Extended Hückel methods are known to be a useful tool in understanding surface phenomena. Important quantities about atoms and chemical bonds can be obtained from this computationally simple method, although caution must be exercised in interpreting the results. Application of Extended Hückel calculations to large metal clusters reveals the role of d orbitals in solids. Basic ideas of constructing model compounds have been developed. Several model systems for surface chemisorption processes are constructed in order to understand the surface catalyzed oxidative degradation of polyperfluoroethers. The activation of oxygen molecules can be explained. The Lewis acid character of the iron fluoride surface can be predicted. Based on these results, mechanisms of the degradation processes are discussed.

The overall aim of this work was to apply HINT, an empirical scoring function based on the understanding of hydrophobicity, to analyze and predict the binding affinities and biological activities of colchicine-site anticancer agents. The second, concurrent aim was to improve the scoring function by incorporating tautomerism within the modeling process. Our belief is that proper evaluation of tautomeric forms for small molecules will improve performance of virtual screening. The novel pyrrole-based compounds targeting the colchicine site were docked into the receptor using HINT as a rescoring function. Two distinct binding modes dictated by the size and shape of a subpocket were predicted to differentiate the highly active compounds from the weak ones. Of the residues predicted to participate in binding for the active binding mode, Cys241β was revealed to form a weak but critical hydrogen bond with the ligand. A larger collection of colchicine-site agents, biologically tested in the same laboratory including our pyrrole-based compounds were subject to 3D quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study. Using results on docking the pyrrole compounds as a guide, relative binding poses and QSAR models were built to facilitate ligand design and optimization. A new 3D modeling approach was introduced to visually highlight the unique features of highly active compounds and the commonality of all compounds in the dataset using HINT maps and successfully tested on the colchicine-site agents. These results will provide valuable guidance in the future design and development of new colchicine-site agents. To incorporate tautomerism within HINT, we proposed and developed two workflow approaches: a general search tool using a simple and intuitive algorithm analyzing hydrogen shift patterns to identify and enumerate tautomeric structures, and a database that contains commonly observed tautomeric structures. The first approach was designed for small-scale docking studies and the second approach was designed for large-scale virtual screening. The tautomer module in HINT will give more accurate modeling results when the compound encountered is able to tautomerize.

The assessment of target protein molecular structure provides a distinct advantage in the rational drug design process. The increasing number of available G protein-coupled receptor crystal structures has enabled utilization of a varied number of computational approaches for understanding the ligand-receptor interactions, ligand selectivity and even receptor response upon ligand binding. The following dissertation examines the results from three different projects with varied objectives – i) structural modeling of human C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) and assessment of the ligand binding pocket of the receptor, ii) assessment of the selectivity profile of naltrexone derivatives on the three opioid receptors (μ-opioid, κ-opioid, δ-opioid) with an aim towards designing selective μ-opioid receptor antagonists, and iii) structural modeling of the ‘active’ state conformation of the κ-opioid receptor in response to agonist binding and determination of a plausible molecular mechanism involved in activation ‘switch’ of the κ-opioid receptor. In absence of a crystal-based molecular structure of CCR5, a homology model of the receptor was built and the ligand binding pocket was validated. On the basis of evaluation of the ligand-receptor interactions on the validated binding pocket, structural and chemical modifications to anibamine, a natural plant product, were proposed to enhance its receptor binding. The selectivity of naltrexone (a universal antagonist) was assessed with respect to the three opioid receptors by employing ligand docking studies and the ‘message-address’ concept. Multiple address sites were identified on the opioid receptors and structural modifications were proposed for the naltrexone derivatives for their enhanced selectivity. In the third project, structural modeling of the active state conformation of the κ-opioid receptor covalently bound to a salvinorin A derivative (agonist) was attempted via molecular dynamics simulations. Although the obtained molecular model lacked the signature ‘agonist-like’ conformations, the result provides a template for such studies in the future.

