Volume 72, Issue 3

Cyclodextrin (CD) dimers bind amino acid side chains, and such binding can dissociate aggregated proteins, including citrate synthase (dimer) and lactic dehydrogenase (tetramer). A CD dimer can bind a hydrophobic photosensitizer that, upon irradiation, generates singlet oxygen. This cleaves the dimer and releases the photosensitizer. CD dimers in a cytochrome P-450 mimic steer catalyzed hydroxylation to a bound steroid with geometric control. Chelate binding has also led to a group of cytodifferentiating agents whose mechanism has been recently established. They have promising anticancer properties, and are currently entering human trials as therapeutic agents.

The synthesis of potentially natural nucleic acid alternatives and comparison of some of their chemical properties with those of RNA and DNA have led to findings that we consider to be relevant in the context of a chemical etiology of nucleic acid structure.

In this presentation, we cover new results from two of our synthetic endeavors: guanidinylation reagents and novel bridged opioids. In the first part, we describe the applications of the diurethane-triflylguanidines to prepare target bioactive structures including peptides, heterocyclic drugs, and aminoglycoside derivatives. The formation of novel guanidinoglycosides led to a family of effective binders to the RNA recognition element of the HIV-1 Rev protein. In the second part, the syntheses of sulfur and amine-bridged cyclic opioids is described. These analogs exhibit enhanced binding, both in vitro and in vivo . Specifically, H-Tyr-c[d-Val l -Gly-Phe-d/l-Ala l ]-OH (Val l and Ala l denote the lanthionine amino acid ends linked by a monosulfide bridge) is potent and highly δ -receptor selective while Tyr-c[(Nγ CH 3 )-d-A 2 bu-Gly-Phe-NHCH 2 CH 2 -] though nonselective is one of the most potent opioids prepared to date. These molecules are representative of our design of novel peptidomimetic opioids.

Systematic analysis of several tissue extracts for peptide components followed by bioactivity studies leads to formulation of the concept of "tissue-specific peptide pools". According to that concept the endogenous proteolysis of proteins with well-established functions, such as hemoglobin, actin, and cellular enzymes in tissues leads to formation of the sets (or pools) of bioactive peptides. The sets are tissue-specific on one hand and conservative in a given tissue at normal conditions on the other. The content and the composition of pool components are sensitive both to pathologies linked with alterations of tissue metabolism and to prolonged physiological changes. In vivo formation of fragments of functional proteins includes several consecutive proteolytic stages inside the cells and further release of bioactive compounds into the surrounding medium. The effects of pool components take place predominantly at tissue and cellular levels, their effects being related to stimulation or inhibition of cell growth, induction of cell differentiation, and death. The above-mentioned features lead to the proposal that the main in vivo function of components of tissue-specific peptides is maintenance of tissue homeostasis, i.e., the normal ratio of functional, dividing, differentiating, and dying cells of tissues. Components of tissue-specific peptide pools display several features distinguishing them from "classical" peptide hormones and neuromediators. Summarizing, a novel peptidergic regulatory system is considered.

A simple design strategy for a facile and direct entry into hydrogen-bonded peptide nanotubes is delineated with polymethylene-bridged cystine-based macrocycles. The key feature of the design is the placement of a pair of self-complementary hydrogen-bonding (NH–CO or NH–CO–NH) groups at almost opposite poles of the ring. A large variety of cyclobisamides and bisureas prepared in a single step by direct condensation of commercially available 1,ω-alkane dicarbonyl dichloride or diisocyanate with either cystine diOMe or its extended bispeptide were examined by X-ray crystallography and shown to possess an inherent property of self-assembling into hydrogen-bonded, open-ended, hollow tubular structures. The totally hydrophobic interior of the cyclobisamide tubes creates a micro environment capable of solubilizing highly lipophilic substances in water. The cyclic bisurea tubes are demonstrated to act as excellent receptors for selective binding to 1,ω-alkane dicarboxylates. The scope of the design is extended to the creation of tubular structures by stacking of rings through aromatic π-π interactions.

The stereochemistry of a variety of pyridoxal phosphate-mediated enzymic reactions has been studied using enzyme inhibitors that are stereospecifically labeled in the β-position with deuterium. A versatile synthesis has been developed to prepare a wide variety of stereospecifically labeled d- and l-amino acids and inhibitors. Investigation of the "turnover" of β-chloro-d-alanine and d- and l-serine-O-sulfate by d-amino acid aminotransferase and l-aspartate aminotransferase respectively has shown that reaction within the active site of the former enzyme occurs with retention of stereochemistry. Although l-aspartate aminotransferase is an enzyme of the α-family, when it was incubated with β-chloro-l-alanine in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol, β-substitution occurred. This was shown to involve retention of stereochemistry, an outcome typical of reactions catalyzed by enzymes of the β-family that have little or no homology with enzymes of the α-family. Formation of the "Schnackerz intermediate" has been studied as has the d-amino acid oxidase catalyzed reaction of the naturally occurring inhibitor d-propargylglycine.

