A new 3-alkylpyridine alkaloid from the marine sponge Haliclona sp. and its cytotoxic activity

A new alkaloid, 3-dodecyl pyridine containing a terminal cyano group (1), was isolated from the methanol extract of an Indonesia marine sponge Haliclona sp. Its chemical structure was determined by a combination of spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR. Bioassay results indicated that compound 1 had moderate cytotoxity against tumour cell lines A549, MCF-7 and Hela with IC₅₀ values of 41.8, 48.4 and 33.2 μM, respectively.     

Comparison of dynamical heterogeneity in hard-sphere and attractive glass formers

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we have determined that the nature of dynamical heterogeneity in jammed liquids is very sensitive to short-ranged attractions. Weakly attractive systems differ little from dense hard-sphere and Lennard-Jones fluids. Particle motion is punctuated and tends to proceed in steps of roughly a single particle diameter. Both of these basic features change in the presence of appreciable short-ranged attractions. Transient periods of particle mobility and immobility cannot be discerned at intermediate attraction strength, for which structural relaxation is greatly enhanced. Strong attractions, known to dramatically inhibit relaxation, restore bimodality of particle motion. But in this regime, transiently mobile particles move in steps that are significantly more biased toward large displacements than those in the case of weak attractions. This modified feature of dynamical heterogeneity, which cannot be captured by conventional mode coupling theory, verifies recent predictions from a model of spatially correlated facilitating defects.     

Oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane derivatives as highly reactive dienophiles: synthesis of bicyclo[5.n.0] systems

[reaction: see text] We have developed highly versatile, homochiral oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octadiene building blocks for the synthesis of natural products. We have found that these bridged alkenes undergo exceptionally facile Diels-Alder reactions and react faster than several well studied bicyclo[2.2.1]heptene dienophiles. The reaction proceeds with high levels of stereochemical control and in very good to excellent yields, providing access to bicyclo[5.4.0]undecane and bicyclo[5.3.0]decane systems. This reactivity is attributed to strain and homoconjugation effects.     

Pyrolysis of mesoporous silica-immobilized 1,3-diphenylpropane. Impact of pore confinement and size

Mesoporous silicas such as SBA-15 and MCM-41 are being actively investigated for potential applications in catalysis, separations, and synthesis of nanostructured materials. A new method for functionalizing these mesoporous silicas with aromatic phenols is described. The resulting novel hybrid materials possess silyl aryl ether linkages to the silica surface that are thermally stable to ca. 550 degrees C, but can be easily cleaved at room temperature with aqueous base for quantitative recovery of the organic moieties. The materials have been characterized by nitrogen physisorption, FTIR, NMR, and quantitative analysis of surface coverages. The maximum densities of 1,3-diphenylpropane (DPP) molecules that could be grafted to the surface were less than those measured on a nonporous, fumed silica (Cabosil) and were also found to decrease as a function of decreasing pore size (5.6-1.7 nm). This is a consequence of steric congestion in the pores that is magnified at the smaller pore sizes, consistent with parallel studies conducted using a conventional silylating reagent, 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisilazane. Pyrolysis of the silica-immobilized DPP revealed that pore confinement leads to enhanced rates and altered product selectivity for this free-radical reaction compared with the nonporous silica, and the rates and selectivities also depended on pore size. The influence of confinement is discussed in terms of enhanced encounter frequencies for bimolecular reaction steps and pore surface curvature that alters the accessibility and resultant selectivity for hydrogen transfer steps.     

Molecular dynamics studies of the stability of water/n-heptane interfaces with adsorbed naphthenic acids

The mechanism by which naphthenic acids stabilize water/oil interfaces has received extensive attention because of its industrial relevancy. In this work, we employed a molecular dynamics simulation to study its molecular origin. Two models were adopted, wherein naphthenic acid coverage of water/n-heptane interfaces, both spherical and flat, was hypothesized, respectively. It was found that the coalescence of two water clusters is entirely attributed to the diffusional motion of the components involved which requires the initial departure of the naphthenic acid molecules from the interface so that a water bridge can form. The naphthenic acids not only act as a steric barrier but also reduce the mobility of the water and n-heptane molecules making the formation of the water bridge rather difficult. In fact, our results show that the coalescence of two water clusters fully covered by naphthenic acid molecules is a low-probability event even at evaluated temperatures. In addition, the results from the flat interface models suggest that the emulsion stability is weakly dependent on the molecular weight of the naphthenic acids utilized. Order parameter calculations reveal liquid-crystal-like ordering of naphthenic acids at the water/n-heptane interfaces. All these observations are consistent with the corresponding experimental observations. The present work also suggests that the mobility of naphthenic acids is considerably enhanced with more n-heptane molecules present outside a water droplet. However, in such a case, coalescence could not occur as the water clusters are far apart from each other.     

