New cytotoxic bufadienolides from the biotransformation of resibufogenin by Mucor polymorphosporus

Resibufogenin is a cytotoxic steroid isolated from the Chinese drug ChanSu. The biotransformation of resibufogenin by Mucor polymorphosporus afforded 22 products, and 15 of them were new. The transformation reactions involved hydroxylations at C-1β, C-5, C-7α, C-7β, C-12α, C-12β and C-16α, as well as epimerization or dehydrogenation of 3-OH. Hydroxylations at C-12α, C-12β and C-16α were the major reactions, each giving products in >5% yields, whereas the other products were obtained in fairly low yields. Some of the products showed decreased but still potent cytotoxicities. This investigation provided a useful approach to prepare new bufadienolides and most of them were difficult to obtain by chemical means.     

The Structure of Bis[N‐6‐aminopyridyl‐N‐(1S)‐(+)‐10‐camphorsulfonylamino]palladium in the Solid State and in Solution

The complex, bis[N‐6‐aminopyridyl‐N‐(1S)‐(+)‐10‐camphorsulfonylamino]palladium, Pd[(S)‐APCS]₂, 1 , was prepared by reaction of 2‐[(1S)‐(+)‐10‐camphorsulfonamino]‐6‐aminopyridine with PdCl₂ in THF. Complex 1 has been characterized by spectroscopic methods and its structure has been determined by X‐ray crystallography. Crystal data: space group C2, a= 16.082 (2), b = 17.104 (2), c = 13.051 (2)Å, β = 99.95 (1)°, V = 3535.9 (8) ų, Z = 2 with final residuals R1 = 0.0491 and wR2 = 0.0944. Two independent molecules, (S,S)‐Pd[(S)‐APCS]2, 1a , and (R,R)‐Pd[(S)‐APCS]2, 1b , were found in each asymmetric unit, which exchange to each other via a series of nitrogen inversion and C‐C bond rotation. The inversion energy (ΔGc₁^≠) and the energy barrier (δGc₂^≠) were 11.5 ± 0.1 Kcal mol^?1 at 246 K and 9.8 ± 0.1 Kcal mol^?1 at 199 K, respectively, calculated by dynamic NMR data.     

Total Synthesis of (+)‐β‐Himachalene

An enantioselective synthesis of (+)‐β‐himachalene ( 2 ) was accomplished starting from (1S,2R)‐1,2‐epoxy‐p‐menth‐8‐ene ( 3 ) in 15 or 16 steps with an overall yield of ca. 6% (Schemes 3, 5, and 6). Key transformations include an Ireland–Claisen rearrangement, a Corey oxidative cyclization, and a ring expansion.     

Electrochemically Enabled Intramolecular Aminooxygenation of Alkynes via Amidyl Radical Cyclization

An electrochemical synthesis of oxazol‐2‐ones and imidazol‐2‐ones has been developed via 5‐exo‐dig cyclization of propargylic carbamates‐ and ureas‐derived amidyl radicals. The electrosynthesis relies on the dual function of 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidin‐ 1‐yl)oxyl (TEMPO) as a redox mediator for amidyl radical formation and an oxygen atom donor. The reactions are conducted under mild conditions using a simple setup and provide convenient access to functionalized oxazol‐2‐ones and imidazol‐2‐ones from readily available materials.     

Second‐Generation Inhibitors for the Metalloprotease Neprilysin Based on Bicyclic Heteroaromatic Scaffolds: Synthesis,Biological Activity,and X‐Ray Crystal‐Structure Analysis

A new class of nonpeptidic inhibitors of the Zn^II‐dependent metalloprotease neprilysin with IC₅₀ values in the nanomolar activity range (0.034–0.30 μM ) were developed based on structure‐based de novo design (Figs. 1 and 2). The inhibitors feature benzimidazole and imidazo[4,5‐c]pyridine moieties as central scaffolds to undergo H‐bonding to Asn542 and Arg717 and to engage in favorable π‐π stacking interactions with the imidazole ring of His711. The platform is decorated with a thiol vector to coordinate to the Zn^II ion and an aryl residue to occupy the hydrophobic S1′ pocket, but lack a substituent for binding in the S2′ pocket, which remains closed by the side chains of Phe106 and Arg110 when not occupied. The enantioselective syntheses of the active compounds (+)‐ 1 , (+)‐ 2 , (+)‐ 25 , and (+)‐ 26 were accomplished using Evans auxiliaries (Schemes 2, 4, and 5). The inhibitors (+)‐ 2 and (+)‐ 26 with an imidazo[4,5‐c]pyridine core are ca. 8 times more active than those with a benzimidazole core ((+)‐ 1 and (+)‐ 25 ) (Table 1). The predicted binding mode was established by X‐ray analysis of the complex of neprilysin with (+)‐ 2 at 2.25‐Å resolution (Fig. 4 and Table 2). The ligand coordinates with its sulfanyl residue to the Zn^II ion, and the benzyl residue occupies the S1′ pocket. The 1H‐imidazole moiety of the central scaffold forms the required H‐bonds to the side chains of Asn542 and Arg717. The heterobicyclic platform additionally undergoes π‐π stacking with the side chain of His711 as well as edge‐to‐face‐type interactions with the side chain of Trp693. According to the X‐ray analysis, the substantial advantage in biological activity of the imidazo‐pyridine inhibitors over the benzimidazole ligands arises from favorable interactions of the pyridine N‐atom in the former with the side chain of Arg102. Unexpectedly, replacement of the phenyl group pointing into the deep S1′ pocket by a biphenyl group does not enhance the binding affinity for this class of inhibitors.     

