Photolysis of 3-aryl-3-(trifluoromethyl)diazirines: a caveat regarding their use in photoaffinity probes.

The photolysis of 3-(4-tolyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)diazirine in the presence of benzene, methanol, carbon tetrachloride, cyclohexane, triethylsilane, or diethylamine led to photoproducts consistent with the intermediacy of a singlet carbene. In the case of diethylamine, the photoinsertion into the N-H bond of diethylamine produced the expected adduct, 1-(diethylamino)-2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(4-tolyl)ethane. However, the base-catalyzed elimination of hydrogen fluoride from this adduct afforded an enamine, alpha-(diethylamino)-beta,beta-difluoro-4-methylstyrene, and the subsequent hydrolysis of this enamine furnished diethylamine and 2,2-difluoro-1-(4-tolyl)ethanone. This elimination and hydrolysis sequence effectively reversed the photoinsertion process. A similar photoinsertion and hydrolysis process using 3-(4-n-octylphenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)diazirine also produced 2,2-difluoro-1-(4-n-octylphenyl)ethanone in modest yield. These results suggest that the photoinsertion products from 3-aryl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-diazirines in biological systems may suffer similar fates limiting, in part, their utility in obtaining primary sequence data.     

The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus intraradices, induces the accumulation of cyclohexenone derivatives in tobacco roots

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants were grown with and without the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus intraradices Schenk & Smith. High-performance liquid chromatographic analyses of methanolic extracts from mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal tobacco roots revealed marked fungus-induced changes in the patterns of UV-detectable products. The UV spectra of these products, obtained from an HPLC photodiode array detector, indicated the presence of several blumenol derivatives. The most predominant compound among these derivatives was spectroscopically identified as 13-hydroxyblumenol C 9-O-gentiobioside (“nicoblumin”), i.e. the 9-O-(6′-O-β-glucopyranosyl)-β-glucopyranoside of 13-hydroxy-6-(3-hydroxybutyl)-1,1,5-trimethyl-4-cyclohexen-3-one, a new natural product. This is the first report on the identification of blumenol derivatives in mycorrhizal roots of a non-gramineous plant. Received: 28 August 1998 / Accepted: 26 October 1998     

Design and Synthesis of Pyridine and Thiazole Derivatives as Eco-friendly Insecticidal to Control Olive Pests

Treatment of p-tosyloxybenzaldehyde ( 1 ) with ethyl cyanoacetate afforded ethyl 2-cyano-3-(4-{[(4-methylphenyl)sulfonyl]oxy}phenyl)acrylate ( 2 ) which reacted with some active methylene derivatives under microwave irradiation in presence of ammonium acetate yielded pyridine derivatives 3 – 7 . On the other hand, when treatment of compound 1 with thiosemicarbazide gave 4-tosyloxybenzylidenethiosemicarbazone ( 8 ), which allowed to react with some active methylene compounds, such as: ethyl bromoacetate, chloroacetonitrile or phenacyl bromide derivatives gave thiazole derivatives 9 – 13 . The structure of all products were confirmed by elemental and spectroscopic analyses such as IR, ¹H-NMR, ¹³CNMR and mass spectra. The advanced of this method are short reaction time (3–7 min), excellent yield, pure products, and low-cost processing. In the final category, the toxicological characteristics of all compounds were tested towards Saissetia oleae (Olivier, 1791) (Hemiptera: Coccidae). With respect to the LC₅₀ values. It has been found that compound 3 possesses the highest insecticidal bioefficacy compared with other products, with values of 0.502 and 1.009 ppm, for nymphs and adults female, respectively. This study paves the way towards discovering new materials for potential use as insecticidal active agents.     

Stereoselective determination of fenfluramine enantiomers in rat liver microsomal incubates

An enantioselective assay for l- and d-fenfluramine in rat liver microsomal incubates was developed. The method involves extraction of fenfluramine from the microsomal incubates, and formation of fenfluramine diastereomeric derivatives with the chiral reagent S-(−)-N-trifluoroacetyl prolyl chloride. Separation and quantitation of the diastereomeric fenfluramine derivatives are carried out by a capillary gas chromatographic system with flame ionization detection. The assay is linear from 1 to 50 μg/ml for each enantiomer. The analytical method affords average recoveries of 92.28 and 96.44% for l- and d-fenfluramine, respectively. The limits of detection and quantitation for the method are 0.1 and 1.0 μg/ml for the l- and d-fenfluramine isomers, respectively. The reproducibility of the assay was <10% (RSD). The method allowed study of the depletion of l- and d-fenfluramine in rat liver microsomal incubates. The stereoselectivity of fenfluramine phase I metabolism was observed.     

