Dual‐Function Probe to Detect Protease Activity for Fluorescence Measurement and 19F MRI

Dynamic duo : Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can visualize deep regions of living bodies, whereas fluorescence measurement offers excellent sensitivity. These methods thus offer signal enhancement potential for detecting enzyme activities. A dual‐mode off/on probe to detect caspase‐3 activity by fluorescence and ¹⁹F MRI is presented.

     

Cover Picture: Reverse‐Selective Microporous Membrane for Gas Separation (Chem. Asian J. 7/2009)

Reverse‐selective membranes , through which bigger molecules selectively permeate, are attractive for developing chemical processes utilizing hydrogen because they can maintain the high partial pressure of hydrogen required for further downstream utilization. Although several of these chemical processes are operated above 473 K, membranes with outstanding reverse‐selective separation performance at these temperatures are still to be reported. M. Matsukata et al. propose a new adsorption‐based reverse‐selective membrane that utilizes a Na cation occluded in a zeolitic framework. The membrane developed in this work enables selective permeation and separation of bigger polar molecules, such as methanol and water, from hydrogen above 473 K. For more information, see their Full Paper on page 1070 ff.

     

In vivo fluorescence imaging of bone-resorbing osteoclasts

Osteoclasts are giant polykaryons responsible for bone resorption. Because an enhancement or loss of osteoclast function leads to bone diseases such as osteoporosis and osteopetrosis, real-time imaging of osteoclast activity in vivo can be of great help for the evaluation of drugs. Herein, pH-activatable chemical probes BAp-M and BAp-E have been developed for the detection of bone-resorbing osteoclasts in vivo. Their acid dissociation constants (pK(a)) were determined as 4.5 and 6.2 by fluorometry in various pH solutions. These pK(a) values should be appropriate to perform selective imaging of bone-resorbing osteoclasts, because synthesized probes cannot fluoresce intrinsically at physiological pH and the pH in the resorption pit is lowered to about 4.5. Furthermore, BAp-M and BAp-E have a bisphosphonate moiety that enabled the probes to localize on bone tissues. The hydroxyapatite (HA) binding assay in vitro was, therefore, performed to confirm the tight binding of the probes to the bone tissues. Our probes showed intense fluorescence at low pH values but no fluorescence signal under physiological pH conditions on HA. Finally, we applied the probes to in vivo imaging of osteoclasts by using intravital two-photon microscopy. As expected, the fluorescence signals of the probes were locally observed between the osteoclasts and bone tissues, that is, in resorption pits. These results indicate that our pH-activatable probes will prove to be a powerful tool for the selective detection of bone-resorbing osteoclasts in vivo, because this is the first instance where in vivo imaging has been conducted in a low-pH region created by bone-resorbing osteoclasts.     

A long-lived luminescent probe to sensitively detect arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity of cells

Arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) is an important phase II metabolizing enzyme that influences drug efficacy and adverse effects. Here, we report a long-lived luminescent lanthanide complex as a probe for NAT, employing an intraligand photoinduced electron transfer strategy. The probe shows approximately 100-fold increase of luminescence upon N-acetylation catalyzed by NAT, with relatively high specificity for NAT2 over NAT1. It is the first NAT probe that is suitable for sensitive, homogeneous, and rapid detection of NAT activity of recombinant enzyme or cell lysate, and is expected to be useful for drug discovery and clinical diagnosis.     

Stability of pyrrolidone derivatives against γ-ray irradiation

To evaluate the stability of N-alkylated pyrrolidone derivatives(NRPs),which are supposed to be used as precipitants for U(VI) and Pu(IV,VI) species in HNO 3 media,under irradiation environment,some candidate NRPs were irradiated by γ-ray.Irradiation to HNO 3 solutions up to 6 mol dm 3(= M) containing 2 M N-n-butyl-2-pyrrolidone(NBP),one of NRPs with lower hydrophobicity,has revealed that the residual ratios of NBP in the samples of HNO 3 up to 3 M decreased identically and linearly.Approximately 20% of NBP was found to be degraded after the irradiation at 1 MGy.It was also found that the decrease in the precipitation ratio of UO 2 2+(P.R.,%) was gentle and that the P.R.values were relatively in accordance with the residual ratios of NBP.On the other hand,the degradation of the samples irradiated in 6 M HNO 3 was found more distinguished.It was proposed from the analyses of degraded compounds that the degradation of NBP in HNO 3 by γ-ray irradiation started from the cleavage of the pyrrolidone ring by the addition of oxygen atom originating from HNO 3,followed by the formation of chain compounds by the successive addition of oxygen,leading to the generation of oxalic acid and acetic acid.The stability of other NRPs in 3 M HNO 3 was evaluated to be nearly identical with that of NBP except lower P.R.values of the samples containing NRPs with higher hydrophobicity irradiated at more than 0.5 MGy.     

Intermolecular communication on a liposomal membrane: enzymatic amplification of a photonic signal with a gemini peptide lipid as a membrane-bound artificial receptor

A supramolecular system that can activate an enzyme through photo-isomerization was constructed by using a liposomal membrane scaffold. The design of the system was inspired by natural signal transduction systems, in which enzymes amplify external signals to control signal transduction pathways. The liposomal membrane, which provided a scaffold for the system, was prepared by self-assembly of a photoresponsive receptor and a cationic synthetic lipid. NADH-dependent L-lactate dehydrogenase, the signal amplifier, was immobilized on the liposomal surface by electrostatic interactions. Recognition of photonic signals by the membrane-bound receptor induced photo-isomerization, which significantly altered the receptor's metal-binding affinity. The response to the photonic signal was transmitted to the enzyme by Cu(2+) ions. The enzyme amplified the chemical information through a catalytic reaction to generate the intended output signal.     

Total syntheses of (+)-polygalolide a and (+)-polygalolide b: elucidation of the absolute stereochemistry and biogenetic implications

The total syntheses of (+)-polygalolide?A and (+)-polygalolide?B have been completed by using a carbonyl ylide cycloaddition strategy. Three of the four stereocenters, including two consecutive tetrasubstituted carbon atoms at C2 and C8, were incorporated through internal asymmetric induction from the stereocenter at C7 by a [Rh(2) (OAc)(4)]-catalyzed carbonyl ylide formation/intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition sequence. The arylmethylidene moiety of these natural products was successfully installed by a Mukaiyama aldol-type reaction of a silyl enol ether with a dimethyl acetal, followed by elimination under basic conditions. We have also developed an alternative approach to the carbonyl ylide precursor based on a hetero-Michael reaction. This approach requires 18 steps, and the natural products were obtained in 9.8 and 9.3?% overall yields. Comparison of specific rotations of the synthetic materials and natural products suggests that polygalolides are biosynthesized in nearly racemic forms through a [5+2] cycloaddition between a fructose-derived oxypyrylium zwitterion with an isoprene derivative.