The iron and manganese superoxide dismutases are a family of metallo-enzymes with highly conserved protein folds, active sites and dimer interfaces. They catalyse the elimination of the cytotoxic free radical superoxide to molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide by alternate reduction then oxidation of the activesite with the concomitant transfer of protons from the solvent. There are many key aspects of enzymatic function that lack a structural explanation. The focus of this study is on three crystal structures. The iron-substituted manganese superoxide dismutase from Escherichia coli complexed with azide, a substrate-mimicking inhibitor, was solved to 2.2 Å. This “wrong” metal form shows a binding pattern seen previously in the manganese superoxide dismutase from Thermus thermophilus. Wild-type manganese specific superoxide dismutase from the extremophile Deinococcus radiodurans was solved to 2.0 Å and has an active site reminiscent of other solved manganese superoxide dismutases despite a lack of product inhibition. The azide-inhibited manganese superoxide dismutase from Deinococcus radiodurans was determined to a resolution of 2.0 Å and showed binding of azide, and by inference superoxide, different to that seen in Thermus thermophilus, but reminiscent of that seen in azide-inhibited iron superoxide dismutases. These results indicate that the azide ion, and by inference superoxide, bind to the metal centre of manganese superoxide dismutases in two modes, and transition between the two modes may be entropy dependent. These structures, integrated with knowledge from other structures, known biochemistry and various spectra, provide insight into catalytic function. An outer-sphere mechanism of proton transfer that does not rely on through-peptide proton uptake is proposed and compared to a previously proposed inner-sphere mechanism. This is based on the observation that a water molecule moves into the active site of the manganese superoxide dismutase from Deinococcus radiodurans upon azide binding, providing a Grötthus pathway for rapid proton transfer to the active site from the bulk solvent. Also presented in this study are the partially refined structures of four point mutants (S82T, L83M, L133V, and M164L/L166V) of the manganese superoxide dismutase from Escherichia coli all solved to roughly 2 Å resolution, designed to investigate product inhibition which varies across species.

The role of metals in biological processes has been discussed with particular emphasis on the importance of chelation. Furst has suggested that many anticancer drugs may owe their activity to their chelating properties. A number of new amidoximes and hydroxylamine have been made from the appropriate imidoyl chloride and a hydroxylaqine. The spectral and chelating properties of these compounds are discussed. All the compounds have been submitted to the anticancer screening programme of the National Cancer Institute. The results available so far are presented and indicate that the compounds are toxic but inactive against experimental tumours. Sodium sulphide reduces a-phenyl-o-nitro-cinnamonitrile (106) to 2-amino-3-phenylquinoline-1-oxide (107) in good yield. Extension of the reduction to other o-nitrocinnamonitriles gives very poor results. The spectral properties, configurations and conformations of the o-nitrocinnamonitriles are discussed. The 12-aminoquinoline-1-oxide group is shown to form solid metal complexes. That from 2-amino-3-phenylquinoline-1-oxide (107) with nickel has been prepared. Antitumour screening results are presented for several 2-aminoquinoline derivatives. None of these compounds appears to be active.

This thesis describes Further studies on the utilisation of the diterpenoid natural product , 12-hydrxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trim 19-oic acid* (podocarpic acid) (1) . In particular it describes transformations of the C-ring to give suitable intermediates for the synthesis of optically active steroids and terpenoids. An investigation has been carried out on the Birch reduction of 12-methoxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-19-ol (8), and conditions for the optimum formation of the ketonic products (10) and (12) are suggested. The enones (25) and (26) have been synthesised from 12-hydroxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-19-oic acid (1) by sequences involving reduction of the aromatic ring followed by ring C transformations. Methyl 12-hydroxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-19-oate (3) has been converted in ca. 60% yield to the dextrorotatory C 13 methyl ether which has then been reduced in good yield to the enone (163). Potential routes for conversion of the enones (25), (26), and (163)into steroidal analogues are described. Initial steps in the transformation of the C 13 methyl ether(62) into an intermediate (176) suitable for the synthesis of (+)-a-onocerin (80) have been investigated. A preliminary study on the synthesis of the C 14 phenol (190) or its methyl ether (191) is also reported. * The numbering system used throughout this thesis is that proposed by J.W. Rowe (personal communication to Professor R. C. Cambie) in "The Common and Systematic Nomenclature of Cyclic Diterpenes", 3rd Revision, Oct. 1966, to be submitted to the IUPAC Commission on Organic Nomenclature (see page 144)

