Cucurbit[7]uril: A High‐Affinity Host for Encapsulation of Amino Saccharides and Supramolecular Stabilization of Their α‐Anomers in Water

Cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), an uncharged and water‐soluble macrocyclic host, binds protonated amino saccharides (D ‐glucosamine, D ‐galactosamine, D ‐mannosamine and 6‐amino‐6‐deoxy‐D ‐glucose) with excellent affinity (K_a=10³ to 10⁴ M ^?1). The host–guest complexation was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and MALDI‐TOF mass spectral analyses. NMR analyses revealed that the amino saccharides, except D ‐mannosamine, are bound as α‐anomers within the CB[7] cavity. ITC analyses reveal that CB[7] has excellent affinity for binding amino saccharides in water. The maximum affinity was observed for D ‐galactosamine hydrochloride (K_a=1.6×10⁴ M ^?1). Such a strong affinity for any saccharide in water using a synthetic receptor is unprecedented, as is the supramolecular stabilization of an α‐anomer by the host.     

Comments on “Crystal growth,spectral, optical,and thermal characterization of glycyl-l-alanine hydrochloride (GLAH) single crystal”

The authors of the title paper (J Therm Anal Calorim 2012,110:873–878) report to have grown a dipeptide hydrochloride crystal namely glycyl-l-alanine hydrochloride by the slow evaporation of an aqueous solution containing stoichiometric amounts of l-alanine and glycine and an excess of hydrochloric acid. In this letter, we prove that no such dipeptide hydrochloride can be crystallized simply by mixing two amino acids in aqueous hydrochloric acid.     

Computational study on the interactions of mustard gas with cucurbituril macrocycles

The study on the absorption of toxic gases such as mustard gas by organic host is essential to the development of inexpensive detection and decontamination equipments. Using quantum chemical methods, we propose cucurbituril as an effective host to capture mustard gas. It was found that stable complexes are formed with the inclusion of the toxic gas molecules inside the cucurbituril cavity, compared with the lateral and exterior interactions. Oxygen mustard has a comparable binding energy with sulfur mustard and hence can be used during experimental investigation. Additionally, during the inclusion complex formation, the presence of heteroatoms helps the guest molecules to undergo a larger structural reorganization to get accommodated inside the cucurbituril macromolecule. Atoms‐in‐molecules analysis shows the existence of strong intermolecular CH…O bonding between the guest molecules and cucurbituril macromolecule. The presence of an intramolecular CH…Cl type of bonding accounts for the higher stabilization of sulfur mustard inside the cucurbituril macromolecule. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

CH Oxidation of Ingenanes Enables Potent and Selective Protein Kinase C Isoform Activation

Ingenol derivatives with varying degrees of oxidation were prepared by two‐phase terpene synthesis. This strategy has allowed access to analogues that cannot be prepared by semisynthesis from natural ingenol. Complex ingenanes resulting from divergent C? H oxidation of a common intermediate were found to interact with protein kinase C in a manner that correlates well with the oxidation state of the ingenane core. Even though previous work on ingenanes has suggested a strong correlation between potential to activate PKCδ and induction of neutrophil oxidative burst, the current study shows that the potential to activate PKCβII is of key importance while interaction with PKCδ is dispensable. Thus, key modifications of the ingenane core allowed PKC isoform selectivity wherein PKCδ‐driven activation of keratinocytes is strongly reduced or even absent while PKCβII‐driven activation of neutrophils is retained.     

l‐Prolinium picrate and 2‐methyl­pyridinium picrate

In the structure of l ‐prolinium picrate, C₅H₁₀NO₂⁺·C₆H₂N₃O₇⁻, the C^γ atom of the pyrrolidine ring has conformational disorder. Both the major and minor conformers of the pyrrolidine ring adopt conformations inter­mediate between a half‐chair and an envelope. Both the cation and anion are packed through chelated three‐centred N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The prolinium cation connects two different picrate anions, leading to an infinite chain running along the b axis. In 2‐methyl­pyridinium picrate, C₆H₈N⁺·C₆H₂N₃O₇⁻, the cations and anions are packed separately along the a axis and are inter­connected by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Intra­molecular contacts between phenolate O atoms and adjacent nitro groups are identified in both structures. A graph‐set motif of R₁²(6) is observed in both structures.     

Synthesis,crystal structure and biological activities of dehydroacetic acid complexes of Ru(II) and Ru(III) containing PPh3/AsPh3

A series of Ru(II) and Ru(III) complexes of the types [RuX(CO)(EPh₃)₂L] (X = H, E = P; X = Cl, E = P or As) and [RuX₂(EPh₃)₂L] (X = Cl, E = P or As; X = Br, E = As, L = monoanion of dehydroacetic acid) have been synthesized in order to explore their biological activities, such as DNA-binding and antibacterial activity. The complexes were characterized by analytical and spectroscopic techniques. The crystal and molecular structure of [RuCl₂(AsPh₃)₂(L)] has been determined by single crystal XRD. The cyclic voltammograms of the complexes in acetonitrile displayed either quasi-reversible or irreversible redox couples based on the metal centre. The ligand, dehydroacetic acid (DHA) and its metal complexes were tested against five pathogenic bacteria. Absorption titration and cyclic voltammetric studies revealed that the complexes interact with Herring Sperm ds DNA through different binding modes to different extents.     

Stafia-1: a STAT5a-Selective Inhibitor Developed via Docking-Based Screening of in Silico O-Phosphorylated Fragments

We present a new approach for the identification of inhibitors of phosphorylation-dependent protein–protein interaction domains, in which phenolic fragments are adapted by in silico O-phosphorylation before docking-based screening. From a database of 10 369 180 compounds, we identified 85 021 natural product-derived phenolic fragments, which were virtually O-phosphorylated and screened for in silico binding to the STAT3 SH2 domain. Nine screening hits were then synthesized, eight of which showed a degree of in vitro inhibition of STAT3. After analysis of its selectivity profile, the most potent inhibitor was then developed to Stafia-1, the first small molecule shown to preferentially inhibit the STAT family member STAT5a over the close homologue STAT5b. A phosphonate prodrug based on Stafia-1 inhibited STAT5a with selectivity over STAT5b in human leukemia cells, providing the first demonstration of selective in vitro and intracellular inhibition of STAT5a by a small-molecule inhibitor.