Synthesis and study of new siderophore analog-ciprofloxacin conjugates with antibiotic activities against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia spp.

Antibacterial resistance is a healthcare burden. Among Gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa belongs to the first list of antibiotic-resistant "priority pathogens" described by the World Health Organization. Formerly Pseudomonas pseudomallei, Burkholderia pseudomallei, responsible for melioidosis, is considered as a potential bioterrorist weapon by the Centers of Diseases Control and Prevention. We are interested in the development of new ways to combat these bacteria, targeted due to their high level of resistance to antibiotics via a lack of membrane permeability or efflux. Using iron transport systems is a promising strategy to bypass the bacteria cell membrane and restore the activity of conventional antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin. Specific outer membrane receptors are necessary to most microbes as they allow iron uptake, essential for their survival through siderophore-dependent mechanisms. These systems may allow the introduction of antibacterial agents, chemically coupled to a natural or synthetic siderophore molecule to form siderophore-antibiotic conjugates. In this work, we describe the synthesis of six new siderophore analog-ciprofloxacin conjugates including cleavable linker or not. The siderophore analogs correspond to a mono-catechol or a hydroxypyridinone moiety recognized by both Pseudomonas and Burkholderia species. Physico-chemical studies showed that (i) conjugates were unable to interact or cross the membrane by passive diffusion and (ii) conjugates with cleavable linker are stable in physiologic environment. Biological evaluations have highlighted a promising compound 2d, bearing an hydroxypyridinone moiety with a cleavable linker, active on a large panel of strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia thailandensis without toxicity observed in vitro.

Design, synthesis, and characterization of novel aminoalcohol quinolines with strong in vitro antimalarial activity.

Malaria is the fifth most lethal parasitic infections in the world. Herein, five new series of aminoalcohol quinolines including fifty-two compounds were designed, synthesized and evaluated in vitro against Pf3D7 and PfW2 strains. Among them, fourteen displayed IC50 values below or near of 50.0 nM whatever the strain with selectivity index often superior to 100.17b was found as a promising antimalarial candidate with IC50 values of 14.9 nM and 11.0 nM against respectively Pf3D7 and PfW2 and a selectivity index higher than 770 whatever the cell line is. Further experiments were achieved to confirm the safety and to establish the preliminary ADMET profile of compound 17b before the in vivo study performed on a mouse model of P. berghei ANKA infection. The overall data of this study allowed to establish new structure-activity relationships and the development of novel agents with improved pharmacokinetic properties.

Peculiar covalent bonding of C60/6H-SiC(0 0 0 1)-(3 × 3) probed by photoelectron spectroscopy.

High resolution photoemission with synchrotron radiation was used to study the interface formation of a thin layer of C60 on 6H-SiC(0 0 0 1)-(3 × 3), characterized by protruding Si-tetramers. The results show that C60 is chemisorbed by orbital hybridization between the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the p z orbital of Si adatom at the apex of the tetramers. The covalent nature of the bonding was inferred from core level as well as valence band spectra. The Si 2p spectra reveal that a large fraction (at least 45%) of the Si adatoms remain unbound despite the reactive character of the associated dangling bonds. This is consistent with a model in which each C60 is attached to the substrate through a single covalent C60-Si bond. A binding energy shift of the core levels associated with sub-surface Si or C atoms indicates a decrease of the SiC band bending caused by a charge transfer from the C60 molecules to the substrate via the formation of donor-like interface states.

Response surface modeling of acid activation of raw diatomite using in sunflower oil bleaching by: Box-Behnken experimental design.

The optimum conditions for acid activation of diatomite for maximizing bleaching efficiency of the diatomite in sun flower oil treatment were studied. Box-Behnken experimental design combining with response surface modeling (RSM) and quadratic programming (QP) was employed to obtain the optimum conditions of three independent variables (acid concentration, activation time and solid to liquid) for acid activation of diatomite. The significance of independent variables and their interactions were tested by means of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) with 95 % confidence limits (α = 0.05). The optimum values of the selected variables were obtained by solving the quadratic regression model, as well as by analyzing the response surface contour plots. The experimental conditions at this global point were determined to be acid concentration = 8.963 N, activation time = 11.9878 h, and solid to liquid ratio = 221.2113 g/l, the corresponding bleaching efficiency was found to be about 99 %.

