Trapping effect of eugenol on hydroxyl radicals induced by L-DOPA in vitro

Many researchers have stated that eugenol might inhibit lipid peroxidation at the stage of initiation, propagation, or both, and many attempts have been made to elucidate the mechanism of its antioxidant activity. Nevertheless, details of its mechanism are still obscure. This study was carried out to investigate the trapping effect of eugenol on hydroxyl radical generated from L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) in MiliQ water and the generation mechanism of the hydroxyl radical by this system which uses no metallic factor. This was studied by adding L-DOPA and 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) to phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or MiliQ water, and the generation of hydroxyl radical was detected on an ESR spectrum. By this method, the effect of antioxidants was detected as a modification of ESR spectra. We found that the eugenol trapped hydroxyl radicals directly, because it had no iron chelating action, did not trap L-DOPA semiquinone radical and inhibited hydroxyl radicals with or without iron ion.     

Practical synthesis of a neuropeptide Y antagonist via stereoselective addition to a ketene

[Reaction: see text]. The synthesis of neuropeptide Y antagonist 1, currently under clinical investigation for the treatment of obesity, is described. The convergent synthesis from trans-spirolactone carboxylic acid intermediate 2a and aminopyrazole 3 is predicated on a stereoselective route to the former. The coupling reaction of ethyl 4-oxocyclohexanecarboxylate (10a) with lithiated isonicotinamide 11 was investigated in detail, but even optimized conditions only provided a 45:55 ratio of trans:cis isomers (12a:12b). While selective crystallization schemes were developed to isolate the thermodynamically less stable trans isomer 2a, improved stereocontrol was subsequentially achieved by the application of ketene chemistry. The ketene formation and quench was investigated under a variety of conditions aimed at maximizing the trans:cis ratio. Reacting a mixture of carboxylic acids 2a and 2b with POCl3 in THF, followed by concomitant addition of tert-butyl alcohol in the presence of TMEDA at 35 degrees C provided a 4:1 ratio of trans:cis tert-butyl esters (18a:18b) via in situ ketene formation. Ester hydrolysis, followed by selective crystallization of undesired 2b as the HCl salt, led to isolation of 2a in 47% overall yield. Aminopyrazole intermediate 3 was synthesized via the condensation reaction of 2-fluorophenylhydrazine hydrochloride (4a) with acrylonitrile derivative 5 in 65-70% yield. Coupling of advanced intermediates 2a and 3b via activation with thionyl chloride gave a 92% yield of 1.     

CAST/CNMR: highly accurate C NMR chemical shift prediction system considering stereochemistry

Accurate, practical prediction of ¹³C NMR chemical shifts has been achieved with a new system, CAST/CNMR, taking account of stereochemistry. The CAST/CNMR system has solved the critical problem of the accurate distinction of differences and similarities in stereochemical structures around a specific carbon, which has not yet been achieved by any other database-oriented system for prediction of ¹³C NMR chemical shifts. CAST/CNMR uses a three-dimensional structural database together with a ¹³C NMR spectral database. Absolute/relative configurational and conformational structural information are described by the CAST (CAnonical-representation of STereochemistry) coding method. This paper provides an overview of the CAST/CNMR system, and describes its application to two natural products as examples.     

Diethylhydrogensilyl cyclic diethylsilylene derivatives in gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of hydroxylated steroids. III-Fragmentations of 5β-pregnane-17,20,21-triol derivatives

A reaction of N,O-bis-(diethylhydrogensilyl) trifluoroacetamide with 5β-pregnane-17,20,21-triols afforded diethylhydrogensilyl (DEHS) cyclic diethylsilylene (DES) derivatives. 5β-Pregnane-3α,17α,20β,21-tetraol yielded the 3α,21-bis-DEHS-17α,20β-DES compound, whereas the structure of the major product from its 20α isomer was assigned as the 3α,17α-bis-DEHS-20α,21-DES derivative, which would undergo facile isomerization to the unstable 3α,21-bis-DEHS-17α,20α-DES structure under electron ionization. Fragmentations of these DEHS-DES compounds are discussed on the basis of isotope labelling experiments, linked scanning data, and accurate mass measurements.     

Shipboard analysis of picomolar levels of manganese in seawater by chelating resin concentration and chemiluminescence detection

A new shipboard analytical method for determining picomolar levels of manganese in seawater has been developed. The method is based on a combination of chelating resin column extraction and improved chemiluminescence (CL) detection in a closed flow system. In this method, manganese in sample solution is selectively collected on newly-developed iminodiacetate-immobilized chelating resin, and then eluted with acidic solution containing hydrogen peroxide. The resulting eluent is mixed with luminol solution and aqueous ammonia after removal of iron ions by a chelating resin column, and then the mixture is introduced into the CL cell. The manganese concentration is obtained from the CL intensity. The detection limit (3SD) of manganese is 5 pmol L^–1 from 9 mL of seawater sample. The method was applied to seawater samples collected at the Okinawa Trough.     

