Pheromone-triggered orientation flight of male moths can be disrupted by trifluoromethyl ketones.
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In a wind tunnel trifluoromethyl ketones (TFMKs) have been found to disrupt the orientation flight of male moths to pheromone sources (virgin females or synthetic pheromone). This is demonstrated by comparison of the flight parameters of the Egyptian armyworm Spodoptera littoralis and the Mediterranean corn borer Sesamia nonagrioides, which had been topically treated with TFMKs, with those calculated for untreated insects. Inhibition occurred in all types of behavior and that of the source contact has been quantified and found to be dose-dependent. The same effect has also been noticed in Mediterranean corn borer males flying to an attraction source consisting of mixtures of (Z)-11-hexadecenyl trifluoromethyl ketone (8), a closely related analogue of the major component of the pheromone, and the natural pheromone blend. The most active TFMKs are those closest in structure to the natural pheromone, along with those chemicals which easily hydrate in solution, such as the beta-thiosubstituted derivatives. Along with the previously reported reduction of catches in the field, our results suggest the possible application of these chemicals in future new pest control strategies. (+info)
Enhancement of fluorouracil uptake in human colorectal and gastric cancers by interferon or by high-dose methotrexate: An in vivo human study using noninvasive (19)F-magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
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PURPOSE: To study whether two modulators, high-dose methotrexate (MTX) and interferon alfa-2a (IFNalpha-2a) will alter the intratumoral pharmacokinetics of fluorouracil (5-FU). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Five patients, two with gastric cancer and three with colorectal cancer, who had metastatic tumor nodules in their livers were studied dynamically in vivo after 5-FU injection. In a magnetic resonance imaging unit, noninvasive (19)F-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to detect (19)F signals from 5-FU and its metabolites. RESULTS: The intratumoral half-life (t(1/2)) of 5-FU in these tumors ranged from 18.8 minutes to 42.3 minutes. Four of the five patients exhibited increases in the t(1/2) of 5-FU after intravenous (IV) administration of MTX or IFNalpha-2a. In the two patients with gastric cancer who received IV high-dose MTX followed by IV 5-FU, increases were seen in either the total t(1/2) of 5-FU (41.8%) or in the t(1/2) of the alpha phase (150%). In the three patients with colorectal cancer who received IV IFNalpha-2a followed by IV 5-FU, the two patients with partial responses had increases in the t(1/2) of 5-FU of 41% and 30.2%, whereas the nonresponder had a nonsignificant increase (5.6%) in the t(1/2) of 5-FU. CONCLUSIONS: These results document that the in vivo modulation of the tumoral pharmacokinetics of 5-FU can be measured noninvasively by (19)F-MRS and suggest that such information correlates with subsequent clinical outcomes. The findings also indicate that IFNalpha-2a and high-dose MTX can increase the intratumoral 5-FU in some patients. Such information, obtained prospectively in vivo, may assist in better individual cancer patient management and in developing novel drug combinations. (+info)
Towards the nonstick egg: designing fluorous proteins.
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Anyone who has made scrambled eggs will have had cause to praise the properties of Teflon. Teflon's highly chemically inert and nonstick nature derives from the perfluorinated polymer polytetrafluoroethylene. Perfluorocarbons have unique and valuable physical properties not found in nature. By incorporating fluorine into proteins, it might be possible to produce biological molecules with novel and useful properties. (+info)
Importance of amine pKa and distribution coefficient in the metabolism of fluorinated propranolol derivatives. Preparation, identification of metabolite regioisomers, and metabolism by CYP2D6.
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A series of 1"-mono-, di-, and trifluorinated analogs of propranolol and related steric congeners was prepared, and their metabolism was examined in recombinant-expressed CYP2D6. The structural changes in this series of compounds, principally added fluorines and methyl groups in the 1"-position of the N-isopropyl group, provided compounds that varied in pK(a) by more than 5 log units and also varied in lipophilicity and in steric size. Products of both aromatic hydroxylation and N-dealkylation were observed in the metabolic experiments. The regiochemistry of aromatic hydroxylation at the 4'- and 5'-positions was assigned based on high-pressure liquid chromatography, fluorescence, and mass spectral characteristics of the products and standards. Correlations of the metabolic kinetic parameters K(m) and catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)) with substituent parameters of the added groups showed that increased basicity (higher pK(a) values) was associated with increased enzyme affinity (low K(m) values) and increased catalytic efficiency. More basic methyl-substituted compounds showed higher affinities for CYP2D6 than the structurally analogous less basic fluorinated congeners, indicating the decrease in affinity of the fluorinated compounds was not due to the size of the N-alkyl substituent. Correlations with log D reflected the degree of ionization and showed that the less lipophilic substrates (more basic compounds) had higher affinity for CYP2D6. These results are consistent with the proposal in the literature that ion pairing of the protonated amine of the substrate with Asp301 in the active site of CYP2D6 is very important to substrate affinity. (+info)
Importance of amine pKa and distribution coefficient in the metabolism of fluorinated propranolol analogs: metabolism by CYP1A2.