Heparin, a glycosaminoglycan (GAG), is a complex biopolymer of varying chain length and consisting of uronic acid and glucosamine residues, which are sulfated at various positions. The interaction of heparin with antithrombin is the basis for anticoagulation therapy. Heparin accelerates the antithrombin mediated inhibition of factor Xa and thrombin by a conformational activation mechansism and bridging mechanism, respectively. The sequence specific pentasaccharide DEFGH in full length heparin is the most important fragment for high affinity and activation of antithrombin, without which the heparin is incapable of binding to antithrombin. Although heparin is a commonly used anticoagulant, it suffers from serious side effects including bleeding complications, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, and intra- and inter-patient dose response variability. Desai and co-workers have shown that it is possible to replace the GAG skeleton by small, non-saccharide sulfated molecules as antithrombin activators. However, the designed molecules were found to be weak activators of antithrombin due to their binding to the extended heparin-binding site (EHBS), instead of the pentasaccharide-binding site (PBS), of antithrombin. To design better non-saccharide antithrombin activators, a virtual screening-based approach was employed. Combinatorial virtual screening of 24576 molecules based on tetrahydroisoquinoline core scaffold resulted in 92 hits that were predicted to bind preferentially in the PBS of activated antithrombin with good affinity. The work resulted in a predicted pharmacophore consisting of a 5,6-disulfated bicyclic tetrahydroisoquinoline and a 2′,5′-disulfated unicyclic phenyl ring connected by a 4- to 5-carbon linker. The work has led to several hypotheses, which are being tested in the laboratory through synthesis and biochemical evaluation. To understand the mechanism of heparin binding to thrombin in greater detail, structural biology and molecular modeling approaches were used. More specifically, the nature of the heparin binding to thrombin was studied with a special focus on understanding the specificity of recognition. Comparative analysis was performed with heparin–antithrombin interaction to assess similarities and differences between the two heparin binding systems. In antithrombin, three important amino acids are involved in heparin pentasaccharide binding, while in thrombin, at least seven basic amino acids are predicted to be involved. For biological systems, one would expect greater specificity with more interacting points. However, the heparin–thrombin system interestingly displays a lack of specificity. The molecular basis for this lack of specificity is not clear. A study of antithrombin and thrombin crystal structures with regard to surface exposure, flexibility, and geometry of basic amino acids present in the respective heparin binding site provides the basis for the specificity of recognition (or lack thereof) in the two systems. Interestingly, analysis of thrombin exosite-II showed that Arg101, Arg165 and Arg233 are spatially conserved and form a local asymmetric center. Using in-silico docking techniques, selected tetrasaccharide sequences were found to specifically recognize this triad of amino acids indicating the possibility of specific recognition of thrombin. This hypothesis led to the design of a putative lead sequence that is 50% smaller in size and contains 62.5% fewer charges in comparison to the literature reported known exosite II sequence. The design of novel putative ‘specific’ exosite II sequence challenges the idea that the thrombin–heparin interaction is completely non-specific and gives rise to novel opportunities of designing specific thrombin exosite-II ligands.

Folding free energy of a protein is a delicate balance between stabilizing and destabilizing non-covalent itneractions. In this work, we decompose folding free energy into physically meaningful contributions, in which we aim to find general trends. Empirical potential is used to calculate interaction energy between all protein fragments, which are classified based on their dominant term in multipolar expansion. Calculations are done using 1200 non-redundant structures from PDB database. Based on the general trends found in interactions between these fragments, we attempt to better understand relationships between interaction energies calculated using computational chemistry methods and their corresponding free energy contributions on stabilization. 1

