Target-based drug discovery: Applications of fluorescence techniques in high throughput and fragment-based screening.

Target-based discovery of first-in-class therapeutics demands an in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying human diseases. Precise measurements of cellular and biochemical activities are critical to gain mechanistic knowledge of biomolecules and their altered function in disease conditions. Such measurements enable the development of intervention strategies for preventing or treating diseases by modulation of desired molecular processes. Fluorescence-based techniques are routinely employed for accurate and robust measurements of in-vitro activity of molecular targets and for discovering novel chemical molecules that modulate the activity of molecular targets. In the current review, the authors focus on the applications of fluorescence-based high throughput screening (HTS) and fragment-based ligand discovery (FBLD) techniques such as fluorescence polarization (FP), Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), fluorescence thermal shift assay (FTSA) and microscale thermophoresis (MST) for the discovery of chemical probe to exploring target's role in disease biology and ultimately, serve as a foundation for drug discovery. Some recent advancements in these techniques for compound library screening against important classes of drug targets, such as G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and GTPases, as well as phosphorylation- and acetylation-mediated protein-protein interactions, are discussed. Overall, this review presents a landscape of how these techniques paved the way for the discovery of small-molecule modulators and biologics against these targets for therapeutic benefits.

High-affinity binding of celastrol to monomeric α-synuclein mitigates in vitro aggregation.

α-Synuclein (αSyn) aggregation is associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). The region αSyn36-42 acts as the nucleation 'master controller' and αSyn1-12 as a 'secondary nucleation site'. They drive monomeric αSyn to aggregation. Small molecules targeting these motifs are promising for disease-modifying therapy. Using computational techniques, we screened thirty phytochemicals for αSyn binding. The top three compounds were experimentally validated for their binding affinity. Amongst them, celastrol showed high binding affinity. NMR analysis confirmed stable αSyn-celastrol interactions involving several residues in the N-terminus and NAC regions but not in the C-terminal tail. Importantly, celastrol interacted extensively with the key motifs that drive αSyn aggregation. Thioflavin-T assay indicated that celastrol reduced αSyn aggregation. Thus, celastrol holds promise as a potent drug candidate for PD.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Molecular insights into α-synuclein interaction with individual human core histones, linker histone, and dsDNA.

α-Synuclein (αS) plays a key role in Parkinson's disease (PD). The αS nuclear role, its binding affinity and specificity to histones and dsDNA remains unknown. Here, we have measured the binding affinity ( Kd ) between αS wild-type (wt) and PD-specific αS S129-phosphorylation mimicking (S129E) mutant with full-length and flexible tail truncated individual core histones (H2a, H2b, H3, and H4), linker histone (H1), and carried out αS-dsDNA interaction studies. This study revealed that αS(wt) interacts specifically with N-terminal flexible tails of histone H3, H4, and flexible tails of H1. The αS(S129E) mutant recognizes histones similar to αS(wt) but binds with higher affinity. Intriguingly, αS(S129E) showed a binding affinity for control proteins (bovine serum albumin and lysozyme), while no interaction was seen for αS(wt). Based on our above observation, we contemplate that the physio-chemical properties of αS with S129-phosphorylation has changed compared to αS(wt), resulting in interaction for other proteins, which is the basis for Lewy body formation. Besides, this study showed αS binding to dsDNA is weak and nonspecific. Overall, αS specificity for histone binding suggests that its nuclear role is possibly driven through histone interaction.

Synthesis of multifunctional metal-organic frameworks and tuning the functionalities with pendant ligands.

A series of multifunctional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), SNU-170-SNU-176, has been synthesized using ligands, in which various functional pendants such as -NH2, -SMe, -OMe, -OEt, -OPr, and -OBu are attached to the phenyl ring of 4-(2-carboxyvinyl)benzoic acid. The MOFs are isostructural but the interpenetration depends on the pendant group of the ligand. The MOFs exhibit high adsorption capacities for H2, CO2, and CH4 gases, ligand-based photoluminescence, and chemical sensing abilities, all being affected by the pendant group. All of the as-synthesized MOFs can sense nitroaromatics by luminescence quenching, and some of the activated MOFs can sense the type of solvents by the altered emission maxima with enhanced intensity. In particular, SNU-176 synthesized from a mixture of two different ligands with -SMe and -OMe pendants shows higher gas adsorption capacities than the MOFs synthesized from the individual ligands (SNU-171 and SNU-172). It also shows the ability to differentiate nitrobenzene (NB) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) unlike the MOFs composed of single ligands.

Metal-Organic Frameworks Incorporating Various Alkoxy Pendant Groups: Hollow Tubular Morphologies, X-ray Single-Crystal Structures, and Selective Carbon Dioxide Adsorption Properties.

