Ebselen oxide attenuates mechlorethamine dermatotoxicity in the mouse ear vesicant model.

Mechlorethamine (HN2) is an alkylating agent and sulfur mustard mimetic. Topical exposure to HN2 is associated with tissue blistering. Previous work in our laboratory has shown that ebselen (EB-1) possesses anti-vesicant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and cytoprotective properties, both in vivo and in vitro. We recently reported that ebselen oxide (EB-2), an analog of EB-1 with a tetravalent selenium atom, also possesses anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity and confers cytoprotection against HN2 in vitro. The purpose of the present study was to determine the vesicant countermeasure potential of EB-2 using the mouse ear vesicant model (MEVM). Compared to control ears, mouse ears exposed to a single dose of HN2 (0.500 µmol/ear) showed an increase in wet weights, ear thickness, hyperplasia, vesication, and inflammatory cell infiltration after 24 h. Fluorescence microscopy of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-stained sections showed that the occurrence of apoptosis extended from the epidermis of the HN2-treated side, all the way to the contralateral epidermis. In contrast, HN2-exposed ears treated topically with EB-2 at a test dose of 0.250 mg/ear showed a significant decrease in wet weight (12% less vs. HN2 alone), morphometric thickness (13% less vs. HN2 alone), and vesication. In addition, TUNEL staining revealed that HN2 ears treated with EB-2 (0.250 mg/ear) showed a decrease in apoptosis as compared to the HN2 group. EB-2 also reduced the abundance of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in ear tissues exposed to HN2. Taken together, our study demonstrates that EB-2 is an efficacious countermeasure to HN2.

1,2-Benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one Derivatives As a New Class of Bacterial Urease Inhibitors.

Urease inhibitors are considered promising compounds for the treatment of ureolytic bacterial infections, particularly infections resulting from Helicobacter pylori in the gastric tract. Herein, we present the synthesis and the inhibitory activity of novel and highly effective organoselenium compounds as inhibitors of Sporosarcina pasteurii and Helicobacter pylori ureases. These studied compounds represent a class of competitive reversible urease inhibitors. The most active compound, 2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one (ebselen), displayed Ki values equal to 2.11 and 226 nM against S. pasteurii and H. pylori enzymes, respectively, indicating ebselen as one of the most potent low-molecular-weight inhibitors of bacterial ureases reported to date. Most of these molecules penetrated through the cell membrane of the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (pGEM::ureOP) in vitro. Furthermore, whole-cell studies on the H. pylori J99 reference strain confirmed the high efficiency of the examined organoselenium compounds as urease inhibitors against pathogenic bacteria.

Convergent Synthesis of Two Fluorescent Ebselen-Coumarin Heterodimers.

The organo-seleniumdrug ebselen exhibits a wide range of pharmacological effects that are predominantly due to its interference with redox systems catalyzed by seleno enzymes, e.g., glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase. Moreover, ebselen can covalently interact with thiol groups of several enzymes. According to its pleiotropic mode of action, ebselen has been investigated in clinical trials for the prevention and treatment of different ailments. Fluorescence-labeled probes containing ebselen are expected to be suitable for further biological and medicinal studies. We therefore designed and synthesized two coumarin-tagged activity-based probes bearing the ebselen warhead. The heterodimers differ by the nature of the spacer structure, for which-in the second compound-a PEG/two-amide spacer was introduced. The interaction of this probe and of ebselen with two cysteine proteases was investigated.

Hydrolysis driven surface activity of esterquat surfactants.

HYPOTHESIS: Surface activity of selected cleavable esterquat cationic surfactants is determined by the synergistic effect of surface active products of their hydrolysis. EXPERIMENTS: Interfacial behavior of two classes of esterquat surfactants, quaternary alkylammmoniumesters and amino acid betaine (trimethylglycine) esters of fatty acids were examined both experimentally and theoretically. The surface tension measurements at air/water interface were performed by the pendant drop shape analysis method, then the obtained isotherms were theoretically described by the model of adsorption of ionic/non-ionic surfactants mixtures taking into account the presence of surface active products of surfactant hydrolysis. FINDINGS: We found that surface activity of the mixture of surface active compounds resulting from the esterquat basic hydrolysis increases with time and it is higher when the ester carbonyl group is connected with the quaternary amine by bridging oxygen than in the inverted (betaine ester type) arrangement. That is, in the first case, the consequence of strong synergistic effect between the cationic esterquat surfactant and the anionic product of its hydrolysis - dodecanoate ion, while in the second case, the non-ionic hydrolysis product - dodecanol exhibits much weaker synergy. The addition of side CH3 group into the esterquat head-group slows down the hydrolysis that leads to the lower surface activity of the resulting mixture.

Structural, spectroscopic, and magnetic study of bis(9,10-dihydro-9-oxo-10-acridineacetate)bis(imidazole)bis(methanol) nickel(II).

The mixed ligand complex [Ni(CMA)2(im)2(MeOH)2] (where CMA = 9,10-dihydro-9-oxo-10-acridineacetate ion, im = imidazole) was prepared, and its crystal and molecular structure were determined. The nickel ions are hexa-coordinated by four oxygen atoms of the carboxylate and hydroxyl groups and by two imidazole nitrogen atoms, to form a distorted octahedral arrangement. The structure consists of a one-dimensional network of the complex molecules connected by strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The weak intermolecular C-H...X hydrogen bonds and stacking interactions make up the 2-D structure. Very strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds significantly affect the geometry and vibrational characteristics of the carboxylate group. The UV-vis-NIR electronic spectrum was deconvoluted into Gaussian components. Electronic bands of the Ni(II) ion were assigned to suitable spin-allowed transitions in the D4h symmetry environment. The single ion zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters for the S = 1 state of Ni(II), as well as the g components, have been determined by high-field and high-frequency EPR (HF-HFEPR) spectroscopy over the frequency range of 52-432 GHz and with the magnetic fields up to 14.5 T: D = 5.77(1) cm-1, E = 1.636(2) cm-1, gx = 2.29(1), gy = 2.18(1), and gz = 2.13(1). These values allowed us to simulate the powder magnetic susceptibility and field-dependent magnetization of the complex.