Francisco J. Melendez

chimeric design, synthesis, and biological assays of a new nonpeptide insulin-mimetic vanadium compound to inhibit protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B

Prior to its total synthesis, a new vanadium coordination compound, called TSAG0101, was computationally designed to inhibit the enzyme protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). The PTP1B acts as a negative regulator of insulin signaling by blocking the active site where phosphate hydrolysis of the insulin receptor takes place. TSAG001, [VVO2(OH)(picolinamide)], was characterized by infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy; IR: ν/cm−1 3,570 (NH), 1,627 (C=O, coordinated), 1,417 (C–N), 970/842 (O=V=O), 727 δ̣ (pyridine ring); 13C NMR: 5 bands between 122 and 151 ppm and carbonyl C shifted to 180 ppm; and 1H NMR: 4 broad bands from 7.6 to 8.2 ppm and NH2 shifted to 8.8 ppm. In aqueous solution, in presence or absence of sodium citrate as a biologically relevant and ubiquitous chelator, TSAG0101 undergoes neither ligand exchange nor reduction of its central vanadium atom during 24 hours. TSAG0101 shows blood glucose lowering effects in rats but it produced no alteration of basal- or glucose-induced insulin secretion on β cells during in vitro tests, all of which excludes a direct mechanism evidencing the extrapancreatic nature of its activity. The lethal dose (LD50) of TSAG0101 was determined in Wistar mice yielding a value of 412 mg/kg. This value is one of the highest among vanadium compounds and classifies it as a mild toxicity agent when compared with literature data. Due to its nonsubstituted, small-sized scaffold design, its remarkable complex stability, and low toxicity; TSAG0101 should be considered as an innovative insulin-mimetic principle with promising properties and, therefore, could become a new lead compound for potential nonpeptide PTP1B inhibitors in antidiabetic drug research. In view of the present work, the inhibitory concentration (IC50) and extended solution stability will be tested.

Theoretical and Experimental Spectroscopic Analysis of Cyano-Substituted Styrylpyridine Compounds

A combined theoretical and experimental study on the structure, infrared, UV-Vis and 1H NMR data of trans-2-(m-cyanostyryl)pyridine, trans-2-[3-methyl-(m-cyanostyryl)] pyridine and trans-4-(m-cyanostyryl)pyridine is presented. The synthesis was carried out with an efficient Knoevenagel condensation using green chemistry conditions. Theoretical geometry optimizations and their IR spectra were carried out using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) in both gas and solution phases. For theoretical UV-Vis and 1H NMR spectra, the Time-Dependent DFT (TD-DFT) and the Gauge-Including Atomic Orbital (GIAO) methods were used, respectively. The theoretical characterization matched the experimental measurements, showing a good correlation. The effect of cyano- and methyl-substituents, as well as of the N-atom position in the pyridine ring on the UV-Vis, IR and NMR spectra, was evaluated. The UV-Vis results showed no significant effect due to electron-withdrawing cyano- and electron-donating methyl-substituents. The N-atom position, however, caused a slight change in the maximum absorption wavelengths. The IR normal modes were assigned for the cyano- and methyl-groups. 1H NMR spectra showed the typical doublet signals due to protons in the trans position of a double bond. The theoretical characterization was visibly useful to assign accurately the signals in IR and 1H NMR spectra, as well as to identify the most probable conformation that could be present in the formation of the styrylpyridine-like compounds.

Antioxidative stress effect of epicatechin and catechin induced by Aβ25–35 in rats and use of the electrostatic potential and the Fukui function as a tool to elucidate specific sites of interaction

Alzheimers disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the aggregation of the amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) in senile plaques and cerebral vasculature. The Aβ25-35 fraction has shown the most toxicity; its neurotoxic mechanisms are associated with the generation of oxidative stress and reactive astrogliosis that induce neuronal death and memory impairment. Studies indicate that pharmacological treatment with flavonoids reduces the rate of AD, in particular, it has been shown that antioxidants are compounds that could interact with this peptide due to their antioxidant proprieties. In this study, experimental and computational tools were used to calculate the molecular electrostatic potential and the Fukui function with the Gaussian 09 computational program, to predict the most reactive parts of these molecules and make the complex between Aβ25-35 and two flavonoids (catechin and epicatechin) in the absolute gas-phase, where a possible interaction between them was observed. This is important for understanding the Aβ25-35-Flavonoid (A-F) interaction as a therapeutic strategy to inhibit the neurotoxic effects that this peptide causes in AD, which currently is still considered an ambiguous process.

