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The oxidative N-demethylation of tropane alkaloids to their nortropane derivatives has been investigated using H 2 O 2 and an iron(III) tetraamido macrocycle (Fe III -TAML) catalyst. The yields of the nortropanes were found to be dependent on the amount of H 2 O 2 used in the reaction, the catalyst loading, the nature of the organic co-solvent and the type of tropine substrate. N-Hydroxy-nortropane, N-formyl-nortropane and tropane-N-oxide derivatives were identified as by-products of the reaction. After screening various reaction conditions, the optimised conditions were applied to the N-demethylation of atropine and scopolamine at preparative scales and the desired products, noratropine and norscopolamine, obtained following one pot reactions in good yields and high purity without the need for any chromatographic purification steps. Fig. 1 Structures of several naturally occurring (1-3) and semi-synthetic (4-7) tropane alkaloids. † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See

The alarming rise of bacterial antibiotic resistance requires the development of new compounds. Such compounds, lipophosphonoxins (LPPOs), were previously reported to be active against numerous bacterial species, but serum albumins abolished their activity. Here we describe the synthesis and evaluation of novel antibacterial compounds termed LEGO-LPPOs, loosely based on LPPOs, consisting of a central linker module with two attached connector modules on either side. The connector modules are then decorated with polar and hydrophobic modules. We performed an extensive structure–activity relationship study by varying the length of the linker and hydrophobic modules. The best compounds were active against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive species including multiresistant strains and persisters. LEGO-LPPOs act by first depleting the membrane potential and then creating pores in the cytoplasmic membrane. Importantly, their efficacy is not affected by the presence of serum albumins. Low cytotoxicity and low propensity for resistance development demonstrate their potential for therapeutic use.

Successful surgeries involving orthopedic implants depend on the avoidance of biofilm development on the implant surface during the early postoperative period. Here, we investigate the potential of novel antibacterial compoundssecond-generation lipophosphonoxins (LPPOs II)as additives to surgical bone cements. We demonstrate (i) excellent thermostability of LPPOs II, which is essential to withstand elevated temperatures during exothermic cement polymerization; (ii) unchanged tensile strength and elongation at the break properties of the composite cements containing LPPOs II compared to cements without additives; (iii) convenient elution kinetics on the order of days; and (iv) the strong antibiofilm activity of the LPPO II-loaded cements even against bacteria resistant to the medicinally utilized antibiotic, gentamicin. Thus, LPPOs II display promising potential as antimicrobial additives to surgical bone cements.

Active wound dressings are attracting extensive attention in soft tissue repair and regeneration, including bacteria-infected skin wound healing. As the wide use of antibiotics leads to drug resistance we present here a new concept of wound dressings based on the polycaprolactone nanofiber scaffold (NANO) releasing second generation lipophosphonoxin (LPPO) as antibacterial agent. Firstly, we demonstrated in vitro that LPPO released from NANO exerted antibacterial activity while not impairing proliferation/differentiation of fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Secondly, using a mouse model we showed that NANO loaded with LPPO significantly reduced the Staphylococcus aureus counts in infected wounds as evaluated 7 days post-surgery. Furthermore, the rate of degradation and subsequent LPPO release in infected wounds was also facilitated by lytic enzymes secreted by inoculated bacteria. Finally, LPPO displayed negligible to no systemic absorption. In conclusion, the composite antibacterial NANO-LPPO-based dressing reduces the bacterial load and promotes skin repair, with the potential to treat wounds in clinical settings.