Design and synthesis of a new class of membrane-permeable triazaborolopyridinium fluorescent probes

A new class of fluorescent triazaborolopyridinium compounds was synthesized from hydrazones of 2-hydrazinylpyridine (HPY) and evaluated as potential dyes for live-cell imaging applications. The HPY dyes are small, their absorption/emission properties are tunable through variation of pyridyl or hydrazone substituents, and they offer favorable photophysical characteristics featuring large Stokes shifts and general insensitivity to solvent or pH. The stability, neutral charge, cell membrane permeability, and favorable relative influences on the water solubility of HPY conjugates are complementary to existing fluorescent dyes and offer advantages for the development of receptor-targeted small-molecule probes. This potential was assessed through the development of a new class of cysteine-derived HPY-conjugate imaging agents for the kinesin spindle protein (KSP) that is expressed in the cytoplasm during mitosis and is a promising chemotherapeutic target. Conjugates possessing the neutral HPY or charged Alexa Fluor dyes that function as potent, selective allosteric inhibitors of the KSP motor were compared using biochemical and cell-based phenotypic assays and live-cell imaging. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the HPY dye moiety as a component of probes for an intracellular protein target and highlight the importance of dye structure in determining the pathway of cell entry and the overall performance of small-molecule conjugates as imaging agents.     

Utilizing Lifetimes to Suppress Random Coil Features in 2D IR Spectra of Peptides

We report that the waiting time delay in 2D IR pulse sequences can be used to suppress signals from structurally disordered regions of amyloid fibrils. At a waiting time delay of 1.0 ps, the random coil vibrational modes of amylin fibrils are no longer detectable, leaving only the sharp excitonic vibrational features of the fibril β-sheets. Isotope labeling with (13)C(18)O reveals that structurally disordered residues decay faster than residues protected from solvent. Since structural disorder is usually accompanied by hydration, we conclude that the shorter lifetimes of random-coil residues is due to solvent exposure. These results indicate that 2D IR pulse sequences can utilize the waiting time to better resolve solvent-protected regions of peptides and that local mode lifetimes should be included in simulations of 2D IR spectra.     

Miscible blends through hydrogen bonding: effects on polymer properties

Miscible blends through hydrogen bonding have been intensively studied. The effects of a variety of miscible hydrogen bonded polymer blends on properties such as thermal and thermal oxidative stability, moisture sensitivity, modulus and glass transition temperature are discussed. In addition, the preparation of semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) and studies of the effect of crosslinking on the miscibility in hydrogen bonded polymer blends are reviewed.     

Reactions of CF3CH2I+O(3P): competing mechanisms of HF elimination

Ab initio density functional and molecular orbital calculations provide singlet and triplet electronic potential energy surfaces for the reactions of CF3CH2I+O(3P) leading to OI and HF eliminations, reactions which have been the subject of recent experimental studies. A barrier to OI formation occurs on the triplet potential energy surface; there is no reverse barrier to OI formation on the singlet pathway. Findings suggest that two competing pathways may form HF. One is an addition-insertion-elimination process involving insertion of O into the C-I bond. The alternate path involves OI elimination, addition of an O atom to CF3CH2, and subsequent HF elimination. The computed reactant pathways and energetics are discussed in relation to recent experiments.     

Kinetic discrimination of sequence-specific DNA-drug binding measured by surface plasmon resonance imaging and comparison to solution-phase measurements

We demonstrate the use of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging for direct detection of small-molecule binding to surface-bound DNA probes. Using a carefully designed array surface, we quantitatively discriminate between the interactions of a model drug with different immobilized DNA binding sites. Specifically, we measure the association and dissociation intercalation rates of actinomycin-D (ACTD) to and from double-stranded 5'-TGCT-3' and 5'-GGCA-3' binding sites. The rates measured provide mechanistic information about the DNA-ACTD interaction; ACTD initially binds nonspecifically to DNA but exerts its activity by dissociating slowly from strong affinity sites. We observe a slow dissociation time of kd-1 = 3300 +/- 100 s for ACTD bound to the strong affinity site 5'-TGCT-3' and a much faster dissociation time (210 +/- 15 s) for ACTD bound weakly to the site 5'-GGCA-3'. These dissociation rates, which differ by an order of magnitude, determine the binding affinity for each site (8.8 x 10(6) and 1.0 x 10(6) M(-1), respectively). We assess the effect the surface environment has on these biosensor measurements by determining kinetic and thermodynamic constants for the same DNA-ACTD interactions in solution. The surface suppresses binding affinities approximately 4-fold for both binding sites. This suppression suggests a barrier to DNA-drug association; ACTD binding to duplex DNA is approximately 100 times slower on the surface than in solution.     

