Enhanced activity and modified substrate-favoritism of Burkholderia cepacia lipase by the treatment with a pyridinium alkyl-PEG sulfate ionic liquid

Three types of pyridinium salts, i.e., 1-ethylpyridin-1-ium cetyl-PEG₁₀ sulfate (PY_ET), 1-butylpyridin-1-ium cetyl-PEG₁₀ sulfate (PY_BU), and 1-(3-methoxypropyl)pyridin-1-ium cetyl-PEG₁₀ sulfate (PY_MP), have been prepared and evaluated for their activation property of Burkholderia cepacia lipase by comparison to the control IL-coated enzymes, 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium cetyl-PEG₁₀ sulfate-coated lipase PS (IL1-PS). Among the tested pyridinium salt-coated lipases, the PY_ET-coated lipase PS (PY_ET-PS) exhibited the best results; the transesterification of 1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethanol, 1-(pyridin-3-yl)ethanol, 1-(pyridin-4-yl)ethanol, or 4-phenylbut-3-en-2-ol proceeded faster than those of the IL1-PS-catalyzed reaction while maintaining an excellent enantioselectivity (E?>?200). This improved efficiency was found to be dependent on the increased K_cat value.     

Total synthesis of 4-epi-atpenin A5 as a potent nematode complex II inhibitor

It is clear that atpenins and their analogs are useful chemical tools for elucidation of complex II functionality and that they could act as lead compounds for the development of novel helminth complex II-specific inhibitors. Recently, we discovered 4-epi-atpenin A5 as a potent nematode complex II inhibitor during our SAR studies of atpenin A5. This result led us to embark on a concise total synthesis of 4-epi-atpenin A5. In this study, we describe the total synthesis of 4-epi-atpenin A5. Importantly, this was more concise and practical synthesis than our previous total synthesis of atpenin A5.     

Ribitol in Solution Is an Equilibrium of Asymmetric Conformations

Ribitol (C₅H₁₂O₅), an acyclic sugar alcohol, is present on mammalian α-dystroglycan as a component of O-mannose glycan. In this study, we examine the conformation and dynamics of ribitol by database analysis, experiments, and computational methods. Database analysis reveals that the anti-conformation (180°) is populated at the C3–C4 dihedral angle, while the gauche conformation (±60°) is seen at the C2–C3 dihedral angle. Such conformational asymmetry was born out in a solid-state ¹³C-NMR spectrum of crystalline ribitol, where C1 and C5 signals are unequal. On the other hand, solution ¹³C-NMR has identical chemical shifts for C1 and C5. NMR ³J coupling constants and OH exchange rates suggest that ribitol is an equilibrium of conformations, under the influence of hydrogen bonds and/or steric hinderance. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations allowed us to discuss such a chemically symmetric molecule, pinpointing the presence of asymmetric conformations evidenced by the presence of correlations between C2–C3 and C3–C4 dihedral angles. These findings provide a basis for understanding the dynamic structure of ribitol and the function of ribitol-binding enzymes.     

Antimicrobial C-glucoside from aerial parts of Diospyros nigra

A new C-alkylglucoside, diospyrodin [beta-1C-(1'S*,2'R*,3'R*,4'S*-1',2',3',4',5'-pentahydroxypentyl)-glucopyranoside] (1) has been isolated as its nonaacetate from the leaves and stems of Diospyros nigra. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral properties and a single crystal X-ray analysis. It showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.     

Preparation of 7-Halo-indoles by Thallation of N-formylindoline and their attempted use for synthesis of the right-hand segment of chloropeptin

7-Substituted (Cl, Br, I) indoles were synthesized by using thallation of N-formylindoline as a key reaction. Two precursor tripeptides for the right-hand segment of chloropeptin were synthesized by using (R)-7'-iodo and 7'-bromotryptophans derived from each 7-substituted indole (I, Br) obtained by the above procedure.     

Quantum computing for the Lipkin model with unitary coupled cluster and structure learning ansatz

We report a benchmark calculation for the Lipkin model in nuclear physics with a variational quantum eigensolver in quantum computing. Special attention is paid to the unitary coupled cluster (UCC) ansatz and structure learning (SL) ansatz for the trial wave function. Calculations with both the UCC and SL ansatz can reproduce the ground-state energy well; however, it is found that the calculation with the SL ansatz performs better than that with the UCC ansatz, and the SL ansatz has even fewer quantum gates than the UCC ansatz.