Induction of axial chirality in divanillin by interaction with bovine serum albumin

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORVanillin is a plant secondary metabolite and has numerous beneficial health applications. Divanillin is the homodimer of vanillin and used as a taste enhancer compound and also a promissory anticancer drug. Here, divanillin was synthesized and studied in126FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR2016/20594-52015/22338-92014/50926-0308480/2016-3302793/2016-0440503/2014-0sem informaçã

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester: Consequences of Its Hydrophobicity in the Oxidative Functions and Cytokine Release by Leukocytes

Numerous anti-inflammatory properties have been attributed to caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), an active component of propolis. NADPH oxidases are multienzymatic complexes involved in many inflammatory diseases. Here, we studied the importance of the CAPE hydrophobicity on cell-free antioxidant capacity, inhibition of the NADPH oxidase and hypochlorous acid production, and release of TNF-α and IL-10 by activated leukocytes. The comparison was made with the related, but less hydrophobic, caffeic and chlorogenic acids. Cell-free studies such as superoxide anion scavenging assay, triene degradation, and anodic peak potential (Epa) measurements showed that the alterations in the hydrophobicity did not provoke significant changes in the oxidation potential and antiradical potency of the tested compounds. However, only CAPE was able to inhibit the production of superoxide anion by activated leukocytes. The inhibition of the NADPH oxidase resulted in the blockage of production of hypochlorous acid. Similarly, CAPE was the more effective inhibitor of the release of TNF-α and IL-10 by Staphylococcus aureus stimulated cells. In conclusion, the presence of the catechol moiety and the higher hydrophobicity were essential for the biological effects. Considering the involvement of NADPH oxidases in the genesis and progression of inflammatory diseases, CAPE should be considered as a promising anti-inflammatory drug

