Synthesis, Anticancer Activity, and Docking Studies of Novel Hydroquinone-Chalcone-Pyrazoline Hybrid Derivatives.

A novel series of antitumor hybrids was synthesized using 1,4-benzohydroquinone and chalcone, furane, or pyrazoline scaffolds. This were achieved through isosteric substitution of the aryl group of the chalcone ß-carbon with the furanyl moiety and structural modification of the α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl system. The potential antitumor activity of these hybrids was evaluated in vivo on MCF-7 breast adenocarcinoma and HT-29 colorectal carcinoma cells, demonstrating cytotoxic activity with IC50 values ranging from 28.8 to 124.6 µM. The incorporation of furan and pyrazoline groups significantly enhanced antiproliferative properties compared to their analogues and precursors (VII-X), which were inactive against both neoplastic cell lines. Compounds 4, 5, and 6 exhibited enhanced cytotoxicity against both cell lines, whereas compound 8 showed higher cytotoxic activity against HT-29 cells. Molecular docking studies revealed superior free-energy values (ΔGbin) for carcinogenic pathway-involved kinase proteins, with our in silico data suggesting that these derivatives could be promising chemotherapeutic agents targeting kinase pathways. Among all the synthesized PIBHQ compounds, derivatives 7 and 8 exhibited the best drug-likeness properties, with values of 0.53 and 0.83, respectively. ADME results collectively suggest that most of these compounds hold promise as potential candidates for preclinical assays.

Oxidative Coupling of Hydroquinone Derivatives with Olefins to Dihydrobenzofurans.

Dihydrobenzofuran is an important skeleton for bioactive compounds and natural products. Hydroquinones can be easily modified into substituted hydroquinones, which effectively undergo oxidation to produce the corresponding benzoquinone derivatives. Benzoquinones are reactive electrophiles that are frequently utilized in coupling with olefins to dihydrobenzofurans. Herein, we report the one-pot oxidative coupling of hydroquinones bearing an electron-withdrawing group at the C2 position with olefins to dihydrobenzofurans in the presence of the Lewis acidic FeCl3 and 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-p-benzoquinone (DDQ) oxidant. Furthermore, this method was applied to the oxidative coupling of N-electron-withdrawing group-substituted 4-aminophenol.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of platensic alcohol as an adamantane surrogate in antitumor drug lead adaphostin.

Adamantane has been widely used as a "lipophilic bullet" in drug discovery and development, due to its unique diamond-like architecture with benign pharmacological/ pharmaceutical properties. Platensimycin is a natural product isolated from a soil streptomycete, which contains an adamantane-like moiety extensively modified from a diterpenoid precursor. In the current study, platensic alcohol was semisynthesized from platensimycin and used as an adamantane surrogate in anticancer drug lead adaphostin. The resulting hybrid platensic alcohol/adaphostin compounds, eg. 4a and 4b, exhibited similar cytotoxic activity with adaphostin against the tested cancer cell lines. In particular, 4b generates significantly more reactive oxygen species (ROS) and shows stronger synergy with the clinically used histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat than adaphostin, probably due to the presence of two hydroquinone groups. Density functional theory calculation supports that there could be certain π-π stacking interaction in 4b in aqueous solution, which might explain that 4b has similar serum stability with adaphostin. Our study not only leads to the identification of 4b as a potent ROS generating agent, but showcases a simple scaffold hopping strategy to harvest lipophilic scaffolds from natural products.

Aqueous Solubility of Organic Compounds for Flow Battery Applications: Symmetry and Counter Ion Design to Avoid Low-Solubility Polymorphs.

Flow batteries can play an important role as energy storage media in future electricity grids. Organic compounds, based on abundant elements, are appealing alternatives as redox couples for redox flow batteries. The straightforward scalability, the independence of material sources, and the potentially attractive price motivate researchers to investigate this technological area. Four different benzyl-morpholino hydroquinone derivatives were synthesized as potential redox active species. Compounds bearing central symmetry were shown to be about an order of magnitude less soluble in water than isomers without central symmetry. Counter ions also affected solubility. Perchlorate, chlorate, sulfate and phosphate anions were investigated as counter ions. The formations of different polymorphs was observed, showing that their solubility is not a function of their structure. The kinetics of the transformation can give misleading solubility values according to Ostwald's rule. The unpredictability of both the kinetics and the thermodynamics of the formation of polymorphs is a danger for new organic compounds designed for flow battery applications.

Concise Syntheses of Violaceoids A and C.

The concise syntheses of two alkylated hydroquinone natural products, violaceoids A and C, were accomplished by a protecting-group-free method employing the commercially available 2,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde as the starting material. The key strategy of the syntheses is the utilization of alkenylboronic acid as both the coupling and temporary protective reagents to efficiently introduce the requisite alkenyl side chain of violaceoid A. Moreover, the synthesis of violaceoid C is reported here for the first time.