The role of metals in biological processes has been discussed with particular emphasis on the importance of chelation. Furst has suggested that many anticancer drugs may owe their activity to their chelating properties. A number of new amidoximes and hydroxylamine have been made from the appropriate imidoyl chloride and a hydroxylaqine. The spectral and chelating properties of these compounds are discussed. All the compounds have been submitted to the anticancer screening programme of the National Cancer Institute. The results available so far are presented and indicate that the compounds are toxic but inactive against experimental tumours. Sodium sulphide reduces a-phenyl-o-nitro-cinnamonitrile (106) to 2-amino-3-phenylquinoline-1-oxide (107) in good yield. Extension of the reduction to other o-nitrocinnamonitriles gives very poor results. The spectral properties, configurations and conformations of the o-nitrocinnamonitriles are discussed. The 12-aminoquinoline-1-oxide group is shown to form solid metal complexes. That from 2-amino-3-phenylquinoline-1-oxide (107) with nickel has been prepared. Antitumour screening results are presented for several 2-aminoquinoline derivatives. None of these compounds appears to be active.

This thesis describes Further studies on the utilisation of the diterpenoid natural product , 12-hydrxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trim 19-oic acid* (podocarpic acid) (1) . In particular it describes transformations of the C-ring to give suitable intermediates for the synthesis of optically active steroids and terpenoids. An investigation has been carried out on the Birch reduction of 12-methoxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-19-ol (8), and conditions for the optimum formation of the ketonic products (10) and (12) are suggested. The enones (25) and (26) have been synthesised from 12-hydroxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-19-oic acid (1) by sequences involving reduction of the aromatic ring followed by ring C transformations. Methyl 12-hydroxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-19-oate (3) has been converted in ca. 60% yield to the dextrorotatory C 13 methyl ether which has then been reduced in good yield to the enone (163). Potential routes for conversion of the enones (25), (26), and (163)into steroidal analogues are described. Initial steps in the transformation of the C 13 methyl ether(62) into an intermediate (176) suitable for the synthesis of (+)-a-onocerin (80) have been investigated. A preliminary study on the synthesis of the C 14 phenol (190) or its methyl ether (191) is also reported. * The numbering system used throughout this thesis is that proposed by J.W. Rowe (personal communication to Professor R. C. Cambie) in "The Common and Systematic Nomenclature of Cyclic Diterpenes", 3rd Revision, Oct. 1966, to be submitted to the IUPAC Commission on Organic Nomenclature (see page 144)

The goal of this project was to synthesise potential flavour compounds combinatorially and identify key components for further investigation as flavourants in dairy products. This thesis describes the design and synthesis of libraries of ketones and γ-lactones that will be evaluated for flavour potential. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS), the Fox, and gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) were used throughout this study. Ketones were synthesised individually via a two-step sequence: a Grignard reaction followed by the oxidation of the resulting alcohol in Chapter 2. Some compounds selected from the Fox analysis were assessed by GC-O. The analysis gave promising results for aromatic and cyclopropyl ketones and a library of cyclopropyl ketones was prepared. Individual racemic lactones were synthesised via a two-step sequence: the Linstead modification of the Knoevenagel reaction and subsequent lactonisation in Chapter 3. Libraries of racemic γ-lactones (C8-C12), including α-substituted γ-lactones, were produced combinatorially. Further, synthesis of a library of γ-thionolactones was achieved by treatment of a library of γ-lactones with Lawesson's reagent. The libraries were analysed by GC-O. A (R)-dodecalactone was synthesised from L-glutamic acid and the (S)-enantiomer was synthesised by the same sequence from D-glutamic acid in Chapter 4. Asymmetric syntheses of both enantiomeric series of γ-lactones utilizing the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation reaction was employed to give the libraries in Chapter 5. Libraries of a-substituted and β-substituted γ-lactones were synthesised combinatorially and analysed by GC-O.

