Photodynamic therapy of multidrug resistant leukemic murine cells by 3,6-bis(alkylthiourea)acridine hydrochlorides.

Efforts to overcome multidrug resistance in cancer have led to the development of several novel strategies including photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT is based on the use of photosensitizers (PSs) photoactivation, which causes the formation of reactive oxygen species that can induce cell death. In the last decade, the development of new PSs has been significantly accelerated. Recently, acridine-3,6-dialkyldithiourea hydrochlorides (AcrDTUs) have been investigated as a new group of PSs and we have shown that PDT/AcrDTUs caused cell death of mouse leukemic cells L1210. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of PDT/AcrDTUs for the treatment of L1210/VCR cells as a model of chemoresistant cells (overexpressing P-glycoprotein, P-gp). The photoactivation (365 nm, 1.05 J/cm2) increased the cytotoxicity of AcrDTUs 10-15 times. Inhibition of P-gp (verapamil) has been shown to have no significant effect on the accumulation of propyl-AcrDTU (the most potent derivative) in L1210/VCR cells. The intracellular distribution of this acridine derivative has been studied. Prior to irradiation of the resistant cells, propyl-AcrDTU was sequestered mainly in the cytosol, partly in the mitochondria, and, unlike in the sensitive cells, the AcrDTU was not found in the lysosomes. PDT with 1 µM propyl-AcrDTU induced cell shrinkage and "ladder DNA" formation, and although a drastic decrease of the intracellular ATP level was observed at the same time, there was no increase in extracellular LDH activity. AIF in the nucleus can induce DNA fragmentation and we have actually observed a mitochondrio-nuclear translocation of AIF. We concluded that AcrDTUs are photocytotoxic against L1210/VCR cells and that mitochondria play an important role in cell death induced by PDT.

Proliferation inhibition of novel diphenylamine derivatives.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most widely used drugs in the world but some NSAIDs such as diclofenac and tolfenamic acid display levels of cytotoxicity, an effect which has been attributed to the presence of diphenylamine contained in their structures. A novel series of diphenylamine derivatives were synthetised and evaluated for their cytotoxic activities and proliferation inhibition. The most active compounds in the cytotoxicity tests were derivative 6g with an IC50 value of 2.5 ±â€¯1.1 × 10-6 M and derivative 6f with an IC50 value of 6.0 ±â€¯3.0 × 10-6 M (L1210 cell line) after 48 h incubation. The results demonstrate that leukemic L1210 cells were much more sensitive to compounds 6f and 6g than the HEK293T cells (IC50 = 35 × 10-6 M for 6f and IC50 > 50 × 10-6 M for 6g) and NIH-3T3 (IC50 > 50 × 10-6 M for both derivatives). The IC50 values show that these substances may selectively kill leukemic cells over non-cancer cells. Cell cycle analysis revealed that a primary trend of the diphenylamine derivatives was to arrest the cells in the G1-phase of the cell cycle within the first 24 h. UV-visible, fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism were used in order to study the binding mode of the novel compounds with DNA. The binding constants determined by UV-visible spectroscopy were found to be in the range of 2.1-8.7 × 104 M-1. We suggest that the observed trend for binding constant K is likely to be a result of different binding thermodynamics accompanying the formation of the complexes.

Mechanochemical Synthesis and Isomerization of N-Substituted Indole-3-carboxaldehyde Oximes †.

Performing solution-phase oximation reactions with hydroxylamine hydrochloride (NH2OH·HCl) carries significant risk, especially in aqueous solutions. In the present study, four N-substituted indole-3-carboxaldehyde oximes were prepared from the corresponding aldehydes by solvent-free reaction with NH2OH·HCl and a base (NaOH or Na2CO3) using a mechanochemical approach, thus minimizing the possible risk. In all cases, the conversion to oximes was almost complete. The focus of this work is on 1-methoxyindole-3-carboxaldehyde oxime, a key intermediate in the production of indole phytoalexins with useful antimicrobial properties. Under optimized conditions, it was possible to reach almost 95% yield after 20 min of milling. Moreover, for the products containing electron-donating substituents (-CH3, -OCH3), the isomerization from the oxime anti to syn isomer under acidic conditions was discovered. For the 1-methoxy analog, the acidic isomerization of pure isomers in solution resulted in the formation of anti isomer, whereas the prevalence of syn isomer was observed in solid state. From NMR data the syn and anti structures of produced oximes were elucidated. This work shows an interesting and possibly scalable alternative to classical synthesis and underlines environmentally friendly and sustainable character of mechanochemistry.

