“On-water” organic synthesis: <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-proline catalyzed synthesis of pyrimidine-2,4-dione-, benzo[<Emphasis Type="Italic">g</Emphasis>]- and dihydropyrano[2,3-<Emphasis Type="Italic">g</Emphasis>]chromene derivatives in aqueous media

In this work, functionalized pyrimidine-2,4-dione-, benzo[g]-, and dihydropyrano[2,3-g]chromene derivatives have been synthesized via a Michael addition of 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone or 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone to the Knoevenagel condensation product of an aldehyde with Meldrum’s acid, dimedone or barbituric acid in the presence of a catalytic amount of l-proline under refluxing conditions in water in good to excellent yields.     

Predicting hiCE inhibitors based upon pharmacophore models derived from the receptor and its ligands

Human intestinal carboxyl esterase (hiCE) is a drug target for ameliorating irinotecan-induced diarrhea. By reducing irinotecan-induced diarrhea, hiCE inhibitors can improve the anti-cancer efficacy of irinotecan. To find effective hiCE inhibitors, a new virtual screening protocol that combines pharmacophore models derived from the hiCE structure and its ligands has been proposed. The hiCE structure has been constructed through homology techniques using hCES1’s crystal structure. The hiCE structure was optimized via molecular dynamics simulations with the most known active hiCE inhibitors docked into the structure. An optimized pharmacophore, derived from the receptor, was then generated. A ligand-based pharmacophore was also generated from a larger set of known hiCE inhibitors. The final hiCE inhibitor predictions were based upon the virtual screening hits from both ligand-based and receptor-based pharmacophore models. The hit rates from the ligand-based and receptor-based pharmacophore models are 88% and 86%, respectively. The final hit rate is 94%. The two models are highly consistent with one another (85%). This proves that both models are reliable.     

Characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pf</Emphasis>TrxR inhibitors using antimalarial assays and <Emphasis Type="Italic">in silico</Emphasis>techniques

Background

The compounds 1,4-napthoquinone (1,4-NQ), bis-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)sulfide (2,4-DNPS), 4-nitrobenzothiadiazole (4-NBT), 3-dimethylaminopropiophenone (3-DAP) and menadione (MD) were tested for antimalarial activity against both chloroquine (CQ)-sensitive (D6) and chloroquine (CQ)-resistant (W2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum through an in vitro assay and also for analysis of non-covalent interactions with P. falciparum thioredoxin reductase (PfTrxR) through in silico docking studies.

Results

The inhibitors of PfTrxR namely, 1,4-NQ, 4-NBT and MD displayed significant antimalarial activity with IC₅₀ values of?<?20 μM and toxicity against 3T3 cell line. 2,4-DNPS was only moderately active. In silico docking analysis of these compounds with PfTrxR revealed that 2,4-DNPS, 4-NBT and MD interact non-covalently with the intersubunit region of the enzyme.

Conclusions

In this study, tools for the identification of PfTrxR inhibitors using phenotyphic screening and docking studies have been validated for their potential use for antimalarial drug discovery project.

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Improved Hydrogen‐Storage Thermodynamics and Kinetics for an RbF‐Doped Mg(NH2)2–2 LiH System

The introduction of RbF into the Mg(NH₂)₂–2 LiH system significantly decreased its (de‐)hydrogenation temperatures and enhanced its hydrogen‐storage kinetics. The Mg(NH₂)₂–2 LiH–0.08 RbF composite exhibits the optimal hydrogen‐storage properties as it could reversibly store approximately 4.76 wt % hydrogen through a two‐stage reaction with the onset temperatures of 80 °C for dehydrogenation and 55 °C for hydrogenation. At 130 °C, approximately 70 % of hydrogen was rapidly released from the 0.08 RbF‐doped sample within 180 min, and the fully dehydrogenated sample could absorb approximately 4.8 wt % of hydrogen at 120 °C. Structural analyses revealed that RbF reacted readily with LiH to convert to RbH and LiF owing to the favorable thermodynamics during ball‐milling. The newly generated RbH participated in the following dehydrogenation reaction, consequently resulting in a decrease in the reaction enthalpy change and activation energy.     

Mechanical, thermal and surface properties of polyacrylamide/dextran semi-interpenetrating network hydrogels tuned by the synthesis temperature

The mechanical, rheological, thermal, and surface behaviors of three polyacrylamide/dextran (PAAm/Dx) semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) hydrogels, prepared at 22°C, 5°C and ?18°C, were investigated. The results were compared with those obtained on cross-linked PAAm without Dx synthesized under the same conditions. Hydrogels prepared at the lowest temperature were the most mechanically stable. The thermal stability of the semi-IPN hydrogels is slightly lower than the corresponding PAAm gels, irrespective of preparation temperature. The water vapor sorption capacity depended on the presence of Dx as well as preparation temperature, which determines the network morphology.      

