Peptide Bond Hydrolysis Catalyzed by the Wells-Dawson Zr(α(2)-P(2)W(17)O(61))(2) Polyoxometalate

In this paper we report the first example of peptide hydrolysis catalyzed by a polyoxometalate complex. A series of metal-substituted Wells-Dawson polyoxometalates were synthesized, and their hydrolytic activity toward the peptide bond in glycylglycine (GG) was examined. Among these, the Zr(IV)- and Hf(IV)-substituted ones were the most reactive. Detailed kinetic studies were performed with the Zr(IV)-substituted Wells-Dawson type polyoxometalate K(15)H[Zr(α(2)-P(2)W(17)O(61))(2)]·25H(2)O which was shown to act as a catalyst for the hydrolysis of the peptide bond in GG. The speciation of K(15)H[Zr(α(2)-P(2)W(17)O(61))(2)]·25H(2)O which is highly dependent on the pD, concentration, and temperature of the solution, was fully determined with the help of (31)P NMR spectroscopy and its influence on the GG hydrolysis rate was examined. The highest reaction rate (k(obs) = 9.2 (±0.2) × 10(-5) min(-1)) was observed at pD 5.0 and 60 °C. A 10-fold excess of GG was hydrolyzed in the presence of K(15)H[Zr(α(2)-P(2)W(17)O(61))(2)]·25H(2)O proving the principles of catalysis. (13)C NMR data suggested the coordination of GG to the Zr(IV) center in K(15)H[Zr(α(2)-P(2)W(17)O(61))(2)]·25H(2)O via its N-terminal amine group and amide carbonyl oxygen. These findings were confirmed by the inactivity of K(15)H[Zr(α(2)-P(2)W(17)O(61))(2)]·25H(2)O toward the N-blocked analogue acetamidoglycylglycinate and the inhibitory effect of oxalic, malic, and citric acid. Triglycine, tetraglycine, and pentaglycine were also fully hydrolyzed in the presence of K(15)H[Zr(α(2)-P(2)W(17)O(61))(2)]·25H(2)O yielding glycine as the final product of hydrolysis. K(15)H[Zr(α(2)-P(2)W(17)O(61))(2)]·25H(2)O also exhibited hydrolytic activity toward a series of other dipeptides.     

NMR and EPR studies of chloroiron(III) tetraphenyl-chlorin and its complexes with imidazoles and pyridines of widely differing basicities

The NMR and EPR spectra of two bisimidazole and three bispyridine complexes of tetraphenylchlorinatoiron(III), [(TPC)Fe(L)2]+ (L = Im-d4, 2-MeHIm, 4-Me2NPy, Py, and 4-CNPy), have been investigated. The full resonance assignments of the [(TPC)Fe(L)2]+ complexes of this study have been made from correlation spectroscopy (COSY) and nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (NOESY) experiments and Amsterdam density functional (ADF) calculations. Unlike the [(OEC)Fe(L)2]+ complexes reported previously (Cai, S.; Lichtenberger, D. L.; Walker, F. A. Inorg. Chem. 2005, 44, 1890-1903), the NMR data for the [(TPC)Fe(L)2]+ complexes of this study indicate that the ground state is S = 1/2 for each bisligand complex, whereas a higher spin state was present at NMR temperatures for the Py and 4-CNPy complexes of (OEC)Fe(III). The pyrrole-8,17 and pyrroline-H of all [TPCFe(L)2]+ show large magnitude chemical shifts (hence indicating large spin density on the adjacent carbons that are part of the pi system), while pyrrole-12,13-CH2 and -7,18-CH2 protons show much smaller chemical shifts, as predicted by the spin densities obtained from ADF calculations. The magnitude of the chemical shifts decreases with decreasing donor ability of the substituted pyridine ligands, with the nonhindered imidazole ligand having slightly larger magnitude chemical shifts than the most basic pyridine, even though its basicity is significantly lower (4-Me2NPyH+ pKa = 9.7, H2Im+ pKa = 6.65 (adjusted for the statistical factor of 2 protons)). The temperature dependence of the chemical shifts of all but the 4-Me2NPy bisligand complexes studied over the temperature range of the NMR investigations shows that they have mixed (dxy)2(dxz,dyz)3/(dxzdyz)4(dxy)1 electron configurations that cannot be resolved by temperature-dependent fitting of the proton chemical shifts, with an S = 3/2 excited state in each case that in most cases lies at more than kT at room temperature above the ground state. The observed pattern of chemical shifts of the 4-CNPy complex and analysis of the temperature dependence indicate that it has a pure (dxzdyz)4(dxy)1 ground state and that it is ruffled, because ruffling mixes the a(2u)(pi)-like orbital of the chlorin into the singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO). This mixing accounts for the negative chemical shift of the pyrroline-H (-6.5 ppm at -40 degrees C) and thus the negative spin density at the pyrroline-alpha-carbons, but the mixing is not to the same extent as observed for [(TPC)Fe(t-BuNC)2]+, whose pyrroline-H chemical shift is -36 ppm at 25 degrees C (Simonneaux, G.; Kobeissi, M. J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans. 2001, 1587-1592). Peak assignments for high-spin (TPC)FeCl have been made by saturation transfer techniques that depend on chemical exchange between this complex and its bis-4-Me2NPy adduct.     