Polydopamine‐Mediated Immobilization of Alginate Lyase to Prevent P. aeruginosa Adhesion

Given alginate's contribution to Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence, it has long been considered a promising target for interventional therapies, which have been performed by using the enzyme alginate lyase. In this work, instead of treating pre‐established mucoid biofilms, alginate lyase is immobilized onto a surface as a preventive measure against P. aeruginosa adhesion. A polydopamine dip‐coating strategy is employed for functionalization of polycarbonate surfaces. Enzyme immobilization is confirmed by surface characterization. Surfaces functionalized with alginate lyase exhibit anti‐adhesive properties, inhibiting the attachment of the mucoid strain. Moreover, surfaces modified with this enzyme also inhibit the adhesion of the tested non‐mucoid strain. Unexpectedly, treatment with heat‐inactivated enzyme also inhibits the attachment of mucoid and non‐mucoid P. aeruginosa strains. These findings suggest that the antibacterial performance of alginate lyase functional coatings is catalysis‐independent, highlighting the importance of further studies to better understand its mechanism of action against P. aeruginosa strains.

     

The oxidative addition of hydrogen sulfide to the electron-rich triple bond: The isolation and characterization of compounds that contain the Re2(μ-H)(μ-SH) cluster unit

The reactions of Re₂X₄(-dppm)₂ (X=Cl or Br; dppm=Ph₂PCH₂PPh₂) with H₂S in THF afford the dirhenium (III) complexes Re₂(-H)(-SH)X₄(-dppm)₂, the first examples of the oxidative addition of an S-H unit across an electron-rich metal-metal triple bond. The bromide complex Re₂(-H)(-SH)Br₄(-dppm)₂ (C₂H₅)₂O crystallizes in the space group P2₁/n witha=16.631(2) Å,b=15.967(3) Å,c=19.904(2) Å, =92.698(7)°,V=5279(2) ų, andZ=4. The structure which was refined toR=0.053 (R _w=0.070) for 4903 data withI>3.0(I), shows the presence of an edge-shared bioctahedral geometry with a very short Re-Re distance of 2.4566(7) Å. While the hydrogen atoms of the -H and -SH ligands were not located in the X-ray structure determination, their presence is confirmed by IR and¹H NMR spectroscopy.     

Ab initio MRD-CI calculations for breaking a chemical bond in a molecule in a crystal or other solid environment. III. Me2N?NO2 decomposition of dimethylnitramine in a large crystalline environment

Recently we extended our strategy for MRD-CI (multireference double excitation-configuration interaction) calculations, based on localized/local orbitals and an “effective” CI Hamiltonian, for molecular decompositions of large molecules to breaking a chemical bond in a molecule in a crystalline or other solid environment. Our technique begins with an explicit quantum chemical SCF calculation for a reference molecule surrounded by a number of other molecules in the multipole environment of more distant neighbors. The resulting canonical molecular orbitals are then localized, and the localized occupied and virtual orbitals in the region of interest are included explicitly in the MRD-CI with the remainder of the occupied localized orbitals being folded into an “effective” CI Hamiltonian. The MRD-CI calculations are then carried out for breaking a bond in the reference molecule. This method is completely general in that the space treated explicitly, as well as the surrounding space, may contain voids, defects, deformations, dislocations, impurities, dopants, edges and surfaces, boundaries, etc. Dimethylnitramine is the smallest prototype of the energetic R₂N—NO₂ nitramines, such as the 6-member ring RDX or the 8-member ring HMX. Decomposition of energetic compounds is initiated in the solid by a breaking of the target bond. Thus, it is crucial to know the difference in energy between breaking a bond in an isolated energetic molecule versus in the molecule in a solid. In the present study, we have carried out MRD-CI calculations for the Me₂N—NO₂ dissociation of dimethylnitramine in a dimethylnitramine crystal. The cases we investigated were one dimethylnitramine molecule (surrounded by 53 and 685 neighboring dimethylnitramine molecules represented by multipoles), three dimethylnitramine molecules, and three dimethylnitramine molecules (surrounded by 683 neighbors). All multipoles were cumulative atomic multipoles up through quadrupoles. The MRD-CI calculations on dimethylnitramine required large numbers of reference configurations from which were allowed all single and double excitations.     

Direct observation of spin-forbidden formation of O(D) in the near-UV photolysis of ozone

Time-of-flight measurements have been made of the O(¹D) fragment following the photolysis of ozone in the near-UV. At 321.9 nm fragments are seen with kinetic energies the values of which are those expected from spin-forbidden dissociation with ground state O₂(X³Σ_g⁻) molecules as the co-product. Spin-allowed dissociation of internally excited ozone molecules is also seen to produce translationally cold O(¹D) and O₂(a¹Δ_g) products. The implications for the dissociation of tropospheric ozone are briefly discussed.     

Ab initio calculations and molecular mechanics (MM3) force field development for ammonium and protonated aliphatic amines

The geometries and vibrational frequencies of 11 training molecules containing the ammonium ion moiety were calculated at the MP2/6-31+G* level of theory. Various torsional energy profiles were also calculated using this basis set. From those ab initio calculations, a molecular mechanics (MM3) force field was developed using our Parameter Analysis and Refinement Toolkit System (PARTS). Using this set of parameters, the MM3 force field was found to well reproduce the molecular geometries and vibrational spectra for the all training molecules. CPU time was reduced from days to seconds. The availability of this new force field dramatically increases the feasibility of the computer-assisted drug design involving ammonium and protonated amino groups. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 18 : 1371–1391, 1997