Strategy of Cr detoxification by Callitriche cophocarpa

The present work focused on the qualitative and quantitative analysis of Cr detoxification strategy of aquatic cosmopolitan plant Callitriche cophocarpa. This plant species has just been described in the context of its unusual accumulation potential of Cr. The emphasis of the work was placed on the redox reaction Cr(VI)→Cr(III) which is considered to be remediation mechanism of highly reactive and mobile Cr(VI) ions. Plants were immersed for 5 days in 1 mM of Cr(VI) (potassium dichromate) or 1 mM of Cr(III) (chromium sulphate) solutions in semi-natural conditions. Cr was effectively removed from the solution up to the extent of ca.58% or 35% of the starting amount, in the case of Cr(III) and Cr(VI), respectively. No plant-induced Cr(VI) reduction accompanying Cr accumulation was observed in Cr(VI) solutions except from the apparent one, noticed at the fourth day of incubation. On the contrary to these results, according to the method of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (L-band EPR), biphasic signal of Cr(V) attending Cr(VI) to Cr(III) reduction was detected inside the plant tissue every day of investigations. Our results show that phytoextraction but not phytostabilization is the main strategy of Cr detoxification by C. cophocarpa in aquatic systems.      

Use of direct immersion solid-phase microextraction on polyacrylate and polydimethylsiloxane stationary phases for simultaneous determination of the neutral and basic pharmaceuticals in wastewater

Direct immersion solid-phase microextraction has been optimized and applied to the simultaneous determination of the neutral and basic pharmaceuticals: caffeine, carbamazepine, clomipramine, chlorprothixene and clotrimazole at low concentrations in municipal wastewater. Two absorption type stationary phases: polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyacrylate (PA) have been found to be most effective for extraction of target analytes. The separation and detection were carried out by gas chromatograph coupled with mass spectrometer working in the selected ion monitoring mode. The method was validated for linearity, detection and quantitation limits, selectivity and precision. The average correlation coefficient of the calibration curves was 0.9933. The LOD values in influent and effluent wastewater were in the range of 10–145 ng L^?1 and 4–111 ng L^?1, respectively, which were a bit higher than those in the deionized water due to matrix effect. The high values of distribution coefficient (K _fs ) in PDMS/water and PA/water systems (log K _fs between 3.05 and 4.23) indicates the very high applicability of these stationary phases for determination of carbamazepine, clomipramine, chlorprothixene and clotrimazole in water samples.

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Two lanthanum(III) complexes containing η2‐pyrazolate and η2‐1,2,4‐triazolate ligands: intramolecular C—H...N/O interactions and coordination geometries

The lanthanum(III) complexes tris(3,5‐diphenylpyrazolato‐κ²N,N′)tris(tetrahydrofuran‐κO)lanthanum(III) tetrahydrofuran monosolvate, [La(C₁₅H₁₁N₂)₃(C₄H₈O)₃]·C₄H₈O, (I), and tris(3,5‐diphenyl‐1,2,4‐triazolato‐κ²N¹,N²)tris(tetrahydrofuran‐κO)lanthanum(III), [La(C₁₄H₁₀N₃)₃(C₄H₈O)₃], (II), both contain La^III atoms coordinated by three heterocyclic ligands and three tetrahydrofuran ligands, but their coordination geometries differ. Complex (I) has a mer‐distorted octahedral geometry, while complex (II) has a fac‐distorted configuration. The difference in the coordination geometries and the existence of asymmetric La—N bonding in the two complexes is associated with intramolecular C—H...N/O interactions between the ligands.     

2,2′‐Anhydro‐1‐(3′,5′‐di‐O‐acetyl‐β‐D‐arabinofuranosyl)uracil,a cyclouridine nucleoside with a C4′‐endo furanosyl conformation

2,2′‐Anhydro‐1‐(3′,5′‐di‐O‐acetyl‐β‐D‐arabinofuranosyl)uracil, C₁₃H₁₄N₂O₇, was obtained by refluxing 2′,3′‐O‐(methoxymethylene)uridine in acetic anhydride. The structure exhibits a nearly perfect C4′‐endo (⁴E) conformation. The best four‐atom plane of the five‐membered furanose ring is O—C—C—C, involving the C atoms of the fused five‐membered oxazolidine ring, and the torsion angle is only −0.4 (2)°. The oxazolidine ring is essentially coplanar with the six‐membered uracil ring [r.m.s. deviation = 0.012 (5) Å and dihedral angle = −3.2 (3)°]. The conformation at the exocyclic C—C bond is gauche–trans which is stabilized by various C—H...π and C—O...π interactions.     

Droplet-based microfluidics for dose–response assay of enzyme inhibitors by electrochemical method

A simple but robust droplet-based microfluidic system was developed for dose–response enzyme inhibition assay by combining concentration gradient generation method with electrochemical detection method. A slotted-vials array and a tapered tip capillary were used for reagents introduction and concentration gradient generation, and a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip integrated with microelectrodes was used for droplet generation and electrochemical detection. Effects of oil flow rate and surfactant on electrochemical sensing were investigated. This system was validated by measuring dose–response curves of three types of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, including carbamate pesticide, organophosphorus pesticide, and therapeutic drugs regulating Alzheimer's disease. Carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, and tacrine were used as model analytes, respectively, and their IC₅₀ (half maximal inhibitory concentration) values were determined. A whole enzyme inhibition assay was completed in 6 min, and the total consumption of reagents was less than 5 μL. This microfluidic system is applicable to many biochemical reactions, such as drug screening and kinetic studies, as long as one of the reactants or products is electrochemically active.