Antioxidant activity of phenolic and related compounds: a density functional theory study on the O-H bond dissociation enthalpy

We report here on calculations at the hybrid DFT/HF (B3-LYP/6-31G(d, p)) level of the O-H bond dissociation enthalpy (O-H BDE) of phenylpropenoic acids (caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric and cinnamic) and phenolic acids and related compounds (gallic, methylgallate, vanillic and gentisic) in order to gain insight into the understanding of structure-antioxidant activity relationships. The results were correlated and discussed mainly on the basis of experimental data in a companion work (Galato D, Giacomelli C, Ckless K, Susin MF, Vale RMR, Spinelli A. Antioxidant capacity of phenolic and related compounds: correlation among electrochemical, visible spectroscopy methods and structure-antioxidant activity. Redox Report 2001; 6: 243-250). The O-H BDE values showed remarkable dependence on the hydroxyl position in the benzene ring and the existence of additional interaction due to hydrogen bonding. For parent molecules, the experimental antioxidant activity (AA) order was properly obeyed only when intramolecular hydrogen bonding was present in the radicalized structures of o-dihydroxyl moieties. In structurally related compounds, excellent correlation with experimental data was in general observed (0.64 < rho < 0.99). However, it is shown that excellent correlation can also be obtained for this series of compounds considering p-radicalized structures which were not stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonding, but this had no physical meaning. These findings suggested that the antioxidant activity evaluation of phenolic and related compounds must take into consideration the characteristics of each particular compound.     

High-spin binuclear cyclopentadienyliron chlorides: a density functional theory study

Theoretical studies on the cyclopentadienyliron chlorides Cp₂Fe₂Cl _n (n?=?6???1) with iron in the formal oxidation states from +1 to +4 indicate that all the high-spin species are predicted to be the lowest energy structures and they are paramagnetic complexes with magnetic moments between 2.8μ _B and 5.9μ _B. The mixed oxidation state derivatives with odd number of chloride atoms have larger magnetic moments than other species. In addition to Cp₂Fe₂Cl, which has the largest magnetic moment, these high-spin species have terminal Cp rings and bridging Cl atoms up to a maximum of two bridges. The Cp₂Fe₂Cl₄, Cp₂Fe₂Cl₃ and Cp₂Fe₂Cl₂ derivatives are predicted to be thermodynamically stable molecules with respect to exothermic reactions for the loss of one Cl atom from Cp₂Fe₂Cl _n . Moreover, the lowest energy Cp₂Fe₂Cl _n (n?=?3, 4) derivatives can be derived by the oxidative addition reactions of Cp₂Fe₂Cl _n?2 + Cl₂ → Cp₂Fe₂Cl _n .

Structure-activity relationship study of 9-aminoacridine compounds in scrapie-infected neuroblastoma cells

A focused library of variously substituted 9-aminoacridine compounds was screened for bioactivity against accumulation of the infectious prion protein isoform, denoted PrP(Sc), in a cell model of prion replication. The efficacy of compounds against PrP(Sc) accumulation was influenced by both substituents of the distal tertiary amine and acridine heterocycle, while cellular cytotoxicity was encoded in the acridine heterocycle substituents.     

Structure-activity relationship of flavonoids with superoxide scavenging activity

The superoxide scavenging activities of 12 flavonoids were measured. The superoxide anions were generated by a hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase system and measured by the nitrite method. The results showed that the scavenging ability enhanced with an increasing number of hydroxyl groups in rings B. Substitution at C3 position with a hydroxyl group increased the activity. Compared to a methoxyl group or a glycoside in this position, a free hydroxyl group showed the highest activity. A saturated C2−C3 bond showed a higher activity than a unsaturated bond. The absence of a carbonyl group at C4 position increased the activity.     