Prediction by (13)C NMR of regioselectivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of acridin-9-yl dipolarophiles.

Strong correlation was found between (13)C NMR chemical shifts of dipolarophilic CH=CH carbons and regioselectivity in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of new acridin-9-yl dipolarophiles with stable benzonitrile oxides (BNO). Accordingly, two starting dipolarophiles, (acridin-9-yl)-CH=CH-R (R = COOCH3 or Ph), reacted with three BNOs (2,4,6-trimethoxy, 2,4,6-trimethyl, and 2,6-dichloro) to give a mixture of two target isoxazoline regioisomers in which the acridine was bound either to isoxazoline C-4 carbon (4-Acr) or C-5 one (5-Acr). Methyl 3-(acridin-9-yl)propenoate afforded major 4-(acridin-9-yl)-isoxazoline-5-carboxylates (4-Acr) and minor 5-(acridin-9-yl)-4-carboxylates (5-Acr). 9-(2-Styryl)acridine regiospecifically afforded only 4-Acr cycloadducts. The ratios of regioisomers were compared with analogous reactions of acridin-4-yl dipolarophiles. Regioselectivity was dependent on a polarity of the CH=CH bond, donor effects in BNO, and stabilization by stacking of aromatic substituents in the products.

Strong deshielding in aromatic isoxazolines.

Very strong proton deshielding was found in di/tri-aromatic isoxazoline regioisomers prepared from acridin-4-yl dipolarophiles and stable benzonitrile oxides (BNO). Three alkenes, (acridin-4-yl)-CH=CH-R (R = COOCH3, Ph, and CONH2), reacted with three BNO dipoles (2,4,6-trimethoxy, 2,4,6-trimethyl, 2,6-dichloro) to give pairs of target isoxazolines with acridine bound to C-4 or C-5 carbon of the isoxazoline (denoted as 4-Acr or 5-Acr). Regioselectivity was dependent on both the dipolarophile and dipole character. The ester and amide dipolarophile displayed variable regioselectivity in cycloadditions whereas the styrene one afforded prevailing 4-Acr regioisomers. 2,4,6-Trimethoxy-BNO was most prone to form 5-Acr isoxazolines while mesitonitrile oxide gave major 4-Acr isoxazolines. Basic hydrolysis of the amide cycloadduct led to an unexpected isoxazolone product. The structure of the target compounds was studied by NMR, MS, and X-ray crystallography.

Novel trisubstituted acridines as human telomeric quadruplex binding ligands.

A novel series of trisubstituted acridines were synthesized with the aim of mimicking the effects of BRACO19. These compounds were synthesized by modifying the molecular structure of BRACO19 at positions 3 and 6 with heteroacyclic moieties. All of the derivatives presented in the study exhibited stabilizing effects on the human telomeric DNA quadruplex. UV-vis spectroscopy, circular dichroism, linear dichroism and viscosimetry were used in order to study the nature of the DNA binding in more detail. The results show that all of the novel derivatives were able to fold the single-stranded DNA sequences into antiparallel G-quadruplex structures, with derivative 15 exhibiting the highest stabilizing capability. Cell cycle analysis revealed that a primary trend of the "braco"-like derivatives was to arrest the cells in the S- and G2M-phases of the cell cycle within the first 72h, with derivative 13 and BRACO19 proving particularly effective in suppressing cell proliferation. All studies derivatives were less toxic to human fibroblast cell line in comparison with HT 29 cancer cell line.

Binding of glyco-acridine derivatives to lysozyme leads to inhibition of amyloid fibrillization.

While amyloid-related diseases are at the center of intense research efforts, no feasible cure is currently available for these diseases. The experimental and computational techniques were used to study the ability of glyco-acridines to prevent lysozyme amyloid fibrillization in vitro. Fluorescence spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy have shown that glyco-acridines inhibit amyloid aggregation of lysozyme; the inhibition efficiency characterized by the half-maximal inhibition concentration IC50 was affected by the structure and concentration of the derivative. We next investigated relationship between the binding affinity and the inhibitory activity of the compounds. The semiempirical quantum PM6-DH+ method provided a good correlation pointing to the importance of quantum effects on the binding of glyco-acridine derivatives to lysozyme. The contribution of linkers may be explained by the valence bond theory. Our data provide a basis for the development of new small molecule inhibitors effective in therapy of amyloid-related diseases.

Structure-activity relationship of acridine derivatives to amyloid aggregation of lysozyme.