Content removed due to copyright restrictions: E I-Sherbiny, I.M., Lins, R.l , Abdel-Bary, E.M., Harding, D.R.K. Preparation, characterization, swelling and in vitro drug release behaviour of poly[Nacryloylglycine- chitosan] interpolymeric pH and thermally-responsive hydrogels. Eur. Polym. J. 41 (2005) 2584. E I-Sherbiny, I.M., Abdel-Bary, E.M., Harding, D. R.K. Preparation and swelling study of a pH-dependent interpolymeric hydrogel based on chitosan for controlled drug release. Inl. J. Polym. Mater. 55 (2006) 789. El-Sherbiny, I.M., Abdel-Bary, E.M., Harding, D. R. K. Swelling characteristics and in-vitro drug release study with pH and thermo-sensitive hydro gels based on modified chitosan. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 102 (2006) 977. Abdelaal, M.Y., Abdel-Razik, E . A , Abdel-Bary, E.M., El-Sherbiny, I.M. Study on chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol) interpolymeric pH-responsive hydrogel films for controlled drug delivery. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. (2006) in press. El-Sherbiny, I. M., Abdel-Bary, E.M., Harding, D. R. K. In-vitro investigation of new biodegradable pH-responsive hydrogel beads for oral delivery of protein drugs in the small intestine. New Zealand Institute of Chemistry Conference (NZIC), (2006) Rotorua, New Zealand, 2-6 December. / Controlled drug release enhances the safety, efficacy and reliability of drug therapy. Regulation of the drug release rate results in a reduction in the frequency of drug administration and should encourage patients to comply with dosing instructions. Hydrogels are crosslinked, three-dimensional hydrophilic polymers, which swell without dissolving when brought into contact with water or other biological fluids. The number of polymers suitable for the controlled release of viable therapeutics is quite limited because of inherent toxicity or lack of certain properties such as biodegradability. In this thesis, chitosan was chosen as the base polymer for the development of new hydrogels that can be tailored for use in the site-specific delivery of drugs to the gastrointestinal tract. Chitosan is a non-toxic and biodegradable polymer obtained through the alkaline deacetylation of natural chitin. The interesting characteristics of chitosan make it an ideal candidate for use in controlled drug release formulations. However, chitosan exhibits some shortcomings such as hydrophobicity and a high pH-dependency for its physical properties. Hence, it is very difficult to control drug release with chitosan itself because of the various pH values of the internal organs of the human body. This may negatively affect the human body because of drug under- or over-release. In a structured programme, some new chitosan-based hydrogels have been prepared for controlled drug release investigations by applying three main approaches to overcome the shortcomings of chitosan. The first approach was the incorporation of chitosan into interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels with either a hydrophilic polymer or with hydrophilic monomers treated to bring about in situ copolymerization in the presence of chitosan and a suitable crosslinking agent. The second approach was the chemical modification of chitosan by grafting of a suitable vinyl macromer such as poly(ethylene glycol)-diacrylate, then crosslinking this modified chitosan. The equilibrium swelling studies were carried out for the hydrogels prepared using these two approaches at 37 °C at pH 2.1 (simulated gastric fluid, SGF) and at pH 7.4 (simulated intestinal fluid, SIF). The swelling results showed a pH-responsive nature of these hydrogels. They attained higher swelling values in SGF than in SIF. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), an anti cancer drug, was entrapped as a model drug in all the hydrogels prepared using these two approaches. The in-vitro drug release studies were carried out at 37 °C in SGF and SIF. From the preliminary investigations of the prepared hydrogels, they may be customized and used to expand the utilization of these systems in drug delivery applications. In the third approach, chitosan was modified in such a fashion that the hydrogels produced were also pH-responsive but attained limited swelling in SGF and higher swelling in SIF. Hence, the resulting hydrogels could be tailored for utilization for intestine-targeted delivery of peptide and protein drugs with a potential protection of the drugs from the harsh acidity of the stomach. In this third approach the ionotropic gelation was used for the preparation of the hydrogels based on the modified chitosan with another natural polymer (sodium alginate) in the presence of a divalent ion. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was entrapped as a model protein drug and the in-vitro drug release profiles were established at 37 °C in SGF and SIF. The results showed promising release profiles of BSA. However, this hydrogel study requires more effort to limit the swelling and consequently the loss of drug in the SGF, to act as an excellent candidate for intestine-specific delivery of peptide and protein drugs.

