Bioorthogonal Catalytic Activation of Platinum and Ruthenium Anticancer Complexes by FAD and Flavoproteins

Recent advances in bioorthogonal catalysis promise to deliver new chemical tools for performing chemoselective transformations in complex biological environments. Herein, we report how FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide), FMN (flavin mononucleotide), and four flavoproteins act as unconventional photocatalysts capable of converting Pt^IV and Ru^II complexes into potentially toxic Pt^II or Ru^II?OH₂ species. In the presence of electron donors and low doses of visible light, the flavoproteins mini singlet oxygen generator (miniSOG) and NADH oxidase (NOX) catalytically activate Pt^IV prodrugs with bioorthogonal selectivity. In the presence of NADH, NOX catalyzes Pt^IV activation in the dark as well, indicating for the first time that flavoenzymes may contribute to initiating the activity of Pt^IV chemotherapeutic agents.     

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of (S)-naproxen ester prodrug by transesterification in organic solvents

A lipase-catalyzed enantioselective transesterification process was developed for the synthesis of (S)-naproxen 2-N-morpholinoethyl ester prodrug from racemic 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl naproxen ester in organic solvents. By selecting isooctane and 37°C as the best solvent and temperature, the apparent fits of the initial conversion rates for transesterification and hydrolysis side reaction suggest a ping-pong Bi-Bi enzymatic mechanism with the alcohol as a competitive enzyme inhibitor. Improvements in the initial conversion rate and the productivity for the desired (S)-ester product were obtained after comparing with the result of an enantioselective esterification process. Studies of water content in isooctane and alcohol containing various N,N-dialkylamino groups on the enzyme activity and enantioselectivity, as well as the recovery of (S)-ester product by using extraction, were also reported.     

Photoreversible Prodrugs and Protags: Switching the Release of Maleimides by Using Light under Physiological Conditions

A water‐soluble furyl‐substituted diarylethene derivative has been prepared that can undergo reversible Diels–Alder reactions with maleimides to yield photoswitchable Diels–Alder adducts. Employing bioorthogonal visible light, the release of therapeutically effective concentrations of maleimide‐based reactive inhibitors or labels from these “prodrugs” or “protags” could be photoreversibly triggered in buffered, aqueous solution at body temperature. It is shown how the release properties can be fine‐tuned and a thorough investigation of the release dynamics is presented. Our system should allow for spatiotemporal control over the inhibition and labeling of specific protein targets and is ready to be surveyed in living organisms.     

Total syntheses of the highly potent anti-cancer polyacetylenes, (S)-18-hydroxyminquartynoic acid, (S)-minquartynoic acid and (E)-15,16-dihydrominquartynoic acid

The total syntheses of three polyacetylenic natural products, (S)-18-hydroxyminquartynoic acid (1), (S)-minquartynoic acid (2) and (E)-15,16-dihydrominquartynoic acid (3), has been achieved. The Cadiot-Chodkiewicz cross-coupling reaction was used as the key step for the construction of tetrayne and triyne units.     

Statistical medium formulation and process modeling by mixture design of experiment for peptide overexpression in recombinant Escherichia coli

The medium formulation and robust process modeling for anti-HIV peptide (T-20) production by recombinant Escherichia coli overexpression were studied by employing a crossed experimental design. The crossed design, a mixture design combined with process factor (induction duration), was used to find the optimal medium formulation and process time. The optimal settings for three major components, (7.75 mL of NPK sources, 5.5 mL of glucose, and 11.75 mL of MgSO₄) characterized by %T-20 (14.45%), the proportion of peptide to the total protein, were observed in a total of 100 mL of medium inducted at an optical density of 0.67 with 0.7 mM isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside) for a 3-h induction duration at shake-flask scale. These conditions were further investigated to find robust, process conditions (8.2 mL of NPK sources, 5.6 mL of glucose, and 11.3 mL of MgSO₄, and a 3.5-h induction duration time) for T-20 production (13.9%) by applying propagation of error. Coauthors     

Enantiomeric resolution of anti-HIV agents on a cellulose derivative chiral stationary phase. Note II

Summary A series of enantiomeric 1H,3H-thiazolo[3,4-a] benzimidazoles with anti-HIV activity has been stereospecifically analyzed.The enantiomeric resolution has been carried out by means of an HPLC method using a column of cellulose tris-(4-methyl-phenylbenzoate) ester adsorbed on macroporous silica gel (Chiralcel^R OJ).     

Structural revision of clusianone and 7-epi-clusianone and anti-HIV activity of polyisoprenylated benzophenones

For the first time, the tautomeric pairs of clusianone and 7-epi-clusianone were isolated from the same source, Clusia torresii fruits. An extensive NMR spectroscopic study is described to establish ¹H and ¹³C chemical shift assignments and the C-7 relative configuration of these epimers and to clarify contradictory NMR spectroscopic data previously reported. Quantum mechanical computations than pointed out the relationship between indirect coupling constants and the equilibrium between the B-ring chair and twist-boat forms of the bicyclo-[3.3.1.]-nonane system. Clusianone, 7-epi-clusianone and polyisoprenylated benzophenones 18,19-dihydroxyclusianone, propolone A and nemorosone were screened for their activity against HIV infection in C8166 cells. All compounds inhibited infection with selectivity index values ranging from 2.25 to 15.6. Only clusianone derivatives inhibited infection by binding to viral protein gp120 and prevented its interaction with cellular receptor CD4 as detected by ELISA using recombinant proteins.     

Fast Cyclization of a Proline‐Derived Self‐Immolative Spacer Improves the Efficacy of Carbamate Prodrugs

Self‐immolative (SI) spacers are sophisticated chemical constructs designed for molecular delivery or material degradation. We describe herein a (S)‐2‐(aminomethyl)pyrrolidine SI spacer that is able to release different types of anticancer drugs (possessing either a phenolic or secondary and tertiary hydroxyl groups) through a fast cyclization mechanism involving carbamate cleavage. The high efficiency of drug release obtained with this spacer was found to be beneficial for the in vitro cytotoxic activity of protease‐sensitive prodrugs, compared with a commonly used spacer of the same class. These findings expand the repertoire of degradation machineries and are instrumental for the future development of highly efficient delivery platforms.     

Metabolic N-Dealkylation and N-Oxidation as Elucidators of the Role of Alkylamino Moieties in Drugs Acting at Various Receptors

Metabolic reactions that occur at alkylamino moieties may provide insight into the roles of these moieties when they are parts of drug molecules that act at different receptors. N-dealkylation of N,N-dialkylamino moieties has been associated with retaining, attenuation or loss of pharmacologic activities of metabolites compared to their parent drugs. Further, N-dealkylation has resulted in clinically used drugs, activation of prodrugs, change of receptor selectivity, and providing potential for developing fully-fledged drugs. While both secondary and tertiary alkylamino moieties (open chain aliphatic or heterocyclic) are metabolized by CYP450 isozymes oxidative N-dealkylation, only tertiary alkylamino moieties are subject to metabolic N-oxidation by Flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) to give N-oxide products. In this review, two aspects will be examined after surveying the metabolism of representative alkylamino-moieties-containing drugs that act at various receptors (i) the pharmacologic activities and relevant physicochemical properties (basicity and polarity) of the metabolites with respect to their parent drugs and (ii) the role of alkylamino moieties on the molecular docking of drugs in receptors. Such information is illuminative in structure-based drug design considering that fully-fledged metabolite drugs and metabolite prodrugs have been, respectively, developed from N-desalkyl and N-oxide metabolites.