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The widespread distribution of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) is a major concern due to their potential effects on human health and the environment. The insufficient sewage treatment plant infrastructures is a global problem most accentuated in less developed countries and results in the discharge of CECs to water bodies. Pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) is a ray-finned freshwater fish species native to the Paraná basin. It is also the most produced aquaculture fish species in Argentina since 2012. Though uninvestigated to date, the occurrence of CECs in pacu may be of high relevance due to production volumes and relevance to human exposure through fish consumption. In this study, we applied a high-resolution mass spectrometry screening method to qualitatively analyze over 100 CECs in pacu. Four extraction/cleanup methods were tested on pooled pacu fillet, including solid-phase extraction and QuEChERS. The method that produced the highest number of detections was selected for further analysis of pacu purchased in supermarkets and fish markets in Argentina between 2017 and 2020. Residues of pesticides, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, plasticizers, sweeteners, drug metabolites, stimulants, and illegal drugs were detected in the samples. A total of 38 CECs were detected, ranging between 24 and 35 CECs per individual sample. 100% of the samples had positive detections of caffeine, 1,7-dimethylxanthine, xanthine, benzoylecgonine, methylparaben, ethylparaben, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), metolachlor, carbendazim, salicylic acid, 2,4-D, saccharin, cyclamate, and dodecanedioic acid. Mappings generated with correspondence analysis were used to explore similarities/dissimilarities among the detected compounds. To our knowledge this is the first report of saccharin, cyclamate, 2,4 - D, carbendazim, metolachlor, ethylparaben, propylparben, bisphenol A, DEHP, and benzotriazole in fish from Argentina, and the first report on the presence of lisinopril, metropolol acid and dodecanedioic acid in fish worldwide.

Recent developments in molecular pathology and genetics have allowed the identification of human glutaminyl cyclase (hQC) among the abnormal proteins involved in many neurodegenerative disorders. Difficulties in obtaining large quantities of pure protein may limit the use of crystallographic screening for drug development on this target. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments have led to the identification of some solvent-exposed residues that are absolutely critical to achieve increased solubility and to avoid precipitation of the enzyme in inclusion bodies when expressed inEscherichia coli. The designed variant Y115E–Y117E has been found to be able to provide large amounts of monodisperse, pure hQC from anE. coliexpression system. To validate the use of the artificial construct as a target for large-scale X-ray and NMR screening campaigns in the search for new inhibitors of hQC, the X-ray crystal structures of the hQC Y115E–Y117E variant and of its adduct with the inhibitor PBD-150 were determined.

A practical and scalable route to the SMO antagonist SEN826 1 is described herein, including the discussion of an alternative approach to the synthesis of the target molecule. The optimized route consists of five chemical steps. A new and efficient access to the key intermediate 6 via the bisulfite–aldehyde complex was developed, significantly enhancing the yields and reducing costs. As a result, a synthetic procedure for preparation of multihundred gram quantities of the final product has been developed.

A key feature of tris(oxazolinyl)ethane ("trisox") ligands, which have shown broad scope in asymmetric catalysis, is the orientation and steric demand of their oxazoline substituents. This, along with the modularity of their synthesis determines their coordination chemistry. The possibility to combine oxazolines, in which the stereogenic centers adjacent to the N-donor atoms have different absolute configuration, whilst retaining their ability to coordinate as tripodal ligands, has been demonstrated by the synthesis of the enantiomerically pure C3-symmetric iPr-trisox(S,S,S) and C1-symmetric iPr-trisox(S,S,R) and their reaction with [Mo(CO)3(NCMe)3] yielding [Mo{iPr-trisox(S,S,S)}(CO)3] (1 a) and [Mo{iPr-trisox(S,S,R)}(CO)3] (1 b), respectively. The non-autocomplementarity of two homochiral trisox ligands at one metal center has been demonstrated by reaction of rac-C3 iPr-trisox with one equivalent of [Co(ClO4)2].6 H2O, giving the centrosymmetric heterochiral complex [Co(iPr-trisox)2](ClO4)2 (3), whereas an analogous reaction with the enantiopure ligand yielded a mixture of Co(II) complexes, which is characterized by the total absence of a [(trisox)2Co](+/2+) ion. The scope of the trisox ligand in terms of facial coordination to both early and late transition metals was demonstrated by the synthesis and structural characterization of the mononuclear complexes [ScCl3(iPr-trisox)] (4), [Fe(tBu-trisox)(NCMe)3](BF4)2 (5), and [Ru(eta6-p-cymene)(iPr-trisox)](PF6)2 (6). The facial coordination of their three ligating atoms to a metal center may be impeded if the transition-metal center stereoelectronically strongly favors a non-deltahedral coordination sphere, which is generally the case for the heavier d8-transition-metal atoms/ions. Reaction of iPr-trisox with [Rh(cod)2]BF4 led to the formation of the 16-electron d8-configured complex [Rh(iPr-trisox)(cod)](BF4) (7), which is oxidized by CsBr3 to give the Rh(III) complex [RhBr3(iPr-trisox)] (8) possessing a C3-symmetric structure with a kappa3-N-trisox ligand. The crystalline salts [M2(mu-Cl3)(iPr-trisox)2](PF6) (M=Fe(II): 9, Co(II): 10, Ni(II): 11), were prepared by addition of one molar equivalent of iPr-trisox and an excess of KPF6 to solutions of the anhydrous (FeCl2) or hydrated metal halides (CoCl2.6 H2O, NiCl2.6 H2O). All dinuclear complexes display weak magnetic coupling. For the mononuclear species [CuCl2(iPr-trisox)] (12) the removal of a chloride anion and thus the generation of a dinuclear chloro-bridged structure failed due to Jahn-Teller destabilization of a potential octahedral coordination sphere.

