Cuihua Xue

Design, synthesis, and anticancer activity of phosphonic acid diphosphate derivative of adenine-containing butenolide and its water-soluble derivatives of paclitaxel with high antitumor activity.

Synthesis of adenine derivative of triphosphono-gamma-(Z)-ethylidene-2,3-dimethoxybutenolide 4 was accomplished by treatment of phosphonate 3 with 5-phosphoribosyl 1-pyrophosphate in the presence of 5-phosphoribosyl 1-pyrophosphate synthetase. It was found that triphosphonate 4 functions as an irreversible stoichiometric inactivator of the Escherichia coli ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase (RDPR). Triphosphonate 4 exhibited potent inhibitory activity against murine leukemias (L1210 and P388), breast carcinoma (MCF7), and human T-lymphoblasts (Molt4/C8 and CEM/0) cell lines. Paclitaxel ester derivatives of adenine-containing triphosphono-gamma-(Z)-ethylidene-2,3-dimethoxybutenolide 8-10 were also synthesized. Like triphosphonate 4, compound 8 exhibited inhibitory property toward RDPR. It also induced microtubule assembly similar to paclitaxel (5). The structure of the chlorodiester linker in 8 was found to account for this dual property. After treatment of MCF7 cells with compounds 4, 5, and 8, fluorescence microscope examination demonstrated the presence of nucleus shrinkage or segmentation. Bifunctional prodrug 8 exhibited higher lipophilicity than 4 and higher water-solubility than 5. Pro-dual-drug 8 exhibited more pronounced anticancer activity relative to that of the triphosphonate 4 and paclitaxel (5). In contrast, compound 9, resulting from the linkage of triphosphonate 4 and paclitaxel (5) through a diester unit, was only found to function as a highly water-soluble prodrug for paclitaxel (5). It induced microtubule assembly in vitro, but did not show inhibitory property toward RDPR. On the other hand, compound 10, an aggregate of triphosphonate 4 and paclitaxel (5), neither functioned as an inhibitor of RDPR nor exhibited microtubule assembly stimulating activity in vitro.

Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of aryldioxaborolane with 2-bromo-N,N-dimethylacetamide

A Suzuki-type cross-coupling of aryldioxaborolane with 2-bromo-N,N-dimethylacetamide in the presence of a catalytic amount of tricyclohexylphosphine as the ligand and hydroquinone as the free-radical scavenger has been demonstrated as a convenient and simple way for the synthesis of α-arylacetamide.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of a Series of β-Lactam-Based Prodrugs

By use of pro-dual-drug concept the synthesis of 6-beta-[(R)-2-(clavaminio-9-N-yl)-2-(4-hydroxyphenylacetamido)]penicillanic acid (10), 6-beta-[(R)-2-(amino)-2-(4-(clavulano-9-O-yl)phenylacetamido)]penicillanic acid (13), (Z)-4-[2-(amoxycillin-4-O-yl)ethylidene]-2-(clavulano-9-O-yl)-3-methoxy-Delta(alpha,beta)-butenolide (19), and 3-[(amoxicillin-4-O-yl)methyl]-7-(phenoxyacetamido)-(1-oxo)-3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid (23) was accomplished. Unlike penicillin G, ampicillin, or amoxicillin, these four heretofore undescribed compounds 10, 13, 19, and 23 showed notable activity against beta-lactamase (betaL) producing microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus A9606, S. aureus A15091, S. aureus A20309, S. aureus 95, Escherichia coli A9675, E. coli A21223, E. coli 27C7, Pseudomonas aeruginosa 18S-H, and Klebsiella pneumoniae A20634 TEM. In comparison with amoxicillin (9), alpha-amino-substituted compound 10 and butenolide derivative 19 showed a broadened spectrum of antibacterial activity; yet they were found to be less active than 13 and 23. Like clavulanic acid (7) or cephalosporin-1-oxide (21), the newly synthesized compounds 10, 13, 15, 16, 19, or 23 functioned as potent inhibitors of various bacterial betaLs.