Study of new chemiluminescent systems for determination of enzyme activity

O fenômeno da bio- e quimiluminescência tem atraído o interesse da comunidade científica nas últimas décadas não só pelo seu inerente interesse acadêmico, mas também devido as incontáveis aplicações analíticas que dele têm surgido. A maior parte do trabalho acadêmico que tem sido desenvolvido está relacionado ao estudo do mecanismo de geração de estados excitados e a eficiência de desativação radiativa. Por outro lado, do ponto de vista das aplicações tecnológicas, as metodologias para análise de enzimas, drogas e metabólitos, aplicadas à imunologia, microbiologia, medicina forense, etc., que se baseiam em quimiluminescência, estão entre as mais utilizadas em procedimentos de rotina em laboratórios. O desenvolvimento de substratos e, conseqüentemente, novas técnicas quimiluminescentes tem se tornado cada vez mais importante devido a alta sensibilidade desses ensaios, tipicamente equivalente ou melhor do que aqueles que utilizam rótulos radioativos. Esta tese apresenta o desenvolvimento de novas metodologias quimiluminescentes para a determinação de atividade enzimática. O princípio químico é a geração de peróxidos cíclicos instáveis, conhecidos como 1,2-dioxetanos, após a hidrólise de substratos específicos, catalisada pela enzima objeto de estudo. Anéis dioxetânicos são conhecidos pela sua propriedade de gerar produtos em estados eletronicamente excitados quando decompostos. A emissão de luz pode ser relacionada à atividade enzimática. Foi desenvolvido o substrato (fosfato dissódico de 2-metil-1-propenila, NA-MPP) (I)), capaz de produzir o composto 2-metil-1-propen-1-ol quando hidrolisado via a ação catalítica das enzimas fosfatase alcalina (ALP) ou fosfatase ácida (ACP). Este enol é oxidado, sob ação catalítica da enzima peroxidase de raiz forte (HRP), gerando acetona em estado excitado triplete. A emissão de luz direta ou sensibilizada da acetona excitada pode ser correlacionada a atividade enzimatica da ALP ou ACP. A determinação da atividade dessas enzimas livres ou ligadas em anticorpos (conjugados ALP-IgG) tem grande aplicação em tecnologias de diagnóstico, seja como um marcador de diversas doenças, seja como uma sonda em ensaios imuno-enzimáticos (EIA). A sensibilidade alcançada com este substrato foi de 10-15 mols de ALP, 0,0027 unid. de ACP e diluições de até 300.000 de um conjugado (ALP-IgG) por ensaio. Também foi possível correlacionar a atividade de ALP à velocidade de consumo do oxigênio dissolvido no meio de reação, que é uma característica dessa oxidação. Partindo do mesmo princípio delineado no parágrafo anterior, desenvolveu-se um composto para determinação de proteases. Para isso, o composto N-etil-N-(2-metil-1-propenil)benzenamida (II) foi preparado, pois a clivagem de sua ligação amídica geraria uma enamina, que também pode ser oxidada pela ação catalítica da HRP. No entanto, nossos estudos mostraram que este composto não é reconhecido como substrato das proteases. Tomando como base a bem conhecida característica de gerar uma fraca emissão de luz quando derivados indólicos são oxidados por agentes oxidantes clássicos, como KMnO4, K2S2O4, etc., foi estudado o potencial quimiluminescente de alguns derivados indólicos quando submetidos ao sistema HRP/H2O2/O2. Como era esperado, detectou-se quimiluminescência de baixa intensidade para a maioria dos derivados indólicos. Também neste caso a clivagem do anel indólico, via um intermediário dioxetânico, parece ser a responsável pela emissão observada na maioria dos compostos testados. Além disso, a oxidação do composto 2-metilindol (III) mostrou uma eficiência de quimiluminescência com cerca de 3 ordens de grandeza maior que os demais derivados. Verificou-se que o comportamento diferenciado desse composto estava relacionado à exclusiva formação de um composto secundário. A estrutura desse composto foi parcialmente atribuída ao 2,2\'-dimetil-2,2\'-diindoxil. Então, utilizando o 2-metilindol como substrato, desenvolveu-se uma metodologia analítica para determinação de HRP livre ou ligada em anticorpos (conjugados HRP-IgG). Assim como no caso da enzima ALP, conjugados do tipo HRP-IgG são largamente utilizados em EIA. Também com base nas características quimiluminescentes de \'alfa\'-hidroperóxi-cetonas quando submetidas a um forte meio alcalino, desenvolveu-se um potencial substrato para análise de esterases. A hidrólise catalisada por esterase de 2-peracetoxiadamantano-2-carboxialdeído (IV) geraria um \'alfa\'-hidroperóxi-aldeído, que por um ataque nucleofílico intramolecular, levaria a um intermediário dioxetânico. Este composto mostrou-se instável, gerando quimiluminescência mesmo na ausência da enzima. Este fato inviabilizou o seu uso como planejado.The bio- and chemiluminescent phenomena have attracted the scientists attention in the last decades not only because its inherent academic interests, but also due the uncounted analytical applications that it has originated. Most of the academic work was devoted to the study of the mechanism responsible for the generation of the excited states and the efficiency of radiative deactivation. On the other hand, the technological developments pointed to methodologies for enzyme, drug, and metabolite determination applied to immunological, microbiology, forensic science, etc., based on chemiluminescence, which are already among the most applied techniques in routine laboratory procedures. The development of chemiluminescent substrates has become increasingly important due to their high sensitivity, typically equivalent to or better than assays using radioactive labels. This thesis reports the development of new chemiluminescent methodologies for enzymatic activity determination. The chemical basis is the generation of unstable cyclic peroxides, called 1,2-dioxetanes, upon hydrolysis of specific substrates catalyzed by the target enzyme. Dioxetanes rings are known by their properties to generate electronically excited products upon decomposition. The light emission can be related to enzymatic activity. It was developed a substrate (dissodium 2-methyl-1-propenyl phosphate) (Na-MPP) (I) able to produce 2-methyl-1-propen-1-ol when catalytically hydrolyzed by alkaline (ALP) or acid (ACP) phosphatases enzymes. This enol is oxidized, upon horseradish peroxidase (HRP) action, yielding acetone in triplet excited state. The direct or sensitized light emission of the excited acetone can be correlated to enzymatic activity of ALP or ACP. The activity of this enzyme, free or bound to antibody (ALP conjugates), is widely used in diagnostic technologies, either as a direct marker of several diseases or as an enzymatic probe in enzyme immunoassays (EIA). The sensibility reached with this substrate was 10-15 mols to ALP, 0,0027 u/mL to ACP and dilutions up to 300.000 of ALP-IgG per assay. Since the HRP system consumes dissolved oxygen during the oxidation of the enol, ALP quantification may be performed by following the oxygen uptake rate. By applying the same principle above delineated, it was synthesized a compound for proteases activity determination. Thus, the compound N-ethyl-N-(2-methylpropen-1-yl)benzenamide (II) was prepared, since its hydrolysis would lead to an enamine , which is known to be oxidized via HRP with light emission. However, our studies showed that II is not recognized as a substrate by proteases. Owning to the well known weak emission elicited when indole derivatives are oxidized by classical oxidants like KMnO4, K2S2O4, etc., it was studied the chemiluminescent potential when indoles are submitted to the HRP/H2O2/O2 oxidant system. Indeed, weak chemiluminescence was detected for almost all derivatives. Likewise, the oxidation of 2,3-bond of indoles, through a dioxetane intermediate leading to an open-ring product, seems responsible for this emission. Furthermore, the oxidation of 2-methylindole (III) showed a chemiluminescence efficiency about 3 orders of magnitude higher. It was observed that the high chemiluminescent yield was related to exclusive formation of a secundary product. Its structure was partially attributed to 2,2\'-dimethyl-2,2\'-diindoxil. Thus, using 2-methylindole as substrate was possible to develop an analytical procedure to quantify HRP activity, free or bound to antibodies (conjugates HRP-IgG). In EIA the enzymes HRP and ALP are the most important labels. From the also known chemiluminescent characteristics of \'alpha\'-hidroperoxy-ketones, when submitted to strong alkaline medium, it was developed a potential substrate to esterases. The esterase catalyzed hydrolysis of 2-acetylperoxiadamantane-2-carboxaldeyde (IV) would generate an \'alpha\'-hidroperoxy-aldeyde which, by an intramolecular nucleofilic attack, would lead to a dioxetane intermediate. This compound showed to be unstable and it generated chemiluminescence in the absence of the enzyme. This fact impaired its use as planned

