Sugar Units (sugar + unit)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Synthesis of Oligosaccharide Mimetics with Glycoaminoxy Acids

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 34 2009
Yanchun Gong
Abstract From readily available di- O -isopropylidene- D -glucose, a D -ribofuranoid glycoaminoxy acid and its tBu ester have been efficiently prepared as a new family of sugar building blocks by introducing the phthalimido aminoxy group by a Mitsunobu reaction. We found that the tBu ester can be selectively deprotected with 13.7,% TFA in CH2Cl2 at 0 °C in the presence of the 1,2- O -isopropylidene acetal. This selective deprotection has made possible the synthesis of homo-oligomers of glycoaminoxy acids (up to six sugar units) as a novel type of oligosaccharide mimetics. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009) [source]


Molecular determinants of ligand specificity in family 11 carbohydrate binding modules , an NMR, X-ray crystallography and computational chemistry approach

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 10 2008
Aldino Viegas
The direct conversion of plant cell wall polysaccharides into soluble sugars is one of the most important reactions on earth, and is performed by certain microorganisms such as Clostridium thermocellum (Ct). These organisms produce extracellular multi-subunit complexes (i.e. cellulosomes) comprising a consortium of enzymes, which contain noncatalytic carbohydrate-binding modules (CBM) that increase the activity of the catalytic module. In the present study, we describe a combined approach by X-ray crystallography, NMR and computational chemistry that aimed to gain further insight into the binding mode of different carbohydrates (cellobiose, cellotetraose and cellohexaose) to the binding pocket of the family 11 CBM. The crystal structure of C. thermocellum CBM11 has been resolved to 1.98 Å in the apo form. Since the structure with a bound substrate could not be obtained, computational studies with cellobiose, cellotetraose and cellohexaose were carried out to determine the molecular recognition of glucose polymers by CtCBM11. These studies revealed a specificity area at the CtCBM11 binding cleft, which is lined with several aspartate residues. In addition, a cluster of aromatic residues was found to be important for guiding and packing of the polysaccharide. The binding cleft of CtCBM11 interacts more strongly with the central glucose units of cellotetraose and cellohexaose, mainly through interactions with the sugar units at positions 2 and 6. This model of binding is supported by saturation transfer difference NMR experiments and linebroadening NMR studies. [source]


The role of peptides and proteins in melanoidin formation,

JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 3 2009
Anna Smaniotto
Abstract High-molecular-weight (HMW) coloured compounds called melanoidins are widely distributed, particularly in foods. It has been proposed that they originate through the Maillard reaction, a non-enzymatic browning reaction, due to the interaction between protein or peptide amino groups and carbohydrates. The melanoidin structure is not definitively known, and they have been generally defined as HMW nitrogen-containing brown polymers. In order to gain information on the nature of melanoidins, a simple in vitro model was chosen to investigate the products of the reactions between sugars and peptide/proteins. This approach would elucidate whether melanoidin formation is due to the binding of different sugar units to a peptide/protein or vice versa. With this aim, the reactivity of two different peptides, EPK177 and physalaemin, and a low-molecular-weight (LMW) protein, lysozyme, was tested towards different saccharides (glucose, maltotriose (MT), maltopentaose and dextran 1000) in aqueous solutions at different temperatures. The incubation mixtures were analysed at different reaction times by MALDI/MS. Furthermore, in order to verify the possible role of sugar pyrolysis products in melanoidin formation, the products arising from the thermal treatment at 200 °C of MT were incubated with lysozyme, and the reaction products were analysed by the same MS approach. The obtained results allowed the establishment of some general views: melanoidins cannot simply originate by reactions of sugar moieties with proteins. In fact, the reaction easily occurs, but it does not lead to any coloured product, as melanoidins have been described to be; melanoidins cannot originate from the thermal degradation products of glycated proteins. In fact, the thermal treatment of glycated lysozyme leads to a severe degradation of the protein with the formation of LMW species, far from the view of melanoidins as HMW compounds; experimental evidence has been gained on the melanoidin formation through reaction of intact protein with the pyrolysis products of MT. This hypothesis has been supported either from MALDI measurements or from spectroscopic data that show an absorption band in the range 300,600 nm, typical of melanoidins. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Thermodynamic origin of the chiral recognition of tryptophan on teicoplanin and teicoplanin aglycone stationary phases

JOURNAL OF SEPARATION SCIENCE, JSS, Issue 5 2005
Mohamed Haroun
Abstract The D-, L-tryptophan binding and the chiral recognition properties of the teicoplanin and teicoplanin aglycone (TAG) chiral stationary phase (CSPs) were compared at various column temperatures. The solute adsorption isotherms (bi-Langmuir model) were determined for both the two CSPs using the perturbation method. It was demonstrated that the sugar units were involved in the reduction of the apparent enantioselectivity through two phenomena: (i) the inhibition of some enantioselective contacts with low-affinity binding regions of the aglycone and (ii) a decrease in the stereoselective properties of the aglycone high-affinity binding pocket. The phenomenon (ii) was governed by both a decrease in the ratio of the enantiomer adsorption constant and a strong reduction of the site accessibility for D- and L-tryptophan. In addition, a temperature effect study was performed to investigate the chiral recognition mechanism at the aglycone high-affinity pocket. An enthalpy-entropy compensation analysis derived from the Grunwald model as well as the comparison with the literature data demonstrated that the enantioselective binding mode was dependent on an interface dehydration process. The change in the enantioselective process observed between the TAG and teicoplanin CSP was characterized by a difference of ca. 2,3 ordered water molecules released from the species interface. [source]


The inhibition of blood coagulation by heparins of different molecular weight is caused by a common functional motif,the C-domain

JOURNAL OF THROMBOSIS AND HAEMOSTASIS, Issue 5 2003
R. Al Dieri
Summary.,Background:,Heparins in clinical use differ considerably as to mode of preparation, molecular weight distribution and pharmacodynamic properties. Objectives:,Find a common basis for their anticoagulant action. Methods:,In 50 fractions of virtually single molecular weight (Mr), prepared from unfractionated heparin (UFH) and four low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWH), we determined: (i) the molar concentration of material (HAM) containing the antithrombin binding pentasaccharide (A-domain); (ii) the specific catalytic activity in thrombin and factor Xa inactivation; (iii) the capacity to inhibit thrombin generation (TG) and prolong the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). We also calculated the molar concentration of A-domain with 12 sugar units at its non-reducing end, i.e. the structure that carries antithrombin activity (C-domain). Results:,The antithrombin activity and the effects on TG and APTT are primarily determined by the concentration of C-domain and independent of the source material (UFH or LMWH) or Mr. High Mr fractions (>15 000) are less active, probably through interaction with non-antithrombin plasma proteins. Anti-factor Xa activity is proportional to the concentration of A-domain, it is Ca2+ - and Mr-dependent and does not determine the effect on TG and APTT. Conclusion:,For any type of heparin, the capacity to inhibit the coagulation process in plasma is primarily determined by the concentration of C-domain, i.e. the AT-binding pentasaccharide with 12 or more sugar units at its non-reducing end. [source]


Encapsulation and/or Release Behavior of Bovine Serum Albumin within and from Polylactide-Grafted Dextran Microspheres

MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE, Issue 4 2004
Tatsuro Ouchi
Abstract Summary: Polylactide (PLA)-grafted dextran (Dex- graft -PLA) of various contents of sugar units was synthesized by anionic polymerization of L -lactide (L -LA) using the alkoxide of partially trimethylsilylated dextran (TMSDex) and subsequently removing the trimethylsilyl (TMS) groups. The copolymer showed different solubility from L -LA homopolymer with increasing the content of sugar units. We prepared bovine serum albumin (BSA)-loaded microspheres (MS)s according to a water-in-oil-in-water emulsion-solvent evaporation/extraction method using methylene chloride/DMSO as an organic cosolvent. MSs prepared from Dex- graft -PLA [MS(Dex- graft -PLA)s] exhibited higher loading efficiency of BSA than MSs prepared from PLLA [MS(PLLA)s]. The in vitro release rate of BSA from MS(Dex- graft -PLA) was faster than that from MS(PLLA). BSA released from MS(Dex- graft -PLA) maintained the secondary structure of native BSA to a great extent, compared with BSA released from MS(PLLA). Confocal fluorescence images of the differential interference micrographs over the fluorescence images of MS(PLLA) and MS(Dex- graft -PLA). [source]


Approach to the study of C-glycosyl flavones by ion trap HPLC-PAD-ESI/MS/MS: application to seeds of quince (Cydonia oblonga)

PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 6 2003
Federico Ferreres
Abstract Ion trap HPLC-PAD-ESI/MS/MS has been used to study C -glycosyl ,avones in quince seeds. Comparative analysis of the ions [(M-H)-60],, [(M-H)-90], and [(M-H)-120], from 6- C - and 8- C -glycosyl ,avone isomers, together with their respective retention times, allowed deductions to be made about the nature of the sugar units and the positions of C -glycosylation. Vicenin-2 (6,8-di- C -glucosyl apigenin), lucenin-2 (6,8-di- C -glucosyl luteolin), stellarin-2 (6,8-di- C -glucosyl chrysoeriol), isoschaftoside (6- C -arabinosyl-8- C -glucosyl apigenin), schaftoside (6- C -glucosyl-8- C -arabinosyl apigenin), 6- C -pentosyl-8- C -glucosyl chrysoeriol and 6- C -glucosyl-8- C -pentosyl chrysoeriol were identi,ed in quince seed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Monoclinic crystal form of Aspergillus niger,-­amylase in complex with maltose at 1.8,Å resolution

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 8 2006
A. Vuji
Aspergillus niger,-amylase catalyses the hydrolysis of ,-1,4-glucosidic bonds in starch. It shows 100% sequence identity to the A. oryzae homologue (also called TAKA-amylase), three crystal structures of which have been published to date. Two of them belong to the orthorhombic space group P212121 with one molecule per asymmetric unit and one belongs to the monoclinic space group P21 with three molecules per asymmetric unit. Here, the purification, crystallization and structure determination of A. niger,-amylase crystallized in the monoclinic space group P21 with two molecules per asymmetric unit in complex with maltose at 1.8,Å resolution is reported. Furthermore, a novel 1.6,Å resolution orthorhombic crystal form (space group P21212) of the native enzyme is presented. Four maltose molecules are observed in the maltose,,-amylase complex. Three of these occupy active-site subsites ,2 and ,1, +1 and +2 and the hitherto unobserved subsites +4 (Asp233, Gly234) and +5 (Asp235). The fourth maltose molecule binds at the distant binding sites d1 (Tyr382) and d2 (Trp385), also previously unobserved. Furthermore, it is shown that the active-site groove permits different binding modes of sugar units at subsites +1 and +2. This flexibility of the active-site cleft close to the catalytic centre might be needed for a productive binding of substrate chains and/or release of products. [source]


Kaempferol Glycosides from Lobularia maritima and Their Potential Role in Plant Interactions

CHEMISTRY & BIODIVERSITY, Issue 2 2009
Antonio Fiorentino
Abstract Six kaempferol glycosides, four of them characterized for the first time, were isolated from the leaf extract of Lobularia maritima. The structural elucidation was performed by a combined approach using Electrospray-Ionization Triple-Quadrupole Mass-Spectrometric (ESI/TQ/MS) techniques, and 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments (1H, 13C, DEPT, DQ-COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, NOESY, HSQC, HMBC, and HSQC-TOCSY). The isolated kaempferol derivatives have different disaccharide substituents at C(3) and four of them have a rhamnose unit at C(7). To evaluate their potential allelopathic role within the herbaceous plant community, the compounds, as well as the aglycone obtained from enzymatic hydrolysis, have been tested in vitro on three coexisting plant species, Dactylis hispanica, Petrorhagia velutina, and Phleum subulatum. The results obtained allow us to hypothesize that the type of the sugar modulates the biological response. The bioassay data, analyzed by a multivariate approach, and grouping the compounds on the basis of the number of sugar units and the nature of carbohydrates present in the disaccharide moiety, indicate a structure,activity relationship. [source]


High-performance liquid chromatographic chiral separation of ,2 -homoamino acids

CHIRALITY, Issue 9 2009
Zoltán Pataj
Abstract Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic methods were developed for the separation of enantiomers of eleven unnatural ,2 -homoamino acids on chiral stationary phases containing macrocyclic glycopeptides (teicoplanin-containing Chirobiotic T and T2) or the macrocyclic peptide teicoplanin aglycone (Chirobiotic TAG) as chiral selectors. The effects of the organic modifier, the mobile phase composition, temperature, and the structures of the analytes on the separations were investigated. Separations were carried out at constant mobile phase compositions in temperature range 7,45°C and the changes in enthalpy, ,(,H°), entropy, ,(,S°), and free energy, ,(,G°), were calculated. The ,,(,G°) values obtained on the three columns indicated that Chirobiotic TAG, without sugar units, may promote the interactions of the enantiomers of ,2 -homoamino acids with branched alkyl or aryl side-chains, whereas for ,2 -homoamino acids with alkyl side-chains Chirobiotic T and T2 seem to be more favorable. The elution sequence was determined in some cases and was observed to be R < S. Chirality, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]