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A series of 1"-mono-, di-, and trifluorinated analogs of propranolol and related steric congeners was prepared, and their metabolism was examined with recombinant-expressed CYP1A2. The structural changes in this series of compounds, principally added fluorines and methyl groups in the 1"-position of the N-isopropyl group, provided compounds that varied in pK(a) by more than 5 log units, in log D by 3 log units, and in size of the added substituents. N-Dealkylation and aromatic hydroxylation (formation of the 4'- and 5'-regioisomers) were catalyzed by CYP1A2. Correlations of the metabolic kinetic parameters K(m) and catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)) with physicochemical properties pK(a) and log D showed that increased lipophilicity (higher log D values) was associated with increased affinity (lower K(m)) and increased catalytic efficiency for CYP1A2. Comparison of log K(m) and log k(cat)/K(m) with pK(a) showed that the less basic analogs had higher affinities and increased catalytic efficiencies. The changes associated with pK(a) reflect increased lipid partitioning of substrate (increased log D) caused by an increase in the proportion of nonionized substrate. Increased steric bulk in the N-substituent alone did not decrease substrate affinity for CYP1A2 but did increase the amount of aromatic hydroxylation versus N-dealkylation. Removal of the hydroxyl group from the propanolamine side chain of propranolol resulted in a similar change in regioselectivity of metabolism. (+info)
Tyrosinase-catalyzed oxidation of fluorophenols.
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The activity of the type 3 copper enzyme tyrosinase toward 2-, 3-, and 4-fluorophenol was studied by kinetic methods and (1)H and (19)F NMR spectroscopy. Whereas 3- and 4-fluorophenol react with tyrosinase to give products that undergo a rapid polymerization process, 2-fluorophenol is not reactive and actually acts as a competitive inhibitor in the enzymatic oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa). The tyrosinase-mediated polymerization of 3- and 4-fluorophenols has been studied in detail. It proceeds through a phenolic coupling pathway in which the common reactive fluoroquinone, produced stereospecifically by tyrosinase, eliminates an inorganic fluorine ion. The enzymatic reaction studied as a function of substrate concentration shows a prominent lag that is completely depleted in the presence of L-dopa. The kinetic parameters of the reactions can be correlated to the electronic and steric effects of the fluorine substituent position. Whereas the fluorine electron withdrawing effect appears to control the binding of the substrates (K(m) for 3- and 4-fluorophenols and K(I) for 2-fluorophenol), the k(cat) parameters do not follow the expected trend, indicating that in the transition state some additional steric effect rules the reactivity. (+info)
Targeted antiproliferative drug delivery to vascular smooth muscle cells with a magnetic resonance imaging nanoparticle contrast agent: implications for rational therapy of restenosis.
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BACKGROUND: Restenosis is a serious complication of coronary angioplasty that involves the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from the media to the intima, synthesis of extracellular matrix, and remodeling. We have previously demonstrated that tissue factor-targeted nanoparticles can penetrate and bind stretch-activated vascular smooth muscles in the media after balloon injury. In the present study, the concept of VSMC-targeted nanoparticles as a drug-delivery platform for the prevention of restenosis after angioplasty is studied. METHODS AND RESULTS: Tissue factor-targeted nanoparticles containing doxorubicin or paclitaxel at 0, 0.2, or 2.0 mole% of the outer lipid layer were targeted for 30 minutes to VSMCs and significantly inhibited their proliferation in culture over the next 3 days. Targeting of the nanoparticles to VSMC surface epitopes significantly increased nanoparticle antiproliferative effectiveness, particularly for paclitaxel. In vitro dissolution studies revealed that nanoparticle drug release persisted over one week. Targeted antiproliferative results were dependent on the hydrophobic nature of the drug and noncovalent interactions with other surfactant components. Molecular imaging of nanoparticles adherent to the VSMC was demonstrated with high-resolution T1-weighted MRI at 4.7T. MRI 19F spectroscopy of the nanoparticle core provided a quantifiable approach for noninvasive dosimetry of targeted drug payloads. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that targeted paramagnetic nanoparticles may provide a novel, MRI-visualizable, and quantifiable drug delivery system for the prevention of restenosis after angioplasty. (+info)
Historical comparison of perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluorooctanoate, and other fluorochemicals in human blood.
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The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether there has been a change in the human blood concentration of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and five other fluorochemicals since 1974. Blood samples were collected in 1974 (serum) and 1989 (plasma) from volunteer participants of a large community health study. The study included a total of 356 samples (178 from each time period). These samples were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry methods. The median 1974 and 1989 fluorochemical concentrations, respectively, were as follows: PFOS, 29.5 ng/mL vs. 34.7 ng/mL; PFOA, 2.3 ng/mL vs. 5.6 ng/mL; perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHS), 1.6 ng/mL vs. 2.4 ng/mL; and N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetate (PFOSAA), less than the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ; 1.6 ng/mL, vs. 3.4 ng/mL). For N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetate (M570), perfluorooctanesulfonamide, and perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetate, median serum concentrations in both years were less than the LLOQ values (1.0, 1.0, and 2.5 ng/mL, respectively). Statistical analysis of 58 paired samples indicated that serum concentrations of PFOS, PFOSAA, PFOA, PFHS, and M570 were significantly (p < 0.001) higher in 1989 than in 1974. The data from 1989 were then compared with geometric mean fluorochemical concentrations of serum samples collected in 2001 from 108 American Red Cross adult blood donors from the same region. Except for M570, there were no statistically significant (p < 0.05) geometric mean fluorochemical concentration differences between the 1989 and 2001 samples. In conclusion, based on this study population, PFOS and other serum fluorochemical concentrations have increased between 1974 and 1989. Comparison with other regional data collected in 2001 did not suggest a continued increase in concentrations since 1989. (+info)