Flexible matching of test ligands to a 3D pharmacophore using a molecular superposition force field: Comparison of predicted and experimental conformations of inhibitors of three enzymes

Summary A computer procedure TFIT, which uses a molecular superposition force field to flexibly match test compounds to a 3D pharmacophore, was evaluated to find out whether it could reliably predict the bioactive conformations of flexible ligands. The program superposition force field optimizes the overlap of those atoms of the test ligand and template that are of similar chemical type, by applying an attractive force between atoms of the test ligand and template which are close together and of similar type (hydrogen bonding, charge, hydrophobicity). A procedure involving Monte Carlo torsion perturbations, followed by torsional energy minimization, is used to find conformations of the test ligand which cominimize the internal energy of the ligand and the superposition energy of ligand and template. The procedure was tested by applying it to a series of flexible ligands for which the bioactive conformation was known experimentally. The 15 molecules tested were inhibitors of thermolysin, HIV-1 protease or endothiapepsin for which X-ray structures of the bioactive conformation were available. For each enzyme, one of the molecules served as a template and the others, after being conformationally randomized, were fitted. The fitted conformation was then compared to the known binding geometry. The matching procedure was successful in predicting the bioactive conformations of many of the structures tested. Significant deviation from experimental results was found only for parts of molecules where it was readily apparent that the template did not contain sufficient information to accurately determine the bioactive conformation.     

A preliminary study on fabrication of nanoscale fibrous chitosan membranes in situ by biospecific degradation

A new approach for in situ fabrication of nanoscale fibrous chitosan membrane by biospecific degradation under physiological situation was studied. The chitosan binary blend membranes were fabricated by solvent casting of chitosan solution containing highly deacetylated chitosan (HDC) and moderately deacetylated chitosan (MDC) with different ratio. The biodegradation process was performed in PBS (pH 7.4) containing lysozyme at the temperature of 37 °C. Experimental results from weight loss, reducing sugar in surrounding media, FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and SEM throughout the study showed that the biospecific degradation by lysozyme had removed MDC component selectively. When the ratio of MDC in the binary blend membranes amounted to 0.5, nanoscale domains of HDC and MDC were obtained, and thus a nanoscale fibrous structure was fabricated after biospecific degradation of MDC. This nanofibrous structure and the biospecific degradation of chitosan membranes can have potential advantages and interesting implications in tissue engineering and drug delivery.     

New unsaturated polyesters as injectable drug carriers

New unsaturated polyesters of poly(fumaric acid-glycol-sebacic acid) copolymers and poly(maleic anhydride-glycol-sebacic acid) copolymers were prepared by melt polycondensation of the corresponding mixed monomers: sebacic anhydride, fumaric acid or maleic anhydride and glycol. Methyl-methacrylate (MMA) was used as crosslinker and dimer acid was used as thinner.In vitro studies showed that those copolymers are degradable in phosphate buffer at 37 °C and poly(fumaric acid-glycol-sebacic acid) has proper drug release rate as drug carriers. The biocompatibility of poly(fumaric acid-glycol-sebacic acid) copolymers under mice skin was also evaluated; macroscopic observation and microscopic analysis demonstrated that the copolymer is biocompatible and well tolerated in vivo. The injected poly(fumaric acid-glycol-sebacic acid) [molar ratio M_{fumaric acid}:M_glycol:M_{sebacic acid} = 1.75:2.20:0.25] containing 5% adriamycin hydrochloride (ADM) in the mice bearing Sarcoma-180 tumor exhibited a good antitumor efficacy. The volume doubling time (VDT) (18 ± 2.5 days) of the tumor growth by this treatment was longer than that (7 ± 0.9 days) by the subcutaneous injection of ADM.     

温度及pH值敏感水凝胶的合成和应用

直接将丙烯酸单体与N-异丙基丙烯酸胺共聚交联合成了温度及pH值敏感的水凝胶。包埋于水凝胶中的药物的释放随温度升高和pH值增大而加快，药物的释放兼有温度和pH值敏感性，对pH值的响应更加显著。     

Copper(II) Complexes of ω‐Hydroxy‐Functionalized N‐Salicylidenehydrazides show pH‐Controlled Switching between Dicationic Dimers and Neutral One‐Dimensional Coordination Polymers

New copper(II) complexes of the hydrazone ligands H₂salhyhb, H₂salhyhp, and H₂salhyhh, derived from salicylaldehyde and ω‐hydroxy carbonic acid hydrazides, have been synthesized and physically characterized. Two fundamental structures were found in solid state depending on the pH‐value of the reaction solution. Acidic conditions lead to the formation of the di‐μ‐phenoxo‐bridged dicationic complex dimers [{Cu(Hsalhyhb)}₂]²⁺ ( 1a ), [{Cu(Hsalhyhp)}₂]²⁺ ( 2a ), and [{Cu(Hsalhyhh)}₂]²⁺ ( 3a ), isolated as perchlorate salts. The dimeric complexes show strong antiferromagnetic coupling with J = ?399 ( 1a ), ?410 ( 2a ), and ?311 cm^?1 ( 3a ). Higher pH‐values resulted in the aggregation of neutral copper ligand fragments to the one‐dimensional coordination polymers [{Cu(salhyhb)}_n] ( 1b ), [{Cu(salhyhp)}_n] ( 2b ), and [{Cu(salhyhh)}_n] ( 3b ). 3b has been examined by means of X‐ray crystallography and represents the first example of a structurally characterized neutral copper(II) N‐salicylidenehydrazide complex without additional ligands. The magnetic interactions in the polymers are also antiferromagnetic with J = ?125 ( 1b ), ?136 ( 2b ), and ?148 cm^?1 ( 3b ), but strongly reduced compared to the corresponding dimeric complexes. The two basic structure types can be reversibly interconverted simply by pH‐control.     

