NMR spectroscopic studies of intermediary metabolites of cyclophosphamide. A comprehensive kinetic analysis of the interconversion of cis- and trans-4-hydroxycyclophosphamide with aldophosphamide and the concomitant partitioning of aldophosphamide between irreversible fragmentation and reversible conjugation pathways.

Multinuclear (31P, 13C, 2H, and 1H) Fourier-transform NMR spectroscopy, with and without isotopically enriched materials, was used to identify and quantify, as a function of time, the following intermediary (short-lived) metabolites of the anticancer prodrug cyclophosphamide (1, Scheme I): cis-4-hydroxycyclophosphamide (cis-2), its trans isomer (trans-2), aldophosphamide (3), and its aldehyde-hydrate (5). Under a standard set of reaction conditions (1 M 2,6-dimethylpyridine buffer, pH 7.4, 37 degrees C), the stereospecific deoxygenation of synthetic cis-4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (cis-12, 20 mM) with 4 equiv of sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) afforded, after approximately 20 min, a "pseudoequilibrium" distribution of cis-2, 3, 5, and trans-2, i.e., the relative proportions of these reactants (57:4:9:30, respectively) remained constant during their continual disappearance. NMR absorption signals indicative of "iminophosphamide" (8) and enol 6 were not detected (less than 0.5-1% of the synthetic metabolite mixture). A computerized least-squares fitting procedure was applied to the individual 31P NMR derived time courses for conversion of cis-2, 3 plus 5 (i.e., "3"), and trans-2 into acrolein and phosphoramide mustard (4), the latter of which gave an expected array of thiosulfate S-alkylation products (e.g., 16) and other phosphorus-containing materials derived from secondary decomposition reactions. This kinetic analysis gave the individual forward and reverse rate constants for the apparent tautomerization processes, viz., cis-2 in equilibrium "3" in equilibrium trans-2, as well as the rate constant (k3) for the irreversible fragmentation of 3. The values of k3 at pH 6.3, 7.4, and 7.8 were equal to 0.030 +/- 0.004, 0.090 +/- 0.008, and 0.169 +/- 0.006 min-1, respectively. Replacement of the HC(O)CH2 moiety n 3 with HC(O)CD2 led to a primary kinetic isotope effect (kH/kD = 5.6 +/- 0.4) for k3. The apparent half-lives (tau 1/2) for cis-2, "3", and trans-2 under the standard reaction conditions, at "pseudoequilibrium" (constant ratio of cis-2/"3"/trans-2), were each equal to approximately 38 min, which is considerably shorter than the widely cited colorimetrically derived half-lives reported by earlier investigators. The values of tau 1/2 for cis-2, "3", and trans-2 were affected by pH in the same manner as that found for k3 but were relatively insensitive to the presence of either K+, Na+, Ca2+, or Mg2+. The presence of certain primary amines led to marked decreases in tau 1/2 and, in some cases, the formation of acyclic adducts of aldehyde 3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

O-imino esters of N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)phosphorodiamidic acid. Synthesis, X-ray structure determination, and anticancer evaluation.

Nine representatives of the title series of compounds [(ClCH2CH2)2NP(O)(NH2)ON = CRR'] were synthesized as potential anticancer prodrugs, based on the possibility of enzymatic reduction of the N-O bond to release the known cytotoxic agent phosphoramide mustard [1, (ClCH2CH2)2NP(O)(NH2)OH]. The dimethyl derivative (2, R = R' = CH3) exhibited a statistically significant, albeit low, level of anti-L1210 activity in mice. Derivative 2, which was shown by 31P NMR measurements to be very stable toward hydrolysis at 37 degrees C over a pH range of 5.7-7.4 (T1/2 congruent to 7-8 weeks), gave colorimetrically detectable amounts of alkylating material upon incubation with mouse liver slices: approximately 3-5% conversion after 20 min at 37 degrees C. A single-crystal X-ray study of 2 revealed an unusual hydrogen-bonded "ladder" and a very similar steric relationship for the NCH2CH2Cl and ON = CCH3 moieties.

Evidence for a role of chloroethylaziridine in the cytotoxicity of cyclophosphamide.

