Maxim A. Voinov

EPR detection of cellular and mitochondrial superoxide using cyclic hydroxylamines.

Abstract Superoxide (O2•−) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many human diseases, but detection of the O2•− radicals in biological systems is limited due to inefficiency of O2•− spin trapping and lack of site-specific information. This work studied production of extracellular, intracellular and mitochondrial O2•− in neutrophils, cultured endothelial cells and isolated mitochondria using a new set of cationic, anionic and neutral hydroxylamine spin probes with various lipophilicity and cell permeability. Cyclic hydroxylamines rapidly react with O2•−, producing stable nitroxides and allowing site-specific O2•− detection in intracellular, extracellular and mitochondrial compartments. Negatively charged 1-hydroxy-4-phosphono-oxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (PP-H) and positively charged 1-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-4-yl-trimethylammonium (CAT1-H) detected only extramitochondrial O2•−. Inhibition of EPR signal by SOD2 over-expression showed that mitochondria targeted mitoTEMPO-H detected intramitochondrial O2•− both in isolated mitochondria and intact cells. Both 1-hydroxy-3-carboxy-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine (CP-H) and 1-hydroxy-3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine (CM-H) detected an increase in cytoplasm O2•− stimulated by PMA, but only CM-H and mitoTEMPO-H showed an increase in rotenone-induced mitochondrial O2•−. These data show that a new set of hydroxylamine spin probes provide unique information about site-specific production of the O2•− radical in extracellular or intracellular compartments, cytoplasm or mitochondria.

Design of liposome-based pH sensitive nanoSPIN probes: nano-sized particles with incorporated nitroxides

Liposome-based nanoSized Particles with Incorporated Nitroxides, or nanoSPINs, were designed for EPR applications as pH probes in biological systems. Phospholipid membrane of the liposomes with incorporated gramicidin A showed selective permeability to a small analyte, H(+), while protecting entrapped sensing nitroxide from biological reductants. An application of the pH-sensitive nanoSPIN in an ischemia model in rat heart homogenate allows for monitoring ischemia-induced acidosis while protecting encapsulated nitroxide against bioreduction.

Cysteine-Specific Labeling of Proteins with a Nitroxide Biradical for Dynamic Nuclear Polarization NMR

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) enhances the signal in solid-state NMR of proteins by transferring polarization from electronic spins to the nuclear spins of interest. Typically, both the protein and an exogenous source of electronic spins, such as a biradical, are either codissolved or suspended and then frozen in a glycerol/water glassy matrix to achieve a homogeneous distribution. While the use of such a matrix protects the protein upon freezing, it also reduces the available sample volume (by ca. a factor of 4 in our experiments) and causes proportional NMR signal loss. Here we demonstrate an alternative approach that does not rely on dispersing the DNP agent in a glassy matrix. We synthesize a new biradical, ToSMTSL, which is based on the known DNP agent TOTAPOL, but also contains a thiol-specific methanethiosulfonate group to allow for incorporating this biradical into a protein in a site-directed manner. ToSMTSL was characterized by EPR and tested for DNP of a heptahelical transmembrane protein, Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR), by covalent modification of solvent-exposed cysteine residues in two (15)N-labeled ASR mutants. DNP enhancements were measured at 400 MHz/263 GHz NMR/EPR frequencies for a series of samples prepared in deuterated and protonated buffers and with varied biradical/protein ratios. While the maximum DNP enhancement of 15 obtained in these samples is comparable to that observed for an ASR sample cosuspended with ~17 mM TOTAPOL in a glycerol-d8/D2O/H2O matrix, the achievable sensitivity would be 4-fold greater due to the gain in the filling factor. We anticipate that the DNP enhancements could be further improved by optimizing the biradical structure. The use of covalently attached biradicals would broaden the applicability of DNP NMR to structural studies of proteins.

Spin-labeled pH-sensitive phospholipids for interfacial pKa determination: synthesis and characterization in aqueous and micellar solutions

The synthesis and characterization of spin-labeled phospholipids (SLP)--derivatives of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphothioethanol (PTE)--with pH-reporting nitroxides that are covalently attached to the lipids polar headgroup are being reported. Two lipids were synthesized by reactions of PTE with thiol-specific, pH-sensitive methanethiosulfonate spin labels methanethiosulfonic acid S-(1-oxyl-2,2,3,5,5-pentamethylimidazolidin-4-ylmethyl) ester (IMTSL) and S-4-(4-(dimethylamino)-2-ethyl-5,5-dimethyl-1-oxyl-2,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzyl methanethiosulfonate (IKMTSL). The pKa values of the IMTSL-PTE lipid measured by EPR titration in aqueous buffer/isopropyl alcohol solutions of various compositions were found to be essentially the same (pKa approximately 2.35), indicating that in mixed aqueous/organic solvents, the amphiphilic lipid molecules could be shielded from changing bulk conditions by a local shell of solvent molecules. To overcome this problem, the spin-labeled lipids were modeled by synthesizing IMTSL- and IKMTSL-2-mercaptoethanol adducts. These model compounds yielded the intrinsic pKa0s for IMTSL-PTE and IKMTSL-PTE in aqueous buffers as 3.33 +/- 0.03 and 5.98 +/- 0.03, respectively. A series of EPR titrations of IMTSL-PTE in mixed water/isopropyl alcohol solution allowed for calibrating the polarity-induced pKa shifts, deltapKapol, vs bulk solvent dielectric permittivity. These calibration data allowed for estimating the local dielectric constant, epsilon(eff), experienced by the reporter nitroxide of the IMTSL-PTE lipid incorporated into the nonionic Triton X-100 micelles as 60 +/- 5 and 57 +/- 5 at 23 and 48 degrees C, respectively. For micelles formed from an anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) the electrostatic-induced pKa shift, deltapKael = 2.06 +/- 0.04 units of pH, was obtained by subtracting the polarity-induced contribution. This shift yields psi = -121 mV electric potential of the SDS micelle surface.

