Bogusława Czarnik-Matusewicz

Chemical structure of phenothiazines and their biological activity.

Phenothiazines belong to the oldest, synthetic antipsychotic drugs, which do not have their precursor in the world of natural compounds. Apart from their fundamental neuroleptic action connected with the dopaminergic receptors blockade, phenothiazine derivatives also exert diverse biological activities, which account for their cancer chemopreventive-effect, as: calmodulin- and protein kinase C inhibitory-actions, anti-proliferative effect, inhibition of P-glycoprotein transport function and reversion of multidrug resistance. According to literature data on relations between chemical structure of phenothiazines and their biological effects, the main directions for further chemical modifications have been established. They are provided and discussed in this review paper.

Analysis of Near-Infrared Spectra of Complicated Biological Fluids by Two-Dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy: Protein and Fat Concentration-Dependent Spectral Changes of Milk

Generalized two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy has been applied to analyze near-infrared (NIR) spectra of milk with different protein and fat concentrations. The NIR spectra of milk show rather poor signal-to-noise ratios compared with those of a protein or fat solution and have changing baselines from one spectrum to another. Poor signal-to-noise ratio and variations in baseline are common problems for NIR spectra of real-world samples. This study aims at expanding the utility of generalized 2D correlation spectroscopy to complicated multicomponent biological systems. In order to overcome the above two problems, we have employed multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) and smoothing as pretreatment procedures of the milk spectra selected for the calculation of 2D NIR correlation. 2D synchronous correlation spectra in the 2000–2400 nm region constructed from protein or fat concentration-dependent spectral changes of milk sharply enhance bands assignable to proteins or fats, respectively. It has been found that a power spectrum along the diagonal line in a synchronous spectrum very effectively shows the contribution of a particular component to the NIR spectra of milk. In fact, for example, the power spectrum for the fat concentration-dependent spectral changes of milk is very close to an NIR spectrum of fat itself. Two-dimensional asynchronous correlation spectra demonstrate the existence of bands that cannot be identified even by calculation of second derivatives and chemometrics analysis of the spectra. The asynchronous spectra also elucidate interaction between fats, proteins, and water.

The hydrogen-bonded 2-pyridone dimer model system. 1. Combined NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy study.

2-Pyridone (PD), converting to 2-hydroxypyridine (HP) through a lactam-lactim isomerization mechanism, can form three different cyclic dimers by hydrogen bond formation: (PD)(2), (PD-HP), and (HP)(2). We investigate the complexation chemistry of pyridone in dichloromethane-d(2) using a combined NMR and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) approach. Temperature-dependent (1)H NMR spectra indicate that at low temperatures (<200 K) pyridone in solution predominantly exists as a cyclic (PD)(2) dimer, in exchange with PD monomers. At higher temperatures a proton exchange mechanism sets in, leading to a collapse of the doublet of (15)N labeled 2-pyridone. Linear FT-IR spectra indicate the existence of several pyridone species, where, however, a straightforward interpretation is hampered by extensive spectral overlap of many vibrational transitions in both the fingerprint and the NH/OH stretching regions. Two-dimensional IR correlation spectroscopy applied on concentration-dependent and temperature-dependent data sets reveals the existence of the (PD)(2) cyclic dimer, of PD-CD(2)Cl(2) solute-solvent complexes, and of PD-PD chainlike dimers. Regarding the difference in effective time scales of the NMR and FT-IR experiments, milliseconds vs (sub)picoseconds, the cyclic dimers (PD-HP) and (HP)(2), and the chainlike conformations HP-PD, may function as intermediates in reaction pathways through which the protons exchange between PD units in cyclic (PD)(2).

Two-dimensional correlation analysis of Raman optical activity data on the α-helix-to-β-sheet transition in poly(L-lysine)

