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Mark S Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to Mark S Taylor.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Asymmetric catalysis by chiral hydrogen-bond donors.

Hydrogen bonding is responsible for the structure of much of the world around us. The unusual and complex properties of bulk water, the ability of proteins to fold into stable three-dimensional structures, the fidelity of DNA base pairing, and the binding of ligands to receptors are among the manifestations of this ubiquitous noncovalent interaction. In addition to its primacy as a structural determinant, hydrogen bonding plays a crucial functional role in catalysis. Hydrogen bonding to an electrophile serves to decrease the electron density of this species, activating it toward nucleophilic attack. This principle is employed frequently by Nature's catalysts, enzymes, for the acceleration of a wide range of chemical processes. Recently, organic chemists have begun to appreciate the tremendous potential offered by hydrogen bonding as a mechanism for electrophile activation in small-molecule, synthetic catalyst systems. In particular, chiral hydrogen-bond donors have emerged as a broadly applicable class of catalysts for enantioselective synthesis. This review documents these advances, emphasizing the structural and mechanistic features that contribute to high enantioselectivity in hydrogen-bond-mediated catalytic processes.

Biology↗
PubMed2005

Highly enantioselective conjugate additions to alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones catalyzed by a (salen)Al complex.

Chiral (salen)Al complex 1a catalyzes the highly enantioselective conjugate addition of carbon- and nitrogen-based nucleophiles to acyclic alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones. This methodology is tolerant of substantial variation of the ketone structure, providing access to a wide range of useful chiral building blocks in high yield and enantiomeric excess. Synthetic manipulations of the conjugate addition products are demonstrated, including the straightforward preparation of beta-amino ketones and highly enantioenriched carbo- and heterocyclic compounds.

Alkanes↗
PubMed2005

Femtosecond dynamics of Cu(H(2)O)(2).

The ultrafast relaxation dynamics of Cu(H(2)O)(2) is investigated using femtosecond photodetachment-photoionization spectroscopy. In addition, stationary points on the Cu(H(2)O)(2) anion, neutral, and cation potential energy surfaces are characterized by ab initio electronic structure calculations. Electron photodetachment from Cu(-)(H(2)O)(2) initiates the dynamics on the ground-state potential energy surface of neutral Cu(H(2)O)(2). The resulting Cu(H(2)O)(2) complexes experience large-amplitude H(2)O reorientation and dissociation. The time evolution of the Cu(H(2)O)(2) fragmentation products is monitored by time-resolved resonant multiphoton ionization. The parent ion, Cu(+)(H(2)O)(2), is not detected above background levels. The rise to a maximum of the Cu(+) signal from Cu(-)(H(2)O)(2), and the decay of the Cu(+)(H(2)O) signal from Cu(-)(H(2)O)(2) have similar tau approximately 10 ps time dependences to the corresponding signals from Cu(-)(H(2)O), but display clear differences at very short and long times. The experimental observations can be understood in terms of the following picture. Prompt dissociation of H(2)O from nascent Cu(H(2)O)(2) gives rise to a vibrationally excited Cu(H(2)O) complex, which dissociates to Cu+H(2)O due to coupling of H(2)O internal rotation to the dissociation coordinate. This prompt dissociation removes all intra-H(2)O vibrational excitation from the intermediate Cu(H(2)O) fragment, which quenches the long time vibrational predissociation to Cu+H(2)O previously observed in analogous experiments on Cu(-)(H(2)O).

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Femtosecond study of Cu(H(2)O) dynamics.

The short-time nuclear dynamics of Cu(H(2)O) is investigated using femtosecond photodetachment-photoionization spectroscopy and time-dependent quantum wave packet calculations. The Cu(H(2)O) dynamics is initiated in the electronic ground state of the complex by electron photodetachment from the Cu(-)(H(2)O) complex, where hydrogen atoms are oriented toward Cu. Several time-resolved resonant multiphoton ionization schemes are used to probe the ensuing reorientation and dissociation. Immediately following photodetachment, the neutral complex is far from its minimum energy geometry and possesses an internal energy comparable to the Cu-H(2)O dissociation energy and undergoes both large-amplitude H(2)O motion and dissociation. Dissociation is observed to occur on three distinct time scales: 0.6, 8, and 100 ps. These results are compared to the results of time-dependent J=0 wave packet calculations, propagating the initial anion vibrational wave functions on the ground-state potential of the neutral complex. An excellent agreement is obtained between the experimental results and the ionization signals derived from the calculated probability amplitudes. Related experiments and calculations are carried out on the Cu(D(2)O) complex, with results very similar to those of Cu(H(2)O).

