Investigation of variability in the matrix effect on stable isotope-labeled internal standards in liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of 25 pesticides in vegetables.

The matrix effects (ME) in simultaneous analysis of pesticide residue using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were evaluated by comparing the slopes of matrix-matched and reagent-only calibrations of four types of vegetable samples. Both the sampling and measurement variances of the ME were also determined using one-way analysis of variance. Substantial ion suppression (ME<-20%) was observed in komatsuna, spinach, and tomato when a modified Japanese official method was implemented. The ME magnitude varied significantly due to sample variability for some pesticides, but it varied by no more than 4% as a result of analytical procedure variance. This study also showed that the addition of stable isotope-labeled internal standards at low concentrations improved the recovery of pesticides from samples at various residue levels. The findings of this study highlight the importance and practical application of internal standards and the matrix-matched calibration method in residue analysis using LC-MS/MS.

Access to γ-Carbolines: Synthesis of Isocryptolepine.

A new method to synthesize γ-carboline derivatives has been developed starting from 3,5-dibromo-4-pyridinamine by monoarylation using the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction followed by the base-mediated ring closure to pyrrole formation. Synthesis of a series of γ-carboline derivations from the 4-brominated γ-carboline 4a has been achieved by employing various coupling reactions and N-alkylations. This method has been applied for the synthesis of the antimalarial and anticancer natural product isocryptolepine. The photophysical properties of novel γ-carboline derivations are also reported.

Chemical structure of hydrolysates of cereulide and their time course profile.

Hydrolysates of an emetic toxin cereulide were found in the broth of Bacillus cereus. The ester cleaved depsipeptides of cereulide were synthesized using liquid phase fragment condensation method starting from commercially available amino acids. The chemical structure of hydrolysates was verified tetradepsipeptide l-O-Val-l-Val-D-O-Leu-d-Ala and dodecadepsipeptide (D-O-Leu-d-Ala-l-O-Val-l-Val)3 using LC-TOFMS. Quantitative analysis of cereulide in the broth revealed production of cereulide in the stationary phase and decomposition in the death phase. The increase in tetradepsipeptide continued after the stationary phase until decomposition occurred.

Synthesis of the reported structure of homocereulide and its vacuolation assay.

Homocereulide, isolated from marine bacterium Bacillus cereus, is an analog of emetic toxin cereulide. There is no report on its structure determination and involvement in B. cereus-associated food poisoning. Homocereulide is a cyclic dodecadepsipeptide composed of l-O-Val-l-Val-d-O-Leu-d-Ala and l-O-allo-Ile-d-Val-d-O-Leu-d-Ala. Here, we synthesized homocereulide using liquid phase fragment condensation. The NMR spectrum of synthesized homocereulide confirmed the intended structure and LC-MS results were consistent with natural products. Morphological evaluation using HEp-2 cells showed higher toxicity with homocereulide (1.39 nM) than cereulide (3.95 nM). Though cereulide is the main component in broth culture, homocereulide is also likely involved in B. cereus-associated food poisoning.

Determining the suitability of a polar organic chemical integrated sampler (POCIS) for the detection of pesticide residue in the Ishikawa River and its tributary in Osaka, Japan.

The monitoring of pesticide concentrations in Japanese rivers was conducted via a grab sampling method and a passive sampling method using the polar organic chemical integrated sampler (POCIS). The results showed that cumulative detections were 84 with grab sampling and 98 with the POCIS. All of the pesticides detected by grab sampling could be quantified with a POCIS except for one (although its traces were detected). In addition, 15 detections quantified by POCIS were undetected by grab sampling. The average concentrations of pesticides detected by both the POCIS and grab sampling during the investigation period were compared. A good correlation was observed between the two methods with a slope of 1.00 and a coefficient of correlation (r) of 0.897 (n=79). Although high temporal variability was observed in the pesticide concentrations by grab sampling, the average pesticide concentrations obtained by the two methods showed similar values during the investigation period.

Sequential Synthesis, Olfactory Properties, and Biological Activity of Quinoxaline Derivatives.

A simple, practical, and rapid access to quinoxalin-2-ones 1, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxalines 2, quinoxalines 3, and quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones 4 has been achieved, based on the copper-catalyzed quinoxalinone formation of 2-haloanilines and amino acids followed by their reduction and oxidation. The olfactory properties and lipid accumulation inhibitory activity in cultured hepatocytes of the quinoxaline derivatives were also evaluated.

A facile and rapid access to resveratrol derivatives and their radioprotective activity.

A facile and rapid access to resveratrol derivatives has been achieved based on palladium-catalyzed oxidative Heck reaction of aryl boronic acids with styrenes followed by demethylation in moderate to good yields. A series of resveratrol derivatives with various functional groups has been synthesized easily. The radioprotective activity of synthesized compounds has also been evaluated using rat thymocytes. The results revealed that some resveratrol derivatives efficiently protected the thymocytes from radiation-induced apoptosis.

