Enzymatic Hydrolysis-Responsive Supramolecular Hydrogels Composed of Maltose-Coupled Amphiphilic Ureas.

Maltose is a ubiquitous disaccharide produced by the hydrolysis of starch. Amphiphilic ureas bearing hydrophilic maltose moiety were synthesized via the following three steps: I) construction of urea derivatives by the condensation of 4-nitrophenyl isocyanate and alkylamines, II) reduction of the nitro group by hydrogenation, and III) an aminoglycosylation reaction of the amino group and the unprotected maltose. These amphiphilic ureas functioned as low molecular weight hydrogelators, and the mixtures of the amphipathic ureas and water formed supramolecular hydrogels. The gelation ability largely depended on the chain length of the alkyl group of the amphiphilic urea; amphipathic urea having a decyl group had the highest gelation ability (minimum gelation concentration=0.4 mM). The physical properties of the supramolecular hydrogels were evaluated by measuring their thermal stability and dynamic viscoelasticity. These supramolecular hydrogels underwent gel-to-sol phase transition upon the addition of α-glucosidase as a result of the α-glucosidase-catalyzed hydrolysis of the maltose moiety of the amphipathic urea.

Preparation and evaluation of maltose modified polymer-silica composite based on cross-linked poly glycidyl methacrylate as high performance liquid chromatography stationary phase.

A new maltose modified polymer-silica composite was fabricated and applied as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) stationary phase. The cross-linked poly glycidyl methacrylate (pGMA) layer was chemically bonded to the outer surface as well as pore inner surface of silica beads via in-situ polymerization, and then maltose was modified onto the polymer layer via a [3 + 2] "click" reaction. The porous spherical silica (4 µm diameter) with 300 Å pore size was selected as the matrix so that the 3.25 nm-thick polymer layer fabricated on the pore inner surface would not affect its permeability. The typical 'U-shape' retention curves indicated a mixed-mode retention mechanism of the as-synthesized stationary phase. Both polar and non-polar analytes could be well separated on the stationary phase with column efficiency reaching 123809 plates/m for guanosine in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) mode and 46808 plates/m for fluorene in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) mode, respectively. Nucleotides and their bases were baseline separated with good peak shape without any buffer salt in mobile phase, suggesting the effective shielding of the silanol groups. The packing material also showed excellent chromatographic repeatability with intraday RSDs of the retention time of five nucleosides less than 0.048% (n = 3) and interday RSDs less than 0.33% (n = 7) and great pH stability (from 1.5 to 10.2). Finally, the stationary phase was applied to the separation of ginseng extract.

One step preparation of polymeric maltitol particles, from a sugar molecule, maltitol for biomedical applications.

Here, a facile method for the preparation of polymeric particles from a sugar molecule, maltitol (ML) in single step was reported via microemulsion polymerization/crosslinking technique with a high yield, 89 ±â€¯6%. Furthermore, poly(Maltitol) (p(ML)) particles were chemically modified to induce different physicochemical characteristic using different anionic and cationic modifying agents such as taurine (TA) and diethylenetriamine (DETA) to prepare m-p(ML)/TA and m-p(ML)/DETA. The blood compatibility of the p(ML) particles and their modified forms were tested with fresh blood, and found that p(ML) and m-(ML)/DETA particles are blood compatible with about 5% hemolysis, and above 80% blood clotting indices. Moreover, the cytotoxicity results against L929 fibroblast cell line revealed that p(ML) based particle are biocompatible up to 100 µg/mL with 85% cell viability regardless of their nature, and at 200 µg/mL dosage of p(ML), m-p(ML)/TA and m-p(ML)/DETA particles, the cell viabilities were determined as 83.33, 64.03 and 73.89% on for L929 fibroblast cells implying the slightly less biocompatibility nature of m-p(ML)/TA in accord with the blood compatibility results. Additionally, the apoptotic and necrotic indices were determination for p(ML) based particles on L929 fibroblast cells, and the results revealed that these particles do not induce any and stress on the cells. Also, it does not have genotoxic effect as determined against CHO cells.

Synthesis of 2-deoxy-2,2-difluoro-α-maltosyl fluoride and its X-ray structure in complex with Streptomyces coelicolor GlgEI-V279S.

