Mechanistic insights into the selective targeting of P2X3 receptor by camlipixant antagonist.

ATP-activated P2X3 receptors play a pivotal role in chronic cough, affecting more than 10% of the population. Despite the challenges posed by the highly conserved structure of P2X receptors, efforts to develop selective drugs targeting P2X3 have led to the development of camlipixant, a potent, selective P2X3 antagonist. However, the mechanisms of receptor desensitization, ion permeation, and structural basis of camlipixant binding to P2X3 remain unclear.

Ultrafast and Coherent Dynamics in a Solvent Switchable "Pink Box" Perylene Diimide Dimer.

Perylene diimide (PDI) dimers and higher aggregates are key components in organic molecular photonics and photovoltaic devices, supporting singlet fission and symmetry breaking charge separation. Detailed understanding of their excited states is thus important. This has proven challenging because interchromophoric coupling is a strong function of dimer architecture.

A Second Drug Binding Site in P2X3.

Purinergic P2X3 receptors form trimeric cation-gated channels, which are activated by extracellular ATP. P2X3 plays a crucial role in chronic cough and affects over 10% of the population. Despite considerable efforts to develop drugs targeting P2X3, the highly conserved structure within the P2X receptor family presents obstacles for achieving selectivity.

Vibrational coherences in half-broadband 2D electronic spectroscopy: Spectral filtering to identify excited state displacements.

Vibrational coherences in ultrafast pump-probe (PP) and 2D electronic spectroscopy (2DES) provide insights into the excited state dynamics of molecules. Femtosecond coherence spectra and 2D beat maps yield information about displacements of excited state surfaces for key vibrational modes. Half-broadband 2DES uses a PP configuration with a white light continuum probe to extend the detection range and resolve vibrational coherences in the excited state absorption (ESA).

Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy Resolves Relative Excited-State Displacements.

Knowledge of relative displacements between potential energy surfaces (PES) is critical in spectroscopy and photochemistry. Information on displacements is encoded in vibrational coherences. Here we apply ultrafast two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy in a pump-probe half-broadband (HB2DES) geometry to probe the ground- and excited-state potential landscapes of cresyl violet.

Electronic Structure of Isolated Graphene Nanoribbons in Solution Revealed by Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy.

Structurally well-defined graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are nanostructures with unique optoelectronic properties. In the liquid phase, strong aggregation typically hampers the assessment of their intrinsic properties. Recently we reported a novel type of GNRs, decorated with aliphatic side chains, yielding dispersions consisting mostly of isolated GNRs.

Half-broadband two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy with active noise reduction.

Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) provides detailed insight into coherent ultrafast molecular dynamics in the condensed phase. Here we report a referenced broadband pump-compressed continuum probe half-broadband (HB) 2DES spectrometer in a partially collinear geometry. To optimize signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) we implement active noise reduction referencing, which has not previously been applied in 2DES.

Population and coherence dynamics in large conjugated porphyrin nanorings.

In photosynthesis, nature exploits the distinctive electronic properties of chromophores arranged in supramolecular rings for efficient light harvesting. Among synthetic supramolecular cyclic structures, porphyrin nanorings have attracted considerable attention as they have a resemblance to naturally occurring light-harvesting structures but offer the ability to control ring size and the level of disorder. Here, broadband femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, with pump pulses in resonance with either the high or the low energy sides of the inhomogeneously broadened absorption spectrum, is used to study the population dynamics and ground and excited state vibrational coherence in large porphyrin nanorings.

Altered relaxation dynamics of excited state reactions by confinement in reverse micelles probed by ultrafast fluorescence up-conversion.

Chemical reactions in confined environments are important in areas as diverse as heterogenous catalysis, environmental chemistry and biochemistry, yet they are much less well understood than the equivalent reactions in either the gas phase or in free solution. The understanding of chemical reactions in solution was greatly enhanced by real time studies of model reactions, through ultrafast spectroscopy (especially when supported by molecular dynamics simulation). Here we review some of the efforts that have been made to adapt this approach to the investigation of reactions in confined media.

Comparison of electrophysiological and motility assays to study anthelmintic effects in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Currently, only a few chemical drug classes are available to control the global burden of nematode infections in humans and animals. Most of these drugs exert their anthelmintic activity by interacting with proteins such as ion channels, and the nematode neuromuscular system remains a promising target for novel intervention strategies. Many commonly-used phenotypic readouts such as motility provide only indirect insight into neuromuscular function and the site(s) of action of chemical compounds.

Caenorhabditis elegans in anthelmintic research - Old model, new perspectives.

For more than four decades, the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been extensively used in anthelmintic research. Classic genetic screens and heterologous expression in the C. elegans model enormously contributed to the identification and characterization of molecular targets of all major anthelmintic drug classes.

Structural Evidence for Isoform-Selective Allosteric Inhibition of Lactate Dehydrogenase A.

Lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) is frequently overexpressed in tumors, thereby sustaining high glycolysis rates, tumor growth, and chemoresistance. High-throughput screening resulted in the identification of phthalimide and dibenzofuran derivatives as novel lactate dehydrogenase inhibitors, selectively inhibiting the activity of the LDHA isoenzyme. Cocrystallization experiments confirmed target engagement in addition to demonstrating binding to a novel allosteric binding site present in all four LDHA subunits of the LDH5 homotetramer.

Ultrafast Light-Driven Electron Transfer in a Ru(II)tris(bipyridine)-Labeled Multiheme Cytochrome.

