Design and synthesis of new quinazolinone derivatives: investigation of antimicrobial and biofilm inhibition effects.

New quinazolin-4-ones 9-32 were synthesized in an attempt to overcome the life-threatening antibiotic resistance phenomenon. The antimicrobial screening revealed that compounds 9, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 29 are the most broad spectrum antimicrobial agents in this study with safe profile on human cell lines. Additionally, compounds 19 and 20 inhibited biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is regulated by quorum sensing system, at sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) with IC50 values 3.55 and 6.86 µM, respectively. By assessing other pseudomonal virulence factors suppression, it was found that compound 20 decreased cell surface hydrophobicity compromising bacterial cells adhesion, while both compounds 19 and 20 curtailed the exopolysaccharide production which constitutes the major component of the matrix binding biofilm components together. Also, at sub-MICs Pseudomonas cells twitching motility was impeded by compounds 19 and 20, a trait which augments the cells pathogenicity and invasion potential. Molecular docking study was performed to further evaluate the binding mode of candidates 19 and 20 as inhibitors of P. aeruginosa quorum sensing transcriptional regulator PqsR. The achieved results demonstrate that both compounds bear promising potential for discovering new anti-biofilm and quorum quenching agents against Pseudomonas aeruginosa without triggering resistance mechanisms as the normal bacterial life cycle is not disturbed.

Bioprocess development to produce a hyperthermostable S-methyl-5'-thioadenosine phosphorylase in Escherichia coli.

Nucleoside phosphorylases are important biocatalysts for the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of nucleosides and their analogs which are, among others, used for the treatment of viral infections or cancer. S-methyl-5'-thioadenosine phosphorylases (MTAP) are a group of nucleoside phosphorylases and the thermostable MTAP of Aeropyrum pernix (ApMTAP) was described to accept a wide range of modified nucleosides as substrates. Therefore, it is an interesting biocatalyst for the synthesis of nucleoside analogs for industrial and therapeutic applications. To date, thermostable nucleoside phosphorylases were produced in shake flask cultivations using complex media. The drawback of this approach is low volumetric protein yields which hamper the wide-spread application of the thermostable nucleoside phosphorylases in large scale. High cell density (HCD) cultivations allow the production of recombinant proteins with high volumetric yields, as final optical densities >100 can be achieved. Therefore, in this study, we developed a suitable protocol for HCD cultivations of ApMTAP. Initially, optimum expression conditions were determined in 24-well plates using a fed-batch medium. Subsequently, HCD cultivations were performed using E. coli BL21-Gold cells, by employing a glucose-limited fed-batch strategy. Comparing different growth rates in stirred-tank bioreactors, cultivations revealed that growth at maximum growth rates until induction resulted in the highest yields of ApMTAP. On a 500-mL scale, final cell dry weights of 87.1-90.1 g L-1 were observed together with an overproduction of ApMTAP in a 1.9%-3.8% ratio of total protein. Compared to initially applied shake flask cultivations with terrific broth (TB) medium the volumetric yield increased by a factor of 136. After the purification of ApMTAP via heat treatment and affinity chromatography, a purity of more than 90% was determined. Activity testing revealed specific activities in the range of 0.21 ± 0.11 (low growth rate) to 3.99 ± 1.02 U mg-1 (growth at maximum growth rate). Hence, growth at maximum growth rate led to both an increased expression of the target protein and an increased specific enzyme activity. This study paves the way towards the application of thermostable nucleoside phosphorylases in industrial applications due to an improved heterologous expression in Escherichia coli.

Production of Modified Nucleosides in a Continuous Enzyme Membrane Reactor.

Nucleoside analogues are important compounds for the treatment of viral infections or cancers. While (chemo-)enzymatic synthesis is a valuable alternative to traditional chemical methods, the feasibility of such processes is lowered by the high production cost of the biocatalyst. As continuous enzyme membrane reactors (EMR) allow the use of biocatalysts until their full inactivation, they offer a valuable alternative to batch enzymatic reactions with freely dissolved enzymes. In EMRs, the enzymes are retained in the reactor by a suitable membrane. Immobilization on carrier materials, and the associated losses in enzyme activity, can thus be avoided. Therefore, we validated the applicability of EMRs for the synthesis of natural and dihalogenated nucleosides, using one-pot transglycosylation reactions. Over a period of 55 days, 2'-deoxyadenosine was produced continuously, with a product yield >90%. The dihalogenated nucleoside analogues 2,6-dichloropurine-2'-deoxyribonucleoside and 6-chloro-2-fluoro-2'-deoxyribonucleoside were also produced, with high conversion, but for shorter operation times, of 14 and 5.5 days, respectively. The EMR performed with specific productivities comparable to batch reactions. However, in the EMR, 220, 40, and 9 times more product per enzymatic unit was produced, for 2'-deoxyadenosine, 2,6-dichloropurine-2'-deoxyribonucleoside, and 6-chloro-2-fluoro-2'-deoxyribonucleoside, respectively. The application of the EMR using freely dissolved enzymes, facilitates a continuous process with integrated biocatalyst separation, which reduces the overall cost of the biocatalyst and enhances the downstream processing of nucleoside production.

Efficient Biocatalytic Synthesis of Dihalogenated Purine Nucleoside Analogues Applying Thermodynamic Calculations.

The enzymatic synthesis of nucleoside analogues has been shown to be a sustainable and efficient alternative to chemical synthesis routes. In this study, dihalogenated nucleoside analogues were produced by thermostable nucleoside phosphorylases in transglycosylation reactions using uridine or thymidine as sugar donors. Prior to the enzymatic process, ideal maximum product yields were calculated after the determination of equilibrium constants through monitoring the equilibrium conversion in analytical-scale reactions. Equilibrium constants for dihalogenated nucleosides were comparable to known purine nucleosides, ranging between 0.071 and 0.081. To achieve 90% product yield in the enzymatic process, an approximately five-fold excess of sugar donor was needed. Nucleoside analogues were purified by semi-preparative HPLC, and yields of purified product were approximately 50% for all target compounds. To evaluate the impact of halogen atoms in positions 2 and 6 on the antiproliferative activity in leukemic cell lines, the cytotoxic potential of dihalogenated nucleoside analogues was studied in the leukemic cell line HL-60. Interestingly, the inhibition of HL-60 cells with dihalogenated nucleoside analogues was substantially lower than with monohalogenated cladribine, which is known to show high antiproliferative activity. Taken together, we demonstrate that thermodynamic calculations and small-scale experiments can be used to produce nucleoside analogues with high yields and purity on larger scales. The procedure can be used for the generation of new libraries of nucleoside analogues for screening experiments or to replace the chemical synthesis routes of marketed nucleoside drugs by enzymatic processes.

Synthesis and Characterization of NiCoPt/CNFs Nanoparticles as an Effective Electrocatalyst for Energy Applications.

In this work, three nanoparticle samples, Ni4Co2Pt/CNFs, Ni5CoPt/CNFs and Ni6Pt/CNFs, were designed according to the molar ratio during loading on carbon nanofibers (CNFs) using electrospinning and carbonization at 900 °C for 7 h in an argon atmosphere. The metal loading and carbon ratio were fixed at 20 and 80 wt%, respectively. Various analysis tools were used to investigate the chemical composition, structural, morphological, and electrochemical (EC) properties. For samples with varying Co%, the carbonization process reduces the fiber diameter of the obtained electrospun nanofibers from 200-580 nm to 150-200 nm. The EDX mapping revealed that nickel, platinum, and cobalt were evenly and uniformly incorporated into the carbonized PVANFs. The prepared Ni-Co-Pt/CNFs have a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure with slightly increased crystallite size as the Co% decreased. The electrocatalytic properties of the samples were investigated for ethanol, methanol and urea electrooxidation. Using cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance measurements, the catalytic performance and electrode stability were investigated as a function of electrolyte concentration, scan rate, and reaction time. When Co is added to Ni, the activation energy required for the electrooxidation reaction decreases and the electrode stability increases. In 1.5 M methanol, the Ni5CoPt/CNFs electrode showed the lowest onset potential and the highest current density (30.6 A/g). This current density is reduced to 28.2 and 21.2 A/g for 1.5 M ethanol and 0.33 M urea, respectively. The electrooxidation of ethanol, methanol, and urea using our electrocatalysts is a combination of kinetic/diffusion control limiting reactions. This research provided a unique approach to developing an efficient Ni-Co-Pt-based electrooxidation catalyst for ethanol, methanol and urea.

Substrate spectra of nucleoside phosphorylases and their potential in the production of pharmaceutically active compounds.

BACKGROUND: Nucleoside phosphorylases catalyze the reversible phosphorolysis of pyrimidine and purine nucleosides in the presence of phosphate. They are relevant to the appropriate function of the immune system in mammals and interesting drug targets for cancer treatment. Next to their role as drug targets nucleoside phosphorylases are used as catalysts in the synthesis of nucleosides and their analogs that are widely applied as pharmaceuticals. METHODS: Based on their substrates nucleoside phosphorylases are classified as pyrimidine and purine nucleoside phosphorylases. This article describes the substrate spectra of nucleoside phosphorylases and structural properties that influence their activity. Substrate ranges are summarized and relations between members of pyrimidine or purine nucleoside phosphorylases are elucidated. RESULTS: Nucleoside phosphorylases accept a broad spectrum of substrates: they accept both base and sugar modified nucleosides. The most widely studied nucleoside phosphorylases are those of Escherichia coli, mammals and pathogens. However, recently the attention has been shifted to thermophilic nucleoside phosphorylases due to several advantages. Nucleoside phosphorylases have been applied to produce drugs like ribavirin or fludarabine. However, limitations were observed when drugs show an open ring structure. Site-directed mutagenesis approaches were shown to alter the substrate specificity of nucleoside phosphorylases. CONCLUSION: Nucleoside phosphorylases are valuable tools to produce modified nucleosides with therapeutic or diagnostic potential with high affinity and specificity. A wide variety of nucleoside phosphorylases are available in nature which differ in their protein sequence and show varying substrate spectra. To overcome limitations of the naturally occurring enzymes site-directed mutagenesis approaches can be used.