Novel 3-aryl-5-substituted-coumarin analogues: Synthesis and bioactivity profile

Preparation and characterization of solid lipid nanoparticles incorporating bioactive coumarin analogues as photosensitizing agents

Daphnetin (7,8-dihydroxy-coumarin, DAPH) is a naturally occurring coumarin presenting a wide array of biological activities. In the present study, daphnetin and its novel synthetic analogue 7,8-dihydroxy-4-methyl-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-coumarin (DHC) were encapsulated in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) with Encapsulation Efficiency values of 80% and 40%, respectively. Nanoparticles of an average hydrodynamic diameter of approximately 250 nm were formed, showing a good stability in aqueous dispersion (polydispersity index 0.3-0.4), as determined by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The SLNs were also characterized using Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). TEM images of the blank-SLNs indicated a spherical morphology and a size of 20-50 nm. The release studies of the coumarin analogues indicated a non-Fickian diffusion mechanism, while the release profiles better fitted on the Higuchi kinetic model. Moreover, the coumarin analogues and their SLNs were examined for their antioxidant activity using DPPH and anti-lipid peroxidation assays, exhibiting stronger antioxidant activity when encapsulated than in their free form. The coumarin derivatives and their SLNs were examined for their photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy against the human squamous carcinoma A431 cell line, with DHC coumarin both in its free and encapsulated form exhibiting significant PDT activity, reducing the cell viability to 11% after irradiation with a fluence rate of 2.16 J/cm2. Finally, the intracellular localization studies indicated the enhanced cellular uptake of the coumarin analogues when loaded in the SLNs.

New 5-Hydroxycoumarin-Based Tyrosyl-DNA Phosphodiesterase I Inhibitors Sensitize Tumor Cell Line to Topotecan

Tyrosyl-DNA-phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1) is an important enzyme in the DNA repair system. The ability of the enzyme to repair DNA damage induced by a topoisomerase 1 poison such as the anticancer drug topotecan makes TDP1 a promising target for complex antitumor therapy. In this work, a set of new 5-hydroxycoumarin derivatives containing monoterpene moieties was synthesized. It was shown that most of the conjugates synthesized demonstrated high inhibitory properties against TDP1 with an IC₅₀ in low micromolar or nanomolar ranges. Geraniol derivative 33a was the most potent inhibitor with IC₅₀ 130 nM. Docking the ligands to TDP1 predicted a good fit with the catalytic pocket blocking access to it. The conjugates used in non-toxic concentration increased cytotoxicity of topotecan against HeLa cancer cell line but not against conditionally normal HEK 293A cells. Thus, a new structural series of TDP1 inhibitors, which are able to sensitize cancer cells to the topotecan cytotoxic effect has been discovered.

3-Phenylcoumarins as a Privileged Scaffold in Medicinal Chemistry: The Landmarks of the Past Decade

3-Phenylcoumarins are a family of heterocyclic molecules that are widely used in both organic and medicinal chemistry. In this overview, research on this scaffold, since 2010, is included and discussed, focusing on aspects related to its natural origin, synthetic procedures and pharmacological applications. This review paper is based on the most relevant literature related to the role of 3-phenylcoumarins in the design of new drug candidates. The references presented in this review have been collected from multiple electronic databases, including SciFinder, Pubmed and Mendeley.

Synthesis, Bioactivity, Pharmacokinetic and Biomimetic Properties of Multi-Substituted Coumarin Derivatives

A series of novel multi-substituted coumarin derivatives were synthesized, spectroscopically characterized, and evaluated for their antioxidant activity, soybean lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory ability, their influence on cell viability in immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaT), and cytotoxicity in adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells (A549) and human melanoma (A375) cells, in vitro. Coumarin analogues 4a-4f, bearing a hydroxyl group at position 5 of the coumarin scaffold and halogen substituents at the 3-phenyl ring, were the most promising ABTS•+ scavengers. 6,8-Dibromo-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methyl-chromen-2-one (4k) and 6-bromo-3-(4,5-diacetyloxyphenyl)-4-methyl-chromen-2-one (3m) exhibited significant lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity (IC50 36.9 and 37.1 μM). In the DCF-DA assay, the 4'-fluoro-substituted compound 3f (100%), and the 6-bromo substituted compounds 3i (80.9%) and 4i (100%) presented the highest activity. The 3'-fluoro-substituted coumarins 3e and 4e, along with 3-(4-acetyloxyphenyl)-6,8-dibromo-4-methyl-chromen-2-one (3k), were the most potent lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitors (IC50 11.4, 4.1, and 8.7 μM, respectively) while displaying remarkable hydroxyl radical scavenging ability, 85.2%, 100%, and 92.9%, respectively. In silico docking studies of compounds 4e and 3k, revealed that they present allosteric interactions with the enzyme. The majority of the analogues (100 μΜ) did not affect the cell viability of HaCaT cells, though several compounds presented over 60% cytotoxicity in A549 or A375 cells. Finally, the human oral absorption (%HOA) and plasma protein binding (%PPB) properties of the synthesized coumarins were also estimated using biomimetic chromatography, and all compounds presented high %HOA (>99%) and %PPB (60-97%) values.

