Effect of short-term use of FFP2 (N95) masks on the salivary metabolome of young healthy volunteers: a pilot study.

The use of face masks has become an integral part of public life in the post-pandemic era. However, the understanding of the effect of wearing masks on physiology remains incomplete and is required for informing public health policies. For the first time, we report the effects of wearing FFP2 masks on the metabolic composition of saliva, a proximal matrix to breath, along with cardiopulmonary parameters. Un-induced saliva was collected from young (31.2 ± 6.3 years) healthy volunteers (n = 10) before and after wearing FFP2 (N95) masks for 30 minutes and analyzed using GCMS. The results showed that such short-term mask use did not cause any significant change in heart rate, pulse rate or SpO2. Three independent data normalization approaches were used to analyze the changes in metabolomic signature. The individuality of the overall salivary metabotype was found to be unaffected by mask use. However, a trend of an increase in the salivary abundance of L-fucose, 5-aminovaleric acid, putrescine and phloretic acid was indicated irrespective of the method of data normalization. Quantitative analysis confirmed increases in concentrations of these metabolites in saliva of paired samples amid high inter-individual variability. The results showed that while there was no significant change in measured physiological parameters and individual salivary metabotypes, mask use was associated with correlated changes in these metabolites plausibly originating from altered microbial metabolic activity. These results might also explain the change in odour perception reported to be associated with mask use. Potential implications of these changes on mucosal health and immunity warrants further investigation to evolve more prudent mask use policies.

Site-Selective Aerobic C-H Monoacylation of Carbazoles Using Palladium Catalysis.

This manuscript describes the development of a remarkably general palladium-catalyzed monoacylation of carbazoles using toluene derivatives playing the dual role of acyl source and organic solvent. The method uses NHPI as the cocatalyst and oxygen as the sole oxidant. Interestingly, the acylation of monosubstituted N-pyridylcarbazoles takes place regioselectively at the C-8 position. The scope of the method is explored using aldehyde as the acyl source. This highly site-selective acylation proceeds through a radical process.

Domino Grignard Addition and Oxidation for the One-Pot Synthesis of C2-Quaternary 2-Hydroxyindoxyls.

We herein delineate an unexplored reactivity of 3-hydroxyoxindoles toward Grignard addition enabling a rapid access to a broad range of unnatural C2-quaternary 2-hydroxyindoxyls in high yields. The reaction proceeds via a mechanistically intriguing one-pot 1,2-hydride shift followed by autoxidation pathway. The utility of this method is demonstrated by the synthesis of a new class of bis-indoxyl spirofuran derivatives.

Human Telomeric G-Quadruplex Selective Fluoro-Isoquinolines Induce Apoptosis in Cancer Cells.

Small molecules that stabilize G-quadruplex structures in telomeres can prevent telomerase enzyme mediated telomere lengthening and subsequently lead to cell death. We herein report two fluoro-isoquinoline derivatives IQ1 and IQ2 as selective ligands for human telomeric G-quadruplex DNA. IQ1 and IQ2 containing different triazolyl side chains have been synthesized by Cu (I) catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) melting assay and fluorescence binding titrations indicate that both these ligands exhibit binding preference for telomeric G-quadruplex DNA ( h-TELO) over other promoter DNA quadruplexes and duplex DNA. However, ligand IQ1, containing pyrrolidine side chains, is capable of discriminating among quadruplexes by showing higher affinity toward h-TELO quadruplex DNA. On the contrary, IQ2, containing benzamide side chains, interacts with all the investigated quadruplexes. NMR analysis suggests that IQ1 interacts strongly with the external G-quartets of h-TELO. Biological studies reveal that IQ1 is more potent than IQ2 in inhibiting telomerase activity by selectively interacting with telomeric DNA G-quadruplex. Moreover, a dual luciferase reporter assay indicates that IQ1 is unable to reduce the cellular expression of c-MYC and BCL2 at transcriptional level. Significantly, IQ1 mostly stains the nucleus, induces cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase, triggers apoptotic response in cancer cells, and activates caspases 3/7.

Transition-metal-free hydration of nitriles using potassium tert-butoxide under anhydrous conditions.

Potassium tert-butoxide acts as a nucleophilic oxygen source during the hydration of nitriles to give the corresponding amides under anhydrous conditions. The reaction proceeds smoothly for a broad range of substrates under mild conditions, providing an efficient and economically affordable synthetic route to the amides in excellent yields. This protocol does not need any transition-metal catalyst or any special experimental setup and is easily scalable to bulk scale synthesis. A single-electron-transfer radical mechanism as well as an ionic mechanism have been proposed for the hydration process.