Abstract

ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF LEVODOPA ON NITROGENOUS BASES USING QUANTUM METHOD

Oscar Sánchez-Parada, Manuel Aparicio-Razo, Emmanuel Vázquez-López, Juan Jesús García-Mar, Iliana Herrera-Cantú, Karina García-Aguilar, Erick Pedraza-Gress, Lillhian Arely Flores-González and Manuel González-Pérez*

Abstract

L-3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) or Levodopa (Lev) has been used since the 1960s and has become one of the most widely used drugs in neurology. Lev is a metabolic precursor drug for dopamine. Its therapeutic and harmful effects result from its decarboxylation in dopamine through the enzyme decarboxylase. Said metabolic processes can produce genetic mutations, which are the result of the alteration of the nitrogenous bases or the loss of some of them, giving rise to a disturbance in the formation of proteins. The objective of the study is to determine, using the parametric semi-empirical quantum method 3 (SE-PM3), that Nitrogenous Bases (NB) have a higher affinity with Lev. Through Hyperchem Professional software, it is possible to perform molecular models and analysis of the Lev and NB. The result of the simulations shows that there is a loss of electrons from the NB Guanine, which can be correlated with the beginning of serious problems, forming a variety of complex molecules, resulting in the onset of genetic diseases.

Keywords: Levodopa, Nitrogenous Bases, Quantum method, Hyperchem, SE-PM3.