MS-Monitored Conjugation of Poly(ethylene glycol) Monomethacrylate to RGD Peptides.

Development of biologically active polymers is an active area of research due to their applications in varied and diverse fields of biomedical research: cell adhesion, tissue proliferation, and drug delivery. Recent advances in chemical modification allow fine-tuning of the properties of biomedical polymers to improve their applications: blood circulation half-life, stimuli-responsive degradation, site-specific targeting, drug loading, etc. In this article, convergent synthesis of polymerizable macromonomers bearing a site-specific ligand (RGD peptide) using a low molecular weight MA-poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) is presented. The method affords macromonomers useful as the starting materials to produce biomedical polymers. We found matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectromerty convenient in monitoring the conjugation process via step-by-step following of PEG modification.

One-pot synthesis of 5-phenylimino, 5-thieno or 5-oxo-1,2,3-dithiazoles and evaluation of their antimicrobial and antitumor activity.

We here report the synthesis and biological evaluation of rare 4-substituted-5-phenylimino, 5-thieno- and 5-oxo-1,2,3-dithiazoles. Dithiazoles were selectively obtained in moderate to high yields (25-73%) via a one-pot reaction from various ethanoneoximes with sulfur monochloride, pyridine in acetonitrile followed by treatment by corresponding nucleophiles (aniline, thioacetamide and formic acid). All the synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial (against bacteria Escherichia coli, Salmonellaenterica serovar Typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus and Listeria inocua), antifungal (against pathogenic strains Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis and Issatchenkia orientalis) and antitumor (on human cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) activity. 4-(2-Pyridinyl)-5H-1,2,3-dithiazole-5-thione and 4-ethylcarboxyl-5H-1,2,3-dithiazole-5-thione (5d, 5h) that are active against Gram-positive bacteria are significantly active against fungi. 4-(2-Benzofuranyl)-5-phenylimino-5H-1,2,3-dithiazole (4e) exerts antiproliferative activity.