NMR and UV studies of 3'-S-phosphorothiolate modified DNA in a DNA : RNA hybrid dodecamer duplex; implications for antisense drug design

High-resolution NMR spectroscopy has been used to establish the conformational consequences of the introduction of a single 3[prime or minute]-S-phosphorothiolate link in the DNA strand of a DNA : RNA hybrid. These systems are of interest as potential antisense therapeutic agents. Previous studies on similarly modified dinucleotides have shown that the conformation of the sugar to which the sulfur is attached shifts to the north (C(3[prime or minute])-endo/C(2[prime or minute])-exo). Comparisons made between NOESY cross-peak intensities, and coupling constants from PE-COSY spectra, for both non-modified and modified duplexes confirm that this conformational shift is also present in the double helical oligonucleotide system. In addition it is noted that in both the dinucleotides and the modified duplex, the conformation of the sugar ring 3[prime or minute] to the site of modification is also shifted to the north. That this pattern is observed in the small monomeric system as well as the larger double helix is suggestive of some pre-ordering of the sequences. The conclusion is supported by consideration of the (1)H chemical shifts of the heterocyclic bases near the site of the modification. The enhanced stability that these conformational changes should bring was confirmed by UV thermal melting studies. Subsequently a series of singly and doubly 3[prime or minute]-S-phosphorothiolate-modified duplexes were investigated by UV. The results are indicative of an additive effect of the modification with thermodynamic benefit being derived from alternate spacing of two modified linkers.     

Inclusive and Deep-Inelastic Scattering from a Dressed Structureless Nucleon

Nonperturbative polaron variational methods are used to study inclusive scattering in the context of the scalar Wick-Cutkosky model. We derive the structure functions for a scalar point-like nucleon surrounded by a cloud of strongly interacting mesons from the Compton amplitude that is obtained in a recent variational calculation based on the particle (or worldline) representation. In zeroth variational order, a covariant exponentiated form is obtained, which is identical to the one suggested by Vineyard for scattering of slow neutrons from quantum liquids. In first order, the much richer dependence of the structure function on momentum and energy transfer, which emerges, is evaluated numerically. We study the -evolution and the perturbative as well as the scaling limit of our variational structure functions. Finally, the momentum sum rule is derived and evaluated in order to determine the momentum fraction carried by the neutral mesons inside the dressed nucleon. Received May 30, 1997; revised December 19, 1997; accepted for publication January 30, 1998     

Evidence for d-wave superconductivity in the repulsive Hubbard model

We perform numerical simulations of the Hubbard model using the projector Quantum Monte Carlo method. A novel approach for finite size scaling is discussed. We obtain evidence in favor of d-wave superconductivity in the repulsive Hubbard model. For U=4, is roughly estimated as K. Received 8 September 1998     

Leucascandrolide a: synthesis and related studies

The total synthesis of the biologically active marine natural product leucascandrolide A is reported. A convergent strategy is employed, allowing for the rapid assembly of the macrolide moiety. Key steps of our approach include the diastereoselective addition of a zinc alkynilide to (R)-isopropylidene glyceraldehyde, the enantioselective copper(I) fluoride catalyzed aldol addition of a TMS-dienolate to crotonaldehyde, and the formation of a 2,6-trans-substituted tetrahydropyran by selenium-mediated intramolecular cyclization. Moreover, dramatic solvent effects observed in the macrolactonization reaction suggest that hydrogen-bonding effects play a critical role. An improved route to a key intermediate of our synthesis is documented.     

Total synthesis of bafilomycin A1

A convergent synthesis of bafilomycin A(1), a potent inhibitor of V-type ATPases, is presented. The synthesis relies on the zinc triflate mediated diastereoselective addition of a complex enyne to a sensitive aldehyde as the key fragment coupling. A ruthenium-catalyzed trans-reduction of the resulting propargylic enyne efficiently installs the required C10-C13 trans,trans-diene subunit, implementing an alternative strategy to traditional palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling strategies. A highly selective oxidation of a secondary hydroxyl group in a triol sets the stage for the completion of the synthesis.     

Direct catalytic asymmetric aldol additions of methyl ynones. Spontaneous reversal in the sense of enantioinduction

In this Communication, we report the direct, catalytic, asymmetric aldol addition of methyl ynones using our dinuclear zinc catalyst. A spontaneous reversal in the sense of enantioinduction was observed for these reactions; formation of the (S)-enantiomer is favored in the early stages (69% ee after 5 min), whereas the (R)-enantiomer is isolated as the major product after prolonged reaction times (97% ee after 22 h). It could be shown that this reversal in enantioselectivity is due to formation of a new catalytic species which incorporates the aldol product.     

Mechanism of the sulfurisation of phosphines and phosphites using 3-amino-1,2,4-dithiazole-5-thione (xanthane hydride)

Contrary to a previous report, the sulfurisation of phosphorus(III) derivatives by 3-amino-1,2,4-dithiazole-5-thione (xanthane hydride) does not yield carbon disulfide and cyanamide as the additional reaction products. The reaction of xanthane hydride with triphenyl phosphine or trimethyl phosphite yields triphenyl phosphine sulfide or trimethyl thiophosphate, respectively, and thiocarbamoyl isothiocyanate which has been trapped with nucleophiles. The reaction pathway involves initial nucleophilic attack of the phosphorus at sulfur next to the thiocarbonyl group of xanthane hydride followed by decomposition of the phosphonium intermediate formed to products. The Hammett rho-values for the sulfurisation of substituted triphenyl phosphines and triphenyl phosphites in acetonitrile are approximately -1.0. The entropies of activation are very negative (-114+/-15 J mol-1 K-1) with little dependence on solvent which is consistent with a bimolecular association step leading to the transition state. The negative values of DeltaS(not equal) and rho values indicate that the rate limiting step of the sulfurisation reaction is formation of the phosphonium ion intermediate which has an early transition state with little covalent bond formation. The site of nucleophilic attack has been also confirmed using computational calculations.