Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2003.

No description available.

Glyoxalase II is one of two metalloenzymes found in the glyoxalase pathway and is responsible for catalyzing the hydrolysis of a thioester substrate. Its bimetallic active site is found to contain a variety of metal combinations, including Fe(III)Zn(II). A recent report indicates that human glyoxalase II, while containing a Fe(II)Zn(II) center, is catalytically active as a mononuclear Zn(II) enzyme. Detailed mechanistic studies of glyoxalase II enzymes are limited due to uncertainty in the metal ion content of recombinantly prepared samples. The research presented in this thesis is focused on gaining mechanistic insight into thioester hydrolysis promoted by well-characterized metal complexes The initial research is focused on studies involving a Fe(III)Zn(II) complex supported by the 2-{[bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amino]methyl}-6-[{[2-hydroxyphenyl)methyl]-(2- pyridylmethyl)amino}methyl]-4-methylphenol) ligand. Thioester hydrolysis reactions were examined by following the loss of a deuterium-labeled thioester (hydroxyphenyl thioacetic acid S-methyl(d3) ester) over time using 2H NMR as the monitoring method. Based on kinetic data and spectroscopic investigations (UV-vis and EPR), a reaction pathway for thioester hydrolysis promoted by the aforementioned Fe(III)Zn(II) complex has been proposed. An important feature of this pathway is the formation of a precursor complex wherein the deprotonated α-hydroxy group of the thioester coordinates to the Zn(II) center prior to nucleophilic attack by an Fe(III)-OH moiety. Of relevance to human glyoxalase II, the thioester hydrolysis reactivity of a mononuclear zinc complex containing the N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-tert-butylamine ligand, (bpta)Zn](ClO4)2⋅0.5H2O, has been examined. Based on kinetic data, it is proposed that thioester hydrolysis promoted by this complex proceeds via a bimolecular pathway, with a Zn-OH moiety being the nucleophile for attack on the thioester carbonyl. Activation parameters are reported for the zinc complex-promoted thioester hydrolysis reaction and are compared to those of OH- promoted thioester hydrolysis reactions. In a separate area of investigation, the chromium chloride complex {(C6H11N2)[CrCl3]}n has been isolated and characterized by elemental analysis and X-ray crystallography. This complex has been proposed as the catalyst responsible for high yield conversion of glucose to 5- hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is an important reaction toward using renewable resources as feedstock chemicals.

Hydrogels are hydrophilic, three-dimensional polymeric networks prepared through chemical or physical conjugation. Hydrogels are recognized for their tunable properties, specifically through changes in the backbone of the polymers, such as 1) modifying the number of hydrophobic chain lengths, 2) adding or removing cleavable linkages, 3) varying reactive-end groups, 4) increasing or decreasing the weight percent of the hydrogel, and 5) combining two or more hydrogel networks into one, namely creating an interpenetrating network. We synthesized and characterized on- and off-demand, dissolvable hydrogels for use as burn wound dressings, polypectomy bandages, and vascular occlusion devices, and within interpenetrating networks. The hydrogels are composed of PEG-based crosslinkers, and PEI-based hyperbranched macromers which were prepared in high yields. In context of burn wound dressings, there is an unmet need for an adherent dressing with ease of removal, such as a dissolvable hydrogel dressing. In a model of in vivo porcine burn wounds, our hydrogel shows superior burn healing relative to traditional dressings such as sterile gauze pad and non-adherent foam dressings. When our hydrogel was removed, no newly formed tissue adhered to the dressing, and immunohistochemical stains exhibit improved inflammation and necrosis. When our hydrogel was used as an in vivo polypectomy sealant, we observed ease of application and adhesion to the colon, despite peristalsis. In in vitro studies, we observe no migration of bacteria through the hydrogel. As a vascular occlusion device, our hydrogels withstand an ex vivo burst pressure of up to 440mmHg on average, over 3x that of arterial pressure. Furthermore, we prepared an interpenetrating network from two hydrogel formulations both using SN2 chemistry with tunable mechanical properties. The hydrogel formulations highlighted in this work vary in gelation, mechanical properties, swelling, dissolution, and adhesion based on the structure of the polymer and reactive groups. These hydrogels represent a future direction in wound dressings and sealants as they prevent bacterial migration into an open wound, adhere to tissue, provide a moist wound environment, demonstrate structure-function relations allowing for tunable mechanical properties, and are biocompatible. / 2022-03-10T00:00:00Z

