CCR5 antagonists: 3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propionic acid analogues with potent anti-HIV activity

[reaction: see text] A novel approach to alpha,alpha-disubstituted-beta-amino acids (beta(2,2)-amino acids) was employed in the synthesis of a series of 3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propionic acids possessing high affinity for the CCR5 receptor and potent anti-HIV activity. The rat pharmacokinetics for these new analogues featured higher bioavailabilities and lower rates of clearance as compared to cyclopentane 1.     

Fused‐ring nitrogen and sulfur heterocycles by a tandem SN2‐michael addition reaction

A tandem S_N2‐Michael addition reaction has been developed for the synthesis of cis‐ and trans‐fused nitrogen and sulfur heterocycles from the cis and trans isomers of ethyl (±)‐(2E)‐3‐[2‐(iodomethyl)cyclo‐hexyl]‐2‐propenoate. Octahydro‐1H‐isoindole‐1‐acetic acid and octahydrobenzo[c]thiophene‐1‐acetic acid derivatives have been prepared and their stereochemistries elucidated using NMR and X‐ray crystallo‐graphic methods. Cyclization substrates for both the cis‐ and the trans‐fused rings are readily available in four steps from known compounds. Yields for the cyclization range from 80‐85% and stereochemical selec‐tivities with respect to the side chain vary from 12.5‐16:1 for the cis‐fused structures to 6‐7.5:1 for the trans‐fused structures. Steric interactions in the transition states for ring closure are proposed to rationalize the observed preferences.     

The synthesis,characterization and melting properties of thiophene-containing dithiocarboxylate complexes of nickel(II)

The reactions of a series of 5-alkyl-2-thiophenedithiocarboxylates with nickel(II) chloride afforded two types of complexes, blue nickel(II) complexes with two terminal dithiocarboxylate ligands, [Ni(S₂CTR)₂] and violet nickel(II) complexes with perthio- and dithiocarboxylate ligands, [Ni(S₂CTR)(S₃CTR)] (where T = 2,5-disubstituted thiophene, R = C_nH_2n+1, n = 4, 6, 8, 12, 16). The blue monomers are preferred for the shorter chains (C₄ and C₆) and the violet compounds form exclusively for the longer chains (C₈, C₁₂, and C₁₆) in the alkylthiophene complexes. In addition to the above series, [Ni(S₂CTCH₃)₂], was prepared in a one-pot reaction in THF and both the blue and violet products were isolated. It was possible to convert the blue complexes [Ni(S₂CTR)₂] (R = butyl, hexyl) into the corresponding violet complexes [Ni(S₂CTR)(S₃CTR)] after stirring in THF solutions for prolonged periods of time. Liquid-crystalline properties of these complexes were examined by DSC and POM. The violet complexes with C₈ and C₁₂ alkyl chains showed liquid-crystalline properties.     

Automatic ignition of the sample vs. use of the bunsen burner in the rapid silver absorbent method for sulfur

Summary Comparable series of sulfur determinations by the silver absorbent method were performed on four test samples. One series was carried out with automatic ignition using a stationary electric sample burner during a constant time period for each analysis; the other series by igniting the sample with a Bunsen burner held in the hand until the last trace of sample disappeared.There was no obviously assured difference in the quality of the analytical figures obtained by the two methods of sample ignition. Statistical analysis of the data, however, disclosed that the automatic burner did actually give a slight improvement in precision over the hand burner although the ultimate limit of accuracy was the same in each case.