Eight porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) incorporating various alkoxy pendant groups (-OC(n)H(2n+1); n=1-8) in the channels have been synthesized. All MOFs have macrosized, hollow, single-crystal morphologies independent of the type of alkoxy pendant groups. The X-ray single-crystal structures indicate that the MOFs have doubly interpenetrated 3D frameworks that generate clover-shaped 1D channels, the window sizes of which reduce as the length of the alkoxy pendant groups increases from -OCH3 to -OC8H17. The hollow axes of the tubular crystals are parallel to the 1D channels of the MOFs, which suggests that the hollow crystal is grown by the unidirectional addition of pillar ligands to the 2D network. Among the activated MOFs, only the MOFs with methoxy and ethoxy pendant groups show selective CO2 adsorption over N2 and CH4, whereas those with longer alkoxy pendant groups barely adsorb CO2 at room temperature, which implies that the pendant doors of the MOFs should have an appropriate length for selective CO2 capture.

Water repellency in hydrophobic nanocapsules--molecular view on dewetting.

The hydrophobic effect plays a major role in a variety of important phenomena in chemistry, materials science and biology, for instance in protein folding and protein-ligand interactions. Studies--performed within cavities of the unique metal oxide based porous capsules of the type {(pentagon)12(linker)30}≡{(W)W5}12{Mo2(ligand)}30 with different acetate/water ligand ratios--have provided unprecedented results revealing segregation/repellency of the encapsulated "water" from the internal hydrophobic ligand walls of the capsules, while the disordered water molecules, interacting strongly with each other via hydrogen bonding, form in all investigated cases the same type of spherical shell. The present results can be (formally) compared--but only regarding the repellency effect--with the amazing "action" of the (super)hydrophobic Lotus (Nelumbo) leaves, which are self-cleaning based on water repellency resulting in the formation of water droplets picking up dirt. The present results were obtained by constructing deliberately suitable hydrophobic interiors within the mentioned capsules.

Novel three-dimensional coordination polymers of lanthanides with sulfate and oxydiacetic acid.

Three three-dimensional coordination polymers, viz. poly[[diaqua-µ4-oxydiacetato-di-µ4-sulfato-dipraseodymium(III)] hemihydrate], [Pr2(C4H4O5)(SO4)2(H2O)2]·0.5H2O, (I), poly[[diaquadi-µ3-oxydiacetato-µ3-sulfato-dineodymium(III)] 1.32-hydrate], [Nd2(C4H4O5)2(SO4)(H2O)2]·1.32H2O, (II), and poly[[diaquadi-µ3-oxydiacetato-µ3-sulfato-disamarium(III)] 1.32-hydrate], [Sm2(C4H4O5)2(SO4)(H2O)2]·1.32H2O, (III), were obtained by hydrothermal reactions of the respective lanthanide oxides and ZnSO4 with oxydiacetic acid (odaH2). The Nd(3+) and Sm(3+) compounds form isomorphous crystal structures in which the lanthanide cations are nine-coordinate, having a tricapped trigonal prismatic coordination. The Pr(3+) compound has an entirely different crystal structure in which two types of coordination polyhedra are observed, viz. nine-coordinate (trigonal prism) and ten-coordinate (bicapped square antiprism). The sulfate anions show various coordination modes, one of which has only rarely been observed crystallographically to date.

Control of interpenetration and gas-sorption properties of metal-organic frameworks by a simple change in ligand design.

In metal-organic framework (MOF) chemistry, interpenetration greatly affects the gas-sorption properties. However, there is a lack of a systematic study on how to control the interpenetration and whether the interpenetration enhances gas uptake capacities or not. Herein, we report an example of interpenetration that is simply controlled by the presence of a carbon-carbon double or single bond in identical organic building blocks, and provide a comparison of gas-sorption properties for these similar frameworks, which differ only in their degree of interpenetration. Noninterpenetrated (SNU-70) and doubly interpenetrated (SNU-71) cubic nets were prepared by a solvothermal reaction of [Zn(NO(3))(2)]⋅6 H(2)O in N,N-diethylformamide (DEF) with 4-(2-carboxyvinyl)benzoic acid and 4-(2-carboxyethyl)benzoic acid, respectively. They have almost-identical structures, but the noninterpenetrated framework has a much bigger pore size (ca. 9.0×9.0 Å) than the interpenetrated framework (ca. 2.5×2.5 Å). Activation of the MOFs by using supercritical CO(2) gave SNU-70' and SNU-71'. The simulation of the PXRD pattern of SNU-71' indicates the rearrangement of the interpenetrated networks on guest removal, which increases pore size. SNU-70' has a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 5290 m(2) g(-1), which is the highest value reported to date for a MOF with a cubic-net structure, whereas SNU-71' has a BET surface area of 1770 m(2) g(-1). In general, noninterpenetrated SNU-70' exhibits much higher gas-adsorption capacities than interpenetrated SNU-71' at high pressures, regardless of the temperature. However, at P<1 atm, the gas-adsorption capacities for N(2) at 77 K and CO(2) at 195 K are higher for noninterpenetrated SNU-70' than for interpenetrated SNU-71', but the capacities for H(2) and CH(4) are the opposite; SNU-71' has higher uptake capacities than SNU-70' due to the higher isosteric heat of gas adsorption that results from the smaller pores. In particular, SNU-70' has exceptionally high H(2) and CO(2) uptake capacities. By using a post-synthetic method, the CC double bond in SNU-70 was quantitatively brominated at room temperature, and the MOF still showed very high porosity (BET surface area of 2285 m(2) g(-1)).

