Reactions of Podophyllotoxin with DDQ

Introduction 2, 3-Dichloro-5, 6-dicyanobenzoquinone (DDQ) can react with lignans of the mono- arylidene-butyrolactone1, aryltetralin2, dibenzylbutane3 and aryltetralin-butyrolactone4,5 series. We have studied the reactions of this reagent with podophyllotoxin 1, which is a well-known natural product on account of its long history of use in folk medicine and the biological activity of its many derivatives6. In particular, derivatives of 4-demethyl epipodophyllotoxin are used in cancer chemo…     

Surface derivatization strategy for combinatorial analysis of cell response to mixtures of protein domains

We report a robust strategy for conjugating mixtures of two or more protein domains to nonfouling polyurethane surfaces. In our strategy, the carbamate groups of polyurethane are reacted with zirconium alkoxide from the vapor phase to give a surface-bound oxide that serves as a chemical layer that can be used to bond organics to the polymer substrate. A hydroxyalkylphosphonate monolayer was synthesized on this layer, which was then used to covalently bind primary amine groups in protein domains using chloroformate-derived cross-linking. The effectiveness of this synthesis strategy was gauged by using an ELISA to measure competitive, covalent bonding of cell-binding (III(9-10)) and fibronectin-binding (III(1-2)) domains of the cell adhesion protein fibronectin. Cell adhesion, spreading, and fibronectin matrix assembly were examined on surfaces conjugated with single domains, a 1:1 surface mixture of III(1-2) and III(9-10), and a recombinant protein "duplex" containing both domains in one fusion protein. The mixture performed as well as or better than the other surfaces in these assays. Our surface activation strategy is amenable to a wide range of polymer substrates and free amino group-containing protein fragments. As such, this technique may be used to create biologically specific materials through the immobilization of specific protein groups or mixtures thereof on a substrate surface.     

In memory of Prof. Venkataraman: Recent advances in the synthetic methodologies of flavones

Flavones are present in a variety of medicines and natural products and are important structural motif due to their unique mode of physiological action. Hence the structural importance of flavone moiety has elicited a great deal of interest in the field of organic synthesis and chemical biology to develop some new and improved synthesis of this molecular skeleton. Herein, we have described an up to date overview on the recent advances in the diverse synthetic methodologies of flavones. The review covers the basic conceptual and practical catalytic synthesis like carbonylative annulation, cyclodehydration, Suzuki Miyaura coupling, Heck coupling, green methodologies, metal catalyzed reactions, organocatalytic transformations, microwave irradiation, etc. which are significant for constructing flavone skeleton. This review will satisfy the expectations of readers who are interested in the development of the field and looking for an update. It will stimulate researchers to develop new and creative synthetic access to this heterocyclic system, which will be instrumental in the advancement of flavone chemistry.