Germacrene A is a product of the aristolochene synthase-mediated conversion of farnesylpyrophosphate to aristolochene

The biosynthesis of several sesquiterpenes has been proposed to proceed via germacrene A. However, to date, the production of germacrene A has not been proven directly for any of the sesquiterpene synthases for which it was postulated as an intermediate. We demonstrate here for the first time that significant amounts of germacrene A (7.5% of the total amount of products) are indeed released from wild-type aristolochene synthase (AS) from Penicillium roqueforti. Germacrene A was identified through direct GC-MS comparison to an authentic sample and through production of beta-elemene in a thermal Cope rearrangement. AS also produced a small amount of valencene through deprotonation of C6 rather than C8 in the final step of the reaction. On the basis of the X-ray structure of AS, Tyr 92 was postulated to be the active-site acid responsible for protonation of germacrene A (Caruthers, J. M.; Kang, I.; Rynkiewicz, M. J.; Cane, D. E.; Christianson, D. W. J. Biol. Chem. 2000, 275, 25533-25539). The CD spectra of a mutant protein, ASY92F, in which Tyr 92 was replaced by Phe, and of AS were very similar. ASY92F was approximately 0.1% as active as nonmutated recombinant AS. The steady-state kinetic parameters were measured as 0.138 min(-1) and 0.189 mM for k(cat) and K(M), respectively. Similar to a mutant protein of 5-epi-aristolochene (Rising, K. A.; Starks, C. M.; Noel, J. P.; Chappell, J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 1861-1866), the mutant released significant amounts of germacrene A (approximately 29%). ASY92F also produced various amounts of a further five hydrocarbons of molecular weight 204, valencene, beta-(E)-farnesene, alpha- and beta-selinene, and selina-4,11-diene.     

The practical synthesis of a novel and highly potent analogue of bryostatin

Macrocycle 1 is a new highly potent analogue of bryostatin 1, a promising anti-cancer agent currently in human clinical trials. In vitro, 1 displays picomolar affinity for PKC and exhibits over 100-fold greater potency than bryostatin 1 when tested against various human cancer cell lines. Macrocycle 1 can be generated in clinically required amounts by chemical synthesis in only 19 steps (LLS) and represents a new clinical lead for the treatment of cancer.     

PHYTOCHROME IN GREEN-TISSUE: PARTIAL PURIFICATION and CHARACTERIZATION OF THE 118-KILODALTON PHYTOCHROME SPECIES FROM LIGHT-GROWN Avena sativa L.*

The predominant, immunochemically-detectable phytochrome polypeptide rapidly extracted directly into boiling sodium dodecyl sulfate-containing buffer from fresh or freeze-dried green Avena tissue has an apparent molecular mass of 118 kilodaltons (kDa). This result indicates that the 118-kDa phytochrome species obtained from green Avena by extraction and rapid processing under non-denaturing conditions in previous studies was not derived by partial proteolysis of a larger polypeptide present in the cell. Additional data do, however, demonstrate the presence in green tissue homogenates of proteolytic activity that can cause a = 6-kDa reduction in apparent molecular mass and a blue-shift in the P_fr absorbance maximum of phytochrome during handling. This proteolytic activity contrasts with that previously encountered in etiolated tissue in that it is not inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, but is inhibited by iodoacetamide and leupeptin. This result indicates that the activity is associated with a thiol-like protease. A partial purification procedure that incorporates the use of iodacetamide and a novel chromatographic step is described for green-tissue phytochrome. This procedure provides 50% recovery with a 90-fold enrichment of phytochrome relative to the initial extract in which the chromoprotein is 0.003% of the total soluble protein. The final fraction is apparently free of proteolytic activity. Immunoblot analysis of this fraction demonstrates that the predominant immunoreactive band has a monomeric molecular mass of 118 kDa. Comigration of this band with a band exhibiting zinc-induced fluorescence on blots of the partially purified preparations verifies that the 118-kDa species is the principal tetrapyrrole-bearing polypeptide present. Spectral properties of the final fraction are identical to those published for crude green-tissue extracts, indicating the stability of the molecule's spectral properties throughout the procedure. Size exclusion chromatography under nondenaturing conditions shows that the 118-kDa phytochrome species from green tissue comigrates with the dimeric, etiolated-tissue molecule, and is therefore suggestive of similar quaternary structure. Together these data reinforce previous conclusions that the predominant phytochrome molecule present in the living cells of green tissue is resolvable as a 118-kDa species, distinct from the well-characterized 124-kDa molecule from etiolated tissue (Tokuhisa et al., 1985, Planta 164, 321–332), and indicate that the partial purification protocol described here sustains the green-tissue phytochrome in its native state throughout the procedure.     

Syntheses of 3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ols from intermediates formed from co-oligomerisation reactions of butadiene with diethyl malonate and acetaldehyde

The products of the reaction of butadiene with diethyl malonate catalysed by a palladium complex and of butadiene with acetaldehyde catalysed by a nickel(0) complex have been used in two syntheses of 3,7-dimethylpentadecan-2-ol.     

Aggregation and solubility behavior of asphaltenes and their subfractions

Asphaltenes from four different crude oils (Arab Heavy, B6, Canadon Seco, and Hondo) were fractionated in mixtures of heptane and toluene and analyzed chemically, by vapor pressure osmometry (VPO), and by small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Solubility profiles of the asphaltenes and their subfractions indicated strong cooperative asphaltene interactions of a particular subfraction that is polar and hydrogen bonding. This subfraction had lower H/C ratios and modestly higher N, V, Ni, and Fe contents than the less polar and more soluble subfraction of asphaltenes. VPO and SANS studies indicated that the less soluble subfractions formed aggregates that were considerably larger than the more soluble subfractions. In general, asphaltene aggregate size increased with decreasing solvent aromaticity up to the solubility limit, beyond which the aggregate size decreased with heptane addition. The presence of a low wavevector Q feature in the scattering curves at 25 degrees C indicated that the individual aggregates were flocculating; however, the intensity of the feature was diminished upon heating of the samples to 80 degrees C. The solubility mechanism for Canadon Seco asphaltenes, the largest aggregate formers, appears to be dominated by aromatic pi-bonding interactions due to their low H/C ratio and low nitrogen content. B6 and Hondo asphaltenes formed similar-sized aggregates in heptol and the solubility mechanism is most likely driven by polar interactions due to their relatively high H/C ratios and high nitrogen contents. Arab Heavy, the least polar asphaltene, had a H/C ratio similar to Canadon Seco but formed the smallest aggregates in heptol. The enhancement in polar and pi-bonding interactions for the less soluble subfraction indicated by elemental analysis is reflected by the aggregate size from SANS. The less soluble asphaltenes contribute the majority of species responsible for aggregation and likely cause many petroleum production problems such as pipeline deposition and water-in-oil emulsion stabilization.     

Solvent extraction and lanthanide complexation studies with new terdentate ligands containing two 1,3,5-triazine moieties

The extracting agent 2,6-bis(4,6-di-pivaloylamino-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-pyridine (L(5)) in n-octanol was found, in synergy with 2-bromodecanoic acid, to give D(Am)/D(Eu) separation factors (SFs) between 2.4 and 3.7 when used to extract the metal ions from 0.02-0.12 M HNO(3). Slightly higher SFs (4-6) were obtained in the absence of the synergist when the ligand was used to extract Am(III) and Eu(III) from 0.98 M HNO(3). In order to investigate the possible nature of the extracted species crystal structures of L(5) and the complex formed between Yb(III) with 2,6-bis(4,6-di-amino-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-pyridine (L(4)) were also determined. The structure of L(5) shows 3 methanol solvent molecules all of which form 2 or 3 hydrogen bonds with triazine nitrogen atoms, amide nitrogen or oxygen atoms, or pyridine nitrogen atoms. However, L(5) is relatively unstable in metal complexation reactions and loses amide groups to form the parent tetramine L(4). The crystal structure of Yb(L(4))(NO(3))(3) shows ytterbium in a 9-coordinate environment being bonded to three donor atoms of the ligand and three bidentate nitrate ions. The solvent extraction properties of L(4) and L(5) are far inferior to those found for the 2,6-bis-(1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-pyridines (L(1)) which have SF values of ca. 140 and theoretical calculations have been made to compare the electronic properties of the ligands. The electronic charge distribution in L(4) and L(5) is similar to that found in other terdentate ligands such as terpyridine which have equally poor extraction properties and suggests that the unique properties of L(1) evolve from the presence of two adjacent nitrogen atoms in the triazine rings.     

