Prolonged corrosion protection via application of 4-ferrocenylbutyl saturated carboxylate ester derivatives with superior inhibition performance for mild steel.

A series of 4-ferrcenylbutyl carboxylate esters with different alkyl chain length (C2-C4) of carboxylic acids were synthesized using Fe3O4@SiO2@(CH2)3-Im-bisEthylFc[I] nanoparticles as catalyst and have been characterized with FT-IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR. Ferrocenyl-based esters were used as corrosion inhibitors of mild steel in the 1M HCl solution as corrosive media. The corrosion inhibition efficiency of the synthesized ferrocenyl-based esters has been assessed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The 4-ferrocenylbutyl propionate showed a more effective corrosion inhibition behavior among the studied esters with 96% efficiency after immersion in the corrosive media for 2 weeks. The corrosion inhibition mechanism is dominated by formation of passive layer of inhibitor on the surface of the mild steel by adsorption. Moreover, the adsorption characteristics of 4-butylferrcenyl carboxylate esters on mild steel were thoroughly explored using density functional theory calculations. It was found that the Fe atoms located around the C impurity in the mild steel are the most efficient and active sites to adsorb 4-butylferrcenyl carboxylate esters.

DNA binding ability and cytotoxicity, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis inducing properties of a benzochromene derivative against K562 human leukemia cells.

Chromene and its derivatives are generally spread in nature. Heterocylic-based compounds like chromenes have displayed pharmacological activities. Chromene derivatives are critical due to some biological features such as anticancer activity. CML, chronic myelogenous leukemia, is a fatal malignancy determined by resistance to apoptosis and contains the Philadelphia chromosome. Induction of apoptosis is one of the main approaches in cancer therapy. In this research, benzochromene derivative, 2-amino-4-(4-methoxy phenyl)-4H-benzochromene-3-carbonitrile (4-MC) was tested for cytotoxic and apoptotic induction activities in the human leukemic K562 cell line. The MTT growth inhibition assay was used to determine the cellular growth and survival. Moreover, the binding attribute of 4-MC with double helix DNA was assessed by some spectroscopic and viscosity measurement, and also for docking analysis. 4-MC exhibited good cytotoxicity on K562 cell line and the IC50 value was calculated to be 30 µM. Furthermore, the mechanisms of apoptosis induction were determined morphologically by fluorescence dual staining with acridine orange and ethidium bromide and cell cycle analysis was based on DNA content, as well as the presence of phosphatidyl serine on the outside of the cells by the flow cytometric method. The results showed that 4-MC had potent cytotoxic activity via sub-G1 cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis. The experimental and simulation studies reported that 4-MC binds to ctDNA through groove binding mode with the binding constant (Kb) of 2.5 × 103 M-1. These data represent a considerable anticancer potential of 4-MC and could be suggested for further pharmacological studies.

Synthesis, characterization, anti-proliferative properties and DNA binding of benzochromene derivatives: Increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and caspase-dependent apoptosis in colorectal cancer cell line.

3-Amino-1-aryl-1H-benzo[f]chromene-2-carbonitrile derivatives were synthesized from three-component reaction of arylaldehyde, malononitrile and 2-naphthol in the presence of 1, 4-bis(4-ferrocenylbutyl)piperazine as a new catalyst. Cytotoxic potencies of the compounds were tested on HT-29 cells. 3-Amino-1-(4-fluorophenyl)-1H-benzo[f]chromene-2-carbonitrile (4c) was more active among these compounds and was selected for further studies. Apoptosis was investigated by acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EtBr) double staining and flow cytometry. The qRT-PCR was used to analyze the expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic genes. The binding attributes of 4c with calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) was examined using multi-spectroscopic measurements. We found that 4c had potent cytotoxic activity against HT-29 cells with an IC50 value of 60 µM through induction of cell cycle arrest in the sub-G1 phase and apoptosis. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression, while the expression of Bax, caspase-3, -8 and -9 genes was up-regulated in HT-29 cells incubated with 4c compared with control cells. These studies revealed that 4c interacts with DNA through groove binding mode with the intrinsic binding constant (Kb) of 3 × 102 M-1. Thus, 4c is a valuable candidate for further evaluation as a new series of potent chemotherapeutic family in colon cancer treatment.