Non‐enzymatic Ribonucleotide Reduction in the Prebiotic Context

Model studies of prebiotic chemistry have revealed compelling routes for the formation of the building blocks of proteins and RNA, but not DNA. Today, deoxynucleotides required for the construction of DNA are produced by reduction of nucleotides catalysed by ribonucleotide reductases, which are radical enzymes. This study considers potential non‐enzymatic routes via intermediate radicals for the ancient formation of deoxynucleotides. In this context, several mechanisms for ribonucleotide reduction, in a putative H₂S/HS^. environment, are characterized using computational chemistry. A bio‐inspired mechanistic cycle involving a keto intermediate and HSSH production is found to be potentially viable. An alternative pathway, proceeding through an enol intermediate is found to exhibit similar energetic requirements. Non‐cyclical pathways, in which HSS^. is generated in the final step instead of HS^., show a markedly increased thermodynamic driving force (ca. 70 kJ mol^?1) and thus warrant serious consideration in the context of the prebiotic ribonucleotide reduction.     

Turan's Inequalities for Trigonometric Polynomials

We present here a technique for establishing inequalities ofthe form in the set of alltrigonometric polynomials of order n which have only real zeros.The function is assumed to be convex and increasing on [0,). As a corollary of the main result we get Turan's inequalities with the exact constantc(n, k, q) for each 1 q , n and k.     

Another designer steroid: discovery, synthesis, and detection of 'madol' in urine

Madol (17alpha-methyl-5alpha-androst-2-en-17beta-ol) was identified in an oily product received by our laboratory in the context of our investigations of designer steroids. The product allegedly contained an anabolic steroid not screened for in routine sport doping control urine tests. Madol was synthesized by Grignard methylation of 5alpha-androst-2-en-17-one and characterized by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. We developed a method for rapid screening of urine samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) of trimethylsilylated madol (monitoring m/z 143, 270, and 345). A baboon administration study showed that madol and a metabolite are excreted in urine. In vitro incubation with human liver microsomes yielded the same metabolite. Madol is only the third steroid never commercially marketed to be found in the context of performance-enhancing drugs in sports.     

A note on the optimal quadrature inH p

Summary The existence of optimal nodes with preassigned multiplicities is proved for the Hardy spacesH ^p (1<p<). This is then used to show that the exact order of convergence for the optimal qudrature formula withN nodes (including multiplicity) is where 1/p+1/q=1 and 1p.     

1,8-Bis(hexamethyltriaminophosphazenyl)naphthalene, HMPN: a superbasic bisphosphazene "proton sponge"

It is shown that a combination of Schwesinger's phosphazene base concept and the idea of the disubstituted 1,8-naphthalene spacer, first introduced by Alder in paradigmatic 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene (DMAN), yields a new superbase, HMPN, which represents the up to date most basic representative of this class of "proton sponges", as evidenced by the theoretically estimated proton affinity PA = 274 kcal/mol and the measured pK(BH+) (MeCN) 29.9 +/- 0.2. HMPN is by nearly 12 orders of magnitude more basic than Alder's classical 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene (DMAN). The title compound, HMPN, is prepared and fully characterized. The spatial structure of HMPN and its conjugate acid is determined by X-ray technique and theoretical DFT calculations. It is found that monoprotonated HMPN has an unsymmetrical intramolecular hydrogen bridge (IHB). This cooperative proton chelating effect renders the bisphosphazene more basic than Schwesinger's set of "monodentate" P1 phosphazene bases. The density functional calculations are in good accordance with the experimental results, providing some complementary information. They conclusively show that the high basicity of HMPN is a consequence of the high energy content of the base in its initial neutral state and the intramolecular hydrogen bonding in the resulting conjugate acid with contributions to proton affinity of 14.1 and 9.5 kcal/mol, respectively.     

The numerical evaluation of singular integrals with coth-kernel

Singular integrals with hyperbolic cotangent kernel present their own numerical problems because of the poles of the kernel located in the complex plane. We write such integrals as ordinary Cauchy principal value integrals involving an appropriate (nonclassical) weight function and apply quadrature methods of Gaussian and interpolatory type. The most accurate one is based on Gauss-Christoffel quadrature relative to the weight function in question. Its error is studied both by real-and complex-variable techniques. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the theory.The work of the first author was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant DCR-8320561.     

Photoelectron spectroscopy of metal β-diketonato complexes

The electronic structures of yttrium(III), gadolinium(III) and ytterbium(III) tris-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione (tmhd) complexes have been investigated by HeI and HeII photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), UDFT and OVGF calculations. We discuss metal-ligand bonding in the series of metal β-diketonato complexes on the basis of empirical arguments. The photoionization cross-sections and orbital energies of metal atoms must both be taken into account in order to rationalize changes in relative band intensities of the HeI/HeII spectra.     

Proteocubosomes: nanoporous vehicles with tertiary organized fluid interfaces

Proteocubosomes are nanostructured open-nanochannel hierarchical fluid vehicles characterized by a cubic lattice periodicity of the lipid/protein supramolecular assembly (protein-loaded cubosomes). They are obtained here at very high hydration levels by a three-dimensional (3D) self-assembly process, which exploits a protein-directed 3D patterning and fragmentation to create a new, tertiary-level structural order of fluid lipid/water interfaces. Our freeze-fracture electron microscopy study reveals that the proteocubosome structures are built up by patterned assemblies of nanocubosomes, which comprise 3D nanoporous fracture surfaces throughout. Complex cubosomic architectures, involving arrays of nanodroplets (larger than 20 nm) inside the proteocubosome particles, are established at high resolution. The soft-matter hierarchical nanocompartment formations display internal aqueous pores belonging to the D-type lipid cubic lattice nanochannel system that is proven by synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The reported nanostructured fluid may give rise to novel applications in nanofluidic biomimetic devices, porous protein drug delivery vehicles, nanoscale enzymatic bioreactors, and protein-encapsulating fluid nanomaterials.     

Analysis of LK-157 in Plasma by LC–MS–MS: Application to Studies of Pharmacokinetics and Degradation Pathways in Rats and Dogs

Multiple-species plasma-stability testing and pharmacokinetic studies in rats and dogs were performed on LK-157, a novel 10-ethylidene tricyclic carbapenem and potent inactivator of β-lactamases of classes A, C, and D. An LC–MS–MS method was developed and validated for analysis of LK-157 in rat and dog plasma. Separation was achieved on a C₁₈ column by gradient elution. The lower limit of quantification for LK-157 in plasma was 50 ng mL^?1. Intra-day and inter-day precision were <12.5 and <11.8%, respectively. When degradation of LK-157 was assessed in buffer solutions and in rat, dog, and human plasma, the compound was found to be stable in pH 7.0–9.0 phosphate buffer for 24 h at room temperature, and in human plasma for 60 min at 37 °C. The stability of LK-157 was species-dependent. Results from study of in vitro metabolism showed that the enzymes liver cytochrome P450 and uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferase do not metabolize LK-157. LC–MS–MS was also successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study. The pharmacokinetics of LK-157 after bolus intravenous administration (10 mg kg^?1) to Wistar rats and Beagle dogs was described by a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model. Human pharmacokinetic data were extrapolated from dog pharmacokinetic data. The extrapolated human terminal-phase half-life of LK-157 was 2.3 h. Stability and pharmacokinetic data for LK-157 are in agreement with results for other inactivators of β-lactamases.