Total synthesis of (-)-callystatin A

An effective total synthesis of (-)-callystatin A (1), member of the leptomycin family of antibiotics, has been achieved. The synthesis features Evans extended aldol methodology to construct the northern polypropionate subunit and two separate Julia olefinations to assemble the conjugated dienes. The total synthesis proceeded in 2.3% overall yield with the longest linear sequence of 15 steps.     

Facilitated phosphatidylserine flip-flop across vesicle and cell membranes using urea-derived synthetic translocases

Tris(2-aminoethyl)amine derivatives with appended urea and sulfonamide groups are shown to facilitate the translocation of fluorescent phospholipid probes and endogenous phosphatidylserine across vesicle and erythrocyte cell membranes. The synthetic translocases appear to operate by binding to the phospholipid head groups and forming lipophilic supramolecular complexes which diffuse through the non-polar interior of the bilayer membrane.     

Metabonomics: the use of electrospray mass spectrometry coupled to reversed-phase liquid chromatography shows potential for the screening of rat urine in drug development

The application of liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) followed by principal components analysis (PCA) has been successfully applied to the screening of rat urine following the administration of three candidate pharmaceuticals. With this methodology it was possible to differentiate the control samples from the dosed samples and to identify the components of the mass spectrum responsible for the separation. These data clearly show that LC/MS is a viable alternative, or complementary, technique to proton NMR for metabonomics applications in drug discovery and development.     

On-line on-chip post-column derivatisation reactions for pre-ionisation of analytes and cluster analysis in gradient micro-liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry

A system is presented that demonstrates the principle of on-line and on-chip post-column derivatisation reactions in micro-high-performance liquid chromatography (micro-HPLC) hyphenated to electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOFMS). In this micro-HPLC-chip-MS set-up, the analytes are separated using gradient micro-HPLC and subsequently derivatised on-chip and detected. One of the major limitations of MS detection is its dependency on the degree of ionisation, which is widely variable and compound-specific. Optimising and controlling the degree of ionisation in a simple manner would allow MS detection to be truly generic. One way of achieving this is by pre-ionisation of analytes using simple derivatisation procedures that are both rapid and quantitative. Performing this in situ on the system described here overcomes issues of sample handling and efficiency losses when time-consuming "bench chemistry" is necessary prior to analysis. The power of the system is demonstrated by the separation of primary and secondary amines, which are subsequently derivatised with a positively charged phosphonium complex and detected in an enhanced manner. Typically, molecular cations (M(+)) are detected showing that the ionisation process is dominated by the phosphonium species, leading to more constant ionisation for a variety of compounds. In addition, stable isotopically labelled ((12)C/(13)C)-phosphonium reagent is used for the reactions, allowing for inherent signal/noise (S/N) improvement and automated data processing using cluster analysis. A similar reaction scheme is used for the derivatisation of ketones and aldehydes, also demonstrating dramatic increases in sensitivity, especially with increasing temperature. Minimal loss in chromatographic fidelity in terms of retention times is observed by the introduction of the micromixer chip into the system. Optimal flow rates in micro-HPLC and ESI-MS are compatible with flow rates for the chip as well as a multitude of in-line optical detectors including UV and fluorescence. In addition, the micromixer chip can be positioned pre-column if preferred. The system is robust, easily fully automated and applicable to a wide variety of reactions. The system has a major advantage in its simple robust connection to the "normal scale" outside world.     

Preparation and properties of polymers from aryl cyclic sulfonium zwitterions

A new class of zwitterionic monomers were prepared in which the positive and negative sites are cyclic sulfonium and phenolate. Thermal polymerization occurs by phenolic anionic attack upon the aliphatic carbon α to the sulfonium sulfur. Polymerization proceeds with ring opening and net loss of charge to form nonionic polymers. The monomeric zwitterions are generally hydrated, crystalline solids that are soluble in water or alcohol. Chlorination of the aromatic portion of the molecule yields nonhydrated species. The polymerizations of 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl)tetrahydrothiophenium hydroxide inner salt (dihydrate) and 1-(3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxyphenyl)tetrahydrothiophenium hydroxide inner salt were studied. The latter monomer gave a polymer with M?_n of 46,000 when a nucleophile was present as an initiator. The physical properties of this polymer were determined. Cyclization appears to be the main mechanism of termination in the polymerization of zwitterions.     

Optimal population analysis

An easy method of approximating the electron density of a molecule by expressing it as a sum of squares of atomic orbitals is described. The coefficients are determined by minimizing the error in the electric field. The optimal population analysis is an integration of this optimized density over the orbitals belonging to one atom. The Mulliken population analysis can be interpreted as the integral of a Mulliken density that is a similar expression with fixed coefficients. The two densities are compared in détail using calculations on the water molecule and, more briefly, HF, LiH, BH, and C₂H₄. The error in the densities is identified and examined. The optimal population analysis is strongly recommended as a practical improvement to the Mulliken populations.     

