Conformational studies of Phe-rich foldamers by VCD spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

Employing VCD spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the structural behavior of the oligomers Boc-(L-Phe-L-Oxd)(n)-OBn is similar from n = 2 to n = 6; ab initio calculations for the n = 1 case provide physical insight into the conformational properties. Further information is gained by IR, (1)H NMR, and ECD spectroscopies. ECD spectra suggest the presence of different conformations between n = 1 on one side and longer chain foldamers on the other side. VCD and absorption IR spectra in methanol solutions can be interpreted as indicative of a PPII structure. In the case of Boc-L-Phe-L-Oxd-OBn, VCD spectra in CCl(4) and detailed DFT computational analysis allow one to demonstrate that the most populated conformers exhibit backbone dihedral angles similar to those of a PPII geometry. This is a remarkable outcome, as we had previously demonstrated that the Boc-(L-Ala-D-Oxd)(n)-OBn series folds in a β-band ribbon spiral that is a subtype of the 3(10) helix.     

Benzothiazinones are suicide inhibitors of mycobacterial decaprenylphosphoryl-β-D-ribofuranose 2'-oxidase DprE1

Benzothiazinones (BTZs) are antituberculosis drug candidates with nanomolar bactericidal activity against tubercle bacilli. Here we demonstrate that BTZs are suicide substrates of the FAD-dependent decaprenylphosphoryl-β-D-ribofuranose 2'-oxidase DprE1, an enzyme involved in cell-wall biogenesis. BTZs are reduced by DprE1 to an electrophile, which then reacts in a near-quantitative manner with an active-site cysteine of DprE1, thus providing a rationale for the extraordinary potency of BTZs. Mutant DprE1 enzymes from BTZ-resistant strains reduce BTZs to inert metabolites while avoiding covalent inactivation. Our results explain the basis for drug sensitivity and resistance to an exceptionally potent class of antituberculosis agents.     

A Fast and Efficient Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Tocopherols in Cow Milk Followed by HPLC Determination

A fast HPLC method with fluorescence detector (FD) was developed for the determination of three tocopherols (TOCs) in milk samples from Modicana cattle breed. The ultrasound-assisted procedure was optimized for the extraction of TOCs prior to HPLC/FD analysis, reducing sample preparation time and allowing a fast quantification of α-tocopherol, δ-tocopherol and γ tocopherol. The optimized ultrasonic extraction combines an efficient and simple saponification at room temperature and a rapid HPLC quantification of TOCs in milk. The precision of the full analytical procedure was satisfactory and the recoveries at three spiked levels were between 95.3% and 87.8%. The linear correlations were evaluated (R² > 0.99) and the relative standard deviation (RSD) values for intra-day and inter-day tests at three spiked levels were below 1% for the retention time and below 5.20% for the area at low level spiking. The proposed procedure, reducing the experimental complexity, allowed accurate extraction and detection of three TOCs in milk samples from Modicana cattle breed.     

Formamide and the origin of life

The complexity of life boils down to the definition: “self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution” (Joyce, 1994) [1]. The term “self-sustained” implies a set of chemical reactions capable of harnessing energy from the environment, using it to carry out programmed anabolic and catabolic functions. We briefly present our opinion on the general validity of this definition.Running anabolic and catabolic functions entails complex chemical information whose stability, reproducibility and evolution constitute the core of what is dubbed genetics.Life as-we-know-it is made of the intimate interaction of metabolism and genetics, both built around the chemistry of the most common elements of the Universe (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon). Other elements like phosphorus and sulphur play important but ancillary and potentially replaceable roles.The reproducible interaction of metabolic and genetic cycles results in the hypercycles of organization and de-organization of chemical information that we consider living entities. In order to approach the problem of the origin of life it is therefore reasonable to start from the assumption that both metabolism and genetics had a common origin, shared a common chemical frame, were embedded in physical–chemical conditions favourable for the onset of both.The most abundant three-atoms organic compound in interstellar environment is hydrogen cyanide HCN, the most abundant three-atoms inorganic compound is water H₂O. The combination of the two results in the formation of formamide H₂NCOH. We have explored the chemistry of formamide in conditions compatible with the synthesis and the stability of compounds of potential pre-genetic and pre-metabolic interest. We discuss evidence showing (i) that all the compounds necessary for the build-up of nucleic acids are easily obtained abiotically, (ii) that essentially all the steps leading to the spontaneous generation of RNA are abiotically possible, (iii) that the key compounds of extant metabolic cycles are obtained in the same chemical frame, often in the same test tube.How close are these observations to a plausible scenario for the origin of life?     

