Robust metal-organic framework enforced by triple-framework interpenetration exhibiting high H2 storage density

A microporous metal-organic framework 1 Zn 2(CNC) 2(DPT).G [CNC = 4-Carboxycinnamic; DPT = 3,6-Di-4-pyridyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine; G = guest molecules] was synthesized and structurally characterized by a triply interpenetrated primitive cubic net with 1D pores of about 3.7 A. 1 is highly robust enforced by triple framework interpenetration through weak van der Waals interactions, thus the activated 1b takes up 1.28 wt % hydrogen gas and exhibits high hydrogen storage density of 95.2% at 1 atm and 77 K.     

Establishing an Analogue Based In Silico Pipeline in the Pursuit of Novel Inhibitory Scaffolds against the SARS Coronavirus 2 Papain-Like Protease

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has been a burden on the worldwide population, with mass fatalities and devastating socioeconomic consequences. It has particularly drawn attention to the lack of approved small-molecule drugs to inhibit SARS coronaviruses. Importantly, lessons learned from the SARS outbreak of 2002–2004, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1), can be applied to current drug discovery ventures. SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 both possess two cysteine proteases, the main protease (M^pro) and the papain-like protease (PL^pro), which play a significant role in facilitating viral replication, and are important drug targets. The non-covalent inhibitor, GRL-0617, which was found to inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-1, and more recently SARS-CoV-2, is the only PL^pro inhibitor co-crystallised with the recently solved SARS-CoV-2 PL^pro crystal structure. Therefore, the GRL-0617 structural template and pharmacophore features are instrumental in the design and development of more potent PL^pro inhibitors. In this work, we conducted scaffold hopping using GRL-0617 as a reference to screen over 339,000 ligands in the chemical space using the ChemDiv, MayBridge, and Enamine screening libraries. Twenty-four distinct scaffolds with structural and electrostatic similarity to GRL-0617 were obtained. These proceeded to molecular docking against PL^pro using the AutoDock tools. Of two compounds that showed the most favourable predicted binding affinities to the target site, as well as comparable protein-ligand interactions to GRL-0617, one was chosen for further analogue-based work. Twenty-seven analogues of this compound were further docked against the PL^pro, which resulted in two additional hits with promising docking profiles. Our in silico pipeline consisted of an integrative four-step approach: (1) ligand-based virtual screening (scaffold-hopping), (2) molecular docking, (3) an analogue search, and, (4) evaluation of scaffold drug-likeness, to identify promising scaffolds and eliminate those with undesirable properties. Overall, we present four novel, and lipophilic, scaffolds obtained from an exhaustive search of diverse and uncharted regions of chemical space, which may be further explored in vitro through structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies in the search for more potent inhibitors. Furthermore, these scaffolds were predicted to have fewer off-target interactions than GRL-0617. Lastly, to our knowledge, this work contains the largest ligand-based virtual screen performed against GRL-0617.     

Novel Small-Molecule Scaffolds as Candidates against the SARS Coronavirus 2 Main Protease: A Fragment-Guided in Silico Approach

The ongoing pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus has been the greatest global health crisis since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Thus far, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in over 1 million deaths, and there is no cure or vaccine to date. The recently solved crystal structure of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease has been a major focus for drug-discovery efforts. Here, we present a fragment-guided approach using ZINCPharmer, where 17 active fragments known to bind to the catalytic centre of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (SARS-CoV-2 M^pro) were used as pharmacophore queries to search the ZINC databases of natural compounds and natural derivatives. This search yielded 134 hits that were then subjected to multiple rounds of in silico analyses, including blind and focused docking against the 3D structure of the main protease. We scrutinised the poses, scores, and protein–ligand interactions of 15 hits and selected 7. The scaffolds of the seven hits were structurally distinct from known inhibitor scaffolds, thus indicating scaffold novelty. Our work presents several novel scaffolds as potential candidates for experimental validation against SARS-CoV-2 M^pro.     

Kinetics of N-glutaryl-L-phenylalanine p-nitroanilide hydrolysis catalyzed by alpha-chymotrypsin in aqueous solutions of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide

The rate of hydrolysis of N-glutaryl-L-phenylalanine p-nitroanilide (GPNA) catalyzed by alpha-chymotrypsin (alpha-CT) has been measured in aqueous solutions of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) at concentrations below and above the critical micelle concentration, as well as in the absence of surfactant. Under all the conditions employed, the reaction follows a Michaelis-Menten mechanism. The presence of the surfactant leads to superactivity below and above the critical micelle concentration (CMC), with a maximum reaction rate taking place near the CMC when the results are treated in terms of the analytical concentration of the substrate. A similar behavior was observed by working with the enzyme partially deactivated in the presence of 4 M urea. After correction to take into account the partitioning of the substrate between the micelles and the external media, the activity of the enzyme tends to remain almost constant above the corresponding CMCs. This results from a compensation of a decrease in the catalytic constant (k(cat)) and a decrease in the Michaelis constant (K(M)). The behavior of alpha-CT in the hydrolysis of GPNA in DTAB solutions is at variance with that previously reported for the hydrolysis of 2-naphthyl acetate in solutions of the same surfactant (E. Abuin, E. Lissi, R. Duarte, Langmuir 19 (2003) 5374). An explanation of the different effects of the surfactant on the behavior of the enzyme with both substrates is advanced, taking into account the complexity of the mechanism of the alpha-CT-mediated reaction, more specifically, in terms of different rate-limiting steps for the formation of the measured products.     

Connected autonomous vehicles: State of practice

Connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) have the potential to deal with the steady increase in road traffic while solving transportation related issues such as traffic congestion, pollution, and road safety. Therefore, CAVs are becoming increasingly popular and viewed as the next generation transportation solution. Although modular advancements have been achieved in the development of CAVs, these efforts are not fully integrated to operationalize CAVs in realistic driving scenarios. This paper surveys a wide range of efforts reported in the literature about the CAV developments, summarizes the CAV impacts from a statistical perspective, explores current state of practice in the field of CAVs in terms of autonomy technologies, communication backbone, and computation needs. Furthermore, this paper provides general guidance on how transportation infrastructures need to be prepared in order to effectively operationalize CAVs. The paper also identifies challenges that need to be addressed in near future for effective and reliable adoption of CAVs.