Oxidation and ring cleavage of dibenzofuran by the filamentous fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paecilomyces lilacinus</Emphasis>

The ability of the imperfect soil fungus Paecilomyces lilacinus to transform the environmental pollutant dibenzofuran was investigated. Transformation of dibenzofuran and related derivatives lead to 14 products, which were identified by UV spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Biotransformation was initiated by two separate hydroxylation steps, leading to the accumulation of 4-monohydroxylated and 4-dihydroxylateddibenzofurans. Hydroxylation at both aromatic rings produced 2,7-dihydroxydibenzofuran, 3,7-dihydroxydibenzofuran, and 2,8-dihydroxydibenzofuran. Further oxidation yields ring cleavage of dibenzofuran, which has not been described before for filamentous fungi. The ring fission products were identified as benzo[b]furo[3,2-d]-2-pyrone-6-carboxylic acid and [2-(1-carboxy-methylidene)-benzofuran-3-ylidene]-hydroxy-acetic acid and its derivatives hydroxylated at carbon 7 and 8 at the non-cleaved ring. Other metabolites were riboside-conjugates of 2-hydroxydibenzofuran and 3-hydroxydibenzofuran. The results showed that P. lilacinus transforms the hydrophobic compound dibenzofuran by phase I/phase II reactions to produce hydroxylated products and excretable sugar conjugates.     

A methodology for simultaneous fluorogenic derivatization and boronate affinity enrichment of 3-nitrotyrosine-containing peptides

We synthesized and characterized a new tagging reagent, (3R,4S)-1-(4-(aminomethyl)phenylsulfonyl)pyrrolidine-3,4-diol (APPD), for the selective fluorogenic derivatization of 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) residues in peptides (after reduction to 3-aminotyrosine) and affinity enrichment. The synthetic 3-NT-containing peptide, FSAY(3-NO₂)LER, was employed as a model for method validation. Furthermore, this derivatization protocol was successfully tested for analysis of 3-NT-containing proteins exposed to peroxynitrite in the total protein lysate of cultured C2C12 cells. The quantitation of 3-NT content in samples was achieved through either fluorescence spectrometry or boronate affinity chromatography with detection by specific fluorescence (excitation and emission wavelengths of 360 and 510 nm, respectively); the respective limits of detection were 95 and 68 nM (19 and 13 pmol total amount) of 3-NT. Importantly, the derivatized peptides show a strong retention on a synthetic boronate affinity column, containing sulfonamide-phenylboronic acid, under mild chromatographic conditions, affording a route to separate the derivatized peptides from large amounts (milligrams) of nonderivatized peptides and to enrich them for fluorescent detection and mass spectrometry (MS) identification. Tandem MS analysis identified chemical structures of peptide 3-NT fluorescent derivatives and revealed that the fluorescent derivatives undergo efficient backbone fragmentations, permitting sequence-specific identification of protein nitration at low concentrations of 3-NT in complex protein mixtures.     

New Photoreactive Cleavable Reagents with Trifluoromethyldiazirine Group

Photoreactive crosslinking reagents that simultaneously contain a trifluoromethyldiazirine and an o-nitrobenzyl groups were synthesized for the first time. Photochemical properties of the reagents were studied, and the possibility of separate activation of the diazirine group and o-nitrobenzyl linker was shown.     

Malondialdehyde and 4-Hydroxy-2-Nonenal in Plant Tissue Cultures: LC-MS Determination of2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazone Derivatives

The cytologically active secondary lipid peroxidation products, malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) have been detected as their2, 4-dinitro-phenylhydrazone (DNP) derivatives in plant tissue cultures using LC-MS. This paper reports, for the first time, the use of LC-MS methodology to definitively identify 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal in plants. Limits of detection for the two derivatives are approximately 5pmol (1.2 × 10^-9g; 1μM) and O.1pmol (3 × 10^-l1g; 20nM) respectively. Mass spectrometer response was linear in the range from 2-200μM DNP-MDA and 0.02-10μM DNP-HNE.

This methodology has been used to assess the formation of aldehydic secondary lipid peroxidation products in dedifferentiated callus cultures of Daucus carota. The finding that profiles of MDA and HNE can be correlated with embryogenic competence is of considerable interest as oxidative status has already been implicated as a regulatory factor in animal development.     

