Discovery of small molecular inhibitors for interleukin-33/ST2 protein–protein interaction: a virtual screening,molecular dynamics simulations and binding free energy calculations

The interleukin-1 receptor like ST2 has emerged as a potential drug discovery target since it was identified as the receptor of the novel cytokine IL-33, which is involved in many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. For the treatment of such IL-33-related disorders, efforts have been made to discover molecules that can inhibit the protein–protein interactions (PPIs) between IL-33 and ST2, but to date no drug has been approved. Although several anti-ST2 antibodies have entered clinical trials, the exploration of small molecular inhibitors is highly sought-after because of its advantages in terms of oral bioavailability and manufacturing cost. The aim of this study was to discover ST2 receptor inhibitors based on its PPIs with IL-33 in crystal structure (PDB ID: 4KC3) using virtual screening tools with pharmacophore modeling and molecular docking. From an enormous chemical space ZINC, a potential series of compounds has been discovered with stronger binding affinities than the control compound from a previous study. Among them, four compounds strongly interacted with the key residues of the receptor and had a binding free energy?<????20 kcal/mol. By intensive calculations using data from molecular dynamics simulations, ZINC59514725 was identified as the most potential candidate for ST2 receptor inhibitor in this study.

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Surface Modification of Cellulose Microfibrils with Silane Agent for Eco-Friendly Hydrophobic Coatings

Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry - In this study, an optimized method for surface modification of cellulose microfibrils (CMF) with (3-Aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTMS) for eco-friendly...     

Direct oxidative C(sp3)─H/C(sp2)─H coupling reaction using recyclable Sr-doped LaCoO3 perovskite catalyst

A strontium-doped lanthanum cobaltite perovskite, La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO₃, was prepared and utilized as a recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for the direct oxidative C(sp³)─H/C(sp²)─H coupling reaction between cyclic ethers and alkenes or coumarins to achieve corresponding α-functionalized ethers. The α-functionalization of cyclic thioethers or amides with alkenes or coumarins was also achieved via this protocol. The La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO₃ catalyst exhibited better performance than a variety of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Utilizing a recyclable catalyst would offer a greener option for the direct oxidative C(sp³)─H/C(sp²)─H coupling reaction. To our best knowledge, the C(sp³)─H/C(sp²)─H coupling between olefins and ethers to generate α-functionalized ethers using a heterogeneous catalyst has not been previously reported, and the α-functionalization of cyclic thioethers or amides with alkenes or coumarins is new.     

Sorption Recovery of Lanthanum,Iron, Aluminum,and Calcium Ions from Phosphoric Acid

Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry - Sorption recovery of lanthanum, iron(III), aluminum, and calcium ions from phosphoric acid solutions with MTC 1600 macroporous sulfonic cation exchanger under...     

A procedure for designing linear functional observers

We present low-order functional observer existence conditions; the proposed existence conditions always lead to a design of functional observers of order less than or equal to that of a Luenberger observer. The proposed low-order observer always exists if a Luenberger observer exists.     

Full‐Order observer design for nonlinear complex large‐scale systems with unknown time‐varying delayed interactions

This article is concerned with the problem of state observer for complex large‐scale systems with unknown time‐varying delayed interactions. The class of large‐scale interconnected systems under consideration is subjected to interval time‐varying delays and nonlinear perturbations. By introducing a set of argumented Lyapunov–Krasovskii functionals and using a new bounding estimation technique, novel delay‐dependent conditions for existence of state observers with guaranteed exponential stability are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). In our design approach, the set of full‐order Luenberger‐type state observers are systematically derived via the use of an efficient LMI‐based algorithm. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the result. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 123–133, 2015     

A model study on the mechanism and kinetics for the dissociation of water anion

Quantum chemical computations using both density functional theory (B3LYP functional) and wavefunction (MP2 and CCSD(T)) methods, with the 6-311++G(3df,2p) and aug-cc-pVnZ (n = D,T,Q) basis sets, in conjunction with a polarizable continuum model (PCM) method for treating structures in solution, were carried out to look again at a series of small negatively charged water species [(H₂O)_n]^•–. For each size n of [(H₂O)_n]^•– in aqueous solution with n = 2, 3, and 4, two distinct structural motifs can be identified: a classical water radical anion formed by hydrogen bonds and a molecular pincer in which the excess electron is directly interacting with H atoms. In aqueous solution, both motifs have comparable energy content and likely coexist and compete for the ground state. Some water anion isomers can dissociate when interaction with a water molecule, [(H₂O)_n]^•– + H₂O → H^•(H₂O)_m + OH^–(H₂O)_n–m, through successive hydrogen transfers with moderate energy barriers. This reaction can also be regarded as a water-splitting process in which the H transfers involved take place mainly within a water trimer, whereas other water molecules tend to stabilize transition structures through microsolvation rather than direct participation. Calculated absolute rate constants for the reversed reaction H^•(H₂O)₂ + OH^–(H₂O)₂ → [(H₂O)₄]^•־ + H₂O with both H and D isotopes agree well with the experimentally evaluated counterpart and lend a kinetic support for the involvement of a tetramer unit.     

Mechanism of oligomerization reactions of silica

The mechanism of the oligomerization reaction of silica, the initial step of silica formation, has been studied by quantum chemical techniques. The solvent effect is included by using the COSMO model. The formation of various oligomers (from dimer to tetramer) was investigated. The calculations show that the anionic pathway is kinetically preferred over the neutral route. The first step in the anionic mechanism is the formation of the SiO-Si linkage between the reactants to form a five-coordinated silicon complex, which is an essential intermediate in the condensation reaction. The rate-limiting step is water removal leading to the oligomer product. The activation energies for dimer and trimer formation ( approximately 80 kJ/mol) are significantly higher than those of the subsequent oligermerization. The activation energies for the ring closure reaction ( approximately 100 kJ/mol) are even higher. The differences in activation energies can be related to the details in intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding of the oligomeric complexes.     

Langmuir and Langmuir–Blodgett Films from Amphiphilic Pillar[5]arene‐Containing [2]Rotaxanes

Amphiphilic pillar[5]arene‐containing [2]rotaxanes have been prepared and fully characterized. In the particular case of the [2]rotaxane incorporating a 1,4‐diethoxypillar[5]arene subunit, the structure of the compound was confirmed by X‐ray crystal structure analysis. Owing to a good hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance, stable Langmuir films have been obtained for these rotaxanes and the size of the peripheral alkyl chains on the pillar[5]arene subunit has a dramatic influence on the reversibility during compression–decompression cycles. Indeed, when these are small enough, molecular reorganization of the rotaxane by gliding motions are capable of preventing strong π–π interactions between neighboring macrocycles in the thin film.