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There is significant current interest in the development of fluorescent sensors for the physiologically relevant chloride ion. In this study we report a new squaramide-based chloride sensor, derived from ethyl ortho aminobenzoate, whose emission intensity increases by nearly 40% upon chloride binding. The intramolecularly hydrogen bonded squaramide exhibited a blue-shifted excitation spectrum relative to its absorption spectrum, and its emission displayed excitation wavelength dependence. These unusual characteristics were attributed to the existence of two ground state conformers for the unbound squaramide; an intramolecular hydrogen bonded conformer which undergoes non-radiative decay and a non-hydrogen bonded non-planar conformer from which emission occurs. Using computational investigations we identified two nearly degenerate excited states arising from two different charge transfer pathways with the squaramide nitrogen atom as the donor and either the cyclobutene dione ring or the ortho substituted N-phenyl ring functioning as acceptors. In the unbound squaramide, this competition between the two charge transfer pathways decreases fluorescence intensity. Chloride binding, suppresses charge transfer into the cyclobutene dione ring thereby enhancing emission intensity. Our study contributes to an increased understanding of the excited states of squaramides and could facilitate their use in the development of new sensors.

Environment-sensitive binding of anions to synthetic receptors is important for the functional mimicry of ion channels. We describe new squaramide-based chloride ion receptors whose anion binding cavity can be opened and closed by using carbonyl groups as valves. In nonpolar solvents, the carbonyls preclude chloride binding via intramolecular hydrogen bonding with the squaramide NHs. In polar solvents, disruption of the intramolecular hydrogen bonds reorients the carbonyl groups and opens the anion-binding cavity.

Equol is a metabolite produced in vivo from the soy phytoestrogen daidzein by the action of gut microflora. It is known to be estrogenic, so human exposure to equol could have significant biological effects. Equol is a chiral molecule that can exist as the enantiomers R-equol and S-equol. To study the biological activity of racemic (+/-)-equol, as well as that of its pure enantiomers, we developed an efficient and convenient method to prepare (+/-)-equol from available isoflavanoid precursors. Furthermore, we optimized a method to separate the enantiomers of equol by chiral HPLC, and we studied for the first time, the activities of the enantiomers on the two estrogen receptors, ERalpha and ERbeta. In binding assays, S-equol has a high binding affinity, preferential for ERbeta (K(i)[ERbeta]=16 nM; beta/alpha=13 fold), that is comparable to that of genistein (K(i)[ERbeta]=6.7 nM; beta/alpha=16), whereas R-equol binds more weakly and with a preference for ERalpha (K(i)[ERalpha]=50 nM; beta/alpha=0.29). All equol isomers have higher affinity for both ERs than does the biosynthetic precursor daidzein. The availability and the in vitro characterization of the equol enantiomers should enable their biological effects to be studied in detail.

New azulene derivatives containing resonantly electron withdrawing formyl and resonantly electron donating fluorine substituents on the seven- as well as the five-member ring have been prepared. Systematic color changes as a result of perturbation of HOMO, LUMO, and LUMO + 1 energies were discussed. Corresponding excited-state properties related to S2-fluorescence were determined.

The actions of estrogens are mediated through the two estrogen receptors, ERalpha and ERbeta. Compounds that interact selectively with ERalpha or ERbeta are of interest because they could be used to explore the biological roles of these ER subtypes and they might be interesting estrogen pharmaceuticals. In a new approach to develop ER subtype-selective ligands, we have embellished the 1,1-diarylethylene motif, common to many nonsteroidal estrogens, with various bridged bicyclic or tricyclic cores, including ones based on bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane, bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane, and selected bi- and tricyclic terpenoids. This design leads to three-dimensional ER ligands of unusual structure that we have used to probe the size and shape of the ligand binding pocket of ERalpha and ERbeta. Many of these compounds have high binding affinities, with the best having a bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane core and binding 3-5 times better than estradiol to both ER subtypes. Some of the compounds show significant affinity selectivity in favor of ERbeta (4- to 5-fold), and in cell-based assays for transcriptional activity most are partial agonists on ERalpha and full antagonists on ERbeta.

The ligand-binding pockets of estrogen receptor alpha and beta (ERα and ERβ) appear to have subpockets of different size and flexibility. To find ligands that will discriminate between the two ER subtypes on the basis of affinity or efficacy, we have prepared compounds of varying size, shape and structure. We have evaluated the binding affinity of these compounds and their potency and efficacy as transcriptional activators through ERα and ERβ. In this manner, we have identified a number of ligands that show pronounced ER subtype selectivity. These studies also highlight the eclectic structure–activity relationships of estrogens and the challenges inherent in developing computational methods for the prediction of estrogenic activity.

Nuclear receptors function as ligand-regulated transcription factors and modulate the expression of sets of genes in response to varying concentrations of ligands. The ligand modulators can be endogenous metabolites that function as hormones, or they can be exogenous substances, such as pharmaceutical agents or environmental substances of natural or man-made origin, which in some cases can cause endocrine disruption. Ligands modulate nuclear receptor activity by binding to their ligand-binding domains and stabilizing conformations that lead either to transcriptional activation or repression. The ligand-binding pocket is somewhat flexible, and binding affinities can be measured over a 10-million-fold range (i.e., with equilibrium dissociation constant values ranging from ca. 0.01 nM to 100 μM). Thus, it is not surprising that by binding a large variety of structures, some nuclear receptors can appear to be promiscuous; however, when affinity is considered, the binding patterns are more restricted. The spectrum of ligands that bind to the estrogen receptor has been most thoroughly investigated. Those from natural sources include natural products in food, such as soy isoflavones and whole grain lignans, as well as microbial products and components from wood. Aside from pharmaceuticals, man-made estrogen ligands can be found in industrial products, such as alkyl phenols from nonionic detergents, bisphenols from plastics, indicator dye impurities, polymer chemicals, and chlorinated aromatics and pesticides. Exogenous ligands are also known for the androgen and progesterone receptors. While it is possible that endocrine disruption can result from exogenous chemicals acting directly as ligands for the nuclear receptors, endocrine disruption needs to be considered in the broader context; thus, compounds also need to be assessed for their effects at other levels, such as on endogenous hormone production, transport, metabolism, and clearance, and at points in signal transduction cascades that are beyond the ligand-receptor interaction.

