Convergent assembly of highly potent analogues of bryostatin 1 via pyran annulation: bryostatin look-alikes that mimic phorbol ester function

Highly potent bryostatin analogues which contain the complete bryostatin core structure have been synthesized using a pyran annulation approach as a key strategic element. The A ring pyran was assembled using a pyran annulation reaction between a C1-C8 hydroxy allylsilane and an aldehyde comprising C9-C13. This pyran was transformed to a new hydroxy allylsilane and then coupled with a preformed C ring aldehyde subunit in a second pyran annulation, with concomitant formation of the B ring. This tricyclic intermediate was elaborated to bryostatin analogues which displayed nanomolar to subnanomolar affinity for PKC, but displayed properties indistinguishable from a phorbol ester in a proliferation/attachment assay.     

A New Ent‐Trachylobane Diterpenoid from the Roots of Sapium Sebiferum

A new ent‐trachylobane diterpenoid, saposebifeic acid, together with thirteen known compounds, were isolated from the roots of Sapium sebiferum. Compounds, 5,7,8‐trimethoxycoumarin, baccatin, n‐alkyl trans‐ferulate and 2,6‐dimethoxyquinone, were reported for the first time from this plant. The structures of the new and known compounds were established on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectral data.     

Information guided noise reduction for Monte Carlo integration of oscillatory functions

A simple procedure for decreasing the statistical error associated with Monte Carlo integration of oscillatory functions is presented. The method uses available information about the integral of a similar oscillatory function to correlate the estimates of the positive and negative components of the integral. Numerical tests show that information guided noise reduction (IGNoR) leads to substantial decrease of the statistical error, allowing meaningful results to be obtained with a fraction of the cost required to attain similar precision from the raw Monte Carlo estimate.     

One Alkenylphenol and Steroids from the Aquatic Plant Monochoria Vaginalis

Two new compounds have been isolated from the whole plant of Monochoria vaginalis and characterized as: (10Z)‐1‐(2,6‐dihydroxyphenyl)octadec‐10‐en‐1‐one ( 1 ) (20R, 24R)‐campest‐5‐ene‐3β, 4β‐diol ( 2 ) together with nine known ones. The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectral data and chemical evidence.     

Pyranoxanthones from Calophyllum Inophyllum

Phytochemical investigation of the stem bark of Calophyllum inophyllum resulted in the isolation of a new dipyrenoxanthone, calophinone ( 1 ), together with four related xanthones ( 2–5 ). Identification of the isolated compounds was achieved through intensive studies of their spectral data, especially 2D NMR.     

Identification of active compounds from medicinal plant extracts using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and multivariate data analysis

Conventional methods of drug discovery from natural products include bioassay-guided fractionation, which is tedious and has low efficiency. The aim of this work is to develop a platform method to rapidly identify bioactive compounds from crude plant extracts and their partially purified fractions using multivariate data analysis (MVDA). Soxhlet extraction and liquid-liquid fractionation were used to prepare different extracts and fractions from the leaves of a medicinal plant, Ardisia elliptica. The extracts and fractions were analysed chemically using GC-MS, and their ability to inhibit platelet aggregation was investigated. Two MVDA methods were developed and optimised to analyse the results. In the first method, compounds with the highest contribution scores for biological activity calculated by different models were listed as potential antiplatelet compounds. For the second MVDA method, a correlation of the concentrations of constituents and biological activities in the various extracts and fractions for each compound was done. Compounds with the highest correlation coefficients were identified as potential antiplatelet compounds. One of the predicted components was isolated, purified and confirmed to possess antiplatelet effects. This platform method can be developed and optimised for other plant extracts and biological activities, thus reducing time and cost of drug discovery while improving efficiency.     

Optimization of separations of alkyl-substituted phenolate anions by capillary zone electrophoresis

Anions of alkylphenols have very similar electrophoretic mobilities in CZE owing to their very small differences in size and the narrow range of their pK_a values. By studying electrophoretic mobility as a function both of pH and of the amount of acetonitrile in the electrolyte solution, optimum separation conditions were determined. It was possible to separate a group of methyl-substituted phenols, including several positional isomers. Mixtures containing n-propyl and isopropyl phenols and 1°, 2°, and 3° butylphenols could be resolved.     

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of 7-ethyl-3-methyl-4,7-dihydro-4-oxoisothiazolo[5,4-b]pyridine-5-carboxylic acid

The synthesis of the quinolone, 7-ethyl-3-methyl-4,7-dihydro-4-oxoisothiazolo[5,4-b]pyridine-5-carboxylic acid 4 was accomplished utilizing the Gould-Jacobs dependent route. The compound had very weak in vitro activity as compared to nalidixic acid versus E. coli, P. aeruginosa, K. pnuemoniae, S. aureus and P. mirabilis.     

Reactivity of DNA guanyl radicals with phenolate anions

Guanine bases are the most easily oxidized sites in DNA. Electron-deficient guanine species are major intermediates produced in DNA by the direct effect of ionizing radiation (ionization of the DNA itself) because of preferential hole migration within DNA to guanine bases. By using thiocyanate ions to modify the indirect effect (ionization of the solvent), we are able to produce these single-electron-oxidized guanine radical species in dilute aqueous solutions of plasmid DNA where the direct effect is negligible. The guanyl radical species produce stable modified guanine products. They can be detected in the plasmid by converting them to strand breaks after incubation with a DNA repair enzyme. If a phenol is present during irradiation, the yield of modified guanines is decreased. The mechanism is reduction of the guanine radical species by the phenol. It is possible to derive a rate constant for the reaction of the phenol with the guanyl radical. The pH dependence shows that phenolate anions are more reactive than their conjugate acids, although the difference for guanyl radicals is smaller than with other single-electron-oxidizing agents. At physiological pH values, the reduction of a guanyl radical entails the transfer of a proton in addition to the electron. The relatively small dependence of the rate constant on the driving force implies that the electron cannot be transferred before the proton. These results emphasize the potential importance of acidic tyrosine residues and the intimate involvement of protons in DNA repair.     

Domino allylation and cyclization of ortho-alkynylbenzaldehydes with allyltrimethylsilane catalyzed by Pd(II)-Cu(II) bimetallic systems

The reaction of ortho-alkynylated benzaldehydes 1 with allyltrimethylsilane under the Pd(OAc)₂-CuCl₂ catalyst system gave the isochromene derivatives 2 together with the chlorinated products 3. When the reaction was conducted in the presence of half equiv of H₂O, the formation of 3 was suppressed and 2 was obtained in good to high yields. When the reaction of 1a was carried out with trimethylsilylcyanide instead of allylsilane, the cyano group-substituted isochromene 9 was obtained in 94% yield.