In silico-in vitro estimation of lipophilicity and permeability association for succinimide derivatives using chromatographic anisotropic systems and parallel artificial membrane permeability assay

1-Aryl-3-Ethyl-3-Methyl- and 1-Aryl-3-Methylsuccinimides as Drug Candidates for Cancer: Toxicity Prediction, Molecular Docking, and In Vitro Assessment

Twenty-four succinimide derivatives were tested for their antiproliferative effect toward steroid hormone-responsive carcinoma cell lines: estrogen positive human breast carcinoma (MCF-7), lung carcinoma (A549), colon carcinoma (HT-29), and cervix carcinoma (HeLa). In addition, their antiproliferative effect was analyzed against late-stage estrogen and progesterone negative breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-231) and for safety were also investigated against normal fetal lung (MRC-5) cell lines. Molecular docking studies were conducted to observe their binding affinity for steroid hormone receptors and BCRP/ABCG2 transporter. All analyzed succinimides exhibited antiproliferative effects on at least one carcinoma cell line and were safe toward normal fetal lung cells. Their safety was confirmed based on in silico predictions. The succinimides were binding through the same π-stock interactions for the same Phe-778 of the progesterone receptor as the proven ligand and the same Phe-439 of the BCRP as the proven substrate and inhibitor. In addition, interactions with crucial amino acid residues for ligand antagonistic effects on estrogen receptors were observed. The QSAR analysis revealed that the succinimides' binding affinity for sex hormone receptors was governed by their flatness, polarity, size, and polarizability, while the affinity to bind for BCRP was lipophilicity dependent. The succinimides antiproliferative effect on A549 cell line given as IC50 was statistically significant associated with their molar refractivity (p = 0.033), and lipophilicity (XlogP3, p = 0.043), respectively. Finally, the most promising drug candidate with the most pronounced anticancer activity was compound D11 against lung carcinoma (A549) cell lines with an IC50 comparable to doxorubicin.

Evaluating the Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin and Synthetic Derivatives: A Computational Approach to Anti-Obesity Treatments

Natural compounds such as curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from the rhizome of turmeric, have gathered remarkable scientific interest due to their diverse metabolic benefits including anti-obesity potential. However, curcumin faces challenges stemming from its unfavorable pharmacokinetic profile. To address this issue, synthetic curcumin derivatives aimed at enhancing the biological efficacy of curcumin have previously been developed. In silico modelling techniques have gained significant recognition in screening synthetic compounds as drug candidates. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to assess the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of three synthetic derivatives of curcumin. This evaluation was conducted in comparison to curcumin, with a specific emphasis on examining their impact on adipogenesis, inflammation, and lipid metabolism as potential therapeutic targets of obesity mechanisms. In this study, predictive toxicity screening confirmed the safety of curcumin, with the curcumin derivatives demonstrating a safe profile based on their LD50 values. The synthetic curcumin derivative 1A8 exhibited inactivity across all selected toxicity endpoints. Furthermore, these compounds were deemed viable candidate drugs as they adhered to Lipinski's rules and exhibited favorable metabolic profiles. Molecular docking studies revealed that both curcumin and its synthetic derivatives exhibited favorable binding scores, whilst molecular dynamic simulations showed stable binding with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), csyclooxygenase-2 (COX2), and fatty acid synthase (FAS) proteins. The binding free energy calculations indicated that curcumin displayed potential as a strong regulator of PPARγ (-60.2 ± 0.4 kcal/mol) and FAS (-37.9 ± 0.3 kcal/mol), whereas 1A8 demonstrated robust binding affinity with COX2 (-64.9 ± 0.2 kcal/mol). In conclusion, the results from this study suggest that the three synthetic curcumin derivatives have similar molecular interactions to curcumin with selected biological targets. However, in vitro and in vivo experimental studies are recommended to validate these findings.