Chemistry and biology of pyoverdines, Pseudomonas primary siderophores.

Pyoverdine is the generic name given to a vast family of fluorescent green-yellowish pigments produced by Pseudomonas species. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, particularly infecting humans with compromised natural defenses. These infections result in significantly higher morbidity, longer hospitalization, increased mortality rates and excess health care costs. P. aeruginosa is very difficult to eradicate because of an intrinsic coupled with an adaptive resistance to a wide variety of classical antibiotics. When subjected to iron starvation conditions, Pseudomonas bacteria synthesize pyoverdines, their primary siderophores, to acquire iron from the extracellular medium. These molecules are not only powerful iron(III) scavengers but efficient iron(III) transporters as well. Three distinct structural parts constitute pyoverdines, i.e. (i) the fluorescent chromophore, deriving from a dihydroxyquinoline, attached via its carbonyl group to (ii) a type-specific peptide composed of 6 to 14 amino acids and (iii) a small side chain corresponding to a carboxylic acid derivative. Their chemical structure show three bidentate chelating sites including a catechol and two hydroxamates, leading to an octahedral geometry when complexed to iron(III). While the chromophore group is common to all pyoverdines, their peptide moiety differs among strains and species by the number, length, composition and configuration of amino acids. Following chelation with iron(III), the newly formed pyoverdine-Fe complex is recognized by a specific outer membrane transporter, namely FpvA, and reenters the cell where the iron is released from the pyoverdine into the periplasm for further incorporation into bacterial proteins. The remaining apo-pyoverdine is then recycled and secreted back to the extracellular medium by efflux pumps. Besides, the role of pyoverdines in P. aeruginosa is not only limited to scavenge iron from the bacterial environment. Indeed, these siderophores act as signal molecules for the production of acute virulence factors and are involved in biofilm formation as well. The ongoing expanding pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa has become a major public health problem, and finding alternative strategies to classical antibiotics is urgently needed. Pyoverdines along with the iron pathway recently gained interest among academical researchers as potential new approaches to "fight" the bacteria. This review describes the classification of the nearly 60 pyoverdines identified so far, their structural and chemical properties and their (bio)synthesis. The different mechanisms underlying the steps of a pyoverdine's life in Pseudomonas are detailed as well: the affinity by which a pyoverdine chelates iron(III), the description of the interactions inducing the siderophore-receptor recognition, the specific transport of the pyoverdine-Fe(III) complex. As pyoverdine production and severe infections are linked, we will also report on situations where pyoverdines are considered as being P. aeruginosa Achilles heel: the propensity of FpvA to transport exo-pyoverdines, organic synthesis of pyoverdines and analogs, grafting of antibiotics on pyoverdines in a Trojan Horse strategy.

A new sensitive organic/inorganic hybrid material based on titanium oxide for the potentiometric detection of iron(III).

The formation of a new hybrid material based on titanium dioxide as inorganic support and containing an iron organochelator (ICL670) is described. An organophosphorous coupling agent was used to graft the organic molecule on the oxide surface. The attachment of the organic substrate was well-confirmed by FTIR (DRIFT), solid-state (31)P and (13)C CPMAS NMR, thermal analysis and the integrity of the structural and morphological parameters were verified using XRD and TEM analyses. The interaction between the material and dissolved iron(III) was also investigated through potentiometric measurements and demonstrated the interest of this new non-siliceous based hybrid material. The obtained linear evolution of the open circuit potential from 10(-2) to 10(-6) mol L(-1) can be used for the analytical detection of iron(III).

