Synthesis of Ferulenol by Engineered Escherichia coli: Structural Elucidation by Using the In Silico Tools

4-Hydroxycoumarin (4HC) has been used as a lead compound for the chemical synthesis of various bioactive substances and drugs. Its prenylated derivatives exhibit potent antibacterial, antitubercular, anticoagulant, and anti-cancer activities. In doing this, E. coli BL21(DE3)pLysS strain was engineered as the in vivo prenylation system to produce the farnesyl derivatives of 4HC by coexpressing the genes encoding Aspergillus terreus aromatic prenyltransferase (AtaPT) and truncated 1-deoxy-D-xylose 5-phosphate synthase of Croton stellatopilosus (CstDXS), where 4HC was the fed precursor. Based on the high-resolution LC-ESI(±)-QTOF-MS/MS with the use of in silico tools (e.g., MetFrag, SIRIUS (version 4.8.2), CSI:FingerID, and CANOPUS), the first major prenylated product (named compound-1) was detected and ultimately elucidated as ferulenol, in which information concerning the correct molecular formula, chemical structure, substructures, and classifications were obtained. The prenylated product (named compound-2) was also detected as the minor product, where this structure proposed to be the isomeric structure of ferulenol formed via the tautomerization. Note that both products were secreted into the culture medium of the recombinant E. coli and could be produced without the external supply of prenyl precursors. The results suggested the potential use of this engineered pathway for synthesizing the farnesylated-4HC derivatives, especially ferulenol.

Thiolane-type sulfides from garlic, onion, and Welsh onion

In this paper, we review our work in the last 10 years wherein we examined the sulfides in the acetone extracts of garlic (Allium sativum), onion (A. cepa), and Welsh onion (A. fistulosum), obtained and characterized the structures of new sulfides, three 3,4-dimethylthiolane-type sulfides from onion and Welsh onion, respectively, and four acyclic-type, nine 3,4-dimethyl- thiolane-type, four 2-methylthiolane (and thiane)-type, two 1,2-dithiolane-type, and two 2-oxothiolane-type sulfides, together with (E)-ajoene and one kujounin-type sulfide from garlic. During this process, structural corrections were made in onionin A group, garlicnin A, and garlicnin B group in some 3,4-dimethylthiolane-type sulfides. Next, hypothetical pathways for the production of the aforementioned sulfides were proposed. Furthermore, it was revealed that a typical 3,4-dimethylthiolane-type sulfide, onionin A1 obtained from onion, having the isomeric structure of garlicnin B1 obtained from garlic, decreased tumor proliferation and controlled tumor metastasis. These results showed that onionin A1 is an effective agent for controlling tumors, and that the antitumor effects observed in vivo are likely caused by reversing the antitumor immune system. Activation of the antitumor immune system by onionin A1 might be an effective adjuvant therapy for patients with osteosarcoma, ovarian cancer and other malignant tumors.

Structural study and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (Z)-4-(2-methoxybenzylidene)-3-phenylisoxazol-5(4H)-one

The title compound, C17H13NO3, adopts a Z configuration about the C=C bond. The isoxazole and methoxybenzylidene rings are almost coplanar with a dihedral angle of 9.63 (7)° between them. In contrast, the phenyl substituent is twisted significantly out of the plane of the oxazole ring, with the two rings inclined to each other by 46.22 (4)°. The crystal structure features C—H...O, C—H...N and C—H...π hydrogen bonds and π–π contacts. An analysis of the Hirshfeld surfaces points to the importance of H...H, H...C/C...H and H...O/O...H contacts. The included surface areas of the title compound were compared to those of the isomeric structure (Z)-4-(4-methoxybenzylidene)-3-phenylisoxazol-5(4H)-one [Zhang et al. (2015). CrystEngComm, 17, 7316–7322].

MONOATOMIC ALCOHOLS IN A SYSTEM ”FORMATION WATER–n-DODECANE”

The paper presents the experimental research of distribution of nine С1–С5 aliphatic monoatomic alcohols of normal and isomeric structure in a two-phased heterogenous system ”formation water–n-dodecane” using gas-chromatography method for the purpose of a choice of the most effective tracers for the characterization of filtrational streams and oil saturation when waterflooding. There were defined distribution constants K_с in interval of temperatures 25–75С on which basis appeared the conclusion that alcohols С1–С3 can be used as water (non-partitioning) tracers whereas alcohols С4–С5 approach for a role of partitioning tracers.