Comparative study on the inclusion behaviour of cyclodextrin derivatives with venoruton and rutin by thin layer chromatography

The interaction of rutin and venoruton (troxerutin), with alpha-, beta- and gamma-cyclodextrin (CD), hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) and methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (M-beta-CD) was investigated by reversed-phase thin layer chromatography on polyamide plates. A mobile phase consisted of NH(4)OH; NH(4)Cl buffer solution containing various CD concentrations (pH = 9.7, 20 degrees C) was used as mobile phase. The equilibrium constants (K(f)) and the retention factor (R(f)) were determined and used to study the inclusion process. The in fluence of CDs on the solubility of rutin and venoruton was characterized by R(M) values and the increasing hydrophilicity of drugs. The results show that the inclusion capacity of cyclodextrins follows the order HP-beta-CD > M-beta-CD > beta-CD > gamma-CD, and rutin is more easily included by the studied cyclodextrins than venoruton. In addition, the thermodynamic parameters (Delta H, Delta S) for the formation of complexes were obtained from the van't Hoff equation, displaying the enthalpy-entropy compensation effect.     

Two N,N′‐diaryl‐2,2,2‐trichloroethane‐1,1‐diamines: hydrogen‐bonded supramolecular structures in one and two dimensions

The molecules of 2,2,2‐trichloro‐N,N′‐diphenylethane‐1,1‐diamine, C₁₄H₁₃Cl₃N₂, are linked into (040) sheets by a combination of C—H...Cl and C—H...π(arene) hydrogen bonds. In 2,2,2‐trichloro‐N,N′‐bis(4‐methylphenyl)ethane‐1,1‐diamine, C₁₆H₁₇Cl₃N₂, the molecules are linked into C(7) chains by two independent C—H...Cl hydrogen bonds and one Cl...Cl contact.     

Thermodynamic Parameters for the Association of Fluorinated Benzenesulfonamides with Bovine Carbonic Anhydrase II

This paper describes a calorimetric study of the association of a series of seven fluorinated benzenesulfonamide ligands (C₆H_nF_5?nSO₂NH₂) with bovine carbonic anhydrase II (BCA). Quantitative structure–activity relationships between the free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of binding and pK_a and log P of the ligands allowed the evaluation of the thermodynamic parameters in terms of the two independent effects of fluorination on the ligand: its electrostatic potential and its hydrophobicity. The parameters were partitioned to the three different structural interactions between the ligand and BCA: the Zn^II cofactor–sulfonamide bond (≈65 % of the free energy of binding), the hydrogen bonds between the ligand and BCA (≈10 %), and the contacts between the phenyl ring of the ligand and BCA (≈25 %). Calorimetry revealed that all of the ligands studied bind in a 1:1 stoichiometry with BCA; this result was confirmed by ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy and X‐ray crystallography (for complexes with human carbonic anhydrase II).     

A new tetrathiafulvalene–diamide cation salt with [Cu2Br4]2− anions

The title salt, bis[2,3‐bis(aminocarbonyl)‐8,9‐bis(methylsulfanyl)tetrathiafulvalenium] di‐μ‐bromido‐bis[bromidocopper(II)], (C₁₀H₁₀N₂O₂S₆)₂[Cu₂Br₄], contains 2,3‐bis(aminocarbonyl)‐8,9‐bis(methylsulfanyl)tetrathiafulvalenium radical cations, [DMT‐TTF(CONH₂)₂]^·+, and [Cu₂Br₄]²⁻ anions. The cations are associated across centres of inversion in a head‐to‐tail fashion via short face‐to‐face S...S stacking (TTF moiety). These dimers are further assembled into a one‐dimensional chain structure via interdimer double S...S contacts involving the methylsulfanyl groups. The one‐dimensional chains give rise to a two‐dimensional structure through intermolecular double N—H...O hydrogen bonds involving the amide group. The [Cu₂Br₄]²⁻ anions, which straddle centres of inversion, are located between the cation layers. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements show a radical signal, indicating that the two TTF^·+ radicals are not completely coupled in the dimer.     

LapRLSR for NIR spectral modeling and its application to online monitoring of the column separation of Salvianolate

A novel near infrared (NIR) modeling method—Laplacian regularized least squares regression (LapRLSR) was presented, which can take the advantage of many unlabeled spectra to promote the prediction performance of the model even if there are only few calibration samples. Using LapRLSR modeling, NIR spectral analysis was applied to the online monitoring of the concentration of salvia acid B in the column separation of Salvianolate. The results demonstrated that LapRLSR outperformed partial least squares (PLS) significantly, and NIR online analysis was applicable.