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed2004

A theoretical and computational study of the anion, neutral, and cation Cu(H(2)O) complexes.

An ab initio investigation of the potential energy surfaces and vibrational energies and wave functions of the anion, neutral, and cation Cu(H(2)O) complexes is presented. The equilibrium geometries and harmonic frequencies of the three charge states of Cu(H(2)O) are calculated at the MP2 level of theory. CCSD(T) calculations predict a vertical electron detachment energy for the anion complex of 1.65 eV and a vertical ionization potential for the neutral complex of 6.27 eV. Potential energy surfaces are calculated for the three charge states of the copper-water complexes. These potential energy surfaces are used in variational calculations of the vibrational wave functions and energies and from these, the dissociation energies D(0) of the anion, neutral, and cation charge states of Cu(H(2)O) are predicted to be 0.39, 0.16, and 1.74 eV, respectively. In addition, the vertical excitation energies, that correspond to the 4 (2)P<--4 (2)S transition of the copper atom, and ionization potentials of the neutral Cu(H(2)O) are calculated over a range of Cu(H(2)O) configurations. In hydrogen-bonded, Cu-HOH configurations, the vertical excitation and ionization energies are blueshifted with respect to the corresponding values for atomic copper, and in Cu-OH(2) configurations where the copper atom is located near the oxygen end of water, both quantities are redshifted.

Anions↗
PubMed2004

Highly enantioselective catalytic acyl-pictet-spengler reactions.

The enantioselective cyclization of N-acyliminium ions generated in situ from tryptamine is promoted with high enantioselectivity by a new chiral thiourea catalyst. This represents the first successful system for asymmetric catalysis of the Pictet-Spengler reaction.

Carbolines↗
PubMed2004

Asymmetric catalysis in complex target synthesis.

This article describes three distinct strategies by which stereochemically complex molecules are synthesized and the ways asymmetric catalysis can impact on all three. The development of general methods to prepare synthetically useful building blocks leads to an expanded "chiral pool" of potential starting materials for asymmetric synthesis. The possibility of discovering new reactions to access new types of building blocks is particularly attractive and serves to help define the frontiers of the field. Asymmetric catalysis can also be applied to diastereoselective synthesis such that the stereochemistry of the catalyst, and not that of the substrate, determines the relative configuration of the product. Finally, in reactions where multiple stereocenters are generated simultaneously or in tandem, catalyst and substrate control can operate in a complementary manner to achieve one of many possible stereochemical outcomes selectively.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed2004

Inhibition of cGMP-dependent protein kinase by the cell-permeable peptide DT-2 reveals a novel mechanism of vasoregulation.

Cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) serves as an important physiological regulator of vascular reactivity and tone. However, available inhibitors of PKG have exhibited variable effects in intact tissue, hindering the elucidation of the functional role of PKG in blood vessels. In this study, we have determined the effects of our previously engineered potent and selective PKG Ialpha inhibitor DT-2 on basal and cGMP-stimulated purified recombinant PKG, and compared DT-2 with commonly used PKG inhibitors (8R,9S,11S)-(-)-9-methoxy-carbamyl-8-methyl-2,3,9,10-tetrahydro-8,11-epoxy-1H,8H,11H-2,7b,11a-trizadibenzo-(a,g)-cycloocta-(c,d,e)-trinden-1-one (KT-5823), Rp-8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-guanosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate (Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPS), and (beta-phenyl-1,N2-etheno-8-bromoguanosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate, Rp-isomer (Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS). As expected, all inhibitors reduced cGMP-stimulated PKG activity. However, only DT-2 decreased cGMP-independent or basal PKG activity, whereas KT5823 showed no effect and the Rp-compounds actually had partial agonist activity. To evaluate the potential functional impact of this unique inhibition by DT-2 under physiologically relevant conditions, we analyzed the inhibitors in isolated pressurized cerebral arteries. KT-5823 and Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPS demonstrated marginal reversal of vasodilation induced by 8-Br-cGMP. By comparison, DT-2 completely reversed 8-Br-cGMP induced dilations with comparable potency to Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS. In fact, DT-2 constricted arteries beyond their starting (pre-8-Br-cGMP) diameters and caused constriction even in the absence of exogenous 8-Br-cGMP, an effect that was not observed with any other inhibitor. The direct constricting effect of DT-2 was essentially abolished in cultured arteries, where PKG expression was reduced by approximately 90%. These findings indicate that DT-2 not only effectively inhibits cGMP-stimulated PKG activity but also reduces basal PKG activity both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, these distinctive inhibitory properties of DT-2 suggest an important role for constitutive PKG activity in the continuous regulation of cerebral artery tone.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Enantioselective Michael additions to alpha,beta-unsaturated imides catalyzed by a Salen-Al complex.

