Synthesis and conformational studies of peptidomimetics containing a new bifunctional diketopiperazine scaffold acting as a beta-hairpin inducer

A practical synthesis of a new bifunctional diketopiperazine (DKP) scaffold 1, formally derived from the cyclization of L-aspartic acid and (S)-2,3-diaminopropionic acid, is reported. DKP-1 bears a carboxylic acid and an amino functionalities in a cis relationship, which have been used to grow peptide sequences. Tetra-, penta-, and hexapeptidomimetic sequences were prepared by solution-phase peptide synthesis (Boc strategy). Conformational analysis of these derivatives was carried out by a combination of 1H NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, CD spectroscopy, and computer modeling, and reveals the formation of beta-hairpin mimics involving 10-membered and 18-membered H-bonded rings and a reverse turn of the growing peptide chain.     

Polyfunctional recognition of pyridinedicarboxylate anions with macrocyclic polyamine receptors containing heteroaromatic groups

The interaction of the biologically relevant anions deriving from the six pyridinedicarboxylic acids (H2PDC) with two macrocyclic receptors containing a pentamine chain and a bipyridine (1) or a phenanthroline (2) moiety, as well as with the aliphatic analogue [21]aneN7 (3), was studied by means of spectroscopic methods (UV-vis, NMR) and potentiometric titrations affording the stability constants of the adducts formed. All three receptors form stable complexes with the substrates thanks to the formation of several salt bridges and hydrogen bond contacts, as observed in the crystal structure of the H8[3(2,6-PDC)4] x H2O x 0.5 EtOH solid compound. Additional pi-stacking interactions between the aromatic moieties of substrates and receptors enhance the stability of complexes with 1 and 2. Compounds 1 and 2 show a marked selectivity toward 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate anions. In particular, 1 is able to perform a very efficient recognition of these species in the presence of 2 and 3. Molecular modeling calculations suggested that such recognition ability of 1 can be ascribed to a superior structural and electrostatic complementarity with the substrate compared to 2 and 3.     

Complexes of Al(III) with d-gluconic acid

The complexation of Al(III) with d-gluconic acid was studied in solution by means of pH-potentiometry, ESI mass spectrometry and one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. Six complexes were found to form in solution from pH 2 to 10: [AlL]²⁺, [AlLH₋₁]⁺, [AlLH₋₂], [AlLH₋₃]⁻, [AlL₂H₋₁] and [AlL₂H₋₂]⁻. NMR spectroscopy indicated very complicated chemical exchange processes between the free ligand and gluconic acid molecules bound in the metal complexes, with different coordination modes resulting in changes both of the chemical shift and of the line shape of the signals. A solid complex [AlL₂H₋₁] · 2H₂O was isolated as a microcrystalline powder and characterized. The structures of the complexes are discussed on the basis of the spectroscopic results and MM force field calculations.     

Amperometric Detection of Ethanol Vapors by Screen Printed Electrodes Modified by Paper Crowns Soaked with Room Temperature Ionic Liquids

A convenient assembly recently proposed for screen printed gold electrodes (SPEs) suitable for measurements in gaseous samples is here tested for the analysis of the ethanol content in alcoholic drinks. This assembly involves the use of a circular crown of filter paper, soaked in the room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate, which is simply placed upon a disposable screen printed cell, so as to contact the outer edge of the gold disc working electrode, as well as peripheral counter and reference electrodes. The electrical contact between the paper crown soaked in RTIL and the SPE electrode is assured by a gasket and all components are installed in a polylactic acid holder. This assembly provides a portable and disposable electrochemical platform, assembled by the easy immobilization onto a porous and inexpensive supporting material such as paper of a RTIL characterized by profitable electrical conductivity and negligible vapor pressure. The electroanalytical performance of this device was assayed for the flow injection analysis of the ethanol concentration in some real samples of wine and beer and the results obtained are compared with the alcoholic degree reported in the relevant bottle-labels, thus highlighting a substantially satisfactory agreement. Repeatable sharp peaks (RSD=6–8 %) were detected for ethanol over a wide linear range (1–20 % v/v in water) and a detection and quantitation limit of 0.55 % v/v and 1.60 % v/v were inferred for a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 and 10, respectively.     

Optochemical Control of mRNA Translation in Eukaryotes

A major stage in the expression of genes is the translation of messenger RNA (mRNA), and the regulation of this process is essential for protein production in cells. How tightly controlled gene expression can be spatially and temporally, is particularly evident in polar cells and embryonic development. We need tools to dissect these complex processes, if we wish to understand the underlying links, especially the difficulties brought on by malfunction. External bioorthogonal triggers are very helpful in this area, if they let us precisely control where and when a process is started. Equipping nucleic acids with light-responsive groups has proven to be an effective approach to examine the dynamic regulatory route of mRNA translation in living cells. In this review, we present an overview of the most recent methods for optochemically controlling translation, focusing on cis-acting technologies.     

