Enantioselective Self-Assembled Nanofibrillar Network with Glutamide-Based Organogelator

A chiral molecular gelation system, as a chiral host, was used to effectively realize enantioselectivity using the simple carboxylic acid functional group. For this purpose, an L-glutamic-acid-based lipidic amphiphile (G-CA) with a carboxylic head group was selected and its responsiveness to cationic guest molecules was investigated. The dispersion morphology of G-CA in its solution state was examined by confocal and transmission electron microscopies, while interactions between the G-CA, as the host system, and guest molecules were evaluated by UV-visible, circular dichroism, and fluorescence spectroscopies. As a result, enantioselectivity was effectively induced when G-CA formed highly ordered aggregates that provide negatively charged surfaces in which carboxyl groups are assembled in highly ordered states, and when the two cationic groups of the guest molecule are attached to this surface through multiple interactions.

Supramolecular Caffeic Acid and Bortezomib Nanomedicine: Prodrug Inducing Reactive Oxygen Species and Inhibiting Cancer Cell Survival

Phenolics from plant materials have garnered attention in nanomedicine research, due to their various medicinal properties. Caffeic acid, a phenolic compound that is abundant in coffee beans, has been proven to have anticancer effects, due to its reactive oxygen species (ROS)-inducing properties. Here, a supramolecular nanomedicine was designed using caffeic acid molecule and the synthetic anticancer drug bortezomib, via catechol–boronic acid conjugation and Fe(III) ion crosslinking. Bortezomib is a proteasome-inhibiting drug and its boronic acid functional group can bind to caffeic acid’s catechol moiety. By having a nanoparticle formulation that can deliver bortezomib via intracellular endocytosis, the catechol–boronic acid conjugation can be dissociated, which liberates the boronic acid functional group to bind to the 26S proteasome of the cell. The ROS-inducing property of caffeic acid also complements the bortezomib payload, as the latter suppresses the survival mechanism of the cell through NF-κB inhibition.

Cinnamic Acid Derivatives and Their Biological Efficacy

The role played by cinnamic acid derivatives in treating cancer, bacterial infections, diabetes and neurological disorders, among many, has been reported. Cinnamic acid is obtained from cinnamon bark. Its structure is composed of a benzene ring, an alkene double bond and an acrylic acid functional group making it possible to modify the aforementioned functionalities with a variety of compounds resulting in bioactive agents with enhanced efficacy. The nature of the substituents incorporated into cinnamic acid has been found to play a huge role in either enhancing or decreasing the biological efficacy of the synthesized cinnamic acid derivatives. Some of the derivatives have been reported to be more effective when compared to the standard drugs used to treat chronic or infectious diseases in vitro, thus making them very promising therapeutic agents. Compound 20 displayed potent anti-TB activity, compound 27 exhibited significant antibacterial activity on S. aureus strain of bacteria and compounds with potent antimalarial activity are 35a, 35g, 35i, 36i, and 36b. Furthermore, compounds 43d, 44o, 55g–55p, 59e, 59g displayed potent anticancer activity and compounds 86f–h were active against both hAChE and hBuChE. This review will expound on the recent advances on cinnamic acid derivatives and their biological efficacy.

Antibiotic potential of some synthesized derivatives of C-9154 antibiotic

Structural modification of the C-9154 antibiotic in an attempt to simultaneously improve its activity and lower its toxicity led to the synthesis of an analogue of the C-9154 antibiotic and six derivatives of this analogue. The significant reduction of the polarity of the synthesized analogue in the derivatives to increase permeability across cell membranes was achieved by conversion of the highly polar carboxylic group to the nonpolar ester functional groups. The compounds were synthesized by condensation of 4-nitroaniline with maleic anhydride and then conversion of the terminal carboxylic acid functional group to an ester functional group using a thionyl chloride-mediated esterification. The in vitro biological activity using gram positive bacteria (MRSA, S. pyogenes, B. subtilis, and C. ulcerans), gram negative bacteria (E. coli, P. mirabilis, P. aeruginosa, S. typhii, S. dysenteriae, and K. pneumonia and some fungi (C. albicans, A. nigre and T. rubrum), showed that the derivatives were more active than their respective analogue and significantly better than the standard antibiotics (Sparfloxacin and Fluconazole) used for comparison, establishing their potential or use as antibiotics. The derivatives exhibited activity at concentrations as low as 0.625μg/mL while the analogue was active at 2.5μg/mL. These values were higher than results obtained for the standard drugs which showed activity at concentrations of 5 μg/mL. The derivatives however did not show activity against A. nigre whereas the analogue was active against it. Keywords: C-9154 Antibiotic, Bioactivity, Fumaramidmycin, antibacterial, antifungal

Vapor-Deposited Reactive Coating with Chemically and Topographically Erasable Properties

An erasable coating was prepared to modify material surfaces with accessibilities, including specific conjugation, elimination of the conjugated chemistry/function, and the reactivation of a second new chemistry/function. The coating was realized based on a vapor-deposited functional poly-p-xylylene coating composed of an integrated 3-((3-methylamido)-disulfanyl)propanoic acid functional group, resulting in not only chemical reactivity, but also a disulfide interchange mechanism. Mechanically, the coating was robust in terms of the thermal stability and adhesive property on a variety of substrate materials. Chemically, the anchoring site of carboxylic acid was accessible for specific conjugation, and a disulfide bridge moiety was used to disengage already installed functions/properties. In addition, the homogeneous nature of the vapor-phased coating technique is known for its morphology/thickness and distribution of the functional moiety, which allowed precision to address the installation or erasure of functions and properties. Characterization of the precisely confined hydrophilic/hydrophobic wetting property and the alternating reversibility of this wetting property on the same surface was achieved.

Crystal structure of tetrakis[μ-3-carboxy-1-(1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)adamantane-κ2 N 1:N 2]tetrafluoridodi-μ2-oxido-dioxidodisilver(I)divanadium(V) tetrahydrate

The crystal structure of the title molecular complex, [Ag2{VO2F2}2(C13H17N3O2)4]·4H2O, supported by the heterofunctional ligand tr-ad-COOH [1-(1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)-3-carboxyadamantane] is reported. Four 1,2,4-triazole groups of the ligand link two AgI atoms, as well as AgI and VV centres, forming the heterobimetallic coordination cluster {AgI 2(VVO2F2)2(tr)4}. VV exists as a vanadium oxofluoride anion and possesses a distorted trigonal–bipyramidal coordination environment [VO2F2N]. A carboxylic acid functional group of the ligand stays in a neutral form and is involved in hydrogen bonding with solvent water molecules and VO2F2 − ions of adjacent molecules. The extended hydrogen-bonding network is responsible for the crystal packing in the structure.

Articular Cartilage: The Destruction of Bilayers and Deactivation of Phospholipid Molecules

To our knowleadge the coaugulation by interacton of β2 -Glycoprotein I (β2 -GP I) with the phospholipid membrane is required to verify this hypothesis. The open hockey stick-like conformation occurs when protonated amino acid functional group (-NH3 +) β2-GP I is complexed to negatively charged phospholipids functional group (-PO4 - ) resulting in the destruction of bilayers and the deactivation of phospholipid molecules.