DFT and Thermal Decomposition Studies on Gemcitabine

Geometry optimization of gemcitabine was carried out by DFT with B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level in the gas phase. Chemical activity (electronegativity, electrophilicity, hardness, chemical softness and chemical potential) was predicted with the help of HOMO-LUMO energy values. Experimental FT-IR was recorded and computed values are also analyzed using the same level of DFT. A complete vibrational spectrum was made to analyze the potential energy distribution (PED). Stability of the molecule arising from the hyper-conjugative interaction was analyzed by the natural bond orbital (NBO). The molecular electrostatic potential map was used to detect the possible electrophilic and nucleophilic sites in the molecule. Nonisothermal decomposition of gemcitabine was carried out in an air atmosphere. The two decomposition steps of the molecule were analyzed kinetically by linear and nonlinear methods for elucidation of the kinetic triplet (Ea , ln A and f(α)) of the decomposition processes. Powder X-ray diffraction indicated that gemcitabine crystallizes in the monoclinic system (SG P2/m). Molecular docking studies were also described.

In situ evaluation of gemcitabine-DNA interaction using a DNA-electrochemical biosensor

The electrochemical behaviour of the cytosine nucleoside analogue and anti-cancer drug gemcitabine (GEM) was investigated at glassy carbon electrode, using cyclic, differential pulse and square wave voltammetry, in different pH supporting electrolytes, and no electrochemical redox process was observed. The evaluation of the interaction between GEM and DNA in incubated solutions and using the DNA-electrochemical biosensor was studied. The DNA structural modifications and damage were electrochemically detected following the changes in the oxidation peaks of guanosine and adenosine residues and the occurrence of the free guanine residues electrochemical signal. The DNA-GEM interaction mechanism occurred in two sequential steps. The initial process was independent of the DNA sequence and led to the condensation/aggregation of the DNA strands, producing rigid structures, which favoured a second step, in which the guanine hydrogen atoms, participating in the C-G base pair, interacted with the GEM ribose moiety fluorine atoms.

PROFESS: a PROtein function, evolution, structure and sequence database

The proliferation of biological databases and the easy access enabled by the Internet is having a beneficial impact on biological sciences and transforming the way research is conducted. There are approximately 1100 molecular biology databases dispersed throughout the Internet. To assist in the functional, structural and evolutionary analysis of the abundant number of novel proteins continually identified from whole-genome sequencing, we introduce the PROFESS (PROtein Function, Evolution, Structure and Sequence) database. Our database is designed to be versatile and expandable and will not confine analysis to a pre-existing set of data relationships. A fundamental component of this approach is the development of an intuitive query system that incorporates a variety of similarity functions capable of generating data relationships not conceived during the creation of the database. The utility of PROFESS is demonstrated by the analysis of the structural drift of homologous proteins and the identification of potential pancreatic cancer therapeutic targets based on the observation of protein-protein interaction networks. Database URL: http://cse.unl.edu/~profess/