The isolation and structure determination of cryptomisrine,a novel indolo[3,2-b]quinoline dimeric alkaloid from cryptolepis sanguinolenta

The isolation and structure determination of cryptomisrine, a novel indolo[3,2-b]quinoline dimeric alkaloid obtained from extracts of the roots of the Ghanaian medicinal plant Cryptolepis sanguinolenta is reported. The structure determination was made via a consideration of the spectral data, including uv, ir, nmr, and mass spectra. In particular, one-dimensional proton/carbon nmr, one-dimensional nOe difference nmr, and a series of homonuclear (COSY) and inverse-detected heteronuclear two-dimensional (HMQC, HMBC) experiments were utilized, as well as high resolution FABMS. Cryptomisrine is most unusual in that its two monomeric parts apparently exist in such a C₂ symmetric environment that only one set of proton and carbon nmr resonances are observed. Cryptomisrine is the first example of a dimeric indolo-[3,2-b]quinoline alkaloid to have been isolated from nature.     

Aliphatic Liquid Crystals with Positive Dielectric Anisotropy

Cyanothyl-subsituted cylohexyl cyclohexanoates, bi(cyclohexanes) and phenyl cyclohexanes were synthisized. Their mesmorphic behaviour is compared to that of the corresponding cyano derivatives. (Cyanoethyl)cyclohexyl cyclohenxanoates show mesmorphic properties in contrast to the corresponding cyano derivative. Separation of the cyano substituent from the rigid core of an anisotropic aliphatic compound by methylene groups enhances the thermodynamic stability of the mesophase. In aromatic compound, the cyanoethyl group leads to lower clearing points. These phenomena are attributed to teh influence of steric effects on the packing density and to the dependence of the clearing point on molecular association.     

Momordica charantia Extract Protects against Diabetes-Related Spermatogenic Dysfunction in Male Rats: Molecular and Biochemical Study

More than 90% of diabetic patients suffer from sexual dysfunction, including diminished sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm viability, and low testosterone levels. The effects of Momordica charantia (MC) were studied by estimating the blood levels of insulin, glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), testosterone (TST), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) in diabetic rats treated with 250 and 500 mg/kg b.w. of the total extract. Testicular antioxidants, epididymal sperm characteristics, testicular histopathology, and lesion scoring were also investigated. Testicular mRNA expression of apoptosis-related markers such as antiapoptotic B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and proapoptotic Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) were evaluated by real-time PCR. Furthermore, caspase-3 protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. MC administration resulted in a significant reduction in blood glucose and HbA1c and marked elevation of serum levels of insulin, TST, and gonadotropins in diabetic rats. It induced a significant recovery of testicular antioxidant enzymes, improved histopathological changes of the testes, and decreased spermatogenic and Sertoli cell apoptosis. MC effectively inhibited testicular apoptosis, as evidenced by upregulation of Bcl-2 and downregulation of Bax and caspase-3. Moreover, reduction in apoptotic potential in MC-treated groups was confirmed by reduction in the Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA expression ratio.     

Interaction of the excited singlet state of 1,4- and 1,8-dimethoxynaphthalene with some organic compounds: A fluorescence-quenching study

Summary The fluoroescence quenching of 1,4-dimethoxynaphthalene (1) and 1,8-dimethoxynaphthalene (2) by tetraphenylporpyrin (3), 9,10-diphenylanthracene (4), and 3-cyano-4-phenyl-6-(p-tolyl)-pyridin-2-one (5) has been studied in chloroform solution. The quenching occursvia a resonance energy transfer mechanism. The rate constant for the energy transfer (k _ET) of donor2 is slower than that of1 by the same acceptors, indicating that the steric effect dominates the ionization potential effect in all systems. The calculated critical transfer distances (R ₀) are 17–72 Å. In contrast, charge transfer is the predominant pathway of electronic deexcitation in the fluorescence quenching of donors1 and2 by 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinone-dimethane (6) in chloroform. The roles of temperature and geometrical structure of the donors on the efficiency of fluorescence quenching of1 and2 by acceptor6 have also been studied.

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Wechselwirkung des angeregten Singlett-Zustands von 1,4- und 1,8-Dimethoxynaphthalin mit einigen organischen Verbindungen: eine Untersuchung zur Fluoreszenzlöschung

Zusammenfassung Die Löschung der Fluoreszenz von 1,4-Dimethoxynaphthalin (1) und 1,8-Dimethoxynaphthalin (2) durch Tetraphenylporphyrin (3), 9,10-Diphenylanthracen (4) und 3-Cyano-4-phenyl-6-(p-tolyl)-pyridin-2-on (5) in Chloroform wurde untersucht. Die Löschung verläuft über einen Resonanzenergietransfermechanismus. Die Geschwindigkeitskonstante für den Energietransfer (k _ET) ist bei gleichem Akzeptor für den Donor2 niedriger als für1. Daraus läßt sich schließen, daß in allen untersuchten Systemen der sterische Effekt über den Effekt des Ionisierungspotentials dominiert. Die berechneten kritischen Transferdistanzen betragen 17–72 Å. Im Gegensatz zu diesen Beobachtungen verläuft der vorherrschende Relaxationsmechanismus bei der Fluoreszenzlöschung von1 und2 durch 7,7,8,8-Tetracyanochinon-dimethan (6) über einencharge-transfer-Prozeß. Die Einflüsse von Temperatur und Geometrie der Verbindungen auf die Effizienz der Fluoreszenzlöschung von1 und2 durch den Akzeptor6 wurden ebenfalls untersucht.

     

Phosphonated Near‐Infrared Fluorophores for Biomedical Imaging of Bone

The conventional method for creating targeted contrast agents is to conjugate separate targeting and fluorophore domains. A new strategy is based on the incorporation of targeting moieties into the non‐delocalized structure of pentamethine and heptamethine indocyanines. Using the known affinity of phosphonates for bone minerals in a model system, two families of bifunctional molecules that target bone without requiring a traditional bisphosphonate are synthesized. With peak fluorescence emissions at approximately 700 or 800 nm, these molecules can be used for fluorescence‐assisted resection and exploration (FLARE) dual‐channel imaging. Longitudinal FLARE studies in mice demonstrate that phosphonated near‐infrared fluorophores remain stable in bone for over five weeks, and histological analysis confirms their incorporation into the bone matrix. Taken together, a new strategy for creating ultra‐compact, targeted near‐infrared fluorophores for various bioimaging applications is described.     

Synthesis of 1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide

The reaction of methyl 2-bromo-6-(trifluoromethyl)-3-pyridinecarboxylate ( 1 ) with methanesulfonamide gave methyl 2-[(methylsulfonyl)amino]-6-(trifluoromethyl)-3-pyridine-carboxylate ( 2 ). Alkylation of compound 2 with methyl iodide followed by cyclization of the resulting methyl 2-[methyl(methylsulfonyl)amino]-6-(trifluoromethyl)-3-pyridinecarboxylate ( 3 ) yielded 1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide ( 4 ). The reaction of compound 4 with α,2,4-trichlorotoluene, methyl bromopropionate, methyl iodide, 3-trifluoromethylphenyl isocyanate, phenyl isocyanate and 2,4-dichloro-5-(2-propynyloxy)phenyl isothiocyanate gave, respectively, 4-[(2,4-dichlorophenyl)methoxy]-1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazine 2,2-dioxide ( 5 ), methyl 2-[[1-methyl-2,2-dioxido-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazin-4-yl]oxy]propanoate ( 6 ), 1,3,3-trimethyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazin-4(3H)-one 2,2-dioxide ( 7 ), 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-N-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazine-3-carboxamide 2,2-dioxide ( 8 ), 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-N-phenyl-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2]thiazine-3-carboxamide 2,2-dioxide ( 9 ) and N-[2,4-dichloro-5-(2-propynyloxy)phenyl]-4-hydroxy-1-methyl-7-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrido[2,3-c][1,2] thiazine-3-carboxamide 2,2-dioxide ( 10 ).     

