Biological activity and coordination modes of copper(II) complexes of Schiff base-derived coumarin ligands

The coordination modes of copper(II) complexes of Schiff base-derived coumarin ligands, which had previously shown good anti-Candida activity, were investigated by pH-potentiometric and UV-Vis spectroscopic methods. These studies confirmed the coordination mode of the ligands to be through the N of the imine and deprotonated phenol of the coumarin-derived ligand in solution. In addition, the more active complexes and their corresponding ligands were investigated in the presence of copper(II) in liquid and frozen solution by ESR spectroscopic methods. A series of secondary amine derivatives of the Schiff base ligands, were isolated with good solubility characteristics but showed little anti-Candida activity. However, cytotoxicity studies of the secondary amines, together with the copper complexes and their corresponding ligands, against human colon cancer and human breast cancer cells identified the chemotherapeutic potential of these new ligands.     

Influence of the physical state of phospholipid monolayers on protein binding

Langmuir monolayers were used to characterize the influence of the physical state of phospholipid monolayers on the binding of protein Retinis Pigmentosa 2 (RP2). The binding parameters of RP2 (maximum insertion pressure (MIP), synergy and ΔΠ(0)) in monolayers were thus analyzed in the presence of phospholipids bearing increasing fatty acyl chain lengths at temperatures where their liquid-expanded (LE), liquid-condensed (LC), or solid-condensed (SC) states can be individually observed. The data show that a larger value of synergy is observed in the LC/SC states than in the LE state, independent of the fatty acyl chain length of phospholipids. Moreover, both the MIP and the ΔΠ(0) increase with the fatty acyl chain length when phospholipids are in the LC/SC state, whereas those binding parameters remain almost unchanged when phospholipids are in the LE state. This effect of the phospholipid physical state on the binding of RP2 was further demonstrated by measurements performed in the presence of a phospholipid monolayer showing a phase transition from the LE to the LC state at room temperature. The data collected are showing that very similar values of MIP but very different values of synergy and ΔΠ(0) are obtained in the LE (below the phase transition) and LC (above the phase transition) states. In addition, the binding parameters of RP2 in the LE (below the phase transition) as well as in the LC (above the phase transition) states were found to be indistinguishable from those where single LC and LE states are respectively observed. The preference of RP2 for binding phospholipids in the LC state was then confirmed by the observation of a large modification of the shape of the LC domains in the phase transition. Therefore, protein binding parameters can be strongly influenced by the physical state of phospholipid monolayers. Moreover, measurements performed with the α/β domain of RP2 strongly suggest that the β helix of RP2 plays a major role in the preferential binding of this protein to phospholipids in the LC state.     

Friabilité des valeurs d’un polynôme

Let F(X) be an absolutely irreducible polynomial in \mathbbZ [X₁,..., X_n]{\mathbb{Z} [X_{1},\dots, X_{n}]}, with degree d. We prove that, for any δ < 4/3, for any sufficiently large x, there exists a positive density of integral n-tuples m = (m ₁, . . . , m _n ) in the hypercube max |m _i | ≤ x such that every prime divisor of F(m) is smaller than x ^d–δ . This result is improved when F satisfies some geometrical hypotheses.     

Molecular and electronic structure of zwitterionic diamino-meta-quinonoid molecules

Quantum chemical calculations using molecular orbital (HF, CASSCF) and density functional theory (B3LYP) methods, in conjunction with the 6–311 + + G(d,p) basis set, have been applied to investigate the molecular and electronic structure of two diamino-meta-quinonoid molecules 1a and 2a, each containing a six-membered ring coupled with two exocyclic C = O bonds situated in a meta position, along with two amino substituents (NH₂ and NH-CH₃). It is confirmed that these substituted meta-quinone systems exhibit a zwitterionic structure in which the positively charged N-C-C(H)-C-N subunit, containing the two amino-groups, forms two chemical bonds with the negatively charged O-C-C(H)-C-O subunit. The negative charge amounts to about half of an electron. The charge separation has been approached in terms of geometries, vibrational frequencies, and electronic distribution. The ionization energy for molecule 1a is about 7.8±0.3eV. The quinonoid systems are essentially non-aromatic characterized by the NICS(+1) values of around 1.2 ppm.     

Selective Removal of the Tert-Butoxycarbonyl Group from Secondary Amines: ZnBr2 as the Deprotecting Reagent

ZnBr₂ in dichloromethane is a convenient reagent for mild and selective removal of the tert-butoxycarbonyl group from secondary amines.     

The Dirichlet Problem for an Ordinary Continuous Second-Order Differential Equation

Mathematical Notes - The extremum principle for an ordinary continuous second-order differential equation with variable coefficients is proved and this principle is used to establish the uniqueness...