The isolation and structure determination of cryptomisrine,a novel indolo[3,2-b]quinoline dimeric alkaloid from cryptolepis sanguinolenta

The isolation and structure determination of cryptomisrine, a novel indolo[3,2-b]quinoline dimeric alkaloid obtained from extracts of the roots of the Ghanaian medicinal plant Cryptolepis sanguinolenta is reported. The structure determination was made via a consideration of the spectral data, including uv, ir, nmr, and mass spectra. In particular, one-dimensional proton/carbon nmr, one-dimensional nOe difference nmr, and a series of homonuclear (COSY) and inverse-detected heteronuclear two-dimensional (HMQC, HMBC) experiments were utilized, as well as high resolution FABMS. Cryptomisrine is most unusual in that its two monomeric parts apparently exist in such a C₂ symmetric environment that only one set of proton and carbon nmr resonances are observed. Cryptomisrine is the first example of a dimeric indolo-[3,2-b]quinoline alkaloid to have been isolated from nature.     

Glutathione Response after UVA Irradiation in Mitotic and Postmitotic Human Skin Fibroblasts and Keratinocytes

Abstract— Since Hayflick's pioneering work in the early sixties, human diploid fibroblasts have become a widely accepted in vitro model system. Recently, Bayreuther and co-workers extended this experimental approach showing that fibroblasts in culture resemble, in their design, the hemopoietic stem-cell differentiation system. They found that the chemical agent mitomycin C accelerates the differentiation pathway from mitotic to postmitotic fibroblasts. We measured the response of endogenous glutathione levels after UVA irradiation (320-400 nm) in mitotic and mitomycin C-induced postmitotic human skin fibroblasts and foreskin-derived keratinocytes. The initial levels in mitotic foreskin derived human fibroblasts were 14.4 nmol glutathione per mg protein, whereas a 30% higher value was obtained in matching foreskin-derived keratinocytes. Similiar elevated levels of this important intracellular free radical scavenging system were found in fibroblasts of a donor suffering from xeroderma pigmentosum. Furthermore, three to four times higher levels of glutathione in mitomycin C-treated mitotic fibroblasts have been determined. In mitotic skin fibroblasts, UVA irradiation resulted in a depletion of glutathione up to 90% following a fluence of 1.0 MJ/m²UVA radiation. Higher initial glutathione levels were found in keratinocytes and mitomycin C-treated skin fibroblasts. In these fibroblasts a 70% depletion was detected and a much lower depletion (10-20%) was seen in some keratinocyte cell lines following fluences up to 1.0 MJ/m². The depletion in skin fibroblasts was retained after 24 h following a fluence of 0.75 MJ/m²UVA light. In view of the fact that glutathione has been shown to be involved in a variety of metabolic processes and plays a role in cellular protection against UVA radiation, our results imply that the fibroblast differentiation system is a very useful tool to unravel the complex mechanism of UVA-induced oxidative stress.     

Ultrasensitive polychromatic silver staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels with the Gelcode system using the PhastSystem Development Unit

The Gelcode color-based silver staining system, an improved formulation based on the original publication by Sammons et al. (Electrophoresis 1981, 2, 141-147) has been adapted to automated rapid staining in the PhastSystem Development Unit. The use of elevated temperatures in the fixation, washing, staining, and stabilization steps of the protocol reduces the total time of the process from 18 h to 1 h. The limit of detection, which is at least tenfold more sensitive than the silver staining protocol recommended for the PhastSystem, corresponds to 0.05-0.1 ng of protein per band. The method is applicable to both one- and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels.     

NMR of Terminal Oxygen. Part 14. Kinetically stabilized simple enols containing methylated uracil groups: Application of a 17O-NMR test of H-bonding

In the crystalline N,N′-dimethylated uracil derivatives 2a , b , the kinetically stabilized enol group forms an H-bond with O? C(4), as demonstrated by increased shielding of specifically labelled 2a and 2b in the ¹⁷O-NMR spectra (Δδ(¹⁷O)(C(4)—O) ? ?30 ppm); absence of dilution and solvent effects show that the H-bridge is intra-molecular, forming an eight-membered chelate ring. The (apparent) shielding effect Δδ(¹⁷O) in 2a, b is larger than that in salicylamide. The strong H-bond explains why the enols 2 , in spite of the absence of steric hindrance, are kinetically stabilized.     

