Structure-Based Molecular Networking for the Target Discovery of Oxahomoaporphine and 8-Oxohomoaporphine Alkaloids from Duguetia surinamensis.

In addition to seven known alkaloids (2, 6-11) and 1,2,4-trimethoxybenzene (1), three isoquinoline-derived alkaloids (3-5), namely, duguetinine (3), a compound based on an unprecedented oxahomoaporphine scaffold, and two new 8-oxohomoaporphine alkaloids, duguesuramine (4) and 11-methoxyduguesuramine (5), and a new asarone-derived phenylpropanoid (10) were isolated from the bark of Duguetia surinamensis. The isolation workflow was guided by HPLC-HRESIMS/MS and molecular networking-based analyses. Twenty-four known alkaloids were dereplicated from the D. surinamensis alkaloid-rich fraction network and were assigned by manual MS/MS interpretation. Their cytotoxic potential was evaluated.

High performance collision cross section calculation-HPCCS.

Since the commercial introduction of Ion Mobility coupled with Mass Spectrometry (IM-MS) devices in 2003, a large number of research laboratories have embraced the technique. IM-MS is a fairly rapid experiment used as a molecular separation tool and to obtain structural information. The interpretation of IM-MS data is still challenging and relies heavily on theoretical calculations of the molecule's collision cross section (CCS) against a buffer gas. Here, a new software (HPCCS) is presented, which performs CCS calculations using high perfomance computing techniques. Based on the trajectory method, HPCCS can accurately calculate CCS for a great variety of molecules, ranging from small organic molecules to large protein complexes, using helium or nitrogen as buffer gas with considerable gains in computer time compared to publicly available codes under the same level of theory. HPCCS is available as free software under the Academic Use License at https://github.com/cepid-cces/hpccs. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Enantioselective, Noncovalent, Substrate-Directable Heck-Matsuda and Oxidative Heck Arylations of Unactivated Five-Membered Carbocyclic Olefins.

Highly diastereo- and enantioselective, noncovalent, substrate-directable Heck desymmetrizations of cyclopentenyl olefins containing hydroxymethyl and carboxylate functional groups are presented. These conformationally unbiased cyclic olefins underwent effective arylations in yields of up to 97 %, diastereoselectivity up to >20:1, and enantiomeric excesses of up to 99 %. Noncovalent directing effects were shown to be prevalent in both Heck-Matsuda and oxidative Heck reactions, allowing the preferential formation of cis-substituted aryl cyclopentenes containing two stereocenters, including quaternary stereocenters. These results further validate the internal out-of-coordination-sphere ion-dipole interaction concept directing the reaction diastereoselectivity to the cis-Heck product. This approach is complementary to existing methods using bis-phosphine monoxide ligands to give the opposite trans-diastereoisomer. The applicability of the method is showcased by the straightforward synthesis of a potent phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor in a diastereo- and enantioselective manner. The reaction is operationally simple and has broad scope with regard to the nature of the arenediazonium salt and boronic acid employed. The mechanism and origin of stereoselectivity were investigated with control experiments and DFT calculations that fully supported the stabilizing internal out-of-coordination-sphere ion-dipole interaction between the resident functional group and cationic palladium.

Noncovalent Substrate-Directed Enantioselective Heck Reactions: Synthesis of S- and P-Stereogenic Heterocycles.

S- and P-Stereogenic heterocycles were synthesized by a remarkably simple enantioselective Heck desymmetrization reaction based on the unprecedented noncovalent directing effect of S=O and P=O functionalities. Selected prochiral symmetric substrates were efficiently arylated using the recently disclosed chiral PyraBOx ligand under mild and open-flask reaction conditions. Several five-membered aryl- sulfones, sulfoxides, and phosphine oxides were synthesized in good to excellent yields, in good to high diastereoselectivity, and enantiomeric ratios up to 98:2. Theoretical calculations also support the noncovalent directing effect of the S=O and P=O functionalities during the arylation process.

Molecular variations in aromatic cosolutes: critical role in the rheology of cationic wormlike micelles.