Enantiomerically pure cyclic (R,R)-sulfates have been transformed into novel enantiopure ligands of the general type (S,S)-2,4-R2-1-(3-phenylpropyl)phosphetane (7a−c; R = Cy, i-Pr, t-Bu). 7a−c spli...

Free and trioctylamine (TOA)-stabilized ruthenium nanoparticles have been prepared by decomposition of the metal precursor Ru(η 6 -cycloocta-1,3,5-triene)(η 4 -cycloocta-1,5-diene) under mild conditions (room temperature, hydrogen atmospheric pressure). The nanoparticles have been deposited on γ-Al 2 O 3 supports having different surface area. The resulting systems are active in the hydrogenation of methyl benzoate to methyl cyclohexanoate with a reaction rate decreasing in the order Ru(TOA)/γ-Al 2 O 3 (high surface area, catalyst D ) > Ru(TOA)/γ-Al 2 O 3 (catalyst C ) > Ru/γ-Al 2 O 3 (high surface area, catalyst B ) > Ru/γ-Al 2 O 3 (catalyst A ). Catalysts A – D are long lived and can be reused without loss of activity; they are considerably more active than a commercial ruthenium on γ-Al 2 O 3 sample. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy analyses of such systems show that the nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed on the support and that the size distribution decreases in the order catalyst A , 2.9 nm > catalyst B , 2.8 nm > catalyst C , 2.4 nm > catalyst D , 2.3 nm. Based on the easy hydrogenation of the aromatic ring to the cyclohexane derivative, an efficient synthesis of 4-carbomethoxyformylcyclohexane, important starting material in the preparation of pharmaceutical products, from the largely available methyl 4-formylbenzoate, has been set up in the presence of catalyst D .

The easily accessible (R)-3-phenylbutanol (1) can be transformed into the novel enantiopure ligand diphenyl((R)-3-phenylbutyl)phosphane (3). 3 splits the complex dimer [{RuCl2(η6-C6H5CO2Me)}2] (6) by adding as a σ-ligand to form mononuclear [RuCl2(η6-C6H5COOMe)((R)-η1-PPh2(CH2)2CH(CH3)Ph)] (7). An intramolecular arene ligand displacement reaction leads to [RuCl2((R)-η1-PPh2(CH2)2CH(CH3)-η6-C6H5)] (8) with a tethered side chain of the arene ligand. Nucleophilic substitution of a chloride ligand by primary or secondary amines with the assistance of NaBF4 gives access to the diastereomeric complex salts [RuCl(amine)((R)-η1-PPh2(CH2)2CH(CH3)-η6-C6H5)]BF4. Good diastereoselectivities were obtained for aniline, piperidine, benzylamine, and butylamine complex salts 9−12 (de = 82−90%). The absolute structures of 8−10 have been determined by X-ray structure analysis. SRu,RC configurations were found for the major diastereomers of aniline and piperidine complex salts 9 and 10. Not only the side chain stereogenic ce...

