A quantum mechanical study of novel potential inhibitors of cytochrome bc1 as antimalarial compounds

Cytochrome bc1 is a validated drug target of Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes the most lethal form of malaria. The inhibition of cytochrome bc1 leads to the shutdown of the mitochondrial metabolism and the consequent arrest of pyrimidine biosynthesis Read more ›

Incorporation of Basic Side Chains into Cryptolepine Scaffold: Structure−Antimalarial Activity Relationships and Mechanistic Studies

The synthesis of cryptolepine derivatives containing basic side-chains at the C-11 position and their evaluations for antiplasmodial and cytotoxicity properties are reported. Propyl, butyl, and cycloalkyl diamine side chains significantly increased activity against chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strains while reducing cytotoxicity Read more ›

Synthesis and evaluation of vinyl sulfones as caspase-3 inhibitors. A structure–activity study

The first structure–activity relationship study of vinyl sulfones as caspase-3 inhibitors is reported. A series of 12 vinyl sulfones was synthesized and evaluated for two downstream caspases (caspases-3 and -7). Dipeptidyl derivatives were significantly superior to their counterparts containing only Asp Read more ›

Properties and Permeability of Hypericin and Brominated Hypericin in Lipid Membranes

The promising photosensitizing properties of hypericin, a substituted phenanthroperylene quinone naturally found in Saint John’s wort, has led to the proposal that it can be utilized in photodynamic therapy. Structurally modified derivatives are at the present time being investigated to Read more ›

Design, synthesis and structure–activity relationships of (1H-pyridin-4-ylidene)amines as potential antimalarials

(1H-Pyridin-4-ylidene)amines containing lipophilic side chains at the imine nitrogen atom were prepared as potential clopidol isosteres in the development of antimalarials. Their antiplasmodial activity was evaluated in vitro against the Plasmodium falciparum W2 (chloroquine-resistant) and FCR3 (atovaquone-resistant) strains. The most Read more ›

Interfacial Excess Free Energies of Solid–Liquid Interfaces by Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Thermodynamic Integration

A method to compute the interfacial excess free energy of systems where a liquid phase is interacting with a solid phase is presented. The calculations are carried out by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The algorithm is based on a Read more ›

Erratum to ‘Modelling the behavior of 5-aminolevulinic acid and its alkyl esters in a lipid bilayer’ [Chem. Phys. Lett. 463 (2008) 178]

Due to an error in an analysis program, Fig. 4A in our Letter [1] was incorrectly plotted. The corrected graph is given herein. Edvin Erdtman ab, Daniel J.V.A. dos Santos c, Lennart Löfgren d, Leif A. Eriksson a* a Department Read more ›

Consistency of Ion Adsorption and Excess Surface Tension in Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Aqueous Salt Solutions

Molecular dynamics simulations of the liquid−vapor interface of aqueous solutions of sodium fluoride and of sodium iodide have been carried out using nonpolarizable force fields for ions and water molecules. Despite the absence of explicit polarizability, the tendency of iodide Read more ›

Modelling the behavior of 5-aminolevulinic acid and its alkyl esters in a lipid bilayer

5-Aminolevulinic acid (5ALA) and ester derivates thereof are used as prodrugs in photodynamic therapy (PDT). The behavior of 5ALA and three esters of 5ALA in a DPPC lipid bilayer is investigated. In particular, the methyl ester displays a very different Read more ›

Substituent effects on O–H and S–H bond dissociation enthalpies of disubstituted phenols and thiophenols

The O–H and S–H homolytic bond dissociation enthalpies of a set of disubstituted phenols and thiophenols (NH2, OH, CH3, Cl, CF3, and NO2) have been computed by a density functional theory procedure with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. A very good Read more ›

Theoretical Study of Sequence Selectivity and Preferred Binding Mode of Psoralen with DNA

Psoralen interaction with two models of DNA was investigated using molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics methods. Calculated energies of minor groove binding and intercalation were compared in order to define a preferred binding mode for the ligand.We found that both Read more ›

Permeability of Psoralen Derivatives in Lipid Membranes

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to explore the distribution and translocation of a set of furocoumarins (psoralen derivatives) inside saturated and partially unsaturated lipid membranes. Within the simulations, strong accumulation of the photodynamic drugs is observed near the polar Read more ›

Chain length effect on the structure of alkyltrimethylammonium chloride monolayers between two immiscible liquids

The main purpose of this article is to understand at the microscopic level the possible effect of the chain length on the properties of an adsorbed monolayer between two immiscible liquids. We report a molecular dynamics simulation study of an Read more ›

Structure and Properties of Hexadecyltrimethylammonium Chloride Monolayers in Contact with Oil Films with Different Thicknesses

We report a study on the effects of the amount of oil (100, 300, and 1372 1,2-dichloroethane molecules) spread on a hexadecyltrimethylammonium (CTA) chloride monolayer adsorbed on water. There are some related experimental results, namely, by neutron reflection on the Read more ›