Synthesis of spin-labeled photoaffinity derivatives of NAD+ and their interaction with lactate dehydrogenase

The synthesis of NAD+ derivatives spin-labeled at either N6 or C8 of the adenine ring is described, in which the carboxamide function of the nicotinamide moiety is replaced by a diazirine ring. Irradiation of these compounds at 350 nm generates a carbene which will react with any functional group in its vicinity including hydrocarbons. Both NAD+ derivatives form tight ternary complexes with lactate dehydrogenase and were covalently incorporated into this enzyme. They may be employed for ESR studies when non-covalent interactions are too weak for motionally restricted species to be observed.     

Transformation of steroids by Bacillus strains isolated from the foregut of water beetles (Coleoptera:Dytiscidae): I. Metabolism of androst-4-en-3,17-dione (AD)

Two Bacillus strains were isolated from the foregut of the water beetle Agabus affinis (Payk.) and tested for their steroid transforming ability. After incubation with androst-4-en-3,17-dione (AD), 13 different transformation products were detected. AD was hydroxylated at C₆, C₇, C₁₁ and C₁₄, resulting in formation of 6β-, 7α-, 11α- and 14α-hydroxy-AD. One strain also produced small amounts of 6β,14α-dihydroxy-AD. Partly, the 6β-hydroxy group was further oxidized to the corresponding 6-oxo steroids. In addition, a specific reduction of the Δ⁴-double bond was observed, leading to the formation of 5α-androstane derivatives. In minor yields the carbonyl functions at C₃ and C₁₇ were reduced leading to the formation of 3ξ-OH or 17β-OH steroids. EI mass spectra of the trimethylsilyl and O-methyloxime trimethylsilyl ether derivatives of some transformation products are presented for the first time.     

Noncompetitive antagonist binding sites in the torpedo nicotinic acetylcholine receptor ion channel. Structure-activity relationship studies using adamantane derivatives

We used a series of adamantane derivatives to probe the structure of the phencyclidine locus in either the resting or desensitized state of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR). Competitive radioligand binding and photolabeling experiments using well-characterized noncompetitive antagonists such as the phencyclidine analogue [piperidyl-3,4-(3)H(N)]-N-[1-(2-thienyl)cyclohexyl]-3,4-piperidine ([(3)H]TCP), [(3)H]ethidium, [(3)H]tetracaine, [(14)C]amobarbital, and 3-(trifluoromethyl)-3-(m-[(125)I]iodophenyl)diazirine ([(125)I]TID) were performed. Thermodynamic and structure-function relationship analyses yielded the following results. (1) There is a good structure-function relationship for adamantane amino derivatives inhibiting [(3)H]TCP or [(3)H]tetracaine binding to the resting AChR. (2) Since the same derivatives inhibit neither [(14)C]amobarbital binding nor [(125)I]TID photoincorporation, we conclude that these positively charged molecules preferably bind to the TCP locus, perhaps interacting with alphaGlu(262) residues at position M2-20. (3) The opposite is true for the neutral molecule adamantane, which prefers the TID (or barbiturate) locus instead of the TCP site. (4) The TID site is smaller and more hydrophobic (it accommodates neutral molecules with a maximal volume of 333 +/- 45 A(3)) than the TCP locus, which has room for positively charged molecules with volumes as large as 461 A(3) (e.g., crystal violet). This supports the concept that the resting ion channel is tapering from the extracellular mouth to the middle portion. (5) Finally, although both the hydrophobic environment and the size of the TCP site are practically the same in both states, there is a more obvious cutoff in the desensitized state than in the resting state, suggesting that the desensitization process constrains the TCP locus. A plausible location of neutral and charged adamantane derivatives is shown in a model of the resting ion channel.     

Stereochemistry of the Reductive Amination of 4-Oxoproline Derivatives with Glycine Esters

An amination of 4-oxoproline derivatives with glycine methyl or benzyl ester and sodium cyanoborohydride led to the mixtures of corresponding diastereomeric 4-cis- and 4-trans-glycinoproline derivatives. We found that the ratio of diastereomers mainly depends on the structure of 4-oxoproline ester groups and, to a lesser extent, on the structure of N-acyl substituents. The best results were achieved with tert-butyl ester group; it ensured good yields of the amination products and the greatest prevalence of 4-cis-isomers. The structure of ester group in glycine molecule only scarcely affected the resulting ratio of N-(N-benzyloxycarbonylglycyl)-4-glycinoprolines.     

