Advances in the chemical analysis and biological activities of chuanxiong

Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Chuan-Xiong, CX), the dried rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. (Umbelliferae), is one of the most popular plant medicines in the World. Modern research indicates that organic acids, phthalides, alkaloids, polysaccharides, ceramides and cerebrosides are main components responsible for the bioactivities and properties of CX. Because of its complex constituents, multidisciplinary techniques are needed to validate the analytical methods that support CX's use worldwide. In the past two decades, rapid development of technology has advanced many aspects of CX research. The aim of this review is to illustrate the recent advances in the chemical analysis and biological activities of CX, and to highlight new applications and challenges. Emphasis is placed on recent trends and emerging techniques.     

ChemInform Abstract: A 3D Purely Inorganic Porous Framework Based on Keggin Polyoxoanions.

K₂NaH₂ [BW₁₂O₄₀]·12H₂O, prepared by the conventional aqueous method, is characterized by single crystal XRD and IR spectroscopy.     

Nickel-catalyzed C-H direct amination of benzoxazoles with secondary amines

In this article, a facile, efficient and practical method for Ni-catalyzed direct C-H amination of benzoxazole with secondary amines has been developed. This procedure requires Ni(OAc)(2)·4H(2)O as catalyst, TBHP as oxidant and acid as the additive. A variety of substituted benzoxazol-2-amines were synthesized in moderate to good yields.     

Pd-Catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 3-(toluenesulfonamidoalkyl)indoles

A series of 2-substituted 3-(toluenesulfonamidoalkyl)indoles was synthesized by application of (EtO)(2)POH or iodine as the catalyst, and was hydrogenated using chiral Pd catalyst, giving the 2,3-disubstituted indolines with up to 97% ee.     

Resonant cavity enhanced (RCE) photodetectors with flat-top and steep-edge spectral response

Flat-top and steep-edge spectral response of photodetectors is important for dense wavelength-division-multiplexed system. Realization of the flat-top and steep-edge response is very challenging. In the last two decades many methods have been proposed, but the spectral response linewidth is not acceptable to wavelength-division-multiplexes system. In this paper a novel RCE photodetector with flat-top and steep-edge spectral response is presented. Using the step shaped structure, designing multiple-step-type p-type In_0.67Ga_0.33As_0.7P_0.3 contact layer and adjusting the thickness of the absorption layer, a design with good flat-top performance is demonstrated such that the quantum efficiency is 51.161% in the flat-top passband, 0.5 and 3 dB bandwidths are 0.26 and 0.4 nm, respectively.     

Insights into quinaldic acid moiety formation in thiostrepton biosynthesis facilitating fluorinated thiopeptide generation

Thiostrepton (TSR), often referred as to a parent compound in the thiopeptide family, is a bimacrocyclic member that features a quinaldic acid (QA) moiety-containing side ring appended to the characteristic core system. QA biosynthesis requires an unusual ring-expanding conversion, showing a methyl transfer onto and a rearrangement of the indole part of L-tryptophan to give a quinoline ketone. Herein, we report that the process involves the activities of the radical methyltransferase TsrT, aminotransferase TsrA, dehydrogenase TsrE, and cyclase TsrD. TsrU, a stereospecific oxidoreductase, catalyzes the further conversion of the ketone into an enantiomerically pure S-alcohol. Elucidation of this chemistry, which is common in the biosynthesis of a number of thiopeptides sharing a QA side ring system, facilitates analog generation, as shown by the achievement of region-specific fluorination of thiostrepton with the improved antibacterial activity.     

Blockade of inflammatory responses by a small-molecule inhibitor of the Rac activator DOCK2

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Highlights? CPYPP binds to DOCK2 DHR-2 domain and inhibits its catalytic activity ? CPYPP inhibits DOCK2-mediated Rac activation in cells ? The structural features of CPYPP required for its inhibitory effect were revealed ? CPYPP inhibits lymphocyte migration and activation in vitro and in vivo     

α-萜品烯马来酰亚胺基酰腙衍生物的合成及杀菌活性研究

以α-蒎烯为原料,在质子酸催化下发生Wagner-Meerwein重排得到α-萜品烯,再与马来酸酐发生Diels-Alder环加成反应得到α-萜品烯马来酸酐(3),然后与水合肼反应制备N-氨基-α-萜品烯马来酰亚胺(4).在冰醋酸催化下,4与各种取代苯甲醛反应,合成得到17个新型α-萜品烯马来酰亚胺基酰腙化合物5a～5q.初步探索了合成条件,并利用元素分析,1H NMR,13C NMR,LC-MS,FT-IR等多种手段对目标产物作了分析表征.初步的生物活性测试表明,大部分化合物具有一定的杀菌活性,其中4-羟基-3-甲氧基苯基-α-萜品烯马来酰亚胺基酰腙(5n)在浓度为50 mg/L时对苹果轮纹病菌、花生褐斑病菌和番茄早疫病菌的抑制率分别达91%,83.3%和76.7%.     

Rapid Sample Pretreatment,Identification and Determination of Active Constitutents in Water‐soluble Radix isatidis Extract via MAE,ESI‐MS and RODWs‐HPLC

In this study, we successfully studied water‐soluble extract from Radix isatidis. Optimized conditions of MAE were listed, the sample can be extracted completely in 10 minutes under microwave power of 400W and solid/liquid ratio of 1:80. Active compounds in water‐soluble extract from R. isatidis were identified with HPLC‐DAD/ESI‐MS, these compounds followed by cytidine, uridine, guanosine, (R,S)‐goitrin and adenosine. RODWs–HPLC as a new sensitive chromatography were also first proposed and investigated, we favoringly used this method for simultaneous determination of these active constitutents in water‐soluble R. isatidis extract. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Diamonsil C18 column (5 μm, 150 mm × 4.6 mm) with a mobile phase gradient consisting of methanol and water at a flow‐rate of 1.0 mL/min, detection wavelengths 240, 250, 260 and 270 nm, the retention times of the tested five compounds were about 4.2, 5.8, 11.1, 14.2 and 20.8 min respectively, the limits of detection were 15, 12, 20, 5.8 and 24 ng/mL for cytidine, uridine, guanosine, (R,S)‐goitrin and adenosine respectively, their linear ranges were between 0.045 and 350 μg/mL with correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9998‐0.9999. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of intra‐day and inter‐day assays were 0.30‐2.36% and 0.86‐2.54% respectively. Extraction recoveries were 94.25‐106.21%. This novel analytical method was shown to be simple, low‐cost, sensitive and reliable for multiple components in complex or undeveloped materials via MAE, ESI‐MS and RODWs‐HPLC.     

Theoretical investigation on the chiral diamine-catalyzed epoxidation of cyclic enones: mechanism and effects of cocatalyst

The asymmetric epoxidation of 2-cyclohexen-1-one with aqueous H(2)O(2) as oxidant, 1,2-diaminocyclohexane as catalyst, and a Br?nsted acid trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as cocatalyst has been studied by performing density functional theory calculations. It is confirmed that the catalyzed epoxidation proceeds via sequential nucleophilic addition and ring-closure processes involving a ketiminium intermediate. Four possible pathways associated with two Z isomers and two E isomers of ketiminium have been explored in detail. Our calculation indicates that these four pathways have high barriers and a small energy gap between two more favorable R and S pathways. We have analyzed the effects of the TFA anion and H(2)O on the activity and enantioselectivity of catalytic epoxidation. It is found that the TFA anion acts as a counterion to stabilize the transition states of the catalytic epoxidation by hydrogen-bond acceptance, leading to decreases in the barriers of the nucleophilic addition and ring-closure processes. The most significant decrease occurred in the ring-closure step of the Z-R-pathway, resulting in H-bond-induced enantioselectivity. Our calculations also show that water cooperates with TFA to further increase the reaction rate significantly.