Pharmacokinetics of a new antitumor 3-arylisoquinoline derivative, CWJ-a-5

Environmentally friendly Nafion-catalyzed synthesis of 3-substituted isoquinoline by using hexamethyldisilazane as a nitrogen source under microwave irradiation

This study developed an eco-friendly method to synthesize 3-arylisoquinoline from 2-alkynylbenzaldehydes using Nafion® NR50 as an acidic catalyst and hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) as a nitrogen source. The reaction proceeded via a 6-exo-dig cyclization under microwave irradiation, giving the corresponding isoquinolines in excellent yields. The advantages of this protocol include: (1) the use of recyclable acid catalysts, (2) transition-metal-free catalysis, and (3) the effective formation of the target product. These features make this methodology a promising approach for the sustainable and efficient synthesis of 3-arylisoquinoline. Some structures were also confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.

Cobalt-catalyzed C(sp2)-H bond imination of phenylalanine derivatives

Herein we report the cobalt-catalyzed, picolinamide-directed C-H bond imination protocol of phenylalanine derivatives using isocyanides and a Co(dpm)₂ catalyst. A wide range of functional groups were tolerated under the reaction conditions, yielding imines in high yields. The obtained imine products can easily be transformed to 1-aminoisoquinoline derivatives under reductive conditions, providing an attractive alternative to already existing methodologies. The control experiments indicated that C-H activation might occur via an electrophilic pathway.

Regioselective decarboxylative cross-coupling of carboxy isoquinoline N-oxides

A straightforward method for direct decarboxylative arylation of 1- and 3-carboxy isoquinaldic acid N-oxides with aryl iodides is reported. The reaction proceeded selectively at the carboxy function site to exclusively give the corresponding C-1 or C-3 arylated product. This methodology tolerates various aryl iodides substituted by electronically different groups. Combined with subsequent Reissert-Henze chlorination and SNAr amination, the decarboxylative arylation provides an efficient access to 1,3-functionalized isoquinoline-based antitumor agent.

Modification of 3-arylisoquinolines into 3,4-diarylisoquinolines and assessment of their cytotoxicity and topoisomerase inhibition

Inspired by the initial success of the monoarylisoquinolines and the quest to identify more potent and selective anticancer agents with topoisomerase (topo) inhibitory activity, series of diarylisoquinolines (3,4-diarylisoquinolones and 3,4-diarylisoquinolinamines) were designed and synthesized. Synthesis of these compounds primarily involved lithiated toluamide-benzonitrile cycloaddition, Suzuki coupling, and nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions. Eight of the derivatives were selectively toxic against human ductal breast epithelial tumor cells (T47D), human prostate cancer cells (DU145), and human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (HCT-15), but had no effect on normal human breast epithelial cells (MCF10A). The topo inhibitory activities of the diarylisoquinoline compounds were relatively dependent upon their chemical structure. 3,4-Diarylisoquinolones generally did not inhibit topo I and only showed moderate inhibition of topo II. In contrast, several 3,4-diarylisoquinolinamines showed superior topo I inhibitory activity. Isoquinolinamine derivatives had greater affinity for topo I than for topo II. Topo inhibition by 3,4-diarylisoquinolines was further supported by docking models showing intercalative and/or H-bond interactions between these compounds and the DNA/topo(s). An analysis of the correlation between the cytotoxicity and topo inhibition of these compounds indicated that the primary biological target of derivatives with potent cytotoxicity was topo, which in turn establishes diaryl-substituted isoquinolines as a novel class of potential anticancer drugs.

Preparation of 1-methyl-3-phenylisoquinoline derivatives from oximes using polyphosphoric esters

1-Methyl-3-phenylisoquinoline derivatives were synthesized with high efficiency from oximesviaBeckmann rearrangement, isomerization and condensation, all promoted by polyphosphate ester.

Enhanced solubility and stability of PEGylated liposomal paclitaxel: In vitro and in vivo evaluation

An improved PEGylated liposomal formulation of paclitaxel has been developed with the purpose of improving the solubility of paclitaxel as well as the physicochemical stability of liposome in comparison to the current Taxol formulation. The use of 3% (v/v) Tween 80 in the hydration media was able to increase the solubility of drug. The addition of sucrose as a lyoprotectant in the freeze-drying process increased the stability of the liposome particles. There was no significant difference in the entrapment efficiency of paclitaxel between the conventional non-PEGylated liposomes and our PEGylated liposomes. Cytotoxicity in human breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3) of our paclitaxel formulation was less potent compared to Taxol after 24h incubation, but was equipotent after 72 h due to the slower release of drug from the liposome. Our PEGylated liposomes increased the biological half-life of paclitaxel from 5.05 (+/-1.52)h to 17.8 (+/-2.35)h compared to the conventional liposomes in rats. Biodistribution studies in breast cancer xenografted nude mouse model showed that our liposomes significantly decreased the uptake in reticuloendothelial system (RES)-containing organs (liver, spleen and lung) while increasing the uptake in tumor tissues after injection compared to Taxol or the conventional liposomal formulation. Moreover, the PEGylated liposome showed greater tumor growth inhibition effect in in vivo studies. Therefore, our PEGylated liposomal formulation of paclitaxel could serve as a better alternative for the passive targeting of human breast tumors.