Design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship study of O-prenylated 3-acetylcoumarins as potent inhibitors of soybean 15-lipoxygenase

In this work, the design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationships of a novel array of geranyloxy and farnesyloxy 3-acetylcoumarins were reported as potent soybean 15-lipoxygenase inhibitors. Among the prepared coumarins, 7-farnesyloxy-3-acetylcoumarin (12b) was found to be the most potent inhibitor by IC50  = 0.68 μM while O-geranyl substituents at positions 5 and 6 of 3-acetylcoumarin (10a and 11a) were not inhibitors. Using docking studies, the binding affinity and the preferred pose of synthetic compounds were considered. It was found that lipoxygenase inhibitory activity and prenyl length chain were directly related. The hydrophobic cavity of the enzyme was more effectively occupied by the farnesyl moiety of the potent inhibitor 12b rather than other derivatives. Also, with this pose of farnesyl chain in 7-farnesyloxy-3-acetylcoumarins, the acetyl group could be directed to the hydrophilic pocket in the active site.

Semisynthesis of Selenoauraptene

Selenium-containing compounds are gaining more and more interest due to their valuable and promising pharmacological properties, mainly as anticancer and antioxidant agents. Ebselen, the up to now only approved drugs, is well known to possess very good glutathione peroxidase mimicking effects. To date, the most of efforts have been directed to build pure synthetic Se containing molecules, while less attention have been devoted to Se-based semisynthetic products resembling natural compounds like terpenes, polyphenols, and alkaloids. The aim of this short communication is to report the synthesis of the first example of a Se-phenylpropanoids, namely selenoauraptene, containing a selenogeranyl side chain in position 7 of the umbelliferone core. The key step was the Newman-Kwart rearrangement to obtain a selenocarbamate in which the Se atom was directly attached to umbelliferone (replacing its 7-OH function) followed by hydrolysis to get diumbelliferyl diselenide, which was finally easily converted to the desired Se-geranyl derivative in quite a good overall yield (28.5%). The synthesized adduct displayed a greater antioxidant and a radical scavenger in vitro activity than parent auraptene. The procedure we describe herein, to the best of our knowledge for the first time in the literature, represents an easy-to-handle method for the synthesis of a wide array of seleno analogues of naturally occurring biologically active oxyprenylated secondary metabolites.

Hybridization of Curcumin Analogues with Cinnamic Acid Derivatives as Multi-Target Agents Against Alzheimer's Disease Targets

The synthesis of the new hybrids followed a hybridization with the aid of hydroxy-benzotriazole (HOBT) and 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDCI.HCL) in dry DMF or thionyl chloride between curcumin analogues and cinnamic acid derivatives. IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, LC/MS ESI+, and elemental analysis were used for the confirmation of the structures of the novel hybrids. The lipophilicity values of compounds were calculated theoretically and experimentally via the reversed chromatography method as RM values. The novel derivatives were studied through in vitro experiments for their activity as antioxidant agents and as inhibitors of lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase-2, and acetyl-cholinesterase. All the compounds showed satisfying anti-lipid peroxidation activity of linoleic acid induced by 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) hydrochloride (AAPH). Hybrid 3e was the most significant pleiotropic derivative, followed by 3a. According to the predicted results, all hybrids could be easily transported, diffused, and absorbed through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). They presented good oral bioavailability and very high absorption with the exception of 3h. No inhibition for CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4 was noticed. According to the Ames test, all the hybrids induced mutagenicity with the exception of 3d. Efforts were conducted a) to correlate the in vitro results with the most important physicochemical properties of the structural components of the molecules and b) to clarify the correlation of actions among them to propose a possible mechanism of action. Docking studies were performed on soybean lipoxygenase (LOX) and showed hydrophobic interactions with amino acids. Docking studies on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) exhibited: (a) hydrophobic interactions with TRP281, LEU282, TYR332, PHE333, and TYR336 and (b) π-stacking interactions with TYR336.