Redox control of the P450cam catalytic cycle: effects of Y96F active site mutation and binding of a non-natural substrate

Spectroelectrochemistry measurements are used to demonstrate that active site mutation and binding of an non-natural substrate to P450cam (CYP101) reduces the shift in the redox potential caused by substrate-binding, and thereby results in slower catalytic turnover rate relative to wild-type enzyme with the natural camphor substrate.     

Limit distribution of the coefficients of polynomials with only unit roots

We consider sequences of random variables whose probability generating functions have only roots on the unit circle, which has only been sporadically studied in the literature. We show that the random variables are asymptotically normally distributed if and only if the fourth central and normalized (by the standard deviation) moment tends to 3, in contrast to the common scenario for polynomials with only real roots for which a central limit theorem holds if and only if the variance is unbounded. We also derive a representation theorem for all possible limit laws and apply our results to many concrete examples in the literature, ranging from combinatorial structures to numerical analysis, and from probability to analysis of algorithms. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 46,707–738, 2015     

Probing the Intracellular Glutathione Redox Potential by In‐Cell NMR Spectroscopy

Non‐invasive and real‐time analysis of cellular redox processes has been greatly hampered by lack of suitable measurement techniques. Here we describe an in‐cell nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based method for measuring the intracellular glutathione redox potential by direct and quantitative measurement of isotopically labeled glutathione introduced exogenously into living yeast. By using this approach, perturbations in the cellular glutathione redox homeostasis were also monitored as yeast cells were subjected to oxidative stress.     

Facile synthesis of spiro[benzo[e]indole-2,2′-piperidine] derivatives and their transformation to novel fluorescent scaffolds

The reaction of azaheterocyclic enamines with acrylamide was employed for the preparation of novel fluorescent scaffolds possessing a benzo[e]indoline moiety. Reaction of 3-substituted 2-methylidene-1H-benzo[e]indole with acrylamide gave rise to spiro[benzo[e]indole-2,2′-piperidin]-6′-ones. Ring opening reactions of the latter spiro compounds were investigated. Benzo[e]indoline derivatives possessing 2-(3-carbamoylpropyl), 2-[3-(ethoxycarbonyl)propyl] and 2-(4-aminobutyl) side chains were synthesised. The optical properties of the benzo[e]indoline derivatives were studied by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy.     

Rearrangement of spiro[2H‐1‐benzopyran‐2,2′‐[2H]indoles] to pyrrolo[1,2‐a]indole derivatives

Heating of 1′‐(N‐substituted carbamoyl)methylspiro[2H‐1‐benzopyran‐2,2′‐[2H]indoles] with potassium hydroxide in ethanol yields diastereomeric 5a,13‐methano‐6H‐1,3‐benzoxazepino[3,2‐a]indole‐12‐carbox‐amides. Reduction of the latter with sodium borohydride affords 1,2,3,9a‐tetrahydro‐2‐hydroxyaryl‐9H‐pyrrolo[ 1,2‐a] indole‐3 ‐carboxamides.     

Efficient enantiomeric analysis of primary amines and amino alcohols by high-performance liquid chromatography with precolumn derivatization using novel chiral SH-reagent N-(R)-mandelyl-(S)-cysteine

Novel N-acylated-(S)-cysteine derivative-N-(R)-mandelyl-(S)-cysteine (R-NMC), containing additional chiral center, aromatic and polar alpha-substituents in contrast to the traditionally used enantiomerically pure thiols, has been demonstrated to be an efficient SH-reagent for enantiomeric HPLC analysis of primary nonfunctionalized amines and amino alcohols after precolumn derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde. The R-NMC-derived isoindoles as well as adducts formed using traditional SH-reagents had a characteristic absorption maximum at 340 nm with a molar absorbance 6000 M(-1) cm(-1), were stable during the HPLC-analysis and highly fluorescent allowing to detect 1 fmol of amino compound. Using diastereomeric R-NMC all tested amino alcohols were resolved effectively as well as nonfunctionalized amines, some of which were not resolved by a direct method on a chiral phase. Applying traditional enantiomeric N-acetyl-(S)-cysteine (NAC) only some isoindoles formed by aliphatic amino alcohols have been separated satisfactorily. The enhanced selectivity for R-NMC-derived isomers has been achieved, obviously, due to the involvement of the substituents at an extra chiral center into additional intramolecular interactions.     

Quantitative measurements of glutathione in yeast cell lysate using 1H NMR

Methods for quantifying the level of glutathione (GSH) in yeast cell lysate are described using ¹H NMR analysis. For quantification purposes, the ¹H resonances corresponding to the Cys βCH₂ of GSH were identified as having the fewest overlapping spectral interferences from lysate matrix components using GSH spiked yeast lysate samples. Two methods, standard addition based on peak integration and a spectral subtraction approach, were evaluated for quantifying GSH in lysate samples. The peak integration procedure required baseline estimation and a peak fitting step to correct for background interferences while the spectral subtraction procedure was comparatively straightforward. The level of GSH measured by ¹H NMR was in good agreement with the concentration measured by the DTNB-GSSG reductase recycling assay. The proposed NMR method can lead to a reliable quantitation of GSH and could be applicable to a variety of other analytes of interest in complex biological matrices.     

Synthesis and reactions of 1-hydroxy-9,9a-dihydro-1H-imidazo[1,2-a]indol-2-(3H)-ones

1-Hydroxy-9,9a-dihydro-1H-imidazo[1,2-a]indol-2(3H)-ones, as a new type of azaheterocyclic hydroxamic acids, have been synthesized regioselectively from 1-carbamoylmethyl- or 1-(methoxycarbonyl)methyl-2,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium salts by reaction with hydroxylamine in the presence of a strong base. The alkylation and reduction with sodium borohydride of these novel heterocycles have been investigated. When treated with protic acids 1-hydroxy- or 1-alkoxy-9,9a-dihydro-1H-imidazo[1,2-a]indol-2(3H)-ones underwent ring opening of the imidazolidine to afford 1-[2-(hydroxyamino)-2-oxoethyl]-2,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium salts. The structural assignments are based on extensive ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopic studies and single crystal X-ray analyses.     

Condensation of 1-carbamoylmethyl-2,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium chloride with aromatic aldehydes

The reaction of 1-carbamoylmethyl-2,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium chloride with various aromatic aldehydes in acetic acid and the subsequent workup of the intermediate styrylic derivatives with strong bases yielded 9a-(2-arylethenyl)-1,2,3,9a-tetrahydro-9H-imidazo[1,2-a]indol-2-one derivatives. Condensation of the mentioned salt with salicylaldehyde in acidic or basic medium afforded the derivative of l-carbamoylmethylspiro[benzopyran-2,2-indole]. Alkylation of the latter compound with benzyl chloride in the presence of potassium hydroxide gave 9a-[2-(2-benzyloxyphenyl)ethenyl]-1,2,3,9a-tetrahydro-9H-imidazo[1,2-a]indol-2-one.Department of Organic Chemistry, Kaunas University of Technology, LT-3028 Kaunas, Lithuania Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 761–769, June, 2000.