This paper presents data on the 15N chemical shift tensor principal values in a series of 15N-enriched heterocycles. Compounds that are liquids at room temperature were frozen, and the principal values of all compounds studied were measured from static powder patterns. Four different types of nitrogen tensors are described, consisting of protonated and nonprotonated nitrogens in both five- and six-membered rings. The principal values were oriented on the molecular frame using the DFT quantum mechanical calculations of the 15N chemical shielding tensors. The agreement between the calculated and experimental principal values is adequate to make these assignments, but the relative scatters are greater than those observed in similar 13C chemical shift calculations. The largest shift component, δ11, is always oriented in the radial direction to the ring for substituted nitrogens but is tangential to the ring for the nonsubstituted nitrogens. The large variations observed in the nitrogen chemical shift tensors upon changing the nitrogen hybridization can be explained using qualitative arguments on the localization of the smallest bonding-antibonding or HOMO−LUMO gap in the molecule. The orientation of the largest shift component is always found in the plane of the molecule and is approximately perpendicular to the plane containing the bonding−antibonding or HOMO−LUMO pair of orbitals with the smallest energy gap.

Here we describe a new and simple method for preparing alkyl monolayers on silicon, which consists of mechanically scribing oxide-coated silicon while it is wet with 1-alkenes or 1-alkynes (neat or in inert solvents) under ambient conditions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, wetting data, and stability tests suggest covalent bonding of unsaturated species to exposed silicon surfaces. Enclosures (hydrophobic corrals) made by scribing silicon that is wet with unsaturated hydrophobic species hold droplets of water and liquids with substantially lower surface tensions. Wetting tests suggest that 1-alkynes make better hydrophobic corrals than 1-alkenes, and theoretical results suggest it should be more difficult for alkyl chains of chemisorbed 1-alkenes to pack than those of 1-alkynes. Underivatized interior regions of hydrophobic corrals are functionalized with polyelectrolyte multilayers. Theoretical energies for water and methanol droplets (gravitational and surface) in hydrophobic corrals are calculated, and a model of failure of liquid droplets in hydrophobic corrals is presented.

No abstract

A nonhydrolyzable analogue of ubiquitin adenylate has been synthesized for use as a specific inhibitor of the ubiquitination of proteins. Ubiquitin adenylate is a tightly bound intermediate formed by the ubiquitin activating enzyme. The inhibitor adenosyl-phospho-ubiquitinol (APU) is the phosphodiester of adenosine and the C-terminal alcohol derived from ubiquitin. APU is isosteric with the normal reaction intermediate, the mixed anhydride of ubiquitin and AMP, but results from the replacement of the carbonyl oxygen of Gly76 with a methylene group. This stable analogue would be expected to bind to both ubiquitin and adenosine subsites and result in a tightly bound competitive inhibitor of ubiquitin activation. APU inhibits the ATP-PPi exchange reaction catalyzed by the purified ubiquitin activating enzyme in a manner competitive with ATP (Ki = 50 nM) and noncompetitive with ubiquitin (Ki = 35 nM). AMP has no effect on the inhibition, confirming that the inhibitor binds to the free form of the enzyme and not the thiol ester form. This inhibition constant is 10-fold lower than the dissociation constants for each substrate and 30-1000-fold lower than the respective Km values for ubiquitin and ATP. APU also effectively inhibits conjugation of ubiquitin to endogenous proteins catalyzed by reticulocyte fraction II with an apparent Ki of 0.75 microM. This weaker inhibition is consistent with the fact that activation of ubiquitin is not rate limiting in the conjugation reactions catalyzed by fraction II. APU is similarly effective as an inhibitor of the ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis of beta-lactoglobulin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Succinyl-CoA:tetrahydrodipicolinate-N-succinyltransferase is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of diaminopimelic acid (DAP), a component of the cell wall peptidoglycan of nearly all bacteria. This enzyme converts the cyclic precursor tetrahydrodipicolinic acid (THDPA) to a succinylated acyclic product. L-2-Aminopimelic acid (L-1), an acyclic analogue of THDPA, was found to be a good substrate for this enzyme and was shown to cause a buildup of THDPA in a cell-free enzyme system but was devoid of antibacterial activity. Incorporation of 1 into a di- or tripeptide yielded derivatives that exhibited antibacterial activity against a range of Gram-negative organisms. Of the five peptide derivatives tested, (L-2-aminopimelyl)-L-alanine (6) was the most potent. These peptides were shown to inhibit DAP production in intact resting cells. High levels (30 mM) of 2-aminopimelic acid were achieved in the cytoplasm of bacteria as a result of efficient uptake of the peptide derivatives through specific peptide transport systems followed, presumably, by cleavage by intracellular peptidases. Finally, the antibacterial activity of these peptides could be reversed by DAP or a DAP-containing peptide. These results demonstrate that the peptides containing L-2-aminopimelic acid exert their antibacterial action by inhibition of diaminopimelic acid biosynthesis.

A number of new parenteral cephalosporin and cephamycin derivatives with improved use potential over the available marketed products are currently under development. These compounds are reported to have a broader spectrum of antibacterial activity and good stability to a large number of f-lactamases produced by bacterial isolates (2,7,9,11,12,14,15). One such compound is SK&F 75073 [7-D-mandelamido-3-(1-sulfomethyltetrazole-5-ylthiomethyl) -3-cephem-4-carboxylic acid, disodium salt] a parenteral cephalosporin with broad antibacterial activity and high and extended serum levels (Fig. 1) Efficacy tests: (i) in vitro activity. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by the agar dilution method as previously reported (1).The surface of the agar was inoculated with the aid of a Steers apparatus (13). After overnight incubation at 37°C, the MICs were read as the lowest concentration of antibiotic completely inhibiting growth. For determination of effect of serum on antibiotic activity, pooled human serum was added in a final concentration of 50% to Muelier-Hinton broth. The MIC determinations were carried out using microtiter methodology (6). The MICs for the inoculum size experiments were also carried out in Mueller-Hinton broth using the microtiter apparatus.The test medium employed for the staphylococci and the gram-negative bacterial species was Mueller-

Sulfanilic acid, in contrast to sulfanilamide, has poor in vitro antibacterial activity. Paradoxically, it has been shown to be a more effective inhibitor than sulfanilamide of dihydropteroic acid synthase. In order to circumvent the presumed permeability barrier to sulfanilic acid, advantage was taken of the technique of portage transport. Derivatives of the compound were prepared in which it was linked via its primary amino group to the alpha-carbon of glycine residues in di- and tripeptides. L-Alanyl-L-alanyl-L-2-[(4-sulfophenyl)amino]glycine proved to be 207 times more potent than sulfanilic acid and 8 times more active than either sulfanilamide or L-alanyl-L-alanyl-L-2-[[4-(aminosulfonyl)-phenyl]amino]glycine when tested against Escherichia coli. These findings confirm that the weak in vitro activity of sulfanilic acid is due to its limited ability to penetrate the bacterial membrane. They also emphasize the ability of portage transport to reveal therapeutic capability that had been attenuated by poor drug permeation.

No abstract