Structural Characterization of the Avidin Interactions with Fluorescent Pyrene-Conjugates: 1-Biotinylpyrene and 1-Desthiobiotinylpyrene

Avidin is a tetrameric protein that belongs to the calycin superfamily. It has been studied mainly because of its extraordinary affinity to biotin, which led to a wide range of applications based on the avidin-biotin system. In the present study, we report the first crystal structures of avidin in a complex with two novel fluorescent pyrene derivatives: 1-biotinylpyrene (B9P) and 1-desthiobiotinylpyrene (D9P). The crystal structures were solved by molecular replacement using the coordinates of avidin molecule as a starting model and the final models of avidin/B9P and avidin/D9P were refined to resolutions of 2.0 Å and 2.1 Å, respectively. Our data reveal changes in loop conformation as well as in overall fold and quaternary arrangement of the avidin upon the binding of these fluorescent probes. Moreover, the crystal structures allowed analysis of the details of the interactions between the protein and the pyrene derivatives. Structural description of the complexes will contribute to the design of conjugates for expanding the capabilities of avidin–biotin technology

Development of Half-Sandwich Ru, Os, Rh, and Ir Complexes Bearing the Pyridine-2-ylmethanimine Bidentate Ligand Derived from 7-Chloroquinazolin-4(3H)-one with Enhanced Antiproliferative Activity.

Kinesin spindle protein (KSP) inhibitors are one of the most promising anticancer agents developed in recent years. Herein, we report the synthesis of ispinesib-core pyridine derivative conjugates, which are potent KSP inhibitors, with half-sandwich complexes of ruthenium, osmium, rhodium, and iridium. Conjugation of 7-chloroquinazolin-4(3H)-one with the pyridine-2-ylmethylimine group and the organometallic moiety resulted in up to a 36-fold increased cytotoxicity with IC50 values in the micromolar and nanomolar range also toward drug-resistant cells. All studied conjugates increased the percentage of cells in the G2/M phase, simultaneously decreasing the number of cells in the G1/G0 phase, suggesting mitotic arrest. Additionally, ruthenium derivatives were able to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS); however, no significant influence of the organometallic moiety on KSP inhibition was observed, which suggests that conjugation of a KSP inhibitor with the organometallic moiety modulates its mechanism of action

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel 1,3,5-Triazines: Effect of Aromatic Ring Decoration on Affinity to 5-HT7 Receptor

Considering the key functions of the 5-HT7 receptor, especially in psychiatry, and the fact that effective and selective 5-HT7 receptor ligands are yet to be available, in this work, we designed and synthesized novel 1,3,5-triazine derivatives particularly based on the evaluation of the effect of substituents at aromatic rings on biological activity. The tested compounds showed high affinity to the 5-HT7 receptor, particularly ligands N2-(2-(5-fluoro-1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl)-N4-phenethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine 2 (Ki = 8 nM) and N2-(2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl)-N4-(2-((4-fluorophenyl)amino)ethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine 12 (Ki = 18 nM) which showed moderate metabolic stability, and affinity to the CYP3A4 isoenzyme. As for the hepatotoxicity evaluation, the tested compounds showed moderate cytotoxicity only at concentrations above 50 µM. Compound 12 exhibited less cardiotoxic effect than 2 on Danio rerio in vivo model

Tautomeric Equilibrium in 1-Benzamidoisoquinoline Derivatives

In this study, the tautomeric equilibrium of a sequence of 1-benzamidoisoquinoline derivatives was investigated with the tools of NMR spectroscopy and computational chemistry. The equilibrium between different tautomers in these systems could be controlled via the substitution effect, and the relative content of the amide form varied from 74% for the strong electron-donating NMe2 substituent to 38% for the strong electron-accepting NO2 group in the phenyl ring. In contrast to the previously investigated 2-phenacylquinoline derivatives, the most stable and thus most abundant tautomer in the 1-benzamidoisoquinoline series except the two most electron-accepting substituents was an amide. The intramolecular hydrogen bond present in the enol tautomer competed with the intermolecular hydrogen bonds created with the solvent molecules and thus was not a sufficient factor to favor this tautomer in the mixture. Although routinely computational studies of tautomeric equilibrium are performed within the continuum solvent models, it is proven here that the inclusion of the explicit solvent is mandatory in order to reproduce the experimental tendencies observed for this type of system, facilitating strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds

Ferrocene-Biotin Conjugates: Synthesis, Structure, Cytotoxic Activity and Interaction with Avidin

Friedel–Crafts acylation of ferrocene with d‐biotin, d‐homobiotin and d‐desthiobiotin gave ferrocenyl ketones. These compounds were diastereoselectively reduced to the corresponding alcohols using (R)‐ and (S)‐Me‐CBS‐oxazaborolidine–borane complexes as reducing agents. The alcohols were further transformed into azido and finally to amino derivatives with retention of configuration, as confirmed by X‐ray crystallography. Ferrocenylbiotin alcohols smoothly underwent dehydration to (E)‐alkenes as the major isomers by heating in diluted acetic acid. The synthesized compounds retained high affinity for avidin. They also exhibited high cytotoxicity toward cancer cells expressing various levels of sodium‐dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT) in the absence of biotin in the medium, whereas the presence of free biotin decreased their antiproliferative activity. This revealed that these biotin–ferrocene conjugates might be used as biologically active agents against cancer cells, although there was no clear relationship between their cytotoxicity and cellular SMVT level

Less is more: on the effect of benzannulation on the solid-state emission of difluoroborates

We investigate the emission properties of four organic dyes containing a strong electron-donating N(CH3)2 group and an NBF2O-bearing heterocyclic moiety acting as the electron-accepting group. The four studied compounds differ in the number and positions of the fused benzo rings included in the heterocyclic moiety. They exhibit strong emission in solution, with fluorescence quantum yields (Φf) systematically exceeding 0.8 at least in one of the solvents used, regardless of the benzannulation architecture. The strong dipolar character, achieved by substitution with the N(CH3)2 group and benzannulation, enhances the photoinduced charge transfer and appears to be an effective strategy to tune the photophysical properties of these dyes in solution. Indeed, red-shifted absorption spectra are obtained without deteriorating the emission properties. However, the present joint theory–experiment study clearly demonstrates that such a molecular design is not effective for solid-state applications, as only one derivative still exhibits significant emission in the crystalline form, namely the most compact one. We show that the combination of benzannulation in the presence of the strong amino donor leads to substantial changes in crystal packing and that a different network of intermolecular interactions can be found in the crystal. More specifically, going from the parent compound to its benzannulated derivatives induces a stronger π⋯π stacking combined with multiple CH⋯π interactions involving the fused benzo rings and the hydrogen atoms of the dimethylamino group, which impedes efficient emission of the crystals