X-ray molecular structure and theoretical study of 1,4-bis[2-cyano-2-( o -pyridyl)ethenyl]benzene

The structural characterisation of the molecule 1,4-bis[2-cyano-2-(o-pyridyl)ethenyl] benzene obtained through Knoevenagel condensation is reported. The single crystals, as light brown rods, were cultured from a chloroform solution using a slow evaporation method at ambient temperature. The compound crystallised in the monoclinic system belonging to the C2/c space group with a = 26.4556(9) Å, b = 3.73562(10) Å, c = 18.4230(6) Å, β = 109.841(4)° and the asymmetric unit comprising Z = 4. The structure is ordered and the molecules of the title compound exhibited a lattice with water molecules located at sites of inversion and two-fold axial symmetries. Thus, only halves of the molecules are symmetrically independent. The lattice is reported and contrasted with X-ray single-crystal diffraction and theoretical calculations of 1,4-bis(1-cyano-2-phenylethenyl)benzene. By using density functional theory (DFT) and second order Moller-Plesset (MP2) theoretical calculations, the ground state geometry in the whole molecule at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p), and MP2/6-31+G(d,p) theory levels, respectively, were optimised. The DFT calculations showed a quasi-planar structure of the molecule, whereas the wave function-based MP2 method afforded a non-planar optimised structure with significant torsion angles between the pyridine and phenyl rings.

Pharmacological and Toxicological Threshold of Bisammonium Tetrakis 4-(N,N-Dimethylamino)pyridinium Decavanadate in a Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome and Insulin Resistance

Vanadium(IV/V) compounds have been studied as possible metallopharmaceutical drugs against diabetes mellitus. However, mechanisms of action and toxicological threshold have been tackled poorly so far. In this paper, our purposes were to evaluate the metabolic activity on dyslipidemia and dysglycemia, insulin signaling in liver and adipose tissue, and toxicology of the title compound. To do so, the previously reported bisammonium tetrakis 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)pyridinium decavanadate, the formula of which is [DMAPH]4(NH4)2[V10O28]·8H2O (where DMAPH is 4-dimethylaminopyridinium ion), was synthesized, and its dose-response curve on hyperglycemic rats was evaluated. A Long–Evans rat model showing dyslipidemia and dysglycemia with parameters that reproduce metabolic syndrome and severe insulin resistance was generated. Two different dosages, 5 µmol and 10 µmol twice a week of the title compound (equivalent to 2.43 mg·V/kg/day and 4.86 mg·V/kg/day, resp.), were administered intraperitoneal (i.p.) for two months. Then, an improvement on each of the following parameters was observed at a 5 µmol dose: weight reduction, abdominal perimeter, fatty index, body mass index, oral glucose tolerance test, lipid profile, and adipokine and insulin resistance indexes. Nevertheless, when the toxicological profile was evaluated at a 10 µmol dose, it did not show complete improvement, tested by the liver and adipose histology, as well as by insulin receptor phosphorylation and GLUT-4 expression. In conclusion, the title compound administration produces regulation on lipids and carbohydrates, regardless of dose, but the pharmacological and toxicological threshold for cell regulation are suggested to be up to 5 µmol (2.43 mg·V/kg/day) dose twice per week.

