Esta tese apresenta as reações entre o aduto de Diels-Alder 2,3-diclorobenzoquinona-ciclopentadieno e alguns nucleófilos, não descritas na literatura, conforme pode ser verificado pela revisão bibliográfica apresentada no primeiro capítulo. Assim, dezenove novos adutos dialquiltio- e diariltio-substituídos, bem como o correspondente difenilseleno derivado, foram sintetizados e caracterizados. As reações com alguns nucleófilos de oxigênio e nitrogênio falharam, fornecendo o aduto diclorado aromatizado. O aduto dimetiltio-substituído aromatizado foi obtido pela reação do aduto diclorado com excesso de metil mercapteto do sódio. Algumas reações dos adutos ditio-substituídos foram investigadas, tais como a de retro Diels-Alder, fotociclizacao e oxidação. A reação de retro Diels-Alder permitiu a síntese de três novas benzoquinonas 2,3-dialquiltio-substituídas, as quais foram identificados e caracterizadas. No caso da 2,3-dimetiltio benzoquinona, a sua reação com ciclopentadieno forneceu o aduto dimetiltio-substituído, que se mostrou idêntico àquele obtido a partir do aduto diclorado. As experiências de fotociclização com alguns adutos dialquiltio-substituídos não conduziram aos compostos \"gaiola esperados. Algumas experiências de oxidação do aduto dimetiltio substituído são descritas, bem como a síntese do aduto metiltiometilsulfinil-substituído. Este não sofreu posterior oxidação, nem ciclizou sob irradiação. Contudo, sua reação com cloreto de tionila foi bem sucedida, pois conduziu ao aduto cloro-alquiltio substituído, o qual não pode ser sintetizado diretamente pela reação entre quantidades equimolares do aduto diclorado e mercapteto. Os mecanismos destas reações são discutidos, apontando - se a importância do aduto cloro-alquiltio-substituído como intermediário em síntese de adutos mistos ditio-substituídos. Apesar desta inesperada falta de reatividade na fotociclização, os adutos ditio-substituídos mostraram possuir configuração endo, conforme foi demonstrado por evidências químicas e de espectroscopia de13C. As possíveis causas desta falta de reatividade, até agora não registrada na literatura em outros adutos endo, são discutidas. / This thesis presents reactions not yet described in the literature between the 2,3-dichlorobenzoquinone-cyclopentadiene Diels-Alder adduct and some nucleophiles, as shown by a bibliographic survey, initially presented. Thus, nineteen new dialkylthio and diarylthiobenzoquinones-cyclopentadiene adducts and the corresponding diphenylseleno one were synthesized. The reactions with some oxygen and nitrogen nucleophiles failed and afforded the aromatized dichloro adduct. The aromatized dimethylthio-substituted adduct was obtained by the reaction of the dichloro adduct with an excess of sodium methyl mercaptide. Some reactions of the dithio-substituted adducts were investigated, such as the retro Diels-Alder, photocyclization and oxidation. The retro Diels-Alder reaction led to the synthesis of three new 2,3-dialkylthiobenzoquinones, which were identified and characterized. The 2,3-dimethylthiobenzoquinone underwent Diels-Alder reaction with cyclopentadiene to give the dimethylthio- substituted adduct which showed to be identical to that obtained from the dichloro adduct. The irradiation of some dialkylthio- substituted adducts did not afford the expected \"cage\" compounds. Some oxidation experiments with the dimethylthio-substituted adduct are described, and the synthesis of the methylthio- methylsulphinyl-substituted adduct is reported. The latter did not undergo further oxidation nor cyclization on irradiation. However, successful reaction was obtained with thionyl chloride, leading to the chloro-alkylthio-substituted adduct which could not be synthesized by reaction between dichloro adduct and mercaptide in 1:1 proportion. The mechanisms for both reactions are discussed and the possibility of the chloro-alkylthio-substituted adduct being an intermediate for the synthesis of the mixed dithio-substituted adducts is suggested. Despite of the lack of reactivity on photocyclization the dithio-substituted adducts were shown to be endo by chemical and 13C spectroscopics evidences. Possible factors which would be responsible for this unusual inertness for the endo adducts, are discussed.

