Extent Of Hydrophobic Interactions Research Articles

Structure/activity virtual screening and in vitro testing of small molecule inhibitors of 8-hydroxy-5-deazaflavin:NADPH oxidoreductase from gut methanogenic bacteria

Virtual screening techniques and in vitro binding/inhibitory assays were used to search within a set of more than 8,000 naturally occurring small ligands for candidate inhibitors of 8-hydroxy-5-deazaflavin:NADPH oxidoreductase (FNO) from Methanobrevibacter smithii, the enzyme that catalyses the bidirectional electron transfer between NADP+ and F420H2 during the intestinal production of CH4 from CO2. In silico screening using molecular docking classified the ligand-enzyme complexes in the range between − 4.9 and − 10.5 kcal/mol. Molecular flexibility, the number of H-bond acceptors and donors, the extent of hydrophobic interactions, and the exposure to the solvent were the major discriminants in determining the affinity of the ligands for FNO. In vitro studies on a group of these ligands selected from the most populated/representative clusters provided quantitative kinetic, equilibrium, and structural information on ligands’ behaviour, in optimal agreement with the predictive computational results.

Studies on Hydrophobic Interaction from the Conductometric Studies of Medicinal Compounds (as Salts)

Abstract The Λ0 values and association constants of some salts of medicinal interest in aqueous solution have been determined. The division of Λ0 of salts into single ion values λ0 + and λ0 − have been made using λ0 Na+ and λ0 Cl− values from the literature. The Λ0, λ0 + and λ0 − values have been found to be fairly high in aqueous solution and comparatively lesser than those in acetonitrile. Most of the drugs have been found to be dissociated as ions though association of some of the salts has been observed. The calculations of r ± of ions in water show considerable decrease in the radii values of ions in water from which inference regarding the extent of hydrophobic interactions can be made.

Rheological study of the pH-dependence of interactions between gelatin and anionic surfactants: flow behaviour and gelation

The interactions between gelatin and two anionic surfactants (sodium di-sec-butylnaphthalenesulfonate and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, respectively) were investigated using rheological methods, charge and surface tension measurements. Upon the addition of surfactants, the viscosity of aqueous gelatin solutions increases at pH values higher than the isoelectric point (IEP) of the gelatin, provided that a distinct surfactant concentration is exceeded. The increase in viscosity depends on the structure of the hydrophobic moiety of the surfactant. Surface tension measurements suggest the formation of gelatin-surfactant-complexes. If the surfactant is added in high concentration, the viscosity does not further increase, and free micelles are formed in the solution. Directly at the IEP and at pH values below, the addition of surfactants leads to flocculation because of electrostatic interactions. At all surfactant concentrations, the flow behaviour was strictly Newtonian. As a model of the structure of the complex, a modified ‘bead and necklace’-model is suggested. This model proposes the nucleation of micelles at the hydrophobic gelatin regions (‘micellar surfactant-gelatin complexes’). The number of micelle moieties per gelatin chain could be estimated to be about three. The complex stability is dependent on the extent of hydrophobic interaction.

Incorporation of hydrophobic selectivity in capillary electrophoresis: analysis of recombinant insulin-like growth factor I variants

A highly selective electrophoretic system employing differential hydrophobic interaction was evaluated for the quantitative determination of recombinant insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) variants. The system consisted of mixed aqueous-organic buffers containing suitable amounts of a zwitterionic detergent. In addition, a neutral hydrophilic coating was attached to the wall of the capillary to minimize analyte adsorption and electroosmotic flow. The zwitterionic detergent acted as a hydrophobic selector, allowing independent optimization of the electrophoretic and hydrophobic selectivities in the separation system. The extent of hydrophobic interaction was conveniently adjusted by varying the type and amount of organic modifier. Complete resolution of a mixture of IGF-I variants with closely related mass-to-charge ratios was achieved. Quantitative analysis of IGF-I process samples agreed well with HPLC results. Finally, the approach was found to be compatible with on-line capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry.