Industrial Application of Hybrid Sol-Gel Coatings for the Decoration of Crystal Glassware

The coloration of glass via melting techniques presents some unique problems with respect to the reproducibility, toxicology and economics of certain colors, especially if the market demands are highly variable. This is also the case for consumer products such as crystal glass and tableware. Traditionally, the decoration of crystal glasses is performed by laborious manual techniques, which are costly and do not meet modern market requirements. Alternatively, spraying of colored lacquers is a highly flexible and valuable tool for the development of new products. Sol-gel type hybrid coatings provide several advantages compared to conventional organic systems like high abrasion resistance, almost perfect adhesion, refractive index matching and sufficient stability in dishwashing procedures. The solubility of organic dyes in the hybrid matrix is sufficient for intense colors even at rather low layer thicknesses, which on the other hand convey the high brilliance of the base material. The development of transparent, translucent and opaque hybrid coatings for crystal glass has been completed in the last few years and the production of partially coated articles has started recently. The synthesis and properties of the coating material are reviewed and the industrial process and first market results are also outlined.     

Similarities and differences in the electron ionization-induced fragmentation of structurally related N-alkoxymethyl lactams and sultams

Unimolecular fragmentation patterns of the molecular ions of selected lactams and sultams bearing alkoxymethyl group at the nitrogen atom were studied. The main common fragmentation reaction observed for all compounds studied in this work is the elimination of an aldehyde molecule. This reaction is considered to proceed via two different mechanisms. For lactams, hydrogen rearrangement within an alkoxymethyl group is observed, which leads to the appropriate N-methyl derivatives. For sultams, transfer of the methyl group to the nitrogen and oxygen atoms, proceeding through an ion-neutral complex, dominates. Another important fragmentation channel characteristic exclusively for lactams is the loss of an alkyl radical. This process takes place within the N-alkoxymethyl moiety, yielding the appropriate protonated ion of N-formyllactams. This process is accompanied by relatively high kinetic energy release.     

Comparative receptor mapping of serotoninergic 5-HT3 and 5-HT4 binding sites*

The clinical use of currently available drugs acting at the5-HT₄ receptor has been hampered by their lack of selectivityover 5-HT₃ binding sites. For this reason, there is considerableinterest in the medicinal chemistry of these serotonin receptor subtypes, andsignificant effort has been made towards the discovery of potent and selectiveligands. Computer-aided conformational analysis was used to characterizeserotoninergic 5-HT₃ and 5-HT₄ receptorrecognition. On the basis of the generally accepted model of the5-HT₃ antagonist pharmacophore, we have performed a receptormapping of this receptor binding site, following the active analog approach(AAA) defined by Marshall. The receptor excluded volume was calculated as theunion of the van der Waals density maps of nine active ligands(pK_i 8.9), superimposed in pharmacophoric conformations.Six inactive analogs (pK_i < 7.0) were subsequently used todefine the essential volume, which in its turn can be used to define theregions of steric intolerance of the 5-HT₃ receptor. Five activeligands (pK_i 9.3) at 5-HT₄ receptors wereused to construct an antagonist pharmacophore for this receptor, and todetermine its excluded volume by superimposition of pharmacophoricconformations. The volume defined by the superimposition of five inactive5-HT₄ receptor analogs that possess the pharmacophoric elements(pK_i 6.6) did not exceed the excluded volume calculated forthis receptor. In this case, the inactivity may be due to the lack of positiveinteraction of the amino moiety with a hypothetical hydrophobic pocket, whichwould interact with the voluminous substituents of the basic nitrogen ofactive ligands. The difference between the excluded volumes of both receptorshas confirmed that the main difference is indeed in the basic moiety. Thus,the 5-HT₃ receptor can only accommodate small substituents inthe position of the nitrogen atom, whereas the 5-HT₄ receptorrequires more voluminous groups. Also, the basic nitrogen is located at ca.8.0 Å from the aromatic moiety in the 5-HT₄ antagonistpharmacophore, whereas this distance is ca. 7.5 Å in the5-HT₃ antagonist model. The comparative mapping of bothserotoninergic receptors has allowed us to confirm the three-componentpharmacophore accepted for the 5-HT₃ receptor, as well as topropose a steric model for the 5-HT₄ receptor binding site. Thisstudy offers structural insights to aid the design of new selective ligands,and the resulting models have received some support from the synthesis of twonew active and selective ligands: 24 (K_i(5-HT₃)= 3.7 nM; K_i(5-HT₄) > 1000 nM) and 25(K_i(5-HT₄) = 13.7 nM;K_i(5-HT₃) > 10 000 nM).     

Shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanostructures: the case of silver

The concept of shape-controlled synthesis is discussed by investigating the growth mechanisms for silver nanocubes, nanowires, and nanospheres produced through a polymer-mediated polyol process. Experimental parameters, such as the concentration of AgNO(3) (the precursor to silver), the molar ratio between poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP, the capping agent) and AgNO(3), and the strength of chemical interaction between PVP and various crystallographic planes of silver, were found to determine the crystallinity of seeds (e.g., single crystal versus decahedral multiply twinned particles). In turn, the crystallinity of a seed and the extent of the PVP coverage on the seed were both instrumental in controlling the morphology of final product. The ability to generate silver nanostructures with well-defined morphologies provides a great opportunity to experimentally and systematically study the relationship between their properties and geometric shapes.