UNLABELLED: A number of investigators have observed that the use of 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HC) in multiwell plate cytotoxicity assays can be associated with toxicity to cells in wells that contain no drug. Previous reports have implicated diffusion of 4-HC decomposition products, and acrolein in particular, as the active species. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the species responsible for the airborne cytotoxicity of 4-HC, and to devise ways to minimize such effects in chemosensitivity assays. METHODS: To this end, analogues of 4-HC were synthesized to identify the contributions of individual cyclophosphamide metabolites to cytotoxicity. The analogues were then tested for activity against three human breast tumor cell lines (including a line resistant to 4-HC), and one non-small-cell lung carcinoma line. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by assays that quantitate cellular metabolism and nucleic acid content. RESULTS: Didechloro-4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide, a compound that generates acrolein and a nontoxic analogue of phosphoramide mustard, gave no cross-well toxicity. In contrast, a significant neighboring well effect was observed with phenylketophosphamide, a compound that generates phosphoramide mustard but not acrolein. Addition of authentic chloroethylaziridine reproduced the airborne toxicity patterns generated by 4-HC and phenylketophosphamide. Increasing the buffering capacity of the growth medium and sealing the microtiter plates prevented airborne cytotoxicity. CONCLUSION: Since it is unlikely that phosphoramide mustard is volatile, these findings implicate chloroethylaziridine rather than acrolein as the volatile metabolite of 4-HC that is responsible for airborne cytotoxicity. The fact that chloroethylaziridine is generated in amounts sufficient to volatilize, diffuse across wells and cause cytotoxicity indicates that it is an important component in the overall cytotoxicity of 4-HC in vitro. Furthermore, these findings suggest that chloroethylaziridine may also contribute to the toxicity of cyclophosphamide in vivo.

Analytical studies of 'mixed sequence' oligodeoxyribonucleotides synthesized by competitive coupling of either methyl- or beta-cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropylamino phosphoramidite reagents, including 2'-deoxyinosine.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and 1H/31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were used to measure the molar ratio of oligodeoxyribonucleotide products in mixtures obtained with automated DNA synthesizers that employed competitive coupling of either standard methyl- or newer beta-cyanoethyl-N,N-diisopropylamino phosphoramidite reagents, which include deoxyinosine. Mixtures of these reagents when used as freshly prepared solutions afforded ratios of products that indicated negligibly small differences among the rates of the various competitive coupling reactions. However, studies of reagent stability in solution revealed that both types of the N-isobutyryl deoxyguanosine reagent decompose faster than their corresponding dA, dC, and dT phosphoramidites, which led to significantly lower proportions of dG-containing sequences. This problem was attenuated for the beta-cyanoethyl reagents due to their slower rate of decomposition.

Alkyl phosphotriester modified oligodeoxyribonucleotides. V. Synthesis and absolute configuration of Rp and Sp diastereomers of an ethyl phosphotriester (Et) modified EcoRI recognition sequence, d[GGAA(Et)TTCC]. A synthetic approach to regio- and stereospecific ethylation-interference studies.

Protected deoxynucleoside 3'-O-ethyl-N,N-diisopropylphosphoramidite reagents were prepared for use in the automated synthesis of ethyl phosphotriester (Et) modified oligonucleotides. The title diastereomers were separated by reversed-phase HPLC, and chirality at phosphorus was assigned by an improved configurational correlation scheme that was verified by NMR spectroscopic studies (accompanying paper, Part VI). This generally applicable correlation scheme involved enzymatic digestions of each diastereomer to give the corresponding diastereomer of d[A(Et)T]; phosphite triester sulfurization to obtain diastereomeric O-ethyl phosphorothioates, d[AS(Et)T], which were separated by HPLC for stereoretentive oxidation with H2O2 to give d[A(Et)T], and stereoretentive de-ethylation with PhSH-Et3N to give diastereomeric phosphorothioates, d[AST], whose configurations at phosphorus had been assigned previously. Neither the Rp-Rp nor Sp-Sp duplex, (d[GGAA(Et)TTCC])2, was cleaved by EcoRI endonuclease under conditions that led to cleavage of both the unmodified duplex, [d(GGAATTCC)]2, and the mixture of diastereomeric phosphorothioate-modified duplexes, [d(GGAASTTCC)]2. Cleavage of the latter substrates was Sp-selective.