Study of new chemiluminescent systems for determination of enzyme activity

O fenômeno da bio- e quimiluminescência tem atraído o interesse da comunidade científica nas últimas décadas não só pelo seu inerente interesse acadêmico, mas também devido as incontáveis aplicações analíticas que dele têm surgido. A maior parte do trabalho acadêmico que tem sido desenvolvido está relacionado ao estudo do mecanismo de geração de estados excitados e a eficiência de desativação radiativa. Por outro lado, do ponto de vista das aplicações tecnológicas, as metodologias para análise de enzimas, drogas e metabólitos, aplicadas à imunologia, microbiologia, medicina forense, etc., que se baseiam em quimiluminescência, estão entre as mais utilizadas em procedimentos de rotina em laboratórios. O desenvolvimento de substratos e, conseqüentemente, novas técnicas quimiluminescentes tem se tornado cada vez mais importante devido a alta sensibilidade desses ensaios, tipicamente equivalente ou melhor do que aqueles que utilizam rótulos radioativos. Esta tese apresenta o desenvolvimento de novas metodologias quimiluminescentes para a determinação de atividade enzimática. O princípio químico é a geração de peróxidos cíclicos instáveis, conhecidos como 1,2-dioxetanos, após a hidrólise de substratos específicos, catalisada pela enzima objeto de estudo. Anéis dioxetânicos são conhecidos pela sua propriedade de gerar produtos em estados eletronicamente excitados quando decompostos. A emissão de luz pode ser relacionada à atividade enzimática. Foi desenvolvido o substrato (fosfato dissódico de 2-metil-1-propenila, NA-MPP) (I)), capaz de produzir o composto 2-metil-1-propen-1-ol quando hidrolisado via a ação catalítica das enzimas fosfatase alcalina (ALP) ou fosfatase ácida (ACP). Este enol é oxidado, sob ação catalítica da enzima peroxidase de raiz forte (HRP), gerando acetona em estado excitado triplete. A emissão de luz direta ou sensibilizada da acetona excitada pode ser correlacionada a atividade enzimatica da ALP ou ACP. A determinação da atividade dessas enzimas livres ou ligadas em anticorpos (conjugados ALP-IgG) tem grande aplicação em tecnologias de diagnóstico, seja como um marcador de diversas doenças, seja como uma sonda em ensaios imuno-enzimáticos (EIA). A sensibilidade alcançada com este substrato foi de 10-15 mols de ALP, 0,0027 unid. de ACP e diluições de até 300.000 de um conjugado (ALP-IgG) por ensaio. Também foi possível correlacionar a atividade de ALP à velocidade de consumo do oxigênio dissolvido no meio de reação, que é uma característica dessa oxidação. Partindo do mesmo princípio delineado no parágrafo anterior, desenvolveu-se um composto para determinação de proteases. Para isso, o composto N-etil-N-(2-metil-1-propenil)benzenamida (II) foi preparado, pois a clivagem de sua ligação amídica geraria uma enamina, que também pode ser oxidada pela ação catalítica da HRP. No entanto, nossos estudos mostraram que este composto não é reconhecido como substrato das proteases. Tomando como base a bem conhecida característica de gerar uma fraca emissão de luz quando derivados indólicos são oxidados por agentes oxidantes clássicos, como KMnO4, K2S2O4, etc., foi estudado o potencial quimiluminescente de alguns derivados indólicos quando submetidos ao sistema HRP/H2O2/O2. Como era esperado, detectou-se quimiluminescência de baixa intensidade para a maioria dos derivados indólicos. Também neste caso a clivagem do anel indólico, via um intermediário dioxetânico, parece ser a responsável pela emissão observada na maioria dos compostos testados. Além disso, a oxidação do composto 2-metilindol (III) mostrou uma eficiência de quimiluminescência com cerca de 3 ordens de grandeza maior que os demais derivados. Verificou-se que o comportamento diferenciado desse composto estava relacionado à exclusiva formação de um composto secundário. A estrutura desse composto foi parcialmente atribuída ao 2,2\'-dimetil-2,2\'-diindoxil. Então, utilizando o 2-metilindol como substrato, desenvolveu-se uma metodologia analítica para determinação de HRP livre ou ligada em anticorpos (conjugados HRP-IgG). Assim como no caso da enzima ALP, conjugados do tipo HRP-IgG são largamente utilizados em EIA. Também com base nas características quimiluminescentes de \'alfa\'-hidroperóxi-cetonas quando submetidas a um forte meio alcalino, desenvolveu-se um potencial substrato para análise de esterases. A hidrólise catalisada por esterase de 