On the preparation of substituted 4H- 1,3,4-thiadiazolo[2,3-c]-1,2,4-triazin-4-ones and 1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazoles

The reaction of benzoyl isothiocyanates and methoxycarbonyl isothiocyanate with 4-amino-4,5-dihydro-3-(methylthio)-1,2,4-triazin-5-ones in acetonitrile gave several substituted 4H-1,3,4-thiadiazolo[2,3-c]-1,2,4-triazin-4-ones VIa-h instead of the expected thioureas. In addition, benzoyl isothiocyanate reacted with 4-amino-3-(methylthio)-5-(trifluoromethyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole to give the benzoyl thiourea IX and with 4-amino-3-mercapto-5-(trifluoromethyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole to give the bicyclic compound N-[3-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-6-yl]benzamide IX .     

Densitometric high-performance thin-layer chromatography methods for the quantification of oleuropein in Olea europaea leaves and pharmaceutical preparation utilizing normal- and reversed-phase silica gel plates

Two validated, simple and precise densitometric high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) quantification methods were proposed for both qualitative and quantitative estimation of oleuropein in Olea europaea leaves and a pharmaceutical product utilizing normal-phase and reversed-phase silica gel TLC plates. In method I, 10 × 20 cm glass plates coated with 0.2 mm thin layers of normal-phase silica gel 60 containing F₂₅₄ (E-Merck, Germany) and a mixture of ethyl acetate‒methanol‒water (8:1:0.5, V/V) were used as the stationary and the mobile phase, respectively. Method II utilized 10 × 20 cm glass-backed plates supporting 0.2 mm layers of RP-18 silica gel 60 containing F₂₅₄ (E-Merck, Germany) as the stationary phase and green solvents mixture composed of ethanol‒water (5.5:4.5, V/V) as the mobile phase. The two methods resulted in sharp, symmetrical, well-resolved peaks at R_F values of 0.47 ± 0.02 and 0.78 ± 0.03 with linearity ranges 200‒1400 ng/spot (r² = 0.9994) and 200‒1400 ng/spot (r² = 0.9996) for method I and method II, respectively. Spots corresponding to oleuropein were scanned at 200 nm. The two methods complied with the ICH guidelines for validation. Due to simplicity, low cost and short analysis time, the methods can be good alternatives for the quality control of different products containing olive leaves extract or pure oleuropein.

     

Elucidation of the structure of quindolinone,a minor alkaloid of cryptolepis sanguinolenta: Submilligram 1H-13c and 1H-15N heteronuclear shift correlation experiments using micro inverse-detection

Elucidation of minor natural product structures has been significantly augmented by inverse-detection; further improvement has been afforded by the development of micro inverse-detection probes. We report here the elucidation of the structure of a new alkaloid, quindolinone (5H, 10H-indolo[3,2-b]quinolin-11-one), from the West African plant Cryptolepis sanguinolenta. All nmr data for this minor, preparative hplc-isolated alkaloid, including ¹H-¹⁵N one? bond heteronuclear shift correlation (HMQC) data, were recorded on an 800 μg sample of the alkaloid dissolved in 140 μl of 100% d₆-DMSO using a 400 MHz spectrometer.     

An examination of intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bonding in biomolecules by AM1 and MNDO/M semiempirical molecular orbital studies

The recent NMDO/M modification and parameterization of the MNDO molecular orbital method has been used to analyze intermolecular hydrogen bonding between amino acids and water, and intramolecular hydrogen bonding in monosaccharides. The results have been compared to AM1 calculations on the same systems. The MNDO/M calculations gave values which were similar to ab initio calculations with respect to the intermolecular interactions, but yielded significantly poorer results for the intramolecular interactions. The AM1 procedure performed better on the intramolecular interactions than the MNDO/M procedure, but frequently provided unfavorable three-centered hydrogen bonding geometries for the intermolecular interactions.