Influence of substituents in fluorobenzene derivatives on the cytochrome P450-catalyzed hydroxylation at the adjacent ortho aromatic carbon center

Uncovering transformation products of four organic contaminants of concern by photodegradation experiments and analysis of real samples from a local river

In this study, photodegradation experiments simulating the exposure conditions of sunlight on the commonly detected in surface and wastewater contaminants atorvastatin (ATV), bezafibrate (BEZ), oxybenzone (OXZ), and tris(2-butoxyethyl)phosphate (TBEP) were conducted as the fate of these compounds and their transformation products (TPs) was followed. Then a nontargeted analysis was carried out on an urban river to confirm the environmental occurrence of the TPs after which the ECOSAR software was used to generate predicted effect levels of toxicity of the detected TPs on aquatic organisms. Five TPs of ATV were tentatively identified including two stable ones at the end of the experiment: ATV_TP557a and ATV_TP575, that were the product of hydroxylation. Complete degradation of OXZ was observed in the experiment with no significant TP identified. BEZ remained stable and largely undegraded at the end of the exposure. Five TPs of TBEP were found including four that were stable at the end of the experiment: TBEP_TP413, TBEP_TP415, TBEP_TP429, and TBEP_TP343. In the nontargeted analysis, ATV_TP557b, a positional isomer of ATV_TP557a, ATV_TP575 and the 5 TPs of TBEP were tentatively identified. The predicted concentration for effect levels were lower for ATV_TP557b compared to ATV indicating the TP is potentially more toxic than the parent compound. All the TPs of TBEP showed lower predicted toxicity toward aquatic organisms than their parent compound. These results highlight the importance of conducting complete workflows from laboratory experiments, followed by nontargeted analysis to confirm environmental occurrence to end with predicted toxicity to better communicate concern of the newfound TPs to monitoring programs.

A novel tool for structure assignment of hydroxylated metabolites of (arylpiperazinylbutyl)oxindole derivatives based on relative HPLC retention times

Incubation of oxindole derivatives containing an arylpiperazine pharmacophore in rat liver microsomes in vitro formed several metabolites hydroxylated at various positions of the aromatic rings of the oxindole carbocycle or the arylpiperazine moiety. In order to substitute the sites of metabolic attack on these positional isomers, the exact structure of the molecules had to be identified. As polarities of the compounds depend on the site of hydroxylation, we measured retention times of the metabolites using reversed-phase HPLC. It was noted that the relative retention times (RRT, the ratio of the retention time of the metabolite and the parent compound) fell into distinct narrow ranges for metabolites identified by MS spectra as positional isomers. These RRT ranges correlated with the positions of hydroxylation. The hypothesis was validated by synthesis of hydroxy compounds of known structure and by determination of their RRT values. Change in the chromatographic parameters such as column type, eluent, gradient time and temperature did not impede the identification of the sites of hydroxylation as the RRT pattern remained similar to the original one. The new empirical method proposed in our study can be used for tentative identification of hydroxy metabolites and orient the direction of efforts to synthesize metabolically stable compounds.

[PhSiO1.5]8,10,12 as nanoreactors for non-enzymatic introduction of ortho, meta or para-hydroxyl groups to aromatic molecules

Traditional electrophilic bromination follows long established "rules": electron-withdrawing substituents cause bromination selective for meta positions, whereas electron-donating substituents favor ortho and para bromination. In contrast, in the [PhSiO_1.5]_8,10,12 silsesquioxanes, the cages act as bulky, electron withdrawing groups equivalent to CF₃; yet bromination under mild conditions, without a catalyst, greatly favors ortho substitution. Surprisingly, ICl iodination without a catalyst favors (>90%) para substitution [p-IC₆H₄SiO_1.5]_8,10,12. Finally, nitration and Friedel-Crafts acylation and sulfonylation are highly meta selective, >80%. In principle, the two halogenation formats coupled with the traditional electrophilic reactions provide selective functionalization at each position on the aromatic ring. Furthermore, halogenation serves as a starting point for the synthesis of two structural isomers of practical utility, i.e. in drug prospecting. The o-bromo and p-iodo compounds are easily modified by catalytic cross-coupling to append diverse functional groups. Thereafter, F^-/H₂O₂ treatment cleaves the Si-C bonds replacing Si with OH. This represents a rare opportunity to introduce hydroxyl groups to aromatic rings, a process not easily accomplished using traditional organic synthesis methods. The as-produced phenol provides additional opportunities for modification. Each cage can be considered a nanoreactor generating 8-12 product molecules. Examples given include syntheses of 4,2'-R,OH-stilbenes and 4,4'-R,OH-stilbenes (R = Me, CN). Unoptimized cleavage of the Br/I derivatives yields 55-85% phenol. Unoptimized cleavage of the stilbene derivatives yields 35-40% (3-5 equivalents of phenol) in the preliminary studies presented here. In contrast, meta R-phenol yields are 80% (7-10 mol per cage).