<p>The direct addition of enolizable aldehydes and sulfonyl imines to &alpha;-halo thioesters to produce &beta;-hydroxy/amino thioesters enabled by reductive soft enolization is reported. The transformation is operationally simple and efficient and has the unusual feature of giving high <italic>syn</italic>-selectivity, which is the opposite of that produced for the aldol addition with (thio)esters under conventional conditions. This method is tolerant to aldehydes and imines that not only contain acidic &alpha;-protons, but also towards electrophiles containing other acidic protons and base-sensitive functional groups. Moreover, excellent diastereoselectivity is achieved when a chiral non-racemic &alpha;-hydroxy aldehyde derivative is used. Using MgI₂ and Ph₃P, this method gives a wide range of aldol and Mannich products in good yields with high <italic>syn</italic>-diastereoselectivity. The products obtained from the reductive aldol and Mannich reactions are synthetically important intermediates in both polyketide and &beta;-lactam synthesis, respectively, and can be readily derivatized to form many carbonyl derivatives through known manipulation of the thioester moiety.</p><p><p>Also, herein the asymmetric synthesis of (+)-mefloquine, a potent anti-malarial compound, is described. The synthesis is based on a key enantioselective Darzens reaction between a chiral &alpha;-chloro-N-amino cyclic carbamate (ACC) hydrazone and a quinoline-based aldehyde. This is a novel methodology developed by our lab, which gives a highly enantioenriched epoxide that can be further functionalized to give both enantiomers of mefloquine.</p> / Dissertation

<p>This dissertation deals with the development of asymmetric carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions and the synthesis of Lagunamide A. Asymmetric C-C and C-X bond formations are critical transformations in synthetic chemistry. While a variety of approaches are available to effect such reactions, organocatalytic methods have attracted considerable recent attention. Common themes have emerged from these studies with regard to both the mode of asymmetric catalysis and the nature of the substrates they are applied to. We have been investigating alternatives to these themes for both carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond formation. We will describe some of our efforts to expand the parameters of asymmetric organocatalysis, which include the development a novel biomimetic proximity-assisted soft enolization approach to the asymmetric Mannich reaction, as well as the use of nitrosoalkenes for the asymmetric a-sulfenylation of ketones and aldehydes. Lagunamide A was recently isolated from Palau Hantu Besar, Singapore and has shown strong antimalarial activity and cytotoxicity against leukemia. The work presented describes the progress towards the first asymmetric total synthesis of this natural product.</p> / Dissertation

The potential of magnetic nanoparticle-vesicle assemblies (MNP-V) as remote controlled drug delivery platforms capable of inducing cellular responses under magnetic stimuli has been previously demonstrated in the Webb group at the University of Manchester. To create these magnetoresponsive nanomaterials biotin-avidin and Cu-histidinyl multivalent recognition were employed. This thesis describes an exploration of the potential of thiol-thioester exchange reactions (leading to native chemical ligation, NCL) to create magnetoresponsive materials, which potentially have applications in biomedicine. Firstly, iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles have been synthesised using a thermal co-precipitation method followed by chemical modification with sulfhydryl motifs for use as smart biomaterials. Knowing that the behaviour and reactivity of nanoparticles is highly influenced by their physicochemical properties, a thourough characterisation of these particles has been obtained. Secondly, during this project, several thioester derivatives have been synthesised that can be incorporated into the membranes of 800 nm liposomes. Among these, the spectrophotometric properties of synthetic lipid 38 allowed the investigation of trans-thioesterification rates with cysteinyl functionalities, both in solution and at the phospholipid membrane interface of liposomes. Product identification has been achieved using mass spectrometry and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Finally, the conditions required to induce the release of a dye (e.g. 5(6)-CF) from MNP-V upon exposure to an AMF pulse have been established. Aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA), a general inhibitor of nucleases has been investigated as interesting payload due to its fluorescent and anti-viral properties.