Proline-Mediated Transition Metal-Free Access to 1H-Indazolones from 2-Halobenzohydrazides.

Transition metal-free access to 1H-indazolones 1 has been achieved on the basis of base-mediated intramolecular C-N bond formation. Reactions of 2-halobenzohydrazides 2 with potassium tert-butoxide in the presence of catalytic proline provided indazolones 1 in moderate to good yields. This transformation may proceed primarily via the radical pathway according to the control experiment with a radical scavenger.

Temperature dependence on the pesticide sampling rate of polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS).

Laboratory experiments were performed to determine the sampling rates of pesticides for the polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) used in Japan. The concentrations of pesticides in aquatic environments were estimated from the accumulated amounts of pesticide on POCIS, and the effect of water temperature on the pesticide sampling rates was evaluated. The sampling rates of 48 pesticides at 18, 24, and 30 °C were obtained, and this study confirmed that increasing trend of sampling rates was resulted with increasing water temperature for many pesticides.

Resveratrol inhibits hypoxia-inducible factor-1α-mediated androgen receptor signaling and represses tumor progression in castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Androgen-dependent prostate cancer inevitably progresses to incurable castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) after androgen deprivation therapy. Because castration-induced hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α enhances the transcriptional activity of androgen receptor (AR) at low androgen levels mimicking the castration-resistant stage, HIF-1α is expected to be a promising target for suppression of growth of CRPC. We investigated the effect of resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) on the growth of human prostate cancer LNCaP xenografts in castrated male BALB/cSlc-nu/nu mice (5 wk old). The mice were administered a control diet or a resveratrol diet (4 g/kg diet) for 40 d. The resveratrol diet significantly suppressed tumor growth compared to the control diet. In LNCaP xenografts, dietary resveratrol decreased the protein level of HIF-1α, but not the AR coactivator ß-catenin, and reduced the mRNA levels of androgen-responsive genes. In the control group, ß-catenin was predominantly localized in the nucleus with HIF-1α in LNCaP xenografts, whereas dietary resveratrol inhibited the nuclear accumulation of ß-catenin. In hypoxic LNCaP cells at a low androgen level mimicking the castration-resistant stage, hypoxia-induced nuclear accumulation of ß-catenin was inhibited by resveratrol. Furthermore, resveratrol repressed the expression level of HIF-1α even in the presence of a proteasome inhibitor and suppressed hypoxia-enhanced AR transactivation. These results indicate that dietary resveratrol represses nuclear localization of ß-catenin by decreasing the HIF-1α expression, perhaps in a proteasome-independent manner, and inhibits ß-catenin-mediated AR signaling; this contributes to suppression of tumor growth of CRPC.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of thiododecaborated α, α- cycloalkylamino acids for the treatment of malignant brain tumors by boron neutron capture therapy.

Boron-neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is an attractive technique for cancer treatment. As such, α, α-cycloalkyl amino acids containing thiododecaborate ([B12H11](2-)-S-) units were designed and synthesized as novel boron delivery agents for BNCT. In the present study, new thiododecaborate α, α-cycloalkyl amino acids were synthesized, and biological evaluation of the boron compounds as boron carrier for BNCT was carried out.

Identification of carbonyl reductase 1 as a resveratrol-binding protein by affinity chromatography using 4'-amino-3,5-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene.

The mechanisms by which resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) elicits diverse health benefits remain unclear because the intracellular target molecules of resveratrol are poorly defined. We screened resveratrol-binding proteins from lysates of MCF-7 breast cancer cells using resveratrol-affinity resin, which was constructed by immobilizing 4'-amino-3,5-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene on activated CH-Sepharose. On SDS-PAGE, two bands were detected as proteins that specifically bound to the resveratrol-affinity resin. One of these, a 30-kDa protein, was identified as human carbonyl reductase 1 (CBR1) by hybrid linear ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Similarly, recombinant CBR1 bound to the resveratrol-affinity resin in the absence of resveratrol, but not in the presence of resveratrol. Among its activities, CBR1 catalyzes a NADPH-dependent reduction of the anticancer drug doxorubicin to the cardiotoxin doxorubicinol. The effects of doxorubicin on viability of MCF-7 cells were enhanced by resveratrol, 3,5-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-trans-stilbene, 3,4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-trans-stilbene, and 4'-amino-3,5-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene at concentrations of 1 and 10 µM. Resveratrol and these derivatives inhibited CBR1 activities to a similar degree at concentrations of 100 and 200 µM. However, 3,5-dimethoxy-4'-hydroxy-trans-stilbene and m-hydroquinone had no influence on doxorubicin cytotoxicity or CBR1 activity. Resveratrol inhibited CBR1 activity through an apparent mix of competitive (Ki=55.8 µM) and noncompetitive (αKi=164 µM; α=2.98) inhibition kinetics. These results indicate that (i) resveratrol enhances the cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin on MCF-7 cells; (ii) the moiety that contains the 3,5-dihydroxyl groups of resveratrol, but not the m-hydroquinone structure alone, is required to bind CBR1; and (iii) resveratrol acts as a mixed-type inhibitor of CBR1 activity on doxorubicin.

