The molecular mechanism studies of chirality effect of PHA-739358 on Aurora kinase A by molecular dynamics simulation and free energy calculations

Aurora kinase family is one of the emerging targets in oncology drug discovery and several small molecules targeting aurora kinases have been discovered and evaluated under early phase I/II trials. Among them, PHA-739358 (compound 1r) is a 3-aminopyrazole derivative with strong activity against Aurora A under early phase II trial. Inhibitory potency of compound 1r (the benzylic substituent at the pro-R position) is 30 times over that of compound 1s (the benzylic substituent at the pro-S position). In present study, the mechanism of how different configurations influence the binding affinity was investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, free energy calculations and free energy decomposition analysis. The predicted binding free energies of these two complexes are consistent with the experimental data. The analysis of the individual energy terms indicates that although the van der Waals contribution is important for distinguishing the binding affinities of these two inhibitors, the electrostatic contribution plays a more crucial role in that. Moreover, it is observed that different configurations of the benzylic substituent could form different binding patterns with protein, thus leading to variant inhibitory potency of compounds 1r and 1s. The combination of different molecular modeling techniques is an efficient way to interpret the chirality effects of inhibitors and our work gives valuable information for the chiral drug design in the near future.     

Side effect reduction of encapsulated hydrocortisone crystals by insulin/alginate shells

Insulin/alginate (ALG) microcapsules for controllable release and side effect reduction of a glucocorticoid have been fabricated via the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. Insulin and ALG are deposited alternately onto hydrocortisone (HC) crystals to form a core-shell structure. This insulin/ALG microcapsule can prolong the release of HC under physical conditions and control the HC release rate by adjusting the number of insulin/ALG bilayers adsorbed onto HC crystals. The release of insulin from the capsule wall exhibits a little lag, compared with that of the HC. It is a great advantage for this system because hyperglycemia caused by HC usually arises a few hours after its administration, which could be inhibited by the delayed release of insulin from the shell of the microcapsule. This synergy effect might enable a new way of using one carrier to deliver two kinds of drugs and reduce their side effects at the same time.     

Tetra-β-(2-(diethylamino)ethoxy) nickel phthalocyanine: synthesis and inclusion in MCM-41

In order to include phthalocyanine macromolecule in MCM-41 molecular sieve, a inclusion-suitable phthalocyanine derivative tetra-β-(2-(diethylamino)ethoxy) nickel phthalocyanine was synthesized, in two steps, from 4-nitrophthalonitrile and 2-(diethylamino)ethanol, and characterized by mass spectra, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, ultraviolet visible spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis, which confirmed the proposed molecular structure. The inclusion of synthesized phthalocyanine compound in MCM-41 was carried out by the in situ synthesis method using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide as structure template and tetraethyl orthosilicate as silica source in presence of this phthalocyanine compound. The inclusion material was studied by means of X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption isotherm measurements, etc. Results showed that the macromolecular compound was successfully included into MCM-41, the obtained inclusion material displayed mainly prisms and globes, and the material was a kind of mesoporous materials with regularly hexagonal honeycomb array of uniform cylindrical pores and high surface area.     

Raman spectroscopic characteristics of octa-substituted bis(phthalocyaninato) rare earth complexes peripherally substituted with (4-methoxy)phenoxy derivatives

The Raman spectroscopic data in the range 500-1800 cm⁻¹ for a series of 15 rare earth double-deckers with tervalent rare earths M^III[Pc(MeOPhO)₈]₂ (M = Y, La, …, Lu, except Ce, Pr and Pm), reduced state HPr[Pc(MeOPhO)₈]₂ and intermediate-valent cerium Ce[Pc(MeOPhO)₈]₂ have been collected using laser excitation source emitting at 632.8 nm. With excitation at 632.8 nm, which is in close resonance with the main Q absorption band of the phthalocyanine ligand, typical Raman marker bands of the monoanion radical [Pc(MeOPhO)₈]⁻ were observed at 1500-1528 cm⁻¹ as very strong bands resulting from the coupling of pyrrole CC and aza CN stretchings. For Ce[Pc(MeOPhO)₈]₂ and HPr[Pc(MeOPhO)₈]₂, a very strong band at 1499 cm⁻¹ with contributions from both pyrrole CC and aza CN stretchings and also isoindole stretching was the marker Raman band of [Pc(MeOPhO)₈]²⁻. In addition, the influence of ionic radius of the rare earth metal and substituent species on the Raman scatting characteristics of sandwich-type compounds has also been tentatively studied.     

Syntheses,Structures, and Luminescent Properties of Two Novel Coordination Polymers with Dipicolinate and Diimidazole Ligands

Two novel coordination polymers, [Zn(dpc)(bmix)_0.5]_n ( 1 ), [Pb(dpc)(bmix)_0.5]_n ( 2 ), [dpc = dipicolinate, bmix = 1,4‐bis(2‐methylimidazole‐1‐ylmethyl)benzene], were hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, TGA, and X‐ray single crystal diffraction. In both complexes, the dipicolinate and bmix ligands act as spacers to link metal ions to give a 2D corrugated (6,3) network of 1 and a 3D microporous framework of 2 , respectively. The difference in the architectures is due to a diverging coordination mode of the carboxylate function. Furthermore, solid state fluorescence properties of the two complexes were investigated at room temperature.     