Magnetic and optical bistability in tetrairon(III) single molecule magnets functionalized with azobenzene groups.

Tetrairon(III) complexes known as "ferric stars" have been functionalized with azobenzene groups to investigate the effect of light-induced trans-cis isomerization on single-molecule magnet (SMM) behaviour. According to DC magnetic data and EPR spectroscopy, clusters dispersed in polystyrene (4% w/w) exhibit the same spin (S = 5) and magnetic anisotropy as bulk samples. Ligand photoisomerization, achieved by irradiation at 365 nm, has no detectable influence on static magnetic properties. However, it induces a small but significant acceleration of magnetic relaxation as probed by AC susceptometry. The pristine behaviour can be almost quantitatively recovered by irradiation with white light. Our studies demonstrate that magnetic and optical bistability can be made to coexist in SMM materials, which are of current interest in molecular spintronics.

High gas sorption and metal-ion exchange of microporous metal-organic frameworks with incorporated imide groups.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), {[Cu(2)(bdcppi)(dmf)(2)]·10DMF·2H(2)O}(n) (SNU-50) and {[Zn(2)(bdcppi)(dmf)(3)]·6DMF·4H(2)O}(n) (SNU-51), have been prepared by the solvothermal reactions of N,N'-bis(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)pyromellitic diimide (H(4)BDCPPI) with Cu(NO(3))(2) and Zn(NO(3))(2), respectively. Framework SNU-50 has an NbO-type net structure, whereas SNU-51 has a PtS-type net structure. Desolvated solid [Cu(2)(bdcppi)](n) (SNU-50'), which was prepared by guest exchange of SNU-50 with acetone followed by evacuation at 170 °C, adsorbs high amounts of N(2), H(2), O(2), CO(2), and CH(4) gases due to the presence of a vacant coordination site at every metal ion, and to the presence of imide groups in the ligand. The Langmuir surface area is 2450 m(2) g(-1). It adsorbs H(2) gas up to 2.10 wt% at 1 atm and 77 K, with zero coverage isosteric heat of 7.1 kJ mol(-1), up to a total of 7.85 wt% at 77 K and 60 bar. Its CO(2) and CH(4) adsorption capacities at 298 K are 77 wt% at 55 bar and 17 wt% at 60 bar, respectively. Of particular note is the O(2) adsorption capacity of SNU-50' (118 wt% at 77 K and 0.2 atm), which is the highest reported so far for any MOF. By metal-ion exchange of SNU-51 with Cu(II), {[Cu(2)(bdcppi)(dmf)(3)]·7DMF·5H(2)O}(n) (SNU-51-Cu(DMF)) with a PtS-type net was prepared, which could not be synthesized by a direct solvothermal reaction.

Redox control of photoinduced electron transfer in axial terpyridoxy porphyrin complexes.

The photophysical properties of axial-bonding types (terpyridoxy)aluminum(III) porphyrin (Al(PTP)), bis(terpyridoxy)tin(IV) porphyrin (Sn(PTP) 2), and bis(terpyridoxy)phosphorus(V) porphyrin ([P(PTP) 2] (+)) are reported. Compared with their hydroxy analogues, the fluorescence quantum yields and singlet-state lifetimes were found to be lower for Sn(PTP) 2 and [P(PTP) 2] (+), whereas no difference was observed for Al(PTP). At low temperature, all of the compounds show spin-polarized transient electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectra that are assigned to the lowest excited triplet state of the porphyrin populated by intersystem crossing. In contrast, at room temperature, a triplet radical-pair spectrum that decays to the porphyrin triplet state with a lifetime of 175 ns is observed for [P(PTP) 2] (+), whereas no spin-polarized TREPR spectrum is found for Sn(PTP) 2 and only the porphyrin triplet populated by intersystem crossing is seen for Al(PTP). These results clarify the role of the internal molecular structure and the reduction potential for electron transfer from the terpyridine ligand to the excited porphyrin. It is argued that the efficiency of this process is dependent on the oxidation state of the metal/metalloid present in the porphyrin and the reorganization energy of the solvent.