Secondary Metabolites,including a New 5,6-Dihydropyran-2-One,Produced by the Fungus Diplodia corticola. Aphicidal Activity of the Main Metabolite,Sphaeropsidin A

An undescribed 5,6-dihydropyran-2-one, namely diplopyrone C, was isolated and characterized from the cultures of an isolate of the fungus Diplodia corticola recovered from Quercus suber in Algeria. The structure and relative stereostructure of (5S,6S,7Z,9S,10S)-5-hydroxy-6-(2-(3-methyloxiran-2-yl)vinyl)-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one were assigned essentially based on NMR and MS data. Furthermore, ten known compounds were isolated and identified in the same cultures. The most abundant product, the tetracyclic pimarane diterpene sphaeropsidin A, was tested for insecticidal effects against the model sucking aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Results showed a toxic dose-dependent oral activity of sphaeropsidin A, with an LC₅₀ of 9.64 mM.     

Polyphenols from Dichrostachys cinerea Fruits Anti-Inflammatory,Analgesic, and Antioxidant Capacity in Freund’s Adjuvant-Induced Arthritic Rat Model

Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wigth & Arn. (DC) is widely used in traditional medicine against several inflammatory diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis, because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This study aimed to characterize the polyphenol-rich DC fruit extracts and investigate the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects in a rat inflammation model induced by complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA). Water and ethanolic extracts were characterized using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The polyphenol-rich extracts were administered in three different concentrations for 30 days. Pain threshold, thermal hyperalgesia, edema, and serum biomarkers specific to inflammatory processes or oxidative stress were evaluated. Both extracts were rich in polyphenolic compounds, mainly flavan-3-ols, proanthocyanidins, and flavone glycosides, which had important in vitro antioxidant capacity. DC fruit extracts administration had the maximum antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects after one day since the CFA injection and showed promising results for long-term use as well. The measurement of pro-inflammatory cytokines, cortisol, and oxidative stress parameters showed that DC extracts significantly reduced these parameters, being dose and extract-type dependent. These results showed potential anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antioxidative properties and revealed the necessity of using a standardized polyphenolic DC extract to avoid result variability.     

Physical and electrochemical properties of N-alkyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide ionic liquids: PY13FSI and PY14FSI

Two ionic liquids based upon N-alkyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium cations (PY(1R)(+)) (R=3 for propyl or 4 for butyl) and the bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI(-)), N(SO2F)2(-), anion have been extensively characterized. The ionic conductivity and viscosity of these materials are found to be among the highest and lowest, respectively, reported for aprotic ionic liquids. Both ionic liquids crystallize readily on cooling and undergo several solid-solid phase transitions on heating prior to melting. PY13FSI and PY14FSI are found to melt at -9 and -18 degrees C, respectively. The thermal stability of PY13FSI and PY14FSI is notably lower than for the analogous salts with the bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI(-)), N(SO2CF3)2(-), anion. Both ionic liquids have a relatively wide electrochemical stability window of approximately 5 V.     

Processing Parameters Matching Effects upon Rhizobium tropici Biopolymers’ Rheological Properties

The combined effects of the processing parameters upon rheological properties of biopolymers produced by Rhizobium tropici were studied as a function of the Ca(+2) ions' concentration variation, yeast extract concentration added to the medium, aeration, and agitation, maintaining the mannitol concentration in 10 g/L. The experiments were carried out using a fermenter with 20-L capacity as a reactor. All processing parameters were monitored online. The temperature [(30 +/- 1) degrees C] and pH values (7.0) were kept constant throughout the experimental time. As a statistical tool, a complete 2(3) factorial design with central point and response surface was used to investigate the interactions between relevant variables of the fermentation process: calcium carbonate concentration, yeast extract concentration, aeration, and agitation. The processing parameter setup for reaching the maximum response for rheological propriety production was obtained when applying mannitol concentration of 10.0 g/L, calcium carbonate concentration 1.0 g/L, yeast extract concentration 1.0 g/L, aeration 1.30 vvm, and agitation 800 rpm. The viscosimetric investigation of polysaccharide solutions exposed their shear-thinning behavior and polyelectrolytic feature.     

