Small molecules as inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases

Cell division (mitosis) is one of the basic requirements for multicellular oranisms. The capability of a cell to replicate enables a complex assembly to be created. Faulty regulation of the control mechanism in the cell cycle leads to an excessive cell proliferation and is the cause of cancer. The key position of the cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and their direct partners, as well as the fact that the majority of malign illnesses show defects in at least one of these key players of the cell cycle, is of great interest for the development of low-molecular-weight CDK inhibitors. In this Review an overview of the different structural classes of ATP-competitive inhibitors of CDKs are given, whose devlopment was aimed at battling cancer. The Review shows how far the development of selective CDK inhibitors has progressed and to what extent the expectations for such drugs have so far been fulfilled.     

Electrochemical reaction of lithium with nanosized vanadium antimonate

Nanometric vanadium antimonate, VSbO₄, was prepared by mechanical milling from Sb₂O₃ and V₂O₅ and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Mossbaüer spectroscopy (MS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. Its reactivity towards lithium was examined by testing Li/VSbO₄ cells under galvanostatic and potentiostatic regimes. The amount of Li inserted was found to be consistent with a two-step process involving the reactions (i) VSbO₄+8 Li→Sb+V+4 Li₂O and (ii) Sb+3 Li→Li₃Sb, the former being virtually irreversible and the latter reversible as suggested by the shape of the anodic and cathodic curves. Ex situ XPS measurements of the discharged and charged electrode provided direct evidence of the formation of alloyed Sb and confirmed the results of the potentiostatic curves regarding the irreversible or reversible character of the previous reactions. The Li/VSbO₄ cell exhibited acceptable electrochemical performance, which surpassed that of other Sb-based compounds as the likely result of the formation of V and its associated enhanced electrode conductivity.     

Spherical coordinate representations of solvent composition for liquid chromatography method development using experimental design

One of the major techniques used for the method development of ternary and quaternary high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems has been to use mixture designs, often referred to as "Glajch's Triangle". This technique does not allow for the systematic and simultaneous optimization of other factors such as gradient time, pH and temperature that affect the quality of separations. An alternative approach is to use experimental designs. The condition, however, that the composition of all components of the mobile phase must total 100% presents a problem when trying to mathematically represent ranges of each mobile phase constituent of a ternary or quaternary system. A method is described here, based on spherical coordinate representations, that adheres to the constraints of the mobile phase composition and allows experimental designs, such as central composite and factorial designs, to be applied to the simultaneous optimization of the mobile phase composition. Other factors, in particular temperature and gradient time, can then be included in the design. As a result of applying these designs to the HPLC separation of phenols and corticosteroids, it was found necessary to include three-way interactions between experimental factors in the model. The significance of these interactions shows that they need to be considered in HPLC method development.     

Cellulose-precursor synthesis of nanocrystalline Ce<Subscript>0.8</Subscript>Gd<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2−δ</Subscript> for SOFC anodes

Developments of intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT SOFCs) require novel anode materials with a high electrochemical activity at 800–1070 K. The polarization of cermet anodes, made of nickel, ceria and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and applied onto a YSZ solid electrolyte, can be significantly reduced by catalytically active ceria additions, the relative role of which increases with decreasing temperature. Further improvement is observed when using Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_2– (CGO) having a high oxygen ionic conductivity instead of undoped ceria, owing to enlargement of the electrochemical reaction zone. Nanocrystalline CGO powders with grain sizes of 8–35 nm were thus synthesized via the cellulose-precursor technique and introduced into Ni–CGO–YSZ cermets, and tested in contact with a (La_0.9Sr_0.1)_0.98Ga_0.8Mg_0.2O_3– (LSGM) electrolyte at 873–1073 K. The results showed that the anode performance can be enhanced by additional surface activation, in particular by impregnation with a Ce-containing solution, and also by incorporation of YSZ, which probably acts as a cermet-stabilizing component. The overpotential of the surface-modified Ni–CGO (25 wt%–75 wt%) anode in a 10% H₂/90% N₂ atmosphere was approximately 110 mV at 1073 K with a current density of 200 mA/cm².Presented at the OSSEP Workshop Ionic and Mixed Conductors: Methods and Processes, Aveiro, Portugal, 10–12 April 2003     

SciFinder-guided rational design of fluorescent carbon dots for ratiometric monitoring intracellular pH fluctuations under heat shock

