Effect of the substitutional groups on the electrochemistry,kinetic of thermal decomposition and kinetic of substitution of some uranyl Schiff base complexes

Uranyl(VI) complexes, [UO₂(X-saloph)(solvent)], where saloph denotes N,N’-bis(salicylidene)-1,2-phenylenediamine and X = NO₂, Cl, Me, H; were synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR, IR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, thermal gravimetry (TG), cyclic voltammetry, elemental analysis (C.H.N) and X-ray crystallography. X-ray crystallography of [UO₂(4-nitro-saloph)(DMF)] revealed coordination of the uranyl by the tetradentate Schiff base ligand and one solvent molecule, resulting in seven-coordinated uranium. The complex of [UO₂(4-nitro-saloph)(DMF)] was also synthesized in nano form. Transmission electron microscopy image showed nano-particles with sizes between 30 and 35 nm. The TG method and analysis of Coats-Redfern plots revealed that the kinetics of thermal decomposition of the complexes is of the first-order in all stages. The kinetics and mechanism of the exchange reaction of the coordinated solvent with tributylphosphine was investigated by spectrophotometric method. The second-order rate constants at four temperatures and the activation parameters showed an associative mechanism for all corresponding complexes with the following trend: 4-Nitro > 4-Cl > H > 4-Me. It was concluded that the steric and electronic properties of the complexes were important for the reaction rate. For analysis of anticancer properties of uranyl Schiff base complexes, cell culture and MTT assay was carried out. These results showed a reduction of jurkat cell line concentration across the complexes.     

Anacardic Acids from Amphipterygium adstringens Confer Cytoprotection against 5-Fluorouracil and Carboplatin Induced Blood Cell Toxicity While Increasing Antitumoral Activity and Survival in an Animal Model of Breast Cancer

Amphipterygium adstringens (cuachalalate) contains anacardic acids (AAs) such as 6-pentadecyl salicylic acid (6SA) that show immunomodulatory and antitumor activity with minimal or no secondary adverse effects. By contrast, most chemotherapeutic agents, such as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and carboplatin (CbPt), induce myelosuppression and leukopenia. Here, we investigated the myeloprotective and antineoplastic potential of an AA extract or the 6SA as monotherapy or in combination with commonly used chemotherapeutic agents (5-FU and CbPt) to determine the cytoprotective action of 6SA on immune cells. Treatment of Balb/c breast tumor-bearing female mice with an AA mixture or 6SA did not induce the myelosuppression or leukopenia observed with 5-FU and CbPt. The co-administration of AA mixture or isolated 6SA with 5-FU or CbPt reduced the apoptosis of circulating blood cells and bone marrow cells. Treatment of 4T1 breast tumor-bearing mice with the AA mixture or 6SA reduced tumor growth and lung metastasis and increased the survival rate compared with monotherapies. An increased effect was observed in tumor reduction with the combination of 6SA and CbPt. In conclusion, AAs have important myeloprotective and antineoplastic effects, and they can improve the efficiency of chemotherapeutics, thereby protecting the organism against the toxic effects of drugs such as 5-FU and CbPt.     

Activity and selectivity of W110A secondary alcohol dehydrogenase from Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus in organic solvents and ionic liquids: mono- and biphasic media

The asymmetric reduction of hydrophobic phenyl-ring-containing ketones and the enantiospecific kinetic resolution of the corresponding racemic alcohols catalyzed by Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus W110A secondary alcohol dehydrogenase were performed in mono- and biphasic systems containing either organic solvents or ionic liquids. Both yield and enantioselectivity for these transformations can be controlled by changing the reaction medium. The enzyme showed high tolerance to both water-miscible and -immiscible solvents, which allows biotransformations to be conducted at high substrate concentrations.     

Microwave-assisted ring-opening of activated aziridines with resin-bound amines

This paper describes the first study of nucleophilic ring-opening of nosylamide-activated aziridines under microwave irradiation conditions in solid-phase synthesis (SPS). The effects of solvent, temperature, reaction time, and reagent ratio in SPS of partially protected triamines from aziridines and resin-bound diamines were investigated. The methodology was also optimized for the synthesis of novel amino acid derivatives.     

Exploring In Vitro Biological Cellular Responses of Pegylated β-Cyclodextrins

βCDPEG5 and βCDPEG2 are two derivatives comprising seven PEG linear chains of 5 and 2 kDa, respectively, conjugated to βCD. As βCDPEGs display different physicochemical properties than their precursors, they could also trigger distinct cellular responses. To investigate the biological behavior of βCDPEGs in comparison to their parent compounds, we performed broad toxicological assays on RAW 264.7 macrophages, MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts, and MDCK cells. By analyzing ROS and NO₂⁻ overproduction in macrophages, we found that βCDPEGs induced a moderate stress response without affecting cell viability. Although MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts were more sensitive than MDCK cells to βCDPEGs and the parent compounds, a similar pattern was observed: the effect of βCDPEG5 on cell viability and cell cycle progression was larger than that of βCDPEG2; PEG2 affected cell viability and cell cycle more than βCDPEG2; cell post-treatment recovery was favorable in all cases, and the compounds had similar behaviors regarding ROS generation. The effect on MDCK cell migration followed a similar pattern. In contrast, for osteoblasts, the interference of βCDPEG5 with cell migration was smaller than that of βCDPEG2; likewise, the effect of PEG2 was shorter than its conjugate. Overall, the covalent conjugation of βCD and PEGs, particularly to yield βCDPEG2, improved the biocompatibility profile, evidencing that a favorable biological response can be tuned through a thoughtful combination of materials. Moreover, this is the first time that an in vitro evaluation of βCD and PEG has been presented for MC3T3-E1 and MDCK cells, thus providing valuable knowledge for designing biocompatible nanomaterials constructed from βCD and PEGs.     

