The Readout of Base-Pair Information in Adenine-Thymine α-D-Arabinonucleosides

Organogel Formation Rationalized by Hansen Solubility Parameters: Shift of the Gelation Sphere with the Gelator Structure

To rationalize how the gelation ability of a low molecular weight gelator is influenced by its molecular structure, we performed extensive solubility tests of a group of thiazole-based gelators and made use of Hansen solubility parameter formalism. We observe that the increase of a linear alkyl chain in these gelators promotes an increase of the radius of the gelation sphere as well as a gradual shift of its center to lower values of the polar (δ_P) and hydrogen bonding (δ_H) components. The molecular packing within the fibers and the crystal habit were determined by a combination of X-ray diffraction and molecular modeling. We attribute the gradual and linear shift of the gelation sphere to the fact that all of the studied gelators share the same molecular packing, so that an increasing length of the alkyl chain reduces the proportion of polar groups at the surface, resulting in a gradual increase in the contact between apolar parts of the fiber and the solvent.

Antiviral activities of Janus-type nucleosides and their related oxime-intermediates

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection has been recognized as the most common mucosal disease in humans, manifesting as a life-threatening infection especially for patients with compromised immunity. When combined with the emergence of resistance due to the long-term use of classical antiviral agents, these threats make novel therapeutics for HSV a clinically necessity. We therefore designed and synthesized a series of Janus-type nucleosides by combining the natural genetic alphabets into a singular nucleoside structural unit. We also synthesized a series of new compounds and systematically evaluated their antiviral activity and structure-antiviral activity relationship. The results indicated that both nucleosides and their related intermediates exhibited high anti-HSV-1 activity. Compounds HY17 and HY19, in particular, possessed excellent anti-HSV-1 activity with IC₅₀ values of 0.05 and 0.04 µg/mL, respectively. They also showed broad-spectrum antiviral activity against a multitude of diverse viruses, such as HSV-2, influenza virus A (H3N2), CVB3, HBV, HCV, and HPV. These results suggest that once their mechanisms are fully elucidated, these compounds will prove to be promising candidates as antiviral agents.

Supermacrocyclic Assemblies by Hydrogen-Bond Codes of C7-Phenol Pyrazolo and Pyrrolo Derivatives of Adenine

Hydrogen bond (HB) mediated base pair motifs are versatile scaffolds of diverse supramolecular constructs. Here, we report that two new four- and six-membered supermacrocyclic assemblies with intriguing geometries could self-assemble from two new adenine derivatives, APN (1) and APC (2). The conversion of a conventional HB acceptor, N8 of 1, to a non-conventional HB donor, C8-H of 2, had a pronounced impact on the overall intricate HB network and self-assembly patterns, epitomizing the subtleties in design and exploitation of such base-pair motifs as promising tectons for building supramolecular architectures.

Organogel formation rationalized by Hansen solubility parameters: improved methodology

An organogel is obtained when a low molar mass compound forms a network of anisotropic fibres in a liquid that is therefore transformed into a macroscopic solid. Various approaches have been proposed to correlate organogel formation and Hansen solubility parameters. These approaches are well adapted to specific experimental datasets but lack universality. A general method to determine the gelation domain from the solubility data of low molecular weight gelators is here reported.

New strategies against drug resistance to herpes simplex virus

Herpes simplex virus (HSV), a member of the Herpesviridae family, is a significant human pathogen that results in mucocutaneous lesions in the oral cavity or genital infections. Acyclovir (ACV) and related nucleoside analogues can successfully treat HSV infections, but the emergence of drug resistance to ACV has created a barrier for the treatment of HSV infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. There is an urgent need to explore new and effective tactics to circumvent drug resistance to HSV. This review summarises the current strategies in the development of new targets (the DNA helicase/primase (H/P) complex), new types of molecules (nature products) and new antiviral mechanisms (lethal mutagenesis of Janus-type nucleosides) to fight the drug resistance of HSV.