Raman optical activity (ROA) has evolved into an incisive probe of structure and conformational transitions in polypeptides and proteins revealing many signal patterns characteristic of specific secondary structural elements. In order to further facilitate analysis of ROA spectral intensity variations, two-dimensional correlation methods are applied to ROA and Raman spectra monitoring the α-helix-to-β-sheet transition in poly(L-lysine) as a function of temperature. Pretreatment of data using background subtraction, normalization and gentle smoothing is essential for the successful generation of 2D ROA correlations, 2D Raman correlations and 2D Raman/ROA heterocorrelations. The pseudoscalar nature of ROA spectra results in detailed 2D correlation analyses providing extensive interpretation of spectral intensity variations. Synchronous plots indicate band assignments consistent with established assignments in poly(L-lysine) together with possible new assignments. Corresponding asynchronous plots probe the temporal sequence of the conformational transition indicating distinct temporal phases while monitoring aggregation through a small amount of β-structure present at the start of the experiment ahead of α-helix unfolding. This study demonstrates the potential of 2D correlation analysis as a valuable technique for the extraction of detailed information about aggregation and conformational transitions in polypeptides and proteins from associated ROA and Raman spectra. Results indicate that aggregation of poly(L-lysine) monomers precedes intramolecular conversion of α-helix to β-sheet, which is then followed by fibril formation.

A Study of Urea-dependent Denaturation of β-Lactoglobulin by Principal Component Analysis and Two-dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy

The water-urea-beta-lactoglobulin interaction was studied by means of principal component analysis (PCA) and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy applied to the urea concentration-dependent FTIR spectra of aqueous urea-protein solutions. The two nu(CO) and nu(as)(CN) bands coming from ureas absorbance, instead of the amide bands arising from protein, were employed in the analysis. To get a precise view of the changes induced by the urea concentration-controlled unfolding process, the absorbance variations developed in the ternary water-urea-protein system were compared with those observed in a binary water-urea system [Y.M. Jung et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 2004, 108, 13008]. The comparative studies enabled to detect apparent differences between the absorbance changes caused solely by ureas concentration increase and by the urea-dependent unfolding process. Ureas ability to unfold protein was discussed in context of the indirect and the direct mechanism depending on ureas concentration. It was shown that both mechanisms are relevant, that is, the indirect for solutions below 3 M and the direct for solutions above 3 M concentration. The character of the mechanism is strictly correlated with the association level of urea molecules.

Characterization of Transition Temperatures of a Langmuir-Blodgett Film of Poly( tert -butyl methacrylate) by Two-Dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy and Principal Component Analysis

External reflection FT-IR spectra of a Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) film of poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PtBMA) were measured at temperatures ranging from 26 to 136 °C. The glass transition temperature (Tg) was determined from a two-dimensional (2D) mapping of the first derivative spectra of absorbance values against temperature over the wavenumber range 1100–1300 cm−1, which contains spectral features that are very sensitive to conformational changes. This mapping provides a surprisingly simple and direct method for detecting the value of Tg. The glass transition temperature determined from the 2D map was approximately 84 °C. Another transition at 103 °C, corresponding to the glass transition temperature of bulk PtBMA, was also detected from the 2D map. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to analyze the temperature-dependent FT-IR spectra. The glass transition temperatures (80 °C; 100 °C) of the PtBMA LB film determined by the score plot of PCA are consistent with those determined by the 2D map. Additionally, the loading vectors of PCA were found to give valuable insight into the molecular-level phenomena associated with the glass transition process. To gain more details about the polymer chain mobility, two-dimensional (2D) correlation analysis was performed on two sets of FT-IR spectra collected above and below Tg. In the synchronous 2D correlation spectrum obtained below the glass transition temperature (26–66 °C), the observation that the strongest intensity change occurs at 1137 cm−1 indicates that the reorganization of the bending mode of the bbC–C–O and bbC–C=O bonds connected to the backbone (bb) chain and coupled to the C–O stretching mode of the tert-butoxy group is potentially the mechanism underlying the β-transition. This result is in good agreement with the presence of a transition (β-transition) at approximately 43 °C obtained from the band around at 1137 cm−1 in the 2D mapping data.

Two-Dimensional Attenuated Total Reflection/Infrared Correlation Spectroscopy Studies on Concentration and Heat-Induced Structural Changes of Human Serum Albumin in Aqueous Solutions