In vitro antimalarial activity of ICL670: a further proof of the correlation between inhibition of ß-hematin formation and of peroxidative degradation of hemin.

Iron chelators such as deferiprone, deferoxamine (DFO) and ICL670 (deferasirox) have previously been shown to display in vitro and/or in vivo antimalarial activities. To gain further insight in their antimalarial mechanism of action, their activities on inhibition of ß-hematin formation and on both peroxidative and glutathione (GSH)-mediated degradation of hemin were investigated. Neither deferiprone nor DFO were able to inhibit ß-hematin formation while ICL670 activity nearly matched that of chloroquine (CQ). Peroxidative degradation of hemin was also only strongly inhibited by both CQ and ICL670, the latter being significantly more efficient at pH 5.2. All iron chelators displayed minor, if any, inhibitory activity on GSH-mediated degradation of hemin. Discrepancies in the results obtained for the three iron chelators show that iron chelation is not the main driving force behind interference with heme degradation. Deferiprone, DFO and ICL670 share little structural community but both ICL670 and antimalarial ursolic acid derivatives (previously shown to block ß-hematin formation and the peroxidative degradation of hemin) have hydrophobic groups and hydroxyphenyl moieties. These similarities in structures and activities further back up a possible two-step mechanism of action previously proposed for ursolic acid derivatives (Mullié et al., 2010) implying (1) stacking of an hydrophobic structure to hemin and (2) additive protection of hemin ferric iron from H(2)O(2) by hydroxyphenyl groups through steric hindrance and/or trapping of oxygen reactive species in the direct neighborhood of ferric iron. These peculiar antimalarial mechanisms of action for ICL670 warrant further investigations and development.

Constituents from leaves of Quillaja brasiliensis.

A new abietane diterpene, the 19-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside of 16-hydroxylambertic acid was isolated from the leaves of Quillaja brasiliensis together with a known prosapogenin (3-O-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl-quillaic acid), quercetin, and rutin. The new compound was identified by chemical and spectroscopic methods.

Synthesis of cone, partial-cone, and 1,3-alternate 25, 27-Bis

The preparation of 25,27-bis[1-(2-ethyl)hexyl]- and 25, 27-bis[1-(2-tert-butoxy)ethyl]calix[4]arene-crown-6 combining one polyether crown-6 and one alkylchain O-attached on each side of a calix[4]arene in the cone, partial-cone, and 1,3-alternate conformations are reported. The control over 25, 27-bisalkylcalix[4]arene-crown-6 conformation via varying specific reaction conditions was studied. The series of calix[4]arenes have been prepared by two routes, which differ in the order in which the alkyl or polyether groups were introduced. Moreover, methods have been developed to selectively prepare the cone and partial-cone conformers by using an appropriate base in the alkylation reactions. The conformations of these new derivatives have been probed by (1)H NMR analysis and X-ray crystallography. The (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra of 25,27-bis[1-(2-ethyl)hexyl]calix[4]arene-crown-6, 1, 3-alternate 1, cone 2, and partial-cone 3 are also discussed.

New aromatase inhibitors. Synthesis and biological activity of aryl-substituted pyrrolizine and indolizine derivatives.

We report herein the design and the synthesis of some aryl-substituted pyrrolizine and indolizine derivatives, on the basis of a hypothetical pharmacophore structure designed to fit the catalytic site of the human cytochrome P450 aromatase. The in vitro biological evaluation of these compounds allowed us to point out two new potent non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors, MR 20494 and MR 20492, with IC50 values in the range of 0.1 microM.

MR 20492 and MR 20494: two indolizinone derivatives that strongly inhibit human aromatase.

