Influence of human serum albumin on photodegradation of folic acid in solution

It has been proposed that photodegradation of folates may be the reason for the pigmentation of races living under high fluence rates of ultraviolet radiation. The photodegradation of folic acid (FA) induced by ultraviolet-A (UV-A) radiation, in solution and in the presence of human serum albumin (HSA), was studied with absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. FA photodegradation, with formation of p-aminobenzoyl-l-glutamic acid, 6-formylpterin and pterin-6-carboxylic acid, was found to follow an exponential trend. A scheme of FA photodegradation, which involves photosensitization of FA degradation by its photoproducts, was proposed. The rate of FA photodegradation decreased drastically in the presence of HSA, whereas the spectral characteristics of the photoproducts remained constant. The reduction of the FA photodegradation rate by HSA was accompanied by degradation of tryptophan in HSA. Tryptophan, when added to solutions of FA, had a similar effect as HSA. In solutions of FA and HSA the FA photoproducts cause photodamage mainly to HSA rather than to FA itself. The oxygen dependence of FA photodegradation and the inhibition of this process by sodium azide indicate that singlet oxygen may participate in the photosensitizing activity of FA photoproducts.     

Sol–gel reactions of titanium alkoxides and water: influence of pH and alkoxy group on cluster formation and properties of the resulting products

In this work the effect of pH and the titanium precursor on the cluster and particle formation during titanium alkoxide based sol–gel processes was investigated using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The influence of pH and the titanium precursor on the particle size, morphology, crystallinity and chemical composition of the resulting particles were investigated using differentiel scanning calometry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), BET-adsorption isotherms and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). ESI-MS investigation of the titanium clusters present during the nucleation and growth period showed that the number of titanium atoms in the clusters varied dependent on the alkoxide used. Moreover, it was found that the titanium clusters formed using titanium tetraethoxide (TTE) were smaller than the clusters formed by titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and titanium tetrabutoxide (TTB) under similar conditions. pH was not found to influence the nature of the titanium clusters present in the sol–gel solution. HR-TEM investigation of the TiO₂ particles prepared at pH 7 and 10 showed that the primary particle size of the particles was around 3 nm. However, it was found that these primary particles aggregated to form larger secondary particles in the size order of 300–500 nm range. At pH 3 the particles grew significantly during the drying process due to destabilization of the colloidal solution leading to the formation of a gel. The highest specific surface area was found for particles synthesized under neutral or alkaline conditions based on TTIP. XRD analysis of the TiO₂ particles showed that the particles synthesized at 25 °C were amorphous. First after heating the samples to above 300 °C the formation of anatase were observed.     

Selection of a high-energy bioactive conformation of a sulfonium-ion glycosidase inhibitor by the enzyme glucoamylase G2

Transferred nuclear Overhauser effect and rotating-frame Overhauser enhancement NMR spectroscopies are used to probe the conformation of a bicyclic sulfonium ion, which is an analogue of the naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitor castanospermine, bound to the enzyme glucoamylase G2. Enzyme inhibition assays indicate that the bicyclic sulfonium ion is a slightly better inhibitor (K(i) = 1.32 mM) of glucoamylase G2 than the naturally occurring sulfonium-ion glycosidase inhibitor, salacinol, with a K(i) value of 1.7 mM. The NMR results are interpreted in terms of the selection by the enzyme of a high-energy conformation of the ligand that is already represented in the ensemble of free-ligand conformations.     

Peptidotriazoles on solid phase: [1,2,3]-triazoles by regiospecific copper(i)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of terminal alkynes to azides

The cycloaddition of azides to alkynes is one of the most important synthetic routes to 1H-[1,2,3]-triazoles. Here a novel regiospecific copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of terminal alkynes to azides on solid-phase is reported. Primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl azides, aryl azides, and an azido sugar were used successfully in the copper(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition producing diversely 1,4-substituted [1,2,3]-triazoles in peptide backbones or side chains. The reaction conditions were fully compatible with solid-phase peptide synthesis on polar supports. The copper(I) catalysis is mild and efficient (>95% conversion and purity in most cases) and furthermore, the X-ray structure of 2-azido-2-methylpropanoic acid has been solved, to yield structural information on the 1,3-dipoles entering the reaction. Novel Fmoc-protected amino azides derived from Fmoc-amino alcohols were prepared by the Mitsunobu reaction.