The COVID-19 outbreak has rapidly spread on a global scale, affecting the economy and public health systems throughout the world. In recent years, peptide-based therapeutics have been widely studied and developed to treat infectious diseases, including viral infections. Herein, the antiviral effects of the lysine linked dimer des-Cys11, Lys12,Lys13-(pBthTX-I)2K ((pBthTX-I)2K)) and derivatives against SARS-CoV-2 are reported. The lead peptide (pBthTX-I)2K and derivatives showed attractive inhibitory activities against SARS-CoV-2 (EC50 = 28–65 µM) and mostly low cytotoxic effect (CC50 > 100 µM). To shed light on the mechanism of action underlying the peptides’ antiviral activity, the Main Protease (Mpro) and Papain-Like protease (PLpro) inhibitory activities of the peptides were assessed. The synthetic peptides showed PLpro inhibition potencies (IC50s = 1.0–3.5 µM) and binding affinities (Kd = 0.9–7 µM) at the low micromolar range but poor inhibitory activity against Mpro (IC50 > 10 µM). The modeled binding mode of a representative peptide of the series indicated that the compound blocked the entry of the PLpro substrate toward the protease catalytic cleft. Our findings indicated that non-toxic dimeric peptides derived from the Bothropstoxin-I have attractive cellular and enzymatic inhibitory activities, thereby suggesting that they are promising prototypes for the discovery and development of new drugs against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Graphite microparticles (d50 6.20 μm) were oxidized by strong acids, and the resultant graphite oxide was thermally exfoliated to graphene oxide sheets (MPGO, C/O 1.53). Graphene oxide was treated with nonthermal plasma under a SO2 atmosphere at room temperature. The XPS spectrum showed that SO2 was inserted only as the oxidized intermediate at 168.7 eV in the S 2p region. Short thermal shocks at 600 and 400 °C, under an Ar atmosphere, produced reduced sulfur and carbon dioxide as shown by the XPS spectrum and TGA analysis coupled to FTIR. MPGO was also submitted to thermal reaction with SO2 at 630 °C, and the XPS spectrum in the S 2p region at 164.0 eV showed that this time only the nonoxidized episulfide intermediate was inserted. Plasma and thermal treatment produced a partial reduction of MPGO. The sequence of thermal reaction followed by plasma treatment inserted both sulfur intermediates. Because oxidized and nonoxidized intermediates have different reactivities, this selective insertion would allow the addition of selective types of organic fragments to the surface of graphene oxide.

The hydrolysis of ethyl N-ethylthioncarbamate (ETE) at 100 °C was studied in the range of 7 mol/L HCl to 4 mol/L NaOH. The pH–rate profile showed that the hydrolysis occurred through specific acid catalysis at pH < 2, spontaneous hydrolysis at pH 2–6.5, and specific basic catalysis at pH > 6.5. The Hammett acidity plot and the excess acidity plot against X were linear. The Bunnett–Olsen plot gave a negative slope indicating that the conjugate acid was less hydrated than the neutral substrate. It was concluded that the acid hydrolysis occurred by an A1 mechanism. The neutral species hydrolyzed with general base catalysis shown by the Brønsted plot with β = 0.48 ± 0.04. Water acted as a general base catalyst with (pseudo-)first-order rate constant, kN = 3.06 × 10–7 s–1. At pH > 6.5 the rate constants increased, reaching a plateau at high basicity. The basic hydrolysis rate constant of ethyl N,N-diethylthioncarbamate, which must react by a BAc2 mechanism, increased linearly at 1–3 mol/L NaOH with a second-order rate constant, k2 = 2.3 × 10–4 (mol/L)–1 s–1, which was 10 times slower than that expected for ETE. Experiments of ETE in 0.6 mol/L NaOH with an excess of ethylamine led to the formation of diethyl thiourea, presenting strong evidence that the basic hydrolysis occurred by the E1cb mechanism. In the rate-determining step, the E1cb mechanism involved the elimination of ethoxide ion from the thioncarbamate anion, producing an isothiocyanate intermediate that decomposed rapidly to form ethylamine, ethanol, and COS.Key words: alkylthioncarbamate esters, ethyl N-ethylthioncarbamate, ethyl N,N-diethylthioncarbamate, hydrolysis, mechanism.

Potassium chitosan dithiocarbamate (ChitDTC) was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and solid‐state 13C NMR spectroscopy. The degree of substitution (DS) (number of substituents per 100 2‐amino‐2‐deoxyglucopyranoside units) and molalities of the groups were calculated for acetylamino, amino and dithiocarbamate substituents in chitin, chitosan and ChitDTC. A comparative study of the retention and exchange of Cu(II) was performed with chitin, chitosan and ChitDTC at 30 °C, pH 6.0 (0.1 M succinate). The stability constants, KX, for the heterogenous equilibrium were calculated assuming that complexing of Cu(II) ions was largely in a 1:1 ratio with respect to each group. The values of KX for each group were NHAc 45.1, DTC 3.14 × 103, and NH2 1.12 × 104. It is proposed that in the presence of succinate, the main species of aqua Cu(II) ion present in solution must be the uncharged Cu(II)–succinate complex that prevents the acetylamino, amino and DTC groups from forming complexes higher than 1:1. Also, this may explain the fact that the stability constant for DTC was lower than for the amino group. The method allows the characterization of the chelating ability of each group in ChitDTC with respect to metal ions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Photolyses at 254 nm of phenylalanine (Phe) in aqueous solutions, were carried out in the presence of oxidized carbon nanotubes modified by the reaction with SO2 (mNTO). Kinetics of the photolyses were followed by UV spectrophotometry at 220 nm, and the products were characterized by HPLC, XPS, and (13)C-SSNMR. The ratio of the initial rates of photolysis in the presence and absence of mNTO, k*/ko*, showed a systematic decrease. The photolytic decay of Phe occurs with minor formation of tyrosine. The mass of nanotubes produced an exponential attenuation of the photolytic decomposition of Phe. Total carbon analyses (TCA) showed no inorganic carbon formation after the photolyses. The first-order rate constant of photofunctionalization of mNTO by the insertion of phenylalanine onto the nanotube matrix was calculated from TCA to be kin = 30.1 min(-1). Comparison of the XPS spectra of the mNTO before and after the photolysis, using the atom inventory technique, suggests the insertion of Phe along with the extrusion of a sulfide radical anion ((•)S(-)) which undergo subsequent oxidation to SO4(2-). The obtained results show the effects of mNTO on the photolysis of Phe and provide a new method of photofunctionalization of carbon materials, modified by the intermediates of the reduction of SO2, with an organic moiety.