Reengineering the specificity of the highly selective Clostridium botulinum protease via directed evolution.

The botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A) cuts a single peptide bond in SNAP25, an activity used to treat a wide range of diseases. Reengineering the substrate specificity of BoNT/A's protease domain (LC/A) could expand its therapeutic applications; however, LC/A's extended substrate recognition (≈ 60 residues) challenges conventional approaches. We report a directed evolution method for retargeting LC/A and retaining its exquisite specificity.

Natural Products as Platforms To Overcome Antibiotic Resistance.

Natural products have served as powerful therapeutics against pathogenic bacteria since the golden age of antibiotics of the mid-20th century. However, the increasing frequency of antibiotic-resistant infections clearly demonstrates that new antibiotics are critical for modern medicine. Because combinatorial approaches have not yielded effective drugs, we propose that the development of new antibiotics around proven natural scaffolds is the best short-term solution to the rising crisis of antibiotic resistance.

Structure-Resistance Relationships: Interrogating Antiseptic Resistance in Bacteria with Multicationic Quaternary Ammonium Dyes.

Bacterial resistance toward commonly used biocides is a widespread yet underappreciated problem, one which needs not only a deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which resistance proliferates, but also means for mitigation. To advance our understanding of this issue, we recognized a polyaromatic structural core analogous to activators of QacR, a negative transcriptional regulator of the efflux pump QacA, and envisioned a series of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) based on this motif. Using commercially available dye scaffolds, we synthesized and evaluated the antimicrobial activity of 52 novel QACs bearing 1-3 quaternary ammonium centers.

Scaffold-Hopping of Multicationic Amphiphiles Yields Three New Classes of Antimicrobials.

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are a vital class of antiseptics. Recent investigations into their construction are uncovering novel and potent multicationic variants. Based on a trisQAC precedent, we have implemented a scaffold-hopping approach to develop alternative QAC architectures that display 1-3 long alkyl chains in specific projections from cyclic and branched core structures bearing 3-4 nitrogen atoms.

Oxidation of α-trifluoromethyl alcohols using a recyclable oxoammonium salt.

A simple, mild method for the oxidation of α-trifluoromethyl alcohols to trifluoromethyl ketones (TFMKs) using the oxoammonium salt 4-acetylamino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxoammonium tetrafluoroborate (1) is described. Under basic conditions, oxidation proceeds rapidly and affords good to excellent yields of TFMKs, without concomitant formation of the hydrate. The byproduct of the oxidation, 4-acetylamino-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (1c), is easily recovered and can be conveniently reoxidized to regenerate the oxoammonium salt.