Content removed due to copyright restrictions: E I-Sherbiny, I.M., Lins, R.l , Abdel-Bary, E.M., Harding, D.R.K. Preparation, characterization, swelling and in vitro drug release behaviour of poly[Nacryloylglycine- chitosan] interpolymeric pH and thermally-responsive hydrogels. Eur. Polym. J. 41 (2005) 2584. E I-Sherbiny, I.M., Abdel-Bary, E.M., Harding, D. R.K. Preparation and swelling study of a pH-dependent interpolymeric hydrogel based on chitosan for controlled drug release. Inl. J. Polym. Mater. 55 (2006) 789. El-Sherbiny, I.M., Abdel-Bary, E.M., Harding, D. R. K. Swelling characteristics and in-vitro drug release study with pH and thermo-sensitive hydro gels based on modified chitosan. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 102 (2006) 977. Abdelaal, M.Y., Abdel-Razik, E . A , Abdel-Bary, E.M., El-Sherbiny, I.M. Study on chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol) interpolymeric pH-responsive hydrogel films for controlled drug delivery. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. (2006) in press. El-Sherbiny, I. M., Abdel-Bary, E.M., Harding, D. R. K. In-vitro investigation of new biodegradable pH-responsive hydrogel beads for oral delivery of protein drugs in the small intestine. New Zealand Institute of Chemistry Conference (NZIC), (2006) Rotorua, New Zealand, 2-6 December. / Controlled drug release enhances the safety, efficacy and reliability of drug therapy. Regulation of the drug release rate results in a reduction in the frequency of drug administration and should encourage patients to comply with dosing instructions. Hydrogels are crosslinked, three-dimensional hydrophilic polymers, which swell without dissolving when brought into contact with water or other biological fluids. The number of polymers suitable for the controlled release of viable therapeutics is quite limited because of inherent toxicity or lack of certain properties such as biodegradability. In this thesis, chitosan was chosen as the base polymer for the development of new hydrogels that can be tailored for use in the site-specific delivery of drugs to the gastrointestinal tract. Chitosan is a non-toxic and biodegradable polymer obtained through the alkaline deacetylation of natural chitin. The interesting characteristics of chitosan make it an ideal candidate for use in controlled drug release formulations. However, chitosan exhibits some shortcomings such as hydrophobicity and a high pH-dependency for its physical properties. Hence, it is very difficult to control drug release with chitosan itself because of the various pH values of the internal organs of the human body. This may negatively affect the human body because of drug under- or over-release. In a structured programme, some new chitosan-based hydrogels have been prepared for controlled drug release investigations by applying three main approaches to overcome the shortcomings of chitosan. The first approach was the incorporation of chitosan into interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels with either a hydrophilic polymer or with hydrophilic monomers treated to bring about in situ copolymerization in the presence of chitosan and a suitable crosslinking agent. The second approach was the chemical modification of chitosan by grafting of a suitable vinyl macromer such as poly(ethylene glycol)-diacrylate, then crosslinking this modified chitosan. The equilibrium swelling studies were carried out for the hydrogels prepared using these two approaches at 37 °C at pH 2.1 (simulated gastric fluid, SGF) and at pH 7.4 (simulated intestinal fluid, SIF). The swelling results showed a pH-responsive nature of these hydrogels. They attained higher swelling values in SGF than in SIF. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), an anti cancer drug, was entrapped as a model drug in all the hydrogels prepared using these two approaches. The in-vitro drug release studies were carried out at 37 °C in SGF and SIF. From the preliminary investigations of the prepared hydrogels, they may be customized and used to expand the utilization of these systems in drug delivery applications. In the third approach, chitosan was modified in such a fashion that the hydrogels produced were also pH-responsive but attained limited swelling in SGF and higher swelling in SIF. Hence, the resulting hydrogels could be tailored for utilization for intestine-targeted delivery of peptide and protein drugs with a potential protection of the drugs from the harsh acidity of the stomach. In this third approach the ionotropic gelation was used for the preparation of the hydrogels based on the modified chitosan with another natural polymer (sodium alginate) in the presence of a divalent ion. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was entrapped as a model protein drug and the in-vitro drug release profiles were established at 37 °C in SGF and SIF. The results showed promising release profiles of BSA. However, this hydrogel study requires more effort to limit the swelling and consequently the loss of drug in the SGF, to act as an excellent candidate for intestine-specific delivery of peptide and protein drugs.

