The identification of inhibitory compounds of Rickettsia prowazekii methionine aminopeptidase for antibacterial applications.

Methionine aminopeptidase (MetAP) is a dinuclear metalloprotease responsible for the cleavage of methionine initiator residues from nascent proteins. MetAP activity is necessary for bacterial proliferation and is therefore a projected novel antibacterial target. A compound library consisting of 294 members containing metal-binding functional groups was screened against Rickettsia prowazekii MetAP to determine potential inhibitory motifs.

Microwave-Assisted, Asymmetric Synthesis of 3-Amino-2,3-Dihydrobenzofuran Flavonoid Derivatives from Chalcones.

A route to access 3-amino-2,3-dihydrobenzofurans that utilizes microwave-assisted organic synthesis to rapidly generate analogues has been developed. The route begins with an acid-catalyzed, microwave-assisted aldol condensation to generate chalcone intermediates, followed by a Corey-Bakshi-Shibata reduction and subsequent Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation to access stereoisomeric epoxyalcohols. The final step is a one-pot, microwave-assisted, regioselective, acid-catalyzed epoxide opening with various amines followed by an intramolecular nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction to generate the 3-amino-2,3-dihydrobenzofurans.

Demonstration of AutoDock as an Educational Tool for Drug Discovery.

Drug design and discovery remains a popular topic of study to many students interested in visible, real-world applications of the chemical sciences. It is important that laboratory experiments detailing the early stages of drug discovery incorporate both compound design and an exploration of ligand/receptor interactions. Molecular modeling is widely employed in research endeavors seeking to predict the activity of potential compounds prior to synthesis and can therefore be used to illustrate these concepts.

Rickettsia prowazekii methionine aminopeptidase as a promising target for the development of antibacterial agents.

Methionine aminopeptidase (MetAP) is a class of ubiquitous enzymes essential for the survival of numerous bacterial species. These enzymes are responsible for the cleavage of N-terminal formyl-methionine initiators from nascent proteins to initiate post-translational modifications that are often essential to proper protein function. Thus, inhibition of MetAP activity has been implicated as a novel antibacterial target.

Advances in Bacterial Methionine Aminopeptidase Inhibition.

Methionine aminopeptidases (MetAPs) are metalloenzymes that cleave the N-terminal methionine from newly synthesized peptides and proteins. These MetAP enzymes are present in bacteria, and knockout experiments have shown that MetAP activity is essential for cell life, suggesting that MetAPs are good antibacterial drug targets. MetAP enzymes are also present in the human host and selectivity is essential.

The synthesis, antimalarial activity and CoMFA analysis of novel aminoalkylated quercetin analogs.

A series of novel aminoalkylated quercetin analogs, prepared via the Mannich reaction of various primary and secondary amines with formaldehyde, were tested for antimalarial activity. The compounds were screened against three drug resistant malarial strains (D6, C235 and W2) and were found to exhibit sub-micromolar activity across all three strains (0.065-13.

The bimolecular structure of aquahexa-μ-chlorido-μ4-oxido-tris(tetrahydrofuran-κO)tetracopper(II)-hexa-μ-chlorido-μ4-oxido-tetrakis(tetrahydrofuran-κO)tetracopper(II)-tetrahydrofuran (2/1/4).

The title bimolecular structure, [Cu4Cl6O(C4H8O)3(H2O)]2[Cu4Cl6O(C4H8O)4] · 4C4H8O, at 100 K has monoclinic (P21/c) symmetry. The structure contains nine symmetry-independent molecules expressed in simplest molecular form as 6[Cu4Cl6O(C4H8O)3(H2O) · 2(C4H8O)]:3Cu4Cl6O(C4H8O)4. The compound exhibits a supercell (smaller than the unit cell based on weak reflections) structure due to pseudotranslational symmetry.