Novel 3‐Hydroxy‐2‐naphthoic hydrazone and Ni(II), Co(II) and Cu(II) Complexes: Synthesis, Spectroscopic Characterization, Antimicrobial, DNA Cleavage and Computational Studies

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Gypsogenin Derivatives as Potential Anticancer and Antimicrobial Agents

Natural compounds are important sources for the treatment of chronic disorders such as cancer and microbial infectious disorders. In this research, Gypsogenin and its derivatives (2 a-2 f) have been tested against different cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HeLa, Jurkat and K562 cell lines) and further analyzed for cell proliferation, cell death type, and for act of the mechanism. Cell proliferation was determined by the MTT method and cell death types were analyzed with HO/PI staining. Fibroblast Growth Factor 1 (FGF-1), Interleukin 1 (IL-1), Interleukin 6 (IL-6), and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α), key players in breast cancer development and progression, were determined by Elisa kits. Results showed that compound 2 e inhibited the MCF-7 cell line proliferation with an IC50 value of 0.66±0.17 μM with 93.38 % apoptosis rate. Compound 2 e also decreased FGF-1, IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α levels. Molecular docking studies performed in the binding site of FGFR-1 indicated that compound 2 e formed key hydrogen bonding with Arg627 and Asn568. Besides, compounds 2 a-2 f were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and C. albicans via the microdilution method. Overall, compound 2 e stands out as a potential anticancer agent for future studies.

Dehydroacetic acid a privileged medicinal scaffold: A concise review

From the last decade, research on dehydroacetic acid (DHA) and its derivatives has increased immensely due to its significant role in various fields, including medicine, cosmetics, food industry, and so on. In the medicinal area, DHA plays an essential role in developing novel action-based drugs, which are helpful for treating various diseases. Besides its plethora of biological applications, its chelating ability offers the easiest synthetic route for synthesizing more active metal complexes. DHA derivatives along with their metal complexes show a number of biological activities and also exhibit various interactions with multiple biological targets. This article summarizes recent medicinal applications (2000-onwards) of DHA-based compounds and their analogs, along with their structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis. Their interactions with different target enzymes are also discussed. This information derived from SAR analysis would be helpful for medicinal chemists working on the development of drugs based on heterocyclic frameworks, particularly those based on the DHA scaffold.

A novel water-soluble Cu(II) gluconate complex inhibits cancer cell growth by triggering apoptosis and ferroptosis related mechanisms

Metal copper complexes have attracted extensive attention as potential alternatives to platinum-based anticancer drugs due to their possible different modes of action. Herein, a new copper(II) gluconate complex, namely [Cu(DPQ)(Gluc)]·2H₂O (CuGluc, DPQ = pyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline), with good water-solubility and high anticancer activity was synthesized by using D-gluconic acid (Gluc-2H) as an auxiliary ligand. The complex was well characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, elemental analysis, molar conductivity, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The DNA-binding experiments revealed that CuGluc was bound to DNA by intercalation with end-stacking binding. CuGluc could oxidatively cleave DNA, in which ¹O₂ and H₂O₂ were involved. In addition, CuGluc was bound to the IIA subdomain of human serum albumin (HSA) through hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding, showing a good affinity for HSA. The complex showed superior anticancer activity toward several cancer cells than cisplatin in vitro. Further studies indicated that CuGluc caused apoptotic cell death in human liver cancer (HepG2) cells through elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, mitochondrial dysfunction, cell cycle arrest, and caspase activation. Interestingly, CuGluc also triggered the ferroptosis mechanism through lipid peroxide accumulation and inhibition of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) activity. More importantly, CuGluc significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo, which may benefit from the combined effects of apoptosis and ferroptosis. This work provides a promising strategy to develop highly effective antitumor copper complexes by coordinating with the glucose metabolite D-gluconic acid and exploiting the synergistic effects of apoptosis and ferroptosis mechanisms.

Synthesis, DNA binding, antibacterial and anticancer properties of two novel water-soluble copper(II) complexes containing gluconate

In this paper, two new Cu(II) complexes, [Cu(Gluc)(HPB)(H₂O)]Gluc (CuG1) and [Cu(Gluc)(HPBC)(H₂O)]Gluc (CuG2) (where HPB = 2-(2'-pyridyl)benzimidazole, HPBC = 5-chloro-2-(2'-pyridyl)benzimidazole, Gluc = d-Gluconic acid), with good water solubility were synthesized and characterized. These complexes exhibited a five-coordinated tetragonal pyramidal geometry. The DNA binding and cleavage properties of the complexes were investigated using multi-spectroscopy, viscosity measurement, molecular docking and gel electrophoresis analysis methods. The results showed that the complexes could interact with DNA by insertion and groove binding, and cleave CT-DNA through a singlet oxygen-dependent pathway in the presence of ascorbic acid. The studies on antibacterial and anticancer activities in vitro demonstrated that both complexes had good inhibitory activity against three Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Listeria monocytogenes) and one Gram-negative bacterium (Escherichia coli) and good cytotoxic activity toward the tested cancer cells (A549, HeLa and SGC-7901). CuG2 showed higher antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities than CuG1, which was consistent with their binding strength and cleavage ability to DNA, indicating that their antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities may be related to the DNA interaction. Moreover, the cell-based mechanism studies have indicated that CuG1 and CuG2 could arrest the cell cycle at G2/M phase, elevate the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). The results showed that the complexes could induce apoptosis through DNA-damaged and ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction pathways. Finally, the in vivo antitumor study revealed that CuG2 inhibited tumor growth by 50.44%, which is better than that of cisplatin (40.94%).