Structure and function in native and pathological erythrocytes: A quantitative view from the nanoscale

The red blood cells (RBCs) are among the most simple and less expensive cells to purify; for this reason and for their physiological relevance, they have been extensively studied with a variety of techniques. The picture that results is that these cells have several peculiarities including extreme mechanical performances, relatively simple architecture, biological relevance and predictable behavior that make them a perfect laboratory of testing for novel techniques, methodologies and ideas. These include the re-evaluation of old concepts, such as the relationship between structure and function (which is one of the guideline of this report) but considered at the cellular level. The studies reported on this paper, indeed, exploit the full potential of an high resolution quantitative microscopy such as the atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate different aspect of the erythrocytes' life, death and interaction with the environment. Indeed, the erythrocytes have a special relationship with the environment that is able to deeply influence their morphology as consequence of alteration of their biochemical or biophysical status. In this context the conditions under which the erythrocytes can be considered as biochemically programmable systems have been investigated by analyzing different environmentally induced alteration of the cell's morphology and comparing the results with naturally occurring pathological morphologies. This class of studies takes great advantage by the additional consideration of the nanomechanical properties of the cells. These latter are particularly important for the cell functionality and are shown to be of practical usefulness to discriminate and partition environmental effects charging different cellular structure (e.g. membrane or membrane-skeleton). Moreover, the development of novel morphological parameter can be important to push the level of investigation on the RBCs' status towards the molecular level. In particular, we describe the introduction and use of the plasma membrane roughness as a morphometric parameter of simple derivation from the AFM images and that results sensitive to the structural integrity of the cells' membrane-skeleton. This offer a remarkable opportunity to investigate the relationship between structure and function in normal and pathological cells by using a morphometric parameter that probes the cell surface at the nanoscale level. At last, a complex but physio-pathologically important phenomenon such as the erythrocytes aging was considered. To properly analyze the many variation that the cells experience during the whole aging path we used all the parameters that the AFM can provides: quantitative imaging, analysis of the membrane roughness and local measure of the nanomechanical properties analyzed together with biochemical parameter such as the ATP content. The picture that emerged is that the aging path is triggered by the ATP intracellular concentration that influence the membrane-skeleton structure and the support exerted on the plasma membrane. The consequences of the membrane-skeleton involvement can be monitored by AFM and showed the occurrence of peculiar morphologies and morphological defects that appear in the very place where the membrane-skeleton contact with the membrane became loose. As a whole, the collected data enable to describe the entire phenomenon as a sequence of morphological intermediates following one another along the aging path.     

Modification of Silica by Liquid Polybutadienes Containing Alkoxysilane Groups

Summary : The present work describes a method to modify the surface of silica, reducing its polar character and making it compatible and dispersible into hydrocarbon based elastomers. A liquid low molar mass polybutadiene (PB) was grafted with mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS) via radical addition of the thiol group to the double bonds. The silanized PB was reacted with silica via thermal condensation with its silanol groups. ²⁹Si NMR spectra showed that the condensation reaction of the trifunctional silane involved one or two alkoxy groups, while the third alkoxy group remained unreacted, probably for steric reasons. The characterization of the functionalized silica particles was performed by contact angle measurements and TGA analysis.     

Thermal and DMA Characterization of PTFE-PMMA Nanocomposites from Core-Shell Nanoparticles

The thermal and dynamic-mechanical characteristics of three PTFE/PMMA nanoparticle samples are described. The shell forming PMMA, once isolated from the PTFE cores, exhibits a lower thermal stability than the PMMA component in the corresponding nanocomposite under both thermal and oxidative degradation conditions thus indicating a definite, though moderate, thermal reinforcement due to the morphology of the nanocomposites. An increase in the thermal stability under nitrogen atmosphere was observed as the PTFE amount increases. However under air, no difference is observed in the various systems. These observations suggest that only a physical shield can be exerted by the PTFE cores to the PMMA matrix possibly due to a weak interface between PTFE and the PMMA. This hypothesis is also substantiated by the DMA analysis.     

Uncatalyzed conversion of linear α-nitro ketones into amides by reaction with primary amines under solventless conditions

The reaction of linear α-nitro ketones with primary amines allows the formation of amides through the cleavage of the carbon-carbon bond between the carbonyl group and the carbon-nitro group moiety, promoted by the nucleophilic effect of the amine. The reaction is performed at room temperature, without any catalyst and/or solvent.     

Thiosteroids in sewage sludge and its post-treatment products

Different sulphur compound derivatives from steroids were detected and quantified in the analysis of the lipidic fraction of sewage sludge and its post-treatment products, including thermally dried sludge and compost. Some steroid thiols: 5α-cholestane-3β-thiol, 24-methyl-5α-cholestane-3β-thiol and 24-ethyl-5α-cholestane-3β-thiol were detected in the gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS) analysis. These three compounds, related to the thiostanol family, have only been encountered in previous studies in sea sediments. Gas chromatography with sulphur-selective flame photometric detector (GC-FPD) was used with the objective of detecting other related compounds in sludge. It allowed the detection of other compounds, whose mass spectra could correspond with the one of the steroid enethiols. The research focused on detecting the formation point of these sulphur compounds in the sludge treatment process, as well as their biodegradation resistance in the post-treatment processes. The amount of these products in the sludge was quantified using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The result of this study confirms that the identified compounds are not easily biodegradable.