A malária, doença causada pelo protozoário do gênero Plasmodium, está entre as doenças que mais causam mortes os países subdesenvolvidosn. O hospedeiro é infectado por meio da picada do mosquito do gênero Anopheles, que introduz o parasita durante a hematofagia. As formas mais graves são causadas pelo Plasmodium vivax e o Plasmodium falciparum. As regiões mais afetadas por estas formas são África Subsaariana, Ásia, América Central e Sul. Desde o começo do século XXI, a Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS) busca erradicar a doença, porém o P.falciparum se mostrou resistente aos fármacos antimaláricos existentes, dificultando a eficácia do tratamento. Isto, entre outros fatores, como mortalidade e alto índice de infecção, tornam necessárias novas pesquisas para a descoberta de novos fármacos mais seguros e eficazes contra a malária. Estudos têm mostrado como um alvo promissor para a criação de novos antimaláricos, a cisteína protease falcipaína, a qual se apresenta em três isoformas no parasita, sendo elas, falcipaína 1, 2 e 3. A falcipaína 2 está ligada com a hidrólise da hemoglobina, e seus inibidores vem sendo estudados como alternativas na busca de agentes antimaláricos. Derivados de semicarbazona, tais como o nitrofural e o hidroximetilnitrofural demonstraram atividade inibitória de cisteíno proteases parasitárias. Utilizando estratégias modernas de planejamento de fármacos e por meio da integração entre técnicas computacionais e experimentais, realizou-se o planejamento, síntese e avaliação biológica de compostos derivados dos ditiocarbazatos e tiossemicarbazonas, bioisosteros de semicarbazona, como inibidores da cisteíno protease falcipaína 2, no intuito de obter novos antimaláricos. Aplicaram-se técnicas de modelagem molecular em três séries de compostos (A, B e C), sendo a A e B derivados dos ditiocarbazatos e a C das tiossemicarbazonas. Estes estudos sugerem, três compostos da série A, quatro na série B e três na C com maior potencial para inibição da falcipaína 2. Isso devido aos resultados teóricos indicarem condições favoráveis ao ataque nucleofílico da cisteína 42 catalítica da falcipaína 2 às tiocarbonilass presentes nos compostos planejados. Estes derivados foram sintetizados, analisados por espectroscopia de ressonância magnética de 1H e 13C, espectroscopia de IV, ponto de fusão e pureza caracterizando sua formação. Após a obtenção, os compostos foram enviados para ensaios biológicos frente ao parasita P. falciparum. Os compostos testados não apresentaram inibição, porém é sabido que muitos inibidores enzimáticos não são ativos contra o parasita mesmo tendo alta potência contra a enzima, isto devido às barreiras a serem ultrapassadas até chegar ao alvo bioquímico, deste modo faz-se necessário ensaios contra a enzima para validar nossa hipótese. / Malaria, a disease caused by the protozoan of the genus Plasmodium, is among the most deadly diseases in poor countries. The host is infected through the bite of the mosquito of the genus ,i>Anopheles, which introduces the parasite during hematophagy. The most severe forms are caused by Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum. The regions most affected by these forms are Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Central and South America. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the World Health Organization (WHO) has sought to eradicate the disease, but P. falciparum has been resistant to antimalarial drugs treatment. Among other factors, such as mortality and high infection rates, new research is needed to find new, safer and more effective drugs against malaria. Studies have shown as a promising target for the creation of new antimalarial drugs, the cysteine protease falcipain, which is present in three isoforms in the parasite: falcipain 1, 2 and 3. Falcipain 2 is linked to the hydrolysis of hemoglobin, and its inhibitors have been studied as alternatives in the search for antimalarial agents. Derivatives of semicarbazone such as nitrofural and hydroxymethylnitrofural demonstrated inhibitory activity of parasitic cysteine proteases. Using modern strategies for drug design and the integration of computational and experimental techniques, the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of compounds derived from dithiocarbazates and thiossemicarbazones, semicarbazone biosynthesis as inhibitors of cysteine protease falcipain 2 were carried out in order to new antimalarials. Molecular modeling studies were performed in three series of compounds (A, B and C), with A and B being derived from dithiocarbazates and C from thiossemicarbazones. These studies suggest three compounds in the A series, four in the B series, and three in the C group with the greatest potential for inhibition of falcipain 2. This is due to the theoretical results indicating favorable conditions for the nucleophilic attack of the catalytic cysteine of falcipain 2 on thionyls present in the compounds planned. These derivatives were synthesized, analyzed by 1H and 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and melting point, characterizing their formation. After being obtained, the compounds were sent for biological assays against the P. falciparum parasite. The compounds tested did not show inhibition, but it is known that many enzyme inhibitors are not active against the parasite even though they have high potency against the enzyme, this is due to the barriers to be overcome until reaching the biochemical target, thus enzyme to validate our hypothesis.

