Cu(II) coordination chemistry of patellamide derivatives: possible biological functions of cyclic pseudopeptides

Two synthetic derivatives of the naturally occurring cyclic pseudooctapeptides patellamide A-F and ascidiacyclamide, that is, H(4)pat(2), H(4)pat(3), as well as their Cu(II) complexes are described. These cyclic peptide derivatives differ from the naturally occurring macrocycles by the variation of the incorporated heterocyclic donor groups and the configuration of the amino acids connecting the heterocycles. The exchange of the oxazoline and thiazole groups by dimethylimidazoles or methyloxazoles leads to more rigid macrocycles, and the changes in the configuration of the side chains leads to significant differences in the folding of the cyclic peptides. These variations allow a detailed study of the various possible structural changes on the chemistry of the Cu(II) complexes formed. The coordination of Cu(II) with these macrocyclic species was monitored by high-resolution electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), spectrophotometric (UV/Vis) and circular dichroic (CD) titrations, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and molecular mechanics (MM) simulations have been used to model the structures of the Cu(II) complexes and provide a detailed understanding of their geometric preferences and conformational flexibility. This is related to the Cu(II) coordination chemistry and the reactivity of the dinuclear Cu(II) complexes towards CO(2) fixation. The variation observed between the natural and various synthetic peptide systems enables conclusions about structure-reactivity correlations, and our results also provide information on why nature might have chosen oxazolines and thiazoles as incorporated heterocycles.     

Study of effective hardness and condensed Fukui functions using AIM,ab initio,and DFT methods

The effective chemical hardness for some triatomic molecules has been studied using the ‘atom in a molecule’ approach (AIM). Molecular chemical hardness values calculated from the effective chemical hardness of individual atoms agree with experimental and theoretically calculated molecular hardness values. Condensed Fukui functions have been calculated using Mulliken, NPA and AIM charges calculated by HF and B3LYP methods using the 6-31+G** basis set. All population schemes have predicted few negative Fukui functions, which correlate well with effective chemical hardness values.     

e−-H(2S) elastic scattering in the two-potential eikonal approximation

The differential scattering cross-sections fore ^??H (2S) elastic scattering are calculated at intermediate energies by using the two-potential eikonal approximation. The results are compared with the recent theoretical data and the conventional Glauber cross-sections.     

Polarizability and chemical hardness—A combined study of wave function and density functional theory approach

A flexible model for generating the molecular wave function and electron density for diatomic molecules is developed employing the quadratic anharmonic oscillator and Morse potential. The chemical hardness, Fukui function, and polarizability were calculated using the electron density of the molecules, and the values are found to be reasonably good. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001     

Quantum chemical studies on molecular structural conformations and hydrated forms of salicylamide and O‐hydroxybenzoyl cyanide

Ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) methods have been employed to study the molecular structural conformations and hydrated forms of both salicylamide (SAM) and O‐hydroxybenzoyl cyanide (OHBC). Molecular geometries and energetics have been obtained in the gaseous phase by employing the Møller–Plesset type 2 MP2/6‐311G(2d,2p) and B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) levels of theory. The presence of an electron‐releasing group (SAM) leads to an increase in the energy of the molecular system, while the presence of an electron‐withdrawing group (OHBC) drastically decreases the energy. Chemical reactivity parameters (η and μ) have been calculated using the energy values of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) obtained at the Hartree–Fock (HF)/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory for all the conformers and the principle of maximum hardness (MHP) has been tested. The condensed Fukui functions have been calculated using the atomic charges obtained through the natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis scheme for all the optimized structures at the B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory, and the most reactive sites of the molecules have been identified. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies have been carried out at the B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory for all the conformers in the gaseous phase on the basis of the method of Cheeseman and coworkers. The calculated chemical shift values have been used to discuss the delocalization activity of the electron clouds. The dimeric structures of the most stable conformers of both SAM and OHBC in the gaseous phase have been optimized at the B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory, and the interaction energies have been calculated. The most stable conformers of both compounds bear an intramolecular hydrogen bond, which gives rise to the formation of a pseudo‐aromatic ring. These conformers have been allowed to interact with the water molecule. Special emphasis has been given to analysis of the intermolecular hydrogen bonds of the hydrated conformers. Self‐consistent reaction field (SCRF) theory has been employed to optimize all the conformers in the aqueous phase (ε = 78.39) at the B3LYP/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory, and the solvent effect has been studied. Vibrational frequency analysis has been performed for all the optimized structures at MP2/6‐311G(2d,2p) level of theory, and the stationary points corresponding to local minima without imaginary frequencies have been obtained for all the molecular structures. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005     

