Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of N-substituted 2-[(2-imidazolylsulfinyl)methyl]anilines as a new class of gastric H+/K(+)-ATPase inhibitors.

A series of N-substituted 2-[(2-imidazolylsulfinyl)methyl]anilines (3) was synthesized and evaluated for its biological activity against gastric H+/K(+)-ATPase prepared from rabbit stomach and gastric acid secretions in Heidenhain pouch dogs. Monoalkyl substituents on the nitrogen atom of the aniline moiety markedly inhibited the enzyme activity to the same degree as omeprazole, a representative H+/K(+)-ATPase inhibitor. Most of these compounds, administered at 3 mg/kg i.v. inhibited histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion. The inhibitory activity of these derivatives on the enzymes at pH 6.0 was more potent than that at pH 7.4, and was distinctly correlated to stability in aqueous solution at pH 5.0.     

Major-to-ultratrace elements in bone-marrow fluid as determined by ICP-AES and ICP-MS.

The major-to-ultratrace elements in human bone-marrow fluid were determined by ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry), and ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). The bone-marrow fluid sample was centrifuged prior to acid digestion to exclude the bone piece from bone marrow, and then digested with nitric acid. As a result, 20 elements could be determined over the concentration range from 1610 microg g(-1) for Na to 0.00043 microg g(-1) for W. It was found that Fe, Zn and Sb were enriched by ca. 264-, 7- and 15-fold, respectively, in bone-marrow fluid, compared to those in human blood serum. Alkali metals (K, Rb, Cs), except for Na, were also significantly enriched in bone-marrow fluid. Furthermore, the concentrations of various elements, such as Fe, P, Al, Zn, Cu, Se, Zr, Sn, Ag and W, were significantly higher than those in open seawater.     

On the correlation between NQR frequency and bond length in I3−

A linear correlation between the NQR frequency of the terminal iodine atom and the corresponding I-I bond length in I₃^? was found in several compounds containing triiodide anions. A simple extended Huckel MO calculation suggested that such a correlation can be used to check the validity of wavefunctions of iodine.     

Initial mode of radical pair formation in n-hydrocarbons irradiated at 1.5 and 4.2 K

The ESR spectra of X-irradiated (at 1.5 and 4.2 K) single crystals of n-decane-d₂₂, n-decane-h₂₂ and their mixtures have been measured at 1.5 and 4.2 K. It is concluded that almost all alkyl radicals are inherently formed in pairs in a fairly random fashion and that the spacial distribution of the radicals depends on the irradiation temperatures. In the crystal of n-decane-d₂₂, a 1,3-carbon intrachain radical pair is identified together with a number of very close interchain pairs which are formed between almost all kinds of the first neighboring chains. The crystal of n-decane-h₂₂ gives considerably larger spacial distribution of radicals, indicating a remarkable mass effect on the radical pair formation.     

Effect of freezing rate on physical stability of lyophilized cationic liposomes

Factors affecting the storage stability of lyophilized cationic liposomes were investigated using liposomes prepared with various excipients and by different freezing rates, either quick freezing (freezing by immersion into liquid nitrogen) or slow freezing (cooling to -50 degrees C at a rate of -10 degrees C/h). Increases in the particle size of cationic liposomes observed during freeze-drying were inhibited by the addition of sucrose, trehalose and sucrose-dextran mixtures (1 : 1 and 2 : 1 by weight). The storage instability of the formulations, as indicated by changes in particle size, was affected by their glass transition temperature (T(g)). Addition of high-T(g) excipients resulted in smaller increases in the particle size, indicating improvement of storage stability. The storage stability of cationic liposome formulations was also affected by freezing rate. Formulations prepared by slow freezing exhibited better stability. Longer shear relaxation times were observed for formulations prepared by slow freezing compared with those prepared by quick freezing. This indicates that formulations prepared by slow freezing have a lower matrix mobility, which may result in better storage stability. T(g) or (1)H-NMR relaxation measurements could not detect differences in matrix mobility between formulations prepared by different freezing rates. Shear relaxation measurements seem to be a useful method for evaluating the storage stability of cationic liposome formulations.     