Charge Density Effects on the Aggregation Properties of Poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene)-Based Anionic Polyelectrolytes

This work shows that low charge density poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene)s (PPE-SO3Na-L and PPE-CO2Na-L), which feature sulfonate and carboxylate groups on every other phenyl ring, form aggregates in water, whereas high charge density poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene)s (PPE-SO3Na-H and PPE-CO2Na-H), which possess sulfonate or carboxylate groups on every phenyl ring, do not aggregate in water. The formation of aggregates of PPE-SO3Na-L and PPE-CO2Na-L is demonstrated by comparing the concentration and temperature dependence of their steady-state spectra in water to that in DMSO, in which the two polymers do not aggregate. For the weak polyelectrolytes PPE-CO2Na-H and PPE-CO2Na-L, the solution pH was changed to vary the charge density. In addition, the cationic surfactant, octadecyltrimethyl ammonium, is shown to dissociate the low charge density polymer aggregates and to form supramolecular complexes with each of the different polyelectrolytes. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy was applied to provide insight into the sizes of aggregates under different solution conditions.

Evolution in the supramolecular complexes between poly(phenylene ethynylene)-based polyelectrolytes and octadecyltrimethylammonium bromide as revealed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

Poly(phenyleneethynylene)-based conjugated polyelectrolytes (PPE-SO(3)(-)) are a class of polyions with rigid backbones. This work uses fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to study how the diffusion of complexes, formed between a PPE-SO(3)(-) polyelectrolyte and octadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (OTAB) surfactant molecules, changes with OTAB concentration below its critical micelle concentration. The dependence of the hydrodynamic radius of the complexes on the OTAB concentration has three regimes. In the low concentration regime ( C(OTAB)/ C(monomer) < 6), the complex has a size comparable to that of the polymer in deionized water. In the intermediate concentration regime (6 < C(OTAB)/ C(monomer) < 400), the complexes have the largest size and substantial heterogeneity. In the high concentration regime (400 < C(OTAB)/ C(monomer) < 1800), the complexes have a size that is about three times larger than that in the low concentration regime. These results elucidate features of the self-assembly of a polyelectrolyte and an ionic surfactant and show that the C(OTAB)/ C(monomer) concentration ratio controls the composition of polyelectrolyte/surfactant complexes.

Synthesis of oligo(p-phenylene - vinylene - thienylene)s as potential red light-emitting materials

Abstract Several potential red light-emitting oligomers containing alkoxylated phenylene–vinylene–thienylene backbones with and without cyano groups at the olefin moieties have been designed and synthesized. The influences of the skeleton as well as the position of the cyano groups in the vinylene moiety to the absorption and emission spectra of these new oligomers are also discussed.

Theoretical investigation of electroluminescent material 1,4-distyrylbenzene derivatives

Abstract Recently, the distyrylbenzene (DSB) derivatives have been synthesized and used as a dopant in the multiplayer organic light emitting diode (OLED) fabrication. Computational methods (the semi-empirical AM1 for optimized geometries and ZINDO for excitation energy) have been used to calculate the absorption and emission spectra of a series of DSB derivatives. These derivatives may contain electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents. These substituents have been studied at various positions in a DSB moiety to compute their photo-physical properties and electroluminescent behavior in OLED. The HOMO, LUMO, ΔE (between HOMO and LUMO), excitation energy, absorption λmax, oscillator strength and emission λmax in these derivatives have been also calculated in this paper. Presumably, the procedures of theoretical calculation can be employed to predict the electro-luminescence characteristics of other materials, and further, to design novel materials for OLED.

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Poly(para-phenyleneethynylene)s

Abstract For the first time, MALDI-TOF MS was utilized for the determination of the structures of four partially soluble poly(p-phenyleneethynylene)s (PPEs) used to disperse single-walled carbon nanotubes in polymers. The spectra obtained indicated that the synthesis of the PPEs resulted in the formation of a co-oligomer with two different repeat groups. Various methods were employed to obtain an optimum spectrum. The evaporation-grinding sample preparation method (E-G method) combined with dithranol as matrix and KTFA as cationizing agent appeared to be the best method for obtaining a MALDI-TOF MS spectrum. AgTFA was the most effective cationizing agent for one sample that contained a high carbon-to-oxygen ratio.