Synthesis of novel 1,4‐dihydropyrido[3′,2′:5,6]thiopyrano[4,3‐c]‐pyrazoles and 5H‐pyrido[3′,2′:5,6]thiopyrano[4,3‐d]pyrimidines as potential antiproliferative agents

The synthesis of new planar derivatives characterized by the presence of a pyridothiopyranopyrazole or pyridothiopyranopyrimidine nucleus, carrying a substituted aryl group, is reported. The novel 1,4‐dihydropyrido[3′,2′:5,6]thiopyrano[4,3‐c]pyrazole derivatives were obtained by condensation of 2,3‐dihydro‐3‐hydroxymethylenethiopyrano[2,3‐b]pyridin‐4(4H)‐ones with appropriate hydrazines. The preparation of 2‐substituted pyrido[3′,2′:5,6]thiopyrano[4,3‐d]pyrimidines was accomplished from the intermediate 2,3‐dihy‐dro‐3‐dimethylaminomethylenethiopyrano[2,3‐b]pyridin‐4(4H)‐ones by reaction with the appropriate binucleophile amidines. The antiproliferative activity of some new products was tested by an in vitro assay on human tumour cell lines (HL‐60 and HeLa), but none of them showed any significant effects in the tests performed. Accordingly, linear flow dichroism measurements indicated their inability to form a molecular complex with DNA.     

Copper(II) interaction with unstructured prion domain outside the octarepeat region: speciation, stability, and binding details of copper(II) complexes with PrP106-126 peptides

Copper(II) complexes of the neurotoxic peptide fragments of human and chicken prion proteins were studied by potentiometric, UV-vis, CD, and EPR spectroscopic and ESI-MS methods. The peptides included the terminally blocked native and scrambled sequences of HuPrP106-126 (HuPrPAc106-126NH2 and ScrHuPrPAc106-126NH2) and also the nona- and tetrapeptide fragments of both the human and chicken prion proteins (HuPrPAc106-114NH2, ChPrPAc119-127NH2, HuPrPAc109-112NH2, and ChPrPAc122-125NH2). The histidyl imidazole-N donor atoms were found to be the major copper(II) binding sites of all peptides; 3N and 4N complexes containing additional 2 and 3 deprotonated amide-N donors, respectively, are the major species in the physiological pH range. The complex formation processes for nona- and tetrapeptides are very similar, supporting the fact that successive deprotonation and metal ion coordination of amide functions go toward the N-termini in the form of joined six- and five-membered chelates. As a consequence, the peptide sequences investigated here, related to the neurotoxic region of the human PrP106-126 sequence, show a higher metal-binding affinity than the octarepeat fragments. In the case of the HuPrP peptide sequences, a weak pH-dependent binding of the Met109 residue was also detected in the 3N-coordinated complexes.     

Synthesis of trimethylammoniumphenylthio-substituted phthalocyanines with different pattern of substitution

The base-catalyzed cyclotetramerization of 3-, 4- and 4,5-dimethylaminophenylthio phthalonitriles with zinc(II)acetate afforded 1(4),8(11),15(18),22(25)- and 2(3),9(10),16(17),23(24)-tetrasubstituted and 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octasubstituted Zn(II)phthalocyanines, respectively. The statistical mixed condensation of the same phthalonitriles with 1,2-dicyanobenzene gave the corresponding mono- and disubstituted derivatives. Methylation of such products afforded a series of cationic Zn(II)phthalocyanines with different pattern of substitution, with potential use as photodynamic agents in microbial infections.     

Conformational Studies by Dynamic NMR. 57.(1) Stereodynamics of Syn-Anti Interconversion of Disubstituted Acyl Durenes

The orthogonal syn and anti isomers, originated by the restricted rotation about the Ar-C(O)Bu(t) single bonds in 1,4-bis(2,2-dimethylpropanoyl)durene (2e), have been separated by preparative thin layer chromatography. In solution they reach an equilibrium where the syn-anti ratio depends upon the polarity of the solvent. This allowed us to assign the anti structure, which has a null dipole moment, to the least retained isomer. The free energy of activation (DeltaG) for the interconversion was found to be 22.5 kcal mol(-)(1), a value high enough for identifying these species as configurational isomers. When less hindered derivatives, also having two RCO (R = Pr(i), Et, Me) substituents in the positions 1,4 of the durene moiety, were examined, the syn and anti forms could be detected only at low temperature by means of NMR spectroscopy. The corresponding interconversion barriers (DeltaG = 13.4, 11.7, 10.9 kcal mol(-)(1), respectively) are, in fact, much lower than for R = Bu(t), indicating that in these cases we are dealing with conformational rather than with configurational isomers.     

