Sensitive determination of josamycin and rokitamycin in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

Rokitamycin and josamycin were successfully derivatized with dansylhydrazine in 20 min at 60 degrees C. Rokitamycin and josamycin levels were determined in plasma after ion-pair extraction into hexane-isoamyl alcohol with lauryl sulphate and precolumn derivatization. Resolution was obtained by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (352/537 nm) in 12 min. The limit of detection was 20 ng/ml macrolide starting from 1 ml of plasma, and linearity was demonstrated between 50 and 400 ng/ml. Inter-run coefficients of variation were 10.2% at 100 ng/ml and 9.1% at 300 ng/ml. The system was reliably used for pharmacokinetic studies in plasma.     

Reactivity of monolayer-protected gold nanoclusters at dye-sensitized liquid/liquid interfaces

Hexanethiolate monolayer-protected gold nanoclusters (MPCs) were used as redox quenchers at the polarizable water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface. Photocurrent responses originating from the heterogeneous quenching of photoexcited water soluble porphyrin complexes by MPCs dissolved in the DCE phase were observed. As MPCs can function as both electron acceptors and donors, the photocurrent results from the superposition of two simultaneous processes, which correspond to the oxidation and reduction of MPCs. The magnitude of the net photocurrent is essentially determined by the balance of the kinetics of these two processes, which can be controlled by tuning the Galvani potential difference between the two phases. We show that, within the available potential window, the apparent electron-transfer rate constants follow classical Butler-Volmer dependence on the applied potential difference.     

Periodic Mesoporous Organosilica Nanoparticles for CO2 Adsorption at Standard Temperature and Pressure

(1) Background: Due to human activities, greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere are constantly rising, causing the greenhouse effect. Among GHGs, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is responsible for about two-thirds of the total energy imbalance which is the origin of the increase in the Earth’s temperature. (2) Methods: In this field, we describe the development of periodic mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (PMO NPs) used to capture and store CO₂ present in the atmosphere. Several types of PMO NP (bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTEE) as matrix, co-condensed with trialkoxysilylated aminopyridine (py) and trialkoxysilylated bipyridine (Etbipy and iPrbipy)) were synthesized by means of the sol-gel procedure, then characterized with different techniques (DLS, TEM, FTIR, BET). A systematic evaluation of CO₂ adsorption was carried out at 298 K and 273 K, at low pressure. (3) Results: The best values of CO₂ adsorption were obtained with 6% bipyridine: 1.045 mmol·g⁻¹ at 298 K and 2.26 mmol·g⁻¹ at 273 K. (4) Conclusions: The synthetized BTEE/aminopyridine or bipyridine PMO NPs showed significant results and could be promising for carbon capture and storage (CCS) application.     

Point mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants induce long-range dynamical perturbations in neutralizing antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies are emerging as a viable treatment for the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). However, newly evolved variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can reduce the efficacy of currently available antibodies and can diminish vaccine-induced immunity. Here, we demonstrate that the microscopic dynamics of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies can be profoundly modified by the mutations present in the spike proteins of the SARS-COV-2 variants currently circulating in the world population. The dynamical perturbations within the antibody structure, which alter the thermodynamics of antigen recognition, are diverse and can depend both on the nature of the antibody and on the spatial location of the spike mutation. The correlation between the motion of the antibody and that of the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) can also be changed, modulating binding affinity. Using protein-graph-connectivity networks, we delineated the mutant-induced modifications in the information-flow along allosteric pathway throughout the antibody. Changes in the collective dynamics were spatially distributed both locally and across long-range distances within the antibody. On the receptor side, we identified an anchor-like structural element that prevents the detachment of the antibodies; individual mutations there can significantly affect the antibody binding propensity. Our study provides insight into how virus neutralization by monoclonal antibodies can be impacted by local mutations in the epitope via a change in dynamics. This realization adds a new layer of sophistication to the efforts for rational design of monoclonal antibodies against new variants of SARS-CoV2, taking the allostery in the antibody into consideration.

Mutations in the new variants of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein modulates the dynamics of the neutralizing antibodies. Capturing such modulations from MD simulations and graph network model identifies the role of mutations in facilitating immune evasion.     

Toward reactant encapsulation for substrate-selectivity

A synthetic tris-(bis-(aminomethyl)pyridine) receptor was prepared in excellent yields via reversible imine condensation strategy. Catalytic activity in Henry reactions of the corresponding copper(II) complex was studied. Capitalizing on previous works by Anslyn with related receptors, the dramatic increase in basicity induced by this type of complex on diketo-derivatives was used to perform a nucleophilic addition of a deprotonated substrate onto an electrophile within the cavity. Hence, a Lewis acid stabilized nitronate was reacted with various aldehydes. A notable preference for small reactants easily accommodated in the cavity over encumbered ones was observed, thus representing an example of substrate-selectivity.     

A New Chemical Method to Desulfenylate Indol-3-yl Sulfides

Abstract

Desulfenylation of indol-3-yl sulfides liberates the most reactive position of the ring for further transformations. The usual procedure, utilizing Raney Nickel (P. G. Gassman, et. al., J. Am. Chem. SOC. 1974,96, 5495) offers a limited scope due to incompatibility of a number of functional groups towards the reducing agent. Based on our recent mechanistic studies of the acid-catalysed rearrangement of indol-3-yl sulfides to indol-2-yl sulfides (P. Hamel, et. al., Chem. Commun. 1989, 63; J. Org. Chem. 1992, 57, 2694), we have developed a novel, non-reductive desulfenylation method which permits easy access to 3-unsubstituted indoles bearing a wide array of substituents. Thus, 3-indolyl sulfides, readily obtained from appropriate phenylhydrazines (via Fischer indolization) or anilines (Gassman method, vide infra) are smoothly desulfenylated in good yields in trifluoroacetic acid in the presence of an appropriate nucleophilic trapping agent. Thiols proved to be very effective trapping agents and thiosalicylic acid (TSA) is a thiol of choice, being non-volatile and easily separable from reaction products.     

Longitudinal Relaxation Enhancement in 1H NMR Spectroscopy of Tissue Metabolites via Spectrally Selective Excitation

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is governed by longitudinal (T₁) relaxation. For protein and nucleic acid experiments in solutions, it is well established that apparent T₁ values can be enhanced by selective excitation of targeted resonances. The present study explores such longitudinal relaxation enhancement (LRE) effects for molecules residing in biological tissues. The longitudinal relaxation recovery of tissue resonances positioned both down‐ and upfield of the water peak were measured by spectrally selective excitation/refocusing pulses, and compared with conventional water‐suppressed, broadband‐excited counterparts at 9.4 T. Marked LRE effects with up to threefold reductions in apparent T₁ values were observed as expected for resonances in the 6–9 ppm region; remarkably, statistically significant LRE effects were also found for several non‐exchanging metabolite resonances in the 1–4 ppm region, encompassing 30–50 % decreases in apparent T₁ values. These LRE effects suggest a novel means of increasing the sensitivity of tissue‐oriented experiments, and open new vistas to investigate the nature of interactions among metabolites, water and macromolecules at a molecular level.     

The influence of nitrogen-15 proton-driven spin diffusion on the measurement of nitrogen-15 longitudinal relaxation times

The effect of nitrogen-15 proton-driven spin diffusion on quantitative (15)N T(1) measurements in solid proteins is investigated, and the impact on the measurement of dynamic parameters is assessed. A simple model of exchange between neighboring nitrogens is used to reproduce the evolution of (15)N spin systems whose longitudinal relaxation rates and exchange rates are compatible with experimental measurements. We show that the induced error in the measured T(1) and its effect on the determination of dynamics parameters is likely to be less than the current experimental error. The use of deuterated protein samples is shown to have a small but sometimes visible effect, and may also considerably slow down or even suppress the exchange of magnetization due to spin diffusion.     

Active mode locking of continuous-wave doubly and singly resonant optical parametric oscillators

We report on what we believe to be the first active mode locking of near-degenerate, doubly and singly resonant cw-pumped optical parametric oscillators (OPOs). We show experimentally that a steady-state regime of short pulses is reached in a few tens of microseconds under cw pumping. The oscillation buildup dynamics of both OPOs is also explored, evidencing an unusual transient behavior in the mode-locking process.