The preparation of optically pure ((R)-3-phenylbutanol)Ru(II) complexes is described. Depending on the reaction conditions and the co-ligands, the chiral alcohol side chain may dangle free at the periphery of the η6-co-ordinated arene ligand or be co-ordinated to the metal to result in a η6:η1-chelate ligand system. A key molecule is the dimeric complex [(η6-(R)-3-phenylbutanol)RuCl2]2 (2) with dangling side chains. It is accessible in good yield either by oxidation and COD ligand exchange of the Ru(0) species [(COD)(η6-(R)-3-phenylbutanol)Ru] (1) (COD=1,5-cyclooctadiene) or by complexation and dehydrogenation of (R)-3-cyclohexa-(1,4-dien-1-yl)-butanol (5). 5 is thus accessible in good yield in two steps from a commercially available starting material. Dimer 2 can be split into mononuclear complexes by heating alcohol solutions to afford tethered [(η6:η1-(R)-3-phenylbutanol)RuCl2] (6), or by reaction with an additional ligand L (L=PR3, P(OR)3, pyridine) to furnish [(η6-(R)-3-phenylbutanol)(L)RuCl2] (7a–f). If 7a–d are reacted with silver salts, the side chain is strapped through chloride elimination to form the diastereomeric salts [(η6:η1-(R)-3-phenylbutanol)(L)RuCl]+X− (8X) (X=BF4, PF6). The absolute molecular structures of the complexes have been determined in the solid state. Especially the side chains exhibit interesting conformational features. The CD spectra of 2, 6, and 7a are reported.

Arene ruthenium(0) complexes with carbonyl side chain functionalities like [Ru(η6-C6H5COR)(η4-COD)] or [Ru(η6-o-C6H4{R1}COR)(η4-COD)] (COD=1,5-cyclooctadiene; R=H, CH3; R1=H, CH3, OCH3) are easily accessible by replacing the naphthalene ligand of [Ru(η6-naphthalene)(η4-COD)] (1) through an arene exchange reaction. These carbonyl species are susceptible to standard organic reactions of the carbonyl function, thus allowing the introduction of dangling side chains bearing highly polar functions like hydroxyl or amino groups. Aldol reaction of [Ru(o-C6H4{CH3}COCH3)(COD)] (3) with (−)-menthylchloroformate in the presence of LDA (LDA=lithium diisopropylamide) leads to a diastereomeric mixture of [Ru(menthyl-{3-oxo-3-η6-o-tolyl}propionate)(COD)] (10). However, treatment of 3 with LDA and o-tolylaldehyde or benzaldehyde affords the unexpected products [Ru(1-η6-o-tolyl-3-o-tolylpropan-1-one)(COD)] (11) and [Ru(1-η6-o-tolyl-1-phenylpropan-1-one)(COD)] (12). A diastereoselective addition (88% de) of deprotonated menthylacetate to [Ru(o-tolylaldehyde)(COD)] (4) results in the formation of [Ru(menthyl 3-η6-o-tolyl-3-hydroxypropionate)(COD)] (13). Racemic planar-chiral aldehyde complexes 2 and 4 react with amines giving the imination products in good yield. In case of reaction between 2 and (R)-N-amino-2-(methoxymethyl)-pyrrolidine (RAMP), diastereomeric [Ru(N-[[η6-(2-methylphenyl]methylene]-(R)-2-(methoxymethyl)-1-pyrrolidinamine)(COD)] (17) is formed. The diastereomers (R,R)-17 and (S,R)-17 have been separated by fractional crystallisation. Asymmetric arene ruthenium complexes with a defined planar-chiral configuration are thus accessible. Reduction of [Ru(3-η6-phenyl-(R)-methylbutyrate)(COD)] (7) with LiAlH4 yields the chiral γ-alcohol [Ru(3-η6-phenyl-(R)-1-butanol)(COD)] (18). A Wittig olefination converts the aldehyde complex 4 into a mixture of E- and Z-isomeric [Ru(1-η6-o-tolyl-2-phenylethylene)(COD)] 21a and 21b, which were separated again by fractional crystallisation.

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a currently incurable neurodegenerative condition caused by an abnormally expanded polyglutamine tract in huntingtin (HTT). We identified novel modifiers of mutant HTT toxicity by performing a large-scale “druggable genome” siRNA screen in human cultured cells, followed by hit validation in Drosophila. We focused on glutaminyl cyclase (QPCT), which had one of the strongest effects on mutant HTT-induced toxicity and aggregation in the cell-based siRNA screen, and which also rescued these phenotypes in Drosophila. We found that QPCT inhibition induced the levels of the molecular chaperone alpha B-crystallin and reduced the aggregation of diverse proteins. We generated novel QPCT inhibitors using in silico methods followed by in vitro screens, which rescued the HD-related phenotypes in cell, Drosophila and zebrafish HD models. Our data reveal a novel HD druggable target affecting mutant huntingtin aggregation, and provide proof-of-principle for a discovery pipeline from druggable genome screen to drug development.

A series of amides bearing a variety of amidine head groups was investigated as BACE1 inhibitors with respect to inhibitory activity in a BACE1 enzyme as well as a cell-based assay. Determination of their basicity as well as their properties as substrates of P-glycoprotein revealed that a 2-amino-1,3-oxazine head group would be a suitable starting point for further development of brain penetrating compounds for potential Alzheimer's disease treatment.