— While azulenic retinal analogs failed to yield a red-shifted visual pigment analog, the 9-cis isomers of the push-pull polyenals 3-methoxy-3-dehydroretinal and 14F-3-me-thoxy-3-dehydroretinal yielded iodopsin pigment analogs with absorption maxima at, respectively, 663 and 720 nm. The former gave a relatively stable batho product (700 nm) and was able to activate transducin. A lower activity was observed for the latter. One possible explanation for the combined results is that the excitation energies of these red-shifted pigments are approaching the threshold energy for visual transduction (although at this time we cannot rigorously exclude a role of the added F-atom in reducing the transducin activity).

The UV−visible−near-IR absorption spectra, S2 → S0 fluorescence quantum yields and S2 fluorescence lifetimes of 1-fluoroazulene, 1,3-difluoroazulene, and several of their alkyl-substituted derivatives have been measured at room temperature in up to six solvents, benzene, dichloromethane, ethanol, acetonitrile, n-hexane, and perfluoro-n-hexane. The quantum yields (up to 0.2) and lifetimes (up to 9.5 ns) of the S2 state of 1,3-difluoroazulene are exceptionally largethe largest ever reported for an upper excited singlet state of a polyatomic molecule with a closed-shell ground state. The nonradiative rate constants for the decay of the S2 states of these molecules in these solvents and of azulene, 1,3-dichloroazulene and 1,3-dibromoazulene, determined previously, have been analyzed in terms of the weak coupling case of radiationless transition theory. The data show that the nonradiative rate constants for the S2 states of azulene, 1-fluoroazulene, and 1,3-difluoroazulene in the nonpolar solvents follow the l...

The syntheses of 10 ring alkylated azulenedienal analogs of retinal are reported. They form bacteriorhodopsin pigment analogs at varying efficiency, in fact in a manner suggesting a possible t-butyl recognition site within the binding pocket. © 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new design strategy is described for chloride ion sensors based on suppression of excited state intramolecular proton transfer in squaramides as a fluorescence “turn on” mechanism.

[structure: see text] To examine the possibility of using squaric acid as a scaffold for organizing phenyl rings in a cofacial orientation, we undertook an investigation of the conformational preferences of secondary and tertiary N-phenylsquaramides. In secondary squaramides, the extended ZZ conformation is preferred, while in the N-methyl derivative, the folded EE conformation with cofacial phenyl rings is preferred. This conformational switch is likely driven by a combination of steric and electronic factors.

Fluorinated azulenes were prepared in moderate yields under mild conditions and short reaction times using Selectfluor ® , I , in methanol/ acetonitrile solution.

Tertiary aryl squaramides were synthesized by using copper catalyzed C-N bond-formation with L-proline as the ligand. Symmetrical diaryl squaramides could be prepared in a one-pot reaction by using excess aryl bromide with varying yields. Unsymmetrical derivatives were prepared by sequential arylation. Yields of the diarylated products were highly sensitive to steric effects.

Fluorinated azulenes were prepared in moderate yields under mild conditions and short reaction times using Selectfluor ® , I , in methanol/ acetonitrile solution.

Incorporating red-shifted retinal analogues, such as azulenic retinals, into bacterioopsin provides a method to evaluate the low-energy limit for bacteriorhodopsin (bR) proton-pumping activity. We report results of nanosecond time-resolved studies of three azulenic bR analogues. In contrast to a recent report on an azulenic bR analogue (Druzhko et al., 1996),4 we conclude that such pigments do not exhibit photocycles (no detectable intermediates) and suspect that the preferred direction of deactivation is internal conversion to the low-lying forbidden S1 state of the azulene chromophore. We further demonstrated that for slow-binding bR analogues, the samples can easily be contaminated with small amounts of native bR.

[structure: see text] Experimental and calculated data show that the relative energy levels of the two lowest excited states of azulene are sensitive to the nature and position of substituents on the nonalternant hydrocarbon. Extending such investigations led to a rational explanation for some of the baffling data on azulenic bacteriorhodopsin analogues in the literature.

Depending on the size and shape of their azulenic chromophores, azulenic bacteriorhodopsin (bR) pigment analogs can exist as either an initial pigment P1, a more red-shifted final pigment P2 or an equilibrium mixture of both. The absorption spectra of red-shifted bR analogs exhibit characteristic narrow-band shapes similar to charge fully delocalized cyanine-like dyes. Therefore, all such red-shifted pigments are believed to be highly delocalized, bond-equalized carbocations. We have determined structural requirements that facilitate their formation. To describe fully the red-shift potentials of these retinal analogs, we have introduced a new parameter—percent red-shift (PRS). A large PRS value not only reflects the extent of red-shift, but is also suggestive of extensive delocalization of the positive charge. Relevance of these findings in consideration of the possibility of forming stable O-intermediates is presented. The postulated resonance hybrid-like structures for different cations of the ...