Cis–trans isomerism in a square‐planar platinum(II) complex bearing bulky fluorinated phosphane ligands

Transition-metal complexes bearing fluorinated phosphane and thiolate ligands has been an area of study in recent years and the chemical context of the current work is related to the metal-assisted functionalization of fluorinated derivatives. The cis and trans isomers of the square-planar complex bis[(pentafluorophenyl)diphenylphosphane-κP]bis(2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzenethiolato-κS)platinum(II), [Pt(C6HF4S)2{P(C6H5)2(C6F5)}2], have been crystallized from a single chromatographic fraction and characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. The stabilization of the cis isomer results from weak intramolecular π-stacking interactions and possibly from the formation of a C-F...Pt contact, characterized by an F...Pt separation of 2.957 (6) Å. The natural bond orbital analysis (NBO) for this isomer confirms that the corresponding F → Pt charge transfer accounts for 6.92 kcal mol(-1) in the isomer stabilization. Such interactions are not present in the centrosymmetric trans isomer.

Epimerization of C-22 in (25R)- and (25S)-sapogenins.

Most of the naturally occurring steroidal sapogenins (C-23 non-substituted frameworks), possess an R configuration at the spiro C-22 center. Their C-22 epimers have become important targets in biological research. This paper describes a procedure to obtain 22S-spirostans from 22R-sapogenins and pseudosapogenin skeletons, without affecting the chirality at either C-25 or C-20. An optimal way to synthesize the pair of C-22 stereoisomers of 23-acetyldiosgenin is also reported. The latter was obtained from a 22,26-epoxycholestane or from 23-acetylfurostene compounds.

Bulk Modification of Poly(lactide) (PLA) via Copolymerization with Poly(propylene glycol) Diglycidylether (PPGDGE)

Copolymers of l-lactide and poly(propylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PPGDGE380) were synthesized by ring opening polymerization (ROP). Stannous octoate was used as the catalyst and 1-dodecanol as the initiator. The effect of the variables on the thermal properties of the copolymers was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Contact angle measurements were made in order to study the wettability of the synthesized copolymers. The copolymers differed widely in their physical characteristics, ranging from weak elastomers to tougher thermoplastics, according to the ratio of l-lactide and PPGDGE380. The results showed that the copolymers were more hydrophilic than neat Poly(lactide) (PLA) and the monomer ratio had a strong influence on the hydrophilic properties.

Hyperconjugation enhances electrophilic addition to monocyclic monoterpenes: a Fukui function perspective

AbstractThe local and condensed Fukui functions as well as the principle of hard and soft acids and bases were used to study the addition of free radicals to the exocyclic and endocyclic double bonds of seven monocyclic monoterpenes of formula C10H16. The results obtained showed that, in general, the most reactive double bond was the one with the most substituents on the double-bonded carbon atoms, and that the reaction of a double bond with an electrophile is a soft–soft interaction. The effects of substituents on the double-bonded carbon atoms and the stabilization of the monoterpenes were interpreted by invoking hyperconjugated structures, which led us to propose a simple rule: the larger the value of the Fukui function for the double bond, the greater the hyperconjugative stabilization and the susceptibility of the double bond to electrophilic attack. In general, our results are in good accordance with relevant experimental and theoretical results published in the literature. Graphical abstractThe specific electrophilic addition to monocyclic monoterpenes.

Analysis of the topology of the electron density and the reactivity descriptors of biomolecules with insecticide activity

Modifications of the phytosanitary control in fruit in the pre- and post-harvest processes by exogenous application of biomolecules with insecticide activity have motivated the theoretical-experimental investigation of biomolecular systems. Essential oils such as limonene, monoterpenes like 3-carene, and halogenated monoterpenes like mertensene have shown interesting insecticide activity. In this work, a complete characterization of the topology descriptors of the electron density of these 3 compounds has been carried out in the gas phase using the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules formulation. In addition, the global and local descriptors of the reactivity have been quantified by means of Density functional theory, using the hybrid functional of correlation and exchange B3LYP. To determine the reactivity descriptors in terms of the ionization potential (I) and electron affinity (A), two methods were used: (1) the Koopmans’ theorem with the DZ basis set and (2) the vertical difference of the total electronic energy method with a TZ basis set. In this last approach, an electron is aggregated with or removed from the neutral molecule. Both methods showed the same trends in the properties calculated by topology of electron density as well as those obtained by global and local reactivity.