Structural regulation of a peptide-conjugated graft copolymer: a simple model for amyloid formation

The self-assembly of peptides and proteins into beta-sheet-rich high-order structures has attracted much attention as a result of the characteristic nanostructure of these assemblies and because of their association with neurodegenerative diseases. Here we report the structural and conformational properties of a peptide-conjugated graft copolymer, poly(gamma-methyl-L-glutamate) grafted polyallylamine (1) in a water-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol solution as a simple model for amyloid formation. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the globular peptide 1 self-assembles into nonbranching fibrils that are about 4 nm in height under certain conditions. These fibrils are rich in beta-sheets and, similar to authentic amyloid fibrils, bind the amyloidophilic dye Congo red. The secondary and quaternary structures of the peptide 1 can be controlled by manipulating the pH, solution composition, and salt concentration; this indicates that the three-dimensional packing arrangement of peptide chains is the key factor for such fibril formation. Furthermore, the addition of carboxylic acid-terminated poly(ethylene glycol), which interacts with both of amino groups of 1 and hydrophobic PMLG chains, was found to obviously inhibit the alpha-to-beta structural transition for non-assembled peptide 1 and to partially cause a beta-to-alpha structural transition against the 1-assembly in the beta-sheet form. These findings demonstrate that the amyloid fibril formation is not restricted to specific protein sequences but rather is a generic property of peptides. The ability to control the assembled structure of the peptide should provide useful information not only for understanding the amyloid fibril formation, but also for developing novel peptide-based material with well-defined nanostructures.     

A new theoretical approach to the empirical resonance energies of the aromatic hydrocarbons

In the framework of the Hückel MO approximation, the differences in total binding energy between a given molecule and the corresponding distorted Kekulé-type structure are calculated for a variety of benzenoid hydrocarbons. The total binding energy is assumed to be given by the sum of the -electron and -electron binding energies. It is shown that there is a good linear relationship between the calculated differences in total binding energy and the -electron delocalization energies (DE) as obtained by using the simple Hückel MO method. This provides a physical basis for the use of the -electron DE as a theoretical index to the empirical resonance energy (RE). Further, by examining the changes in -electron binding energy between a given molecule and the corresponding distorted Kekulé-type structure, it is concluded that in benzenoid hydrocarbons the main contributor to the RE is not the -electron DE but the compressional energy of bonds.     

Preparative high-yield electroelution of proteins after separation by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and its application to analysis of amino acid sequences and to raise antibodies.

A method for the preparative high-yield electroelution of proteins from sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel strips was established. The method consisted of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, detection of proteins with sodium acetate and electrophoretic elution at 200 V for 3 h by utilizing a horizontal flat-bed gel electrophoresis apparatus. Standard proteins with molecular masses of 14-66 kilodalton (cytochrome c, aldolase, ovalbumin and bovine serum albumin) were recovered with an average yield of 73.6 +/- 2.3%. A membrane-bound protein, rat skeletal muscle Ca(2+)-ATPase (100 kilodalton) was also well recovered (over 60%). This method was applicable to the purification of proteins required for N-terminal amino acid sequencing and to raise antibodies.     

ALL-trans β-CAROTENE-5,6-EPOXIDE IN THYLAKOID MEMBRANES

All- trans β-carotene-5,6-epoxide has been found in the thylakoid membranes of spinach and of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus vulcanus Copeland. The epoxide was extracted from the thylakoid membranes with acetone, and was isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The structure of the epoxide was identified by means of mass, Raman, and electronic absorption spectroscopy. Changes in the amount of the epoxide, as a result of epoxidation and (apparent) de-epoxidation reactions in the membranes, were traced by analysis of extracts on HPLC. In isolated thylakoid membranes, only the epoxidation reaction took place. The reaction was caused by irradiation or by the addition of ferricyanide, suggesting that electron transport reactions in the membranes are involved in the epoxidation. In intact spinach leaves, however, both epoxidation and de-epoxidation took place; the extent of epoxidation correlated with the intensity of light incident on the leaves. The epoxidation and de-epoxidation of all- trans β-carotene are contrasted with those of xanthophylls (in the violaxanthin cycle).     

Development of miniaturized multi-channel high-performance liquid chromatography for high-throughput analysis

We have developed miniaturized multi-channel high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. With this system, we can simultaneously separate multiple samples, using a single high-pressure gradient pump, a chip-based sample injection unit, a monolithic silica capillary column array, and a multi-channel UV detection unit based on fiber optics. The injection unit has a simplified structure composed of brass housing and a quartz microchip having microchannels and access ports, which enable a direct injection of sample to multi-channel by commercial multichannel micropipette. Moreover, that possesses a function of microvalve, and on-chip definition of sample injection plugs achieved with a cross channel injection method, providing each column of monolithic silica capillary array. The substances in channels were simultaneously detected with UV having multiple cells. Standard samples were analyzed for characterizing newly developed system, and sharp peaks were obtained with reproducibility data of < 0.9% (R.S.D.). Analysis of tryptic digestion of casein was also employed. These results show that the novel multi-channel HPLC system has the benefits for the high-throughput analysis in the post-genomic analysis/combinatorial chemistry.