Carcinogen-induced formation of DNA adducts and other types of DNA lesions are the critical molecular events in the initiation of chemical carcinogenesis and modulation of such events by chemopreventive agents could be an important step in limiting neoplastic transformation in vivo. Vanadium, a dietary micronutrient has been found to be effective in several types of cancers both in vivo and in vitro and also possesses profound anticarcinogenicity against rat models of mammary, colon and hepatocarcinogenesis. Presently, we report the chemopreventive potential of vanadium on diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced early DNA damages in rat liver. Hepatocarcinogenesis was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats with a single, necrogenic, intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of DEN (200 mg/kg body weight) at week 4. There was a significant induction of tissue-specific ethylguanines, steady elevation of modified DNA bases 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosines (8-OHdGs) (P < 0.0001; 89.93%) along with substantial increment of the extent of single-strand breaks (SSBs) (P < 0.0001) following DEN exposure. Supplementation of 0.5 ppm of vanadium throughout the experiment abated the formations of O6-ethylguanines and 7-ethylguanines (P < 0.0001; 48.71% and 67.54% respectively), 8-OHdGs (P < 0.0001; 81.37%), length:width (L:W) of DNA mass (P < 0.01; 62.12%) and the mean frequency of tailed DNA (P < 0.001; 53.58%), and hepatic nodulogenesis in preneoplastic rat liver. The study indicates that 0.5 ppm vanadium is potentially and optimally effective, as derived from dose-response studies, in limiting early molecular events and preneoplastic lesions, thereby modulating the initiation stage of hepatocarcinogenesis. Vanadium is chemopreventive against DEN-induced genotoxicity and resulting hepatocellular transformation in rats.

Pseudo-molecular ion formation is an artifact common to most analyses performed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. These species are non-covalent complexes formed between an analyte of interest and any other components (such as mobile phase, additives, and impurities) present in the ionized sample band. Published literature addresses pseudo-molecular ion formation in routine analyses as well as in complicated molecular recognition processes. The majority of these works are directed towards the formation of complexes in the positive ionization mode. Consequently, investigation of pseudo-molecular ion formation in the negative ionization mode is a logical extension of work in this area. Experiments presented here detail the work performed on elucidation of factors controlling ionization efficiency of aromatic acid pseudo-molecular ions by electrospray ionization in the negative ionization mode. Sets of tested acidic analytes, including ibuprofen derivatives and benzoic acid derivatives, were analyzed in the presence of various solution systems by flow injection analysis to determine the effect of pH, concentration, injection volume, and instrumental parameters on dominant ion forms observed in the mass spectra. These ion forms correspond to a deprotonated molecular ion ([M-H]-), a hydrogen-bound dimer ion ([2M-H]-), and a sodium-bridged dimer ion ([2M-2H+Na]-). Report of the latter ion form is unique to this work. Response of these ion forms were found to vary greatly with changing solution parameters, particularly in the presence of common LC-MS modifiers, such as triethylamine, acetic acid, formic acid, and ammonium formate. Results point to the formation of the sodium-bridged dimer ion during gas-phase processes following the release of ions from disintegrated droplets. Ab initio theoretical calculations and correlations with calculated solution phenomena (such as pKa and log P) were used to elucidate structural arrangements and dominant factors controlling pseudo-molecular ion formation by aromatic acids in the negative ionization mode. / Ph. D.

Spectroscopic studies have been used to describe the mechanism of the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by solutions of a dimeric Cu(II) complex of a dissymetric Schiff base, [CuSALAD]2.H2O, and imidazole or methyl substituted imidazoles, B, which form monomeric CuSALAD.B2 complexes, in aqueous ethanol solvent. Freezing point depression and vapor pressure lowering studies were carried out to confirm the dimeric nature of the [CuSALAD]2.H2O complex that had been previously reported. The stoichiometry of the [CuSALAD]2.H2O-imidazole equilibrium was extensively studied pointing to a 1:4 stoichiometry. The CuSALAD.B2 adducts exhibited certain catalytic properties that mimic those of catalase enzymes. The different imidazoles were buffered to acidic, neutral and basic pH media in order to investigate the pH effects of this reaction. Two charge transfer (CT) bands were observed near 420 and 450 nm upon addition of hydrogen peroxide to CuSALADB2 solutions, and were associated with two proposed intermediates (CuBOOH and CuBOOCu). A mechanism consistent with these results has been developed. First order dependence of the rate on CuSALAD.B2 was observed in the presence of excess CuSALAD.B2 over hydrogen peroxide, whereas second order dependence was observed with the latter in excess. The CuBOOCu intermediate was unstable in the presence of EDTA, and a first order dependence of rate of formation of intermediate on both CuSALAD.B2, and hydrogen peroxide was observed.