Wormlike micelles formed by the addition to cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) of a range of aromatic cosolutes with small molecular variations in their structure were systematically studied. Phenol and derivatives of benzoate and cinnamate were used, and the resulting mixtures were studied by oscillatory, steady-shear rheology, and the microstructure was probed by small-angle neutron scattering. The lengthening of the micelles and their entanglement result in remarkable viscoelastic properties, making rheology a useful tool to assess the effect of structural variations of the cosolutes on wormlike micelle formation. For a fixed concentration of CTAB and cosolute (200 mmol L(-1)), the relaxation time decreases in the following order: phenol > cinnamate> o-hydroxycinnamate > salicylate > o-methoxycinnamate > benzoate > o-methoxybenzoate. The variations in viscoelastic response are rationalized by using Mulliken population analysis to map out the electronic density of the cosolutes and quantify the barrier to rotation of specific groups on the aromatics. We find that the ability of the group attached to the aromatic ring to rotate is crucial in determining the packing of the cosolute at the micellar interface and thus critically impacts the micellar growth and, in turn, the rheological response. These results enable us for the first time to propose design rules for the self-assembly of the surfactants and cosolutes resulting in the formation of wormlike micelles with the cationic surfactant CTAB.

Collision Cross Section Calculations Using HPCCS.

A technical overview of the High Performance Collision Cross Section (HPCCS) software for accurate and efficient calculations of collision cross sections for molecular ions ranging from small organic molecules to large protein complexes is presented. The program uses helium or nitrogen as buffer gas with considerable gains in computer time compared to publicly available codes under the Trajectory Method approximation. HPCCS is freely available under the Academic Use License at https://github.com/cepid-cces/hpccs .

Photoisomerization induced scission of rod-like micelles unravelled with multiscale modeling.

HYPOTHESIS: In photorheological fluids, subtle molecular changes caused by light lead to abrupt macroscopic alterations. Upon UV irradiation of an aqueous cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and trans-ortho-methoxycinnamic acid (trans-OMCA) solution, for instance, the viscosity drops over orders of magnitude. Multiscale modeling allows to elucidate the mechanisms behind these photorheological effects. EXPERIMENTS: We use time-dependent DFT calculations to study the photoisomerization, and a combination of atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) and DFT to probe the influence of both OMCA isomers on the micellar solutions. FINDINGS: The time-dependent DFT calculations show that the isomerization pathway occurs in the first triplet excited state with a minimum energy conformation closest to the after photoisomerization predominant cis configuration. In the MD simulations, with sub-microsecond timescales much shorter than the experimental morphological transition, already a clear difference is observed in the packing of the two OMCA isomers: contrary to trans-OMCA, cis-OMCA exposes notable part of its hydrophobic aromatic rings at the micelle surface. This can explain why trans-OMCA adopts rod-like micellar packing (high viscosity) while cis-OMCA spherical micellar packing (low viscosity). Moreover, lowering of the OMCA co-solute concentration allowed us to perform full simulation of the breakup process of the rod-like micelles which are stable prior to isomerization.

Guaianolide sesquiterpene lactones and aporphine alkaloids from the stem bark of Guatteria friesiana.

Three guaianolide sesquiterpenes, denoted guatterfriesols A-C, and four aporphine alkaloid derivatives were isolated from the stem bark of the Amazonian plant Guatteria friesiana. Thus far, sesquiterpene lactones have not been described in Annonaceae. Structures of the previously undescribed compounds were established by using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy in combination with MS. The absolute stereochemistry was assigned via NOE NMR experiments, ECD spectroscopy, and theoretical calculations using the TDDFT approach. Among the isolated compounds, the alkaloid guatterfriesidine showed anti-glycation activity by inhibiting the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) through the prevention of oxidation in both BSA/methylglyoxal and BSA/fructose systems.

Separation of glycosidic catiomers by TWIM-MS using CO2 as a drift gas.

Traveling wave ion mobility mass spectrometry (TWIM-MS) is shown to be able to separate and characterize several isomeric forms of diterpene glycosides stevioside (Stv) and rebaudioside A (RebA) that are cationized by Na(+) and K(+) at different sites. Determination and characterization of these coexisting isomeric species, herein termed catiomers, arising from cationization at different and highly competitive coordinating sites, is particularly challenging for glycosides. To achieve this goal, the advantage of using CO2 as a more massive and polarizable drift gas, over N2, was demonstrated. Post-TWIM-MS/MS experiments were used to confirm the separation. Optimization of the possible geometries and cross-sectional calculations for mobility peak assignments were also performed.