Copper(I)-mediated and microwave-assisted C(aryl)-O(carboxylic) coupling: synthesis of benzopyranones and isolamellarin alkaloids

A simple and highly effective C-O(carboxylic) coupling reaction catalyzed by copper(I) salts has been developed to synthesize benzopyranones. The reaction of various 2-halobiarylcarboxylic acids was examined using microwave irradiation. A new class of pyrroloisoquinoline alkaloid, isolamellarin, was synthesized based on the annulation of dihydroisoquinoline with aryl pyruvates under basic condition and Cu-mediated/MW-assisted C-O(carboxylic) lactonization.     

Resilient and agile engineering solutions to address societal challenges such as coronavirus pandemic

The world is witnessing tumultuous times as major economic powers including the US, UK, Russia, India, and most of Europe continue to be in a state of lockdown. The worst-hit sectors due to this lockdown are sales, production (manufacturing), transport (aerospace and automotive) and tourism. Lockdowns became necessary as a preventive measure to avoid the spread of the contagious and infectious “Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19). This newly identified disease is caused by a new strain of the virus being referred to as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS CoV-2; formerly called 2019-nCoV). We review the current medical and manufacturing response to COVID-19, including advances in instrumentation, sensing, use of lasers, fumigation chambers and development of novel tools such as lab-on-the-chip using combinatorial additive and subtractive manufacturing techniques and use of molecular modelling and molecular docking in drug and vaccine discovery. We also offer perspectives on future considerations on climate change, outsourced versus indigenous manufacturing, automation, and antimicrobial resistance. Overall, this paper attempts to identify key areas where manufacturing can be employed to address societal challenges such as COVID-19.     

Stabilization of excess charge in isolated adenosine 5'-triphosphate and adenosine 5'-diphosphate multiply and singly charged anions

Multiply charged anions (MCAs) represent highly energetic species in the gas phase but can be stabilized through formation of molecular clusters with solvent molecules or counterions. We explore the intramolecular stabilization of excess negative charge in gas-phase MCAs by probing the intrinsic stability of the [adenosine 5'-triphosphate-2H](2-) ([ATP-2H](2-)), [adenosine 5'-diphosphate-2H](2-) ([ADP-2H](2-)), and H(3)P(3)O(10)(2-) dianions and their protonated monoanionic analogues. The relative activation barriers for decay of the dianions via electron detachment or ionic fragmentation are investigated using resonance excitation of ions isolated within a quadrupole trap. All of the dianions decayed via ionic fragmentation demonstrating that the repulsive Coulomb barriers (RCB) for ionic fragmentation lie below the RCBs for electron detachment. Both the electrospray ionization mass spectra (ESI-MS) and total fragmentation energies for [ATP-2H](2-), [ADP-2H](2-), and H(3)P(3)O(10)(2-) indicate that the multiply charged H(3)P(3)O(10)(2-) phosphate moiety is stabilized by the presence of the adenosine group and the stability of the dianions increases in the order H(3)P(3)O(10)(2-) < [ADP-2H](2-) < [ATP-2H](2-). Fully optimized, B3LYP/6-31+G* minimum energy structures illustrate that the excess charges in all of the phosphate anions are stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonding either within the phosphate chain or between the phosphate and the adenosine. We develop a model to illustrate that the relative magnitudes of the RCBs and hence the stability of these ions is dominated by the extent of intramolecular hydrogen bonding.     

Determination of malachite green and leucomalachite green in a variety of aquacultured products by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection

A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed for determining the residues of malachite green (MG) and leucomalachite green (LMG) in a number of aquatic species. MG and its metabolite were extracted from homogenized tissues with a perchloric acid-acetonitrile solution; the extract was centrifuged; and an aliquot was taken, concentrated, and passed through a chemically bonded octadecyl C18 solid-phase extraction column. The compounds of interest were eluted with acetonitrile, and the eluate was evaporated to dryness. The residue was dissolved in acetonitrile and diluted with water in preparation for analysis by LC/MS/MS. MG and its metabolite were determined by reversed-phase LC using a Luna C18 column with an ammonium hydroxide-formic acid buffer in acetonitrile gradient and MS/MS detection using multiple reaction monitoring. Calibration curves were linear for all analyses between 5 and 500 pg injected for both analytes, with recoveries ranging from 81% for LMG to 98% for MG in salmon spiked at the 1 ng/g level. Detection limits of 0.1 ng/g for both MG and LMG were easily obtainable using the recommended method. The operational errors, interferences, and recoveries for spiked samples compared favorably with those obtained by established methodology. The recommended method is simple, rapid, and specific for monitoring residues of MG and LMG in a number of aquatic species.