ABSTRACT
Our recent work concerning the synthesis, characterisation and testing of bioinspired electron transfer catalysts is described in this contribution. The catalysts were various Cu(II) complexes having mixed C- or N-protected amino acids (L-histidine and L-tyrosine) as ligands covalently grafted onto surface-modified silica gel. The resulting materials were structurally characterised by FT-IR spectroscopy, and their superoxide dismutase activities were tested. The covalently anchored Cu(II) complexes displayed appreciable activities in the test reaction; thus, they may be considered as promising candidates as durable electron transfer catalysts approaching the efficiency of the enzyme mimicked.
Subject(s)
Amino Acids/chemistry , Biomimetic Materials/chemistry , Copper/chemistry , Silicon Dioxide/chemistry , Superoxide Dismutase/chemistry , Gels/chemistry , Histidine/chemistry , Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared , Tyrosine/chemistryABSTRACT
Various resistance mechanisms such as complex formation with DNA, tRNA and MDR1 p-glycoprotein were modified in bacteria and cancer cells in presence of pregnane, pyridoquinoline, and aza-oxafluorene derivatives. Interaction between the compounds, plasmid DNA and tRNA was shown and compared to the interaction with calf thymus DNA. Complex formation with MDR1 p-glycoprotein and drug accumulation increased in cancer cells. Both plasmid DNA and p-gp complex formation were related to the chemical structures of the resistance modifiers.