Preparation and evaluation of paclitaxel-loaded PEGylated immunoliposome

A sterically stabilized paclitaxel-loaded liposome tailored to target human breast cancer cells was developed, thereby promoting the efficiency of intracellular delivery of paclitaxel through receptor-mediated endocytosis. Results indicated that the targeting moiety (thiolated Herceptin) was successfully coupled to the distal reactive maleimide terminus of the poly (ethylene glycol)-phospholipid conjugate as well as being incorporated in the liposomal bilayers. The particle size of the PEGylated immunoliposome was maintained at about 200 nm. Confocal microscopy studies showed that the PEGylated immunoliposome was uptaken into the interior of the tumor cell through the receptor-mediated endocytosis pathway. The PEGylated immunoliposome showed substantially higher cellular uptake than the PEGylated liposome in cancer cells (BT-474 and SK-BR-3) over-expressing human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) at 37 degrees C, while no difference was found in low HER2 expressing cells (MDA-MB-231) nor at low temperature (4 degrees C). Pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel in the PEGylated immunoliposome was compared with that in Taxol and in the PEGylated liposome in rats. The circulating time of paclitaxel in the PEGylated immunoliposome was prolonged compared to Taxol while slightly shortened than that in the PEGylated liposome. Therefore, the paclitaxel-loaded PEGylated immunoliposome using Herceptin could serve as a promising model for future tumor specific cancer therapy of HER2 over-expressing breast cancers.

Synthesis of new 3-Arylisoquinolinamines: effect on topoisomerase I inhibition and cytotoxicity

To investigate the structure-activity relationships of 3-arylisoquinolines, diverse substituted 3-aryisoquinolinamines were synthesized and tested in vitro antitumor activity against four tumor cell lines. Some of the compounds showed potent topoisomerase I inhibitory activity. Docking study of 7d with topoisomerase I-DNA complex was also performed.

Molecular modeling of 3-arylisoquinoline antitumor agents active against A-549. A comparative molecular field analysis study

A series of 58 3-arylisoquinoline antitumor agents were investigated for defining the pharmacophore model using comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) program. The studied compounds related to bioisostere of benzophenanthridine alkaloid were synthesized and evaluated for antitumor cytotoxicity against human lung tumor cell (A 549). In order to perform the systematic molecular modeling study of these compounds, the conformational search was carried out based on the single X-ray crystallographic structure of 7,8-dimethoxy-3-phenylisoquinolin-(2H)-one (2). Interestingly, two types of structures having different dihedral angles between the isoquinoline ring and 3-aryl ring were found in the crystals. Therefore, CoMFA was performed two different, overlapping ways. The alignments of the structures were based on the common isoquinoline ring and 3-aryl ring. The 3-D-quantitative structure-activity relationship study resulted in significant cross-validated, conventional r(2) values equal to 0.715 and 0.927, respectively.

Physicochemical properties of CWJ-a-5, a new antitumor 3-arylisoquinoline derivative

The compound CWJ-a-5 [1-(4-methylpiperazinyl)-3-phenylisoquinoline hydrochloride] is a novel 3-arylisoquinoline derivative which has exhibited potent antitumor activity. As part of an effort to develop a useful formulation for clinical evaluation of this compound, the aqueous stability of CWJ-a-5 as a function of pH, ionic strength, and temperature, as well as its various physicochemical properties, have been examined. The pKa value obtained by potentiometric titration in methanol-water mixtures was 3.61, at 25 degrees C. The aqueous solubility and the apparent partition coefficient of CWJ-a-5 over the pH range 2.08-9.88 were consistent with those expected of a weak acid of similar pKa value. The degradation of CWJ-a-5 was found to follow apparent first-order kinetics. The pH-rate profiles generated at 80 degrees C were accounted for by acid-catalyzed degradation at low pH and base-catalyzed degradation at high pH. The activation energy was determined as 22.12 kcal/mol for the degradation of CWJ-a-5 in a pH 2.92 solution with a constant ionic strength of 0.2. Increasing the ionic strength up to 0.9 led to a higher degradation rate constant at pH 2.92. However, CWJ-a-5 was very stable even in a pH 2.92 solution, and its shelf-life was calculated to be 2.03 years at 25 degrees C from the Arrhenius plot.