Publications by authors named "Durdica Ljevakovic"

The encapsulation of different immunomodulating peptides, the peptidoglycan monomer, its semisynthetic derivatives (Adamant-1-yl)-acetyl-peptidoglycan monomer and Boc-Tyr-peptidoglycan monomer, respectively, and of two diastereoisomers of adamantyltripeptides into the large negatively charged multilamellar liposomes was investigated. The reproducible quantitative method using HPLC was established for the determination of the entrapped compounds. It was shown that the tested compounds could be efficiently incorporated into liposomes using either the film or modified film method.

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Polymeric peptidoglycans of bacterial cell walls, and smaller glycopeptides derived from them, exhibit versatile biological activities including immunomodulating properties. Peptidoglycan monomer (PGM) was isolated from Brevibacterium divaricatum and novel lipophilic derivatives of PGM bearing either (adamantyl-1-yl)-acetyl or Boc-Tyr substituents (Ad-PGM and BocTyr-PGM respectively) have recently been synthesized. We have obtained full assignments of the 1H and 13C spectra, using 2D NMR techniques, for all three compounds in DMSO solutions.

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The reversed-phase HPLC method using UV detection was developed for the determination of (a) immunostimulating peptidoglycan monomers represented by the basic structure GlcNAc-MurNAc-L-Ala-D-isoGln-meso-DAP(omegaNH(2))-D-Ala-D-Ala (PGM) and two more lipophilic derivatives, Boc-Tyr-PGM and (Ada-1-yl)-CH(2)-CO-PGM, (b) two diastereomeric immunostimulating adamantyltripeptides L- and D-(adamant-2-yl)-Gly-L-Ala-D-isoGln and (c) peptides obtained by the enzyme hydrolyses of peptidoglycans and related peptides. The enzymes used, N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase and an L,D-aminopeptidase are present in mammalian sera and are involved in the metabolism of peptidoglycans and related peptides. Appropriate solvent systems were chosen with regard to structure and lipophilicity of each compound.

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