Streptomyces coelicolor (Sco) GlgEI is a glycoside hydrolase involved in α-glucan biosynthesis and can be used as a model enzyme for structure-based inhibitor design targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) GlgE. The latter is a genetically validated drug target for the development of anti-Tuberculosis (TB) treatments. Inhibition of Mtb GlgE results in a lethal buildup of the GlgE substrate maltose-1-phosphate (M1P). However, Mtb GlgE is difficult to crystallize and affords lower resolution X-ray structures. Sco GlgEI-V279S on the other hand crystallizes readily, produces high resolution X-ray data, and has active site topology identical to Mtb GlgE. We report the X-ray structure of Sco GlgEI-V279S in complex with 2-deoxy-2,2-difluoro-α-maltosyl fluoride (α-MTF, 5) at 2.3 Å resolution. α-MTF was designed as a non-hydrolysable mimic of M1P to probe the active site of GlgE1 prior to covalent bond formation without disruption of catalytic residues. The α-MTF complex revealed hydrogen bonding between Glu423 and the C1F which provides evidence that Glu423 functions as proton donor during catalysis. Further, hydrogen bonding between Arg392 and the axial C2 difluoromethylene moiety of α-MTF was observed suggesting that the C2 position tolerates substitution with hydrogen bond acceptors. The key step in the synthesis of α-MDF was transformation of peracetylated 2-fluoro-maltal 1 into peracetylated 2,2-difluoro-α-maltosyl fluoride 2 in a single step via the use of Selectfluor®.

Physico-chemical properties of the new generation IV iron preparations ferumoxytol, iron isomaltoside 1000 and ferric carboxymaltose.

The advantage of the new generation IV iron preparations ferric carboxymaltose (FCM), ferumoxytol (FMX), and iron isomaltoside 1000 (IIM) is that they can be administered in relatively high doses in a short period of time. We investigated the physico-chemical properties of these preparations and compared them with those of the older preparations iron sucrose (IS), sodium ferric gluconate (SFG), and low molecular weight iron dextran (LMWID). Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fe K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy indicated akaganeite structures (ß-FeOOH) for the cores of FCM, IIM and IS, and a maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) structure for that of FMX. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies confirmed the structure of the carbohydrate of FMX as a reduced, carboxymethylated, low molecular weight dextran, and that of IIM as a reduced Dextran 1000. Polarography yielded significantly different fingerprints of the investigated compounds. Reductive degradation kinetics of FMX was faster than that of FCM and IIM, which is in contrast to the high stability of FMX towards acid degradation. The labile iron content, i.e. the amount of iron that is only weakly bound in the polynuclear iron core, was assessed by a qualitative test that confirmed decreasing labile iron contents in the order SFG ≈ IS > LMWID ≥ FMX ≈ IIM ≈ FCM. The presented data are a step forward in the characterization of these non-biological complex drugs, which is a prerequisite to understand their cellular uptake mechanisms and the relationship between the structure and physiological safety as well as efficacy of these complexes.

Synthesis of [¹8F]-labelled maltose derivatives as PET tracers for imaging bacterial infection.

PURPOSE: To develop novel positron emission tomography (PET) agents for visualization and therapy monitoring of bacterial infections. PROCEDURES: It is known that maltose and maltodextrins are energy sources for bacteria. Hence, (18)F-labelled maltose derivatives could be a valuable tool for imaging bacterial infections. We have developed methods to synthesize 4-O-(α-D-glucopyranosyl)-6-deoxy-6-[(18)F]fluoro-D-glucopyranoside (6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose) and 4-O-(α-D-glucopyranosyl)-1-deoxy-1-[(18)F]fluoro-D-glucopyranoside (1-[(18)F]fluoromaltose) as bacterial infection PET imaging agents. 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose was prepared from precursor 1,2,3-tri-O-acetyl-4-O-(2',3',-di-O-acetyl-4',6'-benzylidene-α-D-glucopyranosyl)-6-deoxy-6-nosyl-D-glucopranoside (5). The synthesis involved the radio-fluorination of 5 followed by acidic and basic hydrolysis to give 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose. In an analogous procedure, 1-[(18)F]fluoromaltose was synthesized from 2,3, 6-tri-O-acetyl-4-O-(2',3',4',6-tetra-O-acetyl-α-D-glucopyranosyl)-1-deoxy-1-O-triflyl-D-glucopranoside (9). Stability of 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and human and mouse serum at 37 °C was determined. Escherichia coli uptake of 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose was examined. RESULTS: A reliable synthesis of 1- and 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose has been accomplished with 4-6 and 5-8% radiochemical yields, respectively (decay-corrected with 95 % radiochemical purity). 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose was sufficiently stable over the time span needed for PET studies (∼96% intact compound after 1-h and ∼65% after 2-h incubation in serum). Bacterial uptake experiments indicated that E. coli transports 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose. Competition assays showed that the uptake of 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose was completely blocked by co-incubation with 1 mM of the natural substrate maltose. CONCLUSION: We have successfully synthesized 1- and 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose via direct fluorination of appropriate protected maltose precursors. Bacterial uptake experiments in E. coli and stability studies suggest a possible application of 6-[(18)F]fluoromaltose as a new PET imaging agent for visualization and monitoring of bacterial infections.

