Single‐Chain Magnetic Behavior in a Hetero‐Tri‐Spin Complex Mediated by Supramolecular Interactions with TCNQF.− Radicals

The self‐assembly of organic TCNQF^.? radicals (2‐fluoro‐7,7,8,8‐tetracyano‐p‐quinodimethane) and the anisotropic [Tb(valpn)Cu]³⁺ dinuclear cations produced a single‐chain magnet (SCM) involving stacking interactions of TCNQF^.? radicals (H₂valpn is the Schiff base from the condensation of o‐vanillin with 1,3‐diaminopropane). Static and dynamic magnetic characterizations reveal that the effective energy barrier for the reversal of the magnetization in this hetero‐tri‐spin SCM is significantly larger than the barrier of the isolated single‐molecule magnet based on the {TbCu} dinuclear core.     

Investigation of the Structure and Dynamics of the Capsid–Spacer Peptide 1–Nucleocapsid Fragment of the HIV‐1 Gag Polyprotein by Solution NMR Spectroscopy

Structural studies of HIV‐1 Gag, the primary structural polyprotein involved in retroviral assembly, have been challenging, owing to its flexibility and conformational heterogeneity. Using residual dipolar couplings, we show that the four structural units of the capsid (CA)–spacer peptide 1 (SP1)–nucleocapsid (NC) fragment of HIV‐1 Gag (namely, the N‐ and C‐terminal domains of capsid, and the N‐ and C‐terminal Zn knuckles of nucleocapsid) have the same structures as their individually isolated counterparts, and tumble semi‐independently of one another in the absence of nucleic acids. Nucleic acids bind exclusively to the nucleocapsid domain and fix the orientation of the two Zn knuckles relative to one another so that the nucleocapsid domain/nucleic acid complex behaves as a single structural unit. The low ¹⁵N–{¹H} heteronuclear NOE values (≤0.4), the close to zero values for the residual dipolar couplings of the backbone amides, and minimal deviations from random‐coil chemical shifts for the C‐terminal tail of capsid and SP1, both in the absence and presence of nucleic acids, indicate that these regions are intrinsically disordered in the context of CA–SP1–NC.     

Concise and Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (−)‐Mehranine, (−)‐Methylenebismehranine,and Related Aspidosperma Alkaloids

We report an efficient and highly stereoselective strategy for the synthesis of Aspidosperma alkaloids based on the transannular cyclization of a chiral lactam precursor. Three new stereocenters are formed in this key step with excellent diastereoselectivity due to the conformational bias of the cyclization precursor, leading to a versatile pentacyclic intermediate. A subsequent stereoselective epoxidation followed by a mild formamide reduction enabled the first total synthesis of the Aspidosperma alkaloids (?)‐mehranine and (+)‐(6S,7S)‐dihydroxy‐N‐methylaspidospermidine. A late‐stage dimerization of (?)‐mehranine mediated by scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate completed the first total synthesis of (?)‐methylenebismehranine.     

Morphology and thermal stability of bacterial cellulose/collagen composites

The aim of this paper was to prepare composites of bacterial cellulose (BC) and collagen to evaluate both the effect of collagen on the morphological, mechanical and thermal properties of BC and the effect of BC on the thermal stability of collagen for designing composites with increased potential biomedical applications. Two series of composites were prepared, the first series by immersing BC pellicle in solutions of collagen obtained in three forms, collagen gel (CG), collagen solution (CS) and hydrolysed collagen (HC), followed by freeze drying; and the second series of composites by mixing BC powder in solutions of collagen (CG, CS and HC), also followed by freeze drying. The properties of obtained composites were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results revealed that BC acts as a thermal stabilizer for CS matrix, while with CG matrix it interacts synergistically leading to composites with improved properties. On the other hand, the BC sheet impregnated with collagen has a significantly improved thermal stability. Collagen (as HC, CS or CG) has also a positive influence on the mechanical properties of lyophilized BC sheet. A four times increase of modulus was observed in BC/HC and BC/CG composites. and an increase of 60 times for BC/CS. The spectacular increase of elastic modulus and tensile strength in the case of BC/CS composite was explained by the easier penetration of collagen solution in the BC network and impregnation of BC fibrils as revealed by SEM and AFM analyzes.

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Phenylethylene glycol-derived LpxC inhibitors with diverse Zn2+-binding groups

The Zn²⁺-dependent bacterial deacetylase LpxC is a promising target for the development of novel antibiotics. Most of the known LpxC inhibitors carry a hydroxamate moiety as Zn²⁺-binding group. However, hydroxamic acids generally exhibit poor pharmacokinetic properties. (S)-N-Hydroxy-2-{2-hydroxy-1-[4-(phenylethynyl)phenyl]ethoxy}acetamide (3) is a known phenylethylene glycol derivative potently inhibiting LpxC with a K_i of 66?nM. In vitro experiments have confirmed in silico predictions that the hydroxamate moiety of 3 is indeed metabolically labile. In this study, several strategies were explored to replace the hydroxamate moiety by other Zn²⁺-binding groups while maintaining target activity. In total, 15 phenylethylene glycol derivatives with diverse Zn²⁺-binding groups like carboxylate, hydrazide, carboxamide, sulfonamide, vicinal diol, thiol, thioester, and hydroxypyridinone moieties were prepared in divergent syntheses. However, their biological evaluation revealed that the replacement of the hydroxamate moiety of 3 by any of the investigated Zn²⁺-binding groups is detrimental for LpxC inhibitory and antibacterial activity.     

Synthesis of the acylphloroglucinols rhodomyrtone and rhodomyrtosone B

In a sequential three-component coupling syncarpic acid, 3-methylbutanal and an acylated phloroglucinol were combined to the hydroxy ketone 3. Acid catalysis converted 3 directly to the natural product rhodomyrtosone B (2). The other isomer, the antibiotic rhodomyrtone (1) was obtained from 3 in a sequence of acid-catalyzed cyclization, retro Friedel–Crafts reaction, and reacylation. In preliminary assays both compounds showed potent antibiotic activity.     

Docking of protein-protein complexes on the basis of highly ambiguous intermolecular distance restraints derived from 1H/15N chemical shift mapping and backbone 15N-1H residual dipolar couplings using conjoined rigid body/torsion angle dynamics

A simple and reliable method for docking protein-protein complexes using (1)H(N)/(15)N chemical shift mapping and backbone (15)N-(1)H residual dipolar couplings is presented and illustrated with three complexes (EIN-HPr, IIA(Glc)-HPr, and IIA(Mtl)-HPr) of known structure. The (1)H(N)/(15)N chemical shift mapping data are transformed into a set of highly ambiguous, intermolecular distance restraints (comprising between 400 and 3000 individual distances) with translational and some degree of orientational information content, while the dipolar couplings provide information on relative protein-protein orientation. The optimization protocol employs conjoined rigid body/torsion angle dynamics in simulated annealing calculations. The target function also comprises three nonbonded interactions terms: a van der Waals repulsion term to prevent atomic overlap, a radius of gyration term (E(rgyr)) to avoid expansion at the protein-protein interface, and a torsion angle database potential of mean force to bias interfacial side chain conformations toward physically allowed rotamers. For the EIN-HPr and IIA(Glc)-HPr complexes, all structures satisfying the experimental restraints (i.e., both the ambiguous intermolecular distance restraints and the dipolar couplings) converge to a single cluster with mean backbone coordinate accuracies of 0.7-1.5 A. For the IIA(Mtl)-HPr complex, twofold degeneracy remains, and the structures cluster into two distinct solutions differing by a 180 degrees rotation about the z axis of the alignment tensor. The correct and incorrect solutions which have mean backbone coordinate accuracies of approximately 0.5 and approximately 10.5 A, respectively, can readily be distinguished using a variety of criteria: (a) examination of the overall (1)H(N)/(15)N chemical shift perturbation map (because the incorrect cluster predicts the presence of residues at the interface that experience only minimal chemical shift perturbations; this information is readily incorporated into the calculations in the form of ambiguous intermolecular repulsion restraints); (b) back-calculation of dipolar couplings on the basis of molecular shape; or (c) the E(rgyr) distribution which, because of its global nature, directly reflects the interfacial packing quality. This methodology should be particularly useful for high throughput, NMR-based, structural proteomics.