Studies of chemical hardness and Fukui function using the exact solution of the density functional theory

Neal's procedure has been applied to determine the electron density ρ(x) for the H₂ molecule. The chemical hardness has been calculated employing the ab initio and density functional theory methods and the values are found to be reasonably good. The principle of maximum hardness (PMH) was tested. Fukui functions and the distribution of electron density around the internuclear distance were studied employing the electron density of the H₂ molecule. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 81: 4–10, 2001     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Amino Acid Hydrogels Fabricated into Tissue Engineering Scaffolds by Colloidal Gas Aphron Technology

A new class of hydrogels made from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and amino acid was formed into porous tissue engineering scaffolds by the colloidal gas aphron (CGA) method. CGA microfoams are formed using high speed stirring to generate uniform, micrometer scale bubbles. CGAs offer several advantages over conventional scaffold fabrication techniques including room temperature processing, aqueous conditions and utilization of air bubbles to create uniform pores. This technique eliminates the need for toxic solvents and salt templates. In addition, the novel poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels are inherently strong, eliminating the need for crosslinkers.     

Thermal, UV, FTIR, and XRD studies of urinary stones

Various crystals are seen in human urine. Oxalate, Phosphate, Uric acid, and Urate crystals are generally seen in urinary calculi. Calcium stones are most common, comprising 75 % of all urinary calculi. They may be pure calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate or a mixture of both. Many stones are not homogeneous. Low calcium intake increases the intestinal absorption of calcium, thus decreasing the amount of calcium available in the intestinal tract to form insoluble complexes with Oxalate. Consequently, a higher amount of oxalate is available for intestinal absorption and as a result, urinary oxalate excretion increases. Mineral water consumption did not reduce urinary oxalate excretion. High urinary excretion and concentration of magnesium decrease both the nucleation and growth rates of calcium oxalate crystals in urine, because of the higher solubility of magnesium oxalate compared with calcium oxalate. Analytical results show calcium oxalate to be one of the major inorganic components of renal stones and found to be present in almost all kidney and bladder stones. About 39.5 % of the total composition of the calculi is found to contain purely calcium oxalate and also hydroxyl apatite. The ten samples are a mixture of calcium oxalate and phosphate stones. Four samples are calcium oxalate as major composition and the remaining are calcium phosphate as major composition. These kidney stones are taken photographically and size of the stone are measured using optical microscopy. These qualitative analyses are also confirmed by UV, FTIR, DSC, and XRD analysis.     

Vibrational Studies of Bis(thiourea) Cadmium Chloride and Tris(thiourea) Zinc Sulphate Semiorganic Non-linear Optical Crystals

Single crystals of Bis(thiourea) cadmium chloride (BTCC), and Tris(thiourea) zinc sulphate (TZnS) have been grown from saturated aqueous solution by slow evaporation method at room temperature. The laser Raman and FT-IR spectra on these crystals are recorded in the frequency range 50–4000 cm⁻¹. The spectral data of BTCC and TZnS are interpreted on the basis of thiourea crystal vibrational data. The vibrational frequencies in the FT-IR and Raman spectra of BTCC and TZnS establish that ZnSO₄ and CdCl₂ metal complex are coordinated with thiourea by the metal to sulfur bonds. The effect of the metal complexation on thiourea molecule and nature of bands due to different vibrational modes have been discussed. The lattice vibrational frequencies changes have also been observed and analyzed.