In this study, we describe the synthesis of a new family of indolizinone derivatives designed to fit an extrahydrophobic pocket within the active site of aromatase and to strongly inhibit human aromatase. This could help improve the specificity of the inhibitors. Equine aromatase, very well characterized biochemically, is used as a comparative model. Indeed, in a previous comparison between both human and equine aromatases, we described the importance of the interaction between the inhibitor and this pocket for the indane derivative MR 20814. MR 20492 and MR 20494 are more potent inhibitors of human aromatase (Ki/Km: 1.0+/-0.3 and 0.5+/-0.3, respectively). The Ki/Km for MR 20494 is slightly higher than that obtained for fadrozole (0.1+/-0.0) and Ki/Km for both indolizinone derivatives are lower than those obtained for 4-hydroxyandrostenedione (1.9+/-0.8) and MR 20814 (8.1+/-.7). These new compounds are not enzyme inactivators. Moreover, as indicated by the higher Ki/Km values obtained with equine enzyme (9.0+/-0.6 and 6.1+/-1.6 for MR 20492 and MR 20494, respectively), both human and equine aromatase active sites appear to be structurally different. Difference absorption spectra study (350-500 nm) revealed that MR20492 and MR20494 were characterized by a combination of type-I and -II spectra with both enzymes. This result could be due to the isomerization of the molecule in polar solvent (Z and E forms). The evaluation of these new molecules, as well as 4-hydroxyandrostenedione and fadrozole, on aromatase activity in transfected 293 cell cultures evidenced a strong inhibition (IC50: 0.20+/-0.03 microM, 0.20+/-0.02 microM and 0.50+/-0.40 microM for MR 20494, fadrozole and 4-OHA, respectively) except for MR 20492 (3.9+/-0.9 microM) and MR 20814 (10.5+/-0.6 microM). These results proved that these molecules formed part of a promising family of potent inhibitors and that they penetrate 293 cells, without evidencing any cytotoxicity in Hela cells with MTT assay. This is thus encouraging for the development of new drugs for the treatment of estrogen-dependent cancers, these molecules also constitute new tools for understanding the aromatase active site.

Design and synthesis of a new type of non steroidal human aromatase inhibitors.

The structure-activity relationship study of one of recently described aromatase inhibitors, compound 1 (MR20814), allowed us to design some related derivatives as potential new inhibitors. Among those we synthesized, chlorophenylpyridylmethylenetetrahydroindolizinone 5 (MR20492) exhibited in vitro a ten-fold higher inhibition of the enzyme (IC50 = 0.2 +/- 0.0 microM and Ki = 10.3 +/- 3.3 nM).

The beta-lactamase secreted by the antarctic psychrophile Psychrobacter immobilis A8.

A class C beta-lactamase has been purified from the culture supernatant of the antarctic psychrophile Psychrobacter immobilis A8. This psychrophilic beta-lactamase displays a low level of thermal stability and a low optimal temperature of activity. In contrast to other cold-adapted enzymes, its level of specific activity is not higher than that of mesophilic class C beta-lactamases.

Effects of bis homoallylic and homoallylic hydroxyl substitution on the olefinic 13C resonance shifts in fatty acid methyl esters.

Substitution of a hydroxyl group at the bis homoallylic position (OH group located three carbons away from the olefinic carbon) in C18 unsaturated fatty acid esters (FAE) induces a 0.73 +/- 0.05 ppm upfield and a 0.73 +/- 0.06 ppm downfield shift on the delta and epsilon olefinic 13C resonances relative to the unsubstituted FAE, respectively. If the hydroxyl group is located on the carboxyl side of the double bond of the bis homoallylic hydroxy fatty acid esters (BHAHFA), the olefinic resonances are uniformly shifted apart by [formula: see text] where delta delta dbu represents the absolute value of the double bond resonance separation in the unsubstituted FAE and 1.46 ppm is the sum of the absolute values of the delta and epsilon shift parameters. With hydroxyl substitution on the terminal methyl side of the double bond, the olefinic shift separation is equal to [formula: see text] In homoallylic (OH group located two carbons away from the olefinic carbon) substituted FAE the gamma and delta induced hydroxyl shifts for the cis double bond resonances are +3.08 and -4.63 ppm, respectively while the trans double bond parameters are +4.06 and -4.18 ppm, respectively. The double bond resonance separation in homoallylic hydroxy fatty acid esters (HAHFA) can be calculated from the formula [formula: see text] for cis and [formula: see text] for the trans case when the OH substitution is on the carboxyl side of the double bond. Conversely, when the OH resides on the terminal methyl side, the double bond shift separations for cis and trans isomers are [formula: see text] and [formula: see text] respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Methyl-branched octanoic acids as substrates for lipase-catalyzed reactions.

