A functional disulfide bond in both the HIV envelope glycoprotein, gp120, and its immune cell receptor, CD4, is involved in viral entry, and compounds that block cleavage of the disulfide bond in these proteins inhibit HIV entry and infection. The disulfide bonds in both proteins are cleaved at the cell surface by the small redox protein, thioredoxin. The target gp120 disulfide and its mechanis...

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. It results from the death of dopamine-containing cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the midbrain; the cause of cell-death is unknown. Procyclidine is used to treat parkinsonism (slowed movements, stiffness of the body, uncontrollable body movements, weakness, tiredness, soft voice, and other symptoms caused by...

Statistical mechanics and transition state (TS) theory describe rates and selectivities of C-C bond cleavage in C2-C10 n-alkanes on metal catalysts and provide a general description for the hydrogenolysis of hydrocarbons. Mechanistic interpretation shows the dominant role of entropy, over enthalpy, in determining the location and rate of C-C bond cleavage. Ir, Rh, and Pt clusters cleave C-C bon...

A b-diketiminato n-butylmagnesium complex is presented as a selective precatalyst for the reductive hydroboration of organic nitriles with pinacolborane (HBpin). Stoichiometric reactivity studies indicate that catalytic turnover ensues through the generation of magnesium aldimido, aldimidoborate and borylamido intermediates, which are formed in a sequence of intramolecular nitrile insertion and...

A Rh-catalyzed regiodivergent hydrosilylation of acyl aminocyclopropanes has been developed. Acyl aminocyclopropanes were reacted with hydrosilanes in the presence of Rh catalysts to afford ring-opened hydrosilylated adducts through carbon-carbon (C-C) bond cleavage of the cyclopropane ring. The regioselectivity of the addition of silanes (linear or branched) can be switched by changing the mon...