The role of metals in biological processes has been discussed with particular emphasis on the importance of chelation. Furst has suggested that many anticancer drugs may owe their activity to their chelating properties. A number of new amidoximes and hydroxylamine have been made from the appropriate imidoyl chloride and a hydroxylaqine. The spectral and chelating properties of these compounds are discussed. All the compounds have been submitted to the anticancer screening programme of the National Cancer Institute. The results available so far are presented and indicate that the compounds are toxic but inactive against experimental tumours. Sodium sulphide reduces a-phenyl-o-nitro-cinnamonitrile (106) to 2-amino-3-phenylquinoline-1-oxide (107) in good yield. Extension of the reduction to other o-nitrocinnamonitriles gives very poor results. The spectral properties, configurations and conformations of the o-nitrocinnamonitriles are discussed. The 12-aminoquinoline-1-oxide group is shown to form solid metal complexes. That from 2-amino-3-phenylquinoline-1-oxide (107) with nickel has been prepared. Antitumour screening results are presented for several 2-aminoquinoline derivatives. None of these compounds appears to be active.

This thesis describes Further studies on the utilisation of the diterpenoid natural product , 12-hydrxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trim 19-oic acid* (podocarpic acid) (1) . In particular it describes transformations of the C-ring to give suitable intermediates for the synthesis of optically active steroids and terpenoids. An investigation has been carried out on the Birch reduction of 12-methoxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-19-ol (8), and conditions for the optimum formation of the ketonic products (10) and (12) are suggested. The enones (25) and (26) have been synthesised from 12-hydroxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-19-oic acid (1) by sequences involving reduction of the aromatic ring followed by ring C transformations. Methyl 12-hydroxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-19-oate (3) has been converted in ca. 60% yield to the dextrorotatory C 13 methyl ether which has then been reduced in good yield to the enone (163). Potential routes for conversion of the enones (25), (26), and (163)into steroidal analogues are described. Initial steps in the transformation of the C 13 methyl ether(62) into an intermediate (176) suitable for the synthesis of (+)-a-onocerin (80) have been investigated. A preliminary study on the synthesis of the C 14 phenol (190) or its methyl ether (191) is also reported. * The numbering system used throughout this thesis is that proposed by J.W. Rowe (personal communication to Professor R. C. Cambie) in "The Common and Systematic Nomenclature of Cyclic Diterpenes", 3rd Revision, Oct. 1966, to be submitted to the IUPAC Commission on Organic Nomenclature (see page 144)