A proteína hnRNP K é conhecida por seu papel nos múltiplos processos que compõe a expressão gênica, incluindo funções nos estágios de splicing, transcrição e tradução, desempenhadas, principalmente, através da ligação de seus domínios KH a nucleotídeos. A ativação inadequada da hnRNP K tem relação direta com a gênese de alguns tipos de câncer, sobretudo de cabeça e pescoço, mama e colo-retal, evidenciando a mesma como um atrativo alvo molecular para o desenvolvimento de novos fármacos antineoplásicos. Com o auxílio de técnicas in silico, foram identificados dois compostos orgânicos, um derivado de benzimidazol e outro derivado de fenilbenzamida, capazes de impedir a ligação da proteína hnRNP K a oligonucleotídeos in vitro. Aliando as técnicas de docking, campos de interação e dinâmica molecular foi possível sugerir que tais compostos apresentam características estruturais que permitem a realização de interações na fenda de ligação do domínio KH3, principalmente com os resíduos R40 e R59, os quais são considerados chaves no reconhecimento molecular de nucleotídeos. Os derivados de benzimidazol e fenilbenzamida constituem novos compostos de partida na busca de novos antineoplásicos que tem como alvo a proteína hnRNP K. Do ponto de vista de metabolismo e toxicidade, o derivado de fenilbenzamida parece ser mais promissor quando se investiga uma molécula para aplicação terapêutica, uma vez que gerou poucos alertas críticos de toxicidade, ao contrario do derivado de benzimidazol, que apresenta maior potencial genotóxico. Apesar de se ligarem aos domínios KH da hnRNP K e impedir sua complexação a nucelotídeos, ensaios com culturas de células mostraram apenas tênue atividade antitumoral para tais compostos, com maior redução de viabilidade celular, ao redor de 18% a 8,4 M, exibida pelo derivado de fenilbenzamida. Seguindo o princípio do análogo ativo, simulações de triagem virtual na busca de análogos dos ligantes da hnRNP K revelaram 21 novos derivados de benzimidazol ou fenilbenzamida na base de dados EXPRESS-Pick, dos quais 5 foram testados in vitro com a proteína e 3 novos ligantes identificados. Com o intuito de otimizar tais derivados, foram sugeridos in silico substituintes (potenciais bioisósteros) para os anéis dioxopirrolidínicos dos ligantes já identificados, guiando, assim, a futura síntese de novas substâncias com potencial atividade antitumoral. Além disso, o trabalho foi complementado através da proposição de síntese de novos derivados benzoxazepínicos acoplados a purinas, os quais também tem aplicação como antineoplásicos, entretanto por mecanismos que não envolvem a hnRNP K. A grande limitação desses derivados é a presença de um grupo nitro aromático, o qual é reconhecido por sua toxicidade pronunciada. Com o intuito de otimizar tais derivados, foram sugeridos in silico potenciais bioisósteros capazes de substituir o grupo nitro e guiar a síntese e novos derivados com atividade antitumoral e toxicidade reduzida. / hnRNP K protein is known for its role in the multiple processes that compose gene expression, including functions during splicing, transcription and translation, developed, mainly, by the binding of nucleotides to KH domains. Inadequate activation of hnRNP K induces the development of some types of cancer, including head and neck, breast and colorectal. In this way, hnRNP K is an attractive molecular target for antineoplastic drug design. Using in silico strategies, we have identified two organic compounds, a benzimidazole and a phenylbenzamide derivatives, able to prevent the natural binding of nucleotides to hnRNP K in vitro. Applying docking, molecular interaction fields and molecular dynamics simulations it was possible to propose that such compounds present structural characteristics capable to support intermolecular interactions inside KH3 domain binding cleft, mainly with R40 and R59 residues, which are extremely important during molecular recognition of nucleotides by hnRNP K. The benzimidazole and phenylbenzamide derivatives identified are novel lead compounds that can guide the design of new antineoplastic drugs targeting hnRNP K. Considering metabolic and toxicity predictions, the phenylbenzamide seems to be more promising than the benzimidazole derivative as a drug, once the benzimidazole presents genotoxic potential. Although both derivatives prevent the binding of nucleotides to hnRNP K, biological assays with tongue cancer cell lines revealed only a mild antitumoral activity for such compounds. Higher level of cell viability reduction, 18% at 8.4 M, was observed for the phenylbenzamide derivative. Following the similarity principle, virtual screening simulations were made intending to find novel benzimidazole and phenylbenzamide derivatives inside EXPRESS-Pick database. The search revealed 21 compounds, 5 of which were tested in vitro with hnRNP K, where 3 of them were active. Intending to optimize benzimidazole and phenylbenzamide derivatives in order to design more potent chemical entities, we have suggested in silico substituents as potential bioisosteric groups of the dioxopyrrolidine rings of hnRNP K ligands, guiding the future synthesis of novel compounds with enhanced antitumoral activity. Moreover, complementary work proposition was performed through the synthesis of benzoxazepin-purines, which also present antitumoral activity but not through hnRNP K pathway. The major limitation of such derivatives is the presence of a nitro aromatic group, which can be very toxic. 20 potential bioisosteric groups were proposed as fragment candidates to replace the nitro one in order to design novel antitumoral derivatives with reduced toxic potential.