Synthesis of a C-phosphonate mimic of maltose-1-phosphate and inhibition studies on Mycobacterium tuberculosis GlgE.

The emergence of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) necessitates the need to identify new anti-tuberculosis drug targets as well as to better understand essential biosynthetic pathways. GlgE is a Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) encoded maltosyltransferase involved in α-glucan biosynthesis. Deletion of GlgE in Mtb results in the accumulation of M1P within cells leading to rapid death of the organism. To inhibit GlgE a maltose-C-phosphonate (MCP) 13 was designed to act as an isosteric non-hydrolysable mimic of M1P. MCP 13, the only known inhibitor of Mtb GlgE, was successfully synthesized using a Wittig olefination as a key step in transforming maltose to the desired product. MCP 13 inhibited Mtb GlgE with an IC50=230 ± 24 µM determined using a coupled enzyme assay which measures orthophosphate release. The requirement of M1P for the assay necessitated the development of an expedited synthetic route to M1P from an intermediate used in the MCP 13 synthesis. In conclusion, we designed a substrate analogue of M1P that is the first to exhibit Mtb GlgE inhibition.

Strong aphicidal activity of GlcNAc(ß1→4)Glc disaccharides: synthesis, physiological effects, and chitinase inhibition.

The synthesis of four GlcNAc(ß1→4)Glc disaccharides containing 2-O-acetyl and/or 6-sulfate groups was performed in high yields with total 1,2-trans stereoselectivity. These disaccharides were evaluated as candidates for insect chitinase inhibition and aphicidal activity. All the compounds prepared displayed physiological effects on M. persicae aphids; however, the inhibition of chitinases of different sources (bacteria, fungus, and aphid) followed different patterns according to subtle structural characteristics.

An expedient enzymatic route to isomeric 2-, 3- and 6-monodeoxy-monofluoro-maltose derivatives.

2-Deoxy-2-fluoro-d-glucose, 3-deoxy-3-fluoro-D-glucose and 6-deoxy-6-fluoro-D-glucose were converted into the corresponding maltose derivatives using Arabidopsis thaliana DPE2-mediated trans-glycosylation reaction with glycogen acting as a glucosyl donor. (19)F NMR spectroscopy proved to be a valuable tool for monitoring the progress of these reactions and to assess the nature of resulting oligomeric products.

sp2-Iminosugar O-, S-, and N-glycosides as conformational mimics of α-linked disaccharides; implications for glycosidase inhibition.

The synthesis of mimics of the α(1→6)- and α(1→4)-linked disaccharides isomaltose and maltose featuring a bicyclic sp(2)-iminosugar nonreducing moiety O-, S-, or N-linked to a glucopyranoside residue is reported. The strong generalized anomeric effect operating in sp(2)-iminosugars determines the α-stereochemical outcome of the glycosylation reactions, independent of the presence or not of participating protecting groups and of the nature of the heteroatom. It also imparts chemical stability to the resulting aminoacetal, aminothioacetal, or gem-diamine functionalities. All the three isomaltose mimics behave as potent and very selective inhibitors of isomaltase and maltase, two α-glucosidases that bind the parent disaccharides either as substrate or inhibitor. In contrast, large differences in the inhibitory properties were observed among the maltose mimics, with the O-linked derivative being a more potent inhibitor than the N-linked analogue; the S-linked pseudodisaccharide did not inhibit either of the two target enzymes. A comparative conformational analysis based on NMR and molecular modelling revealed remarkable differences in the flexibility about the glycosidic linkage as a function of the nature of the linking atom in this series. Thus, the N-pseudodisaccharide is more rigid than the O-linked derivative, which exhibits conformational properties very similar to those of the natural maltose. The analogous pseudothiomaltoside is much more flexible than the N- or O-linked derivatives, and can access a broader area of the conformational space, which probably implies a strong entropic penalty upon binding to the enzymes. Together, the present results illustrate the importance of taking conformational aspects into consideration in the design of functional oligosaccharide mimetics.