2-peracetoxiadamantano-2-carboxialdeído (IV) geraria um \'alfa\'-hidroperóxi-aldeído, que por um ataque nucleofílico intramolecular, levaria a um intermediário dioxetânico. Este composto mostrou-se instável, gerando quimiluminescência mesmo na ausência da enzima. Este fato inviabilizou o seu uso como planejado.The bio- and chemiluminescent phenomena have attracted the scientists attention in the last decades not only because its inherent academic interests, but also due the uncounted analytical applications that it has originated. Most of the academic work was devoted to the study of the mechanism responsible for the generation of the excited states and the efficiency of radiative deactivation. On the other hand, the technological developments pointed to methodologies for enzyme, drug, and metabolite determination applied to immunological, microbiology, forensic science, etc., based on chemiluminescence, which are already among the most applied techniques in routine laboratory procedures. The development of chemiluminescent substrates has become increasingly important due to their high sensitivity, typically equivalent to or better than assays using radioactive labels. This thesis reports the development of new chemiluminescent methodologies for enzymatic activity determination. The chemical basis is the generation of unstable cyclic peroxides, called 1,2-dioxetanes, upon hydrolysis of specific substrates catalyzed by the target enzyme. Dioxetanes rings are known by their properties to generate electronically excited products upon decomposition. The light emission can be related to enzymatic activity. It was developed a substrate (dissodium 2-methyl-1-propenyl phosphate) (Na-MPP) (I) able to produce 2-methyl-1-propen-1-ol when catalytically hydrolyzed by alkaline (ALP) or acid (ACP) phosphatases enzymes. This enol is oxidized, upon horseradish peroxidase (HRP) action, yielding acetone in triplet excited state. The direct or sensitized light emission of the excited acetone can be correlated to enzymatic activity of ALP or ACP. The activity of this enzyme, free or bound to antibody (ALP conjugates), is widely used in diagnostic technologies, either as a direct marker of several diseases or as an enzymatic probe in enzyme immunoassays (EIA). The sensibility reached with this substrate was 10-15 mols to ALP, 0,0027 u/mL to ACP and dilutions up to 300.000 of ALP-IgG per assay. Since the HRP system consumes dissolved oxygen during the oxidation of the enol, ALP quantification may be performed by following the oxygen uptake rate. By applying the same principle above delineated, it was synthesized a compound for proteases activity determination. Thus, the compound N-ethyl-N-(2-methylpropen-1-yl)benzenamide (II) was prepared, since its hydrolysis would lead to an enamine , which is known to be oxidized via HRP with light emission. However, our studies showed that II is not recognized as a substrate by proteases. Owning to the well known weak emission elicited when indole derivatives are oxidized by classical oxidants like KMnO4, K2S2O4, etc., it was studied the chemiluminescent potential when indoles are submitted to the HRP/H2O2/O2 oxidant system. Indeed, weak chemiluminescence was detected for almost all derivatives. Likewise, the oxidation of 2,3-bond of indoles, through a dioxetane intermediate leading to an open-ring product, seems responsible for this emission. Furthermore, the oxidation of 2-methylindole (III) showed a chemiluminescence efficiency about 3 orders of magnitude higher. It was observed that the high chemiluminescent yield was related to exclusive formation of a secundary product. Its structure was partially attributed to 2,2\'-dimethyl-2,2\'-diindoxil. Thus, using 2-methylindole as substrate was possible to develop an analytical procedure to quantify HRP activity, free or bound to antibodies (conjugates HRP-IgG). In EIA the enzymes HRP and ALP are the most important labels. From the also known chemiluminescent characteristics of \'alpha\'-hidroperoxy-ketones, when submitted to strong alkaline medium, it was developed a potential substrate to esterases. The esterase catalyzed hydrolysis of 2-acetylperoxiadamantane-2-carboxaldeyde (IV) would generate an \'alpha\'-hidroperoxy-aldeyde which, by an intramolecular nucleofilic attack, would lead to a dioxetane intermediate. This compound showed to be unstable and it generated chemiluminescence in the absence of the enzyme. This fact impaired its use as planned

