Discovery of Novel Dimeric Pyridinium Bromide Analogues Inhibits Cancer Cell Growth by Activating Caspases and Downregulating Bcl-2 Protein

Flexible dimeric substituted pyridinium bromides with primary and tertiary amines are prepared by conventional and solvent-free methods. The formation of compounds 2 and 4 is much easier than that of compounds 1 and 3 because of the benzyl carbon which is more electropositive than the primary alkyl carbon. The newly synthesized dimeric pyridinium compounds are optimized using DFT and B3LYP 6-31 g(d,p). The in vitro antiproliferative activity is studied in lung (A549) and breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB 231). Among the four compounds, 1,1'-(1,3-phenylene bis(methylene)bis 2-aminopyridinium bromide 4 showed potent anticancer activity when compared to the standard drug 5-fluorouracil. 1,1'-(1,3-Phenylene bis(methylene)bis 2-aminopyridinium bromide 4 is not toxic to normal cell lines 3T3-L1 and MRC-5 cell lines. Also, 1,1'-(1,3-phenylene bis(methylene)bis 2-aminopyridinium bromide 4-induced apoptosis in cancer cell lines is examined using AO/EB and Hoechst staining, which is further supported by cell cycle analysis. Western blot analysis showed that 1,1'-(1,3-phenylene bis(methylene)bis 2-aminopyridinium bromide 4 induces apoptosis through the extrinsic apoptotic pathway by upregulating caspase 3 and caspase 9. This compound also downregulates intrinsic apoptotic proteins, including Bcl-2, Bcl-x, and Bad. From the present study results, it is confirmed that 1,1'-(1,3-phenylene bis(methylene)bis 2-aminopyridinium bromide 4 has potent anticancer activity when compared to other compounds.

Exploring the charge transfer dynamics of hydrogen bonded crystals of 2-methyl-8-quinolinol and chloranilic acid: synthesis, spectrophotometric, single-crystal, DFT/PCM analysis, antimicrobial, and DNA binding studies

The new chemistry of the hydrogen-bonded charge and proton transfer complex (HB CT) between electron-donor 2-methyl-8-quinolinol (2 MQ) and electron-acceptor chloranilic acid (CHLA) has been studied using electronic absorption spectroscopy in acetonitrile (ACN), methanol (MeOH), and ethanol (EtOH) polar media at room temperature. The stoichiometric proportion of the HB CT complex was observed to be 1 : 1 from the Job data and photometric titration process. The association constant (K _CT) and molar absorptivity (ε _CT) of the HB CT complex were determined by using the modified Benesi-Hildebrand equation in three polarities. Other spectroscopic physical parameters like the energy of interaction (E _CT), ionization potential (I _D), resonance energy (R _N), standard free energy change (ΔG°), oscillator strength (f), and transition dipole moment (μ) were also evaluated. The HB CT complex structure was confirmed by different characterization techniques, such as FT-IR, NMR, TGA-DTA, and SEM-EDX analysis. Powder XRD and single-crystal XRD were used to determine the nature and structure of the synthesized HB CT complex. DNA binding studies for the HB CT complex produced a good binding constant value of 2.25 × 10⁴ L mol^-1 in UV-visible and 1.17 × 10⁴ L mol^-1 in fluorescence spectroscopy. The biological activity of the HB CT complex was also tested in vitro against the growth of bacteria and fungi, and the results indicated remarkable activity for the HB CT complex compared to the standard drugs, ampicillin and clindamycin. Hence, the abovementioned biological results of the synthesized HB CT complex show it could be used as a pharmaceutical drug in the future. Computational analysis was carried out by DFT studies using the B3LYP function with a basis set of 6-31G(d,p) in the gas phase and PCM analysis. The computational studies further supported the experimental results by confirming the charge and proton transfer complex.

Bioactivity of a radical scavenger bis(pyrazolium p-toluenesulphonate) on ctDNA and certain microbes: a combined experimental and theoretical analysis

A small organic molecule, bis(pyrazolium p-toluenesulphonate) (BPPTS), was crystallized, characterized and used to scavenge free radicals in biological systems. SXRD and spectroscopic analyses were used to confirm the structure of BPPTS. Methanolic and ethanolic solutions of BPPTS were used to assess the stability of the proposed drug using the UV-vis spectrophotometric technique. Optimization of the molecular structure was carried out by DFT with B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of basis set. MEP and Fukui functions that elaborate theoretically the predominant electrophilic, nucleophilic and radical sites in BPPTS were correlated with experimental biological screening. BPPTS exhibits strong activity against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, comparable with all other analyzed pathogens. The free radical scavenging activity of BPPTS was assessed by both experimental studies and theoretical calculations. The binding sites of DPPH, which can bind to BPPTS, were also predicted by Fukui functions. DNA binding of BPPTS in UV-vis studies revealed the groove mode of binding due to the occurrence of hyperchromism. The phenomenon of hyperchromism was established by the Hirshfeld surface analysis of BPPTS, which confirmed the presence of π···π interactions (2.4%). Molecular docking established a positive correlation between experimental bio-screening reports and simulated data. ADMET properties were also calculated.

Rhodanine-based light-harvesting sensitizers: a rational comparison between 2-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)rhodanine and rhodanine-3-acetic acid

Photophysical, electrochemical and theoretical characterization of new rhodanine-based dyes for DSSC applications, a comparison of the photovoltaic performances of 2-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)rhodanine (DR) and rhodanine-3-acetic acid (RAA).

Hydrogen bonded charge transfer molecular salt (4-chloro anilinium-3-nitrophthalate) for photophysical and pharmacological applications

Radical scavenging activity against DPPH radical and binding properties of a hydrogen bonded charge transfer molecular salt 4-chloro anilinium-3-nitrophthalate(CANP) with calf thymus DNA has been studied by electronic absorption and emission spectroscopy. The molecular structure and crystallinity of the CANP salt have been established by carried out powder and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis which indicated that cation and anion are linked through strong N⁺H^…O^- type of hydrogen bond. FTIR spectroscopic study was carried out to know the various functional groups present in the crystal. ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra were recorded to further confirm the molecular structure of the salt crystal. The thermal stability of the title salt was established by TG/DTA analyses simultaneously on the powdered sample of the title crystal. Further, the CANP salt was examined against various bacteria and fungi strains which showed a remarkable antimicrobial activity compared to that of the standards Ciproflaxin and Clotrimazole. The results showed that the CANP salt could interact with CT-DNA through intercalation. Antioxidant studies of the substrates alone and synthesized CANP salt showed that the latter has been better radical scavenging activity than that of the former against DPPH radical. The third order nonlinear susceptibility of the CANP salt was established by the Z-scan study.