Intracellular pH plays a significant role in various biological processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, metabolism, enzyme activity and homeostasis. In this work, a novel design strategy for the preparation of pH responsive carbon dots (CDs-pH) for ratiometric intracellular imaging was reported. By using SciFinder database, fluorescent CDs-pH with the required pK_a value of 6.84 were rationally designed, which is vital important for precise sensing of intracellular pH. As a result, the synthesized CDs-pH demonstrated robust ability to test pH fluctuations within the physiological range of 5.4-7.4. The CDs-pH was further utilized for fluorescent ratiometric imaging of pH in living HeLa cells, effectively avoided the influence of autofluorescence from native cellular species. Moreover, real-time monitoring of intracellular pH fluctuation under heat shock was successfully realized. This SciFinder-guided design strategy is simple and flexible, which has a great potential to be used for the development of other types of CDs for various applications.     

Physicochemical compatibility of SrCeO3 with potential SOFC cathodes

The chemical and physical compatibility of SrCeO₃ is investigated with respect to LaMO₃ (M=Mn, Fe, Co) and La_2−xSr_xNiO₄ (x=0, 0.8), via the reaction of fine-grained powder compacts and solid-state diffusion couples. Compositions were chosen so as to give predictive insight into possible candidate materials for all-oxide electrochemical devices. Results show the primary reaction in these systems to be the dissolution of SrO from SrCeO₃ into the LaMO₃/La_2−xSr_xNiO₄, and corresponding formation of La-doped CeO₂. Reaction kinetics are observed to be relatively fast, with element profiles suggesting the diffusion of Sr²⁺ in ceria to be surprisingly rapid. It is demonstrated that perovskite starting materials represent poor candidates for use with SrCeO₃, reacting completely to form Ruddlesden-Popper/K₂NiF₄ type oxides. Reaction with La₂NiO₄ is less pronounced, and formation of secondary phases suppressed for the composition La_1.2Sr_0.8NiO₄. It is thus concluded that Ruddlesden-Popper type oxides represent good candidate materials for use with a SrCeO₃-based electrolytes when doped with appropriate levels of Sr.     

Automated site-directed drug design: An assessment of the transferability of atomic residual charges (CNDO) for molecular fragments

Summary In this paper a database of atomic residual charges has been constructed for all the molecular fragments defined previously in a combinatorial search of the Cambridge Structural Database. The charges generated for the atoms in each fragment are compared with charges calculated for whole molecules containing those fragments. The fragment atomic charges lie within 1 S.D. of the mean for 68%, and within 2 S.D. for 91%, of the atoms whose charges were computed for whole molecules. The actual charges on any atom are strongly influenced by the adjacent connected atoms. There is a large spread of atomic residual charge within the fragments database.     

Two parameter donor-acceptor approach to solvent effects on the electrode kinetics of cations

A two parameter approach to solvent variations in the electroreduction rate constants of cobalt complexes and europium cations is presented and discussed in terms of solvent—solute and solvent—solvent interactions.

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Ein Zwei-Parameter Donor-Acceptor-Ansatz für Lösungsmitteleffekte bei der Elektrodenkinetik von Kationen (Kurze Mitteilung)

Zusammenfassung Es wird eine Zwei-Parameter-Annäherung der Lösungsmitteleinflüsse auf die Geschwindigkeitskonstanten der Elektroreduktion von Kobalt-Komplexen und Europium-Kationen präsentiert und auf der Basis von Lösungsmittel—gelöster Stoff- und Lösungsmittel—Lösungsmittel-Wechselwirkung diskutiert.

     

Electrode Kinetics and Ternary Complex Formation of Cd2+‐Antibiotics‐Vitamin‐B5 System. A Polarographic Study

Cd²⁺ complexes with antibiotics viz. neomycin, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, penicillin‐V and penicillin‐G as primary ligands and vitamin‐B₅ as secondary ligand have been reported at pH = 7.30 ± 0.01 and μ = 1.0 M KNO₃ at 298 K by polarographic technique.¹ Cd²⁺ formed 1:1:1, 1:1:2, and 1:2:1 complexes with a stability constants trend of neomycin < chlortetracycline < oxytetracycline < tetracycline < penicillin‐V < penicillin‐G can be explained on the basis of the nature of ligands, bonding, and steric hindrance of these drugs. The nature of electrode processes were reversible and diffusion controlled. The values of stability constants showed that these drugs can be used to reduce the toxicity of Cd.