Optimized synthesis of the melatonin metabolite N(1)-acetyl-N(2)-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK)

N(1)-acetyl-N(2)-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK) is the product of oxidative pyrrole ring cleavage of melatonin. AFMK and its deformylated derivative N(1)-acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AMK) are compounds for which there are increasing demands because of their antioxidant, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we sought to determine the best reaction conditions for preparation of AFMK using chlorpromazine (CPZ) as a co-catalyst in the peroxidase-mediated oxidation of melatonin. The parameters studied were pH, identity and concentration of buffers, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and CPZ concentrations and the presence or absence of dissolved molecular oxygen in the reaction medium. The rate and efficiency of AFMK production were compared with a noncatalyzed method which uses a high concentration of H(2)O(2). We found that by using CPZ and bubbling molecular oxygen during the course of the reaction, the yield of AFMK was significantly increased (about 60%) and the reaction time decreased (about 30 min), as compared with the noncatalyzed reaction (yield 32% and reaction time 4 hr). Based on these data, we suggest that this could be a new, easily performed and efficient route for AFMK preparation. Additionally, we provide evidence that a radical chain reaction could be responsible for the formation of AFMK.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Investigation of Human Albumin-Induced Circular Dichroism in Dansylglycine

Induced circular dichroism (ICD), or induced chirality, is a phenomenon caused by the fixation of an achiral substance inside a chiral microenvironment, such as the hydrophobic cavities in proteins. Dansylglycine belongs to a class of dansylated amino acids, which are largely used as fluorescent probes for the characterization of the binding sites in albumin. Here, we investigated the ICD in dansylglycine provoked by its binding to human serum albumin (HSA). We found that the complexation of HSA with dansylglycine resulted in the appearance of an ICD band centred at 346 nm. Using this ICD signal and site-specific ligands of HSA, we confirmed that dansylglycine is a site II ligand. The intensity of the ICD signal was dependent on the temperature and revealed that the complexation between the protein and the ligand was reversible. The induced chirality of dansylglycine was susceptive to the alteration caused by the oxidation of the protein. A comparison was made between hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and hypobromous acid (HOBr), and revealed that site II in the protein is more susceptible to alteration provoked by the latter oxidant. These findings suggest the relevance of the aromatic amino acids in the site II, since HOBr is a more efficient oxidant of these residues in proteins than HOCl. The three-dimensional structure of HSA is pH-dependent, and different conformations have been characterised. We found that HSA in its basic form at pH 9.0, which causes the protein to be less rigid, lost the capacity to bind dansylglycine. At pH 3.5, HSA retained almost all of its capacity for binding to dansylglycine. Since the structure of HSA at pH 3.5 is expanded, separating the domain IIIA from the rest of the molecule, we concluded that this separation did not alter its binding capacity to dansylglycine.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Light emission from tryptophan oxidation by hypobromous acid

