Hexakis(isopropylthio)-1,5-hexadien-3-yne and its fluorescent Ag(I) coordination polymers: assembly of helicates with thioether sites

A new thioether-rich ligand with a conjugated dienyne backbone and its fluorescent Ag(I) coordination networks have been synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, which reveal that the supramolecular architectures of the networks contain assembled helicates with thioether sites.     

Colorimetric enantiodiscrimination of alpha-amino acids in protic media

A new method is described for the determination of optical purity of alpha-amino acid samples in protic media. No derivatization of the analyte or multistep synthesis is required, and high accuracy is obtained from the colorimetric output. Chiral discrimination is achieved through the use of an optically pure trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-derived Cu(II)-containing host that differentiates amino acid enantiomers by a factor of about 2. Enantioselective signaling arises from the implementation of an indicator displacement assay based on competitive Cu(II) coordination involving the chiral Cu(II)-containing host, the amino acid guest, and a metal ion indicator. The molecular structure of the host/guest complex was determined by X-ray analysis and exhibits chelation of the Cu(II) center by the amino acid to provide substrate organization.     

Thermodynamic analysis of receptors based on guanidinium/boronic acid groups for the complexation of carboxylates, alpha-hydroxycarboxylates, and diols: driving force for binding and cooperativity

The thermodynamics of guanidinium and boronic acid interactions with carboxylates, alpha-hydroxycarboxylates, and diols were studied by determination of the binding constants of a variety of different guests to four different hosts (7-10). Each host contains a different combination of guanidinium groups and boronic acids. The guests included molecules with carboxylate and/or diol moieties, such as citrate, tartrate, and fructose, among others. The Gibbs free energies of binding were determined by UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy, by use of indicator displacement assays. The receptor based on three guanidinium groups (7) was selective for the tricarboxylate guest. The receptors that incorporated boronic acids (8-10) had higher affinities for guests that included alpha-hydroxycarboxylate and catechol moieties over guests containing only carboxylates or alkanediols. Isothermal titration calorimetry revealed the enthalpic and entropic contributions to the Gibbs free energies of binding. The binding of citrate and tartrate was investigated with hosts 7-10, for which all the binding events were exothermic, with positive entropy. Because of the selectivity of hosts 8-10, a simple boronic acid (14) was also investigated and determined to be selective for alpha-hydroxycarboxylates and catechols over amino acids and alkanediols. Further, the cooperativity of 8 and 9 in binding tartrate was also investigated, revealing little or no cooperativity with 8, but negative cooperativity with 9. A linear entropy/enthalpy compensation relationship for all the hosts 7-10, 14, and the carboxylate-/diol-containing guests was also obtained. This relationship indicates that increasing enthalpy of binding is offset by similar losses in entropy for molecular recognition involving guanidinium and boronic acid groups.     

New poly(d-glucaramidoamine)s induce DNA nanoparticle formation and efficient gene delivery into mammalian cells

In this report, four new poly(d-glucaramidoamine)s (1-4) have been designed to lower the toxicity of conventional polymeric nucleic acid delivery vehicles by incorporating a carbohydrate comonomer within a polyethylenimine (PEI)-like backbone. Polymers 1-4 were synthesized via polycondensation of esterified d-glucaric acid and four different amine-containing comonomers [diethylenetriamine (1), triethylenetetramine (2), tetraethylenepentamine (3), and pentaethylenehexamine (4)] in methanol. Viscometry and NMR studies suggest that the polymers are mostly linear (for 1-4, the alpha value in the Mark-Houwink-Sakurada equation = 0.6-0.7), thus indicating that polymerization occurs predominantly through the primary amines with a low degree of branching off the secondary amines. Results of gel electrophoresis shift assays show that polymers 1-4 bind pDNA at N/P ratios of 5, 3, 2, and 2, respectively. Also, dynamic light scattering and TEM experiments indicate that 1-4 compact DNA into nanoparticles (polyplexes) between 140 and 440 nm at an N/P ratio of 30. Furthermore, polyplexes formed with 1-4 deliver pDNA (plasmid DNA) containing the firefly luciferase reporter gene to BHK-21 cells in a nontoxic and highly efficient manner (as determined by luciferase gene expression). In particular, polymer 4 reveals very high delivery efficiency (equivalent to linear PEI). This result may be due in part to the "proton sponge" hypothesis proposed by Behr et al. Polymers containing amines that are protonated in the endosomal pH range (between about 7.4-5.0) reveal enhanced gene delivery profiles.     

Defective transport of thymidine by cultured cells resistant to 5-bromodeoxyuridine.

A line of HeLa cells resistant to 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BUdR) was established by continuous culture in growth medium containing BUdR; during the selection period, BUdR concentrations, initially 15 micrometer, were gradually increased to 100 micrometer. Cells of a clone (HeLa/B5) established from this line were also resistant to 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FUdR), but not to the free base, 5-fluorouracil. Although extracts of HeLa/B5 cells exhibited levels of thymidine kinase activity comparable to those of parental cells, rates of uptake of BUdR, FUdR, and thymidine into intact cells were much reduced. The kinetics of uptake of uridine and adenosine, nucleosides which appear to be transported independently of thymidine in HeLa cells, were similar for HeLa/B5 and the parental line (HeLa/O). Relative to thymidine uptake by HeLa/O cells, that by HeLa/B5 cells was distinctly less sensitive to nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR), a specific inhibitor of nucleoside transport in various types of animal cells. Despite this difference in NBMPR sensitivity, both cell lines possessed the same number of high affinity NBMPR binding sites per mg cell protein. The altered kinetics of thymidine uptake and the NBMPR insensitivity of that function in HeLA/B5 cells suggest that resistance to BUdR is due to an altered thymidine transport mechanism.