Photochemistry of 5-bromouracils: isolation of 5,5'-diuracils

Microbial biosurfactants as additives for food industries

Microbial biosurfactants with high ability to reduce surface and interfacial surface tension and conferring important properties such as emulsification, detergency, solubilization, lubrication and phase dispersion have a wide range of potential applications in many industries. Significant interest in these compounds has been demonstrated by environmental, bioremediation, oil, petroleum, food, beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries attracted by their low toxicity, biodegradability and sustainable production technologies. Despite having significant potentials associated with emulsion formation, stabilization, antiadhesive and antimicrobial activities, significantly less output and applications have been reported in food industry. This has been exacerbated by uneconomical or uncompetitive costing issues for their production when compared to plant or chemical counterparts. In this review, biosurfactants properties, present uses and potential future applications as food additives acting as thickening, emulsifying, dispersing or stabilising agents in addition to the use of sustainable economic processes utilising agro-industrial wastes as alternative substrates for their production are discussed.

Photoaddition of 5-bromouracil to uracil in oligonucleotides leading to 5,5'-bipyrimidine-type adducts: mechanism of the photoreaction

5-Bromouracil ((Br)U) modified di- and hexanucleotides having (Br)U flanked on the 5' or the 3' side by uracil (U) have been synthesized, and their photochemical reactivity was examined under the conditions of irradiation with near UV light. The results indicate that the primary photochemical process in all of these compounds involves the formation of an intermediate cyclobutane phodoadduct composed of (Br)U and U, which undergoes further photochemically and thermally induced transformations to 5,5'-bipyrimidine type adducts.

The cyclobutane dimers of 2'-deoxyuridine, 2'-deoxycytidine, 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine

Irradiation of DNA and RNA pyrimidine nucleosides with UV light in frozen aqueous solution or in solution with acetone often results in the formation of cyclobutane dimers (CBDs). Many of these photodimers have not been characterized. We present here the results of work designed to achieve the isolation, spectroscopic characterization and determination of the stereochemical nature of a number of little studied or previously unstudied CBDs of four 2'-deoxyribonuclesides. These nucleosides are 2'-deoxyuridine (dUrd), 2'-deoxycytidine (dCyd), 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine (5-MedCyd) and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (5-BrdUrd). In particular, we have isolated and characterized six dUrd CBDs, five dCyd CBDs, five 5-MedCyd CBDs and four 5-BrdUrd CBDs. Photoproducts were studied by UV spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, proton NMR spectroscopy and via chemical approaches. Also presented are results from less definitive studies of a number of (6-4) (or 5-4) photoadducts of these nucleosides. In addition, results from exploratory photochemical studies of other 2'-deoxyribonucleosides in frozen solution, as well as some mixtures of two nucleosides, are given. The latter results indicate that 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine (5-IdUrd), 5-bromo-2'-deoxycytidine and 5-iodo-2'-deoxycytidine each form putative CBDs and that 5-BrdUrd is capable of forming putative mixed CBDs and (6-4) and/or (5-4) adducts with thymidine (Thd); 5-IdUrd similarly forms a (6-4) (or (5-4)) adduct with Thd.

Photochemistry of 6-chloro and 6-bromopicolinic acids in water. Heterolytic vs. homolytic photodehalogenation

The photochemistry of 6-chloro and 6-bromopicolinate ions ( and , respectively) was investigated by product studies and ns laser flash photolysis (LFP). In deoxygenated pH 5.4 water, yields 6-hydroxypicolinic acid (70%) and a substituted pyrrole. In 2-propanol-water (1 : 1) mixture, the reaction yields, very unselectively, 6-hydroxypicolinic acid, 2-carboxypyridine, pyridine and bipyridines. Photolysis of aqueous leads to 6-hydroxypicolinic acid (78%) and hydroxybipyridines. Oxygen suppresses the photolysis of but does not affect that of . By LFP, we detected a short-lived transient at the pulse end from (lambda(max)= 305 nm, k=(2.8 +/- 0.2)x 10(5) s(-1), epsilonphi= 2200 +/- 200 dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1)). This is quenched either by oxygen or methyl acrylate and thus assigned to the triplet excited state. The triplet excited state of is detected at pH 1 only (lambda(max)= 320 nm, k > 3 x 10(7) s(-1)). The radical ion Cl2- could be successfully detected by photolysing in 2-propanol-water (1 : 1) in the presence of Cl-. Similarly, Br2- could be detected by irradiating aqueous in the presence of Br-. These results show that the photodehalogenation of is heterolytic in water and mainly homolytic in 2-propanol-water mixtures while that of is both heterolytic and homolytic in water. A mechanism in which the triplet excited state undergoes homolysis of the C-X bond and subsequent electron transfer from the carboxypyridyl radical to the halogen atom to form an ion pair may account for these observations.

Photochemistry of 2-chloropyrimidine

The photochemistry of 2-chloropyrimidine (ClPy) was investigated by means of nanosecond laser flash photolysis, HPLC, mass spectrometry, polarography and absorption spectroscopy. Two major products were formed on low-intensity UV irradiation (lambda = 254 nm) of ClPy in anaerobic aqueous solution: 2-hydroxypyrimidine (quantum yield approximately 0.01) and a compound identified as 2-chloro-4,2'-bipyrimidine (quantum yield approximately 0.005). Only the former of these products was obtained under aerobic conditions. Investigation by nanosecond flash photolysis revealed the occurrence of efficient intersystem crossing to the ClPy triplet state; the deactivation processes from this state were determined. Photosensitised generation of the ClPy triplet state showed that the triplet is involved in the formation of the bipyrimidine. A reaction scheme is proposed comprising two reaction channels: heterolytic rupture of the C-Cl bond in the excited singlet state of ClPy leading to formation of 2-hydroxypyrimidine, and homolytic C-Cl rupture in the triplet state with creation of pyrimidinyl radicals, which react with excess ClPy to give 2-chloro-4,2'-bipyrimidine.

Photochemical coupling of 5-bromo-1,3-dimethyluracil and its 6-alkyl derivatives to 3-methylindole and N alpha-acetyl-L-tryptophan methyl ester

Photochemical reactions between 5-bromo-1,3-dimethyluracils and 3-substituted indoles in acetone solution were studied. Irradiation (lambda greater than 290 nm) of 5-bromo-1,3-dimethyluracil (1) and N alpha-acetyl-L-tryptophan methyl ester (2) yields, in addition to 5-(2-indolyl)uracil (3), a new photoadduct 5-(7-indolyl)uracil (4). 5-Bromo-1,3-dimethyluracils with 6-alkyl substituents irradiated in the presence of 2 give the 5-(2-indolyl)uracil-type photoadducts exclusively.

The lesions produced by ultraviolet light in DNA containing 5-bromouracil

The compound 5-bromouracil (BrU) may be incorporated into DNA in place of its analog thymine. This review is concerned with the photochemical lesions produced by the action of ultraviolet light on such BrU-DNA, and consequent biological effects of such lesions.