BACKGROUND: Amyloid-related diseases (such as Alzheimer's disease or diabetes type II) are associated with self-assembly of protein into amyloid aggregates. METHODS: Spectroscopic and atomic force microscopy were used to determine the ability of acridines to affect amyloid aggregation of lysozyme. RESULTS: We have studied the effect of acridine derivatives on the amyloid aggregation of lysozyme to investigate the acridine structure-activity relationship. The activity of the effective planar acridines was characterized by the half-maximum depolymerization concentration DC(50) and half-maximal inhibition concentration IC(50). For the most effective acridine derivatives we examined their interaction with DNA and their effect on cell viability in order to investigate their eventual influence on cells. We thus identified planar acridine derivatives with intensive anti-amyloid activity (IC(50) and DC(50) values in micromolar range), low cytotoxicity and weak ability to interfere with the processes in the cell. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that both the planarity and the tautomerism of the 9-aminoacridine core together with the reactive nucleophilic thiosemicarbazide substitution play an important role in the anti-amyloid activities of studied derivatives. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: The present findings favor the application of the selected active planar acridines in the treatment of amyloid-related diseases.

DNA binding acridine-thiazolidinone agents affecting intracellular glutathione.

Three new acridine-thiazolidinone derivatives (2a-2c) have been synthesized and their interactions with calf thymus DNA and a number of cell lines (leukemic cells HL-60 and L1210 and human epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines A2780) were studied. The compounds 2a-2c possessed high affinity to calf thymus DNA and their binding constants determined by spectrofluorimetry were in the range of 1.37 × 10(6)-5.89 × 10(6) M(-1). All of the tested derivatives displayed strong cytotoxic activity in vitro, the highest activity in cytotoxic tests was found for 2c with IC(50) = 1.3 ± 0.2 µM (HL-60), 3.1 ± 0.4 µM (L1210), and 7.7 ± 0.5 µM (A2780) after 72 h incubation. The cancer cells accumulated acridine derivatives very fast and the changes of the glutathione level were confirmed. The compounds inhibited proliferation of the cells and induced an arrest of the cell cycle and cell death. Their influence upon cells was associated with their reactivity towards thiols and DNA binding activity.

Accumulation of tetracoumaroyl spermine in Matricaria chamomilla during floral development and nitrogen deficiency.

The new natural polyamine conjugate 1N,5N,10N,14N-tetracoumaroyl spermine (tetracoumaroyl spermine) recently isolated from chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) flower heads is applicable for the treatment of several human disorders such as depression and anxiety. High variability in the level of tetracoumaroyl spermine is found in commercial tisanes. Accumulation of tetracoumaroyl spermine was tested during floral development, and nitrogen deficiency was chosen as its putative limiting environmental factor. It was observed that tetracoumaroyl spermine is present mainly in tubular flowers, reaching its maximal content during the 3rd phase of flowering when the corollae of tubular flowers start to open. The later observed decrease could result from a release of pollen that also contains a considerable amount of tetracoumaroyl spermine. It is likely that tetracoumaroyl spermine plays an important role in pollen development, and so, despite overall N-deficiency in the plants, tetracoumaroyl spermine is accumulated at the same or even higher rate than in the flowers of the N-sufficient control.

Cytotoxic 3,6-bis((imidazolidinone)imino)acridines: synthesis, DNA binding and molecular modeling.

New acridine derivatives bearing two symmetrical imidazolidinone rings, 3,6-bis((1-alkyl-5-oxo-imidazolidin-2-yliden)imino)acridine hydrochlorides 6a-6e (alkyl=ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, n-pentyl, n-hexyl), have been prepared and their interactions with calf thymus DNA and selected cell lines were studied. The DNA-binding of 6a-6e to ctDNA was examined by UV-vis, fluorescence, and CD spectroscopy. The binding constants determined by UV-vis spectroscopy were found in the range 1.9×10(5)-7.1×10(5) M(-1). An electrophoretic separation proved that ligands 6a-6e inhibited topoisomerase I in 40 µM concentration although only those with longer alkyl chains were able to penetrate the membranes and efficiently suppress the cell proliferation. The highest activity in cytotoxic tests was found for 3,6-bis((1-n-hexyl-5-oxo-imidazolidin-2-yliden)imino)acridine hydrochloride (6e) with IC(50)=2.12 µM (HL 60) and 5.28 µM (L1210) after 72 h incubation. Molecular dynamics simulations and calculations of solvent-accessible surface areas (SASAs) were used to explore the intercalation mechanism. MD simulations favor stacking between adjacent C:G base pairs from the minor groove side. MD and SASAs calculations indicate that the decrease of K with alkyl extension is due to negative entropic change upon binding.

