Thiol Redox and pKa Properties of Mycothiol,the Predominant Low‐Molecular‐Weight Thiol Cofactor in the Actinomycetes

The thiol pK_a and standard redox potential of mycothiol, the major low‐molecular‐weight thiol cofactor in the actinomycetes, are reported. The measured standard redox potential reveals substantial discrepancies in one or more of the other previously measured intracellular parameters that are relevant to mycothiol redox biochemistry.     

pH‐sensitive swelling and release behaviors of anionic hydrogels for intelligent drug delivery system

The pH‐sensitive swelling and release behaviors of the anionic P(MAA‐co‐EGMA) hydrogels were investigated as a biological on–off switch for the design of an intelligent drug delivery system triggered by external pH changes. There was a drastic change of the equilibrium weight swelling ratio of P(MAA‐co‐EGMA) hydrogels at a pH of around 5, which is the pK_a of poly (methacrylic acid) (PMAA). At a pH below 5, the hydrogels were in a relatively collapsed state but at a pH higher than 5, the hydrogels swelled to a high degree. When the molecular weight of the pendent poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) of the P(MAA‐co‐EGMA) increased, the swelling ratio decreased at a pH higher than 5. The pK_a values of the P(MAA‐co‐EGMA) hydrogels moved to a higher pH range as the pendent PEG molecular weight increased. When the feed concentration of the crosslinker of the hydrogel increased the swelling ratio of the P(MAA‐co‐EGMA) hydrogels decreased at a pH higher than 5. In release experiments using Rhodamine B (Rh‐B) as a model solute, the P(MAA‐co‐EGMA) hydrogels showed a pH‐sensitive release behavior. At low pH (pH 4.0) a small amount of Rh‐B was released while at high pH (pH 6.0) a relatively large amount of Rh‐B was released from the hydrogels. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Drug-Delivery by Ion-Exchange: Part II: Physico-Chemical Properties of Ester Pro-Drugs of Propranolol

Abstract

The pKa values, solubilities and partition coefficients of a series of O-n-acyl propranolol pro-drugs have been estimated. The direct measurement of solubilities is limited by the instability of the esters and pK values are difficult to estimate by potentiometric titration due to low solubilities. Titrations in a range of aqueous methanolic solutions provide an estimate of the pK_a while titration under non-logarithmic conditions, when excess, undissolved base is present in the system, allows the determination of solubility.     

Predicting and tuning physicochemical properties in lead optimization: amine basicities

This review describes simple and useful concepts for predicting and tuning the pK(a) values of basic amine centers, a crucial step in the optimization of physical and ADME properties of many lead structures in drug-discovery research. The article starts with a case study of tricyclic thrombin inhibitors featuring a tertiary amine center with pK(a) values that can be tuned over a wide range, from the usual value of around 10 to below 2 by (remote) neighboring functionalities commonly encountered in medicinal chemistry. Next, the changes in pK(a) of acyclic and cyclic amines upon substitution by fluorine, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur functionalities, as well as carbonyl and carboxyl derivatives are systematically analyzed, leading to the derivation of simple rules for pK(a) prediction. Electronic and stereoelectronic effects in cyclic amines are discussed, and the emerging computational methods for pK(a) predictions are briefly surveyed. The rules for tuning amine basicities should not only be of interest in drug-discovery research, but also to the development of new crop-protection agents, new amine ligands for organometallic complexes, and in particular, to the growing field of amine-based organocatalysis.     

From contact angle titration to chemical force microscopy: a new route to assess the pH-dependent character of the stratum corneum

Despite of its complex multicomponent organization and its compact architecture, the Stratum corneum (SC) is not completely impermeable to substances directly applied on the skin surface. A huge number of works have been dedicated to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in substance permeation by exploring deeper layers than the SC itself. Surprisingly, there is a poor interest in studies relating to interactions which may occur in the near-surface region (i.e. approximately 1 nm depth) of the SC. In this work, equilibrium proton-transfer reactions have been used as probes to define in a fundamental point of view the nature of the SC interactions with its environment. Such titration curves are investigated on 'in vitro' SC (isolated SC from abdominal skin tissue) and on 'in vivo' volar forearm (a sebum poor area). The results are discussed in term of work of adhesion and surface pKa values. Because SC can 'reconstruct' under heating, influence of the temperature on titration curves is investigated and the role of the different components is discussed. Different sigmoidal transitions were observed. Two common pKa values (pKa(1) = 4 and pKa(2) = 11.5) were clearly identified in both cases and associated to an acid-base character. By playing with the temperature of 'in vitro' SC, the 'accessibility' of polar functions was increased, thus refining the results by revealing an amphoteric character with an acid-to-base transition at pH 3.5 and two acid transitions at pH = 6.5 and pH = 11.5. Adhesion forces between an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) tip and a single isolated corneocyte through buffered liquid media were also investigated to better understand the role of the individual corneocytes.     

脂肪族醇的酸碱离解常数(pKa)的预测研究

酸碱离解常数(pKa)在理解受体与药物反应和药物如何选择辅料上起着重要的作用。因此,在药物前期的开发中,能有效地预测pKa值可很好地降低开发成本,降低资源消耗。本文通过运用定量构效关系的方法(QSAR)对脂肪醇的数据库展开研究,以进行pKa值的预测。一共选用了253种各类描述符,包含原子键的性质的描述符48个,分子整体描述符205个,其中重点描述符为原子键的性质类描述符。采取多元线性回归的方法对数据进行研究。该预测模型能取得较好的效果,可以应用于药物的前期开发中。     

非负矩阵因子法分析多元混合酸的pKa

提出了多元混合酸pKa的计算的新方法。主要原理基于混合酸体系滴定的数学模型,对于pKa相近的混合酸出现的重叠峰,首次把非负矩阵因子分析(Non-negative Matrix Factorization(NMF))法应用到滴定谱图解析,从而清楚识别出各种混合酸的pKa,总的平均相对误差小于3％,结果令人满意。     

应用量化参数研究羧酸的结构和pKa值的关系

应用密度泛函B3LYP/6.311 G**法得30种羧酸分子的优势构象,再计算羧酸-水构成的氢键复合物,获得优势构象和复合物的结构参数,并将这些参数与羧酸pKa值相比.羧基C-O键长、羧基氢自然键轨道电荷以及复合物的氢键键长和结合能等参数,与羧酸pKa实验值具有良好的线性关系.以水为探针分子获得氢键复合物结构参数的方法,可预期在预测其它含有酸性基团化合物酸性的强弱方面推广应用.     

从头计算研究水溶液中有机化合物的pKa值

运用量子化学方法计算水溶液中一些含氮小分子化合物和醇、酚、羧酸的pKa值。采取从头计算的Hartree-Fock法和6- 31G(d,p)基组,以及aug-cc-pVDZ基组,密度泛函理论的B3LYP法6-31G(d,p)基组,分别优化分子和离子的气相几何结构,采用极化连续介质模型模拟溶质和溶剂分子间的相互作用,不同方法和基组计算结果差别不大,18个化合物的均方根误差均为1．03,预测值与实验值的相关系数均为0．98,一致性较好。证明HF／6-31G(d,p)法和模型计算或预测含有相同官能团的小分子的pKa数值很合理,能够为研究药物分子体系的构效关系提供精确的pKa参数。