The suitability of a hybrid density functional to qualitatively reproduce geometric and energetic details of parallel pi-stacked aromatic complexes is presented. The hybrid functional includes an ad hoc mixture of half the exact (HF) exchange with half of the uniform electron gas exchange, plus Lee, Yang, and Parr's expression for correlation energy. This functional, in combination with polarized, diffuse basis sets, gives a binding energy for the parallel-displaced benzene dimer in good agreement with the best available high-level calculations reported in the literature, and qualitatively reproduces the local MP2 potential energy surface of the parallel-displaced benzene dimer. This method was further critically compared to high-level calculations recently reported in the literature for a range of pi-stacked complexes, including monosubstituted benzene-benzene dimers, along with DNA and RNA bases, and generally agrees with MP2 and/or CCSD(T) results to within +/-2 kJ mol(-1). We also show that the resulting BH&H binding energy is closely related to the electron density in the intermolecular region. The net result is that the BH&H functional, presumably due to fortuitous cancellation of errors, provides a pragmatic, computationally efficient quantum mechanical tool for the study of large pi-stacked systems such as DNA.

In order to retard the rate of development of antibacterial resistance, the causative agent must be identified as rapidly as possible, so that directed patient treatment and/or contact precautions can be initiated. This review highlights the challenges associated with the detection and identification of pathogenic bacteria, by providing an introduction to the techniques currently used, as well as newer techniques that are in development. Focusing on the chemical basis for these techniques, the review also provides a comparison of their advantages and disadvantages.

Synthetic cannabinoid (SC) designer drugs featuring bioisosteric fluorine substitution are identified by forensic chemists and toxicologists with increasing frequency. Although terminal fluorination of N-pentyl indole SCs is sometimes known to improve cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor binding affinity, little is known of the effects of fluorination on functional activity of SCs. This study explores the in vitro functional activities of SC designer drugs JWH-018, UR-144, PB-22, and APICA, and their respective terminally fluorinated analogues AM-2201, XLR-11, 5F-PB-22, and STS-135 at human CB1 and CB2 receptors using a FLIPR membrane potential assay. All compounds demonstrated agonist activity at CB1 (EC50 = 2.8-1959 nM) and CB2 (EC50 = 6.5-206 nM) receptors, with the fluorinated analogues generally showing increased CB1 receptor potency (∼2-5 times). Additionally, the cannabimimetic activities and relative potencies of JWH-018, AM-2201, UR-144, XLR-11, PB-22, 5F-PB-22, APICA, and STS-135 in vivo were evaluated in rats using biotelemetry. All SCs dose-dependently induced hypothermia and reduced heart rate at doses of 0.3-10 mg/kg. There was no consistent trend for increased potency of fluorinated SCs over the corresponding des-fluoro SCs in vivo. Based on magnitude and duration of hypothermia, the SCs were ranked for potency (PB-22 > 5F-PB-22 = JWH-018 > AM-2201 > APICA = STS-135 = XLR-11 > UR-144).

The effect of cholesterol removal by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin on the dipole potential, psi(d), of membrane vesicles composed of natural membrane lipids extracted from the kidney and brain of eight vertebrate species was investigated using the voltage-sensitive fluorescent probe di-8-ANEPPS. Cyclodextrin treatment reduced cholesterol levels by on average 80% and this was associated with an average reduction in psi(d) of 50 mV. Measurements of the effect of a range of cholesterol derivatives on the psi(d) of DMPC lipid vesicles showed that the magnitude of the effect correlated with the component of the sterol's dipole moment perpendicular to the membrane surface. The changes in psi(d) observed could not be accounted for solely by the electric field originating from the sterols' dipole moments. Additional factors must arise from sterol-induced changes in lipid packing, which changes the density of dipoles in the membrane, and changes in water penetration into the membrane, which changes the effective dielectric constant of the interfacial region. In DMPC membranes, the cholesterol-induced change in psi(d) was biphasic, i.e., a maximum in psi(d) was observed at approximately 35-45 mol %, after which psi(d) started to decrease. We suggest that this could be associated with a maximum in the strength of DMPC-cholesterol intermolecular forces at this composition.

We have recently identified a new class of compounds that selectively kill cells that express P-glycoprotein (P-gp, MDR1), the ATPase efflux pump that confers multidrug resistance on cancer cells. Several isatin-β-thiosemicarbazones from our initial study have been validated, and a range of analogs synthesized and tested. A number demonstrated improved MDR1-selective activity over the lead, NSC73306 (1). Pharmacophores for cytotoxicity and MDR1-selectivity were generated to delineate the structural features required for activity. The MDR1-selective pharmacophore highlights the importance of aromatic/hydrophobic features at the N4 position of the thiosemicarbazone, and the reliance on the isatin moiety as key bioisosteric contributors. Additionally, a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model that yielded a cross-validated correlation coefficient of 0.85 effectively predicts the cytotoxicty of untested thiosemicarbazones. Together, the models serve as effective approaches for predicting structures with MDR1-selective activity, and aid in directing the search for the mechanism of action of 1.