Chitinase Chit62J4 Essential for Chitin Processing by Human Microbiome Bacterium Clostridium paraputrificum J4

Commensal bacterium Clostridium paraputrificum J4 produces several extracellular chitinolytic enzymes including a 62 kDa chitinase Chit62J4 active toward 4-nitrophenyl N,N′-diacetyl-β-d-chitobioside (pNGG). We characterized the crude enzyme from bacterial culture fluid, recombinant enzyme rChit62J4, and its catalytic domain rChit62J4cat. This major chitinase, securing nutrition of the bacterium in the human intestinal tract when supplied with chitin, has a pH optimum of 5.5 and processes pNGG with K_m = 0.24 mM and k_cat = 30.0 s⁻¹. Sequence comparison of the amino acid sequence of Chit62J4, determined during bacterial genome sequencing, characterizes the enzyme as a family 18 glycosyl hydrolase with a four-domain structure. The catalytic domain has the typical TIM barrel structure and the accessory domains—2x Fn3/Big3 and a carbohydrate binding module—that likely supports enzyme activity on chitin fibers. The catalytic domain is highly homologous to a single-domain chitinase of Bacillus cereus NCTU2. However, the catalytic profiles significantly differ between the two enzymes despite almost identical catalytic sites. The shift of pI and pH optimum of the commensal enzyme toward acidic values compared to the soil bacterium is the likely environmental adaptation that provides C. paraputrificum J4 a competitive advantage over other commensal bacteria.     

Antifungal Activity of Mexican Propolis on Clinical Isolates of Candida Species

Infections caused by micro-organisms of the genus Candida are becoming a growing health problem worldwide. These fungi are opportunistic commensals that can produce infections—clinically known as candidiasis—in immunocompromised individuals. The indiscriminate use of different anti-fungal treatments has triggered the resistance of Candida species to currently used therapies. In this sense, propolis has been shown to have potent antimicrobial properties and thus can be used as an approach for the inhibition of Candida species. Therefore, this work aims to evaluate the anti-Candida effects of a propolis extract obtained from the north of Mexico on clinical isolates of Candida species. Candida species were specifically identified from oral lesions, and both the qualitative and quantitative anti-Candida effects of the Mexican propolis were evaluated, as well as its inhibitory effect on C. albicans isolate’s germ tube growth and chemical composition. Three Candida species were identified, and our results indicated that the inhibition halos of the propolis ranged from 7.6 to 21.43 mm, while that of the MFC and FC₅₀ ranged from 0.312 to 1.25 and 0.014 to 0.244 mg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the propolis was found to inhibit germ tube formation (IC₅₀ ranging from 0.030 to 1.291 mg/mL). Chemical composition analysis indicated the presence of flavonoids, including pinocembrin, baicalein, pinobanksin chalcone, rhamnetin, and biochanin A, in the Mexican propolis extract. In summary, our work shows that Mexican propolis presents significant anti-Candida effects related to its chemical composition, and also inhibits germ tube growth. Other Candida species virulence factors should be investigated in future research in order to determine the mechanisms associated with antifungal effects against them.     

Synthesis,characterization, crystal structure,and theoretical studies on Schiff-base compound 6-[(5-Bromopyridin-2-yl)iminomethyl]phenol

The title Schiff-base compound, 6-[(5-Bromopyridin-2-yl)iminomethyl]phenol (1), has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, FT-IR, UV–Vis and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray single crystal diffraction. In the gas phase four isomers were found for title compound. Density functional (DFT) calculations have been carried out and it was found that the A isomer is the most stable one. The protonated imine N atom is involved in intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds with the phenoxide group and H aromatic atoms, respectively. The title compound displays a trans configuration about the C=N double bond.     

Self-assembled cation transporters made from lipophilic 8-phenyl-2'-deoxyguanosine derivatives

We have previously reported that 8-phenyl-2'-deoxyguanosine derivatives (8PhGs) are able to extract metal cations from an aqueous phase into an organic phase. Herein we report on the ability of 8PhGs to transport metal cations across a bulk lipophilic liquid membrane. The experiments were performed using lithium, sodium, potassium, and strontium picrate salts with the parent lipophilic Gi, two isomeric 8PhG derivatives, cis-dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 (CD18C6) and [2?2?2] cryptand as reference compounds. The relative amounts of the picrate salts were measured by UV spectroscopy in both, the source phase and the receiving phase over a period of 24 h. The results show that the transport efficiency of the self-assembled ionophores formed by 8PhGs is either similar or superior to that of CD18C6, and in all but one case higher than the parent compound Gi. The varying efficiencies between the derivatives can be attributed to the stability (kinetic and thermodynamic) and the different molecularities of the supramolecules formed by these 8PhGs. The ease of the synthesis of 8PhGs, their anion independent assembly and the fact that the transport efficiency can be modulated as a function of the structure of the 8PhGs bode well for the use of such compounds in the development of novel antimicrobial agents and cation sensing devices.     

Novel protein kinase D inhibitors cause potent arrest in prostate cancer cell growth and motility

Background  

Protein kinase D (PKD) has been implicated in a wide range of cellular processes and pathological conditions including cancer. However, targeting PKD therapeutically and dissecting PKD-mediated cellular responses remains difficult due to lack of a potent and selective inhibitor. Previously, we identified a novel pan-PKD inhibitor, CID755673, with potency in the upper nanomolar range and high selectivity for PKD. In an effort to further enhance its selectivity and potency for potential in vivo application, small molecule analogs of CID755673 were generated by modifying both the core structure and side-chains.