Multichannel circular dichroism investigations of the structural stability of bacterial cytochrome P-450.

The thermal unfolding of cytochrome P-450 LIN and P-450 CAM measured in presence and absence of their specific substrates was analyzed by circular dichroism (CD) and the alpha-helix content was estimated. Both proteins show, independent of the presence or absence of the substrates, nearly the same amount of loss of the CD in the peptide region. The comparison of the half transition temperatures determined from different chromophores and different methods indicates a non-two-state transition of the thermal unfolding. For such analysis we developed a new spectrometer, which is capable of measuring the CD simultaneously at all wavelengths in a limited wavelength region.

Combination of equilibrium dialysis, melting behaviour and circular dichroism spectroscopy in the study of genotoxic chemicals using ethylene oxide as a model substance.

Ethylene oxide was incubated with different homobasic polynucleotides or dinucleotides. These were subsequently hybridized in equilibrium dialysis with their complementary or noncomplementary counterparts and the equilibrium constants determined. A change of the equilibrium constants after reaction with ethylene oxide corresponded with a shift in melting temperature of the reacted and hybridized macromolecular polynucleotides. The melting temperature was also changed when calf thymus DNA was reacted with ethylene oxide. In addition, the effect of ethylene oxide on the macromolecular single-stranded and double-stranded nucleic acids was investigated by studying the difference in rotation of circularly polarized light with the technique of circular dichroism spectroscopy. The changes in the spectra showed that ethylene oxide had altered the conformation of the hybridized double strands. These data indicated that binding sites in the pyrimidine bases of nucleic acid molecules, besides the previously known N-7 position in the purine base guanine, are attacked by ethylene oxide. There is evidence for the generation of N(4)-(2-hydroxyethyl)cytosine, O(2)-(2-hydroxyethyl)thymine and O(4)-(2-hydroxyethyl)uracil when the corresponding pyrimidine polynucleotides are incubated with ethylene oxide.

Anomalous Zemplén deacylation reactions of 2-O-acyl-3-O-alkyl or -3-O-glycosyl derivatives of D-galactose and D-glucose: synthesis of O-alpha-D-mannopyranosyl-(1----4)-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----3)-D- galactose and an intermediate for the preparation of 2-O-glycosyl-3-O-(alpha-D-mannopyranosyl)-D-glucoses.

Treatment of 2-O-benzoyl (1) and 2-O-acetyl (5) derivatives of benzyl 4,6-benzylidene-3-O-(2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-beta-D- galactopyranoside under Zemplén conditions (catalytic amount of sodium methoxide in methanol) gave partially deacylated disaccharides in which the 2-O-acyl groups were retained. Likewise, a similar result was obtained with the beta-L-rhamnopyranosyl analogue (3) of 1. This anomalous reaction was used in a synthesis of the title trisaccharide (17) and of methyl 4,6-O-benzylidene-3-O-(2,3:4,6-di-O-isopropylidene-alpha-D-mannopyranosy l)- alpha-D-glucopyranoside, an intermediate for the synthesis of 2-O-glycosyl-3-O-(alpha-D-mannopyranosyl)-D-glucoses.

The structure of manumycin. III. Absolute configuration and conformational studies.

Chromic acid oxidation of manumycin (1), an antibiotic produced by Streptomyces parvulus (strain Tü 64), led to the isolation of 2-(2-methyl-4-oxo-2-pentenoylamino)-5,6-epoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (3) and (-)-(R)-2-methylhexanoic acid (4). From the absolute configuration of 4, determined by comparing its optical rotation with published data, follows the absolute configuration at the center of chirality in the diene side chain of manumycin (1) to be (6'R). Based on the direct comparison of the CD spectra of the two chromic acid oxidation products 2 and 3 with those of the antibiotic G7063-2 (5) and (-)-terreic acid (6) the stereochemistry at C-5 and C-6 of 1 was determined as (5R, 6S). From the negative CD-couplet of manumycin (1) its stereochemistry at C-4 was assigned as (4R).

Stereochemistry of the epoxydon group antibiotic G7063-2 isolated from a Streptomyces species HPL Y-25711.

The absolute configuration of the ring system of the antibiotic G7063-2 has been established as being the same as that reported for terreic acid, based on circular dichroism data. During structure elucidation experiments, reaction with ethereal diazomethane gave an adduct whose structure is proposed.

Long-acting contraceptive agents: cyclopropyl and cyclobutyl esters of norethisterone.

Several esters of norethisterone (17 alpha-ethynyl-17 beta-hydroxyestr-4-en-3-one) with carboxylic acids containing a cyclopropyl or cyclobutyl ring have been synthesized and the stereochemistries of the side-chains determined.