The Advantage of Covalent Capture in the Combinatorial Screening of a Dynamic Library for the Detection of Weak Interactions

Probing the mechanism of the dedicated NO sensor [4Fe-4S] NsrR: the effect of cluster ligand environment

NsrR from Streptomyces coelicolor is a bacterial nitric oxide (NO) sensor/nitrosative stress regulator as its primary function, and has been shown to have differential response at low, mid, and high levels of NO. These must correspond to discrete structural changes at the protein-bound [4Fe-4S] cluster in response to stepwise nitrosylation of the cluster. We have investigated the effect of the monohapto carboxylate ligand in the site differentiated [4Fe-4S] cluster cofactor of the protein NsrR on modulating its reactivity to NO with a focus on indentifying mechanistic intermediates. We have prepared a synthetic model [4Fe-4S] cluster complex with tripodal ligand and one single site differentiated site occupied by either thiolate or carboxylate ligand. We report here the mechanistic details of sequential steps of nitrosylation as observed by ESI MS and IR spectroscopy. Parallel non-denaturing mass spectrometry analyses were performed using site-differentiated variants of NsrR with the native aspartic acid, cysteine, or alanine in the position of the forth ligand to the cluster. A mono-nitrosylated synthetic [4Fe-4S] cluster was observed for the first time in a biologically-relevant thiolate-based coordination environment. Combined synthetic and protein data give unprecedented clarity in the modulation of nitrosylation of a [4Fe-4S] cluster.

Alkyl Thiocyanurates as Thioester Mimetics. Transthioesterification and Ligation Reactions with High Potential in Dynamic Covalent Chemistry

Alkyl thiocyanurates, the compounds formed in the SN reaction of thiocyanuric acid and alkyl halides, are susceptible to transthioesterification and ligation with molecules containing cysteamine, analogous to native chemical ligation of thioesters with peptides with an N-terminal cysteine moiety. The ligation is irreversible and results in the formation of mono- and disubstituted products dominantly. Transthioesterification, in contrast, is fully reversible and may be used in constructing dynamic systems. The application of this reactivity in dynamic covalent chemistry has been exemplified by the preparation of a library of mixed thiocyanurates of glutathione and thioglycolic acid with self-assembly abilities and metathesis between thiocyanurates of tris(carboxymethyl) and tris(carboxamidomethyl) catalyzed by MESNa (sodium 2-mercaptoethylsulphonate) or MPAA (4-mercaptophenylacetic acid). Differences in reactivity of thiocyanurates toward cysteamines and thiols has been explained based on conceptual DFT.

Identification of competitive inhibitors for bovine serum albumin from dynamic combinatorial libraries containing a bienzyme system

Three dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs) have been generated by using esterification, combined with a protocol based on size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and HRMS.

Dynamic combinatorial/covalent chemistry: a tool to read, generate and modulate the bioactivity of compounds and compound mixtures

Reversible covalent bond formation under thermodynamic control adds reactivity to self-assembled supramolecular systems, and is therefore an ideal tool to assess complexity of chemical and biological systems. Dynamic combinatorial/covalent chemistry (DCC) has been used to read structural information by selectively assembling receptors with the optimum molecular fit around a given template from a mixture of reversibly reacting building blocks. This technique allows access to efficient sensing devices and the generation of new biomolecules, such as small molecule receptor binders for drug discovery, but also larger biomimetic polymers and macromolecules with particular three-dimensional structural architectures. Adding a kinetic factor to a thermodynamically controlled equilibrium results in dynamic resolution and in self-sorting and self-replicating systems, all of which are of major importance in biological systems. Furthermore, the temporary modification of bioactive compounds by reversible combinatorial/covalent derivatisation allows control of their release and facilitates their transport across amphiphilic self-assembled systems such as artificial membranes or cell walls. The goal of this review is to give a conceptual overview of how the impact of DCC on supramolecular assemblies at different levels can allow us to understand, predict and modulate the complexity of biological systems.

Tridentate thiolate ligands: application to the synthesis of the site-differentiated [4Fe-4S] cluster having a hydrosulfide ligand at the unique iron center

We have designed new trithiols Temp(SH)(3) and Tefp(SH)(3) that can be synthesized conveniently in short steps and are useful for preparation of crystalline [3:1] site-differentiated [4Fe-4S] clusters suitable for X-ray structural analysis. The ethanethiolate clusters (PPh(4))(2)[Fe(4)S(4)(SEt)(TempS(3))] (4a) and (PPh(4))(2)[Fe(4)S(4)(SEt)(TefpS(3))] (4b) were prepared as precursors, and the unique iron sites were then selectively substituted. Upon reaction with H(2)S, (PPh(4))(2)[Fe(4)S(4)(SH)(TempS(3))] (6a) and (PPh(4))(2)[Fe(4)S(4)(SH)(TefpS(3))] (6b), which model the [4Fe-4S] cluster in the β subunit of (R)-2-hydroxyisocaproyl-CoA dehydratase, were synthesized. Clusters 6a and 6b were further converted to the sulfido-bridged double cubanes (PPh(4))(4)[{Fe(4)S(4)(TempS(3))}(2)(μ(2)-S)] (7a) and (PPh(4))(4)[{Fe(4)S(4)(TefpS(3))}(2)(μ(2)-S)] (7b), respectively, via intermolecular condensation with the release of H(2)S. Conversely, addition of H(2)S to 7a,b afforded the hydrosulfide clusters 6a,b. The molecular structures of the clusters reported herein were elucidated by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Their redox properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry.