Enantiomeric Cyclic Peptides with Different Caco‐2 Permeability Suggest Carrier‐Mediated Transport

Recently, oral absorption of cyclic hexapeptides was improved by N‐methylation of their backbone amides. However, the number and position of N‐methylations or of solvent exposed NHs did not correlate to intestinal permeability, measured in a Caco‐2 model. In this study, we investigate enantiomeric pairs of three polar and two lipophilic peptides to demonstrate the participation of carrier‐mediated transporters. As expected, all the enantiomeric peptides exhibited identical lipophilicity (logD_7.4) and passive transcellular permeability determined by the parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA). However, the enantiomeric polar peptides exhibited different Caco‐2 permeability (P_app) in both directions a–b and b–a. The same trend was observed for one of the lipophilic peptide, whereas the second lipophilic enantiomer pair showed identical Caco‐2 permeability (within the errors). These findings provide the first evidence for the involvement of carrier‐mediated transport for peptides, especially for those of polar nature.     

Protein Conformation of a Lattice Model Using Tabu Search

We apply tabu search techniques to the problem of determining the optimal configuration of a chain of protein sequences on a cubic lattice. The problem under study is difficult to solve because of the large number of possible conformations and enormous amount of computations required. Tabu search is an iterative heuristic procedure which has been shown to be a remarkably effective method for solving combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper, an algorithm is designed for the cubic lattice model using tabu search. The algorithm has been tested on a chain of 27 monomers. Computational results show that our method outperforms previously reported approaches for the same model.     

Crystal and Molecular Structure of OMPCTF

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Synthesis of optically active poly(N‐propargylsulfamides) with helical conformation

A novel chiral N‐propargylsulfamide monomer ( 1a ) and its enantiomer ( 1b ) were synthesized and polymerized with (nbd)Rh⁺B^?(C₆H₅)₄ as a catalyst providing poly(1) (poly( 1a ) and poly( 1b )) in high yields (≥99%). Poly(1) could take stable helices in less polar solvents (chloroform and THF), demonstrated by strong circular dichroism signals and UV–vis absorption peaks at about 415 nm and the large specific rotations; but in more polar solvents including DMF and DMSO, poly(1) failed to form helix. Quantitative evaluation with anisotropy factor showed that the helical screw sense had a relatively high thermal stability. These results together with the IR spectra measured in solvents showed that hydrogen bonding between the neighboring sulfamide groups is one of the main driving forces for poly(1) to adopt stable helices. In addition, copolymerization of monomer 1a and monomer 2 was conducted, the solubility of poly(1) was improved drastically. However, the copolymerization had adverse effects on the formation of stable helices in the copolymers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 500–508, 2007     

Synthesis and structural characterization of 3-thienyl alkyl imides

Five new thiophene imides having the structures C₄H₃SC(O)N(H)C(O)R (where R=Me, Et, Pr, t-Bu, 1-4) and C₄H₃SCH₂C(O)N(H)C(O)CH₃5 have been prepared. Control over the orientation of the carbonyl groups was achieved by the introduction of a bulky group in the terminal position of the side chain, and molecular modeling calculations indicated that the energy difference between the ct and tt conformations is small. The acidity of 1-4 decreases from Me to t-Bu, and, although 1-4 will not undergo oxidative polymerization, the introduction of a single spacer CH₂ group allows 5 to polymerize.     

1,5-Diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes and 1,6-diazabicyclo[4.1.0]heptanes: a new method for the synthesis,quantum-chemical calculations,and X-ray diffraction study

A new method was developed for the synthesis of 6-substituted 1,5-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes and 7-substituted 1,6-diazabicyclo[4.1.0]heptanes by condensation of N-monohalotrimethylene- and N-monohalotetramethylenediamines with carbonyl compounds in the presence of bases. X-ray diffraction studies and quantum-chemical B3LYP/6-31G* calculations demonstrated that the conformations of the resulting bicyclic systems are stabilized by stereoelectronic interactions. As a result, a boat conformation prevails in 1,5-diazabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes, whereas the energies of chair, half-chair, and boat conformations of 1,6-diazabicyclo[4.1.0]heptanes are equalized.     

Conformations, Energy and Spectral Characteristics of 2,3-Trimethylene- and 2,3-Pentamethylene-3,4-dihydro-4-quinazolinones

Quantum-chemical calculations and IR spectroscopy were used to study the conformations as well as the energy and spectral characteristics of 2,3-trimethylene- and 2,3-pentamethylene-3,4-dihydro-4-quinazolinones. The shift of -electron density from the heterocyclic system to the carbonyl group and, thus, the proton affinity of the oxygen atom of this group increase with expansion of the bond angle at the nitrogen atom in going from a five-membered to seven-membered ring.     

超高分子量PE凝胶膜的超拉伸性与旁式构象关系研究

通过ＩＲ方法，观测并讨论了在不同条件下制备的超高分子量ＰＥ（ＷＨＭＰＥ）凝胶膜中旁式（Ｇ构象）构象与超拉伸性的关系，提出了Ｇ构象浓度及分布对ＵＨＭＰＥ凝胶膜超拉伸性影响的新概念，同时也讨论了它与链缠结之间的联系，发现：反映Ｇ构象的相对浓度的比值σ＝Ｉ１３０３Ｉ１３５２随制膜浓度的增大而增加，在临界浓度Ｃ０（０．４～０．５ｇ＠１００ｍｌ）附近所形成的膜，具有超高拉伸性（λ＝２００），其Ｇ构象的变化与Ｍａｔｓｕｏ由比浓粘度提出的缠结链改变相对应；热处理温度比热处理时间对σ值的影响更显著，在一定温度下约４分钟后σ值基本不变；在σ值最低的温度范围拉伸，凝胶膜具有良好的超高拉伸性．     

A conformational analysis method for understanding the energy landscapes of clusters.

A newly developed unbiased structural optimization method, named dynamic lattice searching (DLS), is proposed as an approach for conformational analysis of atomic/molecular clusters and used in understanding the energy landscape of large clusters. The structures of clusters are described in terms of the number of basic tetrahedron (BT) units they contain. We found that the hit numbers of different structural motifs in DLS runs is proportional to the number of BTs. A parameter T(max) is defined to limit the maximal number of atoms moved in a structural transition. Results show that T(max) is a key parameter for modulating the efficiency of the DLS method and has a great influence on the hit number of different motifs in DLS runs. Finally, the effect of potential range on the conformational distribution of the (Morse)(98) cluster is also discussed with different potential-range parameters.