Probing the intestinal α-glucosidase enzyme specificities of starch-digesting maltase-glucoamylase and sucrase-isomaltase: synthesis and inhibitory properties of 3'- and 5'-maltose-extended de-O-sulfonated ponkoranol.

The synthesis and glucosidase inhibitory activities of two C-3'- and C-5'-ß-maltose-extended analogues of the naturally occurring sulfonium-ion inhibitor, de-O-sulfonated ponkoranol, are described. The compounds are designed to test the specificity towards four intestinal glycoside hydrolase family 31 (GH31) enzyme activities, responsible for the hydrolysis of terminal starch products and sugars into glucose, in humans. The target sulfonium-ion compounds were synthesized by means of nucleophilic attack of benzyl protected 1,4-anhydro-4-thio-D-arabinitol at the C-6 position of 6-O-trifluoromethanesulfonyl trisaccharides as alkylating agents. The alkylating agents were synthesized from D-glucose by glycosylation at C-4 or C-2 with maltosyl trichloroacetimidate. Deprotection of the coupled products by using a two-step sequence, followed by reduction afforded the final compounds. Evaluation of the target compounds for inhibition of the four glucosidase activities indicated that selective inhibition of one enzyme over the others is possible.

Iron(III) chloride-tandem catalysis for a one-pot regioselective protection of glycopyranosides.

Tandem catalysis by using iron(III) chloride hexahydrate leads to carbohydrate building blocks displaying an orthogonal protecting group pattern as illustrated by the regioselective protection of trehalose and maltose disaccharides.

Nickel-impregnated silica nanoparticle synthesis and their evaluation for biocatalyst immobilization.

In the present investigation, impact of nickel-impregnated silica paramagnetic particles (NSP) as biocatalyst immobilization matrices was investigated. These nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel route using a nonionic surfactant block co polymer [poly (ethylene glycol)-block-poly-(propylene glycol)-block-poly (ethylene glycol)]. Diastase enzyme was immobilized on these particles (enzyme-impregnated NSP) as model enzyme and characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Analysis of enzyme-binding nature with these nanoparticles at different physiological conditions revealed that binding pattern and activity profile varied with the pH of the reaction mixture. The immobilized enzyme was further characterized for its biocatalytic activity with respect to kinetic properties such as Km and Vmax and compared with free enzyme. Paramagnetic nanoparticle-immobilized enzyme showed more affinity for substrate compared to free one. The nature of silica and nickel varied from amorphous to crystalline nature and vice versa upon immobilization of enzyme. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of its kind for change of nature from one form to other under normal temperatures upon diastase interaction with NSP.

Generalized anomeric effect in gem-diamines: stereoselective synthesis of alpha-N-linked disaccharide mimics.

The orbital (negative hyperconjugation) contribution to the generalized anomeric effect is highly increased in bicyclic gem-diamines with a pseudoamide-type endocyclic nitrogen atom, which has been exploited for the stereoselective synthesis of configurationally stable alpha-N-linked azadisaccharide heteroanalogues of the natural disaccharides maltose and isomaltose as aglycon-sensitive inhibitors of isomaltase.

Phase diagrams of monoacylated amide-linked disaccharide glycolipids.

A series of monoacylated glycolipids with even-numbered acyl chain lengths ranging from saturated C11 to C15 and an unsaturated C17:1 fatty acid connected by an amide in linkage to the disaccharide head groups maltose, melibiose and lactose were synthesized. The structural polymorphism of the glycolipids was investigated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry for the detection of the gel to liquid-crystalline acyl chain melting behaviour and small-angle X-ray scattering for the elucidation of the physical structure of the lipid aggregates. Also, the phase morphology was studied by polarizing microscopy in contact preparations. The data clearly show the existence of uni- and multilamellar structures. Although only one acyl chain is present, there is no evidence for the existence of micelles - of spherical or of cylindrical (H(I)) type - or of interdigitated phases. The preference for lamellar phases seems to be correlated with the intrinsic high conformational order of the amide linkage of these compounds which inhibits the formation of highly curved structures.

Purification and characterization of camel (Camelus dromedarius) milk amylase.