Conformation-dependent change in antitumor activity of linear and branched (1----3)-beta-D-glucans on the basis of conformational elucidation by carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The antitumor activity of (1----3)-beta-D-glucans was tested in order to clarify its conformation-dependent response together with conformational elucidation by carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) spectroscopy. It was shown that the following three conformations, single chain, single helix and triple helix, are readily distinguished by the high-resolution solid-state 13C-NMR method. It turned out that preparations of linear (1----3)-beta-D-glucans of a triple helical conformation were ineffective in the inhibition of tumor growth. These linear (1----3)-beta-D-glucans were converted to an effective form in the inhibition of tumor growth when they were lyophilized from dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solutions as a result of a conformational change from the triple helical to the single chain forms. They were not effective, however, when assayed in DMSO solution. In contrast, it was found that a branched (1----3)-beta-D-glucan is effective not only in either saline solutions of the triple helical sample or the lyophilized sample from DMSO, but also in DMSO solution. The aforementioned drastic change in antitumor activity was interpreted in terms of resulting conformational changes as analyzed by the 13C-NMR method.     

Comparison of the glass transition temperature and fragility parameter of isomalto-olygomer predicted by molecular dynamics simulations with those measured by differential scanning calorimetry

The purpose of this study is to examine whether molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using a commercially available software for personal computers can estimate the glass transition temperature (Tg) of amorphous systems containing pharmaceutically-relevant excipients. MD simulations were carried out with an amorphous matrix model constructed from isomaltoheptaose, and the Tg estimated from the calculated density versus temperature profile was compared with the Tg measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for freeze-dried isomalto-oligomer having an average molecular weight close to that of isomaltoheptaose. The Tg values determined by DSC were lower by 10 to 20 K than those extrapolated from the Tg values estimated by MD simulation. Fragility parameter was estimated to be 56 and 51 from MD simulation and from DSC measurement, respectively. Thus, the results suggest that MD simulation can provide approximate estimates for the Tg and fragility parameter of amorphous formulations. However, a reduction of the cooling rate, achievable by sufficiently elongating the simulation duration, is necessary for more accurate estimation.     

Non-glutamate type pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine antifolates. III. Synthesis and biological properties of N(omega)-masked ornithine analogs

The glutamic acid moiety of N-[4-[3-(2,4-diamino-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-5-yl)propyl]benzoyl]-L-g lutamic acid (1b, TNP-351) and the related compound (1a), was replaced with various N(omega)-acyl-, sulfonyl-, carbamoyl- and aryl-2,omega-diaminoalkanoic acids, and the inhibitory effects of the resulting products (9, 11, 14, 18, 21, 23, 25, 30, 36) on dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), the growth of murine fibrosarcoma Meth A cells, and methotrexate-resistant human CCRF-CEM cells, were examined. Compounds (9a-f) acylated with a hemiphthaloyl group were efficiently synthesized by coupling pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine carboxylic acids (7a,b) and N(omega)-phthaloyl 2,omega-diaminoalkanoic acid methyl esters (6a-c) and subsequent hydrolysis. The other N(omega)-acyl- and sulfonyl-ornithine analogs (21, 23, 25) were synthesized by acylation of free amino intermediates (19a,b) derived from tert-butoxycarbonyl-ornithine analogs (17a,b). A free ornithine analog (18) did not strongly inhibit Meth A cell growth, whereas all N(omega)-acyl-, sulfonyl-, carbamoyl- and aryl-ornithine analogs (9, 11, 21, 23, 25, 30, 36) exhibited much more potent inhibitory activities against both DHFR and Meth A cell growth. In particular, compounds 9c, 21k and 36a also showed remarkable growth-inhibitory activities against methotrexate-resistant CCRF-CEM cells. These results demonstrate that the potent inhibitory activities of N(omega)-masked ornithine analogs against the growth of Meth A cells and methotrexate-resistant CCRF-CEM cells, results from effective uptake via reduced folate carrier and their potent DHFR inhibition.