Design and synthesis of aromatic inhibitors of anthranilate synthase

Aromatic analogues of chorismate were synthesised as potential inhibitors of anthranilate synthase. Molecular modelling using GOLD2.1 showed that these analogues docked into the active site of Serratia marcescens anthranilate synthase in the same conformation as chorismate. Most compounds were found to be micromolar inhibitors of S. marcescens anthranilate synthase. The most potent analogue, 3-(1-carboxy-ethoxy)-4-hydroxybenzoate (K(I) 3 microM), included a lactyl ether side chain. This appears to be a good replacement for the enol-pyruvyl side chain of chorismate.     

Evaluation of micellar liquid chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis for dope control in sport

Micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) have been evaluated for the analysis of twelve banned drugs in sport including diuretics and -blockers. In MLC, a sodium dodecylsulphate aqueous solution has been used as mobile phase using an octadecylsilica column. In CZE, a pH 8 buffer solution and a silica capillary have been employed. Parameters of retention and efficiency have been compared. Limits of detection with UV detection at 254 nm and relative standard deviations for atenolol, furosemide, nadolol, spironolactone and triamterene were established and compared in both techniques. Examples of direct urine injection into the separation systems are presented. Drugs overlapping in MLC are well resolved in CZE, while the opposite is true for a limited number of drugs. Some interferences from urine may arise in CZE. The selectivity of analysis would be greatly enhanced by using both techniques, which require only filtration as pre-treatment.     

SOOT combustion. co and k catalysts supported on different supports

The catalytic combustion of particulate material was studied on cobalt catalysts promoted with potassium using different supports for its preparation. Silica, aluminium oxides and hydroxides, zirconium oxide and hydroxide were used as supports. The catalytic activity for combustion depends on the type of support used, the higher activity corresponding to the supported catalyst on zirconium oxide. TPR studies indicate that the interaction metal/support allows to explain the higher activity of the CoK/SiO₂ catalyst with respect to the CoK/Al₂O₃ but the high activity found in CoK/ZrO₂is not explained by this interaction. In all cases the Co and K improved the performance of the catalysts.     

Cycloaddition reaction of 2-azadienes derived from beta-amino acids with electron-rich and electron-deficient alkenes and carbonyl compounds. Synthesis of pyridine and 1,3-oxazine derivatives

Functionalized keto-enamines 6 were obtained by nucleophilic addition of enol ethers to the imine moiety of 2-azadienes derived from dehydroaspartic esters 4. Reactions of 2-azadiene 4c containing three electron-withdrawing substituents (CO(2)R) with enol ethers 5 in the presence of lithium perchlorate led to the formation of tetrahydropyridine derivatives 7 in a regio- and stereoselective fashion. 2H-[1,3]-oxazines 10 and pyridine derivatives 12 and 13 were obtained by heterocycloaddition reactions of electron-poor azadienes 4d-g containing two electron-withdrawing substituents (4-O(2)N-C(6)H(4), CO(2)R) in positions 1 and 4 with carbonyl derivatives (ethyl glyoxalate 9a and diethyl ketomalonate 9b) and the electron-deficient olefin tetracyanoethylene 11.     

Direct, two-step synthetic pathway to novel dibenzo[a,c]phenanthridines

Novel dibenzo[a,c]phenanthridines are prepared regioselectively by the application of a straightforward synthetic pathway, starting from new 3,4-diaryl- and 3,4-dihydro-3,4-diarylisoquinolines prepared via Ritter-type heterocyclization and the more classical two-step reductive amination/Bischler-Napieralski cyclization of triarylethanones, respectively. A comparative study of nonphenolic oxidative coupling methodologies provides a highly efficient procedure, based on the hypervalent iodine reagent phenyliodine(III) bis(trifluoroacetate) (PIFA), to accomplish the final coupling step.     

Identification of 4-amino-4-deoxychorismate synthase as the molecular target for the antimicrobial action of (6s)-6-fluoroshikimate

(6S)-6-Fluoroshikimate has antimicrobial activity. The molecular basis of this effect had not been identified, but there was speculation that (6S)-6-fluoroshikimate is first converted in vivo into 2-fluorochorismate, which then could inhibit 4-amino-4-deoxychorismate synthase (ADCS). 2-Fluorochorismate was prepared from E-fluorophosphoenolpyruvate and erythose-4-phosphate by the sequential reactions of DAHP synthase, dehydroquinate synthase, dehydroquinase, shikimate dehydrogenase, EPSP synthase, and chorismate synthase. Inhibition studies on ADCS showed that it was inhibited rapidly and irreversibly by 2-fluorochorismate. Electrospray mass spectrometry of the inactivated enzyme showed an additional mass of 198 +/- 10 Da. A novel peptide of 1087.6 Da was identified in the HPLC trace for the tryptic digest of 2-fluorochorismate-inactivated ADCS. Sequencing of this peptide by MS/MS showed that the peptide corresponded to residues 272-279 with a modification of 206.1 Da on Lys-274. This observation is particularly exciting in the context of a recent proposal for the catalytic mechanism of ADCS.     