1,4,5,6,7,8-Hexahydroquinolines and 5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalenes: A new class of antitumor agents targeting the colchicine binding site of tubulin.

New series of 2-amino-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-3-carbonitriles 3a,b and 2-amino-5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalene-1,3-dicarbonitriles 4a-h were synthesized and evaluated for their antitumor activity. In vitro antitumor screening of the new members against HepG2, HCT-116 and MCF-7 cancer cells showed that the tetrahydronaphthalene-1,3-dicarbonitrile 4c has the highest potency against the three tested cancer cells (IC50 = 6.02, 8.45 and 6.28 µM, respectively). In addition, 4c displayed low cytotoxicity against WI38 and WISH normal cells (IC50 = 51.78 and 42.36 µM, respectively), and it might be utilized as a potent and selective antitumor agent. Compound 4c was further studied for its effect on tubulin polymerization, different phases of cell cycle, apoptosis and caspases 3/9 levels. Results revealed that analog 4c has good tubulin polymerization inhibitory activity (IC50 = 3.64 µM). Additionally, it induced significant accumulation of the tested cancer cells in G2/M phase, and induced cell death primarily via apoptosis. Besides, it showed evident increase in caspase-3 level in HepG2 and HCT-116 cells, and caspase-9 level in MCF-7 cells. Further, docking studies proved the exact fit of 4c into the colchicine binding site of tubulin.

Photocatalytic Oxidative Dearomatization of Orcinaldehyde Derivatives.

For decades, oxidative dearomatization has been employed as a key step in the synthesis of complex molecules. Challenges in controlling the chemo- and site-selectivity of this transformation have sparked the development of a variety of specialized oxidants; however, these result in stoichiometric amounts of organic byproducts. Herein, we describe a photocatalytic method for oxidative dearomatization using molecular oxygen as the stoichiometric oxidant. This provides environmentally benign entry to highly substituted o-quinols, reactive intermediates which can be elaborated to a number of natural product families.

Synthesis of antiplatelet ortho-carbonyl hydroquinones with differential action on platelet aggregation stimulated by collagen or TRAP-6.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world. Platelets have a major role in cardiovascular events as they bind to the damaged endothelium activating and forming thrombi. Although some hydroquinone scaffold-containing compounds have known antiplatelet activities, currently there is a lack of evidence on the antiplatelet activity of hydroquinones carrying electron attractor groups. In this work, we evaluate the antiplatelet effect of a series of ortho-carbonyl hydroquinone derivatives on cytotoxicity and function of human platelets, using collagen and thrombin receptor activator peptide 6 (TRAP-6) as agonists. Our structure-activity relationship study shows that gem-diethyl/methyl substitutions and the addition/modifications of the third ring of ortho-carbonyl hydroquinone scaffold influence on the selective index (IC50 TRAP-6/IC50 Collagen) and the inhibitory capacity of platelet aggregation. Compounds 3 and 8 inhibit agonist-induced platelet aggregation in a non-competitive manner with IC50 values of 1.77 ± 2.09 µM (collagen) and 11.88 ± 4.59 µM (TRAP-6), respectively and show no cytotoxicity. Both compounds do not affect intracellular calcium levels and mitochondrial bioenergetics. Consistently, they reduce the expression of P-selectin, activation of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa, and release of adenosine triphosphate and CD63 from platelet. Our findings may be used for further development of new drugs in platelet-related thrombosis diseases.

Catalytic Atroposelective Synthesis of N-Aryl Quinoid Compounds.

Diarylamines and related scaffolds are among the most common chemotypes in modern drug discovery. While they can potentially possess two chiral axes, there are no studies on their enantioselective synthesis, as these axes typically possess lower stereochemical stabilities. Herein, we report a chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed atroposelective electrophilic halogenation of N-aryl quinoids, a class of compounds that are analogous to diarylamines. This chemistry yields a large range of stereochemically stable N-aryl quinoids in excellent yields and atroposelectivity. This work represents the first example of the atroposelective synthesis of a diarylamine-like scaffold and will serve as a gateway to fundamental and applied studies on the scarcely studied chirality of these ubiquitous chiral scaffolds.

Mineralization of aniline in aqueous solution by sono-activated peroxydisulfate enhanced with PbO semiconductor.

Oxidative degradation of aniline in aqueous solution was performed by the sono-activated peroxydisulfate coupled with PbO process, wherein a dramatic synergistic effect was found. Experiments were carried out in the batch-wise mode to investigate the influence of various operation parameters on the sonocatalytic behavior, such as ultrasonic power intensity, peroxydisulfate anion concentrations and PbO dosages. According to the scavenging effect of ethanol, methanol and tert-butyl alcohol, the principal oxidizing agents were presumed to be sulfate radicals descended from peroxydisulfate anions, activated via ultrasound or sonocatalysis of PbO. Based on the results attained from gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, it was hypothesized that aniline was initially oxidized into iminobenzene radicals, followed with formation of nitrosobenzene, p-benzoquinonimine and nitrobenzene respectively. Condensation of nitrosobenzene with aniline generated azobenzene. Phenol was detected as one of degradation intermediates, which was sequentially converted into hydroquinone and p-benzoquinone.

