Silvia Paoletti

Non-ionic Ln(III) chelates as MRI contrast agents: Synthesis, characterisation and 1H NMR relaxometric investigations of bis(benzylamide)diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid Lu(III) and Gd(III) complexes

Abstract The syntheses of the ligand bis(benzylamide)diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (BBA-DTPA) and its Gd(III) and Lu(III) complexes are reported. The solid state structure of Lu(III) BBA-DTPA was determined in a single crystal X-ray diffraction study. The lutetium ion adopts a mine-coordinate geometry, which is best described as a distorted tricapped prism. Eight coordination sites are occupied by the ligand (three nitrogen atoms, two carboxamide oxygens and three carboxylate oxygens) and the ninth site is occupied by the oxygen atom of a water molecule. The VT 13 C NMR spectra of Lu(III) BBA-DTPA are consistent with the presence of three isomers in solution. Water proton relaxation rates have shown that Gd(III) BBA-DTPA displays an analogous behaviour to that observed for other Gd(III) complexes of related bisamide derivatives of DTPA. The solubility of Gd(III) BBA-DTPA has been markedly improved by the presence of an excess of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin. The thermodynamic stability of the inclusion complex has been evaluated by measuring the proton relaxation enhancement upon addition of β-cyclodextrin.

Structural determinants of fluoride and formate binding to hemoglobin and myoglobin: crystallographic and 1H-NMR relaxometric study

The x-ray crystal structure of the fluoride derivative of ferric sperm whale (Physeter catodon) myoglobin (Mb) has been determined at 2.5 A resolution (R = 0.187) by difference Fourier techniques. The fluoride anion, sitting in the central part of the heme distal site and coordinated to the heme iron, is hydrogen bonded to the distal His(64)E7 NE2 atom and to the W195 solvent water molecule. This water molecule also significantly interacts with the same HisE7 residue, which stabilizes the coordinated fluoride ion. Moreover, fluoride and formate binding to ferric Aplysia limacina Mb, sperm whale (Physeter catodon) Mb, horse (Caballus caballus) Mb, loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) Mb, and human hemoglobin has been investigated by 1H-NMR relaxometry. A strong solvent proton relaxation enhancement is observed for the fluoride derivatives of hemoproteins containing HisE7. Conversely, only a small outer-sphere contribution to the solvent relaxation rate has been observed for all of the formate derivatives considered and for the A. limacina Mb:fluoride derivative, where HisE7 is replaced by Val.

Azide, cyanide, fluoride, imidazole and pyridine binding to ferric and ferrous native horse heart cytochrome c and to its carboxymethylated derivative: A comparative study

Azide, cyanide, fluoride, imidazole, and pyridine binding to ferric and ferrous native horse heart cytochrome c and to its carboxymethylated derivative has been investigated, from the thermodynamic viewpoint, at pH 7.5 and 25.0 degrees C. Ligand affinity for ferric and ferrous carboxymethylated cytochrome c is higher by about 30- and 400-fold, respectively, than that observed for the native protein. The results here reported: (i) allow the estimation, for the first time, of the ligand-independent free energy associated with the heme-iron sixth coordination bond in ferric and ferrous native cytochrome c, which turns out to be +8.4 kJ mol-1 and +14.6 kJ mol-1, at 25.0 degrees C, respectively, and (ii) suggest an interplay between redox, structural, ligand binding, and recognition properties of cytochrome c.

Metal Complexes as Allosteric Effectors of Human Hemoglobin: An NMR Study of the Interaction of the Gadolinium(III) Bis(m-boroxyphenylamide)diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid Complex with Human Oxygenated and Deoxygenated Hemoglobin

The boronic functionalities on the outer surface of the Gd(III) bis(m-boroxyphenylamide)DTPA complex (Gd(III)L) enable it to bind to fructosamine residues of oxygenated glycated human adult hemoglobin. The formation of the macromolecular adduct can be assessed by NMR spectroscopy via observation of the enhancement of the solvent water proton relaxation rate. Unexpectedly, a strong binding interaction was also observed for the oxygenated unglycated human adult hemoglobin, eventually displaying a much higher relaxation enhancement. From relaxation rate measurements it was found that two Gd(III)L complexes interact with one hemoglobin tetramer (KD = 1.0 x 10(-5) M and 4.6 x 10(-4) M, respectively), whereas no interaction has been observed with monomeric hemoproteins. A markedly higher affinity of the Gd(III)L complex has been observed for oxygenated and aquo-met human adult hemoglobin derivatives with respect to the corresponding deoxy derivative. Upon binding, a net change in the quaternary structure of hemoglobin has been assessed by monitoring the changes in the high-resolution 1H-NMR spectrum of the protein as well as in the Soret absorption band. On the basis of these observations and the 11B NMR results obtained with the diamagnetic La(III)L complex, we suggest that the interaction between the lanthanide complex and deoxygenated, oxygenated, and aquo-met derivatives of human adult hemoglobin takes place at the 2, 3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) binding site, through the formation of N-->B coordinative bonds at His143beta and His2beta residues of different beta-chains. The stronger binding to the oxygenated form is then responsible for a shift of the allosteric equilibrium toward the high-affinity R-state. Accordingly, Gd(III)L affinity for oxygenated human fetal hemoglobin (lacking His143beta) is significantly lower than that observed for the unglycated human adult tetramer.

1H-NMR relaxometric study of pancreatic serine (pro)enzyme inhibition by a Gd(III) chelate bearing boronic functionalities

Binding of the paramagnetic N,N″‐bis(m‐boroxyphenylcarbamoylmethyl)‐diethylenetriamine‐N,N′,N″‐triacetic acid Gd(III) complex (GdBB) to chymotrypsin, chymotrypsinogen, trypsin, trypsinogen and pancreatic elastase has been investigated by 1H‐NMR relaxometry, between pH 6.0 and 8.5, at 25.0°C. Values of Ki for the competitive inhibition of serine proteinases by GdBB are in excellent agreement with values of Kd obtained by 1H‐NMR relaxometry, suggesting that the substrate and the paramagnetic complex bind to the same region. Moreover, 1H‐NMR relaxometry allowed to determine values of Kd for GdBB binding to chymotrypsinogen and trypsinogen, both devoid of catalytic activity. The increase of the water proton relaxation rate upon GdBB binding to serine (pro)enzymes may be useful in the design of novel functional contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging.