Molecular Docking and Preclinical Study of Five-Membered S,S-Palladaheterocycle as Hepatoprotective Agent

In vitro and in silico studies of the potential cytotoxic, antioxidant, and HMG CoA reductase inhibitory effects of chitin from Indonesia mangrove crab (Scylla serrata) shells

This study aimed to characterize chitin extracted from Indonesia mangrove crab (Scylla serrata) shells, as well as to assess its in vitro cytotoxic, antioxidant, and HMG CoA reductase inhibitory potentials. In silico molecular docking, molecular dynamic, and ADMET prediction analyses were also carried out. Chitin was extracted from mangrove crab shells using deproteination and demineralization processes, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) characterization are then performed. The MTT method was further tested in a study of cell viability, while in vitro method was used to assess HMG CoA reductase inhibitory and antioxidant activities. The extracted chitin was found to have a moderate level of cytotoxic and antioxidant activities. In vitro studies showed that it has an IC50 of 36,65 ± 0,082 μg/mL as an HMG CoA reductase inhibitor, and decreased enzyme activity by 68.733 % at 100 μg/mL as a concentration. Furthermore, in the in silico study, chitin showed a strong affinity to several targets, including HMG CoA reductase, HMG synthase, LDL receptor, PPAR-alfa, and HCAR-2 with binding energies of -5.7; -5.8; -3.6; -5.6; -4.6 kcal/mol, respectively. Based on the ADMET properties, it had non-toxic molecules, which were absorbed and distributed across the blood-brain barrier. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation also showed that it remained stable in the active sites of HMG CoA reductase receptor for 100 ns. These results indicated that chitin from Indonesian mangrove crab shells can be used to develop more potent HMG CoA reductase inhibitor with antioxidant and cytotoxic activities for effective dyslipidemia therapy.

Promising inhibitors of main protease of novel corona virus to prevent the spread of COVID-19 using docking and molecular dynamics simulation

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a global health emergency and the matter of serious concern, which has been declared a pandemic by WHO. Till date, no potential medicine/ drug is available to cure the infected persons from SARS-CoV-2. This deadly virus is named as novel 2019-nCoV coronavirus and caused coronavirus disease, that is, COVID-19. The first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection in human was confirmed in the Wuhan city of the China. COVID-19 is an infectious disease and spread from man to man as well as surface to man . In the present work, in silico approach was followed to find potential molecule to control this infection. Authors have screened more than one million molecules available in the ZINC database and taken the best two compounds based on binding energy score. These lead molecules were further studied through docking against the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. Then, molecular dynamics simulations of the main protease with and without screened compounds were performed at room temperature to determine the thermodynamic parameters to understand the inhibition. Further, molecular dynamics simulations at different temperatures were performed to understand the efficiency of the inhibition of the main protease in the presence of the screened compounds. Change in energy for the formation of the complexes between the main protease of novel coronavirus and ZINC20601870 as well ZINC00793735 at room temperature was determined on applying MM-GBSA calculations. Docking and molecular dynamics simulations showed their antiviral potential and may inhibit viral replication experimentally.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Synthesis of new N,N′-Pd(Pt) complexes based on sulfanyl pyrazoles, and investigation of their in vitro anticancer activity

The synthesis of new N,N′-mononuclear bi-ligand Pd(ii) and tri-ligand Pt(ii)complexes bearing sulfanyl(phenyl, benzyl, cyclohexyl, 4-hydroxyphenyl)3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole ligands has been carried out. The obtained compounds were studied for apoptosis-inducing activity and effect on the cell cycle for Jurkat, K562, and U937 neoplastic cell cultures and conditionally normal human embryonic kidney HEK293 cells. The cells showed the highest sensitivity to platinum and palladium complexes in comparison with ligands and cisplatin. The cytotoxic properties are enhanced for compounds with cyclohexyl substituents at the S-atom in sulfanyl pyrazoles and complexes.

Efficient cytostatics against Jurkat, K562 and U937 neoplastic cell lines were found among the synthesized new Pd(ii) and Pt(ii)complexes (six examples) with sulfanyl-1H-pyrazole ligands using in vitro assay.