O trabalho tem por objetivo a aplicação de técnicas de modelagem molecular como ferramenta de pesquisa em Engenharia Química, em particular no estudo das reações químicas envolvidas na degradação do fenol em processos oxidativos avançados. Os resultados obtidos para reações em fase gasosa mostram que o uso dessa ferramenta, no nível de teoria selecionado (B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p)), é adequado para descrever a maioria das reações do mecanismo proposto. As constantes cinéticas calculadas (através da Teoria do Estado de Transição), quando comparadas com os dados experimentais disponíveis, encontram-se dentro da mesma ordem de grandeza para a rota mais viável. A simulação de um par de reações paralelas mostra o mesmo perfil de queda do fenol encontrado para as constantes cinéticas experimentais. A comparação com resultados teóricos prévios mostra que a adição de efeitos de polarização das nuvens eletrônicas ao conjunto de base resulta em um aperfeiçoamento nos valores das constantes cinéticas. Os estudos do meio solvatado mostram que o modelo de solvatação implícita SM5.42R é adequado para descrever o sistema, por reproduzir bem o valor experimental da energia de solvatação do fenol. Entretanto, não é possível fazer comparações quanto aos radicais devido à ausência de dados experimentais. Dentre os modelos de solvatação explícita construídos, o modelo que conta com uma esfera de solvatação de 4 moléculas de água se mostrou melhor para o fenol. Já para o intermediário radicalar O1, o modelo mais adequado foi o que conta com 6 moléculas de água formando um ciclo sobre as hidroxilas ligadas ao anel. Com os resultados obtidos e suas comparações com valores experimentais discute-se a aplicabilidade de técnicas de Modelagem Molecular em estudos aplicados em Engenharia Química, reforçando a visão desta ferramenta como um instrumento importante no projeto de novos produtos e na otimização de processos de interesse tecnológico. / This work has the main objetive of applying molecular modeling techniques as a research tool in Chemical Engineering particularly on the study of the chemical reactions involved in the degradation of phenol by Advanced Oxidation Processes. The obtained results for gas phase reactions show that the use of this tool, in the selected level of theory (B3LYP/6- 31++G(d,p)) is adequate to describe most of the reactions within the proposed mechanism. The calculated kinetic constants (through Transition State Theory), when compared with the available experimental data, were found to be within the same order for the most likely pathway. The simulation of a parallel reactions pair shows the same declining profile found for experimental kinetic constants. The comparison with previous theoretical results suggest that the addition of polarization effects on the basis set results in a higher accuracy of the kinetic constant values. The studies of the continuum show that the implicit solvation model SM5.42R is adequate to describe the system, since it reproduces well the experimental value of solvation energy for phenol. However, it is not possible to do comparisons for the radicals due to the absence of experimental data. Among the explicit solvation models constructed, the one which represents a solvation sphere of four water molecules has shown better accuracy to phenol. For the radical intermediate O1, the most suitable model found was the one with six water molecules joined in a cycle on the hydroxyls bonded to the ring. With the obtained results and their comparisons with experimental data, the applicability of Molecular Modeling techniques in Chemical Engineering studies is discussed, reinforcing the perspective of this tool as an important instrument for the design of new products and the optimization of technologically relevant processes.