The underlying conceptual differences in exploiting two- and threefold rotational symmetry in the design of chiral ligands for asymmetric catalysis have been addressed in a comparative study of the catalytic performance of bisoxazoline (BOX) and tris(oxazolinyl)ethanes (trisox) containing copper(II) Lewis acid catalysts. The differences become apparent in constructing new catalysts by systematically "deforming" the stereodirecting ligand by inverting chiral centres or replacing chiral by achiral oxazolines. The catalytic alpha-amination of ethyl 2-methylacetoacetate with dibenzyl azodicaboxylate, which occurs with high enantioselectivity for both Ph(2)-BOX and Ph(3)-trisox copper catalysts, has been employed as the test reaction. In the trisox-copper complex [Cu(II)(iPr(3)-trisox)(kappa(2)-O,O'-MeCOCHCOOEt)](+)[BF(4)](-) (1), which was characterised by X-ray diffraction, two of the oxazoline groups are coordinated to the central copper atom, whilst the third oxazoline unit is dangling with the N-donor pointing away from the metal centre. A similar arrangement is found for the stereochemically "mixed" C(1)-trisox complex [Cu(II){(Ph(3)-trisox(R,S,S)}(kappa(2)-O,O'-MeCOCHCOOEt)(H(2)O)](+)[ClO(4)](-) (2), in which the phenyl substituents adopt a first coordination sphere meso arrangement. The almost identical selectivity of the Ph(3)-trisox(R,R,R)- and Ph(2)-BOX(R,R)-derived catalysts is as expected from the proposed model of the active catalyst based on a partially decoordinated podand. The behaviour of the "desymmetrised" trisox-Cu catalysts may be rationalised in terms of a general steady-state kinetic model for the three possible active bisoxazoline-copper species, which are expected to be in rapid exchange with each other in solution. This applies to both the trisox derivatives with stereochemically inverted and achiral oxazoline rings. The study underscores previous observations of superior performance of the catalysts bearing C(3)-chiral stereodirecting ligands as compared to systems of lower symmetry.

Chiral C3-symmetric trisoxazolines are highly efficient stereodirecting ligands in enantioselective Cu(II) Lewis acid catalysis which is based on the concept of a stereoelectronic hemilability of the divalent copper; in direct comparison with the analogous bisoxazoline systems they are more efficient in the enantioselective alpha-amination as well as the enantioselective Mannich reaction of prochiral beta-ketoesters.

1-Triphenylphosphoniobenzo[c]phospholide 1 reacts with [M(CO)(5)Br] (M = Mn, Re) and [Mn(CO)(3)(naphthalene)][BF(4)] to give complexes cis-[M(CO)(4)(1)Br] (5 a,b) and [Mn(CO)(3)(1)][BF(4)] (6 a[BF(4)]), respectively, featuring eta(1)(P)- and eta(5)(pi)-coordination of the phosphole ring. The corresponding reactions with [M(2)(CO)(10)] proceed with conservation of the metal-metal bond and yield, depending on the reaction temperature, dinuclear complexes [M(2)(CO)(8)(1)] (M=Mn, 7 a) or [M(2)(CO)(6)(1)(2)] (M=Mn, Re, 8 a,b) with mu(2)-bridging eta(1)(P):eta(2)(Pdbond;C) coordination of the phosphole moiety. All complexes formed were characterized by spectroscopic data; 5 b, 6 a[BF(4)], and 8 a,b were characterized by X-ray diffraction studies as well. The structural and (31)P NMR data of the dinuclear manganese complex 8 a suggest that the interaction between the metal atoms and the eta(2)-bound Pdbond;C double bond moieties is dominated by the L-->M charge-transfer contribution; this hints at a very low back-donation ability of the central M(2)(CO)(6) fragment. Investigation of the reactions of the Mn complexes 6 a and 8 a with Mg or ferrocenium hexafluorophosphate ([Fc][PF(6)]), respectively, revealed that the chemically reversible mutual interconversion between both species was feasible. Likewise, oxidation of the rhenium complex 8 b with [Fc][PF(6)] gave spectroscopic evidence for the formation of a Re analogue of 6 a. Electrochemical studies suggested that the oxidation 8 a-->2 6 a involves two consecutive single-electron-transfer steps, the first of which is electrochemically reversible and produces a metastable radical cation that is detectable by ESR spectroscopy. The mutual interconversion between 6 a and 8 a represents the first case of a reversible coordination isomerization of a phosphaarene that is triggered by a redox process and might stimulate further studies directed at the use of dinuclear phosphaarene complexes in redox-catalysis.