Study of the Binding of Herbacetin to Bovine Serum Albumin by Fluorescence Spectroscopy

In this paper, the interaction between herbacetin and BSA was investigated by fluorescence and three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy under simulated physiological conditions. It was proved that the fluorescence quenching of BSA by herbacetin was mainly the result of the formation of a herbacetin–BSA complex. The modified Stern–Volmer quenching constant and the corresponding thermodynamic parameters ΔH ⁰, ΔG ⁰ and ΔS ⁰ were calculated at different temperatures. The results indicated that electrostatic interactions were the predominant intermolecular forces in stabilizing the complex. The distance r=3.23 nm between the donor (BSA) and acceptor (herbacetin) was obtained according to Förster’s nonradioactive energy transfer theory. The synchronous fluorescence and three-dimensional fluorescence spectra results showed that the hydrophobity of amino acid residues increased in the presence of herbacetin. These results revealed that the microenvironment and conformation of BSA changed during the binding reaction.     

XPS and AFM characterization of the self‐assembled molecular monolayers of a 3‐aminopropyltrimethoxysilane on silicon surface,and effects of substrate pretreatment by UV‐irradiation

The self‐assembled (SA) molecular monolayers of a 3‐aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (3‐APTS) on a silicon (111) surface, and the effects of ultraviolet (UV) pre‐treatment for substrates on the assembling process have been studied using XPS and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that the SA 3‐APTS molecules are bonded to the substrate surface in a nearly vertical orientation, with a thickness of the monolayer of about 0.8–1.5 nm. The SA molecular monolayers show a substantial degree of disorder in molecular packing, which are believed to result from the interactions of amine tails in the silane molecules used with surface functionalities of the substrates, and the oxygen‐containing species from the ambient. UV irradiation for silicon substrates prior to the self‐assembly reaction can enhance the assembly process and hence, significantly increase the coverage of the monolayer assembled for the substrates. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural diversity of organotin(IV) complexes self-assembled from hydroxamic acid and mono- or dialkyltin salts

Three hydroxamic acid ligands (HL₁ = acetohydroxamic acid; HL₂ = benzohydroxamic acid; HL₃ = N-phenylbenzohydroxamic acid), have been used to synthesize series of mono- or dialkyltin(IV) complexes, which include (i) the carboxyl acid hybrid five-coordinated dialkyltin complexes (C₄H₉)₂SnL₁L₄ (1), [(CH₃)₂SnL₂L₅]·0.5C₆H₆ (2), (HL₄ = acetic acid; HL₅ = benzoic acid); (ii) the six-coordinated mono-n-butyltin complexes (C₄H₉)SnL₁·Cl₂·H₂O (3), (C₄H₉)SnL₂·Cl₂·H₂O (4), [(C₄H₉)SnL₃·Cl₂·H₂O]·H₂O (5), [(C₄H₉Sn)₂(L₃)₂·Cl₂·(OCH₃)₂] (6); and (iii) the alkali metal-mingled seven-coordinated mono-n-butyltin complexes [(C₄H₉Sn)₃L₂Na]⁺·Cl⁻·(CH₃CH₂)₂O (7), [(C₄H₉Sn)₃L₂K]⁺·Cl⁻·CH₂Cl₂ (8). All complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, IR, ¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹⁹Sn NMR and X-ray single crystal diffraction. In these complexes, hydroxamic acids present bidentate coordination modes with the carbonyl O atom and the hydroxyl O atom binding to tin center. In complexes 1-6, each tin atom is coordinated by one hydroxamic acid ligand. However, in complexes 7 and 8, tin atom is surrounded by three hydroxamic acid ligands, and all hydroxyl O atoms of the ligands also bind to the alkali metal center (Na or K). This kind of organotin(IV) framework containing one alkali metal is found for the first time. Furthermore, the supramolecular structures of 1, 3, 4 and 6 have been found to consist of 1D linear molecular chains formed by intermolecular N-H···X or C-H···X (X = O, N or Cl) hydrogen bonds. For complex 2, an interesting macrocyclic tetramer has been built by the intermolecular N-H···O hydrogen bonds. Fascinatingly, two unique symmetric dimeric structures are recognized in complexes 7 and 8, which is individually bridged by intermolecular N-H···Cl and N-H···O hydrogen bonds. In addition, for 8, the dimeric cycles have been further connected into a 1D supramolecular chain.     

Liquid-liquid solvent extraction of rare earths from chloride medium with sec-nonylphenoxy acetic acid and its mixtures with neutral organophosphorus extractants

In the present study, sec-nonylphenoxy acetic acid (CA100) and its mixtures with four neutral organophosphorus extractants, tri-butyl-phosphate (TBP), 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid di-2-ethyl ester (DEHEHP), Cyanex923, and Cyanex925 have been applied to the extraction of rare earths. Results show that all the four mixing systems do not have evident synergistic effects on the extraction of rare earths. The different extraction effects have been considered to the separation of rare earths. The four mixtures may be applied to the separation of yttrium from some certain lanthanoids at proper mole fractions of CA100.     

Synthesis and characterizations of novel spindle-like terphenyl-type chromophores for non-linear optical materials

A series of novel spindle-like terphenyl-type chromophores, based on 2,5-diphenyl-1,4-distyrylbenzene π-conjugating bridge, N,N-dimethyl and triphenyl amino donors, and Tricyanovinyldihydrofuran(TCF), 1,3,3-trimethyl-5-dicyanovinyl-1-cyclohexene (TDC) acceptors, have been synthesized successfully for the first time. And the non-linear optical properties were evaluated by using the finite-field (FF) method. The results show that, the first-order hyperpolarizability of the chromophores increase with the increase of the withdraw ability of the substituent group on the π-conjugating bridge.