Bottom-up Solution Synthesis of Graphene Nanoribbons with Precisely Engineered Nanopores

The incorporation of nanopores into graphene nanostructures has been demonstrated as an efficient tool in tuning their band gaps and electronic structures. However, precisely embedding the uniform nanopores into graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) at the atomic level remains underdeveloped especially for in-solution synthesis due to the lack of efficient synthetic strategies. Herein we report the first case of solution-synthesized porous GNR ( pGNR ) with a fully conjugated backbone via the efficient Scholl reaction of tailor-made polyphenylene precursor ( P1 ) bearing pre-installed hexagonal nanopores. The resultant pGNR features periodic subnanometer pores with a uniform diameter of 0.6 nm and an adjacent-pores-distance of 1.7 nm. To solidify our design strategy, two porous model compounds ( 1 a , 1 b ) containing the same pore size as the shortcuts of pGNR , are successfully synthesized. The chemical structure and photophysical properties of pGNR are investigated by various spectroscopic analyses. Notably, the embedded periodic nanopores largely reduce the π-conjugation degree and alleviate the inter-ribbon π–π interactions, compared to the nonporous GNRs with similar widths, affording pGNR with a notably enlarged band gap and enhanced liquid-phase processability.     

Flexible Rolled Thick‐Film Miniaturized Flow‐Cell for Minimally Invasive Amperometric Sensing

We describe here a miniaturized flexible thick‐film electrochemical biosensor flow detector, suitable for insertion into the lacrimal canaliculus towards minimally invasive amperometric monitoring of biomarkers in the tear fluid. Our focus here is on the microfabrication and in‐vitro testing of the new laterally rolled screen‐printed sensor. The new device responds rapidly and sensitively to dynamic changes in the levels of norepinephrine and glucose (the later in connection to glucose‐oxidase containing ink). Coverage of the enzyme electrode with an electropolymerized polytyramine minimizes contributions from the common electroactive interferences ascorbic and uric acids. Such attractive performance indicates great promise for minimally invasive monitoring of health biomarkers in the tear fluid, or in alternative usage such as capillary microelectrophoresis, ultralow volume sampling, or in‐flow (tubular) systems for batch processing of blood or culture media.     

Unusual odd-electron fragments from even-electron protonated prodiginine precursors using positive-ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Reports of anticancer and immunosuppressive properties have spurred recent interest in the bacterially produced prodiginines. We use electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (ES-MS/MS) to investigate prodigiosin, undecylprodiginine, and streptorubin B (butyl-meta-cycloheptylprodiginine) and to explore their fragmentation pathways to explain the unusual methyl radical loss and consecutive fragment ions that dominate low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) mass spectra. The competition between the formation of even-electron ions and radical ions is examined in detail. Theoretical calculations are used to optimize the structures and calculate the energies of both reactants and products using the Gaussian 03 program. Results indicate that protonation occurs on the nitrogen atom that initially held no hydrogen, thus allowing formation of a pseudo-seven-membered ring that constitutes the most stable ground state [M + H](+) structure. From this precursor, experimental data show that methyl radical loss has the lowest apparent threshold but, alternatively, even-electron fragment ions can be formed by loss of a methanol molecule. Computational modeling indicates that methyl radical loss is the more endothermic process in this competition, but the lower apparent threshold associated with methyl radical loss points to a lower kinetic barrier. Additionally, this characteristic and unusual loss of methyl radical (in combination with weaker methanol loss) from each prodiginine is useful for performing constant neutral loss scans to quickly and efficiently identify all prodiginines in a complex biological mixture without any clean-up or purification. The feasibility of this approach has been proven through the identification of a new, low-abundance prodigiosin analog arising from Hahella chejuensis.     

Molecular structure, vibrational spectra, quantum chemical calculations and photochemistry of picolinamide and isonicotinamide isolated in cryogenic inert matrixes and in the neat low-temperature solid phases

Picolinamide (PA) and isonicotinamide (INA), two structural isomers of pyridinecarboxamide, have been investigated by matrix isolation and low-temperature solid-state infrared spectroscopy, combined with UV (lambda > 235 nm) photoexcitation and density functional theory and ab initio (MP2) theoretical studies. In consonance with the theoretical data, both PA and INA were found to exist in a single conformation in cryogenic rare gas matrixes. Comparison between the experimental spectra of the matrix-isolated compounds with those theoretically predicted allowed for full assignment of the experimental spectra. In situ UV (lambda > 235 nm) irradiation of the matrixes showed that only PA reacts, with production of isocyanic acid and pyridine, the first photoproduct further reacting to yield CO + NH and cyanic acid. The different photochemical behavior of the two compounds was explained taking into consideration their different structures. The infrared spectra of (i) the low-temperature glassy state resulting from fast deposition of vapors of the compounds onto a substrate cooled to 10 K, (ii) the crystal resulting from the annealed amorphous film of the compound, and (iii) the room-temperature crystals (alpha-phase) of the studied compounds were also obtained, fully assigned and correlated with intermolecular interactions present in the condensed phases, in particular H-bond interactions, showing that these latter are stronger in INA than in PA.     

Modulation of the refractive index by photoisomerization of diarylethenes: theoretical modeling

Molecular polarizabilities of photochromic diarylethenes bearing different chemical groups as substituents have been calculated by density functional theory (DFT) simulations with the aim to obtain an estimate of the refractive index of a glassy matrix containing diarylethenes as active species. Simple models have been introduced in order to take into account the effects that occur in bulk materials. The results obtained show that the choice of suitable substituents enhances the modulation of the refractive index driven by the photochromic reaction; moreover, the trends predicted are consistent with the experimental data. This opens the way to use quantum chemical predictions on model molecules to foresee performances relative to the photoinduced modulation of the refractive index in bulk materials.