Polyfluorothiolate derivatives of rhodium(I). Crystal and molecular structure of [Rh(μ-SC6HF4)(C8H12)]2

Summary The thiolato-bridged dinuclear compounds [Rh(-SR)-(COD)]₂, where R=p-C₆HF₄ (1),p-C₆H₄F (2) and CF₃ (3), are obtained from the chloro-bridged analogue by ligand exchange.Compound (1) crystallizes in the space group P₁ with a=9.740(3)Å, b=11.642(4)Å, c=13.997(6)Å, =103.87(3)°, =106.98(3)° and =105.10(2)°; z=2. In this dinuclear molecule both Rh atoms have a square planar coordination sharing one edge, namely the two sulphur bridging atoms. The Rh—Rh separation of 2.96 Å is consistent with at most a very weak metal-metal interaction. Upon addition of CO the dimeric [Rh(-SR)(CO)₂]₂ (4), (5) and (6) are obtained, but addition of PPh₃ affords the monomeric species [Rh(SR)(PPh₃)-(COD)] (7), (8) and (9). Reactions of the dimeric tetracarbonyl derivatives with PPh₃ vary with the nature of R; [Rh(-SR)(PPh₃)(CO)]₂ is obtained when R=p-C₆H₄F (10) and CF₃ (11) but monomeric [Rh(SR)-(PPh₃)(CO)₂] (12) is produced when R=p-C₆HF₄. The latter mononuclear compounds, with R=p-C₆H₄F (13) and CF₃ (14), are also formed by reaction of [Rh(SR)-(PPh₃)(COD)] with CO.     

Elucidation of the structure of quindolinone,a minor alkaloid of cryptolepis sanguinolenta: Submilligram 1H-13c and 1H-15N heteronuclear shift correlation experiments using micro inverse-detection

Elucidation of minor natural product structures has been significantly augmented by inverse-detection; further improvement has been afforded by the development of micro inverse-detection probes. We report here the elucidation of the structure of a new alkaloid, quindolinone (5H, 10H-indolo[3,2-b]quinolin-11-one), from the West African plant Cryptolepis sanguinolenta. All nmr data for this minor, preparative hplc-isolated alkaloid, including ¹H-¹⁵N one? bond heteronuclear shift correlation (HMQC) data, were recorded on an 800 μg sample of the alkaloid dissolved in 140 μl of 100% d₆-DMSO using a 400 MHz spectrometer.     

Preparation and crystal structure of Nb6.74 Ta5.26S4 – a new compound in the ternary system Ta?Nb?S

Nb_6.74Ta_5.26S₄ has been prepared by high temperature techniques. The crystal structure has been determined from single crystal X-ray diffraction data (R/R_w = 0.0588/0.0655). The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma with unit cell dimensions a = 959.11 (26) pm, b = 336.37 (10) pm, and c = 3282.51 (74) pm. The orthorhombic cell contains four formula units. Its structure is similar to that of Nb-rich sulfides, rather than to that of Ta-rich sulfides. The metal coordinations are capped distorted cubic prisms and pentagonal prisms while the coordinations of sulfur are capped trigonal prisms.     

Chemical synthesis and firefly luciferase produced dehydroluciferyl-coenzyme A

Dehydroluciferyl-coenzyme A (L-CoA) was chemically synthesized and characterized by MS, UV-vis spectrometry and RP-HPLC. The identity of the chemically synthesized compound with the one that was produced by firefly luciferase was confirmed. Moreover, the reversibility of the enzymatic conversion of dehydroluciferin ? dehydroluciferyl-adenylate ? L-CoA was also confirmed. The chemical synthesis of L-CoA, described here, may help the clarification of the activator effect of CoA on luciferase bioluminescent assays, in which the enzyme catalyzed formation of L-CoA and the consequent destruction of L-AMP is one of the possible explanations for that effect.     

A hydrogenation product derived from the diterpenoid barbatusin:A revised structure

The structure of the hydrogenation product of barbatusin, a diterpenoid from Coleus barbatus Bentham has been revised on the basis of NMR and X-ray data. A geminal coupling of unusually high magnitude has been observed and analysed.