Re-entrant nematic behavior in the 7OCB+9OCB mixtures: evidence for multiple nematic-smectic tricritical points

The metastable phase diagram of the two-component system heptyloxycyanobiphenyl (7OCB)+nonyloxycyanobiphenyl (9OCB) was determined by means of modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) and optical microscopy measurements. It was experimentally established that the 7OCB+9OCB two-component system exhibits a monotropic re-entrant nematic behavior. A complete quantitative thermodynamic analysis, through Oonk's equal G analysis, was performed, allowing for the calculation of the monotropic re-entrant behavior and the prediction of two tricritical points, one of them experimentally accessible for the SmAd-to-N transition and the other non-experimentally accessible for the RN-to-SmAd transition. From specific-heat measurements, latent heats were obtained for those mixtures displaying a first-order SmAd-to-N transition. Additionally, for some mixtures, the specific-heat critical exponents (alpha), through the second-order SmAd-to-N transition, were obtained. Both batches of data enable us to access to the experimental tricritical temperature for the SmAd-to-N transition.     

Hydroxyapatite micro- and nanoparticles: nucleation and growth mechanisms in the presence of citrate species

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) particles with different morphologies were precipitated from homogeneous calcium/citrate/phosphate solutions at physiological temperature. Small variations of the starting solution pH in the range 7.4相似文献   

Membrane association and contact formation by a synthetic analogue of polymyxin B and its fluorescent derivatives

sP-B is a synthetic analogue of the natural lipopeptide antibiotic polymyxin B (PxB) that maintains the ability of the parent compound to form vesicle-vesicle contacts and induce lipid exchange. Exchange is selective, and only monoanionic phospholipids such as 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycero-sn-3-phosphoglycerol (POPG) are transferred, whereas dianionic phospholipids such as 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycero-sn-3-phosphate (POPA) are not, as shown by fluorescence experiments based on the excimer/monomer ratio of pyrene-labeled phospholipids. Synthetic fluorescent analogues of sP-B are used to investigate the peptide position and orientation in the intermembrane contacts: sP-Bw, an analogue that contains D-tryptophan (D-Trp) instead of the naturally occurring D-phenylalanine, and sP-Bpy, incorporating a pyrene group at the N-terminus. Tryptophan fluorescence, anisotropy, and quenching measurements performed with sP-Bw indicate that the peptide binds and inserts in anionic vesicles of POPG and POPA. However, significant differences are seen depending on the lipid composition, as also demonstrated by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments from Trp to 7-nitro-2-1,3-benzoxadiazol (NBD) groups at the interface. Intermolecular FRET using sP-Bw as the donor and sP-Bpy as the acceptor indicates self-association of the peptide, possibly forming dimers, when bound to POPG vesicles at concentrations that induce the vesicle-vesicle contacts.     

Theoretical study of the mechanism of peptide ring formation in green fluorescent protein

Density functional calculations using hybrid functionals (B3LYP) have been performed to study the mechanism of peptide ring formation in green fluorescent protein (GFP). Several different chemical models were used ranging from a minimal model of the ring formation to a model including the full side chains of the groups involved in forming the peptide ring. The surrounding protein was described using a dielectric cavity model. The previously most accepted mechanism was found to lead to an endothermic cyclization of about 10 kcal/mol, independent of chemical model used. The formation of the required dihydro‐imidazolone intermediate was found to be even more endothermic with 16–18 kcal/mol. In contrast, another mechanism where the dehydration of residue 66 precedes cyclization was found to be exothermic by 1.9 kcal/mol and to go over an endothermic intermediate of only 6.7 kcal/mol. Correcting these results using the more accurate G2‐M scheme leads to an intermediate with an energy of only +3.7 kcal/mol and an overall exothermicity of 4.7 kcal/mol. Possible transition states involving proton transfer steps were also investigated. Comparisons are made to the similar and more well‐known deamination reaction of Asn‐Gly sequences in peptides, for which good agreement is obtained with experiments. The results are discussed with respect to available experiments. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 81: 169–186, 2001