Peptide environment specifies conformation. Helicity of hydrophobic segments compared in aqueous, organic, and membrane environments.

Transmembrane segments in integral membrane proteins exist characteristically as helices in lipid bilayers, yet are often rich in residues considered helix-destabilizing (Val, Ile, Gly) in soluble proteins. We propose that helicity of a transmembrane segment is likely to be affected by factors other than the "intrinsic" helical propensities of its component amino acids. This hypothesis is tested by comparing the conformation(s) in aqueous, organic, membrane-mimetic (micellar), and membrane (bilayer) environments of designed model peptides with systematically altered helical propensity and/or segmental hydrophobicity. Peptides of prototypic sequence NH2-(Ser-Lys)2-Ala5-Leu6-Ala7-Ala8-Leu9-Ala10-++ +Trp11-Ala12-Leu13-Ala14- (Lys-Ser)3-OH were synthesized, which incorporate a hydrophobic core "guest" segment (residues 5-14) into a water-soluble hydrophilic host matrix. Related peptides featured substitution of Leu6,9,13-->Gly, Leu6,9,13-->Ala, and Ala7,10,14-->Gly. Circular dichroism spectra revealed that algorithms for soluble proteins correctly predicted peptide helical proclivities in aqueous solutions, but peptide helicity in organic (trifluoroethanol) solvents, membrane-mimetic SDS micelles, and negatively charged lipid bilayer vesicles, was found to be governed almost exclusively by the segmental hydrophobicity of the peptide mid-hydrophobic core segment. In related Trp fluorescence studies, peptide-membrane association was similarly correlated with extent of hydrophobic interaction.

Purification of monoterpenyl glycosides by gel-permeation and hydrophobic-interaction chromatography on polyacrylamide (Bio-Gel P-2)

Hydrophobic interaction of the aglycone of monoterpenyl glycosides with the polyacrylamide matrix of Bio-Gel P-2 greatly retards the elution of these substances when chromatographed in dilute aqueous sodium chloride. This hydrophobic interaction is eliminated by inclusion of 15% acetonitrile in the eluant, thereby permitting conventional gel-permeation chromatography. Combination of these techniques by sequential chromatography on the same Bio-Gel column, in the hydrophobic interaction mode followed by the gel-permeation mode, provides a simple, yet mild and highly selective procedure for the purification of monoterpenyl glycosides from crude plant extracts. Examination of the chromatographic properties of β- d-glucopyranosides and β- d-galactopyranosides of a number of acyclic, monocyclic, and bicyclic monoterpenols indicates that the extent of hydrophobic interaction is of diagnostic value in determining the nature of the aglycone.

The influence of protein-lipid interactions on the order-disorder conformational transitions of the hydrocarbon chain

The phases of simple systems involving one type of protein (lysozyme or cytochrome c) and one type of lipid (phosphatidic acid) have been characterized by X-ray crystallography, chemical analysis and spin-labeling technique as a function of temperature. They are of the lamellar type with alternative protein monolayers and lipid bilayers. According to the pH, two types of lamellar phases are obtained, one where the lipid-protein interactions are mainly hydrophobic, the other where they are electrostatic. In both cases, a phase transition occurs as temperature is lowered, between a high temperature phase, where all the lipids are in the liquid-like state, and another phase where some lipid chains are rigid. In the case of the phases with electrostatic interaction, it is shown that the onset of the order-disorder transition is shifted towards low temperature as compared with the homologous lipid-water phase and that the protein content of the phase decreases as the ratio of the liquid to rigid hydrocarbon chains decreases. This leads us to suggest that in the systems studied in this work the proteins interact only with lipid in the liquid-like state. In the case of the phases with hydrophobic interaction, it is shown that the extent of hydrophobic interaction between protein and lipid increases as the unsaturation of the hydrocarbon chains increases. The onset of the order-disorder transition shows a greater shift towards low temperture than the one observed in the case of the phase with electrostatic interaction.