In Silico Discovery of a Substituted 6-Methoxy-quinalidine with Leishmanicidal Activity in Leishmania infantum.

There is an urgent need for the discovery of new antileishmanial drugs with a new mechanism of action. Type 2 NADH dehydrogenase from Leishmania infantum (LiNDH2) is an enzyme of the parasite's respiratory system, which catalyzes the electron transfer from NADH to ubiquinone without coupled proton pumping. In previous studies of the related NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase crystal structure from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, two ubiquinone-binding sites (UQI and UQII) were identified and shown to play an important role in the NDH-2-catalyzed oxidoreduction reaction. Based on the available structural data, we developed a three-dimensional structural model of LiNDH2 using homology detection methods and performed an in silico virtual screening campaign to search for potential inhibitors targeting the LiNDH2 ubiquinone-binding site 1-UQI. Selected compounds displaying favorable properties in the computational screening experiments were assayed for inhibitory activity in the structurally similar recombinant NDH-2 from S. aureus and leishmanicidal activity was determined in the wild-type axenic amastigotes and promastigotes of L. infantum. The identified compound, a substituted 6-methoxy-quinalidine, showed promising nanomolar leishmanicidal activity on wild-type axenic promastigotes and amastigotes of L. infantum and the potential for further development.

Membrane optode for uranium(VI) ions preconcentration and quantification based on a synergistic combination of 4-(2-thiazolylazo)-resorcinol with 8-hydroxyquinaldine.

A membrane optode was developed utilizing the 8-hydroxyquinaldine (HQ) facilitated preconcentration of UO(2)(2+) ions and subsequent colored complex formation of UO(2)(2+) with 4-(2-thiazolylazo)-resorcinol (TAR) in optode matrix. The composition of the membrane optode was optimized by scanning several extractants immobilized in different plasticized polymer matrices. It was observed that the chelating agent HQ along with an indicator TAR immobilized in the tri-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate (TEHP) plasticized cellulose triacetate matrix (CTA) was best suited as an optode for the UO(2)(2+) ions in aqueous samples. On sorption of UO(2)(2+) in the optode matrix, TAR changes color of the optode from yellow to magenta having a maximum absorbance (lambda(max)) at 546 nm. The uptake of UO(2)(2+) ions in the optode was found to be pH dependent and was maximum (>90%) at pH above 3. The acetate buffer (0.1 mol L(-1) sodium acetate + 0.1 mol L(-1) acetic acid) was found to be necessary for the stable response. The optimum equilibration time for the optode (2 cm x 1 cm) was found to be 30 min in 10 mL aqueous sample containing acetate buffer (pH 4.75). The equilibration time was found to increase with increase in aqueous sample volume. The optode response was found to be linear in the UO(2)(2+) ions concentration range of 0.01-0.11 micromol L(-1) in tap water as well as aqueous solutions containing 0.1 mol L(-1) NaCl or NaNO(3). The tolerance to the presence of several cations and anions in the determination of UO(2)(2+) ion was studied. It was observed that the optode in the presence of buffer can tolerate presence of large amounts of interfering cations (Ce(4+), V(4+), Eu(3+), Al(3+), Fe(3+), Ni(2+), Cd(2+), Co(2+), Pb(2+), Hg(2+), Cu(2+) and Th(4+) ions) without hindering the sorption of UO(2)(2+) ions in the optode matrix. The present work indicated that 50 ppb UO(2)(2+) ions in 100 mL sample can easily be quantified using this optode. The optode was found to be fully reversible, can readily be regenerated by equilibrating it with 0.1 mol L(-1) HNO(3) and reusable up to three cycles. The applicability of the developed optode in real samples was studied by determining uranium in the ground water samples spiked with a known quantity of UO(2)(2+) ions.

Synthesis and SAR study of acridine, 2-methylquinoline and 2-phenylquinazoline analogues as anti-prion agents.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are thought to arise from aggregation of a protease resistant protein denoted PrP(Sc), which is a misfolded isoform of the normal cellular prion protein PrP(C). Using virtual high-throughput screening we have selected structures analogous to acridine, 2-methyquinoline and 2-phenylquinazoline as potential therapeutic candidates for the treatment of TSEs. From the synthesis and screening of constructed libraries we have shown that an electron-rich aromatic ring attached through an amine linker to the position para to the ring nitrogen is beneficial to both binding to PrP(C) and the suppression of PrP(Sc) accumulation for acridine and 2-methylquinoline analogues. 2-Phenylquinazoline analogues appear to utilise a different mode of action by binding at a different location and/or pose. We report IC50s in the nanomolar range.

An in situ attenuated total reflection infrared study of a chiral catalytic solid-liquid interface: cinchonidine adsorption on pt.

An in situ attenuated total reflection study of the chiral solid-liquid interface created by cinchonidine adsorption on a Pt/Al(2)O(3) model catalyst is presented. Experiments were performed in the presence of dissolved hydrogen, that is under conditions used for the heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation of alpha-functionalized ketones. Cinchonidine adsorbs via the quinoline moiety. The adsorption mode is coverage dependent and several species coexist on the surface. At low concentration (10(-6)M) a predominantly flat adsorption mode prevails. At increasing coverage two different tilted species, alpha-H abstracted and N lone pair bonded cinchonidine, are observed. The latter is only weakly bound and in a fast dynamic equilibrium with dissolved cinchonidine. At high concentration (10(-4)-10(-3) M) all three species coexist on the Pt surface. A slow transition from an adsorbate layer with a high fraction of alpha-H abstracted cinchonidine to one with a high fraction of N lone pair bonded cinchonidine is observed with the cinchonidine concentration being the driving force for the process. The reverse transition in the absence of dissolved cinchonidine is fast. Cinchonidine competes with solvent decomposition products for adsorption sites on the Pt, which may contribute to the observed solvent dependence of the heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation of ketones by cinchonidine-modified Pt.