Synthesis of macromolecular systems via lipase catalyzed biocatalytic reactions: applications and future perspectives.

Enzymes, being remarkable catalysts, are capable of accepting a wide range of complex molecules as substrates and catalyze a variety of reactions with a high degree of chemo-, stereo- and regioselectivity in most of the reactions. Biocatalysis can be used in both simple and complex chemical transformations without the need for tedious protection and deprotection chemistry that is very common in traditional organic synthesis. This current review highlights the applicability of one class of biocatalysts viz."lipases" in synthetic transformations, the resolution of pharmaceutically important small molecules including polyphenols, amides, nucleosides and their precursors, the development of macromolecular systems (and their applications as drug/gene carriers), flame retardants, polymeric antioxidants and nanocrystalline solar cells, etc.

Solvent specified conformation in poly(alpha-L-glutamic acid) thin films.

The ability to control conformational properties of polypeptides in their films is of considerable interest for many possible applications of these materials. By rational choice of the solvent system for film fabrication, control over the conformation of the main chain, the intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the side chain is easily achieved in poly(alpha-L-glutamic acid) (PLGA) thin films. The spectral data from circular dichromism (CD), FT-IR, and solid state (13)C NMR spectroscopies suggest that the beta-sheet conformation is dominant in PLGA films cast from trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) solution, whereas the right-handed alpha-helix is dominant in those cast from pyridine or DMF solution. In comparison with films cast from TFA solutions, the films fabricated from pyridine or DMF solutions exhibit strong intermolecular hydrogen bondings between -COOH groups and have a more ordered arrangement of side chains. Moreover, the extent of alpha-helix conformation of the PLGA backbone in films cast from pyridine or DMF solution is several times higher than that observed in the PLGA powder precipitated from aqueous solution at pH 4. All spectroscopic studies indicate clearly that the solvents (used for casting these films) play a crucial role in directing the organization of PLGA in these thin films.

Helical conformational specificity of enzymatically synthesized water-soluble conducting polyaniline nanocomposites.

A novel template guided enzymatic approach has been developed to synthesize optically active conducting polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites in the presence of H2O2 as an oxidant, using (+) and (-) 10-camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) as a dopant and chiral inductor. The formation of chiral polyaniline in the nanocomposites was confirmed by circular dichroism (CD). Interestingly, the CD spectra of nanocomposites formed either with (+) or with (-) CSA show the enzyme itself plays a critical role in controlling the stereospecificity of the polyaniline (PANI) in the nanocomposite. The enzyme used for the polymerization of aniline in the nanocomposite was horseradish peroxidase (HRP). It was shown that this enzyme prefers a specific helical conformation, regardless of whether induced chirality in the complex CSA-aniline is from (+) or (-) CSA. UV-vis spectra show that the polyaniline is in the conducting form, and transmission electron micrographs (TEM) show that the nanocomposites are dispersed nicely with particle size dimensions in the range of 20-50 nm. Electron diffraction patterns of these chiral polymer nanocomposites suggest that these nanocomposites are in both crystalline and amorphous states.

Azobenzene-modified poly(l-glutamic acid) (AZOPLGA): its conformational and photodynamic properties.

Azobenzene-modified poly(l-glutamic acid) (AZOPLGA) polymers with 22 and 35 mol % of azo chromophores in the side chains have been synthesized by condensing 4-methoxy-4'-aminoazobenzene and poly(l-glutamic acid). These polymers have been characterized by NMR, FT-IR, and UV-visible spectroscopic techniques. The conformational features of the polymer backbone chains in the films that were cast from the polymer solutions prepared in different solvents have been investigated by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Experimental data suggested that the thermal cis-trans relaxation and photoinduced birefringence, which are related to the azo chromophores in the side chains of polymer, are not affected by the conformations of polymer backbones. However, the modulations of the surface relief gratings, the result of photoinduced mass transport process, recorded on these polymers are sensitive to polymer main chain conformation, as well as the degree of functionalization.

Synthesis, characterization and in vitro anti-invasive activity screening of polyphenolic and heterocyclic compounds.

Invasion is the hallmark of malignant tumors, and is responsible for the bad prognosis of the untreated cancer patients. The search for anti-invasive treatments led us to screen compounds of different classes for their effect in an assay for invasion. Thirty-nine new compounds synthesized in the present study along with 56 already reported compounds belonging mainly to the classes of lactones, pyrazoles, isoxazoles, coumarins, desoxybenzoins, aromatic ketones, chalcones, chromans, isoflavanones have been tested against organotypic confronting cultures of invasive human MCF-7/6 mammary carcinoma cells with embryonic chick heart fragments in vitro. Three of them (a pyrazole derivative, an isoxazolylcoumarin and a prenylated desoxybenzoin) inhibited invasion at concentrations as low as 1 microM; instead of occupying and replacing the heart tissue within 8 days, the MCF-7/6 cells grew around the heart fragments and left it intact, when treated with these compounds. At the anti-invasive concentration of 1 microM, the three compounds did not affect the growth of the MCF-7/6 cells, as shown in the sulforhodamine B assay. Aggregate formation on agar was not stimulated by any of the three anti-invasive compounds, making an effect on the E-cadherin/catenin complex improbable. This is an invasion suppressor that can be activated in MCF-7/6 cells by a number of other molecules. Our data indicate that some polyphenolic and heterocyclic compounds are anti-invasive without being cytotoxic for the cancer cells.

Synthetic and novel biocatalytic resolution studies on (+/-)-5/6/7-acetoxy-4-aryl-3,4-dihydrocoumarins.

Eleven (+/-)-5/6/7-acetoxy-4-aryl-3,4-dihydrocoumarins have been synthesised in two steps starting from the coupling of cinnamic acid/substituted cinnamic acid with appropriate phenols, followed by acetylation in 50-83% overall yields. All hydroxy- and acetoxycoumarins were unambiguously identified on the basis of their spectral data. Candida antarctica lipase-catalysed deacetylation of these racemic acetoxydihydrocoumarins in dioxane occurred with moderate enantioselectivity. This is one of the rare examples of resolution using phenolic ester moiety as a remote handle for chiral recognition by a lipase.

Monitoring the enzymatic polymerization of 4-phenylphenol by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: a novel approach.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for polymer characterization. It has been used to understand the enzymatic polymerization of 4-phenylphenol and to monitor number average molecular weight and weight average molecular weight of the polymer as a function of systematic addition of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in the reaction. A novel method, an introduction of internal standard for quantification of data, has been developed for MALDI-TOF MS to investigate the fate of each mers during the reaction. The preliminary data suggest that this approach provides new insight on the enzymatic synthesis, which is not available by other techniques. For the first time, we are able to understand the fate of several mers as a function of reaction conditions. The relative content of each mer increases with the addition of H(2)O(2), except for dimer and trimer. For example, the concentration of dimer species decreases as a function of H(2)O(2). On the other hand, the concentration of trimer species increases first and then decreases in the course of the reaction.