Spectroscopic studies of oligomers containing 2,5-trans furanoid sugar amino acids

Sugar amino acids and their oligomers, known as carbopeptoids, are commonly studied as foldamers. However, study of their conformational preference is often challenging when the adopted conformations are extended and/or disordered. This study is the first to explore the disordered nature of such carbopeptoids by utilizing a family of 2,5-trans carbopeptoids. An array of spectroscopic techniques has been used to investigate the conformational preference of these carbopeptoids. However, using this data alone it has not been possible to assign conformational preference as an ordered extended conformation or as a disordered family of closely related conformations. Computational methods need to be employed to achieve reliable interpretation of the spectroscopic data. Chirality, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

[1H,15N] N.M.R. Kinetic Studies of Reactions of cis- and trans-[PtCl2(15NH3)(c-C6H1115NH2)] with Guanosine 5'-Monophosphate

cis-[PtCl2(15NH3)(c-C6H11NH2)] is an active metabolite of the oral platinum(IV) anticancer drug cis,trans,cis-[PtCl2(CH3CO2)2(NH2)(c-C6H11NH2)]. Since it is likely that guanine bases on DNA are targets for this drug, we have analysed the kinetics of reaction of this platinum(II) metabolite with guanosine 5′-monophosphate (5′-GMP) at 310 K, pH 7, using [1H, 15N] n.m.r. methods. Reactions of the trans isomer are reported for comparison. The reactions proceed via aquated intermediates, and, for the cis isomer, the rates of aquation and substitution of H2O by 5′-GMP are 2-5 times faster trans to the amine ligand (c-C6H11NH2) compared to trans to NH3 for both the first and second steps. For the trans complex, the first aquation step is c. 3 times faster than for the cis complex, as expected from the higher trans influence of Cl¯, whereas the rate of the second aquation step (trans to N7 of 5′-GMP) is comparable to that trans to NH3. These findings have implications for the courses of reactions with DNA.