Hydrolyses of racemic methyl-branched octanoic acid thiolesters are described using six commercial lipases as catalysts. Branching at positions 2, 4 and 5 greatly reduced activity; branching at the 3-position virtually eliminated activity. The reactivities of the racemic branched thiolesters relative to the unbranched ester were very similar for each lipase preparation examined. In reactions involving configurationally pure 2-methyloctanoic acids, the S-enantiomer reacted faster both in esterification of aliphatic alcohols and in hydrolyses of aliphatic alcohol esters with all of the lipases examined. Stereobiases in hydrolyses of the octanoic acid esters branched at other positions were low and variable. In sharp contrast to the hydrolyses of the thiolesters of 2-methyloctanoic acid, two aryl esters of 2-methyloctanoic acid catalyzed by R. miehei lipase hydrolyzed with a bias for the R-configuration. A view of the ester-enzyme complex is offered to explain the relative rates of reaction of the racemic esters.

Trimedlure enantiomers: Differences in attraction for mediterranean fruit fly,Ceratitis capitata (Wied.) (Diptera: Tephritidae).

The most biologically active enantiomer of trimedlure, a synthetic lure attractive to male Mediterranean fruit flies, is the 1S,2S,4R enantiomer of isomer C, the fert-butyl ester of ris-4-chloro-trans-2-methylcyclohexanecarboxylic acid. We also determined that the 1R,2R,5S enantiomer of isomer A is significantly more attractive than its optical antipode. Essential differences in the current synthetic work that are critical to possible commercialization of this preparation are detailed herein.

Responses of braconid parasitoidsMicroplitis croceipes (Cresson) andM. demolitor Wilkinson to stereoisomers of kairomone 13-methylhentriacontane.

The responses ofMicroplitis croceipes (Cresson) andMicroplitis demolitor Wilkinson to theR andS stereoisomers of the kairomone 13-meth-ylhentriacontane were evaluated. Singly and in combination at 5, 50-, and 500-ng dosage levels each were tested. There was a linear dosage response by both species to the three dosages. Furthermore, there was no difference between responses to the two stereoisomers or their combination by either species at any dosage level. The effects of the two stereoisomers were fully interchangeable and additive. This is the first report of parasitoid responses to stereoisomers of a kairomone.

Stereoisomers and analogs of 14-methyl-1-octadecene, sex pheromone of peach leafminer moth,Lyonetia clerkella, L.

The synthesis of the enantiomeric 14-methyl-1-octadecenes in >99% EE is described. Enantiomeric 2-methyl-1-hexanols were intermediates in the synthesis. The 1-alkene had been previously identified as the sex pheromone of the peach leafminer moth. Several closely related structures that have δ12 unsaturation are also described.

Kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols with commercial lipases : Application to rootworm sex pheromone synthesis.

The relative rates of enzyme-catalyzed esterification of the enantiomers of 2-octanol with various acids were determined for several commercial lipases. Interesterifications and hydrolyses of racemic 2-octanol esters catalyzed by these enzymes were also examined. Novo'sMucor miehei lipase exhibited considerable enantioselectivity and was therefore employed to prepare 8-methyl-2-decanols with high configurational purity at the carbinol carbon. Esters of these alcohols had been previously identified as sexually attractive to several rootworm (Diabrotica) species, and the stereochemistry of those esters had been shown to be critical to the attraction. The enzymatic resolution provides a convenient method to obtain such esters in a desired state of configurational purity.