Skimmed camel milk contains 59,900 U/L amylase, which is 39,363 times less than serum and plasma amylase. Camel milk beta-amylase was purified as a 61 KDa band using DEAE-Sepharose and Sephadex G-100 and yielded 561 U/mg. The optimum working pH, Km and temperature were 7.0, 13.6 mg/Lstarch, 30-40 degrees C, respectively. The enzyme has been shown higher affinity toward amylose and soluble starch than glycogen, amylopectin, dextrin, or pullulan. Magnesium chloride, CaCl(2) and NaCl activated the amylase, while EDTA and EGTA decreased its activity. While its activity was increased in the presence of Triton X-100 and Triton X-114. Phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride did not show any effect on enzyme activity. However, the enzyme activity was inhibited by urea, SDS, DTNB, iodoacetamide, N-ethylmalimide, aprotinin, and trypsin inhibitor. It worked on starch to yield a maltose. Scanning electron microscope images demonstrated a nano-degrading ability on starch granules from various sources (potato, corn, cassava, and rice).

Mannose glycoconjugates functionalized at positions 1 and 6. Binding analysis to DC-SIGN using biosensors.

The design of glycoconjugates to allow the generation of multivalent ligands capable of interacting with the receptor DC-SIGN is a topic of high interest due to the role played by this lectin in pathogen infections. Mannose, a ligand of this lectin, could be conjugated at two different positions, 1 and 6, not implicated in the binding process. We have prepared mannose conjugates at these two positions with a long spacer to allow their attachment to a biosensor chip surface. Analysis of the interaction between these surfaces and the tetravalent extracellular domain (ECD) of DC-SIGN by SPR biosensor has demonstrated that both positions are available for this conjugation without affecting the protein binding process. These results emphasize the possibility to conjugate mannose at position 6, allowing the incorporation of hydrophobic groups at the anomeric position to interact with hydrophobic residues in the carbohydrate recognition domain of DC-SIGN, increasing binding affinities. This fact is relevant for the future design of new ligands and the corresponding multivalent systems for DC-SIGN.

Stability studies of C-4',6' acetal benzylmaltosides synthesized as inhibitors of smooth muscle cell proliferation.

In our investigations to synthesize inhibitors of smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, compound 6a displayed submicromolar activity in in vitro antiproliferative assays and reduced intimal thickening using a rat balloon angioplasty model via i.v. administration. In order to identify analogs that could be administered orally, the chemical instability of the C-4',6' acetal of compound 6a was addressed. Several novel variants with increased acid stability and comparable in vitro activity were prepared.

Use of co-immobilized beta-amylase and pullulanase in reduction of saccharification time of starch and increase in maltose yield.

Beta-amylase and pullulanase were co-immobilized to poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid) resin [P(AAm-AAc)] using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodimide hydrochloride (EDC). The combined beta-amylase and pullulanase activity was 32% relative to the nonimmobilized beta-amylase. Co-immobilization of beta-amylase and pullulanase increased the maltose yield compared to thart of the immobilized beta-amylase alone and reduced the saccharification time to about 50 h. The results showed that there is a significant increase in the thermal stability, pH stability, and stability toward gamma irradiation. The results also suggest that the co-immobilization of beta-amylase and pullulanase is a potentially useful approach for commercial starch hydrolysis.

Chemical synthesis of methyl 6'-alpha-maltosyl-alpha-maltotrioside and its use for investigation of the action of starch synthase II.

The branched pentasaccharide methyl 6'-alpha-maltosyl-alpha-maltotrioside was chemically synthesised and investigated as a primer for particulate starch synthase II (SSII) using starch granules prepared from the low-amylose pea mutant lam as the enzyme source. For chemical synthesis, the trichloroacetimidate activation method was used to synthesise methyl O-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1-->4)-O-(2,3,6-tri-O-benzyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1-->6)-O-[(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->4)]-O-(2,3-di-O-benzyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1-->4)-2,3,6-tri-O-benzyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, which was then debenzylated to provide the desired branched pentasaccharide methyl 6'-alpha-maltosyl-alpha-maltotrioside as documented by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Using a large excess of the maltoside, the pentasaccharide was tested as a substrate for starch synthase II (SSII). Both of the non-reducing ends of methyl 6'-alpha-maltosyl-alpha-maltotrioside were extended equally resulting in two hexasaccharide products in nearly equal amounts. Thus, SSII catalyses an equimolar and non-processive elongation reaction of this substrate. Accordingly, the presence of the alpha-1,6 linkages does not dictate a specific structure of the pentasaccharide in which only one of the two non-reducing ends are available for extension.