Efficient synthesis of a 7-azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane based GlyT1 uptake inhibitor

An efficient synthetic route based on generation and subsequent electrophilic reaction of a Boc-protected azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane anion to prepare a potent GlyT1 uptake inhibitor (1) is described.     

Microfluidic devices for energy conversion: planar integration and performance of a passive, fully immersed H2-O2 fuel cell

We describe the fabrication and performance of a passive, microfluidics-based H2-O2 microfluidic fuel cell using thin film Pt electrodes embedded in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) device. The electrode array is fully immersed in a liquid electrolyte confined inside the microchannel network, which serves also as a thin gas-permeable membrane through which the reactants are fed to the electrodes. The cell operates at room temperature with a maximum power density of around 700 microW/cm(2), while its performance, as recorded by monitoring the corresponding polarization curves and the power density plots, is affected by the pH of the electrolyte, its concentration, the surface area of the Pt electrodes, and the thickness of the PDMS membrane. The best results were obtained in basic solutions using electrochemically roughened Pt electrodes, the roughness factor, R(f), of which was around 90 relative to a smooth Pt film. In addition, the operating lifetime of the fuel cell was found to be longer for the one using higher surface area electrodes.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of nitrocyclopropane carboxylates

A Cu(I)-catalyzed asymmetric cyclopropanation of alkenes with an iodonium ylide has been developed. The copper source, hypervalent iodine source, solvent, and additives all have a significant effect on the yields and enantioselectivities. High enantioselectivity (up to 99:1 er) and diastereoselectivity (95:5 dr trans/cis) were achieved for a wide range of alkenes. Conditions were developed to convert the trans products to the cis isomers. In addition, 1-nitrocyclopropyl carboxylates were transformed into the corresponding substituted cyclopropane amino acids and aminocyclopropanes. Moreover, a comparative study between Zn- and In-mediated reduction reactions of the nitro group in these compounds with regards to the er erosion in the process is also documented.     

Rational design of an inhibitor of dethiobiotin synthetase; interaction of 6-hydroxypyrimindin-4(3H)-one with the adenine base binding site

Modelling of the H-bonding interactions involved in the binding of the adenine base component of ATP to E. coli dethiobiotin synthetase (DTBS) suggested that 6-hydroxypyrimidin-4(3H)-one (6-HP4) should selectively bind to this site in the enzyme. Kinetic studies show that 6-HP4 is a competitive inhibitor of DTBS and x-ray crystallography shows that 6-HP4 binds specifically in the purine base binding site of the enzyme.     

Synthesis and evaluation of N6-substituted azide- and alkyne-bearing N-mustard analogs of S-adenosyl-l-methionine

The synthesis of a family of N-mustard analogs of S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) containing azides and alkynes at the N6-position of the adenosine base has been accomplished from commercially available inosine. Further biochemical analysis of these analogs indicates successful modification of pUC19 plasmid DNA in an enzyme-dependent fashion with DNA methyltransferases M.TaqI and M.HhaI.     

Carbonyl substitution chemistry of some trimetallic transition metal cluster complexes with polyfunctional ligands

The trimetallic clusters [Ru₃(CO)₁₀(dppm)], [Ru₃(CO)₁₂] and [RuCo₂(CO)₁₁] react with a number of multifunctional secondary phosphine and tertiary arsine ligands to give products consequent on carbonyl substitution and, in the case of the secondary phosphines, PH activation. The reaction with the unresolved mixed P/S donor, 1-phenylphosphino-2-thio(ethane), HSCH₂CH₂PHPh ( LH₂), gave two products under various conditions which have been characterised by spectroscopic and crystallographic means. These two complexes [Ru₃(μ-dppm)(H)(CO)₇(LH)] and [Ru₃(μ-dppm)(H)(CO)₈(LH)Ru₃(μ-dppm)(CO)₉], show the versatility of the ligand, with it chelating in the former and bridging two Ru₃ units in the latter. The stereogenic centres in the molecules gave rise to complicated spectroscopic data which are consistent with the presence of diastereoisomers. In the case of [Ru₃(CO)₁₂] the reaction with LH₂ gave a poor yield of a tetranuclear butterfly cluster, [Ru₄(CO)₁₀(L)₂], in which two of the ligands bridge opposite hinge wingtip bonds of the cluster. A related ligand, HSCH₂CH₂AsMe(C₆H₄CH₂OMe), reacted with [RuCo₂(CO)₁₁] to give a low yield of the heterobimetallic Ru-Co adduct, [RuCo(CO)₆(SCH₂CH₂AsMe(C₆H₄CH₂OMe))], which appears to be the only one of its type so far structurally characterised.The secondary phosphine, HPMe(C₆H₄(CH₂OMe)) and its oxide HP(O)Me(C₆H₄(CH₂OMe)) also react with the cluster [Ru₃(CO)₁₀(dppm)] to give carbonyl substitution products, [Ru₃(CO)₅(dppm)(μ₂-PMe(C₆H₄CH₂OMe))₄], and [Ru₃H(CO)₇(dppm)(μ₂,η¹-P(O)Me(C₆H₄CH₂OMe))]. The former consists of an open Ru₃ triangle with four phosphide ligands bridging the metal-metal bonds; the latter has the O atom symmetrically bridging one Ru-Ru bond, the P atom being attached to a non-bridged Ru atom.     

Theoretical studies on the redox potentials of Fe dinuclear complexes as models for hydrogenase

Density Functional calculations have been performed at the uB3LYP and uBP86 levels to calculate the one-electron redox potentials for a series of small models based on the diiron hydrogenase enzymes in the presence of acetonitrile (MeCN). The solvation effects in MeCN are incorporated via a self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) using the polarized continuum model (PCM). The calculated redox potentials reproduce the trends in experimental data with an average error of only 0.12 V using the BP86 functional, whereas comparing results with the B3LYP functional require a systematic shift of -0.82 and -0.53 V for oxidation and reduction, respectively. The bonding orbitals and d-electron populations were examined using Mulliken population analysis, and the results were used to rationalize the calculated and observed redox potentials. These studies demonstrate that the redox potential correlates with the empirical spectrochemical series for the ligands, as well as with the amount of electron density donated by the ligand onto the Fe centers.     

Tandem multi-step synthesis of C-carboxyazlactones promoted by N-heterocyclic carbenes

Cascade reaction sequences incorporating N-heterocyclic carbene-based organocatalysis have been developed that allow the direct preparation of a range of (+/-)-4-phenoxycarbonylazlactones in good isolated yields (66-84%) from the corresponding N-p-anisoyl amino acids.     

Auto-hydroxylation of FIH-1: an Fe(ii), alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent human hypoxia sensor

HIF-asparaginyl hydroxylase (FIH-1) normally couples O(2)-activation to hydroxylation of Asn(803) on the alpha-subunit of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIFalpha), a key step in pO(2) sensing; in the absence of HIFalpha, O(2)-activation becomes uncoupled, leading to self-hydroxylation at Trp(296) and a purple Fe(iii)-O-Trp chromophore-this alternative reactivity may affect human hypoxia sensing.     

Ionic motion in crystalline cryolite

The character of the ion dynamics in crystalline cryolite, Na(3)AlF(6), a model double perovskite-structured mineral, has been examined in computer simulations using a polarizable ionic potential obtained by force-fitting to ab initio electronic structure calculations. NMR studies, and conductivity measurements, have indicated a high degree of mobility, in both Na(+) ion diffusion and reorientation of the AlF(6) octahedral units. The simulations reproduce the low-temperature (tilted) crystal structure and the existence of a transition to a cubic structure at elevated temperatures, in agreement with diffraction measurements, though the calculated transition temperature is too low. The reorientational dynamics of the AlF(6) octahedra is shown to consist of a hopping motion between the various tilted positions of the low-temperature form, even above the transition temperature. The rate of reorientation estimated by extrapolation to the temperature régime of the NMR measurements is consistent with the experimental data. In addition, we report a novel cooperative "tilt-swapping" motion of the differently tilted sublattices, just below the transition temperature. The perfect crystals show no Na(+) diffusion, in apparent disagreement with observation. We argue, following previous analyses of the cryolite phase diagram, that the diffusion observed in the experimental studies is a consequence of defects that are intrinsic to the thermodynamically stable form of cryolite. By introducing defects into the simulation cell, we obtain diffusion rates that are consistent with the NMR and conductivity measurements. Finally, we demonstrate a link between diffusion of the Na(+) ions and the reorientation of AlF(6) units, though the correlation between the two is not very strong.