Partial purification of active delta and epsilon subunits of the membrane ATPase from escherichia coli.

We have partially purified active delta and epsilon subunits of the E. coli membrane-bound Mg2+-ATPase (ECF1). Treating purified ECF1 with 50% pyridine precipitates the major subunits (alpha, beta, and gamma) of the enzyme, but the two minor subunits (delta and epsilon), which are present in relatively small amounts, remain in solution. The delta and epsilon subunits were then resolved from one another by anion exchange chromatography. The partially purified epsilon strongly inhibits the hydrolytic activity of ECF1. The epsilon fraction inhibits both the highly purified five-subunit ATPase and the enzyme deficient in the delta subunit. The latter result indicates that the delta subunit is not required for inhibition by epsilon. By contrast, two-subunit enzyme, consisting chiefly of the alpha and beta subunits, was insensitive to the ATPase inhibitor, suggesting that the gamma subunit may be required for inhibition by epsilon. The partially purified delta subunit restored the capacity of ATPase deficient in delta to recombine with ATPase-depleted membranes and to reconstitute ATP-dependent transhydrogenase. Previously we reported (Biochem, Biophys. Res. Commun. 62:764 [1975]) that a fraction containing both the delta and epsilon subunits of ECF1 restored the capacity of ATPase missing delta to recombine with depleted membranes and to function as a coupling factor in oxidative phosphorylation and for the energized transhydrogenase. These reconstitution experiments using isolated subunits provide rather substantial evidence that the delta subunit is essential for attaching the ATPase to the membrane and that the epsilon subunit has a regulatory function as an inhibitor of the ATPase activity of ECF1.     

The Role of Oxygen in the Antiviral Activity of Hypericin and Hypocrellin

The light-induced antiviral activity of hypericin and hypocrellin in the presence and absence of oxygen was examined under experimental conditions where the effect of oxygen depletion could be quantified. There was a significant reduction of light-induced antiviral activity of hypericin and hypocrellin under hypoxic conditions. Interestingly, antiviral activity of hypocrellin was not observed at low oxygen levels at which hypericin retained measurable virucidal activity. This suggests that additional pathways, such as the generation of protons from excited states of hypericin, may enhance the biological activity of activated oxygen species.     

High-performance liquid chromatography of cardiolipin

Resolution of freshly prepared and of commercially available (degraded) samples of cardiolipin into 15-30 components has been accomplished by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using a 3-micron particulate Microsorb C18 column irrigated with linear gradients of acetonitrile--methanol--10 mM phosphate buffer pH 7.4. Selected resolved components were crystallized and characterized by infrared absorption spectra. Saponification of other components and identification of component fatty acids by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography demonstrated the presence of ten fatty acids (14:0, 14:1, 16:0, 16:1, 18:0, 18:1, 18:2, 18:3, 20:0, 20:4), with linoleic acid (18:2) identified in all resolved components. From fatty acid composition data it appears that several resolved fractions consist of single cardiolipin molecular species.     

A thermal synthesis of a new tin(IV) dithiocarbamate

A new tin dithiocarbamate containing sulphur bridges, di--sulphidobis [bis(N,N-diethyldithiocarbamato)tin(IV)], has been isolated from the thermal decomposition of tetrakis(N,N-diethyldithiocarbamato)tin(IV). A dimeric structure is proposed on the basis of results from mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis and vapour pressure osmometry.

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Zusammenfassung Ein neues, Schwefelbrücken enthaltendes Zinn-Dithiocarbamat, Di--sulfidobis[bis(N,N-diäthyldithiocarbamato)Zinn(IV)], wurde bei der Zersetzung von Tetrakis(N,N-diäthyl-dithiocarbamato)Zinn(IV) isoliert. Aufgrund der Ergebnisse der Massenspektrometrie, der Infrarotspektroskopie, der Thermoanalyse und der Dampfdruck-Osmometrie wird eine Dimerstruktur vorgeschlagen.

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Résumé Un nouveau dithiocarbamate d'étain contenant des ponts de soufre, le di--sulfidobis[bis(N,N-diéthyl-dithiocarbamato)é tain(IV)], a été isolé lors de la décomposition thermique du tétrakis(N,N-diethyl-dithiocarbamato) étain(IV). Une structure dimère est proposéeà partir des résultats obtenus par spectrométrie de masse, spectroscopie infrarouge, analyse thermique et osmométrie sous pression de vapeur.

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—-- [/N,N- (/IV)], [/N,N- (/IV)], , (N,N- ) (IV). - , , .

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The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance given by Dr. A. G. Wedd with the vacuum sublimation technique. One of us, G. K. B., is grateful for a research scholarship provided by La Trobe University.