Nitroprusside─Expanding the Potential Use of an Old Drug Using Nanoparticles.

For more than 70 years, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) has been used to treat severe hypertension in hospital emergency settings. During this time, a few other clinical uses have also emerged such as in the treatment of acute heart failure as well as improving mitral incompetence and in the intra- and perioperative management during heart surgery. This drug functions by releasing nitric oxide (NO), which modulates several biological processes with many potential therapeutic applications. However, this small molecule has a short lifetime, and it has been administered through the use of NO donor molecules such as SNP. On the other hand, SNP also has some setbacks such as the release of cyanide ions, high water solubility, and very fast NO release kinetics. Currently, there are many drug delivery strategies that can be applied to overcome many of these limitations, providing novel opportunities for the use of old drugs, including SNP. This Perspective describes some nitroprusside properties and highlights new potential therapeutic uses arising from the use of drug delivery systems, mainly silica-based nanoparticles. There is a series of great opportunities to further explore SNP in many medical issues as reviewed, which deserves a closer look by the scientific community.

Effect of Crotalus basiliscus snake venom on the redox reaction of myoglobin.

In this work, we have studied the effect of Crotalus basiliscus snake venom on the redox reaction of myoglobin (Mb), and by means of electrochemical techniques, we have shown that this reaction is undoubtedly affected following the interaction with the venom. Surface plasmon resonance, electrophoresis, UV-Vis, and circular dichroism showed that the interaction involves the attachment of some constituent of the venom to the protein, although not affecting its first and secondary structures. Mass spectra support this suggestion by showing the appearance of signals assigned to the Mb dimer and to a new species resulting from the interaction between Mb and the venom proteins. In addition, the mass spectra suggest the aromatic amino acids of myoglobin, mainly tryptophan and phenylalanine, are more exposed to the solvent medium upon the exposure to the venom solution. The results altogether indicate that the harmful effects of the venom of Crotalus basiliscus snake are likely connected to the blocking of the redox site of Mb.

Hydroxyl Radical Generation and DNA Nuclease Activity: A Mechanistic Study Based on a Surface-Immobilized Copper Thioether Clip-Phen Derivative.

Coordination compounds of copper have been invoked as major actors in processes involving the reduction of molecular oxygen, mostly with the generation of radical species the assignment for which has, so far, not been fully addressed. In the present work, we have carried out studies in solution and on surfaces to gain insights into the nature of the radical oxygen species (ROS) generated by a copper(II) coordination compound containing a thioether clip-phen derivative, 1,3-bis(1,10-phenanthrolin-2-yloxy)-N-(4-(methylthio)benzylidene)propan-2-amine (2CP-Bz-SMe), enabling its adsorption/immobilization to gold surfaces. Whereas surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and electrochemistry of the adsorbed complex indicated the formation of a dimeric Cu(I) intermediate containing molecular oxygen as a bridging ligand, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and nuclease assays pointed to the generation of a ROS species. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) data reinforced such conclusions, indicating that radical production was dependent on the amount of oxygen and H2 O2 , thus pointing to a mechanism involving a Fenton-like reaction that results in the production of OH(.) .

Ascorbyl and hydroxyl radical generation mediated by a copper complex adsorbed on gold.

This work presents the results obtained for a thioether derivative of bipyridine, (E,Z)-1-(4'-methyl-[2,2'-bipyridine]-4-yl)-N-(4(methylthio)phenyl)methanimine (4-mbpy-Bz-SMe), and its copper complex [CuII(4-mbpy-Bz-SMe)2]2+. Electronic spectra acquired at 183 K of the cuprous complex [CuI(4-mbpy-Bz-SMe)2]+ generated in situ indicated the formation of the peroxodicopper compound {[CuII(4-mbpy-Bz-SMe)2]2(µ-O22-)}2+. A gold electrode modified with [CuII(4-mbpy-Bz-SMe)2]2+ (Au/[Cu]) was fully characterized by SERS spectroscopy, electrochemistry and impedance spectroscopy thus showing adsorption occurs through the sulfur atom of the 4-mbpy-Bz-SMe moieties. DNA cleavage assays showed the copper complex, in solution and adsorbed on gold, degrades DNA if reducing conditions are maintained, i.e. ascorbic acid (H2AA) in solution or applied potentials more negative than 0.12 V vs. Ag/AgCl (CuI form). The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra obtained for the electrolyzed solution (Eapl = -0.2 V, no H2O2) and for the solution containing [CuII(4-mbpy-Bz-SMe)2]2+ and H2O2 showed hydroxyl radical, HO˙, generation had occurred. The cyclic voltammograms obtained with H2AA in solution at Au/[CuII(4-mbpy-Bz-SMe)2]2+ as the working electrode showed a one-electron reaction leading to the ascorbyl radical (HA˙), which was detected by EPR. The current assigned to the electrode oxidation of HA˙ to AA decreased with the addition of catalase, a scavenger of H2O2, meaning peroxide is involved in the mechanism.

Magnetic nanoparticles as a support for a copper (II) complex with nuclease activity.

Magnetic nanoparticles have been extensively explored for the development of platforms for drug delivery and imaging probes. In this work, we have used a modular capping strategy to produce magnetic gold-coated Fe3O4 (Fe3O4@Au) nanoparticles, which have been decorated with a copper (II) complex containing a thioether derivative of clip-phen (Fe3O4@Au@Cu), where the complex [Cu(2CP-Bz-SMe)]2+ has affinity to bind DNA and proven nuclease activity (2CP-Bz-SMe=1,3-bis((1,10-phenanthrolin-2-yl)oxy)-N-(4-(methylthio)benzylidene)propan-2-imine). The functionalization of Fe3O4@Au with the copper complex occurs through the sulfur atom of the thioether moiety, as indicated by Raman scattering on surface. The magnetic measurements showed the nanomaterial Fe3O4@Au@Cu is still magnetic although the gold shell and the functionalization with the copper complex have diminished the magnetization due to the dilution of the magnetic core. The nuclease assays performed with Fe3O4@Au@Cu indicate that the nuclease activity of the nanomaterial toward the plasmid DNA involves an oxidative pathway in which H2O2 species is involved as intermediate in a Fenton-like reaction. Based on the electron paramagnetic resonance spectra (aN = 15.07 G, aH = 14.99 G), such nuclease activity is assigned, essentially, to the HO species indicating that the radical production property of [Cu(2CP-Bz-SMe)]2+ is successfully transferred to the core-shell gold-coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting nuclease activity due to the reactive oxygen species generated by a copper complex immobilized on a gold-coated magnetic nanoparticle.

Chitosan Film Containing an Iron Complex: Synthesis and Prospects for Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines (HAAs) Recognition.

Hybrid organic-inorganic materials have been seen as a promising approach to produce sensors for the detection and/or recognition of heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs). This work shows the synthesis of a hybrid film as a result of the incorporation of [Fe(CN)5(NH3)]3- into chitosan (CS); CS-[(CN)5Fe(NH3)]3-. The sensitivity of CS-[(CN)5Fe(NH3)]3- toward HAA-like species was evaluated by using pyrazine (pz) as probe molecule in vapor phase by means of electrochemistry and spectroscopic techniques. The crystallinity (SEM-EDS and XRD) decrease of CS-[(CN)5Fe(NH3)]3- in comparison to CS was assigned to the disturbance of the hydrogen bond network within the polymer. Such conclusion was reinforced by the water contact angle measurements. The results presented in this work indicate physical and intermolecular interactions, mostly hydrogen bond, between [Fe(CN)5(NH3)]3- and CS, where the complex is likely trapped in the polymer with its sixth coordination site available for substitution reactions.

Electrochemistry, surface plasmon resonance, and quartz crystal microbalance: an associative study on cytochrome c adsorption on pyridine tail-group monolayers on gold.

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and electrochemistry techniques were used to study the electron-transfer (ET) reaction of cytochrome c (Cyt c) on gold surfaces modified with thionicotinamide, thioisonicotinamide, 4-mercaptopyridine, 5-(4-pyridyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol, 5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol, 4,4'-bipyridine, and 4,4'-dithiopyridine. The electrochemical results showed that the ET process is complex, being chiefly diffusional with steps depending on the orientation of the pyridine or phenyl tail group of the modifiers. The correlation between the electrochemical results and those acquired by SPR and QCM indicated the presence of an adlayer of Cyt c adsorbed on the thiolate SAMs. This adlayer, although being not electroactive, is essential to assess the ET reaction of Cyt c in solution. The results presented in this work are consistent with the statement (Feng, Z. Q.; Imabayashi, S.; Kakiuchi, T.; Niki, K. J. Electroanal. Chem. 1995, 394, 149-154) that the ET reaction of Cyt c can be explained in terms of the through-bond tunneling mechanism.