(Salen)aluminum complex 1b is an efficient catalyst for the conjugate addition of di- and trisubstituted nitriles to a wide range of acyclic alkyl- and aryl-substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated imides. This new methodology provides access to multifunctional compounds that previously have not been readily accessible in enantioenriched form. Synthetic applications of these products include the preparation of enantiomerically enriched piperidines, as exemplified by an expedient asymmetric catalytic synthesis of (-)-paroxetine.

Aluminum↗
PubMed2003

Altered expression of small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK3) channels modulates arterial tone and blood pressure.

The endothelium is a critical regulator of vascular tone, and dysfunction of the endothelium contributes to numerous cardiovascular pathologies. Recent studies suggest that apamin-sensitive, small-conductance, Ca2+-activated K+ channels may play an important role in active endothelium-dependent vasodilations, and expression of these channels may be altered in disease states characterized by vascular dysfunction. Here, we used a transgenic mouse (SK3T/T) in which SK3 expression levels can be manipulated with dietary doxycycline (DOX) to test the hypothesis that the level of expression of the SK subunit, SK3, in endothelial cells alters arterial function and blood pressure. SK3 protein was elevated in small mesenteric arteries from SK3T/T mice compared with wild-type mice and was greatly suppressed by dietary DOX. SK3 was detected in the endothelium and not in the smooth muscle by immunohistochemistry. In whole-cell patch-clamp experiments, SK currents in endothelial cells from SK3T/T mice were almost completely suppressed by dietary DOX. In intact arteries, SK3 channels contributed to sustained hyperpolarization of the endothelial membrane potential, which was communicated to the arterial smooth muscle. Pressure- and phenylephrine-induced constrictions of SK3T/T arteries were substantially enhanced by treatment with apamin, suppression of SK3 expression with DOX, or removal of the endothelium. In addition, suppression of SK3 expression caused a pronounced and reversible elevation of blood pressure. These results indicate that endothelial SK3 channels exert a profound, tonic, hyperpolarizing influence in resistance arteries and suggest that the level of SK3 channel expression in endothelial cells is a fundamental determinant of vascular tone and blood pressure.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Exploring the mechanisms of vascular smooth muscle tone with highly specific, membrane-permeable inhibitors of cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase Ialpha.

The structural similarity of cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase (cGPK) and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (cAPK) has made it difficult to study cGPK pathways independent of those mediated by cAPK, primarily due to the lack of potent and selective cGPK inhibitors. We recently reported a novel peptide library screen specifically designed to select for tight-binding peptides that identified selective inhibitors of cGPK [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 97 (2000) 14772]. Iterative deconvolution of octameric library arrays on paper identified the sequence LRK(5)H (W45). Binding of W45 to cGPK resulted in selective inhibition of the kinase, with K(i) values of 0.8 microM and 560 microM for cGPK and cAPK, respectively. Cellular internalization of highly charged W45 was accomplished by N-terminal fusion of membrane translocation sequences from either the human immunodeficiency virus tyrosine aminotransferase protein (47-59) DT-2 or from the Drosophila Antennapedia homeodomain (43-58) DT-3, respectively. For both fusion peptides, DT-2 and DT-3, we observed a potentiating effect with respect to the inhibitory potency, with K(i) values 40- to 80-fold lower than W45. Fluorescein-labeled DT-2 and DT-3 demonstrated rapid translocation through the cytosol and nuclei in a time-dependent manner using cultured cells and intact tissue samples (cerebral arteries). The physiological effects of DT-2 and DT-3 as selective cGPK inhibitors in smooth muscle were studied in small intact arteries. Nitric oxide, a cyclic GMP/cGPK activator, elicited a concentration-dependent dilation of isolated rat cerebral arteries, which was markedly inhibited by DT-2 and DT-3. Collectively, these results indicate that DT-2 and DT-3 effectively inhibit nitric oxide-induced vasodilation, further emphasizing the central role for cGPK in the modulation of vascular contractility.

Animals↗