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Zusammenfassung Mit vier reinen Verbindungen wurden Reihenbestimmungen des Schwefels durch Verbrennung und Absorption des Schwefeltrioxyds an Silberwolle so ausgeführt, daß eine Reihe von Verbrennungen mit dem von Hand geführten Bunsenbrenner immer einer entsprechenden Reihe von Bestimmungen gegenübergestellt werden konnte, bei der die Verbrennung mit einem ruhenden, automatisch regulierten elektrischen Heizkörper erfolgte.Die Resultate der automatischen Verbrennungen zeigten eine so geringe Verbesserung gegenüber jenen, die durch Verbrennung mit dem handregulierten Bunsenbrenner erhalten wurden, daß der augenscheinliche Unterschied lediglich dem Zufall zugeschrieben werden könnte. Eine statistische Untersuchung zeigte, daß die automatische Verbrennung tatsächlich eine geringfügige Verbesserung der Präzision gibt, ohne jedoch die Genauigkeit der arithmetischen Mittel der Versuchsreihen merkbar zu ändern.

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Résumé On a effectué des déterminations de soufre en séries comparables par la méthode d'absorption par l'argent sur quatre échantillons types. L'une des séries comportait une combustion automatique à l'aide d'un brûleur électrique fixe pendant un temps constant pour chaque analyse. L'autre série comportait l'emploi d'un becBunsen conduit à la main pour la combustion de l'échantillon jusqu'à disparition de ses dernières traces.On n'a constaté aucune différence marquée dans la qualité des résultats analytiques obtenus par l'une ou l'autre méthode de combustion de l'échantillon. L'analyse statistique des résultats obtenus fait cependant apparaître une légère amélioration de la précision lorsque le brûleur automatique est substitué au brûleur à main bien que les écarts extrêmes obtenus soient les mêmes pour chacun des cas.

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To Prof. Dr.Hans Lieb at his 70th birthday.     

INFLUENCE OF PHOTON FLUX DENSITY IN THE 400–700 nm WAVEBAND ON INHIBITION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS BY UV-B (280–320 nm) IRRADIATION IN SOYBEAN LEAVES: SEPARATION OF INDIRECT AND IMMEDIATE EFFECTS

Abstract— Visible radiation can substantially influence the degree to which plant photosynthesis is inhibited by UV-B radiation. This study was designed to separate the immediate effects of visible radiation on UV-B photosynthetic inhibition from the indirect influence of visible irradiation on morphological and physiological properties of leaves during leaf development. Soybean plants were pretreated in growth chambers with either high or low visible irradiance (750 and 70 μmol m^-2s^-1 quantum flux in the 400–700 nm waveband, respectively) during the development of leaves used subsequently for UV irradiation. Test leaves still attached to the plant were exposed to 5 h of polychromatic UV-B irradiation and the photosynthetic capacity (net CO₂ exchange) was determined before and after the UV irradiation. During the UV irradiation, plants from both pretreatment groups received either high or low visible flux. Development of leaves in the high visible flux pretreatment conditions resulted in thicker leaves, higher chlorophyll a/b ratios, more UV-absorbing pigments, and reduced sensitivity to the UV-B irradiation. However, higher visible flux during the UV-B irradiation resulted in greater depression of photosynthesis by the UV-B irradiation. The relative magnitude of photosynthetic depression under these treatment combinations was the same when photosynthesis was measured under either light-limited or light-saturated conditions.     

Solid phase immune reactions as monitored by sedimentation field-flow fractionation

Summary Sedimentation field-flow fractionation was shown to permit the precise evaluation of surface concentrations of human IgG, adsorbed to polystyrene latex spheres of different sizes. Unlike conventional techniques for measuring protein uptake by colloidal substrates, this method allowed a direct evaluation of mass adsorbed per unit area, without the need for potentially destructive labelling reactions. Thus, a four hour adsorption of IgG from a 3–10 fold excess of protein in solution yielded surface concentrations which were 1.4±0.1 mg/m² on a 272 nm latex and 1.9±0.1 mg/m² on a latex with a diameter of 142 nm. The lower value coincided with the estimated monolayer surface coverage. The IgG-PS 272 nm adsorption complex was shown to take up negligible amounts of HSA from a 10 mg/mL solution, while its specific uptake of a polyclonal rabbit anti-human IgG was 2.6 molecules per molecule of adsorbed antigen. The same ratio was found for the smaller particles. The surface concentration of adsorbed second antibody, often crucial in immunodiagnostic quantifications, was therefore found to be significantly enhanced by the increased substrate curvature presented by the smaller particles.Dedicated to Professor Leslie S. Ettre on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

