Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry - Volume 13, Issue 1, 2016

Identification of amino acids helps in evaluating the structure of protein/polypeptide since the amino acids are the building blocks of the later. Many specific and non-specific reagents have been used to detect amino acids on thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) plates, among them ninhydrin is most widely used for its remarkable high sensitivity. It produces same purple/violet color with all amino acids, except proline and hydroxyproline which produce yellow color. During the last three decades, a good number of new reagents have been introduced to overcome the color problem of ninhydrin with different amino acids as well as to enhance the degree of sensitivity for such detection. In this study some recent developments of such spray reagents for the detection of amino acids on TLC plates have been thoroughly reviewed.

Benzo-γ-pyrone derivatives have attracted increasing attentions due to their significant biological activities. Structural modifications based on benzo-γ-pyrone scaffold are being carried out in several ways in order to anticipate enhanced biological activities. This review mainly covers recent studies on the functionalization of benzo-γ-pyrone scaffold by using different transition-metalcatalyzed cross-coupling reactions, which provides an in depth view of diversity-oriented synthesis of benzo-γ-pyrone derivatives.

Telomerase activation is a hallmark of cancer. Telomerase is a specialized ribonucleoprotein complex that uses its RNA subunit to synthesize the repetitive G-rich DNA found at the 3 ends of chromosomes (Telomere). Most cancer cells upregulates telomerase to attain cellular immortalization and cell regulation, whereas, telomerase in normal human somatic cells have a limited proliferative capacity both In-vitro and In-vivo and undergo senescence. Due to the differential expression pattern of telomerase between normal and tumor cells, telomerase has received significant attention as a universal cancer target. Additionally, since telomerase is expressed in stem cells during all stages of life, it has been linked to the process of aging and age-related diseases. Despite the great interest in telomerase, current understanding of telomerase and its regulation remains limited.

Recent studies on the synthesis, chemical reactivity and biological activities of pyrazolines bearing 1,2,4-triazine moieties are reviewed. The synthesis of their pyrazolines has been deduced from heteroannelation of hydrazino, acid hydrazide, azide as well as from aminopyrazolines with aza reagents. The unique features of the structures, biological significance and applications of these targets are discussed in this review.

The article is a mini-review of the porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) application as a catalyst in organic synthesis. Together with well-known stereo-selective hydrolysis and synthesis there were described examples of new (opened mostly last decade) PPL-catalyzed reactions: Michael and thio- Michael addition, aldol condensation, Henry reaction, Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction, Knoevenagel condensation, Mannich reaction, one-pot catalysis of some multicomponent reactions, polymerization of different monomers. The study of potential new catalytic capabilities of PPL in organic synthesis permits successfully expand the range of biotechnological applications of this enzyme at both laboratory and industrial levels.