New spiroacridine derivatives with DNA-binding and topoisomerase I inhibition activity

Scaffold repositioning of spiro-acridine derivatives as fungi chitinase inhibitor by target fishing and in vitro studies

The concept of "one target, one drug, one disease" is not always true, as compounds with previously described therapeutic applications can be useful to treat other maladies. For example, acridine derivatives have several potential therapeutic applications. In this way, identifying new potential targets for available drugs is crucial for the rational management of diseases. Computational methodologies are interesting tools in this field, as they use rational and direct methods. Thus, this study focused on identifying other rational targets for acridine derivatives by employing inverse virtual screening (IVS). This analysis revealed that chitinase enzymes can be potential targets for these compounds. Subsequently, we coupled molecular docking consensus analysis to screen the best chitinase inhibitor among acridine derivatives. We observed that 3 compounds displayed potential enhanced activity as fungal chitinase inhibitors, showing that compound 5 is the most active molecule, with an IC₅₀ of 0.6 ng/µL. In addition, this compound demonstrated a good interaction with the active site of chitinases from Aspergillus fumigatus and Trichoderma harzianum. Additionally, molecular dynamics and free energy demonstrated complex stability for compound 5. Therefore, this study recommends IVS as a powerful tool for drug development. The potential applications are highlighted as this is the first report of spiro-acridine derivatives acting as chitinase inhibitors that can be potentially used as antifungal and antibacterial candidates.

Improved method for the preparation of nonyl acridine orange analogues and utilization in detection of cardiolipin

This study was designed to develop a fast and convenient methodology for the preparation of 10-nonyl acridine orange (NAO) and its silyl analogues to improve their photo-physical properties for the detection and quantification of cardiolipin (CL).