Biomimetic synthetic studies on meroterpenoids from the marine sponge Aka coralliphaga: Divergent total syntheses of siphonodictyal B, liphagal and corallidictyals A-D.

The marine sponge Aka coralliphaga is a rich source of biologically active and structurally interesting meroterpenoids. Inspired by these natural products, we have used biosynthetic speculation to devise biomimetic syntheses of siphonodictyal B, liphagal and corallidictyals A-D from sclareolide. This work resulted in the development of new cascade reactions in the synthesis of liphagal, the reassignment of the structure of siphonodictyal B, and the realisation that corallidictyals A and B are possibly isolation artefacts.

The efficacy of new 2,5-dihydroxybenzyl derivatives against Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis.

INTRODUCTION: Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis are among the most important parasitic diseases. They are considered to be within the most relevant group of neglected tropical diseases and have been included as priorities for searching new drugs due to their several treatment limitations. These parasitic diseases caused by flagellated protozoans affect more than 20 million people predominantly in developing countries. METHODOLOGY: In this study, we prepared a series of 2-substituted 1,4-benzenediols by an efficient, green, and lithium salt-free synthesis in water/ethanol as solvent to test their anti-parasitic activity. All 36 phenolic derivatives were evaluated in vitro for their activity against T. cruzi epimastigotes, L. infantum, and L. braziliensis promastigotes, as well as their cytotoxicity on macrophage and fibroblast cell lines. RESULTS: Based on the results obtained, the compounds that presented a methyl, trifluoromethyl or bromo group at the para-position of the second benzene ring were found the most active analogs, with higher selective index values on the three parasites assayed. CONCLUSION: This evidence suggests that the anti-parasitic activity observed in these analogs is affected by the size of the group at the 4-position of the second ring, but not related with electronic factors.This study identified hit compounds with the potential to target several kinetoplastid parasites.

Total Synthesis of Violaceoid A and (-)- and (+)-Violaceoid B.

The first total synthesis of violaceoid A, a cytotoxic agent, and the asymmetric total synthesis of (-)- and (+)-violaceoid B are reported. The precursor was accessed by desymmetrization of a substituted quinol moiety, and the racemic secondary alcohol was kinetically resolved using a chiral nucleophilic catalyst. The asymmetric synthesis of (-)- and (+)-violaceoid B elucidated the absolute configuration of the naturally occurring violaceoid B. Synthetic violaceoid A inhibited the growth of human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and Hs 578T at concentrations of less than 100 µM, while ( S)- and ( R)-violaceoid B were inactive.

Antitumor Effects and Delivery Profiles of Menahydroquinone-4 Prodrugs with Ionic or Nonionic Promoiety to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) shows poor prognosis owing to its very frequent recurrence even after curative treatment. Thus, an effective and safe long-term chemopreventive agent is strongly in demand. Menahydroquinone-4 (MKH) is an active form of menaquinone-4 (MK-4, vitamin K2) that is involved in the synthesis of vitamin K-dependent proteins in the liver. We hypothesized that efficient delivery of MKH might be critical to regulate HCC proliferation. The discovery of a suitable prodrug targeting HCC in terms of delivery and activation could reduce the clinical dose of MK-4 and maximize efficacy and safety. We previously showed that MKH dimethylglycinate (MKH-DMG) enables effective delivery of MKH into HCC cells and exhibits strong antitumor effects compared with MK-4. In this study, we prepared anionic MKH hemi-succinate (MKH-SUC) and non-ionic MKH acetate (MKH-ACT), in addition to cationic MKH-DMG, and evaluated MKH delivery profiles and antitumor effects in vitro. MKH-SUC showed the highest uptake and the most efficient release of MKH among the examined compounds and exhibited rapid and strong antitumor effects. These results indicate that MKH-SUC might have a good potential as an MKH delivery system for HCC that overcomes the limitations of MK-4 as a clinical chemopreventive agent.

Divergent Synthesis of Marine Natural Products Siphonodictyal B, Corallidictyals C/D, and Liphagal Based on the Early Presence of an Aldehyde Group Instead of a Late-Stage Introduction.

An iodine-promoted sunlight-induced olefin Z/ E isomerization reaction together with a palladium-catalyzed direct cross-coupling reaction of a drimanal hydrazone and an iodobenzaldehyde, without touching the aromatic aldehyde group, facilitated a divergent and expeditious access to bioactive marine natural products siphonodictyal B, corallidictyals C/D, and liphagal based on the early presence of an aldehyde group instead of a late-stage introduction.