The emission of ultraweak light from cells is a phenomenon associated with the oxidation of biomolecules by reactive oxygen species. The indole moiety present in tryptophan, serotonin and melatonin is frequently associated with the emission of light during the oxidation of these metabolites. This study presents results for hypobromous acid (HOBr) oxidation of tryptophan as a putative endogenous source of ultraweak light emission. We found that chemiluminescence elicited by the oxidation of tryptophan by HOBr was significantly higher than by hypochlorous acid (HOCl). This difference was related to secondary oxidation reactions, which were more intense using HOBr. The products identified during oxidation by HOCl, but depleted by using HOBr, were N-formylkynurenine, kynurenine, 1,2,3,3a,8,8a-hexahydro-3a-hydroxypyrrolo[2,3-b]-indole-2-carboxylic acid, oxindolylalanine and dioxindolylalanine. The emission of light is dependent on the free α-amino group of tryptophan, and hence, the indole of serotonin and melatonin, although efficiently oxidized, did not produce chemiluminescence. The emission of light was even greater using taurine monobromamine and dibromamine as the oxidant compared to HOBr. A mechanism based on bromine radical intermediates is suggested for the higher efficiency in light emission. Altogether, the experimental evidence described in the present study indicates that the oxidation of free tryptophan or tryptophan residues in proteins is an important source of ultraweak cellular emission of light. This light emission is increased in the presence of taurine, an amino acid present in large amounts in leukocytes, where this putative source of ultraweak light emission is even more relevant

Inhibition of Lysozyme by Taurine Dibromamine

Hypobromous acid (HOBr) is a powerful oxidant produced by stimulated neutrophils and eosinophils. Taurine, a non-protein amino acid present in high amounts in the leukocytes, reacts instantaneously with HOBr leading to their haloamine derivative taurine dibromamine (Tau-NBr2). Lysozyme is a bactericidal enzyme also present in leukocytes and in secretory fluids. The inhibition of lysozyme is a pathway for bacterial proliferation in inflammatory sites. Here, we investigated the inhibition of the enzymatic activity of lysozyme when it was submitted to oxidation by Tau-NBr2. We found that the oxidation of lysozyme by Tau-NBr2 decreased its enzymatic activity in 80%, which was significant higher compared to the effect of its precursor HOBr (30%). The study and comparison of Tau-NBr2 and HOBr regarding the alterations provoked in the intrinsic fluorescence, synchronous fluorescence, resonance light scattering and near and far-UV circular dichroism spectra of lysozyme and oxidized lysozyme revealed that tryptophan residues in the active site of the protein were the main target for Tau-NBr2 and could explain its efficacy as inhibitor of lysozyme enzymatic activity. This property of Tau-NBr2 may have pathological significance, since it can be easily produced in the inflammatory sites.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Microbicidal activity of N-chlorotaurine in combination with hydrogen peroxide

Abstract N-chlorotaurine (NCT) and hydrogen peroxide are powerful endogenous antiseptics. In vivo, the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and metal ions leads to the formation of free hydroxyl radicals, which have an increased bactericidal activity. This study examined whether there is an additive antimicrobial effect of NCT combined with hydrogen peroxide. Additionally, it was tested if the additive effect is based on the formation of free radicals. We found by luminometry that, in the presence of H2O2, NCT caused a slow and long-lasting production of singlet oxygen in contrast to HOCl, where this burst occurred instantaneously. Both NCT and hydrogen peroxide (1.0 and 0.1%) demonstrated bactericidal and fungicidal activity. At pH 7.1 and 37 °C, hydrogen peroxide (1%, 294 mM) showed a stronger bactericidal and particularly fungicidal activity than NCT (1%, 55 mM), whereas at pH 4.0 and also in the presence of 5.0% peptone NCT revealed a stronger bactericidal activity. A combination of NCT and hydrogen peroxide led to an increased bactericidal but no increased fungicidal activity compared to both substances alone. The additive effect against bacteria was not removed in the presence of the radical scavengers NaN3, DMSO, or peptone. As a conclusion, NCT and hydrogen peroxide used concurrently interact additive against a range of microorganisms. However, the results of this study suggest that the additive effect of NCT combined with hydrogen peroxide is rather not based on the formation of free radicals