Jasmonate biosynthesis and the allene oxide cyclase family of Arabidopsis thaliana

In biosynthesis of octadecanoids and jasmonate (JA), the naturally occurring enantiomer is established in a step catalysed by the gene cloned recently from tomato as a single-copy gene (Ziegler et al., 2000). Based on sequence homology, four full-length cDNAs were isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Columbia coding for proteins with AOC activity. The expression of AOCgenes was transiently and differentially up-regulated upon wounding both locally and systemically and was induced by JA treatment. In contrast, AOC protein appeared at constitutively high basal levels and was slightly increased by the treatments. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed abundant occurrence of AOC protein as well as of the preceding enzymes in octadecanoid biosynthesis, lipoxygenase (LOX) and allene oxide synthase (AOS), in fully developed tissues, but much less so in 7-day old leaf tissues. Metabolic profiling data of free and esterified polyunsaturated fatty acids and lipid peroxidation products including JA and octadecanoids in wild-type leaves and the jasmonate-deficient mutant OPDA reductase 3 (opr3) revealed preferential activity of the AOS branch within the LOX pathway. 13-LOX products occurred predominantly as esterified derivatives, and all 13-hydroperoxy derivatives were below the detection limits. There was a constitutive high level of free 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) in untreated wild-type and opr3 leaves, but an undetectable expression of AOC. Upon wounding opr3 leaves exhibited only low expression of AOC, wounded wild-type leaves, however, accumulated JA and AOC mRNA. These and further data suggest regulation of JA biosynthesis by OPDA compartmentalization and a positive feedback by JA during leaf development.     

Detection of the plasma volume expander hydroxyethyl starch in human urine

The plasma volume expander hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is usually administered in cases of hypovolaemic shocks but in 1998 the press reported its misuse in endurance sports. Since January 2000, it has been put on the list of prohibited substances of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its misuse is to ban by doping controls. Therefore, a rapid method enabling the screening for HES in human urine was developed which can be easily adopted by IOC laboratories to analyse routine urine samples for this remedy. Excretion study urine samples obtained from patients treated with HES, blank urine specimen and reference standards, were hydrolysed with hydrochloric acid and without any further purification of the resulting monosaccharides their per-timethylsilylated derivatives were performed. By means of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry the products were separated and the α- and β-isomers of glucose, 2-, 3- and 6-hydroxyethyl glucose derivatives were identified. Typical ion traces of 2- and 3-substituted glucose (m/z 248, m/z 261 and m/z 235, m/z 248, respectively) support the fast determination of the substances whose electron impact mass spectra are presented and discussed.     

Transglucosidation Action of Crystalline Mold Maltase

In the presence of D-mannose as a glucosyl acceptor, crystalline Takamaltase acts on phenyl-a-glucoside to produce 3-O-α-D-glucosylmannose and 6-O-α-D-glucosylraannose. These transglucosidation products were characterized by their phenylosazone derivatives, their mobility on paper, acid hydrolysis products and reduction with sodium borohydride.     

Enantioselective gas chromatographic assay with electron-capture detection for amlodipine in biological samples

A sensitive enantioselective gas chromatographic assay has been developed for amlodipine, 2-[(2-aminoethoxy)-methyl]-4-(2-chlorophenyl)-3-ethoxycarbonyl-5-methoxycarbonyl-6-methyl-1,4-dihydropyridine, a calcium channel blocking therapeutic agent. The assay involves conversion of the (+)-(R)- and (−)-(S)-enantiomers of amlodipine into their acyl derivatives with the chiral reagent (+)-(S)-α-methoxy-α-trifluoromethylphenylacetyl chloride (Mosher's reagent). Peak separation after chromatography of the diastereomers was larger than 85%, and the lower limit of detection in blood plasma was 0.02 ng/ml for each enantiomer. The method has been used for the measurement of amlodipine enantiomers in human, rat and dog plasma, and in various organs of the rat.     

The biosynthesis of cytokinins in crown-gall tissue of Vinca rosea

The crown-gall tissue of Vinca rosea converts labelled adenine into cytokinins. The principal initial products appear to be ribosylzeatin phosphates; zeatin and ribosylzeatin are also produced in appreciable quantities. The efficiency of conversion of adenine into cytokinins suggests a pathway of synthesis independent of turnover of tRNA. Isopentenyl adenine or its derivatives do not appear to be intermediates in the conversion of adenine to zeatin compounds. Cytokinins in V. rosea turnover rapidly and further metabolism of zeatin derivatives seems to result in their conversion into glucosides which are the main cytokinin active compounds in the tissue.Abbreviations HPLC high performance liquid chromatography - AMP adenosine monophosphate - TLC thin-layer chromatography - GLC gas-liquid chromatography