The determination of dissolved manganese and cadmium in sea water at low nmol 1−1 concentrations by chelation and extraction followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The development and application of a method suitable for the determination of dissolved manganese and cadmium in sea water at the low concentrations typical of the open ocean is described. A mixed dithiocarbamate/Freon TF extraction system is used to separate trace metals from major constituents, prior to back extraction into a final dilute nitric acid solution and subsequent determination of the metals by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The procedure also separates dissolved Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn from a sea-water matrix. A mechanized system for the extraction step and measures to control contamination are described. The detection limits (3 σ) for manganese and cadmium are 0.10 and 0.04 nmol l^?1, respectively.     

Synthesis of part of a proposed insulin second messenger glycosylinositol phosphate and the inner core of glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors

Synthesis of 6-O-(2-amino-2-deoxy--D-glucopyranosyl)-D-myo-inositol 1-phosphate, an inner core structure found in various glycosylphosphatidylinositols, and the corresponding 1,2-cyclic phosphate, proposed as part of an insulin second messenger glycosylinositol phosphate, is described. Chirality in the inositol part of the molecule was achieved by the use of a known D-camphor acetal intermediate. The glycosylation used 4-O-allyl-2-azido-3,6-di-O-benzyl-2-deoxy--D-glucopyranosyl fluoride as glycosyl donor. The allyl group can be chemoselectively removed, opening a route to oligosaccharides bound to the 4-position of the glucosamine unit. The phosphorylation was accomplished by the phosphoramidate procedure.     

Dendrophanes: Water-soluble dendritic receptors as models for buried recognition sites in globular proteins

Water-soluble dendritic cyclophanes (dendrophanes) of first ( 1 , 4 ), second ( 2 5 ), and third generation ( 3 6 ) with poly(ether amide) branching and 12, 36, and 108 terminal carboxylate groups, respectively, were prepared by divergent synthesis, and their molecular recognition properties in aqueous solutions were investigated. Dendrophanes 1 – 3 incorporate as the initiator core a tetraoxa[6.1.6.1]paracyclophane 7 with a suitably sized cavity for inclusion complexation of benzene or naphthalene derivatives. The initiator core in 4 – 6 is the [6.1.6.1]cyclo-phane 8 shaped by two naphthyl(phenyl) methane units with a cavity suitable for steroid incorporation. The syntheses of 1 – 6 involved sequential peptide coupling to monomer 9 , followed by ester hydrolysis (Schemes 1 and 4), Purification by gel-permeation chromatography (GPC; Fig. 3) and full spectral characterization were accomplished at the stage of the intermediate poly(methyl carboxylates) 10 – 12 and 23 – 25 , respectively. The third-generation 108-ester 25 was also independently prepared by a semi-convergent synthetic strategy, starting from 4 (Scheme 5). All dendrophanes with terminal ester groups were obtained in pure form according to the ¹³C-NMR spectral criterion (Figs, 1 and 5). The MALDI-TOF mass spectra of the third-generation derivative 25 (mol. wt. 19328 D) displayed the molecular ion as base peak, accompanied by a series of ions [M – n(1041 ± 7)]⁺, tentatively assigned as characteristic fragment ions of the poly(ether amide) cascade. A similar fragmentation pattern was also observed in the spectra of other higher-generation poly(ether amide) dendrimers. Attempts to prepare monodisperse fourth-generation dendrophanes by divergent synthesis failed. ¹H-NMR and fluorescence binding titrations in basic aqueous buffer solutions showed that dendrophanes 1 – 3 complexed benzene and naphthalene derivatives, whereas 4 – 6 bound the steroid testosterone. Complexation occurred exclusively at the cavity-binding site of the central cyclophane core rather than in fluctuating voids in the dendritic branches, and the association strength was similar to that of the complexes formed by the initiator cores 7 and 8 , respectively (Tables 1 and 3). Fluorescence titrations with 6-(p-toluidino)naphthalene-2-sulfonate as fluorescent probe in aqueous buffer showed that the micropolarity at the cyclophane core in dendrophanes 1 - 3 becomes increasingly reduced with increasing size and density of the dendritic superstructure; the polarity at the core of the third-generation compound 3 is similar to that of EtOH (Table 2). Host-guest exchange kinetics were remarkably fast and, except for receptor 3 , the stabilities of all dendrophane complexes could be evaluated by ¹H-NMR titrations. The rapid complexation-decomplexation kinetics are explained by the specific attachment of the dendritic wedges to large, nanometer-sized cyclophane initiator cores, which generates apertures in the surrounding dendritic superstructure.