Attenuated total reflection (ATR)/FT-IR spectra were measured for human serum albumin (HSA) in aqueous solutions (pH 6.6) with concentrations of 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 wt % over a temperature range of 45–80 °C. Generalized two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy was employed to explore concentration and heat-induced structural variations of HSA in aqueous solutions. To generate 2D correlation spectra, the raw spectra were subjected to the appropriate pretreatment procedure involving ATR correction, subtraction of the spectrum of an aqueous solution, and smoothing. The synchronous and asynchronous correlation spectra were calculated for the concentration-dependent IR spectral variations in the amide I region at various temperatures. The two-dimensional ATR/IR correlation spectra greatly enhance band separation in the region and provide information about the correlation between the amide bands of HSA arising from the same and different secondary structure components. Based on the correlation investigated and previously proposed relationship between the secondary structure elements and the amide band frequencies, we have proposed the detailed assignments in the amide I region at 45 and 80 °C. The proposed assignments are compared with those based on the results of second derivative and Fourier self-deconvolution (FSD) of the ATR/IR spectra. The asynchronous spectrum generated from the concentration-dependent spectral variations at 45 °C show that side chains, the random coil, and extended chains are more sensitive than the α-helices and β-turns to the concentration change. On the other hand, the corresponding spectrum at 80 °C reveals that the conformation changes in side chains and β-turns (or β-strands) of HSA start before those in extended chain, random coil structures, and α-helices.

Blue Shifts and Unusual Intensity Changes in the Infrared Spectra of the Enflurane···Acetone Complexes: Spectroscopic and Theoretical Studies

Blue-shifting C-H···O hydrogen-bonded complexes between enflurane (CHFCl-CF(2)-O-CHF(2)) and deuterated acetone have been identified in CCl(4) solution by FT-IR spectroscopy. For the two ν(C-H) stretching vibrations of enflurane the observed blue shifts are +17 and +11 cm(-1). The corresponding two infrared ν(C-H) bands show the opposite changes of their intensity, one is decreasing, and the other is significantly increasing, upon formation of the hydrogen bonding. The structures, binding energies, and theoretical infrared spectra of the enflurane-acetone complexes were calculated by MP2 and B3LYP methods using the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. The interaction energies were evaluated by the complete basis set limit (CBS) calculations at the HF, MP2, and CCSD(T) levels of theory. Although the MP2 method slightly overestimates the blue shifts, the MP2 predicted frequency difference and the relative IR intensities of two ν(C-H) stretching bands for the enflurane-acetone complexes show good agreement with experiment. Unfortunately, the B3LYP method predicts incorrect IR intensities of these hydrogen-bonded systems. The NBO analysis was performed to unravel the origin of the unusual intensity changes of two ν(C-H) stretching bands, in enflurane complexes.

Two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy studies on secondary structures and hydrogen bondings of side chains of proteins

This review paper reports usefulness of two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy in analyzing infrared (IR) spectra of proteins in aqueous solutions. In the 2D approach, spectral peaks are spread over the second dimension, thereby simplifying the visualization of complex spectra consisting of many overlapped bands, and enhancing spectral resolution. 2D correlation spectroscopy has a powerful deconvolution ability for highly overlapped amide I, amide II, and amide III bands of proteins, enabling these bands to be assigned to various secondary structures. It also provides the specific order of the spectral intensity changes taking place during the measurement on the value of controlling variable affecting the spectra. Therefore, one can monitor the order of secondary structure variations in proteins by using 2D IR correlation spectroscopy. 2D correlation spectroscopy also provides new insight into the hydrogen bondings of side chains of proteins. In this review the principles and advantages of 2D correlation spectroscopy are outlined first and then three examples of the applications of 2D IR spectroscopy to protein research are presented.

Interaction of prenylated chalcones and flavanones from common hop with phosphatidylcholine model membranes.

Common hop (Humulus lupulus) constitutes a source of numerous prenylated chalcones such as xanthohumol (XH) and flavanones such as 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN) and isoxanthohumol (IXH). Range of their biological activities includes estrogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-infective, anti-cancer, and antioxidant activities. The aim of the present work was to characterize the influence of prenylated polyphenols on model 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) membranes by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fluorescence and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopies. All studied compounds intercalated into DPPC bilayers and decreased its melting temperature as recorded by DSC, Laurdan and Prodan fluorescence, and ATR-FTIR. Polyphenols interacted mainly with glycerol backbone and acyl chain region of membrane. Magnitude of the induced effect correlated both with lipophilicity and molecular shape of the studied compounds. Elbow-shaped 8-PN and IXH were locked at polar-apolar region with their prenyl chains penetrating into hydrophobic part of the bilayer, while relatively planar XH molecule adopted linear shape that resulted in its deeper insertion into hydrophobic region. Additionally, by means of DSC and Laurdan fluorescence IXH was demonstrated to induce lateral phase separation in DPPC bilayers in gel-like state. It was assumed that IXH-rich and IXH-poor microdomains appeared within membrane. Present work constitutes the first experimental report describing interactions of prenylated hop polyphenols with phospholipid model membranes.