Orally active CCR5 antagonists as anti-HIV-1 agents 2: synthesis and biological activities of anilide derivatives containing a pyridine N-oxide moiety

In order to develop orally active CCR5 antagonists, we investigated 1-benzoxepine derivatives containing new polar substituents, such as phosphonate, phosphine oxide or pyridine N-oxide moieties, as replacements for the previously reported quaternary ammonium moiety. Among these compounds, the 2-(alpha-hydroxybenzyl)pyridine N-oxide 5e exhibited moderate CCR5 antagonistic activity and had an acceptable pharmacokinetic profile in rats. Subsequent chemical modification was performed and compound (S)-5f possessing the (S)-configuration hydroxy group was found to be more active than the (R)-isomer. Replacement of the 1-benzoxepine ring with a 4-methylphenyl group by a 1-benzazepine ring with a 4-[2-(butoxy)ethoxy]phenyl group enhanced the activity in the binding assay. In addition, introduction of a 3-trifluoromethyl group on the phenyl group of the anilide moiety led to greatly increased activity in the HIV-1 envelope-mediated membrane fusion assay. In particular, compound (S)-5s showed the most potent CCR5 antagonistic activity (IC(50)=7.2 nM) and inhibitory effect (IC(50)=5.4 nM) in the fusion assay, together with good pharmacokinetic properties in rats.     

Solubilisation of [60]fullerenes using block copolymers and evaluation of their photodynamic activities

Unmodified [60]fullerenes (C60) were solubilised with high stability using various type of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) based block copolymer micelles. Block copolymer micelle-incorporated C60 fullerenes were studied in cultures for biological activities using human cervical cancer HeLa cells. As a result, the cationic block copolymer micelles delivered C60 into the cells depending on their surface densities and showed cytotoxicity under photoirradiation.     

Catalytic enantioselective intermolecular cycloaddition of 2-diazo-3,6-diketoester-derived carbonyl ylides with alkynes and styrenes using chiral dirhodium(II) carboxylates

Dirhodium(II) tetrakis[ N-tetrachlorophthaloyl-( S)- tert-leucinate], Rh 2( S-TCPTTL) 4, is an exceptionally effective catalyst for enantioselective tandem carbonyl ylide formation-cycloaddition reactions of 2-diazo-3,6-diketoesters with arylacetylene, alkoxyacetylene, and styrene dipolarophiles, providing cycloadducts in good to high yields and with enantioselectivities of up to 99% ee as well as with perfect exo diastereoselectivity for styrenes.     

Chemiluminescence in anisotropic microenvironment: splitting of chemiluminescence efficiency for charge-transfer-induced decomposition of optically active bicyclic dioxetanes bearing a 2-hydroxy-1,1′-binaphthyl-4-yl moiety under chiral recognition

Four optical isomers of dioxetane 2 bearing a 2-hydroxy-1,1′-binaphthyl-4-yl moiety decomposed with accompanying emission of light on treatment with three base systems. The chemiluminescence efficiencies of all isomers were practically the same for tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) in DMSO system, whereas they split into two diastereomer-groups for 18-crown-6 ether complex of t-BuOK in benzene-THF system. For the base system using t-BuOK complex of optically active crown ether, (Ra,Ra)-7 or (Sa,Sa)-7, the chemiluminescence efficiencies split further into four. The shape of chemiluminescence spectrum, maximum wavelength, and the rate of decomposition were also different between each of the four stereoisomers.     

Reversible hydrogen storage property and structural analysis for face-centered cubic hydride Mg0.82Zr0.18H2 prepared by gigapascal hydrogen pressure method

The face-centered cubic (fcc) type magnesium-zirconium hydride (Mg0.82Zr0.18Hx) was synthesized by means of the ultrahigh pressure (UHP) technique, which could generate 8 GPa of hydrogen pressure. The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) measurements indicated that the fcc phase exhibited reversible hydrogen releasing and restoring properties under 0.5 MPa of hydrogen pressure. On the pressure-composition isotherms, the released and restored hydrogen capacities were estimated to be 3 approximately 3.5 wt %. The Rietveld analysis for synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) data showed that the fcc phase had around 70 wt % mass fraction and was preserved without decomposition during hydrogen releasing and restoring cycles.     

Ruthenium hydride-catalyzed addition of aldehydes to dienes leading to beta,gamma-unsaturated ketones

An efficient cross-addition reaction of dienes with aldehydes was developed by using RuHCl(CO)(PPh3)3 as a catalyst to give a wide variety of beta,gamma-unsaturated ketones, where a pi-allylruthenium species, derived from hydroruthenation of diene, may be involved as a key intermediate.     

A simple and rapid CZE method for the analysis of mycophenolic acid and its phenol glucuronide metabolite in human serum

A simple and rapid capillary electrophoretic method was developed for simultaneous determination of mycophenolic acid and its metabolite, phenol glucuronide, in human serum. The sample preparation in the proposed method required only the precipitation by acetonitrile. Separation was performed by capillary zone electrophoresis using 75 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.5) as running buffer, an applied voltage of 10 kV, and UV detection at 217 nm. Each serum sample analysis was completed within 15 min. The optimized method demonstrated good performance concerning specificity, linearity (r>0.9955), accuracy (95.9-113%), precision (<6.4%) and enough sensitivity for therapeutic drug monitoring. This method was successfully applied to measurements of mycophenolic acid and mycophenolic acid glucuronide in renal transplant patient samples and was a useful alternative to high-performance liquid chromatography-based methods.     

Characterizing the structural transition of cationic DPPC liposomes from the approach of TEM, SAXS and AFM measurements

The structural transition of L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes, caused by the addition of a small amount of stearylamine (SA), has been characterized. It has been reported that the shape of DPPC liposomes changes from multilamellar vesicles to large-unilamellar vesicles at the molar concentration ratio of DPPC/SA=9.5/0.5, however, the possible diving factors for this phenomenon have not so far been presented. Flat lipid membranes consisting of DPPC and SA, prepared by the quasi-Bangham method or the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique, are employed in this study when considering the molecular interaction in and between lipid membranes, which should play a key role for determining the liposome shape. The colloid probe atomic force microscopy reveals that the addition of SA results in an inter-film electrosteric repulsion. This repulsive interaction causes a significant increase in the inter-film distance, which is confirmed with freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy (FF-TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and thereby, the large-unilamellar vesicles are formed for reducing the inter- and intra-firm repulsive forces. Taking the molecular structures into consideration, it seems that the shape transition of DPPC liposomes results from such electrostatic interactions as well as packing geometry of the two components.     

Correction equations of coincidence summing using75Se radionuclide in the efficiency of HpGe detector

Correction equations of the coincidence-summing effect for efficiencies of HpGe detector based on the decay scheme were developed by considering the summing up to triple coincidence. The correction equations which do not dependent on the kind of the Ge detector are very useful for efficiency calibrations of a Ge detector in the energy region from 60 to 400 keV by using⁷⁵Se radionuclide even with very short source-to-detector distances.