Oxygen replacement by fluorine in carbonyl derivatives of perfluoroaromatic compounds and isomerization of perfluoroindan-1,3-dione to perfluoro-3-methylenephthalide under the action of HF/SbF5

When acted upon by HF/SbF₅ at 95 °C, carbonyl groups of perfluorinated acetophenone (10), 3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one (8), 2,3-dihydronaphthalene-1,4-dione (9), benzocyclobutenone (6), benzocyclobutenedione (7) and indan-1-one (1) are converted into difluoromethylene groups to give the corresponding perfluoroaromatic products. Perfluoroindan-2-one (5), under the same conditions, is transformed to bis(perfluoroindan-2-yl) ether (21). On heating with HF/SbF₅, perfluoroindan-1,3-dione (2) isomerizes into perfluoro-3-methylenephthalide (4) at 95 °C, and gives 4,5,6,7-tetrafluoro-3-trifluoromethyl-phthalide (14) at 130 °C. Compound 4 in the absence of a solvent dimerizes giving perfluorodispiro[phthalide-3,1′-cyclobutane-2′,3″-phthalide] (18), and when heated with SbF₅ at 130 °C, it is converted into perfluoro-3-methylphthalide (3). When acted upon by HF/SbF₅ at 95 °C, perfluorinated benzoic acid (12) and phthalic anhydride (13) give the corresponding products with trifluoromethyl groups.     

Myeloperoxidase-mediated oxidation of organophosphorus pesticides as a pre-step in their determination by AChE based bioanalytical methods

In order to improve the sensitivity of assays for inhibitors of the enzyme acetylcholine esterase (AChE), an effective method was developed for the conversion of the organophosphate pesticides (OPs) diazinon, malathion, chlorpyrifos, azinphos-methyl and phorate into more toxic inhibitors. This was accomplished by converting them from the thio form into their oxo form using the enzyme myeloperoxidase. The oxo forms, which are the only products of conversion, were determined by AChE bioassays, using either the free enzyme, or a flow injection analysis manifold with immobilized AChE and spectrophotometric detection. All modified OPs exhibited inhibitory power at ppb levels and within 10 min. The method is considered to represent an excellent means for improving the sensitivity of assays for determination of OPs.     

Fatty acid binding sites of human and bovine albumins: Differences observed by spin probe ESR

Bovine and human serum albumins and recombinant human albumin, all non-covalently complexed with 5- and 16-doxyl stearic acids, were investigated by ESR spectroscopy in solution over a range of pH values (5.5–8.0) and temperatures (25–50 °C), with respect to the allocation and mobility of fatty acid (FA) molecules bound to the proteins and conformation of the binding sites. In all proteins bound FA undergo a permanent intra-albumin migration between the binding sites and inter-domain residence. Nature identity of the recombinant human albumin to its serum-derived analog was observed. However, the binding sites of bovine albumin appeared shorter in length and wider in diameter than those of human albumin. Presumably, less tightly folded domains in bovine albumin allow better penetration of water molecules in the interior of the globule that resulted in higher activation energy of FA dissociation from the binding site. Thus, the sensitive technique based on ESR non-covalent spin labeling allowed quantitative analysis and reliable comparison of the fine features of binding proteins.     