Os carboidratos presentes nos glicoconjugados apresentam alto grau de complexidade e diversidade estrutural, desempenhando um importante papel em diversos processos biológicos. As glucosidases, enzimas responsáveis pela clivagem de ligações O-glicosídicas em oligossacarídeos e glicoconjugados, participam de processos bioquímicos fundamentais do metabolismo e também estão envolvidas na biossíntese de glicoproteínas e glicoesfingolipídeos. Diversos inibidores de glucosidases de origem natural ou sintética têm sido descritos, como por exemplo: acarbose (1), miglitol (2), voglibose (3) e N-butil-desoxi-nojirimicina (4); sendo 1, 2 e 3 indicados para tratamento de diabetes mellitus tipo II e 4 para o controle da doença de Gaucher. Considerando a importância do planejamento e da síntese de novos inibidores de glucosidases, bem como a necessidade de obtenção de modelos tridimensionais para glucosidases, os objetivos deste trabalho foram: i) sintetizar carba-açúcares e pseudodissacarídeos potencialmente anti-glucosidase, ii) avaliar suas atividades inibitórias empregando a enzima ?-D-glucosidase de Saccharomyces cerevisiae e iii) aplicar técnicas de bioinformática e modelagem molecular na construção de um modelo estrutural 3D por homologia da sacarase intestinal de rato e realizar estudos de relação estrutura-atividade baseado no padrão farmacofórico calculado para os inibidores descritos. Neste sentido, a partir do precursor-chave (3/2,4)-2,3,4-tri-O-benzil-5-hidroxi-cicloexanona (12), obtido em 6 etapas, foram sintetizados diferentes carba-açúcares. Adicionalmente, reações de aminação redutiva, rearranjo alílico e \"click chemistry\" foram empregadas na síntese dos pseudodissacarídeos inéditos 3-(2,4-dibenziloxi-fenilamino)-2,4,6-tri-O-benzil-3-desoxi-?-D-glucopiranosídeo de metila (81), 1-(2\',3\',4\'-tri-O-benzil-5\'-oxo-cicloexanil)-4,6-di-O-acetil-2,3-didesoxi-hex-2-enopiranosídeo (89) e 2-{4-[(1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-il)metoxi]-2,4-di-O-benzil-fenila}-1,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetil-2-desoxi-?-D-glucopiranosídeo (99), respectivamente. O composto (3/2,4)-2,3,4,5-tetraidroxi-cicloexanona (46) foi submetido a estudos de inibição enzimática e apresentou moderada atividade de inibição da enzima ?-D-glucosidase. As simulações de docking com o modelo construído da sacarase de rato bem como a determinação do padrão farmacofórico forneceram novas informações estruturais sobre o sítio ativo desta enzima e do modo de ligação de diferentes inibidores. Portanto, as estratégias sintéticas, os estudos de cinética enzimática e de modelagem molecular realizados durante o trabalho resultaram em contribuições relevantes no que diz respeito à química de carboidratos, permitindo avaliar potenciais inibidores da enzima ?-glucosidase in silico, os quais poderão ser sintetizados e submetidos a novos ensaios enzimáticos. / Carbohydrates of glycoconjugates display high degree of complexity and structural diversity, playing a central role in biological processes. Glucosidases are enzymes that catalyze the cleavage of glycosidic bonds in oligosaccharides or glycoconjugates, being essentials in several metabolic pathways and in the biosynthesis of glycoproteins and glycosfingolipids. Several glucosidase inhibitors from natural and synthetic sources have been described, such as: acarbose (1), miglitol (2), voglibose (3) and N-butyl-desoxy-nojirimycin (4). Compounds 1, 2 and 3 are used in the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus and 4 for patients with Gaucher\'s disease. Concerning to the importance of the design and synthesis of new glucosidase inhibitors, as well as the need of 3D models for glucosidases, the aims of this work were: i) the synthesis of potentially anti-glucosidase carba-sugars and pseudodisaccharides, ii) the evaluation of its inhibitory activities by using ?-D-glucosidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and iii) the use of bioinformatics and molecular modeling techniques for creation of a 3D structural homology model of rat intestinal sucrase to accomplish the structure-activity relationships studies concerning to the pharmacophoric pattern of the reported inhibitors. Thus, starting with the key precursor 12, prepared in six steps, different carba-sugars were synthesized. Additionally, reductive amination reactions, allylic rearrangement and \"click chemistry\" were applied on the synthesis of novel pseudosaccharides 81, 89 and 99, respectively. Compound 46 was assayed for enzymatic inhibition and demonstrated reasonable activity for the inhibition of ?-D-glucosidase. Docking simulations by using the rat sucrase model and the determination of pharmacophoric pattern provided significant information concerning to the enzyme\'s active site and the inhibitor\'s binding pattern. Therefore, the synthetic strategies, enzymatic kinetic assays and molecular modeling studies performed in this work resulted in relevant contributions to the carbohydrate chemistry, making possible for our research group to evaluate potential ?-glucosidase inhibitors in silico, which can be synthesized and assayed for enzymatic activity in the future.