4-(9,10-Dihydroacridin-9-ylidene)thiosemicarbazide and its five-membered thiazole and six-membered thiazine derivatives.

Two methyl derivatives, five-membered methyl 2-{2-[2-(9,10-dihydroacridin-9-ylidene)-1-methylhydrazinyl]-4-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1,3-thiazol-5-ylidene}acetate, C(20)H(16)N(4)O(3)S, (I), and six-membered 2-[2-(9,10-dihydroacridin-9-ylidene)-1-methylhydrazinyl]-4H-1,3-thiazin-4-one, C(18)H(14)N(4)OS, (II), were prepared by the reaction of the N-methyl derivative of 4-(9,10-dihydroacridin-9-ylidene)thiosemicarbazide, C(14)H(12)N(4)S, (III), with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate and methyl propiolate, respectively. The crystal structures of (I), (II) and (III) are molecular and can be considered in two parts: (i) the nearly planar acridine moiety and (ii) the singular heterocyclic ring portion [thiazolidine for (I) and thiazine for (II)] including the linking amine and imine N atoms and the methyl C atom, or the full side chain in the case of (III). The structures of (I) and (II) are stabilized by N-H...O hydrogen bonds and different pi-pi interactions between acridine moieties and thiazolidine and thiazine rings, respectively.

Spectroscopic, structural and theoretical studies of novel, potentially cytotoxic 4-acridonecarboxamide imines.

Ten novel, potentially intercalating 4-acridonecarboxamide azomethines and ketimines have been prepared by the condensation reaction of 9-oxo-9,10-dihydroacridine-4-carboxylic acid hydrazide with various aldehydes and ketones. The structures of the compounds were characterized spectroscopically by NMR ((1)H, (13)C, (15)N nuclei and 2D experiments), UV-vis, IR and fluorescence methods and by quantum chemical calculations using DFT at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory and semiempirical ZINDO and AM1 methods. NMR chemical shift variations for C-4' were assessed due to changes in the polarizability of the imine C(4')=N(3') bond rather than direct inductive effects arising from the C-4' substituents. In concert with this was the reversed order observed for the N-3' chemical shifts with DFT-calculated atomic charges confirming the bond polarization. Both intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the acridone NH hydrogen and the amidic carbonyl oxygen were found to exist by FT-IR spectroscopy. Quantum chemical calculations were used to evaluate the configurational, tautomeric, conformational and hydrogen bonding states of the molecules as well as predict the NMR and IR data. The hypsochromic shifts observed in the UV-vis spectra upon changing from m-cresol to DMA, DMF or methanol were evaluated in terms of solvent polarity (giving rise to solvated excited state destabilization) and solvent aromaticity (giving rise to solvated excited state stabilization). The fluorescence of the compounds were modest, except for the 2,6-dichloro derivative, with respect to 9-isothiocyanatoacridine.

Cytotoxic activity of proflavine diureas: synthesis, antitumor, evaluation and DNA binding properties of 1',1''-(acridin-3,6-diyl)-3',3''-dialkyldiureas.

The synthesis of novel 1',1''-(acridin-3,6-diyl)-3',3''-dialkyldiureas was reported. Their biological activity to inhibit cell proliferation was assessed by a MTT assay on two cell lines, HeLa and HCT-116, at micromolar concentration. 1',1''-(Acridin-3,6-diyl)-3',3''-dihexyldiurea hydrochloride was active on a HCT-116 cell line with an IC(50) value of 3.1 microM. The interaction of these compounds with calf thymus DNA was investigated by a variety of spectroscopic techniques including UV-vis, fluorescence and CD spectroscopy. From spectrofluorimetric titrations, binding constants for the DNA-drug complexes were determined (K=0.9-4.2x10(5) M(-1)). Antiproliferative activity of synthesized derivatives might be related to their intercalation into DNA.

Regioselectivity and tautomerism of novel five-membered ring nitrogen heterocycles formed via cyclocondensation of acylthiosemicarbazides.

