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Abstract Lipid oxidation by reactive oxygen species (ROS) provide several different oxidation products that have been implicated in inflammatory responses. Ground state atomic oxygen [O(³P)] is produced by the photodeoxygenation of certain heterocyclic oxides and has a reactivity that is unique from other ROS. Due to the reactive nature of O(³P), the site of O(³P)‐generation is expected to influence the products in heterogenous solutions or environments. In this work, the oxidation of low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) by lipids with covalently bound O(³P)‐photoprecursors was compared to more hydrophilic O(³P)‐photoprecursors. Lipid oxidation products were quantified after Bligh‐Dyer extraction and pentafluorobenzyl bromide (PFB) derivatization by GC–MS. Unlike the more hydrophilic O(³P)‐photoprecursors, the oxidation of LDL during the irradiation of lipid‐(O³P)‐photoprecursor conjugates showed little quenching by the addition of the O(³P)‐scavenging sodium allyl sulfonate. This indicated that lipophilic O(³P)‐photoprecursors are expected to generate lipid oxidation products where other more hydrophilic O(³P)‐photoprecursors could be quenched by other reactive groups present in solution or the environment. 

Abstract Sulfoximines are popular scaffolds in drug discovery due to their hydrogen bonding properties and chemical stability. In recent years, the role of reactive intermediates such as nitrenes has been studied in the synthesis and degradation of sulfoximines. In this work, the photochemistry ofN‐phenyl dibenzothiophene sulfoximine [5‐(phenylimino)‐5H‐5λ⁴‐dibenzo[b,d]thiopheneS‐oxide] was analyzed. The structure resembles a combination ofN‐phenyl iminodibenzothiophene and dibenzothiopheneS‐oxide, which generate nitrene and O(³P) upon UV‐A irradiation, respectively. The photochemistry ofN‐phenyl dibenzothiophene sulfoximine was explored by monitoring the formation of azobenzene, a photoproduct of triplet nitrene, using direct irradiation and sensitized experiments. The reactivity profile was further studied through direct irradiation experiments in the presence of diethylamine (DEA) as a nucleophile. The studies demonstrated thatN‐phenyl dibenzothiophene sulfoximine underwent S–N photocleavage to release singlet phenyl nitrene which formed a mixture of azepines in the presence of DEA and generated moderate amounts of azobenzene in the absence of DEA to indicate formation of triplet phenyl nitrene. 

Abstract Dibenzothiophene 5,5‐dioxide (DBTOO) derivatives have recently been shown to processes utility as fluorescent cell dyes. In an effort to extend the functionality of DBTOO‐based dyes to include the visualization of cellular membranes, two lipophilic DBTOO were synthesized and their ability to incorporate into the plasma membrane of HeLa cells was examined by fluorescent microscopy. The photophysical properties of the two new DBTOO derivatives were determined and both have good fluorescent quantum yields and a visible blue emission. Due to agreeable wavelengths of excitation and emission, a standard 4′,6‐diamindino‐2‐phenylindole (DAPI) filter set worked well with these dyes. After co‐staining, it was confirmed that both DBTOO dyes localized in the plasma membrane. The quality of the overlap was quantified using Pearson correlation coefficient, which indicated a strong overlap between the DBTOO dyes and the standard plasma membrane dye. The novel dyes also displayed relatively low toxicity to the HeLa cells with IC₅₀between 10 and 100 µm. Thus, this work reports a new use of DBTOO derivatives as fluorescent microscopy stains. 

Abstract Photodeoxygenation of dibenzothiopheneS‐oxide (DBTO) is believed to produce ground‐state atomic oxygen [O(³P)] in solution. Compared with other reactive oxygen species (ROS), O(³P) is a unique oxidant as it is potent and selective. Derivatives of DBTO have been used as O(³P)‐precursors to oxidize variety of molecules, including plasmid DNA, proteins, lipids, thiols, and other small organic molecules. Unfortunately, the photodeoxygenation of DBTO requires ultraviolet irradiation, which is not an ideal wavelength range for biological systems, and has a low quantum yield of approximately 0.003. In this work, benzo[b]naphtho[1,2‐d]selenopheneSe‐oxide, benzo[b]naphtho[2,1‐d]selenopheneSe‐oxide, dinaphtho[2,3‐b:2’,3’‐d]selenopheneSe‐oxide, and perylo[1,12‐b,c,d]selenopheneSe‐oxide were synthesized, and their ability to utilize visible light for generating O(³P) was interrogated. Benzo[b]naphtho[1,2‐d]selenopheneSe‐oxide produces O(³P) upon irradiation centered at 420 nm. Additionally, benzo[b]naphtho[1,2‐d]selenopheneSe‐oxide, benzo[b]naphtho[2,1‐d]selenopheneSe‐oxide, and dinaphtho[2,3‐b:2’,3’‐d]selenopheneSe‐oxide produce O(³P) when irradiated with UVA light and have quantum yields of photodeoxygenation ranging from 0.009 to 0.33. This work increases the utility of photodeoxygenation by extending the range of wavelengths that can be used to generate O(³P) in solution. 

The reactivity profile of atomic oxygen [O( 3 P)] in the condensed phase has shown a preference for the thiol group of cysteines. In this work, water-soluble O( 3 P)-precursors were synthesized by adding aromatic burdens and water-soluble sulphonic acid groups to the core structure of dibenzothiophene- S -oxide (DBTO) to study O( 3 P) reactivity in cell lysates and live cells. The photodeoxygenation of these compounds was investigated using common intermediates, which revealed that an increase in aromatic burdens to the DBTO core structure decreases the total oxidation yield due to competitive photodeoxygenation mechanisms. These derivatives were then tested in cell lysates and live cells to profile changes in cysteine reactivity using the isoTOP-ABPP chemoproteomics platform. The results from this analysis indicated that O( 3 P) significantly affects cysteine reactivity in the cell. Additionally, O( 3 P) was found to oxidize cysteines within peptide sequences with leucine and serine conserved at the sites surrounding the oxidized cysteine. O( 3 P) was also found to least likely oxidize cysteines among membrane proteins.