An advantageous route to oxcarbazepine (trileptal) based on palladium-catalyzed arylations free of transmetallating agents

[reaction: see text] A new route to oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), the most widely prescribed antiepileptic drug, starting from commercially available 2'-aminoacetophenone and 1,2-dibromobenzene, is reported. The sequentially accomplished key steps are palladium-catalyzed intermolecular alpha-arylation of ketone enolates and intramolecular N-arylation reactions. After several experiments to establish the best conditions for both arylation processes, the target oxcarbazepine is obtained in a satisfactory overall yield, minimizing the number of steps and employing scalable catalytic procedures developed in partially aqueous media.     

SUPPRESSION OF THE INDUCTION OF DELAYED-TYPE HYPERSENSITIVITY REACTIONS IN MICE BY A SINGLE EXPOSURE TO ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

Abstract— After a single exposure of mice to UV radiation, their ability to generate a contact hypersensitivity (CHS) response to contact sensitizers applied epicutaneously to distant, unirradiated skin is severely impaired. It is not clear, however, if the classic delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reponse to exogenous antigens, injected into the subcutaneous (s.c.) space, can also be modulated by UV radiation. We report here that a single exposure of mice to UV radiation suppressed the induction of DTH to both erythrocyte and soluble protein antigens injected s.c., but did not suppress the elicitation of the response. The suppressive effect was abrogated by cyclophosphamide treatment. In addition, antigen-specific suppressor cells were found in the spleens of the mice with a decreased DTH response. Since the ability to mount a DTH response has been linked with the resistance to certain pathogenic microorganisms, we suggest that the suppression of DTH by UV radiation may have the potential to compromise host resistance to such infectious agents.     

Molecular imprinting technology in capillary electrochromatography

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are tailor-made synthetic polymers with a predetermined selectivity for a given analyte, or group of structurally related compounds, that make them ideal materials for use as stationary phases in affinity chromatography. However, extensive peak broadening and tailing, especially of the more retained compound (normally the template) are often observed. Thus, huge efforts have been made during recent years to use MIPs in capillary electrochromatography, which is inherently a more efficient chromatographic technique than conventional HPLC. Accordingly, this paper gives an overview of the attempts carried out in the recent past to improve the chromatographic performance of MIPs in capillary electrochromatography as well as more recent applications. It is concluded that MIPs are very promising materials for use as selective stationary phases in CEC.     

The mechanism of proton transfer between adjacent sites exposed to water

The surface of a protein, or a membrane, is spotted with a multitude of proton-binding sites, some of which are only a few angstroms apart. When a proton is released from one site, it propagates through the water by a random walk under the bias of the local electrostatic potential determined by the distribution of the charges on the protein. Some of the released protons disperse into the bulk, but during the first few nanoseconds, the released protons can be trapped by encounter with nearby acceptor sites. This process resembles a scenario which corresponds with the time-dependent Debye-Smoluchowski equation. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of proton transfer between sites that are only a few angstroms apart, using as a model the proton exchange between sites on a small molecule, fluorescein, having two, spectrally distinguishable, proton-binding sites. The first site is the oxyanion on the chromophore ring structure. The second site is the carboxylate moiety on the benzene ring of the molecule. Through our experiments, we were able to reconstruct the state of protonation at each site and the velocity of proton transfer between them. The fluorescein was protonated by a few nanosecond long proton pulse under specific conditions that ensured that the dye molecules would be protonated only by a single proton. The dynamics of the protonation of the chromophore were measured under varying initial conditions (temperature, ionic strength, and different solvents (H(2)O or D(2)O)), and the velocity of the proton transfer between the two sites was extracted from the overall global analysis of the signals. The dynamics of the proton transfer between the two proton-binding sites of the fluorescein indicated that the efficiency of the site-to-site proton transfer is very sensitive to the presence of the screening electrolyte and has a very high kinetic isotope effect (KIE = 55). These two parameters clearly distinguish the mechanism from proton diffusion in bulk water. The activation energy of the reaction (E(a) = 11 kcal mol(-1)) is also significantly higher than the activation energy for proton dissociation in bulk water (E(a) approximately 2.5 kcal mol(-1)). These observations are discussed with respect to the effect of the solute on the water molecules located within the solvation layer.