Reactivity of DNA guanyl radicals with phenolate anions

Guanine bases are the most easily oxidized sites in DNA. Electron-deficient guanine species are major intermediates produced in DNA by the direct effect of ionizing radiation (ionization of the DNA itself) because of preferential hole migration within DNA to guanine bases. By using thiocyanate ions to modify the indirect effect (ionization of the solvent), we are able to produce these single-electron-oxidized guanine radical species in dilute aqueous solutions of plasmid DNA where the direct effect is negligible. The guanyl radical species produce stable modified guanine products. They can be detected in the plasmid by converting them to strand breaks after incubation with a DNA repair enzyme. If a phenol is present during irradiation, the yield of modified guanines is decreased. The mechanism is reduction of the guanine radical species by the phenol. It is possible to derive a rate constant for the reaction of the phenol with the guanyl radical. The pH dependence shows that phenolate anions are more reactive than their conjugate acids, although the difference for guanyl radicals is smaller than with other single-electron-oxidizing agents. At physiological pH values, the reduction of a guanyl radical entails the transfer of a proton in addition to the electron. The relatively small dependence of the rate constant on the driving force implies that the electron cannot be transferred before the proton. These results emphasize the potential importance of acidic tyrosine residues and the intimate involvement of protons in DNA repair.     

Instrumental Dependent Dissociations of n-Propyl/Isopropyl Phosphonate Isomers: Evaluation of Resonant and Non-Resonant Vibrational Activations

Structural elucidation and distinction of isomeric neurotoxic agents remain a challenge. Tandem mass spectrometry can be used for this purpose in particular if a “diagnostic” product ion is observed. Different vibrational activation methods were investigated to enhance formation of diagnostic ions through consecutive processes from O,O-dialkyl alkylphosphonates. Resonant and non-resonant collisional activation and infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) were used with different mass spectrometers: a hybrid quadrupole Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (Qh-FTICR) and a hybrid linear ion trap-Orbitrap (LTQ/Orbitrap). Double resonance (DR) experiments, in ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) cell, were used for unambiguous determination of direct intermediate yielding diagnostic ions. From protonated n-propyl and isopropyl O-O-dialkyl-phosphonates, a diagnostic m/z 83 ion characterizes the isopropyl isomer. This ion is produced through consecutive dissociation processes. Conditions to favor its formation and observation using different activation methods were investigated. It was shown that with the LTQ, consecutive experimental steps of isolation/activation with modified trapping conditions limiting the low mass cut off (LMCO) effect were required, whereas with FT-ICR by CID and IRMPD the diagnostic ion detection was provided only by one activation step. Among the different investigated activation methods it was shown that by using low-pressure conditions or using non-resonant methods, efficient and fast differentiation of isomeric neurotoxic agents was obtained. This work constitutes a unique comparison of different activation modes for distinction of isomers showing the instrumental dependence characteristic of the consecutive processes. New insights in the dissociation pathways were obtained based on double-resonance IRMPD experiments using a FT-ICR instrument with limitation at low mass values.

Schistosomiasis Chemotherapy

After malaria, schistosomiasis (or bilharzia) is the second most prevalent disease in Africa, and is occurring in over 70 countries in tropical and subtropical regions. It is estimated that 600 million people are at risk of infection, 200 million people are infected, and at least 200 000 deaths per year are associated with the disease. All schistosome species are transmitted through contact with fresh water that is infested with free‐swimming forms of the parasite, which is known as cercariae and produced by snails. When located in the blood vessels of the host, larval and adult schistosomes digest red cells to acquire amino acids for growth and development. Vaccine candidates have been unsuccessful up to now. Against such devastating parasitic disease, the antischistosomal arsenal is currently limited to a single drug, praziquantel, which has been used for more than 35 years. Because the question of the reduction of the activity of praziquantel was raised recently, it is thus urgent to create new and safe antischistosomal drugs that should be combined with praziquantel to develop efficient bitherapies.     

Synthesis of Artificial Glycoconjugate Polymers Carrying 6-O-Phosphocholine α-D-Glucopyranoside,Biologically Active Segment of Main Cell Membrane Glycolipids of Mycoplasma Fermentas

ABSTRACT

The conformation of two mannose-based amidines, the N-benzylmannoamidine and a pseudo (1→6) dimannoside, has been evaluated using semi-empirical AMI calculations and ¹H NMR studies. The most stable conformations of the mannoamidine ring correspond to the half-chair forms ³H₄ and ⁴H₃. The conformations (Z) or (E) about the exocyclic C-N bond depend on the substituents and it was shown that, in solution, the N-benzylmannoamidine was (E)-configured whilst the pseudo (1→6) dimannoside was (Z)-configured. Using the grid-search approach, the potential energy maps of both mannoamidines were calculated as a function of the torsion angles which define the orientation of the amidine substituent. Three stable conformers were identified for the N-benzylmannoamidine and seven for the pseudo (1→6) dimannoside. Inter-glycosidic NOE have provided evidence for a preferred conformation of the pseudo (1→6) dimannoside in solution. The transition state structure of the α-phenylmannose hydrolysis was optimized using the AMI method and compared to the N-benzylmannoamidine. The developing oxocarbenium ion is well matched by the mannoamidine ring but the orientation of the phenyl group in the inhibitor differs significantly from the position of the leaving group in the transition state. The use of sugar type amidines as haptens to obtain catalytic antibodies is then discussed.

     

Facile Synthesis of 3,6‐Diaminopyridazine

An efficient two‐step synthesis of 3,6‐diaminopyridazine from 3,6‐dichloropyridazine is reported. In this synthetic procedure, 4‐methoxybenzylamine was used as a nitrogen source to substitute the chloro groups of 3,6‐dichloropyridazine to form N,N′‐bis‐(4‐methoxybenzyl)‐pyridazine‐3,6‐diamine. The 4‐methoxybenzyl groups were then removed by treatment with hydrochloric acid to provide the target 3,6‐diaminopyridazine with an overall yield of 78%.     

Hybridization detection of enzyme-labeled DNA at electrically heated electrodes

In this report we describe an electrochemical DNA hybridization sensor approach, in which signal amplification is achieved using heated electrodes together with an enzyme as DNA-label. On the surface of the heatable low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) gold electrode, an immobilized thiolated capture probe was hybridized with a biotinylated target using alkaline phosphatase (SA-ALP) as reporter molecule. The enzyme label converted the redox-inactive substrate 1-naphthyl phosphate (NAP) into the redox-active 1-naphthol voltammetrically determined at the modified gold LTCC electrode. During the measurement only the electrode was heated leaving the bulk solution at ambient temperature. Elevated temperature during detection led to increased enzyme activity and enhanced analytical signals for DNA hybridization detection. The limit of detection at 53 °C electrode temperature was 1.2 nmol/L.