Hydrogen bonds in galactopyranoside and glucopyranoside: a density functional theory study

Density functional theory calculations on two glycosides, namely, n-octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (C₈O-β-Glc) and n-octyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (C₈O-β-Gal) were performed for geometry optimization at the B3LYP/6-31G level. Both molecules are stereoisomers (epimers) differing only in the orientation of the hydroxyl group at the C4 position. Thus it is interesting to investigate electronically the effect of the direction (axial/equatorial) of the hydroxyl group at the C4 position. The structure parameters of X-H???Y intramolecular hydrogen bonds were analyzed, while the nature of these bonds and the intramolecular interactions were considered using the atoms in molecules (AIM) approach. Natural bond orbital analysis (NBO) was used to determine bond orders, charge and lone pair electrons on each atom and effective non-bonding interactions. We have also reported electronic energy and dipole moment in gas and solution phases. Further, the electronic properties such as the highest occupied molecular orbital, lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, ionization energy, electron affinity, electronic chemical potential, chemical hardness, softness and electrophilicity index, are also presented here for both C₈O-β-Glc and C₈O-β-Gal. These results show that, while C₈O-β-Glc possess– only one hydrogen bond, C₈O-β-Gal has two intramolecular hydrogen bonds, which further confirms the anomalous stability of the latter in self-assembly phenomena.     

Structure-activity relationship of tetrapeptides related to dermorphin: a 500-MHz 1H-nmr study

Several tetrapeptide analogs of dermorphin have been studied by means of ¹H-nmr spectroscopy at 500 MHz in DMSO-d₆. In spite of the unfavorable properties of the solvent, it is possible to extract key structural information that, combined with the biological activity of the peptides, yields a structure–activity relationship that is consistent with our model of the μ receptor site. In particular, the importance of the orientation of the aromatic ring of the third residue, hypothesized in the theoretical model, is now substantiated. The shape of the P subsite of the receptor is also indirectly defined by the shape of several bulky side chains of the third residue.     

Structure-activity relationships of wheat flavone O-methyltransferase: a homodimer of convenience

Wheat flavone O-methyltransferase catalyzes three sequential methylations of the flavone tricetin. Like other flavonoid O-methyltransferases, the protein is a homodimer. We demonstrate, using analytical ultracentrifugation, that perchlorate dissociates the dimer into monomers. The resulting monomers retain all their catalytic capacity, including the ability to catalyze the three successive methylations. We show, using isothermal titration calorimetry, that the binding constant for S-adenosyl-L-methionine does not change significantly as the protein dissociates. The second substrate, tricetin, binds to the dimers but could not be tested with the monomers. CD, UV and fluorescence spectroscopy show that there are substantial changes in the structure of the protein as it dissociates. The fact that there are differences between the monomers and dimers even as the monomers maintain activity may be the result of the very low catalytic capacity of this enzyme. Maximal turnover numbers for the dimers and monomers are only about 6-7 per minute. Even though the binding pockets for S-adenosyl-L-methionine, tricetin, selgin and tricin are intact, selection of a catalytically competent structure may be a very slow step during catalysis.     

利用假病毒技术研究抗HIV-1药物的作用机制

采用假病毒系统对5种具有抗HIV-1活性的天然化合物的作用机制进行研究, 建立了一种可在普通实验室进行抗HIV-1作用机理研究的实验平台。通过构建假病毒系统, 利用定量PCR实验分析感染细胞内病毒生命周期早期的特异性DNA产物, 发现5种化合物可通过不同的作用机制在早期抑制HIV-1复制。部分化合物表现出新的作用机制, 如LC-1、LC-2可抑制HIV-1的入核。通过分析药物对2种不同的逆转录病毒(HIV-1和MLV)的感染性, 发现LC-1可特异地阻断HIV-1的复制, 而对MLV无影响。同时为了检测药物是否也会在病毒的生命周期晚期有作用,利用直接转染前病毒质粒的方式进行了验证。利用以上方法, 初步确定了这几种药物的作用靶点, 构建了一个有效的抗HIV-1药物作用机理的研究平台。     

Mutagenicity of K-region epoxides of polycyclic aromatic compounds: Structure-activity relationship

The mutagenicity of several K-region arene oxides waas tested in histidine-dependent mutants of Salmonella typhimurium. Benzo(a)pyrene-4,5-oxide and pyrene-4,5-oxide as well as some substituted phenanthrene oxides were mutagenic in strains TA 1538 and TA 98 which detect frame-shift mutagens.Structure-activity relationships are discussed from the standpoint of chemical reactivity. The absence of direct correlation between electrophilic reactivity and mutagenicity may suggest that primilarily physical properties, such as relative position of the epoxide group and molecular shape of arene oxides, are important for the emergence of mutagenicity of arene oxides.     