A Review of the Pharmacological Properties of 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)- quinolinones.

The 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinone moiety is present in a number of pharmacologically active compounds. These include FDA approved drugs such as cilostazol, carteolol and aripiprazole as well as numerous experimental compounds. Compounds containing the 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinone moiety also exhibit a variety of activities in both the peripheral and central tissues, which includes phosphodiesterase inhibition, blocking of ß-adrenergic receptors, antagonism of vasopressin receptors and interaction with serotonin and dopamine receptors. Based on its versatility in drug design and action, this paper reviews the pharmacological actions of compounds containing the 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)- quinolinone scaffold with emphasis being placed on the most important and significant members of each activity class.

Apoptosis-inducing Effect of Hydroquinone 5-O-Cinnamoyl Ester Analog of Renieramycin M on Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND: A newly-synthesized derivative of renieramycin M (RM), an anticancer lead compound isolated from the blue sponge Xestospongia sp., hydroquinone 5-O-cinnamoyl ester (CIN-RM), was investigated here for its activity against non-small cell lung cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cytotoxicity effects of CIN-RM and RM on H292 lung cancer cells were determined by the MTT assay. We also investigated the mechanism of CIN-RM-mediated apoptosis and mechanism of action of this compound by western blotting. RESULTS: CIN-RM showed more potent cytotoxicity than its parental compound (RM) against H292 lung cancer cells. At concentrations of 15-60 µM, CIN-RM significantly induced apoptosis by increasing expression of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and activation of caspase-3 and -9. For up-stream mechanism, CIN-RM mediated apoptosis through a p53-dependent mechanism, that consequently down-regulated anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2), while increasing the level of pro-apoptotic BCL2-associated X (BAX). In addition, phosphorylation of pro-survival protein AKT was found to be dramatically reduced. CONCLUSION: This study revealed the potential of CIN-RM for apoptosis induction and in the development of a novel anticancer agent.

A Study about Regioisomeric Hydroquinones with Multiple Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding.

A theoretical exploration about hydrogen bonding in a series of synthetic regioisomeric antitumor tricyclic hydroquinones is presented. The stabilization energy for the intramolecular hydrogen bond (IHB) formation in four structurally different situations were evaluated: (a) IHB between the proton of a phenolic hydroxyl group and an ortho-carbonyl group (forming a six-membered ring); (b) between the oxygen atom of a phenolic hydroxyl group and the proton of an hydroxyalkyl group (seven membered ring); (c) between the proton of a phenolic hydroxyl group with the oxygen atom of the hydroxyl group of a hydroxyalkyl moiety (seven-membered ring); and (d) between the proton of a phenolic hydroxyl group and an oxygen atom directly bonded to the aromatic ring in ortho position (five-membered ring). A conformational analysis for the rotation around the hydroxyalkyl substituent is also performed. It is observed that there is a correspondence between the conformational energies and the IHB. The strongest intramolecular hydrogen bonds are those involving a phenolic proton and a carbonyl oxygen atom, forming a six-membered ring, and the weakest are those involving a phenolic proton with the oxygen atom of the chromenone, forming five-membered rings. Additionally, the synthesis and structural assignment of two pairs of regioisomeric hydroquinones, by 2D-NMR experiments, are reported. These results can be useful in the design of biologically-active molecules.

A Synthesis of Exiguaquinol Dessulfate.

A concise and stereoselective synthesis of exiguaquinol dessulfate is described. Sequential application of a Diels-Alder cycloaddition, a desymmetrizing aldol addition, and a reductive Heck cyclization established most of the architecture of exiguaquinol, and a carefully choreographed introduction of the polar substituents afforded the title compound; unfortunately, naphthoquinol sulfation could not be achieved to deliver exiguaquinol. Our hypothesis regarding the configurational preference of the N-acyl hemiaminal, which was based upon an analysis of internal hydrogen-bonding interactions with polar functional groups, was proven correct. A late-stage intermediate did not demonstrate bactericidal activity against H. pylori cultures.

Total Synthesis of Nuclear Factor of Activated T-Cells-68 (NFAT-68): Sequential Use of Chiral Allenylsilane and Titanium Alkoxide-Mediated Reductive Coupling Bond Construction.

Highly enantioenriched chiral allenylsilanes 4 were prepared in high yield through a scalable synthetic sequence, employing a modified copper-catalyzed SN2' reaction. These reagents were used for the production of enantioenriched homoproparglylic ethers 5, which were subjected to titanium alkoxide-mediated reductive coupling with acetylenic esters to produce (E,E)-dienes 6 bearing α,ß,γ,δ-unsaturated esters. Both enantiomers of nuclear factor of activated T-cells-68 (NFAT-68) were synthesized in five steps with the sequential use of the two methods.