Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Chemistry, 1994. / Errata slip inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Includes addendum attached to front cover. / Includes bibliographical references. / x, 1 v. (various pagings) : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Reports the preparation of mononuclear triorganphosphinegold(I) mercaptobenzoic acids, where x = 2,3 or 4, R = alkyl or aryl, and Y is a bridging alkyl or ferrocene group. Demonstrates that the solid state chemistry of phosphinegold(I) thiolates remains difficult to predict when competing intra- and inter-molecular forces are present. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Adelaide University, Dept. of Chemistry, 2001

Thesis (Ph. D.) in Chemistry--University of Maine, 2000. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-152).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-170). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Med.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-61). Also available in print.

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Medicine and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Rheumatology Unit, 2004. / Includes list of publications arising from this thesis. Erratum attached to inside back cover. "25/03/2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-257).

Balb/c normal mice were used to study the effects of gold sodium thiomalate (GST) on intact, nonadherent, and adherent mononuclear spleen cells. The three populations were tested for the following aspects: in vitro effects of GST on the mitogen-triggered DNA synthesis; intracellular levels of cyclic AMP; and chemotaxis ability. These studies showed that GST inhibited the proliferative responses of all three populations as the concentration of GST increased. Cyclic AMP levels in the nonadherent population increased as the GST concentration increased. GST had a biphasic effect on the adherent population. At concentrations of 5 and 10 jag/ml, GST suppressed the cyclic AMP levels, and at concentration of 50 pg/ml it enhanced the cyclic AMP levels. GST had no effect on the cyclic AMP levels in the intact mononuclear spleen cells. GST appeared to have an inhibitory effect on the chemotaxis ability of all three populations of spleen cells.

Includes list of publications arising from this thesis / Erratum attached to inside back cover. / "25/03/2004." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-257) / xii, 257 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Medicine and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Rheumatology Unit, 2004

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide radical anion (O2•¯), hydroxylradical (OH•), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-) that are produced during the metabolism of oxygen under oxidative stress in aerobic organisms destroy several key biomolecules and lead to a number of disease states. Mammalian systems possess several effective defense mechanisms including antioxidant enzymes to detoxify these ROS. The selenocysteine-containing Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is particularly an efficient enzyme in the detoxification of H2O2 and other hydroperoxides by using glutathione (GSH) as cofactor. The chemistry at the active siteof GPx has been extensively investigated with the help of synthetic selenium compounds. Although the anti-inflammatory compound ebselen(2-phenyl-1,2-benzoisoselenazol-3(2H)-one) is undergoing phase III clinical trial as antioxidant, the chemistry of ebselen is still not understood. The present study on a number of ebselen derivatives with various N-substitutions reveals that the substitution at the N atom is important for the antioxidant activity. This study also suggests that the nature for thiol cofactor has a dramatic effect on the GPx activity of ebselen derivatives. It has been shown that ebselen exhibits very poor catalytic activity in the presence of aromatic thiols mainly due to strong Se….O nonbonded interactions that lead to extensive thiol exchange reactions in the selenenyl sulfide intermediate. To prevent the se….O interactions, a series of tertiary amide-based diselenides have been synthesized along with their secondary amide counterparts. Detailed structure-activity correlation studies reveal that the GPx-like activity of the sec-amide-based compounds can be significantly enhanced by the substitution at the free-NH group of sec-amide functionality. The N,N-dialkylbenzylamine-based diselenides exhibit their catalytic activities via the generation of selenols which was confirmed by the reaction with anti-arthritic gold(I) compounds. Interestingly, the replacement of the hydrogen atom at the 6th position of the benzene ring of N,N-dialkylbenzylamine-based diselenides by a methoxy group prevents the thiol exchange reactions mainly be weakening the Se…N interactions and thus enhances the GPx activity. On the other hand, the catalytic activity of the tert-amine-based diselenides can also be increased by replacing the tert-amino groups with the corresponding sec-amine moieties. It has been observed that the basic amino group in the amine-based diselenides deprotonates the selenol and also the thiol cofactor, which is crucial for the higher catalytic activities of the amine-based compounds. Peroxynitrite (PN, ONOO), a strong nitrating agent, is known to inactivate a number of proteins, enzymes and other biomolecules by nitration of tyrosine residues. In this study, we have shown that the commonly used antithyroid drugs and their analogues inhibit protein tyrosine nitration. This study reveals that antithyroid agents having PN scavenging activity may be beneficial of hyperthyroidism as these compounds may protect the thyroid gland from nitrative or nitrosative stress.