Alguns nitrocompostos apresentam atividade antichagásica resultante do processo de redução do grupo nitro com conseqüente formação de radical nitro ânion e de intermediários tóxicos ao parasita. A variação estrutural dos derivados 5-nitroheterocíclicos pode interferir no processo de redução destes compostos e, também, na atividade biológica. Neste aspecto, o estudo da redução dos nitrocompostos por meio de técnicas voltamétricas, como a voltametria cíclica e a voltametria de onda quadrada é uma forma de avaliar ou até simular o mecanismo de ação destes derivados. Assim, a avaliação de processos eletródicos e a determinação dos potenciais de redução dos nitrocompostos fornecem subsídios para a compreensão do mecanismo da atividade antiparasitária. Neste trabalho, desenvolveram-se procedimentos eletroquímicos utilizados para a determinação do potencial de redução e do potencial de meia onda de vinte e três nitrocompostos (5-nitro-2-tiofilideno 4-R-benzidrazidas e 5-nitro-2-furfurilideno 4-R-benzidrazidas), visando o emprego destes em estudos de QSPR e SAR. As determinações foram realizadas empregando-se Voltametria Cíclica e Voltametria de Onda Quadrada em célula eletroquímica de 10 mL nos meios prótico (solução tampão PIPES com eletrólito de suporte NaNO3 0,1 mol L-1), misto de DMSO/solução tampão PIPES (50% v/v) e em meio aprótico de DMSO (com eletrólito de suporte Bu4NH4BF4). O eletrodos de referência e auxiliar utilizados foram Ag/AgCl saturado e platina. Os eletrodos de trabalho utilizados foram o carbono vítreo (meio aprótico e misto), pasta de carbono (meio misto e prótico) e pasta de carbono modificada com nitrocompostos (meio prótico). Foram realizados estudos teóricos, de modelagem molecular, e experimental, espectrofotometria UV/visível, com o objetivo de determinar a conformação de menor energia mínima global e confirmar a ocorrência de disposição estrutural co-planar. No estudo teórico, utilizou-se as metodologias de otimização de geometria, e análise conformacional dos nitrocompostos calculadas por meio de AM1 e HF3-21G* e HF6- 31G* para obtenção dos confôrmeros de menor energia mínima. Estes confôrmeros foram submetidos a cálculo de carga de ponto único (AM1), onde determinou-se os valores de energia de diversas propriedades de caráter eletrônico (energias de formação em vácuo e meio solvatado, de HOMO, de LUMO, momento de dipolo, dureza, potencial químico, afinidade eletrônica, potencial de ionização, cargas de potencial eletrostático), geométrica (volume molecular) e mapas 3D de densidade de potencial eletrostático, de HOMO e de LUMO. Todos os cálculos foram realizados empregando-se os pacotes computacionais Spartan O2 for Linux, Spartan O4 for Windows e ClogP 4.0 (para determinar os valores de hidrofobicidade). Os valores do potencial de pico catódico (Epc 1) e de meia onda bem como as propriedades físico-químicas, obtidos a partir de cálculos de química quântica, de σp e σR, ClogP e π) foram utilizados em análise de QSPR aplicando-se a Análise de Hansch e regressão multivariada, PLS. Avaliou-se ainda, a atividade antichagásica de dez nitrocompostos (oito derivados tiofilidênicos e dois derivados fufurilidênicos) visando investigar a possibilidade de influência do processo de redução dos nitrocompostos sobre a atividade biológica. Realizaram-se ensaios que permitiram avaliar o efeito antiproliferativo dos nitrocompostos sobre o parasita, em 24 horas, por meio de contagem do número de unidades viáveis em câmara de Neubauer. Os métodos voltamétricos utilizados mostraram-se adequados para a avaliação da redução eletroquímica dos nitrocompostos, e foram apropriados para a obtenção dos potenciais de redução de pico catódico e dos potenciais de meia onda de todos os derivados em meio aprótico e misto. Em meio aquoso, obtiveram-se os valores dos potenciais de redução de pico catódico apenas para os derivados tiofilidênicos. A partir dos resultados obtidos na análise conformacional, observou-se a quebra de efeito co-planar estrutural na região do anel benzênico substituído e porção hidrazídica molecular. Adicionalmente, nos mapas de densidade de potencial eletrostático, registrou-se a ocorrência de efeito mesomérico conjugado reduzido entre as porções moleculares citadas acima. De posse destes dados, em conjunto com as visualizações de sinais característicos para grupos cromóforos distintos em espectros UV/visível, sugere-se a ausência de efeito conjugado molecular e, como conseqüência, de influência dos grupos substituintes em posição para do anel benzênico sobre o grupo nitro ligado ao anel heterocíclico. Nos resultados obtidos a partir das análises de QSPR, observou-se que não ocorre correlação entre as propriedades físico-químicas, determinadas para os nitrocompostos, e os descritores eletroquímicos, obtidos em diferentes meios de reação. Diante deste fato, sugere-se que a quebra do efeito co-planar interfere diretamente na intensidade da influência das propriedades físico-químicas de grupos substituintes sobre o potencial de redução dos nitrocompostos. Observou-se, também, que a maioria dos compostos apresentou atividade antichagásica superior ao fármaco de referência, o benznidazol. Verificou-se que os compostos não substituído e cloro derivado da série dos 5-nitro-2-furfurilidênicos são mais ativos que os correspondentes análogos das 5-nitro-2-tiofilideno benzidrazidas. Em análise preliminar, observou-se que o potencial de redução e o