<p>Three methodology studies and two total synthesis endeavors are presented. First, a study of Lewis acid and hydrogen bond mediated soft enolization of thioesters and their addition to imines in the Mannich reaction is reported. MgBr2*OEt2 and Hunig's base are used in concert with bulky thioesters and aromatic aldehydes to generate syn-b-aminothioesters with moderate diastereoselectivity and yield. Next, a biomimetic organocatalytic Mannich reaction is presented using a chiral cinchona alkaloid to effect the enantioselective addition of an imines to thioesters with high yield and diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivities up to 88:12.</p><p>The direct addition of enolizable aldehydes to a-iodo thioesters to produce b-hydroxy thioesters enabled by reductive soft enolization is reported. The transformation is operationally simple and efficient and has the unusual feature of giving high syn-selectivity, which is the opposite of that produced in the aldol addition with (thio)esters under conventional conditions. This method is tolerant to aldehydes and imines that contain acidic a-protons, as well as electrophiles containing other acidic protons and base-sensitive functional groups.</p><p>The development of a strategy for the asymmetric synthesis of a large portion of the polycyclic polyprenylated acyl phloroglucinols via N-amino cyclic carbamate hydrazones, and its application to the first asymmetric total synthesis of both (+)- and (-)-clusianone is discussed. The clusianones are synthesized with an er of 99:1 and their anti-HIV activity is found to be 1.53 and 1.13 &#61549;M, respectively. A library of clusianone-like compounds is synthesized and their biological activity has been probed.</p><p>Finally, efforts towards the total synthesis of brasilicardin A are reported. An appropriate model system was synthesized, and conditions were established using a pinene-based aldol reaction to synthesize the b-methoxy-a-amino ester side chain of the molecule. Next, efforts toward the synthesis of the anti-syn-anti- perhydro-phenanthrene core are discussed.</p> / Dissertation

Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2004--Aachen.

Abstract Fatty acids are one of the most essential categories of biological lipids and their synthesis and degradation are vital for all organisms. Severely compromised phenotypes of yeast mutants and human patients, which have defective components in their degradative or synthetic processes for fatty acid metabolism, have highlighted the importance of these processes for overall metabolism. Most fatty acids are degraded by β-oxidation, which occurs in mitochondria and peroxisomes in mammals, whereas synthesis is catalyzed by cytosolic multifunctional peptides, although a synthesis system involving individual enzymes in mitochondria has been also proposed. In this study a novel mitochondrial 2-enoyl thioester reductase Etr1p from the yeast Candida tropicalis, its homolog Mrf1p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and their mammalian ortholog were identified and characterized. Observations indicating that mitochondrial localization as well as enzymatic activity is needed to complement the respiratory-deficient phenotype of the mrf1Δ strain from S. cerevisiae suggests that Etr1p and Mrf1p might act as a part of the mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis machinery, the proper function of which is essential for respiration and the maintenance of mitochondrial morphology in yeast. The mammalian enzyme, denoted Nrbf-1p, showed similar localization, enzymatic activity, and ability to rescue the growth of the mrf1Δ strain suggesting that mammals are also likely to possess the ability and required machinery for mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis. This study further included the characterization of another mitochondrial thioester reductase, 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase, which acts as an auxiliary enzyme in the β-oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. The function of this gene was analyzed by creating a knock-out mouse model. While unstressed mice deficient in 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase were asymptomatic, metabolically challenged mice showed symptoms including hypoglycemia, hepatic steatosis, accumulation of acylcarnitines, and severe intolerance to acute cold exposure. Although the oxidation of saturated fatty acids proceeds normally, the phenotype was in many ways similar to mouse models of the disrupted classical β-oxidation pathway, except that an altered ketogenic response was not observed. This mouse model shows that a proper oxidative metabolism for unsaturated fatty acids is important for balanced fatty acid and energy metabolism.