Biotransformation of fluorophenyl pyridine carboxylic acids by the model fungus Cunninghamella elegans

1. Fluorine plays a key role in the design of new drugs and recent FDA approvals included two fluorinated drugs, tedizolid phosphate and vorapaxar, both of which contain the fluorophenyl pyridyl moiety. 2. To investigate the likely phase-I (oxidative) metabolic fate of this group, various fluorinated phenyl pyridine carboxylic acids were incubated with the fungus Cunninghamella elegans, which is an established model of mammalian drug metabolism. 3. ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy established the degree of biotransformation, which varied depending on the position of fluorine substitution, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) identified alcohols and hydroxylated carboxylic acids as metabolites. The hydroxylated metabolites were further structurally characterised by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), which demonstrated that hydroxylation occurred on the 4' position; fluorine in that position blocked the hydroxylation. 4. The fluorophenyl pyridine carboxylic acids were not biotransformed by rat liver microsomes and this was a consequence of inhibitory action, and thus, the fungal model was crucial in obtaining metabolites to establish the mechanism of catabolism.

Treatment of halogenated phenolic compounds by sequential tri-metal reduction and laccase-catalytic oxidation

Halogenated phenolic compounds (HPCs) are exerting negative effects on human beings and ecological health. Zero-valence metal reduction can dehalogenate HPCs rapidly but cannot mineralize them. Enzymatic catalysis can oxidize phenolic compounds but fails to dehalogenate efficiently, and sometimes even produces more toxic products. In this study, [Fe|Ni|Cu] tri-metallic reduction (TMR) and laccase-catalytic oxidation (LCO) processes were combined to sequentially remove HPCs, including triclosan, tetrabromobisphenol A, and 2-bromo-4-fluorophenol in water. The kinetics, pH and temperature dependences of TMR and LCO were obtained. The detailed TMR, LCO, and TMR-LCO transformation pathways of three HPCs were well described based on the identification of intermediate products and frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) theory. The results showed that the two-stage process worked synergically: TMR that reductively dehalogenated HPCs followed by LCO that completely removed dehalogenated products. TMR was proven to not only improve biodegradability of HPCs but also reduce the yield of potential carcinogenic by-products. Furthermore, a TMR-LCO flow reactor was assembled and launched for 256 h, during which >95% HPCs and >75% TOC were removed. Meanwhile, monitored by microorganism indicators, 83.2%-92.7% acute toxicity of HPCs was eliminated, and the genotoxicity, produced by LCO, was also avoided by using TMR as pretreatment process.

Elucidation of the 4-hydroxyacetophenone catabolic pathway in Pseudomonas fluorescens ACB

The catabolism of 4-hydroxyacetophenone in Pseudomonas fluorescens ACB is known to proceed through the intermediate formation of hydroquinone. Here, we provide evidence that hydroquinone is further degraded through 4-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde and maleylacetate to beta-ketoadipate. The P. fluorescens ACB genes involved in 4-hydroxyacetophenone utilization were cloned and characterized. Sequence analysis of a 15-kb DNA fragment showed the presence of 14 open reading frames containing a gene cluster (hapCDEFGHIBA) of which at least four encoded enzymes are involved in 4-hydroxyacetophenone degradation: 4-hydroxyacetophenone monooxygenase (hapA), 4-hydroxyphenyl acetate hydrolase (hapB), 4-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (hapE), and maleylacetate reductase (hapF). In between hapF and hapB, three genes encoding a putative intradiol dioxygenase (hapG), a protein of the Yci1 family (hapH), and a [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin (hapI) were found. Downstream of the hap genes, five open reading frames are situated encoding three putative regulatory proteins (orf10, orf12, and orf13) and two proteins possibly involved in a membrane efflux pump (orf11 and orf14). Upstream of hapE, two genes (hapC and hapD) were present that showed weak similarity with several iron(II)-dependent extradiol dioxygenases. Based on these findings and additional biochemical evidence, it is proposed that the hapC and hapD gene products are involved in the ring cleavage of hydroquinone.

Influence of structural and functional modifications of selected genotoxic carcinogens on metabolism and mutagenicity - a review

Alterations in molecular structure are responsible for the differential biological response(s) of a chemical inside a biosystem. Structural and functional parameters that govern a chemical's metabolic course and determine its ultimate outcome in terms of mutagenic/carcinogenic potential are extensively reviewed here. A large number of environmentally-significant organic chemicals are addressed under one or more broadly classified groups each representing one or more characteristic structural feature. Numerous examples are cited to illustrate the influence of key structural and functional parameters on the metabolism and DNA adduction properties of different chemicals. It is hoped that, in the event of limited experimental data on a chemical's bioactivity, such knowledge of the likely roles played by key molecular features should provide preliminary information regarding its bioactivation, detoxification and/or mutagenic potential and aid the process of screening and prioritising chemicals for further testing.