potencial de meia onda não exercem influência sobre a atividade antichagásica dos nitrocompostos. / Some nitrocompounds have show activity against to Trypanosoma cruzi. Those biological activity are resulting from nitro group reduction with subsequent formation of radical nitro anion and other reaction\'s intermediates, which are toxic to the parasite. The structural difference among the 5-nitro-heterocyclic derivatives might exert influence on these compounds reduction and also on the antichagasic activity. In this way, the study of reduction process by voltammetric techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry, is a mode of evaluate the biological action mechanism. Therefore, the evaluation of the electrodic process and the determination of nitrocompounds reduction potential provide information for elucidating the antitrypanosomal activity mechanism. In the present work, the procedures employed to determinate the cathodic reduction and reduction potentials were carried out on twenty three nitrocompounds (5-nitro-2-tiofilidenic benzhidrazides and 5-nitro-2-furfurilidenic benzhidrazides) with the aim using those data in QSPR and SAR analysis. Cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry techniques were used to determined the reduction potential in electrochemical cell of 10 mL in the protic media (PIPES buffer and electrolyte of support NaNO3 0.1 mol L-1), mixed media of DMSO and PIPES buffer 50:50 v/v (electrolyte of support NaNO3 0.1 mol L-1), and aprotic media of DMSO (electrolyte of support Bu4NH4BF4 0.1 mol L-1). The reference and counter electrodes used were Ag/AgCl (with KCl saturated) and platinum, respectively. In these studies, the work electrodes were glassy carbon (aprotic and mixed media), carbon paste (mixed and protic media) and carbon paste modified with nitrocompounds (protic media). Molecular modeling studies and UV/visible spectrophotometry were investigated with the aim for determining the lowest conformational energy and the occurrence of co-planarity molecular structure. In this work were performed the geometry optimization (using the quantum chemistry AM1, ab initio HF3-21G* and HF6-31G* level of theory), conformational analysis(AM1 and ab initio HF6-31G*) and single point calculations (AM1). All the lowest energy conformers from conformational analysis were submitted to single point calculations. These models were used to determine the physicochemical properties (energy of formation in vacuum and solvated media, energy of HOMO, energy of LUMO, dipole moment, hardness, chemistry potential, electronic affinity, ionization potential and charges of electrostatic potential) and the molecular electrostatic potential, HOMO and LUMO maps, respectively. All calculations were performed using the computational software Spartan O2 for Linux, Spartan O4 for Windows, and the ClogP 4.0 (only for hydrophobicity). The cathodic reduction and half-wave potentials values and the set of physicochemical properties, which are obtained from quantum chemistry calculations, as well as the electronic effect (σp and σR derived of σ Hammett) and the hydrophobicity property (ClogP, and π of Hansch) were used in QSPR analysis applying Hansch analysis and PLS methodologies. Afterwards, the antichagasic activity of ten compounds (eight thiofilidenic and two furfurylidenic derivatives) was evaluated considering the influence of nitrocompounds reduction on biological activity. This assay allows to analyse the antiproliferative effect of nitrocompounds on the parasites growing, in twenty-four (24) hours, reading the number of trypanosomes in Haemocytometer. The voltammetric methodologies allowed to determinate the cathodic reduction and half-wave potential values in aprotic and mixed media to all nitrocompounds. In protic media, however, the cathodic reduction potential values were obtained only for the 5-nitro-2-tiofilidenic benzhidrazides. Those procedures seen to be appropriated for perform the electrochemistry reduction evaluation. The geometry optimization and conformational analysis allows determining a lack of structural planarity in all derivatives located at the bond between the carbonilic carbon and benzhoyl group. Additionally, the electrostatic potential maps presented a decreased on the electronic conjugate effect of the structures of nitrocompounds investigated. The conformational analysis allows us to determine the nitroheterocyclic biosostere conformations dependence on the reaction phase studied. The UV/visible spectra presented two waves, which are indicating responses related to different chromophores. These results suggest the absence of conjugate effect in nitrocompound structure, indicating that the presence of groups attached to benzene ring do not exert influence on the nitro group attached to heterocyclic ring. In the QSPR analysis was not detected any correlations between thel physicochemical properties and the cathodic reduction and reduction potentials, in all reaction media investigated. Those results might be occurred due to the lack of molecular co-planarity, which is reducing the influence of any property on the nitrocompounds reduction. Almost all nitrocompounds investigated show higher antichagasic activity than the reference drug, benznidazol. In a preliminary analysis it was verified that the cathodic reduction and half-wave potentials do not exert influence on the nitrocompounds antichagasic activity.