally.     

Behavior of Humic Acid as a Micellar Phase in Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography (MEKC)

The possibility of humic acids acting as micellar phase in micellar electrokinetic chromatography was evaluated. We investigated the separation of naphthalene in capillary electrophoresis using various samples of humic acids as micellar phase under different pH conditions, concentrations of humic acid, and temperature. The humic acid samples studied were from different origins including peat, vermicompost and a commercial sample acquired from Aldrich. Methanol was used as a marker for the electroosmotic flow. The results indicate that the formation of micelle depends on the number and nature of the hydrophobic association sites in an aqueous humic acid solution and on the origin and concentration of the humic acid at a defined pH. At lower pH values, the possibility of the humic acid molecule forming pseudomicelles increases due to a combination of neutralized and dissociated charged sites.