Interfacial Surface Properties of Thiol-Protected Gold Nanoparticles: A Molecular Probe EPR Approach

We present a molecular probe technique for accessing interfacial surface electrostatics of ligand-protected gold nanoparticles. A series of ligands with variable length of the hydrocarbon bridge between the anchoring sulfur and the reporting pH-sensitive nitroxide is described. The protonation state of this probe is directly observed by EPR spectroscopy. For tiopronin-protected Au nanoparticles, we observed an increase in pKa of up to ca. 1.1 pH units that was affected by the position of the reporter moiety with respect to the monolayer interface.

The Hydroxyl Radical is a Critical Intermediate in the Voltammetric Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide

Cyclic voltammetry is a widely used and powerful tool for sensitively and selectively measuring hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Herein, voltammetry was combined with electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify and define the role of an oxygen-centered radical liberated during the oxidation of H2O2. The spin-trap reagents, 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) and 2-ethoxycarbonyl-2-methyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrrole-1-oxide (EMPO), were employed. Spectra exhibit distinct hyperfine patterns that clearly identify the DMPO(•)-OH and EMPO(•)-OH adducts. Multiple linear regression analysis of voltammograms demonstrated that the hydroxyl radical is a principal contributor to the voltammetry of H2O2, as signal is attenuated when this species is trapped. These data incorporate a missing, fundamental element to our knowledge of the mechanisms that underlie H2O2 electrochemistry.

Dipole-Stabilized Carbanions in Series of Cyclic Aldonitrones. Part 2: Reactions of the Metalated Aldonitrones—Derivatives of 3-Imidazoline 3-Oxide and 2H-Imidazole 1-Oxide with Aldehydes and Ketones

Abstract Metalated aldonitrones of 3-imidazoline 3-oxide and 2H-imidazole 1-oxide series react with a wide variety of aldehydes and ketones leading to the unknown α-hydroxymethyl nitrones. Reaction of 2,2-dimethyl-4-phenyl-2H-imidazole 1-oxide with allylacetone spontaneously lead to tricyclic 3,3,8-trimethyl-1-phenyl-5a,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3H,5H-4-oxa-2,3a-diaza-cyclopenta[c]pentalen-8-ol. The hydroxy group of (1,2,2,5,5-pentamethyl-2,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-3-oxide-4-yl)phenylmethanol is substituted with piperidine to give, after further transformations, (1,2,2,5,5-pentamethyl-2,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-4-yl)phenylmethanone.

A route to the synthesis of previously unknown α-heteroatom substituted nitrones

α-Heteroatom substituted nitrones have been synthesized for the first time by the reaction of α-lithiated cyclic aldonitrone 1,2,2,5,5-pentamethyl-3-imidazoline 3-oxide with HgCl2, (CH3)3SiCl, (C2H5)3GeCl, (n-C4H9)3SnBr and Ph2P(O)Cl. α-Chloronitrone was prepared for the first time by direct chlorination of α-lithiated aldonitrone using TsCl.

Mapping Local Protein Electrostatics by EPR of pH-Sensitive Thiol-Specific Nitroxide

A first thiol-specific pH-sensitive nitroxide spin-label of the imidazolidine series, methanethiosulfonic acid S-(1-oxyl-2,2,3,5,5-pentamethylimidazolidin-4-ylmethyl) ester (IMTSL), has been synthesized and characterized. X-Band (9 GHz) and W-band (94 GHz) EPR spectral parameters of the new spin-label in its free form and covalently attached to an amino acid cysteine and a tripeptide glutathione were studied as a function of pH and solvent polarity. The pKa value of the protonatable tertiary amino group of the spin-label was found to be unaffected by other ionizable groups present in side chains of unstructured small peptides. The W-band EPR spectra were shown to allow for pKa determination from precise g-factor measurements. Is has been demonstrated that the high accuracy of pKa determination for pH-sensitive nitroxides could be achieved regardless of the frequency of measurements or the regime of spin exchange: fast at X-band and slow at W-band. IMTSL was found to react specifically with a model protein, iso-1-cytochrome c from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, giving EPR spectra very similar to those of the most commonly employed cysteine-specific label MTSL. CD data indicated no perturbations to the overall protein structure upon IMTSL labeling. It was found that for IMTSL, g iso correlates linearly with A iso, but the slopes are different for the neutral and charged forms of the nitroxide. This finding was attributed to the solvent effects on the spin density at the oxygen atom of the NO group and on the excitation energy of the oxygen lone-pair orbital.

Improved Synthesis of 1‐Hydroxy‐2,2,5,5‐tetramethyl‐3‐imidazoline 3‐Oxide (HTIO)

Abstract A simple, efficient, mild, and reproducible method for the synthesis of 1‐hydroxy‐2,2,5,5‐tetramethyl‐3‐imidazoline 3‐oxide is described. The method is based on the condensation of 2‐hydroxyamino‐2‐methylpropanal oxime with 2,2‐diethoxypropane in the presence of an equimolar quantity of acetic acid. Cost‐effectiveness of the condensation procedure could be also achieved by replacing 2,2‐diethoxypropane with less expensive 2,2‐dimethoxypropane.