Multiheme cytochromes attract much attention for their electron transport properties. These proteins conduct electrons across bacterial cell walls and along extracellular filaments and when purified can serve as bionanoelectronic junctions. Thus, it is important and necessary to identify and understand the factors governing electron transfer in this family of proteins.

Electronic Energy Transfer in a Subphthalocyanine-Zn Porphyrin Dimer Studied by Linear and Nonlinear Ultrafast Spectroscopy.

The efficient harvesting and transport of visible light by electronic energy transfer (EET) are critical to solar energy conversion in both nature and molecular electronics. In this work, we study EET in a synthetic dyad comprising a visible absorbing subphthalocyanine (SubPc) donor and a Zn tetraphenyl porphyrin (ZnTPP) acceptor. Energy transfer is probed by steady-state spectroscopy, ultrafast transient absorption, and two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy.

One- to Two-Exciton Transitions in Perylene Bisimide Dimer Revealed by Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy.

The excited-state energy levels of molecular dimers and aggregates play a critical role in their photophysical behavior and an understanding of the photodynamics in such structures is important for developing applications such as photovoltaics and optoelectronic devices. Here, exciton transitions in two different covalently bound PBI dimers are studied by two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES), a powerful spectroscopic method, providing the most complete picture of vibronic transitions in molecular systems. The data are accurately reproduced using the equation of motion-phase matching approach.

Spectral Filtering as a Tool for Two-Dimensional Spectroscopy: A Theoretical Model.

Two-dimensional optical spectroscopy is a powerful technique for the probing of coherent quantum superpositions. Recently, the finite width of the laser spectrum has been employed to selectively tune experiments for the study of particular coherences. This involves the exclusion of certain transition frequencies, which results in the elimination of specific Liouville pathways.

A new twist in the photophysics of the GFP chromophore: a volume-conserving molecular torsion couple.

The simple structure of the chromophore of the green fluorescent protein (GFP), a phenol and an imidazolone ring linked by a methyne bridge, supports an exceptionally diverse range of excited state phenomena. Here we describe experimentally and theoretically the photochemistry of a novel sterically crowded nonplanar derivative of the GFP chromophore. It undergoes an excited state isomerization reaction accompanied by an exceptionally fast (sub 100 fs) excited state decay.

Ventilator Boot Camp Improves the Knowledge and Skills Associated With Mechanical Ventilator Use During Interfacility Transport of Intubated Pediatric Patients.

Background: The American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Transport recommends the use of portable ventilators during the transport of patients with advanced airways. We sought to identify knowledge gaps and evaluate the effectiveness of a transport ventilator competency boot camp.

Methods: Electronic health records of children requiring ventilatory support during air and ground interfacility transport from January 1 through December 31, 2015, were reviewed to determine when manual ventilation was used in lieu of a portable ventilator, and simulations were constructed from commonly occurring scenarios.

Ultrafast Dynamics in Light-Driven Molecular Rotary Motors Probed by Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy.

Photochemical isomerization in sterically crowded chiral alkenes is the driving force for molecular rotary motors in nanoscale machines. Here the excited-state dynamics and structural evolution of the prototypical light-driven rotary motor are followed on the ultrafast time scale by femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) and transient absorption (TA). TA reveals a sub-100-fs blue shift and decay of the Franck-Condon bright state arising from relaxation along the reactive potential energy surface.

Identification and Optimization of the First Highly Selective GLUT1 Inhibitor BAY-876.

Despite the long-known fact that the facilitative glucose transporter GLUT1 is one of the key players safeguarding the increase in glucose consumption of many tumor entities even under conditions of normal oxygen supply (known as the Warburg effect), only few endeavors have been undertaken to find a GLUT1-selective small-molecule inhibitor. Because other transporters of the GLUT1 family are involved in crucial processes, these transporters should not be addressed by such an inhibitor. A high-throughput screen against a library of ∼3 million compounds was performed to find a small molecule with this challenging potency and selectivity profile.

Mechanism of inhibition of human glucose transporter GLUT1 is conserved between cytochalasin B and phenylalanine amides.

Cancerous cells have an acutely increased demand for energy, leading to increased levels of human glucose transporter 1 (hGLUT1). This up-regulation suggests hGLUT1 as a target for therapeutic inhibitors addressing a multitude of cancer types. Here, we present three inhibitor-bound, inward-open structures of WT-hGLUT1 crystallized with three different inhibitors: cytochalasin B, a nine-membered bicyclic ring fused to a 14-membered macrocycle, which has been described extensively in the literature of hGLUTs, and two previously undescribed Phe amide-derived inhibitors.

Identification of novel GLUT inhibitors.

The compound class of 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidines was identified using HTS as very potent inhibitors of facilitated glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1). Extensive structure-activity relationship studies (SAR) of each ring system of the molecular framework was established revealing essential structural motives (i.e.

Time resolved structural dynamics of butadiyne-linked porphyrin dimers.

In this work, the timescales and mechanisms associated with the structural dynamics of butadiyne-linked porphyrin dimers are investigated through time resolved narrowband pump/broadband probe transient absorption spectroscopy. Our results confirm previous findings that the broadening is partly due to a distribution of structures with different (dihedral) angular conformations. Comparison of measurements with excitations on the red and blue sides of the Q-band unravel the ground and excited state conformational re-equilibration timescales.

Time-Resolved Twisting Dynamics in a Porphyrin Dimer Characterized by Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy.

Molecular conformational changes in electronic excited states play a key role in numerous light-activated processes. In the case of porphyrin oligomers intramolecular twisting influences energy and charge transport dynamics. Here we address the twisting reaction in both ground and excited states in a model porphyrin dimer, employing two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2D ES).