Simultaneous determination of concentration,diffusion coefficient and number of electrons for electroactive species by combining suitable electroanalytical measurements

The electroanalytical method described for the simultaneous determination of concentration, the number of electrons involved in the redox process and diffusion coefficient is based on evaluation of the ratios between the currents recorded for the analyte and for an easily standardized reference species dissolved in the same medium. Three different electroanalytical techniques are used in which the currents exhibit, for two techniques at least, different dependences on both the diffusion coefficient and electron number. The approach is applicable to diffusion-controlled processes, regardless of the degree of reversibility involved. Reliability tests with electroactive organic compounds dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide show that both accuracy and precision are within 10% depending on the chosen combination of techniques.     

Environmental effects on a prion's helix II domain: copper(II) and membrane interactions with PrP180-193 and its analogues

An abnormal interaction between copper and the prion protein is believed to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of prion diseases. Copper binding has been mainly attributed to the N-terminal domain of the prion protein, but this hypothesis has recently been challenged in some papers which suggest that the C-terminal domain might also compete for metal anchoring. In particular, the segment corresponding to the helix II region of the prion protein, namely PrP180-193, has been shown both to bind copper and to exhibit a copper-enhanced cytotoxicity, as well as to interact with artificial membranes. The present work is aimed at extending these results by choosing the most representative model of this domain and by determining its copper affinity. With this aim, the different role played by the electrostatic properties of the C- and N-termini of PrP180-193 (VNITIKQHTVTTTT) in determining its conformational behaviour, copper coordination and ability to perturb model membranes was investigated. Owing to the low solubility of PrP180-193, its copper affinity was evaluated by using the shorter PrPAc184-188NH2 (IKQHT) analogue as a model. ESI-MS, ESR, UV/Vis, and CD measurements were carried out on the copper(II)/PrPAc184-188NH2 and copper(II)/PrP180-193NH2 systems, and showed that PrPAc184-188NH2 is a reliable model for the metal interaction with the helix II domain. The affinity of copper(II) for the helix II fragment is higher than that for the octarepeat and PrP106-126 peptides. Finally, the different ability of PrP180-193 analogues to perturb the DPPC model membrane was assessed by DSC measurements. The possible biological consequences of these findings are also discussed briefly.     

Effect of delay time and grid voltage changes on the average molecular mass of polydisperse polymers and polymeric blends determined by delayed extraction matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The dependence of the calculated average molecular mass of a polyethylene glycol with a large polydispersity on the instrumental parameters adopted in the acquisition of mass spectra using delayed extraction matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DE MALDI-TOFMS) was investigated. It has been shown that a combined effect of delay times and potential gradients can act on the ion cloud in the source chamber affecting both mass resolution and average molecular mass value of the analyzed polymeric sample. Also examined was a blend of two different polymers (a PEG and a PMMA commercial sample having a similar average molecular mass), which presents an additional problem concerning the discrimination among the different polymer species as a function of the experimental conditions. In this work, the best instrumental conditions to obtain both good resolution and a correct average molecular mass for the examined polydisperse sample are reported.     

alpha-(Arylthio)imidoyl Radicals: [3 + 2] Radical Annulation of Aryl Isothiocyanates with 2-Cyano-Substituted Aryl Radicals

A novel cascade radical reaction is described involving aryl isothiocyanates and 2-cyanoaryl radicals. The mechanism entails the formation of an alpha-(arylthio)imidoyl radical, a 5-exo-dig cyclization onto a cyano group, and a final 6-membered ring closure of an iminyl radical. The competitive 5-membered spiro-cyclization of the iminyl, leading to an isomeric product, was only observed in the case of a disubstituted aryl isothiocyanate. The whole process involves a rare example of [3 + 2] radical annulation and allows the one-pot synthesis of tetracondensed nitrogen heterocycles in good yields.     

Synthesis of chiral β-3-amino-2-hydroxyalkanoates and 3-alkyl-3-hydroxy-β-lactams by double asymmetric induction

Reactions of chiral (2S)-enolates of dioxolan-4-ones, derived from lactic, mandelic, and phenyllactic acids, with aliphatic (S_S)- and (S_R)-tert-butylsulfinyl aldimines afforded conformationally restrained C2-disubstituted N,O-orthogonally protected 3-amino-2-hydroxyalkanoates in the form of N-sulfinyl protected 1′-aminodioxolan-4-ones. The product distribution showed that there is significant kinetic selectivity, due to the presence of ‘matched’ and ‘mismatched’ components, between the (S)- or (R)-tert-butylsulfinyl aldimines and the (2S)-enolates of the 1,3-dioxolan-4-ones. Selective methoxide-induced removal of the acetal group of the N-sulfinyl-1′-aminodioxolanones yielded the corresponding N-sulfinyl protected methyl alkanoates. In addition, the selective acid-induced removal of the sulfinyl group of the N-sulfinyl-1′-aminodioxolanones provided the corresponding N-unprotected 1′-aminodioxolanones, whose base-induced cyclization afforded the corresponding β-lactams.