Expanding the reactivity of inorganic clusters towards proteins: the interplay between the redox and hydrolytic activity of Ce(iv)-substituted polyoxometalates as artificial proteases

The ability of soluble metal-oxo clusters to specifically interact with protein surfaces makes them attractive as potential inorganic drugs and as artificial enzymes. In particular, metal-substituted polyoxometalates (MS-POMs) are remarkably selective in hydrolyzing a range of different proteins. However, the influence of MS-POMs'' redox chemistry on their proteolytic activity remains virtually unexplored. Herein we report a highly site-selective hydrolysis of hemoglobin (Hb), a large tetrameric globular protein, by a Ce(iv)-substituted Keggin polyoxometalate (Ce^IVK), and evaluate the effect of Ce^IVK''s redox chemistry on its reactivity and selectivity as an artificial protease. At pH 5.0, incubation of Hb with Ce^IVK resulted in strictly selective protein hydrolysis at six Asp-X bonds, two of which were located in the α-chain (α(Asp75-Leu76) and α(Asp94-Pro95)) and five at the β-chain (β(Asp51-Ala52), β(Asp68-Ser69), β(Asp78-Asp79), β(Asp98-Pro99) and β(Asp128-Phe129)). However, increasing the pH of the reaction mixture to 7.4 decreased the Ce^IVK hydrolytic reactivity towards Hb, resulting in the cleavage of only one peptide bond (β(Asp128-Phe129)). Combination of UV-Vis, circular dichroism and Trp fluorescence spectroscopy indicated similar interactions between Hb and Ce^IVK at both pH conditions; however, ³¹P NMR spectroscopy showed faster reduction of Ce^IVK into the hydrolytically inactive Ce^IIIK form in the presence of protein at pH 7.4. In agreement with these results, careful mapping of all hydrolyzed Asp-X bonds on the protein structure revealed that the lower reactivity toward the α-chain was consistent with the presence of more redox-active amino acids (Tyr and His) in this subunit in comparison with the β-chain. This points towards a link between the presence of the redox-active sites on the protein surface and efficiency and selectivity of redox-active MS-POMs as artificial proteases. More importantly, the study provides a way to tune the redox and hydrolytic reactivity of MS-POMs towards proteins through adjustment of reaction parameters like temperature and pH.

The redox chemistry of Ce^IV-polyoxometalates towards proteins is linked to the redox-active residues on protein surface. It can be tuned by adjusting reaction parameters, directly impacting its efficiency and selectivity as an artificial protease.     

Generalized Alternating Direction Implicit Method for Projected Generalized Lyapunov Equations

We generalize an alternating direction implicit method for projected generalized Lyapunov equations. Low rank versions of this method is also presented that can be used to compute a low rank approximation of the solution of Lyapunov equations with symmetric, positive semidefinite right‐hand side. Numerical example is given. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Properties of radiation‐modified blends of polyethylene with elastomers and liquid crystalline copolyester

The results are given on the effect of γ‐irradiation on properties of blends of high and low‐density polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE) with elastomers ‐ethylene/propylene/diene rubber (EPDM) and chlorinated polyethylene (CPE), and thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP). The morphological, thermal, mechanical properties (including thermosetting properties) and adhesion properties of blended composites were investigated. A special attention was paid to the applicability of the blends as thermosetting materials (TSM). The LCP used was a copolyester of poly(ethylene terephthalate) with p‐(hydroxybenzoic acid) in the ratio 40 : 60. It was found that addition of LCP essentially influenced the thermomechanical and adhesion properties of PE composites, irradiated up to the absorbed dose 150 kGy, as well as the dimensional stability of thermosetting products, made from polyethylene/elastomer mixtures. The results show that such ternary blends considerably improve the exploitation conditions of irradiated polyethylene and useful thermosetting materials can be obtained.