Design, synthesis, and evaluation of a mechanism-based inhibitor for gelatinase A

[structure: see text] Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), of which 26 are known, have been implicated in a number of pathological conditions, including tumor metastasis. We have previously described the first mechanism-based inhibitor for MMPs (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 6799-6800), which in chemistry mediated by the active site zinc ion selectively and covalently inhibits MMP-2, -3, and -9. Computational analyses indicated that this selectivity in inhibition of MMPs could be improved by design of new variants of the inhibitor class. We report herein the syntheses of methyl 2-(4-{4-[(2-thiiranylpropyl)sulfonyl]phenoxy}phenyl)acetate (3) and 2-(4-{4-[(2-thiiranylpropyl)sulfonyl]phenoxy}phenyl)acetic acid (4), and show that compound 3 serves as a mechanism-based inhibitor exclusively for MMP-2. This molecule should prove useful in delineating the functions of MMP-2 in biological systems.     

On the influence of nuclear fluctuations on calculated NMR shieldings of benzene and ethylene: a Feynman path integral–ab initio investigation*

The absolute magnetic shieldings of benzene and ethylene have been theoretically studied under the conditions of thermal equilibrium, i.e., under explicit consideration of the nuclear degrees of freedom. For this purpose we have combined the Feynman path integral quantum Monte Carlo (PIMC) formalism with the gauge‐including atomic orbital (GIAO) approach in the Hartree–Fock (HF) approximation. The HF operator has been employed to derive the NMR parameters of the two hydrocarbons via an ensemble averaging over large sets of molecular configurations that are populated in thermal equilibrium. The nuclear fluctuations are responsible for a deshielding of the nuclei relative to the shieldings at the vibrationless minimum of the potential energy surface (PES). The influence of the nuclear degrees of freedom is largest for the isotropic part of the ¹³C shielding tensor. The theoretical results can be explained on the basis of simple geometrical considerations. The bond lengths in thermal equilibrium are larger than the bond lengths at the minimum of the PES. This length enhancement is the prerequisite for a deshielding of the nuclei in thermal equilibrium. The vibrational corrections of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) parameters of benzene and ethylene are quantum driven; classical thermal degrees of freedom of the nuclei are of minor importance. Conceptual problems of theoretical studies of NMR parameters on the basis of a single molecular geometry are emphasized. The influence of the spatial uncertainty of the nuclei becomes decisive in molecules with light atoms. It is pointed out that the combination of the PIMC formalism with electronic Hamiltonians of state‐of‐the‐art quality renders possible accurate determinations of NMR parameters. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 86: 280–296, 2002     

Surface-functionalized latex particles as controlling agents for the mineralization of zinc oxide in aqueous medium

Polystyrene latex particles modified at the surface with different hydrophilic functional groups were prepared by miniemulsion polymerization and used as controlling agents in the crystallization of zinc oxide from aqueous medium. The effects of the chemical nature of the surface functionalization and the latex concentration on the crystal growth, morphology, and crystalline structure of the resulting zinc oxide were analyzed. Micro- and submicrosized crystals with a broad variety of morphologies depending on the functionalization were obtained. Among the different latexes studied, the acrylic-acid-derived particles were shown to be a convenient system for further quantitative investigations. In this case, as the additive concentration increases, the length-to-width ratio (aspect ratio) of the crystals decreases systematically. Preferential adsorption of the latex particles onto the fast-growing faces {001} of ZnO is assumed to follow a Langmuir-type isotherm, and interaction of the adsorbed particles with the growth centers will reduce the growth rate in [001]. This leads to a quantitative relationship linking the aspect ratio to the latex concentration at constant diameter and surface chemistry of the latex. The dependence of the aspect ratio on charge density of the latex can also be modeled by an algorithm in which attractive forces between the latex particle and the ZnO surface are balanced against repulsive forces of an osmotic nature. The latter are associated with the confined volume between the crystal and latex particle surfaces.     

Effects of temperature and anion type on the two-dimensional condensation of the 4,4′-bipyridine cation radical on mercury

The reduction of 4,4′-bipyridine (BPH²⁺₂) on mercury in an acid medium gives a very narrow sharp tail-less reversible voltammetric peak that can be ascribed to the formation of a two-dimensional (2D) phase of the cation radical BPH^·+₂ at the electrode according to the reaction

BPH²⁺₂ + e⁻ |BPH^·+₂|_2D

The corresponding oxidation peak possesses similar properties and arises from the destruction (fusion) of the 2D phase.In this work we studied the influence of some experimental variables, namely the type of anion present in the medium, the concentration of 4,4′-bipyridine and temperature on the 2D phase transition peaks. Also, we tested various analytical criteria to validate this assignation and fitted both voltammetric peaks numerically to the theoretical model developed for this purpose.     

Efficient synthesis in three steps and spectral determination of methyl‐5‐[(o‐, m‐, and p‐substituted‐phenylthio]‐2‐benzimidazolecarbamates

The preparation and spectral properties often novel methyl 5‐[(o‐, m‐, and p‐substituted)‐phenylthio]‐2‐benzimidazolecarbamates with possible pharmacological activity as antihelmintics is described; by condensation and cyclization between 5‐methylthioures sulfate chloroformic acid methyl ester and 3,4‐diaminophenyl‐substituted‐phenylthio ether dissolved in ethanol. The structures of all final products were corroborated by ir; ¹H‐nmr, ¹³C‐nmr and ms.     

TOPS-MODE based QSARs derived from heterogeneous series of compounds. Applications to the design of new herbicides

A new application of TOPological Sub-structural MOlecular DEsign (TOPS-MODE) was carried out in herbicides using computer-aided molecular design. Two series of compounds, one containing herbicide and the other containing nonherbicide compounds, were processed by a k-Means Cluster Analysis in order to design the training and prediction sets. A linear classification function to discriminate the herbicides from the nonherbicide compounds was developed. The model correctly and clearly classified 88% of active and 94% of inactive compounds in the training set. More specifically, the model showed a good global classification of 91%, i.e., (168 cases out of 185). While in the prediction set, they showed an overall predictability of 91% and 92% for active and inactive compounds, being the global percentage of good classification of 92%. To assess the range of model applicability, a virtual screening of structurally heterogeneous series of herbicidal compounds was carried out. Two hundred eighty-four out of 332 were correctly classified (86%). Furthermore this paper describes a fragment analysis in order to determine the contribution of several fragments toward herbicidal property; also the present of halogens in the selected fragments were analyzed. It seems that the present TOPS-MODE based QSAR is the first alternate general "in silico" technique to experimentation in herbicides discovery.     

Emulsion polymerization of styrene. III. Effect of Ti(III) and Cl(1) on the polymerization of styrene initiated by potassium persulfate

The emulsion polymerization of styrene initiated by potassium persulfate catalyzed by Ti⁺³ ions was studied. Two sources of Ti⁺³ ions were used: the titanium trichloride and titanium sulfate. It was found that the titanium ions used in conjunction with potassium persulfate decrease both the reaction rate and the average molecular weight. An even greater drop of reaction rate was noted when chlorine anions (TiCl₃) were present. The presence of these ions had a stabilizing effect on the polydispersity.     

Entropy of self-gravitating radiation

We examine the entropy of self-gravitating radiation confined to a spherical box of radiusR in the context of general relativity. We expect that configurations (i.e., initial data) which extremize total entropy will be spherically symmetric, time symmetric distributions of radiation in local thermodynamic equilibrium. Assuming this is the case, we prove that extrema ofS coincide precisely with static equilibrium configurations of the radiation fluid. Furthermore, dynamically stable equilibrium configurations are shown to coincide with local maxima ofS. The equilibrium configurations and their entropies are calculated and their properties are discussed. However, it is shown that entropies higher than these local extrema can be achieved and, indeed, arbitrarily high entropies can be attained by configurations inside of or outside but arbitrarily near their own Schwarzschild radius. However, if we limit consideration to configurations which are outside their own Schwarzschild radius by at least one radiation wavelength, then the entropy is bounded and we find S_max MR, whereM is the total mass. This supports the validity for self-gravitating systems of the Bekenstein upper limit on the entropy to energy ratio of material bodies.     

Speciation of the new ligand di-isopropyliminodiacetoamide with Cu(II) using computational processing and graphical methods

The importance assigned to chelating agents in diverse areas has impelled studies concerning their development as related to metal ions representing a biological concern. The synthesis of di-isopropyliminodiacetoamide (D) is presented in this work. The acidity constant obtained for D was pKa = 5.79 +/- 0.04 with the aid of program SUPERQUAD. The equilibrium constants for D with Cu(II) were obtained with the aid of program SQUAD for CuD2+ and CuD2(2)+ species giving log beta1 = 4.795 +/- 0.002 and log beta2 = 8.374 +/- 0.004, respectively.