A series of 1-acyl-4-phenyl/(acridin-9-yl)thiosemicarbazides 3, including four new compounds, were prepared in order to study substituent effects on cyclization reactions with oxalyl chloride (producing imidazolidine-4,5-diones 4), dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (to give thiazolidin-4-ones 7 and 8) and autocondensation under alkaline conditions (to yield 1,2,4-triazoles 9). A positional isomer, 10 of compound 3f was also prepared. Altogether, twenty new compounds characterized and identified by IR, UV,1H, 13C and 2D NMR and quantum chemical calculations are described. The tautomerism of the products and regioselectivity of the reactions were evaluated. Compounds 3f-h,3h.2HCl, 7b,d and 10 were screened for cytotoxic activity against the L1210 leukemia cell line and all compounds, except for 3f, exhibited promising inhibitions of cell growth.

DNA binding properties and evaluation of cytotoxic activity of 9,10-bis-N-substituted (aminomethyl)anthracenes.

The results of DNA binding properties for four selected N-substituted 9,10-bis(aminomethyl)anthracenes are presented. DNA binding affinities were studied using UV-vis and fluorescence spectrophotometric titrations, CD spectroscopy, denaturation transition temperature (Tm) measurements and AM1 quantum chemical calculations. The results obtained indicate that the anthracene products intercalate into the stacked base pairs of DNA with binding constants, K, in the range 1.3-10.9 x 10(5)M(-1) and the binding site size in DNA-base pairs, n, extending over the range 2.4-4.6. Tm values increased in the presence of the anthryl probes, thereby reflecting an increased stability of the calf-thymus (CT) DNA double helix and rendering agreement with the spectrometric titration results. The synthesized compounds were tested against L1210 and HeLa tumor cell lines wherein the HeLa cells appeared to be more sensitive than the L1210 cells. 9,10-Bis{[2-(piperazin-1-yl)ethyl]aminomethyl}anthracene exhibited the highest activity of the tested compounds. Our findings were compared with those of a control drug bisantrene.

Mechanochemical approach for the capping of mixed core CdS/ZnS nanocrystals: Elimination of cadmium toxicity.

The wet mechanochemical procedure for the capping of the CdS and CdS/ZnS quantum dot nanocrystals is reported. l-cysteine and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were used as capping agents. When using l-cysteine, the dissolution of cadmium(II) was almost none for CdS/ZnS nanocrystals. Moreover, prepared CdS- and CdS/ZnS-cysteine nanosuspensions exhibited unimodal particle size distributions with very good stability, which was further supported by the zeta potential measurements. The Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy showed the successful embedment of cysteine into the structure of the nanocrystals. Additionally, the optical properties were examined, and the results showed that the cysteine nanosuspension has promising fluorescence properties. On the other hand, PVP was not determined to be a very suitable capping agent for the present system. In this case, the release of cadmium(II) was higher in comparison to the l-cysteine capped samples. The nanosuspensions were successfully used for in vitro studies on selected cancer cell lines. Using fluorescence microscopy, it was evidenced that the nanocrystals enter the cell and that they can serve as imaging agents in biomedical applications.

Low-dimensional compounds containing bioactive ligands. Part VIII: DNA interaction, antimicrobial and antitumor activities of ionic 5,7-dihalo-8-quinolinolato palladium(II) complexes with K+ and Cs+ cations.

Starting from well-defined NH2(CH3)2[PdCl2(XQ)] complexes, coordination compounds of general formula Cat[PdCl2(XQ)] have been prepared by cationic exchange of NH2(CH3)2+ and Cat cations, where XQ are biologically active halogen derivatives of quinolin-8-ol (5-chloro-7-iodo-quinolin-8-ol (CQ), 5,7-dibromo-quinolin-8-ol (dBrQ) and 5,7-dichloro-quinolin-8-ol (dClQ)) and Cat is K+ or Cs+. The cation exchange of all prepared complexes, K[PdCl2(CQ)] (1), K[PdCl2(dClQ)] (2), K[PdCl2(dBrQ)] (3), Cs[PdCl2(CQ)] (4), Cs[PdCl2(dClQ)] (5) and Cs[PdCl2(dBrQ)] (6) was approved using IR spectroscopy, their structures in DMSO solution were elucidated by one- and two-dimensional NMR experiments, whereas their stability in solution was verified by UV-VIS spectroscopy. Interaction of complexes to ctDNA was investigated using UV-VIS and fluorescence emission spectroscopy. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum microbicidal concentration values were detected against 15 bacterial strains and 4 yeast strains to examine the antimicrobial activity for the complexes. The in vitro antitumor properties of the complexes were studied by testing the complexes on leukemic cell line L1210, ovarian cancer cell line A2780 and non-cancerous cell line HEK293. The majority of the prepared compounds exhibited moderate antimicrobial and very high cytotoxic activity.