Lignin, the second most abundant naturally occurring polymer found in plant cell wall has the potential of becoming an alternative source for the production of chemical synthons for the pharmaceuticals and other chemical industries. While much gain has been made towards the development of degradation methods to break down lignin, effective analytical methods are still required to rapidly and accurately identify the products of lignin breakdown experiments. The goal of this work was to develop mass spectrometric methods for the characterization of lignin oligomers based on the study of model lignin compounds. Unlike peptides and oligosaccharides, lignin model compounds that could serve as analytical standards for methods developments are not commercially available, and hence, the first project of this dissertation focused on the synthesis of lignin model compounds containing the β-O-4 bond. The priority was to synthesize compounds containing all important functionalities that reflect the structure of native lignin. By employing the known Aldol reaction, lignin oligomers containing the β-O-4 were synthesized. The synthesized β-O-4 lignin oligomers contained the characteristic functional groups of native β-O-4 lignin, that is, the phenolic functionality, the aryl glycerol β-O-4 aryl ether bond and the unsaturated side chain. The second project was aimed at developing alternative ionization methods for the characterization of lignin in the negative ion mode mass spectrometry. A chloride adduct ionization method was developed and used for characterizing and sequencing lignin oligomers. This method proved to be very useful in stabilizing the adduct ion in the full scan spectrum mode and also providing useful structural information upon tandem mass spectrometry. In the third project, a cationization technique was developed to unambiguously assign the sequence in which β-O-4 lignin oligomers are connected. A simple and easy to use sequencing chart was designed and could serve as a guide for predicting the sequence of larger lignin oligomers. This method offers an alternative approach for the characterization of lignin oligomers in the positive ion mode mass spectrometry. The fourth project focused on the ionization response of a new class of β-O-4 lignin compounds. β-O-4 compounds having the same skeletal backbone but different non-polar groups at the a-position were synthesized, and their ESI response studied. Results from this study show that a slight change in the structure of a β-O-4 lignin model compound can change the cationization response to several order of magnitude. Most importantly, this work for the first time has shown a direct correlation between lignin ionization response and lignin structure. The fifth project was aimed at studying the chromatographic behavior of the diastereomer pair in β-O-4 lignin model compounds. Using three commercially available HPLC columns, the chromatographic behavior and factors that affect the separation of the diastereomer pair of the β-O-4 lignin diastereomer on an HPLC column were studied. By performing tandem mass spectrometry on each of the diastereomers, a fragmentation mechanism was developed that could be used to unambiguous assign the configuration (erythro or threo) for the pair of diastereomer in a β-O-4 model. The results presented in this dissertation adds significant knowledge to the lignin mass spectrometry literature, and it offers new ionization techniques for the characterization of lignin oligomers, most importantly, an alternative approach for lignin analysis using adduct ionization mass spectrometry. The developed methods could easily be extended for the characterization of larger lignin oligomers.

In order to investigate the structural features responsible for the cytotoxicity of the naturally occurring lignan nordihydroguaiaretic acid, the synthesis of four structural analogues of NDGA is proposed for the purpose of studying their oxidative metabolism. One analogue in particular (1), a mono-catechol analogue, is successfully synthesized employing a double Stobbe condensation approach. Following synthesis of this compound a series of oxidation experiments is performed consisting of: incubation in rat liver microsomes with and without the trapping agent glutathione (GSH), oxidation with mushroom tyrosinase, oxidation with silver oxide, and oxidation with horseradish peroxidase. Results are analyzed via HPLC and UPLC-MS. It is found that 1 does not autoxidize at pH 7.4 as NDGA does. Two products are produced during incubation of 1 in rat liver microsomes with UPLC-ESI(-)-MS results giving m/z of 879.2 and 574.18. This is consistent with 1 plus 2 GSH and 1 plus 1 GSH respectively; confirming 1 will oxidize to an electrophilic moiety. Oxidation with mushroom tyrosinase is found to produce high levels of product two with m/z 574.2. Oxidation with horseradish peroxidase is found to produce high levels of the m/z 879.2 product. Silver Oxide produced multiple products rather than the expected one major product, but most are found to be inconsistent with the products seen during rat liver microsomal incubation, and are not pursued.

Choline oxidase catalyzes the flavin-dependent, two-step oxidation of choline to glycine betaine via the formation of an aldehyde intermediate. The oxidation of choline includes two reductive half-reactions followed by oxidative half-reactions. In the first oxidation reaction, the alcohol substrate is activated to its alkoxide via proton abstraction and oxidized via transfer of a hydride from the alkoxide α-carbon to the N(5) atom of the enzyme-bound flavin. In the wild-type enzyme, proton and hydride transfers are mechanistically and kinetically uncoupled. The role of Ser101 was investigated in this dissertation. Replacement of Ser101 with threonine, alanine, cysteine, or valine demonstrated the importance of the hydroxyl group of Ser101 in proton abstraction and in hydride transfer. Moreover, the kinetic studies on the Ser101Ala variant have revealed the importance of a specific residue for the optimization of the overall turnover of choline oxidase. The UV-visbible absorbance of Ser101Cys suggests Cys101 can form an adduct with the C4a atom of the flavin. The mechanism of formation of the C4a-cysteinyl adduct has been elucidated. D-arginine dehydrogenase (DADH) catalyzes the oxidation of D-amino acids to the corresponding imino acids, which are non-enzymatically hydrolyzed to α-keto acids and ammonia. The enzyme is strick dehrogenase and deoesnot react with molecular oxygen. Steady state kinetic studies wirh D-arginine and D-histidine as a substrate and PMS as the electron acceptor has been investigated. The enzyme has broad substrate specificity for D-amino acids except aspartate, glutamate and glycine, with preference for arginine and lysine. Leucine is the slowest substrate in which steady state kinetic parameters can be obtained. The chemical mechanism of leucine dehydrogenation catalyzed by DADH was explored with a combination of pH, substrate and solvent kinetic isotope effects (KIE) and proton inventories by using rapid kinetics in a stopped-flow spectrophotometer. The data are discussed in the context of the crystallographic structures at high resolutions (<1.3 Å) of the enzyme in complex with iminoarginine or iminohistidine.

In order to investigate the structural features responsible for the cytotoxicity of the naturally occurring lignan nordihydroguaiaretic acid, the synthesis of four structural analogues of NDGA is proposed for the purpose of studying their oxidative metabolism. One analogue in particular (1), a mono-catechol analogue, is successfully synthesized employing a double Stobbe condensation approach. Following synthesis of this compound a series of oxidation experiments is performed consisting of: incubation in rat liver microsomes with and without the trapping agent glutathione (GSH), oxidation with mushroom tyrosinase, oxidation with silver oxide, and oxidation with horseradish peroxidase. Results are analyzed via HPLC and UPLC-MS. It is found that 1 does not autoxidize at pH 7.4 as NDGA does. Two products are produced during incubation of 1 in rat liver microsomes with UPLC-ESI(-)-MS results giving m/z of 879.2 and 574.18. This is consistent with 1 plus 2 GSH and 1 plus 1 GSH respectively; confirming 1 will oxidize to an electrophilic moiety. Oxidation with mushroom tyrosinase is found to produce high levels of product two with m/z 574.2. Oxidation with horseradish peroxidase is found to produce high levels of the m/z 879.2 product. Silver Oxide produced multiple products rather than the expected one major product, but most are found to be inconsistent with the products seen during rat liver microsomal incubation, and are not pursued.

Presented diploma thesis follows the long-term study running at the Department of Organic Chemistry at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague in the field of using flavinium salts as catalysts of oxidation reactions. The aim was to verify the reactivity of flavinium salt 13 with different types of O- and N-nucleophiles by monitoring of the corresponding C4a-adducts formation. In the thesis a simple alloxazinium salt 13 and one of the nucleophiles (hydroxylamine 25) were prepared. According to the results obtained from the UV-VIS measurements nucleophile 25 is the only one of the newly tested wchich formed desired C4a-adduct 13d with alloxazinium salt 13. KEYWORDS flavinium salt, nucleophile, C4a-adduct, organocatalysis, IBSE

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are produced via the incomplete combustion of organic matter. They are ubiquitously present in the environment, and human exposures typically involve complex PAH mixtures in complex matrices (e.g., soil, urban air). Many PAHs are genotoxic carcinogens; exposures can augment cancer risk and reliable risk assessment of PAH mixtures is a regulatory concern. There is a paucity of in vivo genotoxicity information for most PAHs and PAH mixtures. Risk assessment of PAH mixtures assumes dose addition (i.e., additive, incremental contributions from each PAH); however, there is a lack of evidence to support this assumption. This thesis assessed the in vivo genotoxicity of 9 PAHs and 6 PAH mixtures following sub-chronic oral exposure of transgenic Muta™Mouse (i.e., adduct and lacZ mutant frequency across 5 tissues). The results revealed that PAHs and PAH mixtures induce significant levels of genetic damage; the mixtures induced very high levels of damage and mutations. Differences in the nature and magnitude of the effects in individual tissues appear to be related to the processes that govern PAH metabolism and the processing of genetic damage (e.g., repair and translesion synthesis). Scrutiny of the dose addition assumption revealed more-than-additive effects in tissues proximal to the exposure route (i.e., intestine, liver), but less-than-additive effects in distal tissues (i.e., bone marrow); however, discrepancies between the experimentally-observed and predicted responses were typically small (i.e., within 5-fold). Comparisons of cross-tissue patterns in adduct and mutant frequencies revealed that the frequency of the former is generally inversely related to that of the latter. This appears to be related to the experimental design, and the influence of repair and replication on adduct and mutant frequency. The BMD approach was employed to estimate genotoxic (i.e., adduct) potency and mutagenic (i.e., lacZ mutant) potency for all agent-tissue combinations. The results demonstrate that the mutagenic potency of PAHs and PAH mixtures is empirically related to genotoxic potency; moreover, that there is cross-tissue and cross-compound congruence in the processing of PAH-induced damage. The results obtained significantly advance existing knowledge regarding the genotoxic hazards of PAHs and PAH mixtures; moreover, the empirical relationships between genetic toxicity endpoints.