This paper deals with the appropriate application of biological monitoring (BM) for exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Sampling guidelines, approved analytical procedures, quality control systems, detailed aspects for the interpretation of biomonitoring data, a compilation of international biological action values for VOC exposure at the workplace (e.g., BAT, BEI ® ), and state of the art reference values are outlined or referred to in this review for recommendation as guidelines for health professionals in occupational and environmental settings. VOCs are frequently encountered at the workplace, in daily routines and widely used consumer products. They cover a broad spectrum of chemical classes with different physicochemical and biological properties. Inhalation is a prominent route of exposure due to their volatility but many VOCs can quite readily be absorbed through the skin. BM allows assessment of the integrated exposure by different routes including inhalation and concomitant dermal and oral uptake—a helpful tool for relating exposure to body burden and possible health effects. Because of the different toxicological profiles of VOCs, no uniform approach for BM can be recommended. VOCs in blood and urinary VOC metabolites are most often applied for BM. Limit values for workplace exposure have been established for many VOCs. In this field, profound analytical methodology and extensive experience exist in numerous international scientific laboratories for reliable routine application. Contamination and loss of VOCs during specimen collection, storage and sample treatment, and applied calibration procedure are the most important uncertainties for analytical quantification of VOCs in blood. For interpretation of the analytical results appropriate time of sampling, according to toxicokinetics of the compound, is crucial due to VOC elimination with short but differing biological half-lives. Lifestyle factors (such as smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and dietary habits), workload, personal working habits, exposure to VOC mixtures and endogeous factors (as genetic polymorphism for VOC metabolizing enzymes, body mass) contribute to BM results and have to be considered in detail. Future analytical work should focus on the improvement of analytical methodology of VOC determination in body fluids at low-level environmental exposure and evaluation of corresponding reference intervals.

Introduction: Knowledge of the properties and reactivities of stable inorganic radicals was obtained decades ago through gas-phase studies of various oxides of halogens, sulfur, and nitrogen. More recently, pulse radiolysis and flash photolysis techniques developed in the 1960s made it possible to study short-lived radicals, such as hydrated electrons, hydrogen atoms, and hydroxyl radicals. Because of the high time-resolution of these techniques, absorption spectra and redox properties of these inorganic radicals could be determined. The interest in radicals increased when it was shown that superoxide, or dioxide(1-), is formed in vivo . The discovery that in aerobic organisms enzymes catalyze the disproportionation of this radical resulted in new areas of research, such as radical biology and radicals in medicine. Interest in simple radicals was further boosted most recently by the remarkable observation that the radical nitrogen monoxide is formed enzymatically from the amino acid arginine. Radicals are important in a variety of catalytic processes and in the atmospheric gas and liquid phases; furthermore, a substantial number of inorganic radicals have been observed in interstellar gas clouds. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Definitions 3. Nomenclature 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Coordination nomenclature 3.2.1. Selection of the central atom 3.2.2. Radicals with net charges 3.2.3. Attached atoms or groups of atoms 3.2.4. The radical dot 3.2.5. Examples 3.3. Substitutive nomenclature

There is substantial evidence of the complexity of selenium speciation in living organisms and of the importance of the selective determination of the particular species of this element in order to understand its metabolism and biological significance in clinical chemistry, biology, toxicology, and nutrition. The state-of-the-art of analytical techniques available for this purpose is critically evaluated with particular emphasis on the element-selective detection and identification of the detected selenium compounds. Whereas there are a number of techniques available that are able to detect various selenium species in living organisms selectively, few techniques exist that are able to identify and to characterize the species detected.

The aim of this report is to inform the chemical community about a self-consistent thermodynamic data set for the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+z (1 ≥ z ≥ 0) solid solution, that is well known as the Y123 phase and possesses superconducting properties at z ~ 1 and low temperatures. About 3300 experimental points obtained in 240 miscellaneous experiments published in 78 papers have been processed simultaneously in order to obtain the most reliable Gibbs energy function of the Y123 phase in the temperature range from 250 to 1300 K and pressures up to 100 kbar. A function is recommended for approximation of the Gibbs energy, which has 16 adjustable parameters. All other thermodynamic properties of the Y123 solution, including the conditions for its internal stability, can be derived from the assessed Gibbs energy. Brief descriptions of the thermodynamic model, experimental and data assessment methods as well as examples of self-consistent thermodynamic data applications are given.

The term designating a substance being an active ingredient of a drug may be a generic name, a nonproprietary name, a registered trade name, a fantasy name, or other. This causes difficulties in the transmission of requests and reports on properties for such substances in biological fluids to and from the clinical laboratories, and in the collating of this information from different sources. The document comprises a list of properties of drugs in biological fluids for use in electronic transmission systems. Systematic names are presented together with a code value for each.