Conformational preferences of 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane: a molecular mechanics and density functional theory study

Conformational preferences of 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane were studied using a highly efficient sampling technique based on local nonstochastic deformations and the MM2(91) force field. The results show that conformers that the molecule adopts in the crystal state were found to be low-energy conformers (LECs) within 5 kcal mol(-1) of the global minimum. A conformation with C1 symmetry was the global minimum and the C3 and C2 conformations were calculated to be 0.03 and 1.78 kcal mol(-1) higher in energy, respectively. The structures were further minimized using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations with two different functionals. The C2 and the C1 conformations were found to be LECs with the C3 conformation more than 4.0 kcal mol(-1) above the global minimum. The relative energies and structural ordering obtained using the BP86 functional are in agreement with the previously reported relative energies calculated using second-order Moller-Plesset (MP2) ab initio calculations. With the energy ordering being dependent on the molecular mechanics force field used, the approach of MM-->DFT (searching exhaustively the available conformational space at the MM level followed by generating the energy ordering through DFT calculations) appears to be appropriate for thiacrown ethers.     

Structure-activity relationship study of estrogen receptor down-regulators with a diphenylmethane skeleton

Selective estrogen receptor (ER) down-regulators (SERDs) are pure ER antagonists that also induce ER degradation upon binding to the receptor. Although SERDs have been developed for the treatment of ER-positive breast cancers for nearly a decade, their precise mechanism(s) of action and structure-activity relationship are still unclear. Generally, Western blotting is used to examine the effects of SERDs on ER protein levels, but the methodology is low-throughput and not quantitative. Here, we describe a quantitative, high-throughput, luciferase-based assay for the evaluation of SERDs activity. For this purpose, we established stable recombinant HEK-293 cell lines expressing ERα fused with emerald luciferase. We also designed and synthesized new diphenylmethane derivatives as candidate SERDs, and evaluated their SERDs activity using the developed system in order to examine their structure-activity relationship, taking EC₅₀ as a measure of potency, and E_max as a measure of efficacy.     

Thiophenic compounds adsorption on Na(I)Y and rare earth exchanged Y zeolites: a density functional theory study

We have theoretically investigated the adsorption of thiophene, benzothiophene, dibenzothiophene on Na(I)Y and rare earth exchanged La(III)Y, Ce(III)Y, Pr(III)Y Nd(III)Y zeolites by density functional theory calculations. The calculated results show that except benzothiophene adsorbed on Na(I)Y with a stand configuration, the stable adsorption structures of other thiophenic compounds on zeolites exhibit lying configurations. Adsorption energies of thiophenic compounds on the Na(I)Y are very low, and decrease with the increase of the number of benzene rings in thiophenic compounds. All rare earth exchanged zeolites exhibit strong interaction with thiophene. La(III)Y and Nd(III)Y zeolites are found to show enhanced adsorption energies to benzothiophene and Pr(III)Y zeolites are favorable for dibenzothiophene adsorption. The analysis of the electronic total charge density and electron orbital overlaps show that the thiophenic compounds interact with zeolites by π-electrons of thiophene ring and exchanged metal atom. Mulliken charge populations analysis reveals that adsorption energies are strongly dependent on the charge transfer of thiophenic molecule and exchanged metal atom.     