Proline catalyzes direct C-H arylations of unactivated arenes.

Several amino acids were tested to catalyze the transition-metal-free direct C-H arylation of unactivated benzene derivatives. Among them, proline was found to be an excellent catalyst for the cross-coupling between aryl halides and unactivated arenes. The reaction presumably involves an aryl radical anion as the intermediate based on several experiments. The reaction using this catalyst system offers an option toward establishing an environmentally benign and cost-effective route to biaryls.

Biological evaluation of dodecaborate-containing L-amino acids for boron neutron capture therapy.

To develop a boron carrier for practical purposes, new boron-containing amino acids with an undecahydro-closo-dodecaboranylthio ([(10)B(12)H(11)S](2-)-) unit in the side chain of the α-amino acid have already been designed and synthesized. In the present paper, cytotoxicity, the incorporation amounts into tumor cells, and the tumor cell killing effects of these compounds were elucidated to evaluate their usefulness as boron carriers. Furthermore, the microdistribution of the amino acids in tumor cells was established.

Copper-catalyzed synthesis of substituted indazoles from 2-chloroarenes at low catalyst-loading.

An efficient and convenient access to 1-substituted indazol-3-ones 2 has been achieved throughout the intramolecular C-N bond formations of 2-chloro-benzoic acid-N'-aryl and alkyl-hydrazides employing 0.5 mol% of cuprous (I) iodide and 20 mol% of L-proline as catalyst precursors under mild conditions in moderate to excellent yields.

Synthesis of optically active dodecaborate-containing L-amino acids for BNCT.

A convenient and simple synthetic method of dodecaboratethio-L-amino acid, a new class of tumor-seeking boron carrier for BNCT, was accomplished from S-cyanoethylthioundecahydro-closo-dodecaborate (S-cyanoethyl-(10)BSH, [(10)B(12)H(11)](2-)SCH(2)CH(2)CN) and bromo-L-α-amino acids by nearly one step S-alkylation. An improved synthesis of S-cyanoethyl-(10)BSH, a key starting compound for S-alkylation, was also performed by Michael addition of (10)BSH with acryronitrile in high yield. Four kinds of new dodecaboratethio-L-amino acids were obtained in optically pure form without the need for any optical resolution.

Characterization of D-galacturonate reductase purified from the psychrophilic yeast species Cryptococcus diffluens.

D-Galacturonic acid reductase was purified from a psychrophilic yeast strain of Cryptococcus diffluens, which was isolated from Satho, a traditional alcohol drink in Thailand. This enzyme, named Cd-GalUAR, assimilates D-galacturonic acid and requires NADPH as a cofactor. Cd-GalUAR is about 45 kDa and stable from pH 6.5 to 7.5 and up to 35°C. Its optimum pH and temperature are pH 7.0 and 40°C, respectively. However, 80% of its maximum activity remained at 4°C. The reaction of Cd-GalUAR from D-galacturonic acid produces L-galactonic acid, which was identified by (13)C NMR and LC-MS. Three amino acid sequences were determined from trypsin-digested peptides of Cd-GalUAR. Similar sequences are found in many NAD or NADP oxidoreductases, including some D-galacturonate reductases. Our results suggest that Cd-GalUAR is the first D-galacturonate reductase identified in yeast.

Synthesis of novel quinoxaline derivatives and its cytotoxic activities.

Substituted dihydroquinozalin-2-ones (1-16) have been synthesized easily by the use of copper-catalyzed coupling method. The reactions of 2-haloanilines with a variety of alpha-amino acids in the presence of copper (I) iodide gave corresponding 3-substituted dihydroquinozalin-2-ones in up to 86% yield. Some new quinoxalin-2-ones (2, 4, 5, 13 and 16) have moderate cytotoxic activity toward HeLaS3 cell lines at 4.9-18.1microM.

Enzymatic synthesis of hydroxycinnamic acid glycerol esters using type A feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger.

We found that hydroxycinnamic acid (HA) glycerol esters such as 1-sinapoyl glycerol and 1-p-coumaroyl glycerol can be synthesized through a direct esterification reaction using a type A feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger. The water solubilities of HA glycerol esters were higher than those of the original chemicals. HA glycerol esters absorbed ultraviolet light and scavenged 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals.

Enantioselective synthesis of both enantiomers of dimethyl cis-(4-acetoxycyclopent-2-enyl)malonate, key intermediates for epijasmonate.

Both enantiomers (3 and 4) of dimethyl cis-(4-acetoxycyclopent-2-enyl)malonate (3), known intermediates for the synthesis of epijasmonate, were prepared in an enantio-enriched form from common starting material 2 based on desymmetrization of the meso-character by palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation.