The Highly Regioselective Synthesis of Novel Imidazolidin-2-Ones via the Intramolecular Cyclization/Electrophilic Substitution of Urea Derivatives and the Evaluation of Their Anticancer Activity

A series of novel 4-(het)arylimidazoldin-2-ones were obtained by the acid-catalyzed reaction of (2,2-diethoxyethyl)ureas with aromatic and heterocyclic C-nucleophiles. The proposed approach to substituted imidazolidinones benefits from excellent regioselectivity, readily available starting materials and a simple procedure. The regioselectivity of the reaction was rationalized by quantum chemistry calculations and control experiments. The anti-cancer activity of the obtained compounds was tested in vitro.     

Intrinsic noise and division cycle effects on an abstract biological oscillator

Oscillatory dynamics are common in biological pathways, emerging from the coupling of positive and negative feedback loops. Due to the small numbers of molecules typically contained in cellular volumes, stochastic effects may play an important role in system behavior. Thus, for moderate noise strengths, stochasticity has been shown to enhance signal-to-noise ratios or even induce oscillations in a class of phenomena referred to as "stochastic resonance" and "coherence resonance," respectively. Furthermore, the biological oscillators are subject to influences from the division cycle of the cell. In this paper we consider a biologically relevant oscillator and investigate the effect of intrinsic noise as well as division cycle which encompasses the processes of growth, DNA duplication, and cell division. We first construct a minimal reaction network which can oscillate in the presence of large or negligible timescale separation. We then derive corresponding deterministic and stochastic models and compare their dynamical behaviors with respect to (i) the extent of the parameter space where each model can exhibit oscillatory behavior and (ii) the oscillation characteristics, namely, the amplitude and the period. We further incorporate division cycle effects on both models and investigate the effect of growth rate on system behavior. Our results show that in the presence but not in the absence of large timescale separation, coherence resonance effects result in extending the oscillatory region and lowering the period for the stochastic model. When the division cycle is taken into account, the oscillatory region of the deterministic model is shown to extend or shrink for moderate or high growth rates, respectively. Further, under the influence of the division cycle, the stochastic model can oscillate for parameter sets for which the deterministic model does not. The division cycle is also found to be able to resonate with the oscillator, thereby enhancing oscillation robustness. The results of this study can give valuable insight into the complex interplay between oscillatory intracellular dynamics and various noise sources, stemming from gene expression, cell growth, and division.     

Electrochemically induced multicomponent assembling of isatins, 4-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-one and malononitrile: a convenient and efficient way to functionalized spirocyclic [indole-3,4′-pyrano[3,2-c]quinoline] scaffold

Electrochemically induced catalytic multicomponent transformation of isatins, 4-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-one and malononitrile in ethanol in an undivided cell in the presence of sodium bromide as an electrolyte results in the formation of spirooxindoles with fused functionalized indole-3,4′-pyrano[3,2-c]quinoline] scaffold in 75–91% substance yields and 500-600% current yield. The developed efficient electrocatalytic approach to medicinally relevant [indole-3,4′-pyrano[3,2-c]quinoline] scaffold is beneficial from the viewpoint of diversity-oriented large-scale processes and represents a novel example of facile environmentally benign synthetic concept for electrocatalytic multicomponent reactions.     

Comparative Study of Sample Carriers for the Identification of Volatile Compounds in Biological Fluids Using Raman Spectroscopy

Vibrational spectroscopic techniques and especially Raman spectroscopy are gaining ground in substituting the officially established chromatographic methods in the identification of ethanol and other volatile substances in body fluids, such as blood, urine, saliva, semen, and vaginal fluids. Although a couple of different carriers and substrates have been employed for the biochemical analysis of these samples, most of them are suffering from important weaknesses as far as the analysis of volatile compounds is concerned. For this reason, in this study three carriers are proposed, and the respective sample preparation methods are described for the determination of ethanol in human urine samples. More specifically, a droplet of the sample on a highly reflective carrier of gold layer, a commercially available cuvette with a mirror to enhance backscattered radiation sealed with a lid, and a home designed microscope slide with a cavity coated with gold layer and covered with transparent cling film have been evaluated. Among the three proposed carriers, the last one achieved a quick, simple, and inexpensive identification of ethanol, which was used as a case study for the volatile compound, in the biological samples. The limit of detection (LoD) was found to be 1.00 μL/mL, while at the same time evaporation of ethanol was prevented.     

Energetics of a protein disorder–order transition in small molecule recognition

Many proteins recognise other proteins via mechanisms that involve the folding of intrinsically disordered regions upon complex formation. Here we investigate how the selectivity of a drug-like small molecule arises from its modulation of a protein disorder-to-order transition. Binding of the compound AM-7209 has been reported to confer order upon an intrinsically disordered ‘lid’ region of the oncoprotein MDM2. Calorimetric measurements revealed that truncation of the lid region of MDM2 increases the apparent dissociation constant of AM-7209 250-fold. By contrast, lid truncation has little effect on the binding of the ligand Nutlin-3a. Insights into these differential binding energetics were obtained via a complete thermodynamic analysis that featured adaptive absolute alchemical free energy of binding calculations with enhanced-sampling molecular dynamics simulations. The simulations reveal that in apo MDM2 the ordered lid state is energetically disfavoured. AM-7209, but not Nutlin-3a, shows a significant energetic preference for ordered lid conformations, thus shifting the balance towards ordering of the lid in the AM-7209/MDM2 complex. The methodology reported herein should facilitate broader targeting of intrinsically disordered regions in medicinal chemistry.

Molecular simulations and biophysical measurements elucidate why the ligand AM-7209 orders a disordered region of the protein MDM2 on binding. This work expands strategies available to medicinal chemists for targeting disordered proteins.     

A new approach in small-angle neutron scattering: A method of triple isotopic substitutions

A new method is proposed for studying the structure and mutual arrangement of selected components in multicomponent particles. Here the difference between the scattering curve of a solution containing two types of structurally identical particles (differing only in the degree of deuteration) and the scattering curve of a solution containing particles of a third type (deuterated to an intermediate degree) is considered. This difference scattering curve differs only by a numerical multiplier from the “vacuum” scattering curve of the particle in which the scattering density is equal to the difference between the scattering densities of the particles of the first and second types. This means that any particle component which is deuterated (protonated) to the same degree in the particles of three different types does not contribute to the difference scattering curve and, consequently, is “invisible” for neutrons. The difference scattering curve depends neither on the isotopic content of the solvent nor on the inter-particle interference and particle association. Possible applications of this method are discussed.     

Organosulphur compounds-XXXVIII Axial preference of a 2-dimethoxyphosphoryl substituent in 1,3,5-trithiane

¹H-NMR studies and X-ray analysis indicate that 2-dimethoxyphosphoryl-1,3,5-trithiane exists both in solution and in the crystal in a chair conformation with the dimethoxyphosphoryl group at C-2 being axial.     

Synthesis and structure of tetracoordinated nickel(II) complexes of deprotonated chelated aminoazo ligands: X-ray crystal structure of bis[1-isopropyl-3-methyl-4-(4-methylphenylazo)-5-(4-methoxyphenylamidato)pyrazole] nickel(II)

Summary Tetracoordinate nickel(II) complexes NiL₂ derived from the deprotonated forms of aminoazoligands HL were prepared and investigated by spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The magnetic moments, which lie in the 3.1–3.6 B.M. range correspond to the occurrence both in solution and in the solid state of the high spin (S = 1) form and a tetrahedral configuration at the metal centre. The u.v. spectra exhibit three ligand field bands at 1020–1280 nm characteristic of high spin nickel(II) complexes. The large isotropic chemical shifts found in the ¹H n.m.r. spectra are consistent with partial delocalization of unpaired electron spin density to the ligand HOMO. The X-ray single crystal structure of NiL ₂ ⁴ [L⁴= 1-isopropyl-3-methyl-4-(4-methylphenylazo)-5-(4-methoxyphenylamino)-pyrazole] reveals that the metal is coordinated by four nitrogen atoms in tetrahedral configuration with an angle of 90° between the N(1)NiN(2) and N(6)NiN(7) planes belonging to the different almost planar metallocycles. The rates of RS interconversion of the tetrahedral configuration for NiL ₂ ⁴ and NiL ₂ ⁵ [L⁵ = 1-isopropyl-3-methyl-4-phenylazo-d ₅-5-(4-methoxyphenylamino)pyrazole] are slow on the n.m.r. timescale. In contrast to NiL ₂ ¹ -Ni ₂ ⁶ , NiL ₂ ⁷ ], which contains coordinated NH-groups instead of NAr-groups, is planar.     

Photodynamic inactivation of isolated crayfish mechanoreceptor neuron: different death modes under different photosensitizer concentrations

To study the mechanism of photodynamic nerve cell killing, isolated crayfish mechanoreceptor neurons were photosensitized by the sulfonated aluminum ophthalocyanine Photosens. Neuron activity was continuously recorded until irreversible abolition. Intense (10(-5) M Photosens) or weak (10(-7) M Photosens) photosensitization induced different bioelectric neuron responses: firing activation followed by irreversible depolarization block or gradual inhibition until firing abolition, respectively. These bioelectric responses were accompanied by different biochemical and morphological changes. In the case of intense photosensitization, neuron nuclei swelled and then shrank. Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) was inhibited, and the plasma membrane was compromised just after firing cessation. Weak photosensitization did not induce these changes but caused swelling of the endoplasmic reticulum and destruction of the matrix, cristae and membranes in some of the mitochondria. Other mitochondria, however, retained the normal structure. Plasma membrane damage, SDH inhibition, nucleus shrinkage and impairment of the nuclear border occurred after 2-4 h. It is concluded that intense photosensitization induced necrotic processes during irradiation, whereas weaker impact caused delayed necrosis 2-4 h later. The observed electrophysiological neuron responses to photodynamic therapy may be considered as early hallmarks of different modes of forthcoming cell death.