Structure-activity relationships in platelet-activating factor. Part 14: synthesis and biological evaluation of piperazine derivatives with dual anti-PAF and anti-HIV-1 activity

As HIV-associated dementia prevalence has risen with the lifespan of HIV-infected individuals, there is an important need for antiretroviral and anti-inflammatory drugs targeting the central nervous system. Platelet-activating factor, a mediator of inflammation, is an HIV-induced neurotoxin secreted in the infected brain. In this work, we developed piperazine derivatives bearing a heterocyclic moiety as PAF-antagonists and HIV-1 replication inhibitors with micromolar potency.     

Acetylene chain reaction on hydrogenated boron nitride monolayers: a density functional theory study

Spin-polarized first-principles total-energy calculations have been performed to investigate the possible chain reaction of acetylene molecules mediated by hydrogen abstraction on hydrogenated hexagonal boron nitride monolayers. Calculations have been done within the periodic density functional theory (DFT), employing the PBE exchange correlation potential, with van der Waals corrections (vdW-DF). Reactions at two different sites have been considered: hydrogen vacancies on top of boron and on top of nitrogen atoms. As previously calculated, at the intermediate state of the reaction, when the acetylene molecule is attached to the surface, the adsorption energy is of the order of ?0.82 eV and ?0.20 eV (measured with respect to the energy of the non interacting molecule-substrate system) for adsorption on top of boron and nitrogen atoms, respectively. After the hydrogen abstraction takes place, the system gains additional energy, resulting in adsorption energies of ?1.52 eV and ?1.30 eV, respectively. These results suggest that the chain reaction is energetically favorable. The calculated minimum energy path (MEP) for hydrogen abstraction shows very small energy barriers of the order of 5 meV and 22 meV for the reaction on top of boron and nitrogen atoms, respectively. Finally, the density of states (DOS) evolution study helps to understand the chain reaction mechanism.

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Graphical abstract Acetylene chain reaction on hydrogenated boron nitride monolayers

     

Synthesis and in vitro antioxidant activity study of some new piperazinyl flavone compounds

Flavones exhibit a variety of beneficial effects and are well known for their medicinal importance in several diseases, including cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and cancer. The inclusion of the piperazine ring to the flavone backbone is an important strategy in drug discovery but only a few studies have synthesized piperazinyl flavone compounds to test their biological activity. While there is a major focus on the antioxidant properties of drugs in therapy of several diseases of inflammatory origin, we synthesized a series of the novel piperazinyl flavone analogues bearing the phenyl ring with different substituents. The analogues were evaluated for in vitro antioxidant activity against superoxide anion radical, hydroxyl radical, 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical, and hydrogen peroxide scavenging properties. The total antioxidant status based on the absorbance of the 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulphonic acid) radical cation (ABTS^+?) and total antioxidant capacity using the Fe(III)‐ferrozine complex were also monitored. The results of the above studies showed that the compounds synthesized were found possessed moderate radical scavenging potential, and that their interaction with reactive oxygen species is complex and depends on their structural conformation and the type of substituent R in the piperazine ring being attached. Best antiradical activity were found for the compounds with methoxy groups on the phenyl ring of substituent R, whereas the presence of methoxy or trifluoromethyl groups in substituent R resulted in higher ABTS^+? and ion Fe(III) reduction. These compounds are promising molecules to be used for their antioxidant properties and may be regarded, after improvement of the antioxidant potential, to control diseases of free radical etiology.     

Structure-activity relationship study: short antimicrobial peptides.

Many short antimicrobial peptides (< 18mer) have been identified for the development of therapeutic agents. However, Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies about short antimicrobial peptides have not been extensively performed. To investigate the relationship between activity and structural parameters such as an alpha-helical structure, a net positive charge and a hydrophobicity, we synthesized and characterized diastereomers, scramble peptides and substituted peptides of the short antimicrobial peptide identified by combinatorial libraries. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra and in vitro activity indicated that an alpha-helical structure correlated with the antimicrobial activity and a beta-sheet structure also satisfied a structural requirement for antimicrobial activity. Most peptides consisting of L-amino acids lost antifungal activity in the presence of heat-inactivated serum, while active diastereomers and a scramble peptide with the beta-sheet structure retained antifungal activity in the same condition.