Insight into the Structure of Victorin, the Host-Selective Toxin from the Oat Pathogen . Studies of the Unique Dehydroamino Acid β-Chlorodehydroalanine.

Victorins, a family of peptide toxins, produced by the fungal pathogen and responsible for disease of some oat varieties, contain a β-chlorodehydroalanine residue, ΔAla(βCl). To determine the conformational properties of this unique dehydroamino acid, a series of model compounds was studied using X-ray, NMR, and FT-IR methods, supported by theoretical calculations. The ΔAla(βCl) geometrical isomers differ in conformational profile.

Synthesis of Tetrapeptides Containing Dehydroalanine, Dehydrophenylalanine and Oxazole as Building Blocks for Construction of Foldamers and Bioinspired Catalysts.

The incorporation of dehydroamino acid or fragments of oxazole into peptide chain is accompanied by a distorted three-dimensional structure and additionally enables the introduction of non-typical side-chain substituents. Thus, such compounds could be building blocks for obtaining novel foldamers and/or artificial enzymes (artzymes). In this paper, effective synthetic procedures leading to such building blocks-tetrapeptides containing glycyldehydroalanine, glycyldehydrophenylalanine, and glycyloxazole subunits-are described.

Dipeptides of -Substituted Dehydrocysteine as Artzyme Building Blocks: Synthesis, Complexing Abilities and Antiproliferative Properties.

Background: Dehydropeptides are analogs of peptides containing at least one conjugate double bond between α,β-carbon atoms. Its presence provides unique structural properties and reaction centre for chemical modification. In this study, the series of new class of dipeptides containing -substituted dehydrocysteine with variety of heterocyclic moieties was prepared.

A novel approach for obtaining α,β-diaminophosphonates bearing structurally diverse side chains and their interactions with transition metal ions studied by ITC.

Aminophosphonates are an important group of building blocks in medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry. Novel representatives of this class of compounds containing nontypical side chains are still needed. The aza-Michael-type addition of amines to phosphonodehydroalanine derivatives provides a simple and effective approach for synthesizing '-substituted α,β-diaminoethylphosphonates and thus affords general access to aminophosphonates bearing structurally diverse side chains.

Access to α-Aminophosphonic Acid Derivatives and Phosphonopeptides by [Rh(P-OP)]-Catalyzed Stereoselective Hydrogenation.

The hydrogenation of -substituted vinylphosphonates using rhodium complexes derived from P-OP ligands , -, or as catalysts has been successfully accomplished, achieving very high levels of stereoselectivity (up to 99% ee or de). The described synthetic strategy allowed for the efficient preparation of α-aminophosphonic acid derivatives and phosphonopeptides, which are valuable building blocks for the preparation of biologically relevant molecules.

Analytical procedures for short chain chlorinated paraffins determination - How to make them greener?

The aim of the following paper was to gather current scientific information about the analytical protocols dedicated to measuring the content level of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in various types of environmental samples. Moreover, the data about the basic validation parameters of applied procedures for SCCPs determination are listed. The main issue which is highlighted in the paper is the possibility of the application of green analytical chemistry (GAC) principals in the SCCPs measuring process to reduce the environmental impact of the applied methodology.

Addition of thiols to the double bond of dipeptide C-terminal dehydroalanine as a source of new inhibitors of cathepsin C.

Addition of thiols to double bond of glycyl-dehydroalanine and phenyl-dehydroalanine esters provided micromolar inhibitors of cathepsin C. The structure-activity studies indicated that dipeptides containing N-terminal phenylalanine exhibit higher affinity towards the enzyme. A series of C-terminal S-substituted cysteines are responsible for varying interaction with S1 binding pocket of cathepsin C.

Synthesis of dehydrodipeptide esters and their evaluation as inhibitors of cathepsin C.

The procedures for the synthesis of esters of dehydropeptides containing C-terminal (Z)-dehydrophenylalanine and dehydroalanine have been elaborated. These esters appeared to be moderate or weak inhibitors of cathepsin C, with some of them exhibiting slow-binding behavior. As shown by molecular modeling, they are rather bound at the surface of the enzyme and are not submersed in its binding cavities.

Crystal structure of N-(tert-but-oxy-carbon-yl)phenyl-alanylde-hydro-alanine isopropyl ester (Boc-Phe-ΔAla-OiPr).

In the title compound, the de-hydro-dipeptide (Boc-Phe-ΔAla-OiPr, C20H28N2O5), the mol-ecule has a trans conformation of the N-methyl-amide group. The geometry of the de-hydro-alanine moiety is to some extent different from those usually found in simple peptides, indicating conjugation between the H2C=C group and the peptide bond. The bond angles around de-hydro-alanine have unusually high values due to the steric hindrance, the same inter-action influencing the slight distortion from planarity of the de-hydro-alanine.

Crystal structure of N-(tert-but-oxy-carbon-yl)glycyl-(Z)-β-bromo-dehydro-alanine methyl ester [Boc-Gly-(β-Br)((Z))ΔAla-OMe].

The title compound, C11H17BrN2O5, is a de-hydro-amino acid with a C=C bond between the α- and β-C atoms. The amino acid residues are linked trans to each other and there are no strong intra-molecular hydrogen bonds. The torsion angles indicate a non-helical conformation of the mol-ecule.

The overproduction of 2,4-DTBP accompanying to the lack of available form of phosphorus during the biodegradative utilization of aminophosphonates by Aspergillus terreus.

Although information about the ability of some filamentous fungi to biodegrade organophosphonates is available, the knowledge about accompanying changes in fungal metabolism is very limited. The aim of our study was to determine the utilization of the chosen, structurally diverse aminophosphonates by Aspergillus terreus (Thom), in the context of the behaviour of this fungus while growing in unfavourable conditions, namely the lack of easily available phosphates. We found that all the studied compounds were utilized by fungus as nutritive sources of phosphorus, however, their effect on the production of fungal biomass depended on their structure.

Presumed Pseudomonas folliculitis outbreak in children following an outdoor games event.

In early summer 2001, an outbreak of atypical rash occurred among children from 24 junior schools who attended an outdoor games event. The event comprised a series of five water games including a water slide, and within 24 hours of attending the event 151/593 (26%) children developed a papulopustular rash. The rash had a characteristic distribution, predominantly over the lower trunk and buttocks, with some involvement of the arms and legs.