One site fits both: A model for the ternary complex of folate + NADPH in R67 dihydrofolate reductase, a D2 symmetric enzyme

R67 dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is a novel enzyme that confers resistance to the antibiotic trimethoprim. The crystal structure of R67 DHFR displays a toroidal structure with a central active-site pore. This homotetrameric protein exhibits 222 symmetry, with only a few residues from each chain contributing to the active site, so related sites must be used to bind both substrate (dihydrofolate) and cofactor (NADPH) in the productive R67 DHFR?NADPH?dihydrofolate complex. Whereas the site of folate binding has been partially resolved crystallographically, an interesting question remains: how can the highly symmetrical active site also bind and orient NADPH for catalysis? To model this ternary complex, we employed DOCK and SLIDE, two methods for docking flexible ligands into proteins using quite different algorithms. The bound pteridine ring of folate (Fol I) from the crystal structure of R67 DHFR was used as the basis for docking the nicotinamide-ribose-P_i (NMN) moiety of NADPH. NMN was positioned by both DOCK and SLIDE on the opposite side of the pore from Fol I, where it interacts with Fol I at the pore's center. Numerous residues serve dual roles in binding. For example, Gln 67 from both the B and D subunits has several contacts with the pteridine ring, while the same residue from the A and C subunits has several contacts with the nicotinamide ring. The residues involved in dual roles are generally amphipathic, allowing them to make both hydrophobic and hydrophilic contacts with the ligands. The result is a `hot spot' binding surface allowing the same residues to co-optimize the binding of two ligands, and orient them for catalysis.     

In-lens cryo-high resolution scanning electron microscopy: methodologies for molecular imaging of self-assembled organic hydrogels.

The micro- and nanoarchitectures of water-swollen hydrogels were routinely analyzed in three dimensions at very high resolution by two cryopreparation methods that provide stable low-temperature specimens for in-lens high magnification recordings. Gemini surfactants (gS), poly-N-isopropylacrylamides (p-NIP Am), and elastin-mimetic di- (db-E) and triblock (tb-E) copolymer proteins that form hydrogels have been routinely analyzed to the sub-10-nm level in a single day. After they were quench or high pressure frozen, samples in bulk planchets were subsequently chromium coated and observed at low temperature in an in-lens field emission SEM. Pre-equilibrated planchets (4-40 degrees C) that hold 5-10 microl of hydrogel facilitate dynamic morphological studies above and below their transition temperatures. Rapidly frozen samples were fractured under liquid nitrogen, low-temperature metal coated, and observed in-lens to assess the dispersion characteristics of micelles and fragile colloidal assemblies within bulk frozen water. Utilizing the same planchet freezing system, the cryoetch-HRSEM technique removed bulk frozen water from the hydrogel matrix by low-temperature, high-vacuum sublimation. The remaining frozen solid-state sample faithfully represented the hydrogel matrix. Cryo- and cryoetch-HRSEM provided vast vistas of hydrogels at low and intermediate magnifications whereas high magnification recordings and anaglyphs (stereo images) provided a three-dimensional prospective and measurements on a molecular level.     

Reactions of CF3-enones with ethyl nitroacetate and nitromethane: synthesis of CF3-γ-nitroketones

Reactions of α,β-unsaturated CF₃-ketones with nitromethane and ethyl nitroacetate have been investigated. We found that α,β-unsaturated trifluoromethylketones react with ethyl nitroacetate in the presence of calcinated potassium fluoride to form two classes of 1,4-conjugated addition products: CF₃-γ-nitroketones and 6,6,6-trifluoro-2-nitro-5-oxohexanoates in nearly quantitative yields. The products obtained are precursors for CF₃-pyrrolidine synthesis.